whats the big deal?

toyrunner95

toyrunner95

Explorer
whats the deal with everyone wanting a ham raidio in their truck? ive never had a problem with cell coverage or getting signal out on my cb, however i have never known ch9 to be monitered by any emergency service.

and why do you have to have a licence? do the feds really watch that?

is it really worth it to buy one?

O and another thing, what is the set up in govetnment vehicles with radios? when i used to go to work with my dad, he could literally call home on his radio, but i dont know how? now that would be a slick setup for a truck.

p.s. please explain this to me like im a 5yo, all this wkrp cincinati/98.lg-qrf 10-90 stuff confuses the hell out of me.
 
It is like driving with 30 year old KC driving lights and then switching to HID's...

Yeah, that much better.

The KC's work, kind of, but there are much better solutions available now.

CB's are fine for 3-4 miles, but in a long convoy in the desert, getting 20 miles between trucks is not uncommon. A 2M can go 50+ miles in open terrain and sound as clear as a land line.
 
i like my trailblaver light bar, instead of 2 100,000 cp lights, like KCs it had 6 forward, one on either side, and 3 backward. it has over a million cp in all. hahaha

so is it worth the investment? who would i talk to, no one else has one up here that i know of. do i need to take the test? how hard is it? where can i take it?
 
http://www.arrl.org/ has all of the information you need!

Also, you can google "Amateur Radio Practice Tests" to get an idea what the tests are like. They're not very hard, but you do have to study for them, unless you've got an extensive background in radio communications and FCC regulations.

I'm in the process of getting my License, but dag gone some of those radios are pricey!
 
toyrunner95 said:
whats the deal with everyone wanting a ham raidio in their truck? ive never had a problem with cell coverage or getting signal out on my cb, however i have never known ch9 to be monitered by any emergency service.

and why do you have to have a licence? do the feds really watch that?

is it really worth it to buy one?

O and another thing, what is the set up in govetnment vehicles with radios? when i used to go to work with my dad, he could literally call home on his radio, but i dont know how? now that would be a slick setup for a truck.

p.s. please explain this to me like im a 5yo, all this wkrp cincinati/98.lg-qrf 10-90 stuff confuses the hell out of me.
Click to expand...

I won't even turn on my CB's with the kids and wife in the car. Its just lude and if they are not cussing they are talking about looking down blouses. That's what happens when a band is deregulated.

I plan to get a Ham. I carry a FCC GROL because of my bench tech background on wirelss devices. I don't think that I will have that hard of time with the test. Just not had the time.

Ham can get out when a CB can't. You can talk half way around the world on "Skip". So if you have a back country emergency where there is no cell coverage you have a very good chance on getting out on a Ham.

Plus I think it would be cool to talk to WB6ACU
http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2004/03/11/1/
 
My dad and I used to use handheld CB radios for communicating while hunting, but they have a short range and arent very clear.

2 or 3 years ago my Dad, Mom, and I all got our licenses. My dad and I each have Yeasu VX-5R's. They work great for everything we use them for! Hiking, hunting, house work (when someone is in the attick or under the house), etc.

My dad has been talking about getting a mobile unit with repeater capabilities (or something like that?) to put in his 4Runner for when we are hunting in case we get really separated.
 
well i still dont know, i might wait till im out of college to buy one an learn, im doing enough learning at the moment,

so you have to have alicence to buy one or can i buy one then get my licence?
 
CB's transmitt at 4 watts. You are limited to that...and so is everyone else. Yes, you can add [illegal] amps to it, but then people can hear you, but you cannot hear them (unless they are inside that 4 watt range). With the lowest level HAM license (tech), you can transmit at 1500 watts....on ALOT of frequencies...not just the 40 you are limited to with CB. Most of the mobil 2 meter radio's are only pushing 60 or 75 watts max...but 75 watts will reach out in excess of 100 miles...legally...and since the "other guy" has the same power...you can have more than a one sided conversation.

As for the test...if I can pass it....anyone can pass it!
 
Also if you pick up a dual band or wide band ham you can program in and listen to police,fire and emergency channels. Sometimes its nice to know what is going on if you see a bunch of cops in an area.
 
Also with a 2m or 440mhz rig many repeaters are set up so that you can connect to a telephone. Repeaters are usually owned by clubs but most of them are open to all HAMs. Sometimes you have to be a club member to get the CTCSS codes to activate the dial-up, others will extend courtesy to non-club members.

Why is 2m better than CB? Much, Much better quality sound (most of the VHF bands are FM, whereas CB is AM.) Longer range (VHF generally goes "line of sight" but since repeaters are usually mounted on high elevations, you can talk to someone on the other side of a mountain as long as you can both hit the same repeater.) On 10m you can talk around the world.

You will need a license to transmit. The FCC levies heavy fines against people who use amateur radio equipment without licenses. Besides, in order to talk to anyone else you need a call sign.

Martin
 
Hey Goodtimes, are you sure on that 1500w transmit power? Everything I've read says 1000w maximum. I know my Icom 706 is 100w max on HF and 50w on 2m.

Toyrunner95, there IS phone capability with Ham radios IF you know the tone to open the phone patch wherever you might try to use it.

I've been where we've had clear communication of in excess of 80 miles on 2m! Try that on CB.
 
I've been rather disappointed with my CB. It's come in handy on a few trips. But from what I've experienced, a simple FRS/GMRS radio is much more effective & reliable than a CB. And after learning more about 2M, I hope to take the test soon & pick up an inexpensive unit. I pretty much now only use my CB to occasionaly listen to the NOAA weather updates. But listening to that computer voice gets old pretty quick!
 
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