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auntblabby
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04 Aug 2019, 6:12 am

MrLucky wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
the "new" [after 1977] walkie talkies operate on 5 frequencies in the 49 MHz band, at about 10 mw output, using frequency modulation. they are clean-sounding [low noise when within 50 meters or so]. it is illegal to replace the fixed 1 meter antenna on the transmitter, but perfectly legal to separate the receiver from the transmitter and use a full-wave elevated 6 meter antenna for the receiver or even a rhombic antenna, to boost the reception power many-fold, out past a mile. i am wondering why there aren't more hobbyists playing around using this setup.


I think there are some who did modify the 49 Mc walkie talkies for 6 meters. I'll have to look around in the old "Ham Radio" and "73" Magazines but I'm sure you can find articles for that. You can use any antenna as long as you're running on 6 meters (and a licensed ham of course), if you do it on the original band, you're correct, it would be illegal. It's like the BaoFeng walkie-talkie I have, the UV-82L, I can transmit in FM mode on any frequency from 130 to 175 Mc and 400 to 520 Mc but as long as I use it in the amateur radio bands and also if on the river in a boat, the Marine bands, it is OK. I think you can run it on the non-licensed VHF freqs in the 151/154 Mc area but beyond that, the other freqs are off limits unless you have the business to use them such as if you are a first responder. Some constables and firemen do use them because they are so cheap. You have to be very careful when you program them, double and triple check that you're in the assigned ham radio bands and/or the freqs you are allowed to use, you can fire them up on a military freq if not careful. I bought mine in January 2014, I always wanted to get onto 440 and I was depressed after Mom passed in November of 2013, so I bought it for less than $50. Those BaoFengs are a good way to get into ham radio cheap, just be careful when you use them and program them, it is better to use the computer link and software to reduce errors. There are some that are also 2 meters and 220, one has all three, 2 meters, 220 and 440. I wish they make a 6 meter one though. I'd like to get a hold of a 10 meter handheld, the name escapes me though. I also use a Radio Shack HTX-202 as well, it is only 2 meters.

my older brother in AZ uses the baufeng transceiver. i told him about it. his wife uses one as well. can you tell me more about the "non-licensed VHF 151/154 Mc" band? i hadn't heard of that before, is that "family radio service" band? in any case, i like the idea of the ultra-low-power on 49 Mhz, i wonder if in other countries that people use that frequency for something else? i think i'd be happy just to stick to 6 meters in general, it seems to be in the "sweet spot."



ezbzbfcg2
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04 Aug 2019, 6:27 am

How much to get started on basic HAM radio? I know nothing about it, but have been fascinated by it for over 20 years. Can you legally purchase a radio without a license, or do you need to prove you're authorized to use it?



auntblabby
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04 Aug 2019, 6:30 am

ezbzbfcg2 wrote:
How much to get started on basic HAM radio? I know nothing about it, but have been fascinated by it for over 20 years. Can you legally purchase a radio without a license, or do you need to prove you're authorized to use it?

http://www.advancedspecialties.net/ham-radio-faq.htm
in summary, you are free to buy a ham radio, no license is required to buy one and listen to it, but to transmit, YES, you must past the test and get the license/call letters.



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04 Aug 2019, 6:51 am

auntblabby wrote:
ezbzbfcg2 wrote:
How much to get started on basic HAM radio? I know nothing about it, but have been fascinated by it for over 20 years. Can you legally purchase a radio without a license, or do you need to prove you're authorized to use it?

http://www.advancedspecialties.net/ham-radio-faq.htm
in summary, you are free to buy a ham radio, no license is required to buy one and listen to it, but to transmit, YES, you must past the test and get the license/call letters.


Thanks. I would never operate without proper licensure, but can you purchase a transmitter without showing a license, or do you need to get to a certain level just to buy one?



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04 Aug 2019, 6:58 am

ezbzbfcg2 wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
ezbzbfcg2 wrote:
How much to get started on basic HAM radio? I know nothing about it, but have been fascinated by it for over 20 years. Can you legally purchase a radio without a license, or do you need to prove you're authorized to use it?

http://www.advancedspecialties.net/ham-radio-faq.htm
in summary, you are free to buy a ham radio, no license is required to buy one and listen to it, but to transmit, YES, you must past the test and get the license/call letters.


