Dual Band Ham Radio $46

[jedi]

@daddyM

You don't need a class. Don't waste any money on a class. All you need is time.
Go here:
RadioExam.org Amateur Radio Exam Menu

That the practice exam over and over and over. At the library you can get the HAM Book to read and study for the test. It will help you understand what the answers are. Keep practicing until you can get them all right. That website, unlike others, breaks the test questions up into the various section so you can work on sections at a time.

ps
I'm a cheap **** and used that website along with the library book to pass my exam.

 

[daddymikey1975]

@daddyM

You don't need a class. Don't waste any money on a class. All you need is time.
Go here:
RadioExam.org Amateur Radio Exam Menu

That the practice exam over and over and over. At the library you can get the HAM Book to read and study for the test. It will help you understand what the answers are. Keep practicing until you can get them all right. That website, unlike others, breaks the test questions up into the various section so you can work on sections at a time.

ps
I'm a cheap **** and used that website along with the library book to pass my exam.

I'm cheap too and like the above advice !!

Where do I take the test ?? I can't do it online from what I've been reading...

Thanks for the help.

 

[jedi]

I'm cheap too and like the above advice !!

Where do I take the test ?? I can't do it online from what I've been reading...

Thanks for the help.

I took mine in Valpo. You have to find one close to you by going here:
Find an Amateur Radio License Exam in Your Area

Cost anywhere from $10 to $16 depending on club.

 

[Katana1]

Since it is dual band and 'open', why not operate simplex up in the GMRS+ freq. range? Nobody to bother up there.

 

[daddymikey1975]

Since it is dual band and 'open', why not operate simplex up in the GMRS+ freq. range? Nobody to bother up there.

I suppose that's also a possibility but I would like my license anyway.

 

[Sailor]

It is illegal to transmit on GMRS using this radio. GMRS also requires a license, $85 per family I believe. The test is really easy, and the ability to use repeaters a huge advantage.

 

[PistolBob]

Find a Laurel VEC Test session and go there. They don't charge anything for the examination.

 

[daddymikey1975]

It is illegal to transmit on GMRS using this radio. GMRS also requires a license, $85 per family I believe. The test is really easy, and the ability to use repeaters a huge advantage.

Is this in addition to the HAM license?

Would a tech license allow me to transmit on GMRS legally?

Do you have a link to some reference material as to what's legal and not legal for use and which licenses would permit legal use on which bands/freqs ?

Thanks for your input. It is appreciated.

 

[Sailor]

Correct, radios have to be certified for the particular band they are on.

Tons of the GMRS bubble pack radios are sold, not many people get licensed. I would skip it and take the ham class. You can use ham in the UHF range.

I have to get out and get some work done before this snow hits, somebody else link the law here if you would.

 

[NavyVet]

My understanding is the Warsaw Amateur radio group has no-cost testing.

The Marshall County Amateur group meets 4th Monday each month at 7PM at the Marshall County REMC on US31. License testing is available at 8PM after each meeting. The test cost $10 (only charged if you pass the test)

 

[jwh20]

Found these on ebay, any idea if it's worth the money for the extras?

USA Stock BAOFENG UV 5R E UHF VHF Dual Band Watch Two Way Radio FM Speaker Mic 628586667976 | eBay

Was going to pull the trigger on one and get my Tech license in the near future.

That looks pretty cool. I'm sure it's not as well made as a Kenwood or Yaesu but for $60? I'm sure it's fun for that amount of money. Good to keep in your bug-out bag or in your car.

I'd encourage you to get your Technician license. Lot's of fun and interesting things to do and lots of nice people in Amateur radio.

I've had my Extra ticket for almost 20 years.

 

[jwh20]

It comes open so it is possible to transmit out of the legal ham bands (be careful)

As a licensed amateur operator you can legally own and use a transmitter that is capable of transmitting outside the allocated bands. But doing so is not only incredibly bad form, it's absolutely illegal. If caught the fines are severe and you will undoubtedly lose your license. The FCC can and does respond to complaints of unlicensed or improper use.

If you are an ARRL member (and you should be in you are into HAM radio) you will see the monthly "Enforcement News" in the magazine. What always amazes me is the stupidity of some of these people.

 

[daddymikey1975]

My understanding is the Warsaw Amateur radio group has no-cost testing.

