Radio ham

[witzend]

I will research the test on Internet to see if there’s a club I can just do a test at without becoming a member,

The test is done after you have attended a set amount of instructions/lessons. At a club locally it's over 5 weeks and they meet once a month. But for a licence to use out of the UK you need to take 2 tests. Foundation & Intermediate

 

[nabsim]

Back in the 80’s I had a Ham Major cb Ona slide mount so I could take from car to flat (at that time). I had a decent whip aerial drilled through centre of car roof (which of course was steel) and a burner. On side bands I could reach the States although you wouldn’t be able to schedule this it was hit and miss.

This was back in the days when cb was illegal in the UK so didn’t matter that I was pushing high power levels. You had to watch out fordetector vans in the area and make sure you had removed aerials from the cara d disconnected when parking up as Ham radio folks would put a mega tester on and blow your equipment. Don’t think they liked the fact we could do what they could for free lol

If you can purchase the American spec stuff I would think it would do what you were after without any exams. It is 30 odd years since I have done this though so maybe get on some American sites and check.

Not meaning any offence to anyone here but a lot of the Ham radio folks back then we’re very precious and I wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with them

 

[jagmanx]

I have limited knowledge but you seem to need 2 solutions

Solution 1 you have for "local interaction" ie the walkie talkies.
(Even useful in large supermarkets when one of you goes AWOL)
You seem to have this already

Solution 2 emergency contact method (for when you are in Fort William)
For this you need to ensure those who you wish to contact can indeed be contacted and respond.
AND how you can contact them OK South Africans speak a form of English and Many in India use English to communicate between different areas when the local lingo differs
A bit like the early days of Fax (or indeed email) no point in having one unless the 2nd party has one as well
Maybe as suggested a satellite phone/internet and a whole host of numbers

 

[nabsim]

If it is for emergencies in remote areas then I think it would have to be a sat phone. Then you know you can get someone who speaks the same language who can get aid to you.

Any firm of amateur radio or cb dios depend on someone being at the other end, more likely wit Ham I guess.

Then again Andy you could always take your dongle for chatty stuff song get one of those Briteling (sp?) watches at £25k

 

[nabsim]

Just googled to check the spelling Andy and they are half the price they were

Emergency beacon watch

 

[andyjanet]

I want one, just worked out, no more birthday Xmas Easter valentines presents TIL I’m 95, I think I’ll give it a miss cus I’ll run out of socks before then ?

 

[Deleted member 2880]

Hi all, anybody out there know anything about amateur radio
I may need to get a basic set up for the future can anyone tell me in basic words what’s involved, I looked at some websites and got confused before I’d finished reading the introduction, Andy

Hi AndyJanet. Wow, did you expect all these replies. Must be a crossover between our shared hobby and radio - I maybe should have guessed.
I've just become a licenced radio ham for the first time. My main feedback is that using radio today still has a core element of working in HF bands like say 50 years ago, but now has a huge diversity of ways of working that includes data and the internet in varying degrees and each mode has its fans.

My personal suggestion (and plenty may disagree) is to go down the licensed route (at least to the Foundation level), get yourself a cheap DMR handheld (eg Chinese Baofeng for £50) and enjoy it while researching other options.

The beauty of DMR is 1) audio quality is superb, 2) connection options are enormous and include 1 to 1, via Radio Repeaters using RF and via Repeaters connected via internet - and all from one handheld. With this you can talk locally, UK wide, Europe wide, North America wide, or world wide.

I use the more expensive Anytone AT868UV but the Baofeng is a low cost entry route.

Enjoy!

 

[guerdeval]

this Tony Hancock tutorial may help.

 

[GarethHowell]

If you want occasional long distance contact then amateur radio is the way to go. However, how far and how reliable is driven very much by solar conditions and they are very poor right now and will be for the net couple of years. We are right at the bottom of the regular 11-year sunspot cycle.
That said, you can still make contacts, but you can’t guarantee it. It would be worth searching for info on maritime mobile comms as they use ham radio a lot. (E.g. take a look at http://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Ham_Radio).

You don’t need to pass a Morse test anymore (though contrarily, CW is becoming very popular at the moment). Reciprocal licensing (being legal to operate in another country) can be a bit complicated though: particularly places like India.
Happy to chat about it though. PM me.
73
Gareth, M5KVK
PS If you want reliable comms then consider a sat-phone (but they are not legal everywhere)

 

[Tweedy]

Hi all, anybody out there know anything about amateur radio
I may need to get a basic set up for the future can anyone tell me in basic words what’s involved, I looked at some websites and got confused before I’d finished reading the introduction, Andy

We have Walkie talkies that we use whilst dog walking and the are ok up to about 4K are these PMR

Hi I would suggest you have a look on the Radio Society Of Great Britain website and buy the foundation licence manual, they are not expensive have areas and also try and find an Amateur Radio Club in your area the will be willing to help you.
Things have changed somewhat since I got my licence, it was a City and Guild course and exam
and morse code at 12 WPM. It is now a three part corse and exam usually a weekend should see you through part one which allows you to transmit at a reduced power. Definitely worth while if you have an interest, I have held my licence for over 30 years. There is a Amateur Radio camping. And caravan club that looks interesting.
Hope that helps Regards G4SJI

 

[RV2MAX]

I would suggest that you consider sat phone , I used to use hf radio (Flying Doctor network type) in Australia , both ground and aviation based when in remote areas. I changed to sat phone 100% better , both for reliability of communication and for ease of use , and amount of gear that you have to lug about . It will also work globally and you wont run into problems re usage and having it fitted in various countries. Do not advertise the fact that you have a satphone either .