Thanks. I would never operate without proper licensure, but can you purchase a transmitter without showing a license, or do you need to get to a certain level just to buy one?

you are free to buy the equipment, but to transmit you must first pass a test to get licensure into one of 3 radio amateur categories [technician, general, and extra]. most people start with technician as it is the easiest of the 3 classes to get into. you could start and get a ham-frequency receiver and hear what is going on. you will need an antenna for all of them but above 6 meters the antennas are far more compact and less complicated in general. if i were you i'd investigate the ARRL antenna book to find out more about antennas and theory.



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05 Aug 2019, 2:40 pm

AnneOleson wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
^^^those sound like heady times. that was about 6 years after my day, i was still back in the stoned age. i figure i was born either too early or too late to be at the right time and place for too much stuff. anyways, i wonder if anybody else here struggles with not being able to hear AM radio because they live in a tin can [mobile home with metal skin on the outside].


Interesting! There’s an am station my husband likes and we have a hard time getting it in the house. The house was built around 1870 and has two layers of metal roofing and some layers of shingles in between. The walls are plaster and lathe, with wood wainscotting and drywall over that. Wood and vinyl siding. I don’t get good reception on my iPhone either, but I did with my Blackberry.


AM radio tips and tricks:
http://richleebruce.com/amguide.html

That will probably answer as well as I can. Drywall and plaster shouldn't affect reception. Metal roofing would. May want to try putting the radio near the wall facing in the direction of the station.



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05 Aug 2019, 2:48 pm

auntblabby wrote:
MrLucky wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
the "new" [after 1977] walkie talkies operate on 5 frequencies in the 49 MHz band, at about 10 mw output, using frequency modulation. they are clean-sounding [low noise when within 50 meters or so]. it is illegal to replace the fixed 1 meter antenna on the transmitter, but perfectly legal to separate the receiver from the transmitter and use a full-wave elevated 6 meter antenna for the receiver or even a rhombic antenna, to boost the reception power many-fold, out past a mile. i am wondering why there aren't more hobbyists playing around using this setup.


I think there are some who did modify the 49 Mc walkie talkies for 6 meters. I'll have to look around in the old "Ham Radio" and "73" Magazines but I'm sure you can find articles for that. You can use any antenna as long as you're running on 6 meters (and a licensed ham of course), if you do it on the original band, you're correct, it would be illegal. It's like the BaoFeng walkie-talkie I have, the UV-82L, I can transmit in FM mode on any frequency from 130 to 175 Mc and 400 to 520 Mc but as long as I use it in the amateur radio bands and also if on the river in a boat, the Marine bands, it is OK. I think you can run it on the non-licensed VHF freqs in the 151/154 Mc area but beyond that, the other freqs are off limits unless you have the business to use them such as if you are a first responder. Some constables and firemen do use them because they are so cheap. You have to be very careful when you program them, double and triple check that you're in the assigned ham radio bands and/or the freqs you are allowed to use, you can fire them up on a military freq if not careful. I bought mine in January 2014, I always wanted to get onto 440 and I was depressed after Mom passed in November of 2013, so I bought it for less than $50. Those BaoFengs are a good way to get into ham radio cheap, just be careful when you use them and program them, it is better to use the computer link and software to reduce errors. There are some that are also 2 meters and 220, one has all three, 2 meters, 220 and 440. I wish they make a 6 meter one though. I'd like to get a hold of a 10 meter handheld, the name escapes me though. I also use a Radio Shack HTX-202 as well, it is only 2 meters.

my older brother in AZ uses the baufeng transceiver. i told him about it. his wife uses one as well. can you tell me more about the "non-licensed VHF 151/154 Mc" band? i hadn't heard of that before, is that "family radio service" band? in any case, i like the idea of the ultra-low-power on 49 Mhz, i wonder if in other countries that people use that frequency for something else? i think i'd be happy just to stick to 6 meters in general, it seems to be in the "sweet spot."


The 151-154MHz service is MURS.
https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-div ... rvice-murs

I'd be careful with the Baofeng radios there. Maximum power output on MURS is 2 watts, so use them on low power. Realistically, your chances of being caught running 5 watts instead of 2 are slightly better that those for being struck by lightning, but wanted to mention the rules just because...



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05 Aug 2019, 3:01 pm

auntblabby wrote:
ezbzbfcg2 wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
ezbzbfcg2 wrote:
How much to get started on basic HAM radio? I know nothing about it, but have been fascinated by it for over 20 years. Can you legally purchase a radio without a license, or do you need to prove you're authorized to use it?

http://www.advancedspecialties.net/ham-radio-faq.htm
in summary, you are free to buy a ham radio, no license is required to buy one and listen to it, but to transmit, YES, you must past the test and get the license/call letters.


