Search Results for: ham radio

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

…be aware that just because something is sold on the internet, that does not mean it is legal to use. The FCC regulations require the person actually using the radio equipment to be properly licensed and using authorized equipment. Sellers take advantage of this loop-hole to sell questionable radio equipment, knowing that the FCC will go after and fine the person using the unauthorized equipment – not the seller. Doing a search on Amazon for “ham radio” will return a great many questionable products. There is no firm definition of “ham” radio, resulting in a flood of Chinese radio equipment that may or may not be suitable for Amateur Radio use. It is definitely a case of “buyer beware!” Please seek out advice and assistance from your local Amateur Radio club before making a purchase. The Baofeng radios are inexpensive and very handy, but can be difficult to program without…


Using EMP-Hardened HF Ham Radio to Send/Receive E-Mail During Nationwide Outage- Part 1, by PrepperDoc

There are multiple possible scenarios that may result in a regional an/or national combined loss of Internet connectivity and cell/telephone service, during which you would probably wish to maintain communications to loved ones and others. EMP may destroy routers, cell towers, and power sources; solar coronal mass ejection (CME) may remove power from all communications systems; cyber warfare may have similar outcomes. Travel in some of these circumstances will be difficult, or dangerous to impossible. Ham radio VHF/UHF repeaters may go down, due to power outages or EMP. Direct, point to point simplex VHF Ham radio will still work (even after an EMP, if hand-held radios were at all hardened or protected) over modest distances. Long range HF direct Ham radio communications will work (possibly after a delay of any EMP), presuming you had protection (if EMP) and have your own power. However, they will be of less usefulness if…


My Solar-Powered Ham Shack Setup, by BMB

…plus in a grid down situation, however, if an EMP hits I’m sure that would render all of the repeaters non-usable along with any solid state radios including the 2 Meter handy talkie (HT) radios that are not stored in a Faraday box. When I bought my Baofeng radios they were early-generation open-frequency radio models, meaning that you could program in a frequency to both receive and transmit for the FRS frequancies. On FRS frequencies only 1/2 to 2 watts is allowed depending on the frequency, although 4 watts is possible with the Baofeng UV5R. These radios can no longer be purchased new as of September 30, 2019. There is a simple free programming guide called “CHIRP” that can be used to program these radios and other radios similar to them. This is what I use to program my radios. With this program, you can copy the frequencies from one…


Letter Re: Amateur Radio Licensees

…with a license. As deregulation began, the requirement for licenses for CB radios was relaxed and the flood began. In the late 70’s Amateur Radio was booming as CB became congested and “unruly” in its operation. As pagers and cellular communications became common though, Ham radio licenses began to decline. Around the same time, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) came up with the idea of auctioning off spectrum licenses to generate income. The Ham bands, originally occupying what was considered unusable bandwidth, now was in possession of prime radio frequency (RF) real estate. The ARRL needed more Hams to justify to the FCC why that spectrum needed to remain untouched. Thus began the process of the removal of licensing requirements from Ham radio. The ARRL, as the primary voice of Ham radio in the U.S., worked with the FCC to restructure the system. Many changes were enacted, from the…


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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…compact gunsmithing kit for cleaning and repairs.). The tips are sturdy and with proper use and care, have not bent or stripped out. The ratchet is still good and strong too. GGHD About: The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual – Spiral Bound. = People are never too old to receive the Ham Radio License. A Ham Radio will allow people to contact family members outside regular communication channels. … With current technology it’s extremely difficult to ~>impossible to monitor, track and record Ham Radio messages. Nellie Ohr [the Russian Collusion/Delusion ~ Steele Dossier.] is the better-half to Bruce Genesoke Ohr a United States Department of Justice official. She decided at the age of 55 years to obtain a Ham Radio License: KM4UDZ Ha~Amateur. SurvivalBlog has a lot of information about Ham Radio Equipment. Watch the dates, as one type is no longer acceptable for sale in the USA. There’s still…


Letter Re: Communications in Times of Crisis

…to operate in the GMRS band. A Ham is a hobbyist and the Amateur Radio Service was started as a hobbyist and experimental environment. If someone holds a valid Ham license, and a GMRS license, they can use their UHF440 rigs to operate within the GMRS and FRS services, within the proper output power limits. And vice-versa. In the olden days, Ham conversions of commercial gear to operate in the Ham bands were common. Again, Amateur radio is a hobbyist service, and the rules and regs take this into account. GMRS is strictly a service designed to provide families and family-owned businesses a mode of communication. And as such, is an entirely different animal. There are any number of grandfathered businesses still using these frequencies..they can’t interfere with you and you can’t interfere with them. Everyone is accountable. You must apply for, pay and receive your station license from the…


Selecting Ham Shack Equipment, by Muscadine Hunter

…force and are being held in earshot but out of sight of each other. You might still be able to communicate with other members of your group by whistling code or tapping it out on a pipe or wall or whatever. Hopefully, this will help you decide what the right setup is for you and your group, do your homework, there are a lot of choices in radios, and I’d recommend buying in the middle range of the cost scale. The $120 QRP radio I mentioned will do almost as good a job as a radio that cost $500 or more that is operating on a low-power setting. Conversely, that $120 radio is not going to have the same capabilities as the $500 transceiver so decide what you need and want, then do your research and buy accordingly. I have found the folks at Ham Radio Outlet to be very…


