NFOA MEMBERS FORUM
General Categories => Survival/Emergency Preparedness => Topic started by: shooter on January 20, 2015, 05:15:17 PM
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I know someone here uses short wave radio, just don't remember who, Id like to get one to listen to, maybe transmit later , but looking for a way to get news if something happens,
if anyone has one, I would like to get some information,
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Several of us here are hams. ;D
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Here is a good place to get started answering questions about Amateur Radio Operators: http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed (http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed)
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You don't need a ham (amateur) radio if you're only going to listen to shortwave. While I don't have any experience with shortwave radios, this topic came up on the ARFCOM ham radio subforum recently. There are a number of suggestions for shortwave radios here: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_22/678973_AM_FM_SW_Radios______some_purchase_suggestions_please_.html (http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_22/678973_AM_FM_SW_Radios______some_purchase_suggestions_please_.html) Many of the posters mention SSB, which is single-sideband modulation. SSB is a type of modulation used by amateur radio operators, so if you're only interested in broadcast shortwave, you wouldn't need SSB.
If you want to transmit you will need an amateur radio license. A ham radio will be more costly than the shortwave radios mentioned in the link above. I agree that the ARRL link previously mentioned is a good place to start if you're interested in a license. If you really want to get into high frequency (HF) communication, you'll want a general (second level) or extra (third and highest level) license as the technician (first level) license doesn't have much for privileges on the HF bands. The ARRL puts out good license manuals which are helpful for learning the information for the exams. All of exam questions are publicly available and you can find them at the back of the ARRL books or online. The exams are made up of these publicly available questions, so the exams aren't too tough, in my opinion. If you don't want to buy the ARRL books you might be able to find them at your public library, which is what I did; however, many times they are out of date--the question pools change every so often. Otherwise, there are study guides/material available online. If you're interested, I can point you in the direction of some of it.
I got my ham radio license a few months ago and have a VHF/UHF handheld. It is mostly for local communications, while HF is better for regional or worldwide communication. I intend to get into HF someday.
AD0KL
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Im looking for a send and receive set,
not worried about a liscense
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Several of us here are hams. ;D
Yep
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I am interested in getting the beginners license at some point...I bought a boefeng(?) hand held unit but have no idea how to use it currently... I would like to know all of the basics & begin the process to get licensed sometime this year.
if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it! Justin
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Im looking for a send and receive set,
not worried about a liscense
I'm afraid I won't be much help as I don't have any HF gear.
However, I will say that practice using one's gear is important. Buying a radio and expecting to use it in an emergency without getting a license with which to practice operating is a lot like buying a gun, reading the owner's manual, never shooting it, sticking it in a closet and expecting to use it when the need arises. While you do not need a license to simply listen and I will agree that getting a license isn't the only way to learn about radio communications, you will not be able to transmit legally to get an idea of how your gear actually works if you need to contact someone in an emergency. The information you learn in conjunction with licensing lays the framework for your understanding of how radio communications work in general, such as radio wave propagation, being a responsible operator (not producing interference for others using the bands), etc.
I am interested in getting the beginners license at some point...I bought a boefeng(?) hand held unit but have no idea how to use it currently... I would like to know all of the basics & begin the process to get licensed sometime this year.
if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it! Justin
I recently got my license and I used the ARRL study guides that I got from my public or university library. However, ARRL (American Radio Relay League) study books are a bit long and oftentimes the library will have outdated books. The information in the outdated books is still mostly good, but the question pool at the back of the book will not be in current use. As to the length of the books, there are other resources out there that are shorter, such as the no-nonsense study guides put out by KB6NU: http://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/ (http://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/) I read the technician (first license level) no-nonsense study guide and it was useful for learning the answers to the questions in the pool, but it didn't give as much context for the information as the ARRL study books. I tend to remember information better if I understand where it came from, rather than just trying to remember unconnected facts and figures. Given that your location says you're just outside of Omaha, the Omaha public library has the newest edition of the technician study guide put out by the ARRL: http://omaha.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1710874060_the_arrl_ham_radio_license_manual (http://omaha.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1710874060_the_arrl_ham_radio_license_manual)
All of the questions for the exams are online (or can be found in the ARRL study books). I used practice exams online at qrz.com There are other free ham practice tests online (google for them), but I used QRZ because it keeps track of how many questions you've answered correctly from the entire pool. I took practice tests until I had answered each of the questions correctly and was getting 85%+ consistently on the practice exams.
You can find an exam session here: http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session (http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session) This is what you should bring to the exam: http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session (http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session) As to #4, I would suggest going to the FCC website before you plan to take the exam and register for a FRN (FCC Registration Number) so you can put the FRN on your testing paperwork instead of your social security number: https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do (https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do) The exam cost is $15. If you pass your exam, you can take the next level exam for no extra charge in the same session. I am cheap and took all three license level exams in the same session.
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http://swling.com/db/software-defined-sdr/ (http://swling.com/db/software-defined-sdr/)
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I am interested in getting the beginners license at some point...I bought a boefeng(?) hand held unit but have no idea how to use it currently... I would like to know all of the basics & begin the process to get licensed sometime this year.
if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it! Justin
There are some local clubs that hold classes and do testing. Here are a few links to the Omaha area clubs, you can find class and testing dates there.
http://www.aksarbenarc.org/main/ (http://www.aksarbenarc.org/main/)
http://www.bellevuearc.org/ (http://www.bellevuearc.org/)
(Bellevue does weekend classes, 1st day total imersion in the data, day 2 more data and a VE test session)
http://swiradio.org/ (http://swiradio.org/)
(Council Bluffs club)
Ron
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Clear from above postings that not all here wish or want to become FCC ham radio licensed.
But for those who may wish to do so, here is some encouragement:
http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/01/23/5-year-old-passes-ham-radio-exam/22247015/ (http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/01/23/5-year-old-passes-ham-radio-exam/22247015/)
sfg
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thanks for the additional links, figured out the aarl one all by myself :D in the studying phase of obtaining my license.
for those interested, you can also buy the aarl app, at least for iphone. it's pretty good, however i also decided to buy their book this morning.
my purposes are for fpv quadrotor flying, but the electronics thing has been absolutely fascinating to me. i'm hoping to expand my knowledge base with all my new interests.