Ham Radio

[farmerehsan 10+ year member]

IS there any one that is a HAM or Amatuer radio opertaer..that is liscenced?

I am very intrested in Ham radios.

What does it take to be liscensed? does it cost anything? where to start?//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

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[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

JimJ and Joetama I believe.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Just passed the Extra exam a couple weeks ago...had my license since '01.

Go to http://www.arrl.org to see if there are testing sessions near you. It's $15 plus whatever the initial FCC registration fee is...I think that's $10 unless they've changed it. License is good for 10 years.

The ARRL has some decent study material out there, a lot of the material for the first exam is just basic electronic theory. Ohm's/Kirchoff's Law, wavelength/frequency basics, etc. http://www.qrz.com is a good source for practice exams.

 

[farmerehsan 10+ year member]

Thanks man, if i get my license what kind of radio will i be allowed to operate?

 

[farmerehsan 10+ year member]

Also there are no classes around me (33611), what would i do?

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

hm...I wonder if I got a "ham license" when earning my pilot's license.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

The Technician license is VHF/UHF only, so basically anything above 50MHz. Really, most of that activity is going to be on 2 meter or 440MHz FM repeaters, maybe a coverage of 60 miles. Useful for getting to know people in your area, and good for local communication in an emergency (SKYWARN - the organization of storm spotters, and most emergency nets are on those frequencies).

If you want to talk to people around the world, you'll have to pass another exam and get your General class license.

 

[farmerehsan 10+ year member]

I see, I currently have a cb radio, i think the technican liscense would be great, 60 miles is plenty for me...

also just wondering.. would police and emergency channels be on here?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Are these guys local to you? http://www.hamclub.org/

Looks like they have regular testing sessions.

would police and emergency channels be on here?

Most radios you'll find that cover VHF/UHF amateur bands will also receive police stuff, but usually their dedicated channels are 10-15MHz higher.

 

[farmerehsan 10+ year member]

thats funny i was just looking at taht site and didnt notice they were in tampa also..but im not sure where in tampa they are... Also they have $30 dues every year...

IF i become lisencsed i am mainly going to use it for search and rescue and things like that

 

[jmiller0526 10+ year member]

W7JJM,

just got my technician license a few weeks ago.

just go buy one of the books and read it, a class is over kill

 

[farmerehsan 10+ year member]

which book did u get?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Also they have $30 dues every year...

Most places will let you go to their test sessions whether you're a member of their club or not.

IF i become lisencsed in mainly if i do search and rescue

It definitely would be worth finding out what clubs are in your area, and if there are any more service or emergency-oriented than simply bullshitting all the time. Being in prime hurricane territory, I'm sure there's a bunch, and you'll find a lot of SAR/EMT-type people are hams, too.

 

[farmerehsan 10+ year member]

Most places will let you go to their test sessions whether you're a member of their club or not.


It definitely would be worth finding out what clubs are in your area, and if there are any more service or emergency-oriented than simply bullshitting all the time. Being in prime hurricane territory, I'm sure there's a bunch, and you'll find a lot of SAR/EMT-type people are hams, too.

IM definitly going to do somemore research, i already found some local testing centers, im going to do some reading also and get to kno what it is exactly im gettin into.... thanks for ur help

 

[farmerehsan 10+ year member]

Oh and what radio do u use/ reccomend.... i wanna put this in my truck