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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…REACT groups, will struggle to allow anyone to use these radios or have them in their possession during sponsored events. Locally, many of our Ham radio volunteer events include Hams operating these radios (and I have found these radios effective and seldom create interference or issues since most issues are operator errors in communication protocols), and these volunteers will be turned away or forced to buy the expensive radios. Imagine the headlines in the media, “Local volunteers for [insert name of event] are in violation of federal law or regulations” and the general public will be aghast and shocked! Many officers of these Ham clubs may also be FCC approved test supervisors and some will be on the lookout for these non compliant radios (while others have heartily endorsed and support these radios for new ham operators with a technical license) – the cost of entry is high for a…


Making a Simplex Voice Channel Plan, by Don Shift

The average person who gets a Baofeng radio will have no idea how to tune in when they turn it on and see an input like 445.000 staring back at them. Pushing the buttons to blindly tune the frequencies up or down doesn’t work like a CB radio, car stereo, or marine radio. You can’t just pick a frequency at random and start using it. First, there will probably be no one to talk to. Second, you could be transmitting on a frequency or in a mode that is prohibited. My pre-ham radio experience was with VHF law enforcement radios; my agency had 16 channels programmed in on the main ‘A’ bank. For public safety/business use, the FCC assigns frequencies. Not in the ham world. Ham radio does not have defined voice channels like Marine radio, CB, or GMRS/FRS. The concept of saying “Go to channel __” doesn’t exist. What…


Letter Re: Finding Affordable Ham Radio Gear

…But if you know the basics or have a basic understanding you too can invent or design something new. So if your looking into getting a ham radio license, or just some decent gear check out some of the ham fests, and ham radio swap meets around the country. Most of us who read Survivalblog understand the importance of communications during stressful times. Ham radio has been the first to communicate in most major disasters. Even when Iraq attacked Kuwait, and The Cubans took over in Grenada it was ham radio operators who were able to communicate with the outside world and summon aid. Places to look for when there may be an event near you are to check out web sites like ARRL.org, QRZ.COM, eHam.com, QTH.COM or just plug into your search engine “HAM RADIO” , clubs, activities, etc. Another way is to find a copy of QST magazine…


Letter: Ham Radio conspiracy?

…as well. There are some draw backs to how the system works, but it may just be the way the world is going. Rather than developers of technology, Hams are now becoming more users of technology. The majority of Hams will never use more than the walkie-talkie they use for their local club and the simulated disaster communications. There are other issues as well. Both government and commercial entities have been caught trying to use the Ham bands by getting their employees to obtain licenses. On the flip side, the number of licensees are at an all time high now, and the sheer numbers of people seem to have an effect all its own. The last numbers I heard were that there were more Hams using Morse code now than ever before, even though there is no code requirement. But what about this claim of FEMA/DHS taking over of Amateur…


What I Learned From the Recent Power Outage – Part 2, by A.K.

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justaguy Re: your communication needs – ham radio Aside from being able to communicate by voice, there are even ways to send text messages to real cell phones via ham radio. It’s a vast world of possibilities that ham radio stuff. And if just looking for info, there are many small, low power shortwave radio and scanner options to explore. Easy to pack, easy to power and now is the time to get up to speed on how to best use all these to meet your specific needs. Be well and God speed. RayK For news and weather, have a radio. For grid down times, have a hand cranked emergency radio (most have 6 bands, including weather, AM, FM and some short wave). As you found out with your device charger, two is one and one is none. Anything critical should have a spare/backup. Things like generators should be tested…


Letter Re: Ham Radio Standardization for Survivalbloggers?

Dear JWR, I read the Ham Radio Standardization Article with great interest.  Most preppers are integrating some type of VHF/UHF communications into their plans.  These communications could be MURS, FRS, GMRS, or Amateur (Ham) radio.  In a March 2, 2013 CNET article by Declan McCullagh, I read some rather unsettling information.  In detailing some of DHS’s specifications for their version of the Predator Drone, the author states: “CBP’s specifications say that signals interception and direction-finding technology must work from 30MHz to 3GHz in the radio spectrum. That sweeps in the GSM and CDMA frequencies used by mobile phones, which are in the 300MHz to 2.7GHz range, as well as many two-way radios.” The specifications say: “The system shall provide automatic and manual DF of multiple signals simultaneously. Automatic DF should be able to separate out individual communication links.” Automated direction-finding for cell phones has become an off-the-shelf technology: one company…


Letter Re: Puerto Rico Grid Down and ARRL Commo Assistance

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…Virgin Island and Florida, our stores of ham aid kits are completely depleted. ”Donate to Ham Aid. ARRL’s Ham Aid program loans Amateur Radio equipment kits to established Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) groups and partner agencies during disaster response, in order to establish Amateur Radio communications support. Ham Aid is supported by donations from individuals and corporations – including many of our ham radio industry partners. ARRL has previously staged Ham Aid equipment in Texas, and in the last weeks we have supplied kits in Florida, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Our supply of Ham Aid kits has been rapidly depleted. Your donation to Ham Aid will help us,now. Your contributions to Ham Aid are 100% tax deductible. To make a donation online, go to http://www.arrl.org/arrl-donation-form and select “HamAid” from the ARRL donation form. To donate by mail, print a donation form, and mail it with your…


Letter Re: More on Survival Communications and Six Meter Propagation Oddities

…or morse (yes, MORSE CODE) and back to a different Packet station is what we are looking at. Yes I said that bad word Morse code. It is the only method that you can transmit on 1/10th of a watt on a particular frequency and reach around the world. I had a HAM buddy who was my Elmer (volunteer who helps a new person interested in HAM) sit at my kitchen table with a transmitter he built in a sardine can. He used a short wave radio as the receiver. We sat there and with him using Morse code he ‘talked’ [in manual morse code] to a HAM in Siberia. This was long before the fall of the USSR. The Siberian HAM had built the ‘sardine can transmitter’ on the sly from spare parts that he had scrounged. And since it operated on such low wattage and used Morse code,…