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Ham Radio = CB radio ???
- Thread starter BigAl
- Start date
I too would like to know more.
Oh, and what is SSB radio? Is that just super duper CB radio, to steal BigAl's term. And how is SSB different than the GFR and Family Band radios.
Which ones operate on FM and which operate on AM frequencies? And which require licenses?
Oh, and what is SSB radio? Is that just super duper CB radio, to steal BigAl's term. And how is SSB different than the GFR and Family Band radios.
Which ones operate on FM and which operate on AM frequencies? And which require licenses?
CB radio is restricted to one band of frequencies and does not need a license. Output power is restricted, although many ignore the restriction.
Ham radio has many more frequencies and does require a license. In fact, there are several classes of license.
SSB is single sideband. Radio is broadcast on a certain frequency. That is what you tune your car radio to. the sound is modulated onto that frequency either by varying the amplitude or the frequency a bit. If you electronically remove the carrier and either the upper half or the lower half of the audio, you have single sideband. Using the same power output, you get more punch.
Hope this helps.
Andy
Ham radio has many more frequencies and does require a license. In fact, there are several classes of license.
SSB is single sideband. Radio is broadcast on a certain frequency. That is what you tune your car radio to. the sound is modulated onto that frequency either by varying the amplitude or the frequency a bit. If you electronically remove the carrier and either the upper half or the lower half of the audio, you have single sideband. Using the same power output, you get more punch.
Hope this helps.
Andy
Andy sums it up good ham radio is organised around expermintation therefore you are alowed to work on your own equipment also ham alows manny ore modes than sideband and am broad cast's in the vhv and uhf spectrum there is repeaters to extend your range and irlp stands for internet linking radio project in this mode you hook an fm radio to a computer and use the internet like an earth station the clarity of the signals i'm recieving from around the world is outstanding there is also packet radio where you send data wireless instead of through your cable or phone lines and moon bounce and satilite repeaters i don't work space i sit too high on the earth and would be lucky to get 5 minuts of sat com in the hf bands there is the normal propagation long distace coms that everybody is accustomed to with big antenna farms and high powered radios the nice thing about hf if a disaster happens and you loose your infrastructure that hf rig with an adhock antenna will provide communications around the world.
HAM radio has significantly more frequencies. And, more power ranges. Even back in the 30's and 40's, my Grandfather talked on HAM. He was also exceptional with Morse code.
CB is a limited set of frequencies. It is also limited in power(I want to say 3.5W, but not sure). CB used to require a license. In the '50's-'70's, my Grandfather was "The Old Cowpoke, KLA-1624". Even early '70's, my Dad got his CB license.
Everything went CRAZY though in the early '70's with the CB craze. CW McCall, the trucking craze. FCC couldn't keep up. They finally did away with licensing.
CB is a limited set of frequencies. It is also limited in power(I want to say 3.5W, but not sure). CB used to require a license. In the '50's-'70's, my Grandfather was "The Old Cowpoke, KLA-1624". Even early '70's, my Dad got his CB license.
Everything went CRAZY though in the early '70's with the CB craze. CW McCall, the trucking craze. FCC couldn't keep up. They finally did away with licensing.
I remember my CB license was KXY-7269. A lot of us were pissed when the crazies overwhelmed the airwaves, and many of us just got out of the hobby.
the other thing about amature radio if you have a problem you are expected to fix it and the other operators will ride you till you do also they will step in and help you out if you need help resolving the issues as one expert class operator did with me reguardibg the hot mike on my alinco radios and the sam guyy is now helping me set up my owne irlp node radio in down town nome wich will allow me to fix problems with my systen rather than trying to get a hold of another node owner to fix his.
Yes! My Mom, and my Grandad(before he passed away), talked of how polite folks were, lotsa people went by first names. I remember them, and some of my Grandfathers friends, saddened by what it became, and also getting away from CB.
My Grandfather was still running some high-end tube type CB's; he gave up and just stuck with HAM. He never did get a transistor based CB...
My Grandfather was still running some high-end tube type CB's; he gave up and just stuck with HAM. He never did get a transistor based CB...
Man I just don't do good with all this radio stuff . Two tin cans and a string work best for me .
Now . I'll be glad to get involved in all this ,but someone is going to have to set it up and teach me .
I think being able to call DDS on a Ham sandwich and tell him his Snot track is a POS would be cool . But I can do that here !!!!
