57's BE INFORMED and Beat the Wuhan Virus by Learning Ham Radio Thread

[FiftySeven]

How to kill 2 stones with one bird:

keep informed during a natural emergency while adding a new skill?



Are you going shack-wacky while self-quarantining during the Wuhan virus?

Have you run out of hand sanitizer and toilet paper and now you don’t know what to do with yourself?


Learn Ham Radio !!

This thread may be verbose. I don't want to stand in your light. If you want to jump in with both hands & both feet and learn on your own, Duck-duck-go or YT some terms like:

Prepper ham radio

Learn ham radio online

How to get your amateur radio license

Ham radio study software < apps >

Handheld ham radios for Technician ( or Newbie Hams )




For those who can wallow through verbosity, here we go:

This Wuhan Virus thread:

The Worldwide C0VlD-19 Coronavirus Pandemic Discussion Thread...

has proven to be a good source of up-to-date worldwide information. While it is open to the public, it also may be considered an almost “inside” source of info, as the general public may not be aware of the existence of this thread. We who are following this thread have a leg-up over the general public.

Things may work out very well and the Wuhan Fluhan may not have a widespread effect on our countries and their communications infrastructures. Let’s hope so.


On the other hand, what will you do if:

Cell phone sites in your area became overloaded and it becomes impossible to make a call?

Internet backbone goes down?

The server hosting your favorite forum or website goes down?

Commercial power outage takes down TV, radio, cell sites or your local ISP?

Big Brother decides to ---- oh, nevermind….


Where would you get instant information to help ensure the safety and health of your family?

Where would you get "inside" information similar to our own
The Worldwide C0VlD-19 Coronavirus Pandemic Discussion Thread... ?


Ham Radio and other radio services.

Ham Radio, also referred to as amateur radio, is a type of radio service allowing instantaneous communications between/among you and persons “known or unknown”. This might be handy in a crisis.

Most countries have a government agency similar to the Federal Communications Commission – F.C.C. – here in the U.S.

These government agencies of the respective countries encourage licensing civilians in the amateur radio services for multiple reasons. The most important reasons include having a pool of civilians who possess technical skills in the radio arts; those persons also having the skills and equipment to provide local and worldwide communications services in the event of a natural disaster.

You may be thinking, “Hey, FiftySeven, I’m not a nerd like you, I don’t want to learn Morse Code, I don’t want to get a gubmint ham license, I just want to get information” – no problem, you don’t need any kind of license for some of the basic things I’ll be showing you.

Free, local and worldwide, up-to-date information in the event of natural disaster – could be a worthwhile thing, right?

Or maybe you're thinking, "Radio, that's been around over a hundred years. Nobody uses radio anymore!"

What if I told you radio may be a way to gather "INSIDERS" information in order to make strategic plans prior to a SHTF, or gather tactical information during SHTF, all the while "flying under radar", so to speak?

Who am I to be posting on this? My degree is in electronics; I hold a U.S. F.C.C. Commercial Radiotelephone License, a U.S. Amateur Extra ham radio license; taught ham radio licensing courses at my local ham club; spent my corporate career installing and maintaining commercial radio gear, network equipment and industrial automation equipment; and currently am a semi-active ham radio guy here in the PHX area. I’m also an expert in run-on sentences.

No, I certainly don’t know it all. There are almost 60,000 Fastlaners here – there are bound to be some hams among us. Feel free to jump in and post on this topic, especially if you are a ham from a non-U.S. country. Don’t be afraid to call me out if I say something and you have a better idea.

I’ll begin by:

explaining how to engage in this hobby/activity by monitoring radio services you didn’t know about, by using equipment you didn’t know you had

move up to suggestions on utilizing monitor-only standalone radio receivers including receivers for emergency use

continue on with information on how to obtain your amateur radio license including some basics on selecting ham radio gear

if there is interest, I’ll follow on with a way to transition from ham radio to commercial radio, then some “teach-yourself-electronics” information.


If we are all stuck inside the house with this virus thing, getting your ham license may be a way to keep from going shack-wacky; plus, you’ll come out of isolation with a new skill, possibly leading to a new career – think “talent-stack” per Scott Adams.

No, I won’t travel to Maine to help you set up your ham gear, but if you are here in the Salt River Valley maybe we can meet up and do some hands-on ham stuff to get you started.

Get Radio-Active!

