HAM radios for survival?

Now that would be a great little carry radio in the woods ect. Make up a couple of quick dipoles that would weigh almost nothing and about 20 feet of coax wow.
 
the Big Book for this year has a 20 or 40 (I forget which) meter ssb transmitter that's pretty portable. I've been considering building that, then using the extended receive on the kenwood (if I get it) to rx the ssb. RX with a longwire and see how light i can make a sloper.

There are some very decently built mid sized handhelds out there these days. It's really not hard to carry one.

I find I tend to get less.... apprehensive?.. responses to my wandering around in the bush and carrying knives and suchlike when I have a radio fiarly obvious on me.
 
Doug got me into ham radio, thanks Doug =). I took the tests in July and passed all three.

73s AB2ZP
 
Thanks, an electrical background was a BIG help :).

The FCC is a good source of information, I think the ARRL is a little better as they are the administering source. There are links there to purchase study guides and take practice tests.

I highly recommend reading the books, and taking several practice exams. Check out this link for upcoming exams. The cost is $14 to take the test (as long as you keep passing you can do all three in one shot). I recommend Tech and General to get the HF privileges from the start but it is a personal decision. Extra is real heavy on theory (radio / electrical / antenna).

As for the steps
1) Study.
2) Practice.
3) Find an exam in your area and take it.
4) Get radio(s) and get on the air (after being listed in the ULS).

When you go to take the test, bring two forms of ID (Driver's License / social security card works well), pen, pencils, a calculator. If you are prepared you can do the Tech and General in 30 minutes start to finish, the extra takes a little longer.

Ham radio is a great learning hobby that will be useful for a long time to come. Really brings home "the more I learn, the less I know".
 
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My immedate family are all hams...we use it as a primary comm mode if things get ugly. We've experiemented with the various bands to determine which band works best in different wilderness conditions. Just changing bands makes the diff between no connect and connect. As long as the Internet is still operational you can talk thru Echo Link and literally talk to anyone who has Internet and a ham license.

In my day pack I carry a portable Yeasu with a portable dipole and have good range with repeaters. I've chatted with family from multiple states away thru Echo Link with just my small Yeasu handheld.

The deal is Ham's are ready for any problem and comm is going to be available (although it may be heavy traffic) for quite a while. My son and I participate in the local emergency Ham group so we can stay plugged in on what is happening with comm.

Brian, get your license...it is easy - even for an old duffer like me who isn't electrical or a 'radio geek'. Of course I had a nerdy son who helped me along the way!
 
That away quirt I am the ares EC for here in my county and your right when the SHtF hams can deploy and setup a network of all kinds of communications During the annual Simulated Emergency Test Weekend last October I had my group spread out in a few locations through out the county. I had the laptop setup through a radio running Winlink and between sending and receiving with did 50 emails with out direct connecti0on to the internet. It is a fun Service to get into and now is the easiest it has ever been to get a license then it has ever been . No more morse code requirements either. If any one wants more info on how to do it either email or PM me Doug kc2mvc
 
Brian-

buy any current technician class book. read it a few times, then find practice tests online - I think QRZ.com has current ones? Take the test 3 or 4 times a day for a week or so and find a test. Same thing for general. My wife has ZERO background in electronics and managed tech and general just fine.

Start small- you'd be surprised what you can do with just a 2m handheld radio and all the repeaters and long antennas. General is where it gets good because you run 20 and 40 meter (really long range. I've talked to several part of asia and all over North America without much in the way of fancy equipment)

Morse code isn't required, but can be fun.

for tests, just google around.
 
Another place to take practice tests is eham.net. thanks Christof I should have thought of that
 
For the Tech and General electrical knowledge is minimal, five or six basic formulas is all you really need and those are covered in the books, the electrical knowledge comes in at the extra level. I probably should have made the distinction clearer in my other post :o.
 
larry917 said:
For the Tech and General electrical knowledge is minimal, five or six basic formulas is all you really need and those are covered in the books, the electrical knowledge comes in at the extra level. I probably should have made the distinction clearer in my other post :o.
Click to expand...

I am assuming by the name that the 'extra' part is nt a req?
 
I used the tests at QRZ to practice for my Tech and General and they were current when I used them. I believe they also have a searchable list of when and where exams are held.

In the SAR community the Ham radios have become quite popular. The Yaesu VX-7r seems to be the radio of choice right now. Romours about the VX-8 are starting to go around and if true it may become the radio of choice.
 
The higher the license class the more parts of the amateur bands you have access to....Though morse code is not required , one advantage is that you can make contacts under conditions where voice can't get through.
 
dougo83 said:
I am assuming by the name that the 'extra' part is nt a req?
Click to expand...

There are currently three levels in ham radio in order from lowest to highest.
1) Technician (tech).
2) General.
3) Amateur Extra (extra).

Each higher class has additional operation frequencies available for the full list see here. The only requirement to start using ham radio is a tech class license. After that you can get additional frequency privileges by raising your class.
 
I can't thank you guys enough for this thread.

On my very first online test, with NO knowledge of amature radio, I scored a 63%, so if anybody is reading this and holding back, let's go!

I've always been intimidated by this hobby, and I decided to download a few tests, buy a few books and study up for testing.

I like the idea of some sort of handheld comm that can't be interrupted, and this thread will be my ticket.

Thanks!
 
That away farmboy. one of the best things is there is NO AGE requirement for the ham radio service (trying to get away from it being called a hobby). It has proven to be a lot more of a service as of late with all the events from 9-11-01 and a lot of the weather issues. Once you get your license you renew it every 10 on the FCC website for free. All the questions on every test come from a question pool and right now I think the tech class exam pool has 310 question to pick from. Down from 508 when I took mine. A little time and effort you will get it pretty easy. Doug kc2mvc
 
This is a great thread and a good friend of mine in WA just got his tech and is going to get his general. I just have to get off my butt! My background is communications and I've had several jobs with tactical (Army) stuff, I need to get my amature license to stay current. My poor VX-5R is collecting dust:(

ROCK6
 
My wife has the vx5r (great little radio) I bought it for myself and told her if she got her tech I would give it to her. she did it she got her tech and the vx5 then I had to get a vx7r for myself. Doug
 
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