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2 out of 10 on the trollometer....
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mike wrote:
Yeah, that's what ham radio needs: more people with no clue what ham radio is, no desire to use it for amateur, technological, dxing or emergency service purposes, and whose only motivation is to save on cellphones. There's already a band in place for such purpose and it's called CB. And we wonder why ham radio is not growing. With sweet-talkers like you on the welcoming committee... What is our goal? To preserve amateur radio for all the ideas that it was originally established, enhanced with contemporary technological features? Or is it growth at all cost? If it is the latter, then why even bother with testing - let's simply give away licenses on the street corner. Excuse me while I get back to my technological, dxing and emergency services work. I entered amateur radio for the love of the hobby/service itself, for experimenting, contesting and dxing. So did a majority of my ham radio friends and acquaintances. You, otoh, feel that ham radio can benefit from people who want to use it only to talk to their grandmother and order a pizza. As I said - there's already a perfect band for this and it's called CB. 73 .... WA7AA -- Anti-spam measu look me up on qrz.com if you need to reply directly |
mike wrote:
Yeah, that's what ham radio needs: more people with no clue what ham radio is, no desire to use it for amateur, technological, dxing or emergency service purposes, and whose only motivation is to save on cellphones. There's already a band in place for such purpose and it's called CB. And we wonder why ham radio is not growing. With sweet-talkers like you on the welcoming committee... What is our goal? To preserve amateur radio for all the ideas that it was originally established, enhanced with contemporary technological features? Or is it growth at all cost? If it is the latter, then why even bother with testing - let's simply give away licenses on the street corner. Excuse me while I get back to my technological, dxing and emergency services work. I entered amateur radio for the love of the hobby/service itself, for experimenting, contesting and dxing. So did a majority of my ham radio friends and acquaintances. You, otoh, feel that ham radio can benefit from people who want to use it only to talk to their grandmother and order a pizza. As I said - there's already a perfect band for this and it's called CB. 73 .... WA7AA -- Anti-spam measu look me up on qrz.com if you need to reply directly |
GoogleMike:
Amateur radio service would be great in an "ideal" world. However it is unrealistic to expect that everyone in your family will want to learn code or study the theory. (two entry level options). And unfortunately for the ham service, many in the ham ranks tend to turn off many potential hams. CB service is, well just awful and painful to monitor for days on end. There is another such service that the family can enjoy without getting a "Ham" license. It is called GMRS, a private UHF FM radio service where up to 50 watts and repeater operation are permitted. Don't get this confused with low cost FRS/GMRS (FRS is family radio service), those units are low power and good only for a few miles. Check "google" for "GMRS, PRSG (Personal radio steering group) and other GMRS links and you will learn from what is available on the web. The last I checked there were over a dozen GMRS repeaters listed in the PRSG repeater guide (red book). Whether or not any of these are in operation is anyones guess. Check with PRSG for repeater operators in your area and see if any exist with coverage that will suffice for your locale. If not, you might want to install your own if you have access to mountain top property. At each house you install a "control station" with a yagi antenna so that all homes are linked to the repeater. With proper selection of frequency and squelch code, only those in your group will hear each other. But don't be mistaken, this is still radio, so someone with a scanner can tune you in. The advantage is that you won't have to listen to garbage on the channel beacause of the tone squelch code, You can also search the FCC database for other GMRS users in your area. Unfortunately the FCC doesn't keep track of repeater installations anymore, but you can still seek out others in the community with such a system. If the cost is out of your range, you can forgo the repeater idea and install base stations at each of your relatives houses, and rely on the limited range (a sort of cellular approach) and hope you don't get a flat tire in the dead spot between Billy Bob's house and Sally Mae's place. Here are some basics: Mobile radios $500-1200 new, (portables same range, but far less effective coverage) Control or Base station, similar to mobile, add power supply $125 and yagi