More to come…

‘57

 

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[becks22]

My grandfather taught me this skill once when I was about 8 and he was still 'with it' enough to teach me. Too bad I have no memories now but I do remember him still knowing how to use his ham radio even when he was going senile at the age of 92. I'm not really interested but this thread bought up some fond memories for me. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! A YT channel teaching this could be lucrative. The prepper business is going to go crazy once this settles down.

 

[FiftySeven]

OK, cut to the chase.

I’ll deliver the goods up front to get you started right away.

Amateur radio licenses come in different “classes”, usually an entry-level class with limited privileges on limited frequency bands, followed by higher levels of licensing which require additional training and study. These higher levels require another test. In return, you get additional “privileges”, such as being able to operate at higher power on additional frequency bands.

Most countries, the U.S. Included, have an entry-level amateur radio license with NO level of Morse-code knowledge required. This entry level operator class requires a test. Well, sort of a test, at least in the U.S.

What do I mean by “sort of a test”? All the possible questions on the tests are known AND PUBLISHED. No, that is not a misprint. And, no, there is nothing fishy or illegal about publishing the questions on the test. The FCC allows it. Here’s the good part – not only are all the possible questions you could see on any test public knowledge, but all the possible answers you will see on the tests are published, AND ALSO, THE CORRECT ANSWER TO EVERY QUESTION you will ever see on any test is published. This is true of all license classes. Yes, you guessed it; it’s a multiple-guess test.

Yes, I hate to say it, but it’s no longer your grandfather’s ham radio test. It’s just a memorization game.

Just duck-duck-go:

FCC Technican class question pool

Or in another country, search similar to --> Estonia amateur radio license question pool


So you can do what I did – download a PC program or phone app that will prompt you for all the possible questions for any possible test for any possible license class, and correct you until you have memorized all the questions and answers.

Just search for something like:

amateur radio technician class question pool program

Keep in mind these questions and tests are country-specific.

Also keep in mind that the question pool needs to be up-to-date. For example, the current U.S. question pool for the entry-level Technician-class test is valid 2018 – 2022.

What good is the entry-level Technician test? It allows you to do low-powered speech and digital communications – mostly local area communications, including some hi-tech digital modes such as packet, etc. Most of these services may be accessed via an inexpensive low-powered handheld radio.

Yes, communications distances may be limited with this class of license; at the same time, many localities have “repeaters” which are installed and maintained by local ham clubs. The repeaters are precursors of our modern cell phone system. They quite often are installed on a radio tower or mountaintop and utilize greater power, thus extending your handheld radio’s range vs expected range when utilizing one handheld radio directly to another handheld radio.

What good is local communications? In the event of a SHTF situation, you will have access to immediate info – road closures, checkpoints, gas availability if gas buddy is down etc.


OK, now that you’ve studied all the questions and are ready to take the test, how and where do you take the test?

Almost every community in the U.S. has one or more ham radio clubs. Just duck-duck-go:

Ham radio testing Scottsdale

etc to find a test near you. Expect to pay a few bucks to take the test. You will need ID and maybe some other stuff. The testing club will let you know what to bring. Tests are given in a group setting, quite often on a Saturday morning.

Note that the test is administered by volunteers from a ham radio club. The license is granted by the FCC, a U.S. agency.

Once licensed, you will be able to transmit on your radio – that is, you will be legally allowed to key the mic, speak over the radio and have a conversation with another licensed operator.

OK, you’ve got the license and are ready to use the radio. What radio do you get, where do you get it, etc? WHEN do you get a radio – would it make sense to get a radio before you are licensed?

Stay tuned – more answers coming up –

In the meantime, I’ll put up a post about simple things you can do with inexpensive equipment, or equipment you may already have.

‘57

 

[RazorCut]

Nice alternative thread 57. Thanks for taking the time and effort. Look forward to reading more.

 

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[FiftySeven]

OK, now for some simple stuff to get the ball rolling here… I’ll be hitting both ends of the spectrum in this post.


Say it’s worst case scenario; Mad Max has come and gone. You sheltered in place. You no longer have commercial AC power and have run out of gas for the generator. There are no more batteries for your portable radio and you forgot to buy a hand-cranked radio receiver before they disappeared from stock. How do you get news from the outside world?