Thanks. I would never operate without proper licensure, but can you purchase a transmitter without showing a license, or do you need to get to a certain level just to buy one?

you are free to buy the equipment, but to transmit you must first pass a test to get licensure into one of 3 radio amateur categories [technician, general, and extra]. most people start with technician as it is the easiest of the 3 classes to get into. you could start and get a ham-frequency receiver and hear what is going on. you will need an antenna for all of them but above 6 meters the antennas are far more compact and less complicated in general. if i were you i'd investigate the ARRL antenna book to find out more about antennas and theory.


That and 6m and higher frequencies only require the Techninician license. That's the easiest test to pass.

I have a couple of Baofengs. They're pretty decent radios.

The service you're trying to remember is FRS. Family Radio Service and GMRS (used to be "class A CB" operate in the 462 and 467MHz ranges.

BTW it isn't legal to use Baofengs on FRS. Again, your chances of being caught are next to zero, but let's avoid the tiny chance of an $11,000 fine.

I got some FRS radios on ebay for my son to play with. $30 for 4. Range is maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Nice clean FM transmission. 22 channels.

I hope the ham radio bug bites a few more people here so we can get a Aspie net started on HF someday.



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06 Aug 2019, 12:30 am

Archmage Arcane wrote:
I got some FRS radios on ebay for my son to play with. $30 for 4. Range is maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Nice clean FM transmission. 22 channels.
some questions- do FRS or the other VHF/UHF services allow detachable antennas?



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07 Aug 2019, 3:07 pm

auntblabby wrote:
Archmage Arcane wrote:
I got some FRS radios on ebay for my son to play with. $30 for 4. Range is maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Nice clean FM transmission. 22 channels.
some questions- do FRS or the other VHF/UHF services allow detachable antennas?


FRS doesn't. GMRS and MURS do.



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08 Aug 2019, 2:17 am

MURS sounds like it would have the most potential for Dx'ing with a full-wave antenna up high.



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12 Aug 2019, 8:22 pm

You'd get better DX if you passed Element 2 and got your Tech license. That's a fairly easy test (Yes, I'm an Extra, so maybe that's just the way I see it. But I've administered the Tech test numerous times and very few people fail).

The Tech class gives you 6m and up plus a 10m window between 28.3 and 28.5 on USB at up to 200W. That and you could practice your Morse code in segments of the other HF bands.

Not sure how much DX you'd get on MURS because it's intended for business rather than hobby/experimental use.

Your initial idea about a 6m beam is actually pretty good. Maybe if you pair it with a omnidirectional antenna (ground plane, j-pole, ringo, whatever) you'd hear things your beam wasn't pointed at on a receiver and use your transceiver on the beam to make contact (once you figured out where to point the beam).



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12 Aug 2019, 9:22 pm

i think a MURS base station with switchable mast-mounted beam and full wave omni, and a few walkie talkie MURS units would be a good investment for a group needing a wide coverage area. i wonder what the height limitation on the antenna assembly would be?



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15 Aug 2019, 6:58 am

auntblabby wrote:
i think a MURS base station with switchable mast-mounted beam and full wave omni, and a few walkie talkie MURS units would be a good investment for a group needing a wide coverage area. i wonder what the height limitation on the antenna assembly would be?


That would be a good setup for what you describe.

The height limit is 20 feet above a building or 60 feet above ground, whichever is higher.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/95.2741



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15 Aug 2019, 7:18 am

Archmage Arcane wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
i think a MURS base station with switchable mast-mounted beam and full wave omni, and a few walkie talkie MURS units would be a good investment for a group needing a wide coverage area. i wonder what the height limitation on the antenna assembly would be?


That would be a good setup for what you describe.

The height limit is 20 feet above a building or 60 feet above ground, whichever is higher.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/95.2741

hmmmm, that is the same restriction in effect for ordinary 27 mhz CB radio. the main advantage [aside from much more compact antennas] of MURS is FM, the main disadvantage is line-of-sight signal propagation. CB has a much greater range. i wonder if temperature inversions really help at 151 mhz?



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15 Aug 2019, 12:12 pm

Temp inversions and tropo ducting can be pretty spectacular on 151MHz. Take a look at 2m DX contact reports. That's at 144-148MHz.

Yes, it's the same restriction as CB. It's also the same part of the rules as CB (Part 95 of 47CFR).

What kind of range are you looking for?