or omnidirectional antenna $100. Repeater station $2500 to $9000 new (or cost share with a group) Antenna tower for repeater or base station, $500 to $3000 and up depending on ... everything. FCC License $75 for 5 years (covers entire family, even in the south) Telephone interconnection - Not permitted Secure, Encryption - Not permitted If this won't work, your other choice is to hook up with a commercial land mobile repeater operator. Certainly someone in your area is providing coverage for joe the plumber. One hitch, these services are for business users, so keep that in mind for FCC license eligebility as well as when considering monthly expense. Joe K4SAT, WPXM352 (GMRS) AKA The RFI-EMI-GUY If you want more info look up my real e-mail address through my ham license via : http://www.buck.com/cgi-bin/do_hamcall Google Mike wrote: Is there such a thing as a portable, affordable, two-way radio system with 10 mile coverage or better? What about something that is slightly secure? Here's the need that is driving this: I can't really afford cell phone bills. I live near 5 families of relatives in South Carolina USA, each within 1 mile of me. Each morning and evening, I travel a long 40 mile road with no cell phone tower in sight -- zero coverage, even if I bought a cellphone. I would love to have a device that each of us keep in our cars, always turned on, as well as in our homes, and it would only provide communication among myself and my relatives. I would prefer to have something that could not be eavesdropped very easily, but I would take whatever I could get. BTW, I don't know much about HAM radio, so please forgive my ignorance. -- Joe Leikhim K4SAT "Jazz is not dead. It just smells funny." -F.Z. |
GoogleMike:
Amateur radio service would be great in an "ideal" world. However it is unrealistic to expect that everyone in your family will want to learn code or study the theory. (two entry level options). And unfortunately for the ham service, many in the ham ranks tend to turn off many potential hams. CB service is, well just awful and painful to monitor for days on end. There is another such service that the family can enjoy without getting a "Ham" license. It is called GMRS, a private UHF FM radio service where up to 50 watts and repeater operation are permitted. Don't get this confused with low cost FRS/GMRS (FRS is family radio service), those units are low power and good only for a few miles. Check "google" for "GMRS, PRSG (Personal radio steering group) and other GMRS links and you will learn from what is available on the web. The last I checked there were over a dozen GMRS repeaters listed in the PRSG repeater guide (red book). Whether or not any of these are in operation is anyones guess. Check with PRSG for repeater operators in your area and see if any exist with coverage that will suffice for your locale. If not, you might want to install your own if you have access to mountain top property. At each house you install a "control station" with a yagi antenna so that all homes are linked to the repeater. With proper selection of frequency and squelch code, only those in your group will hear each other. But don't be mistaken, this is still radio, so someone with a scanner can tune you in. The advantage is that you won't have to listen to garbage on the channel beacause of the tone squelch code, You can also search the FCC database for other GMRS users in your area. Unfortunately the FCC doesn't keep track of repeater installations anymore, but you can still seek out others in the community with such a system. If the cost is out of your range, you can forgo the repeater idea and install base stations at each of your relatives houses, and rely on the limited range (a sort of cellular approach) and hope you don't get a flat tire in the dead spot between Billy Bob's house and Sally Mae's place. Here are some basics: Mobile radios $500-1200 new, (portables same range, but far less effective coverage) Control or Base station, similar to mobile, add power supply $125 and yagi or omnidirectional antenna $100. Repeater station $2500 to $9000 new (or cost share with a group) Antenna tower for repeater or base station, $500 to $3000 and up depending on ... everything. FCC License $75 for 5 years (covers entire family, even in the south) Telephone interconnection - Not permitted Secure, Encryption - Not permitted If this won't work, your other choice is to hook up with a commercial land mobile repeater operator. Certainly someone in your area is providing coverage for joe the plumber. One hitch, these services are for business users, so keep that in mind for FCC license eligebility as well as when considering monthly expense. Joe K4SAT, WPXM352 (GMRS) AKA The RFI-EMI-GUY If you want more info look up my real e-mail address through my ham license via : http://www.buck.com/cgi-bin/do_hamcall Google Mike wrote: Is there such a