Attn: W9ZEB - Lets talk communication

[bwframe]

Hope I'm not putting you on the spot too much here Lars?

In the event of whatever SHTF will be, communications could be critical. Cellular and land line phones along with Internet access could all be gone.

If you don't mind, help us out here Lars.

[W9ZEB]

what would you like to know?

The local ham community for SHTF is governed by two groups (in marion county only one) ARES & RACES

ARES & RACES FAQ

In Marion County Indy Hams is the local ARES group.

The ARES group provides communications for things like the Hilly 500 bike race, circle city classic, etc. We (hams) do these events as practice for setting up remote stations, and communicating vital information back to whoever is in charge.

When there is a severe weather warning the local Skywarn net is brought online. We report at our locations (base - in my home / Mobile - in a car) what the current weather is should something notable happen such as half inch hail.

There are three classes of license.

• Technician
• General
• Extra

Technician is primarily limited to bands with a fairly short range. There are times the atmosphere helps out, but for the most part you're going to be talking with people within 100 miles of you.

General opens the doors for the HF (High Frequency) bands. These always allow long range communications. Just this morning, I talked to Estonia on the 20m band using 100w.

Extra adds small amounts of bandwidth to your General class on each end of the band.

Each license requires a multiple choice test. You have to score greater than %70 to pass. The Technician and General are each 30 question tests. The Extra has 50 questions.

[W9ZEB]

QRZ Practice Tests is a good place to gauge your progress on the various tests.

If you PM me I might be able to share some training resources to pass the tests.

The Indianapolis Radio Club offers testing the first Saturday of every month on Meridian and a bit north of fall creek IIRC. It's the Indianapolis Training Facility or something similar, old 13 story hotel with a bunch of antennas on the roof

I could be convinced once it gets a little warmer to bring my radio gear out somewhere in the central part of the state so you can see what it's like.

This antenna is called the buddipole. It breaks down into parts that fit into a 3" diameter, 3.5' long bag. It will operate on all bands from 40m up to 2m

[rhino]

I think this is something we all need to consider.

How much would it cost for an adequate home base system plus a handheld you can take with you (after you get your license, of course).

Right now I have a GMRS license. It's not very useful since the antennae on GMRS radios are so puny, but it's a start.

[AFA1CY]

I'm ready.....

[4sarge]

I can anger enough people within earshot. I'm not sure that the world is ready for my diatribe to be heard round the world

[TomN]

All this talk about ham radio is making me want to try to get my Extra license. Only problem is I'm still having flashbacks to my Advanced test... that was a tough one...

[W9ZEB]

a good hand held on a budget: Yaesu FT-60 $179.95 (2m / 70cm, 5w hand held)
The hand held I have is a bit more expensive: Yaesu VX-7R $279.99 (6m / 2m / 70cm @ 5W & 1.25m @ 300mw) Also unlike the FT-60 it has two receivers, so you can monitor two frequencies at once. It is water resistant to 3feet of water for 30min. I regularly use the dual receivers to monitor the Skywarn State Backbone, While also monitoring the Hamilton County local weather nets.

A great way to go for a multi purpose radio would be something like the Yaesu FT-857d $689.95 This is an all mode (CW, SSB, AM, FM) 160-10m, 6m, 2m, 70cm radio 100w 160-6m and 50,35w on 2m/70cm

You would need a power supply (about $200 for a 25a) or a deep cycle battery. (the bigger the better)

You would also want an antenna tuner, and an antenna. For emergency communications the tuner is handy because you can "tune" just about anything to work. Maybe not exceptionally efficiently, but when SHTF, who cares. Something > Nothing.

An antenna like seen in my photo above is about $450 with the 18' mast, and tripod. It includes the coax, and would not require a tuner.

The radio I had until November was a slightly larger version of the FT-857d called the FT-897d Electronically the same radio, but it included 2 7.5AH batteries which allowed for about 4 hours of transmitting at 20w with no external power source.


Currently I am using an Icom IC-746pro ($1479.95) which is 160-10m, 6m, and 2m 100W on all of them. It's physically a lot bigger than the two Yaesu Radios above, but makes for a much easier base system to operate. It operates on 12v DC which means I can drag it out into the field and use batteries, or my car to power it.

All of the above HF radios have been connected to my computer for use with digital modes. there are a lot of little things that can be added as time goes on and you get an idea of what in your hobby you would like to do.

A lot of people wouldn't like my recommendations as first radios. The FT-857/897 are difficult to operate, not because they are bad radios, but because the smaller face plates mean most of your settings are nested inside menu functions. The advantage of those two models is the cost, and combined features. For $700 you get a radio that can do everything. It may not be a GREAT CW rig, but it does CW, it might not be excellent at 70cm SSB, but it can do it. You'll notice my more expensive Icom does NOT include the 70cm band.


Another radio that works well, although I'd not recommend it as an only radio is the Yaesu FT-817ND It again is electronically identical to the FT-857/897 however it is limited to 5W of transmitting power on all bands (aka. QRP or Low Power) it like the 897 has internal batteries, and can be powered with 8 AA batteries. It's much smaller than the other two which makes it easy to carry on a strap over your shoulder. I have one I've borrowed which I would happily bring out, along with my Mobile HF antenna on the back of the Subaru if someone wants to see what tuning around the HF bands is like. I don't know how many contacts we can make with 5w on a poor performing antenna, but then again, that's one of the fun things about Ham Radio IMHO.

I'm sure the other's licensed here will have opinions on gear as well. I spy an Icom IC-718 above. Another great choice for a low cost, HF rig. Much easier to use than the FT-857/897, but does not include 2m or 70cm at all.

[W9ZEB]

and for those who missed it in the Hobbies section.

From left to right:

• The Almighty Can of Coke!!
• Icom External Speaker
• Icom IC-746pro
• Icom 25a Power supply
• Kenwood DM-700A (2m/70cm FM)
• 22" Acer LCD
• There's a HamKey 3 Straight Key (morse code)
• AKG Headphones

Computer is an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ 1gb DDR, 80gb Hard drive
Running PC-BSD 1.5 <---Operating system (loaded with ham software.)

[AFA1CY]

Well as long as this thread taking a different turn

WI9NDY (then WD9CYI) c. 1984

Swan Cygnet 270B
Vic-20 Computer
Regency HR2-A 2-meter
Teletype model 33ASR
100' long-wire via MFJ mini tuner