If you have an empty toilet paper roll ( you did stock up on tp now didn’t you ? ), a little bit of wire, a used razor blade or germanium diode, a board, some thumbtacks, a safety pin, and an old telephone ( REAL PHONE, not these newfangled cell ones), you can do what the Brit soldiers and GIs inhabiting German Stalags did during WW2 ( the Big One ) - you can roll your own radio receiver.

Just duck-duck-go

foxhole radio OR crystal radio plans.

Or see a copy of Rick Brant’s Science Projects. Which also includes instructions for construction and use of an ancient weapon. Just sayin'.

Save the instructions to disk or print them out in case there IS a lack of AC power.

This radio will receive only nearby AM ( that’s what you old guys used to call Top 40 ) radio stations. Don’t worry, in the event of SHTF, AM radio will be broadcasting trusted information from the Ministry of Truth 24/7.

Plus, it will keep the kids busy trying to build it, then trying to find the “hot-spot” on the razor blade.



MoT reminds me of a Cold War joke:

John Sixpack said to Dmitry: “Our country is the free-est country in the world. I can go to any city, stand up on a soapbox anywhere in town and say JFK is a fool. Nobody will arrest me.”

To which Dmitry replied, “Comrade, that is nothing!!!! In my country, I can stand on the steps of the KREMLIN and say JFK is a fool. Nobody will arrest me either!!!! ”.



On the other end of the spectrum:

Say you have family members out pickin’ beans on the Lower Forty. Or you have multiple vehicles traveling together but no cell service? Anyways, you gotcha some family members close by but they are out of hollerin’ range. How to stay in contact? You did go to Sam’s or Costco and pick up a multi-pack of FRS radios, now didn’tcha? Less than $100 for a multipack ( about 763.6 dollars Canadian ). Also possibly available online, if no one else has read this post yet. Add a super-size pack of batteries to go along. Batteries were available at Wally World and other fine stores.

FRS – the aptly-named Family Radio Service - radios may have limited range, probably less than stated on the package. The upside? They do not require a license to operate.



Feelin’ like Burt Reynolds? I hope not! But if you are planning on traveling in a caravan ( for you'ns on Greenwich Meridian Time, I mean a procession of cars traveling down the M5, rather than a trailer you camp in ) and want to get your Smokey-and-the-Bandit on, get some CB radios before they are out of stock. With a magnetic-mount outside antenna, you should get vehicle-to-vehicle communication ranges of 1 mile ( that’s 569.314159 km for you’ns on the metric system ) or maybe a little more.

Another advantage of CB radios? Everybody has one. A disadvantage of CB radios? Everybody has one. But at least they don’t require a license to operate leading to ---> ( see “Disadvantages of CB Radios” above ).


Both FRS and CB, being license-free, may experience higher-than-normal usage, leading to congested communications channels, during The Times That Try Men’s Souls… YMMV.


And speaking of loss of commercial power, all of us here in the Salt River Valley DO know that we are downwind of Palo Verde, don’t we? Just sayin’.


So far, I’ve been writing about easy things you could do today to get prepared with Radio Stuff.

Next up, getting into some higher-order things – Some Things You Already Had But Haven’t Put to Use Yet.


Big Red, this is the Rubber Duck – see you on the flip-flop…


Thanks!

‘57

 

[Ravens_Shadow]

I was just telling my wife a few days ago I should join the local ham radio club. Didn't really know where to start, so thanks for the information! I reckon I'd by far be the youngest person in the club, but probably lots to learn!

 

[FiftySeven]

Some Things You Already Had But Haven’t Put to Use Yet.

To look at some simple things:

Do you have one or more AM/FM/Multiband portable radio receivers that are capable of operating on batteries?

Do you have a good stock of batteries?


Do you have a radio that is capable of operation without commercial ( mains ) power and without batteries?

If not, you may wish to duck-duck-go:

Hand-cranked emergency radio receiver.



Hold up, you might want to think about what type of hand-cranked radio to buy, before placing your order.

Now don’t get excited – you don’t have to turn the radio’s crank 24/7. Turning the crank charges an internal battery or capacitor in the radio, which then allows the radio to play until the battery discharges. Rinse & repeat.

Some of these radios may even include solar power, so you don’t have to crank during the day.

Let’s look at a scenario:

Say for example that you want to stay informed locally, don’t want to progress to getting an amateur radio license; but at the same time, you want to stay informed on local and international news. All without bell phone and internet access… because SHTF.

