Category: Communications & Receivers

Jim: I worked a few stations this evening; one into Montana with my 10 watt transceiver. The 6 meter band has been red hot the last few days. I’ve even heard brief openings allowing hams on the West Coast of the U.S. to chat with folks in Europe. Sometimes the openings start very early in the morning. These are very unusual propagation conditions. OBTW, You have to read this: http://k7xc.tripod.com/ This guy is very funny. His writing style is great. He should start his own blog! Talk about working on a shoe string. Best Regards, – Fred the Valmet-meister

Jim: Check this out! http://www.dxers.info/google/earth/index.php For example, scroll down to 6M and click on the 1 hour map. It brings up Google Earth with the “push pins.” When you click on the push pin you get the call sign of the amateur operator which can be put into www.qrz.com, and that tells you who they are and where they live. – Fred the Valmet-meister

Dear Jim: I recently purchased a Motorola SX 700 Radio. Inside the package is a notice regarding [U.S.] Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensing. It states that if you operate on GMRS frequencies you need a license from the FCC. Channels 1-7 and 15-22 are GMRS. What about channels 8-14? Do I need this license? Or can I use Channels 8-14? Thanks. – J.H. JWR Replies: Your assumption was correct. No license is required in the U.S. for transmitting on Family Radio Service (FRS) channels. (Channels 8 to 14). But you must have a GMRS license issued by the FCC to …

Jim: The first two weeks of February were spectacular for us hams working the 6 meter band. From my home in Northern California, I worked all western states using only 10 watts on an Icom IC-560.  No power amplifier was needed. One QSO [two way conversation] that I did lasted for 30 minutes to a gentleman right outside of  Tombstone Arizona on 52.525 Mhz FM [mode]. What was so unusual about this, is that is was not in SSB mode. The QSO was nearly as good as a local 2 meter simplex contact. The gentleman was using an Alinco FM-only …

Survival Communications, Cellular Phones, Satellite Internet Service Hello James, I was faced with making decisions on how to connect to the Internet at a faster connection as the city technology has not reached me yet. I looked into DirecWay and Dynamic Broadband, and I can’t find the other company off hand. In my research, there was a hefty out of pocket to acquire the equipment, and bulkier fees per month with contracts running years. I found in looking further that claims of download speeds were just that–download only. It turns out that the upload speed,(at least to residential isolated candidates) …

Sir, Firstly let me congratulate you on taking your blog full-time. It has proved an excellent resource for myself and getting friends and family to see the benefits of preparedness. Almost as effective as your novel, in fact! I hope resources will permit me to become a contributing reader in the very near future. A quick note on Cellular Broadband for remote locations, several companies are now offering broadband speed to cell phones or mobile devices(such as the Palm Treo or the RIM Blackberry). Several of these phones can act as a modem: by attaching the cellular phone to the …

Whenever I talk with my consulting clients, the topic of retreat locales almost inevitably comes up. When describing their criteria for a new retreat property they almost always say something to the effect of: “The property has to have an existing phone line or one nearby, so that we can have Internet service.”  But these days, I’m now quick to point out:  “That shouldn’t be an issue.”  Why? Because things have changed. Lots of Asians, Europeans, and Americans now have no traditional “land line” phone service at all. They utilize the steadily expanding network of cellular phone towers. Even more crucially, …

A couple of comments on a couple of things: All of my (ham) radios are modified for out of band operations. No, it’s not legal to use them to transmit on those frequencies, except in an emergency. However, I can listen to public service agencies (not using trunked radios), listen (in the city) to the direct feed helicopter traffic reporters and get traffic reports all the time (one helicopter crew will report for a half-dozen or more different stations at different times during the hour), etc. Since most modern radios are very, very easy to modify (clip a diode or …

Jim: Fred the Valmet-meister’s letter got me thinking about radios. I’ve been using the SpecOps AN/PRC-104 HF radio, I have more than one, and I am continuously amazed. This afternoon, from my box canyon in central Colorado, wearing the backpack 20 watt radio, I held conversations with friends in Michigan, Virginia, SoCal, Oregon, Kansas and others of “The Group”. This isn’t what some call skip, this is a knowledgeable amateur operator plying the trade. The conversations were generally telephone quality. Tying this into Mr. Coffee’s posting, I also use the SpecOps OP-177 power and battery charger kit which consists of …

Jim: I was listening to a bunch of hams chatting last night; some from Arizona and some from California talking about radios and bands etc. One of the things they talked about was that outside of the big cities, even on the popular 2 Meter band, it is pretty dead; even in [populous] California. Still, the most popular and most reliable means of two-way communications on the road is the CB radio. It is also much “cleaner” outside of the cities as well. Anyway, it was interesting to hear since some of these guys that travel a lot. The hams …

Sir: I am new to the blog.  Just got your book “Patriots” and realized I am nowhere near ready.  Question is:  What are the best Citizen’s Band (CB) radios for both base and mobile use.  Can you give me a few brands and models? I am interested in long range. I am a ham so am familiar with the terminology, but not familiar with CB. I think when the crunch comes there are going to be more CB people out there than hams. Thanks. – R.I.P. JWR Replies: I tend toward either: Pre-1980 crystal-tuned 23 channel SSB-capable CBs with a full five watt …