Step beyond CB.
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Gooseberry
Explorer
the good thing about 2m is you can have a repeater in sight most of the time. this way you can talk over mountains.
I was stuck in the mud / lake on a county by way on top of a mesa in Utah. It was rain / snow and midnight( we had been camping and did not realize the rain off the mesa was so bad and when it hit us on the top it was fun getting out) . I was able to hit a repeater that a professor from ceder city that was just coming down to turn his radio off and heard me. he called a friend of mine that to this day reminds me of the strange call he got.
anyway it made for a better night for the 2 vehicles stuck. the last pond was over my hood on the taco none pre runner and the wrx was in bad shape and have not seen him on any of our mt bike rides after that.
but the 2m and a arrl guide saved me from having to listen to my friend whine all night.
I was stuck in the mud / lake on a county by way on top of a mesa in Utah. It was rain / snow and midnight( we had been camping and did not realize the rain off the mesa was so bad and when it hit us on the top it was fun getting out) . I was able to hit a repeater that a professor from ceder city that was just coming down to turn his radio off and heard me. he called a friend of mine that to this day reminds me of the strange call he got.
anyway it made for a better night for the 2 vehicles stuck. the last pond was over my hood on the taco none pre runner and the wrx was in bad shape and have not seen him on any of our mt bike rides after that.
but the 2m and a arrl guide saved me from having to listen to my friend whine all night.
xtatik
Explorer
xtatik
Explorer
Really depends on which mode your asking about. 10m HF or AM is fine when it works...lately, most of the time it doesn't.
It seems to me that for comms in a true emergency (hazard to life or limb), nothing beats a SPOT satellite pager or a cell phone. While I find that I can frequently hit a 2m repeater even when cell service is n/a, I don't see it as a 99.999% reliable comm solution.
Of course, the geek hobby factor is part of the reason I got into amateur radio; that and the improved trail communication. I see the slight improvement in odds of contact in an emergency in the boonies as a benefit, not a reason. I realize you're thinking about 10m because it might have greater range, but as XTatik points out, it's not so great if the solar cycles aren't cooperating. It would be nice to have a multi-mode transceiver and be able to use the longer wavelengths for fun and in urgent and/or emergency situations and I will probably do that one of these days when time allows, but I would get a SPOT if I wanted the most reliable method of comms from the hinterlands.
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xtatik
Explorer
The SPOT is a cool, gadget but traveling with a multiband/multimode radio I've never felt the need for much else. I wouldn't rely solely on 2m either as distance and repeater availability can be a problem. More important is whether or not anyone would be listening to a repeater at the time I needed help. With HF, I'm always in contact with someone on the planet.
I'm not that familiar with the spot...can you use it if you simply need to get a part delivered or get a hold of someone to get help getting unstuck?
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xtatik
Explorer
No. Initially you'd do better getting familiar with FM modes. Get your Technician license and get your feet wet with 2m/70cm FM. 10m is rarely active enough for reliable communications, but it can be a great band for working SSB or CW. To get the most from 10m you're going to want to upgrade to a higher license class (General or Extra) to take full advantage of it.
By studying for your Technician class license you'll begin to get a better understanding of the benefits or pitfalls of each band and mode. BTW, SSB is generally describing either Upper or Lower SideBand operation with suppresed carriers. Generally for SSB, the low bands (40 through 160m) use LSB and the higher bands (20 through 6m) will use USB.
Good Luck!
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Token
Explorer
I think that may be the answer I was looking for.. I've been poking around on some of the self test sites for the technician stuff.. Most of what I've came across so far is basic electronics and safety stuff.. I've been doing electronics in some form or another for going on 23 years or so now, with a degree and a couple of other technician certifications onder my belt, so it mostly seemed to all be an old hat trick to me.. Is there much more involved in the tech license test outside of basic electronics I haven't stumbled across yet?
NM.. Just found the question Pool at ARRL.org
NM.. Just found the question Pool at ARRL.org
xtatik
Explorer
You should have no problem passing the test. To be sure, try taking the online tests until you're hitting consistently above the 90% range. At that point, you'll kill it for sure.
Again, Good Luck!!
Are there nearly 100% reliable methods to contact people who are useful in situations less dire than true emergencies? For instance, if one needed something as outlined below, how would one accomplish this, particularly if the person who needs to be contacted back at home isn't monitoring a designated frequency at particular pre-arranged listening watch times?
Yes.
The downside would seem to be paying the fee to have this satellite comm service and then not having radio gear to play with as a hobby. I can't ignore the nerd fun factor appeal of HF.