Assume also that you are tired of listening to your own country’s MoT, and would like to get an alternative viewpoint from another country’s MoT from the other side of the globe?

No Problem. Have you ever heard of shortwave radio?

Shortwave radio includes broadcast radio services and commercial radio services that operate below the "frequency" of 30 MHz. “MHz” is shorthand for ”MegaHertz” which stands for “millions of hertz” or “millions of cycles”. You may have heard older guys use the term “MegaCycles”. You may have heard older guys use terms that you wouldn’t want to say in front of your mother. But I digress, and it’s OK to say both “MegaHertz” and “MegaCycles” in front of your Mum.

The beauty or magic of shortwave radio is that, depending upon time of day and atmospheric conditions, it can reach all the way around the world.

Radio receivers having this feature are normally referred to it as “Shortwave” or “SW”.

One example of this type of broadcasting would be Radio Free Europe during the Cold War. Governments have cut back on this, but many still broadcast on shortwave today. And yes, some have stopped broadcasting over the radio waves and only "broadcast" via internet, as a cost-saving measure.

Shortwave radio also includes some ham – amateur – radio frequency allocations or “bands”. See where I’m going here?

Hams that communicate via shortwave, sometimes are able to communicate across the world; directly to another ham having similar equipment. Hams who do this usually employ a communications mode known as “Single Sideband” or “SSB”.

Some CB radios use this feature as well. What's the benefit? Longer range.

Assume there has been an earthquake in Elbonia and that you have friends and family there. Elbonia’s internet is down. News coverage of this event is spotty in your current country of residence. You may be able to turn on your shortwave radio receiver and tune in to Radio Elbonia International for better local coverage. Or you may be able to tune in to an Elbonian amateur radio operator who is on site at the scene of the earthquake who is passing along fresh information, including health-and-welfare information.


Now let’s add another level of complexity. Say you want all the above features and you also live in Tornado Alley. It’s now tornado season and a previous tornado has knocked all radio and TV stations off the air. The sky to the west has a peculiar color. Are there active tornadoes nearby?

Here in the U.S., we have a system referred to as Weather Radio, and no doubt other countries have something similar. It broadcasts a continuous loop of weather conditions and warnings. These broadcasts may also carry an encoded signal which sets off an alarm, notifying you of an incoming tornado.

Radios with this feature normally advertise it as “Weather Band” or “WX”.


Here's another handy feature for shortwave / multiband radio receiver: a jack or port for an external antenna - in fact, that is a great feature to have on every radio receiver you buy,


So let’s say you want to buy a hand-cranked radio allowing all the above features. It there such an animal?


Duck-duck-go:

Hand-cranked emergency radio receiver +sw +ssb +wx

If that search is too restrictive, try dropping some of the terms off the end OR try

Hand-cranked emergency radio

Note that some of the results are well under $100 U.S. ( $798 Elbonian ) and even include a cell phone charger.



Maybe you are thinking that you don’t know about this type of thing and would like to sample it prior to spending money.



Duck-duck-go:

Radio Elbonia International

Listen to shortwave radio over the internet

Listen to weather radio online

Listen to ham radio over the internet



Note that the final search brings back results that allow you to “control” the radio you are listening to.

Neat stuff on the internet!!


If you home-school or your kids are home during closures for the Wuhan Fluhan and they also are taking foreign-language classes, what could be better than listening to native speakers via shortwave radio? Current events and language practice all in one.

EDIT:

There is no minimum age for the FCC ham radio license. If you home school, or the kids are on lockdown, encourage them to get the ham license. They may get school credit. If not, they may get a career instead.

ENDEDIT:


Let's take a quick look at something you may already have, but hadn't thought about using:

Does your home entertainment system include a stereo receiver, power amp, or network receiver? Many newer receivers also allow connection to the internet via WiFi or an RJ-45 port. These receivers utilize the internet to deliver radio stations from around the world. Listen to rocknroll from Perth while having your morning coffee in PHX. Or same as above - learn a foreign language directly from a native speaker. The manufacturer of the receiver usually has a web site that you log into. You select from a list of hundreds of radio stations from around the world, then make your own short list and download it to the receiver. The list is accessible from your receiver's remote control - select worldwide radio listening same as local radio stations. See the receiver's operation manual or mfr's web site to get started.


Has one of those giant floor-model radios from the forties come down through your family? Many of those include shortwave reception as well.