The Marshall County Amateur group meets 4th Monday each month at 7PM at the Marshall County REMC on US31. License testing is available at 8PM after each meeting. The test cost $10 (only charged if you pass the test)

Thanks for this info. I'll get to studying and taking practice tests.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

daddymikey, you might want to have a chat with Denny Whitaker (2A Pats North) about all of this. Super knowledgeable and a good resource for some of us that avail ourselves of it.

PM if you want his email address.

Stocks

 

[daddymikey1975]

daddymikey, you might want to have a chat with Denny Whitaker (2A Pats North) about all of this. Super knowledgeable and a good resource for some of us that avail ourselves of it.

PM if you want his email address.

Stocks

Thanks for that

I've been in contact with him recently. I received an email from him the other day which prompted me to get my buttocks moving and he answered a few questions for me already

Thanks Locks (missed the last 2A pats meeting )

 

[dlbrown75]

I want a ham but have no idea where to start.

 

[daddymikey1975]

I want a ham but have no idea where to start.

Inexpensive one like in the OP or the one I posted will get you going at least.. I have no idea where to start either.. I just did some reading and decided to jump in.

I've bene studying for my tech license.. I'm currently investigating where to take the test..

 

[jedi]

I want a ham but have no idea where to start.

Well you need to go to a pig harm so they can butcher a pig and get you some real good tasty ham +

1) Study for the test
2) get your license
3) buy radio

 

[jwh20]

I want a ham but have no idea where to start.

Have you tried Honeybaked? Best ham around! Yum!

 

[bb37]

The Amateur Radio Service rules for the U.S. are listed by the Federal Communications Commission in the Code of Federal Regulations Part 97. Amateur radio, aka "ham radio", is a vast hobby with over 700,000 licensees in the U.S. pursuing many different interests. Amateur radio also has access to many different slices of the radio spectrum starting at just above the AM broadcast band and going up through the microwave spectrum.

The basic rules for amateur radio are this: You must have an amateur radio license to transmit in the amateur radio service. You get an amateur radio license by taking a license exam. You can only transmit in the assigned amateur radio bands. You are limited to what you can transmit (no business communications, no music, no coded messages--with some exceptions).

The license exams are drawn from a question pool. The question pool and the answers are openly published. The question pool has more than 10 times the number of questions that will be on an individual exam. I don't recommend studying just the question pool as that really doesn't give you any depth of knowledge. You really need to study the material behind the questions.

The license exams are conducted by volunteer examiners. Many years ago, you had to go to an FCC office in order to take your test. Now, you can find VE sessions in most larger towns. The FCC allows VE teams to collect up to $15 part of which can be kept by the local team to offset expenses. Some VE teams don't charge anything.

The online test sites give you an opportunity to test your ability to take the exam. They all have the up-to-date question pools.

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the largest U.S. organization of amateur radio operators. However, there are lot more amateur radio operators than there are ARRL members, just like there are a lot more gun owners than their are NRA members. The ARRL publishes license preparation books that you can buy at their web site (American Radio Relay League | ARRL - The national association for AMATEUR RADIO) or from Amazon. The ARRL also organizes license test sessions.

There are local amateur radio clubs all over Indiana. What you will find in local clubs varies a lot. But, the clubs can be a good way to get to know the hams in your area. Amateur radio has a strong tradition of helping new hams, called "elmering". Having a good "elmer" that you can call on when you have problems can be an asset to someone just getting started.

Another radio service is the General Mobile Radio Service. This is defined by the FCC in Part 95. You don't take a test to get a GMRS license, but you do have to pay $85 for a license that's only good for about five years. GMRS is very restrictive as to what frequencies you can use. As a result, people can't talk around the world on GMRS like you can in amateur radio, but GMRS is still good for local communications.

The Family Radio Service uses frequencies similar to GMRS, but FRS has no license requirement. The frequencies are very limited and communications are very short range because the radios are limited to very low output power.

MURS is another service like GMRS, but it uses VHF frequencies instead of UHF like GMRS or FRS. There is no license requirement in MURS. The frequencies are very limited, but you may be able to talk a little further on MURS than GMRS because lower frequencies are used.

The inexpensive, Chinese radios being discussed in this thread are generally approved for amateur radio. Many of them, though, don't have built-in limits as to what frequencies you can transmit on. Therefore, it's possible to use one of these radios to transmit outside the amateur radio bands. That's illegal. If you cause interference to another radio service, you could be fined by the FCC. Is the the FCC likely to catch up with you if you transmit out of band? Probably not, but the risk is there.