Learn Me HAM Radio

I have an ICOM v-8000 and for a simple 2m rig at a low price they are a great buy.

I have had some mic issues but I keep a spare now.

Cross-band repeat was something I was not willing to pay-out the extra cas for.

Okay, latest is that my almost 10-year old genius son is going to take the test with me! I've been looking over the stuff on Ohm's Law and it looks pretty familiar from all the Electrical Engineering classes I took 30 years ago, so I think I won't have much trouble with that.

that's awesome that your son is going to take the test with you! I bet this will be something that you enjoy doing for years to come.

In reply to EastCoastMojo:

Yeah, now the pressure is on! I'm not worried about passing the test myself, but I've got to make sure he knows the material well enough to pass!

Tommy,
Just read your SECOND article in the last issue, regarding commo. First off, congrats on TWO articles in one issue. You're becoming quite the author here. For a bit of critique, I think that the license and legal requirements for Amateur Radio should have been covered a bit more. Certainly more than a box that says "here, look it up on teh w3b." Just to go over a few things, if set up like you describe with 2 ham rigs, both the driver and the pit crew talking to him need to be licensed hams. I suppose that it would be theoretically possible for someone in the pit crew to be licensed and allow someone else to use the radio under their direct supervision, but that would be about the extent of lawful. "Coded" transmissions are illegal under the Amateur Radio Service. So, that "pit in 5 laps" code is technically illegal on the ham bands. Also, not mentioned was that commercial use of Amateur Radio is strictly forbidden. So if your team is semi-professional, Ham radio is out. I would not want to worry about if any sponsorship makes your team not 100% amateur and how that would affect the status of legal use of the radio.
Just a few comments to further understanding of Ham Radio.

73 NG6Y/5

As long as we're on the topic of the BaoFeng UV-5R.... what would be a realistic number for the transmit range of that radio in miles?

"It Depends." Using a similar powered handheld under ideal conditions (5/8 wave antenna, standing on the wing of a supertanker 130 ft up in the air, hitting a repeater on top of a mountain) I've had solid copy at >150 miles. With the rubber ducky down in a valley, a mile might be pushing it.

What's the wavelength, T2?

2M and 70CM. I had a 2M handheld back then hitting the repeater at 150+ miles.

Would have been an atmospheric anomaly. They happen. On average, without repeaters, Max should be expected to be line of sight which is approximately 5 miles. With repeaters, you can expect their line off sight. Maybe 25? Correct me if I'm wrong, doc.

I once hit a repeater on 2m about 450 miles away and talked to someone over 750 miles from me, 300 miles from the repeater. That about add up?

I used to hit that repeater (Santa Barbara) every time we went by. No anomaly there, just "ideal conditions." Probably was about line of sight or "radio horizon" with is 10% beyond line of sight.

Hess, I wanted to cover licensing requirements more, but space didn't really allow it. That and we thought it would be best to not open that can of worms, as explaining the licensing intricacies would nearly require a whole separate article.

Woohoo! Took my Technician's exam today and passed!

Congrats!!

That's awesome! I hope to take mine soon.

N Sperlo wrote: Max should be expected to be line of sight which is approximately 5 miles.

Typo? Theoretical VHF line of sight due to earth curvature is ~50 miles. If you are on the Great Plains with enough power you might get that. Terrain and especially elevation of the antenna have a great effect on that.

I used to routinely work a local Frederick repeater from the National Mall in DC a distance of ~50 miles with a 5 watt handheld. Of course the repeater is on a 300' tower on top of Gambrill Ridge just west of town. So the elevation of the antenna is 1800' above sea level.

I have also worked the same repeater from over 170 miles away with the handheld but I was at an elevation of 4000+' on the Blue Ridge Parkway in VA.

That repeater has what we used to call "big ears" ( a very sensitive receiver). We have another local repeater that has been deliberately detuned to the point that if you are more than 10 miles away you better have 20+ watts of output or it can't hear you.

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