thing as a portable, affordable, two-way radio system with 10 mile coverage or better? What about something that is slightly secure? Here's the need that is driving this: I can't really afford cell phone bills. I live near 5 families of relatives in South Carolina USA, each within 1 mile of me. Each morning and evening, I travel a long 40 mile road with no cell phone tower in sight -- zero coverage, even if I bought a cellphone. I would love to have a device that each of us keep in our cars, always turned on, as well as in our homes, and it would only provide communication among myself and my relatives. I would prefer to have something that could not be eavesdropped very easily, but I would take whatever I could get. BTW, I don't know much about HAM radio, so please forgive my ignorance. -- Joe Leikhim K4SAT "Jazz is not dead. It just smells funny." -F.Z. |
Zoran Brlecic wrote:
mike wrote: Yeah, that's what ham radio needs: more people with no clue what ham radio is, no desire to use it for amateur, technological, dxing or emergency service purposes, and whose only motivation is to save on cellphones. There's already a band in place for such purpose and it's called CB. And we wonder why ham radio is not growing. With sweet-talkers like you on the welcoming committee... What is our goal? To preserve amateur radio for all the ideas that it was originally established, enhanced with contemporary technological features? Or is it growth at all cost? If it is the latter, then why even bother with testing - let's simply give away licenses on the street corner. Excuse me while I get back to my technological, dxing and emergency services work. I entered amateur radio for the love of the hobby/service itself, for experimenting, contesting and dxing. So did a majority of my ham radio friends and acquaintances. You, otoh, feel that ham radio can benefit from people who want to use it only to talk to their grandmother and order a pizza. Thank you very much for telling me what _I_ feel. I'll put you on my speed dial so you'll be close at hand next time I think I might want a feeling. It's not my place to tell people how or why to use ham radio. As long as they do it within the rules published by the FCC (NOT what YOU think the rules should be), more power to them. There's no question on the test that weeds out those who are obnoxious!! Maybe there should be... 'nuff said! mike As I said - there's already a perfect band for this and it's called CB. 73 .... WA7AA -- Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below. laptops and parts Test Equipment 4in/400Wout ham linear amp. Honda CB-125S 400cc Dirt Bike 2003 miles $550 Police Scanner, Color LCD overhead projector Tek 2465 $800, ham radio, 30pS pulser Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head... http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/ |
Zoran Brlecic wrote:
mike wrote: Yeah, that's what ham radio needs: more people with no clue what ham radio is, no desire to use it for amateur, technological, dxing or emergency service purposes, and whose only motivation is to save on cellphones. There's already a band in place for such purpose and it's called CB. And we wonder why ham radio is not growing. With sweet-talkers like you on the welcoming committee... What is our goal? To preserve amateur radio for all the ideas that it was originally established, enhanced with contemporary technological features? Or is it growth at all cost? If it is the latter, then why even bother with testing - let's simply give away licenses on the street corner. Excuse me while I get back to my technological, dxing and emergency services work. I entered amateur radio for the love of the hobby/service itself, for experimenting, contesting and dxing. So did a majority of my ham radio friends and acquaintances. You, otoh, feel that ham radio can benefit from people who want to use it only to talk to their grandmother and order a pizza. Thank you very much for telling me what _I_ feel. I'll put you on my speed dial so you'll be close at hand next time I think I might want a feeling. It's not my place to tell people how or why to use ham radio. As long as they do it within the rules published by the FCC (NOT what YOU think the rules should be), more power to them. There's no question on the test that weeds out those who are obnoxious!! Maybe there should be... 'nuff said! mike As I said - there's already a perfect band for this and it's called CB. 73 .... WA7AA -- Bunch of stuff For Sale and Wanted at the link below. laptops and parts Test Equipment 4in/400Wout ham linear amp. Honda CB-125S 400cc Dirt Bike 2003 miles $550 Police Scanner, Color LCD overhead projector Tek 2465 $800, ham radio, 30pS pulser Tektronix Concept Books, spot welding head... http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Monitor/4710/ |
If this is a Troll, I will give it the benefit of a doubt.