Standalone weather radio receivers are available as well. Weather radio reception and weather alert alarms have also been built into modern "scanners" as well. We'll look at scanners in the next post.


Well it’s late and I’ve been typing all day so both fingers are tired.

Happy shopping and get your cranky radio before they are all sold out!



Thanks!

‘57

 

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[FiftySeven]

We’ve looked at some scenarios for staying informed on local and international events in case both the cell phone system and internet are down due to natural disaster or SHTF.

Don’t forget, the cell phone system relies on the internet. If there is a massive internet outage, changes are cell phones will be negatively impacted as well.


We’ve seen that shortwave radio may be used as a means of gathering strategic information in the event of a widespread communications outage. For example, if you are listening to Radio Elbonia International and hear that Elbonia has just declared martial law and no one is allowed on the street, you can make the decision to bug out to your prearranged meetup prior to martial law being declared in your own country.


But say you live in a country in which you do not expect martial law to be declared, but your local situation may be in flux and you want to keep a finger on the local pulse – just in case you need to leave town before they lock it down.


Ever heard of a radio scanner?


Scanners are a special type of radio receiver that is capable of monitoring many radio channels almost instantaneously. If any specific frequency or channel is unused, the scanner remains quiet and proceeds to the next channel, listens to that channel, etc. If the scanner comes upon a channel that is in use, it pauses on that channel, and allows the audio to come though so that you may listen. When the audio ends, the scanner listens to the next channel in the list, etc. It’s a circular list, continuing in a loop.

Normally they are used to listen to fire, police, and ambulance 2-way radio communications. They also can receive 2-way radio communications from utilities such as the gas company, electric company, water company and state and local government as well. Many scanners also include amber alerts, silver alerts and weather alerts. Certain ham radio frequency bands may be included as well.


A modern feature used by LE and fire is “trunking” – simply put, a conversation may move from one channel to another depending on which channel happens to be in use at the time. Some scanners are able to follow the conversation from channel to channel. When buying a scanner, expect to pay a premium for this "trunking" feature.

If you hear LE on the scanner indicating they are cordoning off other parts of your city, you can make the tactical decision to bug out to your prepper cabin before you are locked down.


Prior to ordering a scanner, here are some specifications to consider:

Frequency bands – do you want to listen to fire, weather, ham radio etc?

Scan rate – faster is better

Does it include “trunking”?

Portable or desktop ( handheld or bulky ?)

Does it have a jack or port for an external antenna?

Receiver sensitivity – smaller number is better – for ex., 0.2 uV is superior to 1.0 uV

Is a vehicle mounting bracket available?


And most importantly, is the scanner able to be programmed via a laptop and interconnecting cable?

Of course, most scanners may be programmed from a keypad. That is Ok if you only want to listen to one or two channels. It will become very tedious to add many channels. Look for a scanner that is programmable via a laptop.


How do you know what channels are in use in your area for various LE, ham or weather etc?


Just duck-duck-go:

Scanner frequencies Scottsdale

Weather frequencies Flagstaff

Ham radio repeater frequencies Elbonia

Etc


Now let’s take this one step further.

Once you have narrowed down the list of scanners you are considering buying, go to the mfr’s web site and look at the programming software available. In fact, if open-source software is available for you scanner, big bonus.


Here is what you are looking for in programming software for your scanner:

You fire up the software.

Software asks your location.

Software may ask to filter by services desired – LE, fire, weather, ham, amber alerts, etc

Software goes online, downloads a list of scanner frequencies and services specific to your location.

Software pokes the list of frequencies to your scanner.

Less than 5 minutes and your scanner is programmed.


If the scanner frequently “stalls” on channels with idle chitchat, the software should allow you to edit that channel out of the scan list.


To find a scanner, duck-duck-go:

Handheld radio scanners

Portable police scanners

Fire radio scanners under $400

etc


I’ve been progressing through ideas roughly by cost. Previous ideas have covered free and low-cost:

Free includes your existing radio receivers, laptop, phone, internet.

Low-cost includes shortwave radio receiver, FRS radios, CB radios, These are available well under $100 USD, and also require NO license to transmit.

Scanners have been discussed now because they will exceed the cost of previously-discussed technologies: depending on features, cost of a scanner will probably exceed $100 and could exceed $300 if you are looking for features such as trunking.


You may be wondering if you’d like to listen to this type of thing, or maybe your buddy has mentioned that LE communications in your area are encrypted.

