why do people want to be ham operators?

[jponder]

Just curious, What kinds of things can you do with a ham radio?

 

[Wayno]

Well you can talk (skip ) around the World legally . You can run more power legally BUT unlike CB's you have to behave when you are on the Ham Bands . Most people that are Ham Operators are ex CB-ers . They are both bad habits , you are always spending more money to have bigger and badder equipment kinda like Dodge Trucks . I know , I have spent way to much money in my life time on CB equipment .

 

[Billy Diesel]

I am just a lowly 2m operator with a unit mounted in my truck, so I just talk vehicle to vehicle/base-station. The repeaters can do some pretty interesting things. A couple of the more popular is autopatch (making a phone call) and stringing them together though the air waves to create a back bone. I can talk from central MN to the other side of ND on the back bone, all with a 2m that normally has a range of 10-50 miles.



Like Wayno said, alot are x-cb'ers. I started out 'cause there weren't any cell towers where I was at, cb's wouldn't get over the ridges, and there was excellent repeater coverage already in place.



We also use them to run the ProRally up in the UP of Michigan. They are an excellent way for a large group spread out over a large area to communicate. *edit* - Also an invaluable tool for search and rescue up there.



To run a 2m, which is one of the more popular and basic setups for beginners, it is something like $10 for your test, $180 for a radio, and $60 for an antenna. To start skipping around the wold, it gets a bit more expensive.

 

[jponder]

I remember hearing skip on CB from way far off, the voice was all distorted. Lets say you have a radio and I have a radio how far away can I talk to you? Does the repeters cost anything. What about a radio on a boat where there are no repeaters, what is max distance they can talk? When i hear about talking skip well I think it is like a crap shoot and you dont know who or where you are talking too. Could a ham radio talk to say England?

 

[Duluth Diesel]

With HAM you can talk around the world.

Also, in an emergency situation, like a natural disaster, and there are no phones, no power, no cell phones, nothing - at least with a HAM you can reach out and get help or help others.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

A real-life example - on last fall's RV trip, my RVing bud was staying here at our place for a couple of months - I have a full hook-up RV spot, and he was parked there, and house-sitting for us as well as enjoying the Salmon fishing in the Sacramento river. We both have mobile ham setups in our trailers and trucks - and maintained DAILY contact as we traveled from our California home to N. Carolina for 6 weeks, then on to Florida for 5 weeks. I was able to keep up with what the "gang" was up to back home, and keep track of any problems around the place. Sure, I could do that with a cell phone too, but there are no time limits or roaming charges on ham radio - and it works EVERYWHERE - not just where a cell relay tower happens to be!



I have friends who have been former neighbors, but now live in distant places - yet we are still able to keep regular contact with them 10 miles or a thousand miles, makes no dofference, usually we can keep in regular touch. Ham radio is FAR more reliable for travelers/RVers who want to coordinate travel over longer distances, again, if my RV bud is up in Washington state as we are leaving with our RV to meet in Oregon, we can easily meet on the air and coordinate our travel - something you can't do with CB - and frequently not even cell phones. I've been doing this stuff for 45 years now - wouldn't trade it for any other hobby - or "service" as Ham radio is more accurately referred to by officials who recognize the value of contact Hams provide when various disasters render other communications useless...

 

[barkerdl]

Cost of Repeaters

There are many repeaters that are "open", meaning their owners provide them as a public service to travelling hams. If you are able, you should join a local amateur club and contribute to the maintenance of the local repeaters. This contribution need not be monetary. There is a lot of work involved in making the repeaters available and volunteers are always appreciated.



There are books and web sites available showing the open repeaters all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico for just a few bucks for the book and free access to the web site.



As an example of the utility of ham radio, I just spent the weekend at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. No cell phone works there, but I was easily able to work a repeater in St. George, Utah from 50-60 miles away using 15 watts output power. The repeater in St. George is easily readable in Las Vegas, so I could have talked to any of my amateur friends in Las Vegas where cell phones don't work.



Besides that - it's fun!



Dennis

KD7ZAL