Lov ya man !!!!!
Now . I'll be glad to get involved in all this ,but someone is going to have to set it up and teach me .
I think being able to call DDS on a Ham sandwich and tell him his Snot track is a POS would be cool . But I can do that here !!!!
Lov ya man !!!!!
geeAl i would love to bash your krusty over the air to would be lots of fun however if you are interested take the test for the nocode tech license and i can help you find and program the equipment if thee is an irlp node in your area than you can call me up and give me a bad time about having the better snow cat. and as i have talked with folks in idaho i'm betting there is a node in your aera.
gosh what do you expect from a krusty owner if you had read some other post's a node station is where you have a radio conected to a computer in the case of irlp that is a way of recieving signals from other radios converting the signal to data than sending the signals through the inter net and rebroadcasting them at the other end through another node station.i hope i explained in laymans terms that all can understand things do get alittle more complex with other modes and reflectors i just wanted to keep it simple for those who are interested and are clueless hopefully peaking some interest. the sytem is pretty easy for the general operator just key the mike .the neat part of voip comunications comes with different ways of accessing it through the internet such as with an i-phone or a home computer than you don't even need a radio to bash my snot trac
ps which is by the way still running good
ps which is by the way still running good
So with the internet option (which I never knew exited till reading this thread) do you still have those big ass antennas just in case the internet goes belly up? If so how big of an antenna do you need and how high does it have to be to really get out there?
That's discouragaing It Took me a long time to work a computer.
Doc look at my irlp thread and you can see how i have my voip set up the great part about irlp 2 meter antennas are about 48 inches unless you have to have a high gain the antenna than a factory base antenna can be about 12 feet tall the voip option of irlp allows wor;d wide comunications with verry little capitol put out and no need for a large antenna farm i work my node station around nome with no problems with a 8 inch rubber ducky and a 3 watt hand held if one wanted to upgrade to general than hf with large antennas can give you a good alternitive frequency wave length will dictate how large the antenna is going to be in the 150 meg band wave length is 2 meter hence the name 2 meter. to jim radio frequencys are shared like c-b however there are much more modes to operate in such as repeaters to extend the range of you fm radio irlp which gives you world wide coverage and phone patches which will allow a phone call from the radio also there are other modes like echo link and all star that alow transmisssion over the conected node radios from your computer or smart phone .
When I lived in a different part of the country, there was a house with HUGE antennas. I'd say one was at least 30 from the ground, maybe 50 feet wide and 10 feet tall? Another was situated the other way, maybe 20 feet wide and 30 feet tall. And there was one that wasn't like a standard antenna, but more like a wire strung in a straight line, maybe 250 long? And then the usual antennas, straight up things maybe 50 feet up
What was all of that?
What was all of that?
fubar
New member
Typically, The Ham radio hobby is for experimenting. Use to be, build a radio, raise an antenna of your own construction and see how far you could talk. Then redo this, fine tune that, BS with some guys in another country to see how they do it and tweak things some more. You would keep tweaking until you were broke, she made you quit expanding, or you talked around the world bouncing off the moon.
Some folks like antennas, (that is a whole science on it's own) Some like building transmitters, receivers etc. Some like modifying their rigs so fine that you can hear a pin drop in the others guys ham shack.
(wait for it, I'm gettin' there)
Some just like to talk, to any one, any where, any time. Those guys have scanners.
When you get your first license, you have a few frequencies that you can operate on. Some of those are getting more like the CB was...ten four good buddy, whats yer handle!!
When you get tired of that you go and upgrade to general and get more frequencies to operate on. More serious 'experimenters' trying to improve their equipment and less jibber jabber.
Can you tell that there is a slight riff growing amonst the ranks? Well there is.
But, to be fair, there is something and someplace in Ham for everybody.
fubar
New member
Different antennas, length and design, for reaching further out on different frequencies. Some may be just for a very directional signal. Perhaps your best girlfriend lives in another state, you may put up a beam that points right at her bedroom, so that the bulk of your radio power transmits in that direction and very little off to the sides. You may have an omnidirectional...with the same amount of power it can't reach as far, but is send the energy uniformally around you.
live in Kansas, omni may be the ticket, live in the Rockys, a beam to shoot right down the mountain pass.
And it is true, the space station comes out on a regular schedule to talk to regular Joes like you and I. And it is true that you can bounce your signal off the moon surface to reach the other side of the globe. our globe.
