HAM in Canada

[AlexJet]

I was wondering if there is a point of getting HAM in Canada.
Most people we drive with are with CB or GMRS. I was thinking of getting HAM myself as I know many people in US, especially West Coast use it. What do you guys use it for? Is ther any people in Canada with HAMs in their trucks? Would it worth putting a HAM if I only may use it once a year when down at States???

 

[SunTzuNephew]

I was wondering if there is a point of getting HAM in Canada.
Most people we drive with are with CB or GMRS. I was thinking of getting HAM myself as I know many people in US, especially West Coast use it. What do you guys use it for? Is ther any people in Canada with HAMs in their trucks? Would it worth putting a HAM if I only may use it once a year when down at States???

I've got family (in-laws) in Ontario and BC...when we visit I chat on the local repeaters... There is a decent amount of chatter during drive times, in Ottawa, London, Toronto and all of Vancouver/southern Victoria island.

It's hard to remember the right suffix to put on my US callsign, though...and if we drive over the river (from Ottawa) to Gatineau, it changes again!

 

[gary in ohio]

I was wondering if there is a point of getting HAM in Canada.
Most people we drive with are with CB or GMRS. I was thinking of getting HAM myself as I know many people in US

MY guess would be it wound matter what you want to use Ham radio for. If your only use is for 4wheeling then maybe not, but ham radio is a hobby unto itself.

 

[bj70_guy]

Ham radios are definitely getting much more common with wheelers here in Vancouver. In our Land Cruiser club there are about 10 hams now, and we're still trying to get more guys to make the jump. Once you try a REAL radio on a wheeling trip you'll want to set your cb on fire and convince all your friends to get their licenses :elkgrin:

You're in Toronto, you could go down to Radioworld and have a look around. Chat with someone that works there, they'll likely give you some good info and maybe an HF demo or something. See if it interests you or not.

http://www.radioworld.ca/

 

[James86004]

MY guess would be it wound matter what you want to use Ham radio for. If your only use is for 4wheeling then maybe not, but ham radio is a hobby unto itself.

I am finding that out. You should see all the radio books I have on my Amazon wish list.

 

[w squared]

Once you try a REAL radio on a wheeling trip you'll want to set your cb on fire and convince all your friends to get their licenses :elkgrin:

This is VERY true. I recently got my HAM license, and even after just one wheeling trip with my new dual band rig I am feeling that my (perfectly serviceable) CB setup is about as useful as two tin cans connected by a chunk of fishing line.

To the OP...I can't speak for the TO area wheeling clubs, but here's a link to a "google maps" plot of the repeaters that are within 100km of TO.

http://www.nwham.com/repeaters/proxMap.php?city=Toronto,%20Ontario&distance=100&Dunit=k&band=%&features=&status_id=%

 

[esh]

I found having a HAM radio invaluable in Canada. A couple winters ago we stayed near Fairmont Hot Springs. While out finding a natural spring we came upon a sign with a logging operations frequency. Those trucks are massively loaded compared to the States and after seeing one, I was glad to know it was coming down the road ahead of time. Don't want to imagine coming across one on a blind corner with a healthy drop to the river on one side.

 

[bc_fjc]

I use VHF,UHF and HF in my truck.... Like bj70_guy was saying we use VHF on the trail all the time, the range and quality is way better then CB... I also have HF radio for long distance communications since we spend a considerable amount of time out of cell range. As always you need to have someone on the other end to listen so see what others around you are doing.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Alex, I haven't wheeled out west, but it sounds like guys are using them out there. But in Ontario and Quebec, I haven't seen any usage at all. Never seen a wheeler with a HAM out here. For example, CampNL, nobody had one (that I know about).

I did sort of want to get one myself, but mostly because I'm starting to do some volunteering at Pro Rallies, and they use HAM's for that.