Hams

[Ken]

Are any of you Amateur Radio Operators (Hams)?

I got a "Novice" license in the early 70's. (KA1BGH) I was working on my code speed for my Tech License, other stuff (youthful diversion with green eyes) got in the way, and I let my Novice expire.

The two-meter radio was fun (replaced by a commercial radio operators license which I still have as well as cell phones in the early 80's). However, alternate band communications have a lot of potential if TSHTF.

"Hello CQ - Hello CQ." Anyone out there?

[dragonjimm]

first i was hoping for a smoked pork tutorial ....
My dad has gotten his license recently several of them in fact (i cant keep them staright) he said the hardest part was learning morse code but he had several programs off the internet that would he would talk back and forth with on the computer like a typing program. equipment is not that expensive,and he has bought several items off ebay. he now has some 300 ft antenna strung across the yard and talks to europe.
check the internet for local ham clubs the ones down here through a hame fest several times a year where you can buy,sell or swap gear.

hope this helps

[Ken]

Great news! The FCC recently (last year) eliminated the code requirement.

Of course, code will almost always get through when voice fails, but the more hams the better.

Taking the test this fall. Tech license. (Novice License was discontinued by FCC))

ARRL is a great source for help.

[dragonjimm]

cgts and good luck

[Arkansas_Ranger]

Ken, can a Ham radio receive and transmit on digitized frequencies like 800 mhz?

[Ken]

Ranger, digitalized? Yep. Not sure if hams have any of the 800 band. Been out of it for decades. But the stuff they have out there today is incredible. All cutting edge state of the art stuff available. They've come a long way since ham was code only. Sad thing is, morse code is STILL the most reliable communications, because it will "get through" almost any type of atmospheric conditions. Navy (right, Crash?) had 50+ mile long antennas buried below ground to transmit code through the earth! to subs if all else failed. Ultra Low Frequency. Messages are slooooow. But they still get through.

I'll be ordering my ARRL (American Radio Relay League) study guides soon.

[crashdive123]

Actually those big antennae that you describe are for ELF (3 to 30 hz). Pretty amazing where you can be to receive a signal from them. As you say, they are slow.

[Arkansas_Ranger]

Hmmm. Is there a radio system capable of receiving and transmitting on let's say VHF lowband and highband, UHF, and 800 mhz? Those are the types of radios that emergency services types of agencies in Arkansas use. The highband is the most common although a few use UHF. The larger and farthest reaching agencies are moving to a digitized system that somehow travels in the 800 band.

[dragonjimm]

radios designed for marine use might get there.

[Alpine_Sapper]

Hmmm. Is there a radio system capable of receiving and transmitting on let's say VHF lowband and highband, UHF, and 800 mhz? Those are the types of radios that emergency services types of agencies in Arkansas use. The highband is the most common although a few use UHF. The larger and farthest reaching agencies are moving to a digitized system that somehow travels in the 800 band.

800mhz is typically the cellular band.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_frequencies

Radio waves work like DSL, where they bust the frequency up into channels, so you can have cellular on 824-849, 869-894, 896-901, 935-940 and SMR (Specialized Mobile Radio) on 806-824 and 851-869. The 3G and 4G phones most people use today operate on the higher MHz bands.

I know there are scanners you can use to listen to cellular transmission, so I'm assuming there are radios capable of transmitting. There are some on ebay:

http://search.ebay.com/800mhz-radio_...QfsopZ3QQgbrZ1

This sight may shed some light on it as well:

http://www.commserv.ucsb.edu/faculty...800mhz_FAQ.asp

[Vika]

There are no frequencies in the 800 to 900 MHz range assigned to amateurs. The next lowest band is from 420 to 450 MHz, and essentially all modes are allowed in that band. There is a band from 902 to 928 MHz assigned to hams, plus 12 more bands between 1270 MHz and 250 GHz. Then anything above 300 GHz is open to licenses amateurs. Any mode, including any digital mode is allowable in any of those bands above 902 MHz.

Yes, you will find 800 MHz band radios for sale on Ebay, but those radios will not receive or transmit in the cellular phone bands. Those 800 MHz radios are for other services, such as utilities mobiles, and emergency services. In fact, it is specifically illegal in the United States to offer for sale (to private citizens) any radio that will receive in any portion of the cellular telephone band. The cellular bands are 830 to 851 MHz, and 870 to 896 MHz. If you run across any radio that will receive those any of those frequency bands, the manufacturer must have originally sold it outside of the United States. (I suppose it also could have been sold to an authorized government agency, or cell service provider, stolen and then sold on the street.) We are not allowed to own any radios that will receive in the cellular phone frequency band because of the FCC’s mandate to protect the privacy of such communications. If you did have a receiver that would receive in those bands, unless it was specially designed to listen in on digital cell phone calls, you would not find it very interesting anyway. Virtually all cell phone calls are digital now, and are unintelligable without complex decoding software (as is built into your cell phone.) If you are really clever with electronics, it is conceivable that you could find a way to couple that radio to any old cell phone, but you will are not likely to find any instructions for that on the internet. Yes there are scanners for the cell phone frequencies, but private citizens cannot own them. Listening in to cell phone calls is a federal offense.

The frequencies above 450 MHz are of limited utility for amateurs. This is because they are only usable for line of sight communications. The frequencies at 1270 MHZ and above are used to communicate with amateur satellites, and for EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) bounce communications, but that is pretty esoteric stuff, and there are many easier ways to communicate.