And it is true, you can smoke your neighbors TV set, of course, I'd never do that.....
What dds is working on is a system that allows the 2 meter guys, (typically a short range signal) to talk, crystal clear, around the world. Remember the experimenter part of this story?
I remember the first antenna for CB that I made from coax. it was strung from the bedroom window to the garage roof, and could talk about 12-15 miles on a good day. That first conversation made with something you built with your own hands is indescribable. It's a slippery slope from there, as your yard can easily turn into an antenna farm. My attic is starting to look that way, with 5 antennas up there (I added a 10 meter directional dipole yesterday).
the nice thing about ham is you have the uhf and vhf privalages which alow for small antennas so weather you use 2 meter ssb moon or mountain bounce repeaters or irlp the antennas stay small and for hf a near vertical incedental skywave antenna works great and dosn't tae up much realestate next question is to buy or build i like the build prart im now looking for a tube type hf rig because i also like to tinker
I am a amateur radio operator or (HAM). Basicaly here it is: There are 3 levels of licenses that provide more and more privileges, it is regulated by the FCC (fed Government) but is self policing by HAM's, there are many bands or (frequencies) that can be used...some use large antennas while others use antennas less than an inch on a walkie-talkie or even a dish, the allocation of bandwith is worth billions of $ if sold on the open market but is given to HAM's for free to use. In return HAMs are asked to help out in an emergancy, there are far too many reasons to persue HAM radio to list here....the main one is to protect life and property (could be your own) through effective communications!
I do backcounty travel in the mountains hence I had no way to communicate because cellphones etc don't work. One winter I got stuck in a big storm and could not get out. My wife hired a plane to fly over the area I was in but it could not see me even though I used a signal mirror etc. Search and Rescue was sent up in a helicopter at $1500.00 an hour billed to me.
For a total cost of $200.00 I got a HAM radio and am now able to stay in contact while in remote areas.
I can not understand why anyone that does remote travel or wants to be prepared in a disaster would not get their amateur radio license! You take a basic test and pay $14.00 for a 10 year license. You get unlimited free use of the air waves. You should just get it.
Think of the disasters that have hit. Huricanes take out most communications hence HAMs are the first to communicate out of these affected areas. HAMs are very active in Japan and were put to good use in the recent earthquake.
Cheers,
Josh
I do backcounty travel in the mountains hence I had no way to communicate because cellphones etc don't work. One winter I got stuck in a big storm and could not get out. My wife hired a plane to fly over the area I was in but it could not see me even though I used a signal mirror etc. Search and Rescue was sent up in a helicopter at $1500.00 an hour billed to me.
For a total cost of $200.00 I got a HAM radio and am now able to stay in contact while in remote areas.
I can not understand why anyone that does remote travel or wants to be prepared in a disaster would not get their amateur radio license! You take a basic test and pay $14.00 for a 10 year license. You get unlimited free use of the air waves. You should just get it.
Think of the disasters that have hit. Huricanes take out most communications hence HAMs are the first to communicate out of these affected areas. HAMs are very active in Japan and were put to good use in the recent earthquake.
Cheers,
Josh
Welcome to FF, Josh. Good post! I got my license in December 2010 to have backup communications when fishing remote areas of Michigan and Ohio where there are no cell towers. I'm now building a back-packable dual-band portable antenna for 2m/70cm for a week long fishing/camping trip on the Au Sable River system in Michigan the last week of June. I'll program all the local repeaters into the radio before leaving, and find out if there are any local nets in the areas I'll be in, and join in the nets just to make sure my radio is working...just in case! It seems there as always someone listening on UHF/VHF, so there is a sense of security having the HT radio.
We have a few hams here, so don't hesitate to post in the ham forum.
We have a few hams here, so don't hesitate to post in the ham forum.
Nice, have a good fishing trip as I love to fish as well. Also, have you heard of "Wilderness Protocall"? On 2 meters it's the simplex calling freq. (146.520) and 446.000 on 70 cm. On the top of every hour or every 3 hours depending on the area and your battery power you listen for other simplex callers in your area. If you can not hit a repeater call out on these freq's for help on the top of the hour.
73's
Josh
73's
Josh
I was not aware of the "Wilderness Protocol" frequencies, but with just a quick Google search, I learned its history, and will be programming the simplex frequencies into my radios. I will also write a short script on the protocol and remind/introduce folks about it during our many nets in this area. Thanks a lot!