There is one way to get by as cheaply as possible. That way is to get a pager and if relatives want to talk to you, they can page you. And you may call them back using any public coin phone near by. If none can afford a phone which is as secure as anything unless its cordless then drive to their house/trailer etc. to visit. If this is a troll, oh well, we need a little humor once in a while. "Google Mike" wrote in message om... Is there such a thing as a portable, affordable, two-way radio system with 10 mile coverage or better? What about something that is slightly secure? Here's the need that is driving this: I can't really afford cell phone bills. I live near 5 families of relatives in South Carolina USA, each within 1 mile of me. Each morning and evening, I travel a long 40 mile road with no cell phone tower in sight -- zero coverage, even if I bought a cellphone. I would love to have a device that each of us keep in our cars, always turned on, as well as in our homes, and it would only provide communication among myself and my relatives. I would prefer to have something that could not be eavesdropped very easily, but I would take whatever I could get. BTW, I don't know much about HAM radio, so please forgive my ignorance. |
If this is a Troll, I will give it the benefit of a doubt.
There is one way to get by as cheaply as possible. That way is to get a pager and if relatives want to talk to you, they can page you. And you may call them back using any public coin phone near by. If none can afford a phone which is as secure as anything unless its cordless then drive to their house/trailer etc. to visit. If this is a troll, oh well, we need a little humor once in a while. "Google Mike" wrote in message om... Is there such a thing as a portable, affordable, two-way radio system with 10 mile coverage or better? What about something that is slightly secure? Here's the need that is driving this: I can't really afford cell phone bills. I live near 5 families of relatives in South Carolina USA, each within 1 mile of me. Each morning and evening, I travel a long 40 mile road with no cell phone tower in sight -- zero coverage, even if I bought a cellphone. I would love to have a device that each of us keep in our cars, always turned on, as well as in our homes, and it would only provide communication among myself and my relatives. I would prefer to have something that could not be eavesdropped very easily, but I would take whatever I could get. BTW, I don't know much about HAM radio, so please forgive my ignorance. |
mike wrote:
It's not my place to tell people how or why to use ham radio. As long as they do it within the rules published by the FCC (NOT what YOU think the rules should be), more power to them. Is that right? Well, let's review these rules, shall we? 97.1 Basis and purpose The rules and regulations in this Part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles: (a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications. (b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art. (c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communications and technical phases of the art. (d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts. (e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill. ....... (4) Amateur service. A radiocommunication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. ===================================== I think that should do it. Now, let's review what the original poster's requirement was: "I can't really afford cell phone bills. I live near 5 families of relatives in South Carolina USA, each within 1 mile of me. Each morning and evening, I travel a long 40 mile road with no cell phone tower in sight -- zero coverage, even if I bought a cellphone. I would love to have a device that each of us keep in our cars, always turned on, as well as in our homes, and it would only provide communication among myself and my relatives. I would prefer to have something that could not be eavesdropped very easily, but I would take whatever I could get." ===================================== Would you care to explain just how his communication requirements are in any way compatible with what amateur radio represents? Is amateur radio a substitute for a cellphone? Nope. Is it a communication system for a family? Nope. A private and exclusive radio band that outsiders could not monitor? Nope. Therefore, in spite of all your arm waving and tap dancing, the recommendation for him to take a ham radio test is way off the wall, especially considering the fact that the man doesn't even know what it is *and* there is already a perfect band for his needs: CB or even FRS. There's no question on the test that weeds out those who are obnoxious!! Maybe there should be... There's apparently no question on the test either that weeds out the people who would gladly turn amateur radio into a three ring circus just so we can have artificially inflated "numbers". Do you actually believe that guy would ever join the ARRL, for example? ARES? A local club? Anything? What possible benefit can the global amateur community have from such entrants? 73 .... WA7AA -- Anti-spam measu look me up on qrz.com if you need to reply directly |
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