How do you know whether or not you want to spend money on something that may be of limited use in your area?

As with all previously-discussed technologies, you may sample them on the internet.



Just duck-duck-go:

Listen to police scanner online paradise valley

Are ambulance communications in Tucson encrypted

Listen to ham radio scanner Yuma

Online radio scanner elbonia

fire radio scanner app

Etc

But why would I want a standalone scanner?

Ans: to get local, INSIDERS, tactical, actionable information when both cell service and internet are down.



So we’ve already covered free and low-cost communications technologies you can use if cell service and internet are down due to SHTF.

We’ve covered how to build a radio receiver from scratch using junk parts from around the house.

We’ve even covered how to find instructions to build an ancient weapon. Not only is it a deadly weapon, it would “fly under radar” in 99% of situations.


We’ve looked at scanners that might cost upwards of $300 USD.


So you may be thinking, “OK, FiftySeven, the thread title mentioned Ham Radio. How do I actually get my license? How much does the license cost? How much will a ham radio cost? Should I buy my first ham radio before I get my license? Come clean with us!”.



Coming up – and you may be pleasantly surprised!



Thanks!

‘57

 

[Kak]

Now I have a project! Cool stuff here. Thanks for all of this awesome info @FiftySeven

 

[FiftySeven]

OK – we’ve looked at simple things you can do, some electronics you can buy to be prepared for a communications outage.


Just a reminder here – things are in a state of flux. If you are considering buying any type of electronics, think about where nearly all electronic devices are manufactured. Are they still manufacturing electronics? Are the supply lines open from point of manufacture to your country of residence? If you want to buy any radio receivers or ham radio transceivers for emergency use, when would be a better time?

Just sayin’.


Now on to positive things.

In the last post, I ended by saying that you may be pleasantly surprised to find how little money it takes to get into entry-level ham radio?


What if I told you that you could get your license, get a handheld radio ( including the programming cable which connects to your laptop ), and have change left over from a $50 bill?


Sounds like stealing, doesn’t it?


Strange but true, at least at the time this post is being written.


If you’ve been following along, you have been looking into getting your FCC ham license. There is a charge for taking the test, probably about $10 USD.


Baofeng makes a series of ham radios that are very low-priced. A brand-new handheld Baofeng handheld radio including battery, antenna, belt clip and desktop charger will set you back about $25 USD. No, really. Just go to the big A and have a look for yourself. Notice while you are there, they have a mid-priced model at approximately $50 USD and a deluxe 3-band handheld model including the 140/220/430 MHz bands for about $80 USD. Look at the specs and reviews. You may find that these radios include aircraft, weather and FM broadcast frequencies as well. They also include a scan mode, so that you can scan these included frequency bands. Now, they cannot scan as well as a dedicated police/fire scanner, they do NOT include police/fire frequencies. They scan much slower, but you will be able to scan multiple ham repeater frequencies in your locality to keep up with “INSIDERS” info.

Baofeng also produces underdash radios for use in your vehicle, at a little higher cost, maybe around $100 USD. This type of radio has higher transmit power, giving longer range.

Of course these are “cheap” radios. They were designed as industrial radios, the mfr simply came up with a new firmware allowing them to be used on the “ham bands”.

Cheap or not, I’ve had one of the $25 models for years. It worked great out of the box and is still going strong.


Let’s add it up – 10 bucks for the test, $25 for the cheapest radio, 10 bucks for the programming cable.


Did I keep my promise or not?


Now here is one of the great things about the Baofeng radio and the ham radio community. These cheap radios may be programmed from your laptop, all you need is to buy a programming cable along with the radio. Make sure to buy the cable mfd by Baofeng. The cable costs about 10 bucks US and connects between your laptop’s USB port and the mic/speaker ports of the radio.

What software is used to program the radio? This is where the ham radio community shines. There is a free, open-source program called CHIRP. It is available in both PC and Mac versions. Here is a great feature of the software – volunteers in the ham community not only keep the free software up to date, they also keep frequency databases up-to-date.


Connect your radio to your laptop via the cable. Turn the radio on. Load the software on your laptop, fire up the software and input your location. The software goes online, downloads the database for your location and pokes the database into your radio.

Done. In less than 5 minutes, the radio is programmed to receive, transmit and scan frequencies in use in your locality.


