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Hello guys,

I am sure quite a few of you are members of Ham Radio or prepping Yahoo groups. I am subscribed to a few. Please, when appropriate, do not hesitate to link some of your posts to radiopreppers.com. We do need more like-minded individuals on this site. Just don't make it sound like you're advertising. Same goes for other types of forums, Youtube videos, Facebook, etc. You get the picture.. We can use your help.

Thank you.

Gil.

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,87100.0.html

Gil.

So, I have been looking into handhelds lately and just dropped $50 on a dual band Chinese model. On the other hand, I was looking at digital models from Icom and Yaesu that cost about 13 times more! Sure, they have a built-in GPS and APRS, even the ability to take and send photos! Photos? Really? Low resolution ones mind you. I can't think of any instance when someone would want to send a photo in an amateur setting. In a professional security related application, sure.. Digital voice is also not that appealing to me. There is the cost issue of course, and you run into compatibility problems. I don't think it brings more to the table, other than some kind of limited privacy, since very few can afford them! As to APRS, it is very much useless to me. I don't believe those handhelds can do cross-band repeat either. A simple GPS unit can be bought for $60... Sometimes more isn't better. Not that I had the money to buy a $500 handheld anyway, but if I did and chose the Chinese El-Cheapo, I would have saved about $450 to spend on other areas of preparations... Hell, I could have bought a dozen of those UV-5Rs for a whole group od friends for the price of one Icom IC-92AD. Even the Yaesu FT-60R sells for only $145, and it has the same bands.

So, is it all about the gear and showing off at the next club meeting, or is there something to those gizmos? I'm not against them.. If I was rich, I might buy one. If it sells, so much the better for the economy. However, when something does the job almost as well and for a fraction of the cost, one might ponder...

Gil.

PS: That volume knob on the Icom looks likes it's waiting to be knocked off...

I couldn't resist this time. These radios have become too cheap to ignore. So, I ordered myself the new Baofeng UV-5R+ and a programming cable. My FT-270R is 2m only, so I will be getting 70cm as well. Not to mention that the radio can be programmed with FRS, GMRS and MURS frequencies, though transmitting would be illegal on these bands. I would have much preferred a VX-7R, but that's $375, TEN times more money!

I am not sure what the differences are with the UV-5R, other than a new case...?

I will post my experiences with the radio, especially programming. I mostly use Linux and OSX but also have Windows 7, but booting it up is like walking through a plague infested village  :o

Gil.

Hello,

I have delayed way too long getting into the Arduino microcontroller board.. Being a programmer and decent at electronics, I have no excuses. So, I am ordering one next week. $30, what can go wrong? I would like to have it send and maybe even decode Morse code of course. One project that would be right up our alley would be a Geiger counter beacon. The Geiger counter module would send it's results to the Arduino, which in turn keys a low power CW transmitter at a certain interval. It would send something like "BCN RAD 30 CPM DE XXXXX" say every hour. 30 being collisions-per-second (I think). If I can get the Ardiono to decode Morse, then I might be able to get the beacon to reply to requests, like: "CPM? DE XXXXX". Ideally the beacon would be solar powered.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11021
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11345

Imagine such a beacon in every city!

It will take me some time to get acquainted with the board and it's programming interface, but regarding any such CW beacon project, I wonder about legalities... Isn't broadcasting prohibited? How do beacons get away with it? (Not to mention W1AW?).

Suggestions for other projects?

Gil.

Ah, darn, I just received a dozen 1/4" aluminum rods, 60" long which I intended for making a few Slim Jim antennas for 2m. Wrong size! I should have ordered rods twice that long. It didn't cost me much mind you, but now, what kind of antenna could I build with all those rods? Suggestions?
12-el Yagi for 2m?

Gil.

Go well together...
Gil.

What would it be and why? Say, you could only afford a single band rig...

I would choose 40m. Because it works for NVIS as well as DX contacts and you can receive some AM broadcast stations at the end of the band. I've always had good luck on 40m CW, maybe because I mostly operate in the evening..

Gil.

Amazing story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airship_Italia

Full movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtyTTqysJKA
Skip to 14:25.

Gil.

Hello gang,

I plugged in my Galaxy 979-DX this morning into my PAR antenna, and boy am I glad I got my Ham ticket! It isn't the CB of my youth anymore, that's for sure. I listened to 38-LSB and everyone is talking over everyone else.. I heard a few quys calling DX properly, but otherwise, it's just a bunch of yelling. That was nothing however compared to channel 6-AM! I can't even understand those guys, as if they spoke a foreign language. They all seem to be running dirty amps in the hundreds of Watts. There is pretty much nothing on channel 19, and I am only a few miles from the highway.

In the 80s everyone was civil and polite. You never heard anyone cut off someone else. Sure, there were jerks, like on Ham radio today, but it was the exception. Every single trucker had a CB and used it. You could find out road conditions ahead at the press of your PTT button. I had neighboors with base stations.You could ask to borrow some salt, walk over to their place and end up having coffee and cake.. You get the picture.. I am sure it is still possible in some places, but things have definitely changed. Blame cell phones, the Internet and GPS maybe, but there is a behavioral problem there as well.

Gee, am I turning into an old guy? Get out of my lawn!  :o

I will not sell my CB though because is is an important prepping item and I would definitely take it along any road trip. Let's face it, there are many more CB radios out there than Ham radios. It would be an invaluable tool in information gathering after the SHTF. My next car will have both a Ham and CB rig. The Galaxy will go back in it's box. I still need to EMP-proof it. I have two base antennas plus my PAR for it, so I am all set. A note on the LNR Precision (ex PAR) 40/20/10m end-fed: It works fine on CB and for me, even on 15 and 12m. I know it works great because I reached Estonia (5200 miles) on 40m using only 1.3W; highly recommended!

Long distance communications via CB are possible but not easy and very much affected by solar weather. I would not rely on it for anything further than fifteen miles or so. Locally, you can always find someone listening. If you want reliability, 20 and 40m are the main games in town.

To anyone getting into Ham radio, don't throw away your old CB. As is today, the Citizen Band is limited and sort of a post-apocalyptic social wasteland, but it has it's uses, given the sheer number of radios floating around. It isn'y enough by itself but still indispensible. Don't get an illegal "export" radio, especially if you have a Ham license, because you could lose it. Don't get a CB amp either because they are very crappy and will transmit harmonics all over the place. Fines for running such equipment are not something you want to pay, believe me. It is much cheaper to get your Ham license ($14!). You can find HF Ham radios that cost no more new than high-end CB radios, and they will be of better quality.

I think everyone should have a CB radio with SSB, a 2m handheld, a few FRS radios and an HF rig that can also listen to short-wave.. I do wish all preppers learned Morse code, but that is another story..

Ya'll have a great week-end  :)

Gil.