It isn’t quite true that old-fashioned Morse Code is the most reliable form of communications. It is certainly still reliable, and it is a form of digital communications, but there are some other very sophisticated, cheap and highly reliable forms of digital communications at your disposal. These all incorporate check sums and two-way confirmation protocols that make it impossible to believe that an incorrect message is correct. That isn’t true with Morse Code. You can copy a word or letter incorrectly using Morse Code and think that you are understanding the sender, when your interpretation might really be wrong.

[Alpine_Sapper]

There are no frequencies in the 800 to 900 MHz range assigned to amateurs.

True.

Yes, you will find 800 MHz band radios for sale on Ebay, but those radios will not receive or transmit in the cellular phone bands. Those 800 MHz radios are for other services, such as utilities mobiles, and emergency services. In fact, it is specifically illegal in the United States to offer for sale (to private citizens) any radio that will receive in any portion of the cellular telephone band. The cellular bands are 830 to 851 MHz, and 870 to 896 MHz. If you run across any radio that will receive those any of those frequency bands, the manufacturer must have originally sold it outside of the United States. (I suppose it also could have been sold to an authorized government agency, or cell service provider, stolen and then sold on the street.) We are not allowed to own any radios that will receive in the cellular phone frequency band because of the FCC’s mandate to protect the privacy of such communications.

Dude, I can get an 800mhz scanner at Radioshack last time I checked. So unless they changed it in the last 3 years or so. but it doesn't take much modification to "fix" a scanner so that it will. Just being in possession of a scanner that operates in the 800mhz band is not illegal.

If you did have a receiver that would receive in those bands, unless it was specially designed to listen in on digital cell phone calls, you would not find it very interesting anyway. Virtually all cell phone calls are digital now, and are unintelligable without complex decoding software (as is built into your cell phone.) If you are really clever with electronics, it is conceivable that you could find a way to couple that radio to any old cell phone, but you will are not likely to find any instructions for that on the internet. Yes there are scanners for the cell phone frequencies, but private citizens cannot own them. Listening in to cell phone calls is a federal offense.

HAHAHAHHAHA. You need to learn to use google. Those instructions have been around and updated since the mid-90's at LEAST. And it doesn't require coupling it to the phone. Hell, you can clone a cell phone easily if you have access to the original phone, or you can build a scanner that will detect the UNID and authentication information for the phone if they pass by with it turned on. Remember, it's not point to point communication, but like ethernet, it's a broadcast technology.

But no one ever argued the legality of it. While I could care less what the FCC and the FBI says I can or can't do with the cellular frequencies, or anything else for that matter, I'll admit that it IS illegal to listen in. However, they have to prove that you were doing it. In other words, they have to bust you in the act, or with recordings.

[Vika]

Dude, I can get an 800mhz scanner at Radioshack last time I checked. So unless they changed it in the last 3 years or so. but it doesn't take much modification to "fix" a scanner so that it will. Just being in possession of a scanner that operates in the 800mhz band is not illegal.

Please point out to me any Radio Shack Scanner model that you think will scan to receive cell phone frequencies. I am sure that for any you choose, I can point to Radio Shack specs that say the scanner is blocked for cell frequencies. Just because a scanner is labeled an 800 MHZ scanner (for trunked land mobile services) does not mean that it is not blocked for cell freqs.

For example, there is a Rat Shack PRO 2021 for auction on ebay right now that the seller says is not blocked for cell phone fequencies. But I point you to this review of that scanner that says it is blocked for cell phone freqs. http://www.strongsignals.net/access/.../scanrbrf.html

I don't think I would believe this anonymous ebay seller who also conveniently says that he is unable to test the scanner and is only going by the digital display.

I am not saying I agree with the law, or that I am afraid to be in possession of such a receiver (In fact I do have an ICOM R9500 that is unblocked, but I bought it from a dealer in Canada.) It is just worth pointing out that it is federal crime for manufacturers to sell such unblocked receivers in the U.S., and it is a crime to listen in on cell phone calls.

Sorry, this is kind of off the topic of emergency preparedness.

[Alpine_Sapper]

Please point out to me any Radio Shack Scanner model that you think will scan to receive cell phone frequencies. I am sure that for any you choose, I can point to Radio Shack specs that say the scanner is blocked for cell frequencies. Just because a scanner is labeled an 800 MHZ scanner (for trunked land mobile services) does not mean that it is not blocked for cell freqs.

Sorry, this is kind of off the topic of emergency preparedness.

I never said that it would do it out of the box. I definitely takes some modification, but it can be done with a minimal amount of effort and can provide hours of fun and enjoyment.

And that all depends on what your ideas and definitions of emergency, preparedness, and wilderness are. Maybe my idea of emergency preparedness includes knowing what my neighbors are talking so I know they are not launching a terrorist strike or something similar.

[Beo]

Thought you were talking about the hams you eat, now there's a good subject

[dragonjimm]

yep a bunch of us made that mistake

[Chicago Dan]

Thought you were talking about the hams you eat, now there's a good subject

Dang! Got me too.
Ham radio also a good topic but not really interchangable with ham steak...LOL

[Ken]

Dang! Got me too.
Ham radio also a good topic but not really interchangable with ham steak...LOL

In response to the confusion, I was thinking about creating a thread called "Hams, the other pink meat."

[Arkansas_Ranger]

I never said that it would do it out of the box. I definitely takes some modification, but it can be done with a minimal amount of effort and can provide hours of fun and enjoyment.

And that all depends on what your ideas and definitions of emergency, preparedness, and wilderness are. Maybe my idea of emergency preparedness includes knowing what my neighbors are talking so I know they are not launching a terrorist strike or something similar.

A few years ago you could buy one "out of the box" that'd do that.

[Beo]

Does Hamm Radio stand for the type of radio or the people on it?