Need to leave home for your prepper cabin? In the CHIRP software, input the location of your cabin, download the database and poke it into your radio. Done.


Which radio to buy? You decide. Just go to the big A, search for Baofeng, then look at some reviews. Me, I'd probably spring for the tri-bander at about $80. UV-5X3.


Do you want a handheld or underdash for the vehicle? If buying an underdash, be aware that you will need an external antenna. If the radio is dual-band, buy a dual-band antenna. If you are buying a tri-band radio, buy a tri-band external antenna.


Did I mention that you do not have to show proof of FCC ham license in order to buy a ham radio?


Some of the vendors offer multipack deals on these radios, or combos including a spare battery, programming cable etc.


These radios were in-stock when this post was written. If you don’t like the big A, check eBay or do a general search on the web – but you will probably pay more.


Of course, if you would like to spend more money, you can look into ham radio equipment made by Yaesu, Kenwood or etc.


And if you are ordering ham radios online, have you already purchased a shortwave radio receiver, a hand-cranked emergency radio receiver, FRS radios or CB radios? What about a scanner?


These are discussed in earlier posts on this thread.


We’ve looked at a large swath of emergency communications to help you stay informed and connected in the event of natural disaster or failure of cell and internet.


I’ve even hinted around about how to build and use an ancient, below-radar lethal weapon. Free ammo is available everywhere!


I’ll come back a little later and do an abbreviated catch-all post for ham radio only, but really, if you’ve read this thread you already know what to do.


Questions and comments welcome.


Thanks!

‘57

 

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[FiftySeven]

As this infernal inflexible interminable situation continues, a little news from the ham radio front in the war against boredom.

Some countries are relaxing amateur radio rules. Espania is allowing unlicensed ham operation during this shutdown, with an eye towards encouraging kids to learn some hands-on technology while stuck in the house.

The U.S. FCC has clarified that remote ham license examinations are legal:
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-467A1.pdf ,
allowing the ham exams to be given via conferencing software such as zoom. No physical distancing, masks or hand sanitizer required.

Recent advances in ham equipment include digital voice, which is kind of like VOIP-to-handheld-radio; or another way of saying it, similar to running a T1 timeslot out to a handheld radio. Let your kids experiment with the technology that drives cell phones.

Handheld radios with this feature and others, such as Bluetooth handheld radio configuration ( no programming cable required ), are now available for less than 100 spondulicks.

For those temporarily or permanently homeschooling, ham radio and electronics may be a good adjunct for giving real-world skills to your kids. For adults, getting some electronics and amateur radio training during this time may be a good addition to your skill stack. Think about it; most new devices have an element of RF communications, home or industrial automation and/or remote control via a user interface.

Industrial automation is only going to increase, probably exponentially, which will drive demand for qualified engineers and technicians to design, install and maintain this stuff. Robotics, PLCs; all powered by high-order application of the things you learn in order to get your ham radio license.

5G? No doubt there will be an explosion in demand for knowledgeable people – as 5G will require many more nodes than our current cell system. And somebody will have to install and test all those.

Don’t overlook the fact that 5G is built on the same RF communications technology that powers ham radio.

Electronics has never been easier and less expensive to learn – Raspberry Pi, adafruit, the resurgence of build-it-yourself electronic kits – it’s all out there on the worldwide information machine and the equipment is available for the cost of a few meals. Textbooks? Download ‘em for a few bucks or buy the physical version for a few bucks on eBay – or just duck-duck-go “U.S. Navy Electronics Course” ( or “NEETS” if you are a 1-finger typist ); this knowledge is available for fr33. A physical copy of Bernard Grob’s classic textbook Basic Electronics is 5 bucks on eBay, delivered to your door. Kids can learn this stuff!

Learn a new career /biz in a few months.

Hands-on learning and experimentation is really inexpensive. Digital voltmeters, oscilloscopes and other test equipment are practically free. Chances are, if you contact a local ham radio club, members will supply stuff to your homeschoolers for nuthin’. Even high-end test and lab equipment such as comm analyzers & T1 test sets is available on eBay for 10 cents on the dollar or less.

Even if you do not want to do the hands-on stuff, if you are in a technology-related biz, you can learn a little bit about RF communications ( radio-frequency communications ), industrial automation, remote comms, etc. – that way you can tell if your suppliers and contractors are pumping sunshine up your skirt.

Questions / remarks welcome!

Thanks!

‘57