It makes sense because you know nothing about ham radio, and neither do these guys. You are on the same playing field. If you want to learn about ham radio, you will have to put in the time to learn. It's not an easy bake oven.
I was going to type the exact same thing. I like the way the host kept reeling him back in. That's usually the problem: HAMS tend to start talking over your head right off the bat.
Interesting stuff. My dad was a ham from the 1950s. I grew up with him sat on his rig most of the time. He was proud of his 30m dipole 'wet string' in the back garden. He had hundreds of thousands of contacts and we had to ditch thousands of qsl cards. He called all round the world and the furthest was a research base in Antarctica. Mum was never impressed as she used to get tangled while putting washing up lol. Still got hs gear as he was silent key about 15 years ago.
Cool story. Any idea what kind of radio it was? My grandfathers was a big black box with tubes, steel toggle switches and spin dials. He gave it to me when it started shocking him. I enjoyed listening to it, SW was the only thing I could hear. I eventually shot it all up with my shotgun when I got sick of getting shocked.
you sound like me steve i grew up around ham radio with my father as well he had from the 1950s as well, my whole life up until he passed away he loved his hobby of ham radio Q cards from all over the world.
@John Cliff i have thought about it but got lots of hobbies at the moment but cant enjoy any of them. Looking after mum and grandsons is taking all my time now. Maybe when i retire 👍
@@steveedwards4495 I'm very much like you Steve, but although my late father went back as far as the 50s on ham radio, I never really watched him much until the 70s. His call sign was N6DDS. I still have the last of his ham gear in storage and I'm thinking I should get it all out of storage and get it working, then get my general license because things are getting crazy these days, and being able to connect with people around the world is a good capability to have.
Talking in meters, beginners get confused. What you need to know is the Technician is limited to shorter range frequency bands: UHF and VHF. General gets you into longer range High Frequency bands. With HF you need to get into much longer antennas. Portions of all bands are reserved for Voice, morse, digital and even TV transmissions. I found studying for Technician was also very informative in electrical terms and components. You can get started really inexpensively then decide if you are interested enough to keep going.
Me - "I think I want to get into ham radio". Then the dude on the left says "Ham radio is a lot of fun. If you like gadgets there is an endless supply". Me - SOLD!
We have Ham satellites up you can talk through. We do Moon bounce on 6m and up. With moon bounce we can communicate with a station digitally USA to stations at quite distances.
Great information. I started my military career in the Air National Guard working with radio comm from HF to satellites. Haven't done any of that in years but I took a practice test while I was watching this video and I scored a 70 so not bad. I wish I had gotten my license back in the late 90s.
Great video, thanks! As a kid, I used to play with a radio my dad had from WWII. Nowadays, as a software engineer I thought about getting into using antennas in my software. Ham radio gives me an opportunity to combine two hobbies together.
i was a radioman in the navy and have a lot of different experiences. i learned a lot in this video. thank you so much. any further resources or references you can give would be appreciated.
GMRS requires a license which is really just a fee that covers an entire family including extended family. FRS doesn't require a license, but it's more limited.
Excellent video, invaluable information! Just a tiny correction, if I may. At ~4:15 John said "...the ARRL governs the licensing and testing of amateur radio...," but I think that's inaccurate. The ARRL does not govern the licensing or testing. It is an association (although a very big one), and they REPRESENT the interests of the amateur radio community. The FCC (Federal Communications Commision), which was mentioned later on the video, governs licensing and testing in the USA. The ARRL does organize and administer testing, including a lot of paperwork so the licenses can be issued by the FCC. There are other organizations that do that, too (and sometimes more efficiently). Anyway, thanks, and keep up the excellent work! 73
Digital modes over HF offer a huge advantage to getting info passed long-range on low power. If you're looking to get into radio comms for net-down/blackout/shtf situations, seriously consider getting an amateur license. More power, better equipment, more efficient and much easier communication.
@@Caderic The 7300 is one of the easiest and most capable HF radios out there. Better yet, the price has come down considerably since it's release. The display is very good and the USB connection supports both CAT and audio with a single cable. It is one of the most popular HF radios out there. I highly recommend it for a base station, however, it can be used in the field as well. My recommendation is to get the IC 7300 first, then get a IC 705 when you want to go portable. It is a very easy transition.
@@TXLorenzo Thank you, but I am familiar with the 7300...it is the radio I want. My question was, what is the blue stuff on the radio? I am assuming there is a side handle and two front handles, it the bump on tome that I am really wondering about.
Thanks guys! Good video for the locals. My stepson and nephews are working on radios. Have the GMRS license and there is a goal of ham. Mostly for family com but some fun as well.
Thanks for the extra knowledge about different frequencies and power levels Studying for my tech license now and looking forward to trying a long distance contact when I pass the test and get my call. Looking at that fir tree in my front yard as an antenna tower too.
Thanks for the information. I'm interested in Ham Radio for when the grid goes down and I have a better perspective after listening to you gentlemen. God Bless.
Thank you for having this Gentlemen on your channel. I'm was looking for information and you guys covered everything I was looking for. Thank you so very much!
I once talked to a person in Kentucky from Jupiter Florida on a home base Cobra CB with an antenna 25 foot high. My neighbor came banging on my door and said I was coming over on his TV. Now that was FUN
@@russwilkerson2741 Were you able to fix it or fine tune. I was once at a drive in movie theater and when I connected the old metal to my window it was touching the metal frame of my van. When I started talking to a fellow CB-er it was broadcasting all over everyones speakers in the theater. I thought it was funny, everyone else didn't :-(
We appreciate you taking the time to share this incredible way of communication and hope to be joining in on the fun some time in the future. Thank you!
Great video and very informative. As an M6 callsign, which is your Tech licence, it would appear that I seem to have more bands available to me on less power, I have UHF/VHF & HF with a full restriction on 60mtr, but all the rest are available. I have been qualified for 4 years and specialise in /P QRP and have talked all over the world. Its a great hobby especially if you are a prepper and want easy reliable comms local, inter state and international. Thankyou for sharing. M6KVK 73
Use of repeaters greatly extends the range of VHF and UHF radios. Just remember that anyone can listen, but only licensed amateurs can transmit. Also, unless you are calling for a specific operator with a specific callsign, any other operator can answer you, but you are not really obligated to talk to them. The magic of HF is that you can call CQ and you never can be sure who you will get a response from or where they will be.
I believe transmitting on a Baofang to a FRS/GMRS radio is technically illegal according to FCC regulations. I'm sure people do it all the time but the chances of getting caught are fairly low. FYI
You are correct. Baofeng radios are not type certified for FRS/GMRS frequencies which means it’s not legal to transmit on those frequencies with those radios.
Well a lot of the radios like this usually Chinese bought through amazon or bought from American importers are part 97 compliant with the fcc so the radio operator should have a fcc callsighn appropriate for the frequencies being used most GMRS and FRS the radio has its own license for use so the operator doesn’t need one
handheld is typically 5 W but HF rigs with amplifiers can go up to a legal limit of 1500 W. Total range is dependent on transmission conditions and frequency.
From a "prepper" standpoint, the repeaters usually have some type of emergency power. In a total armagedon situation, repeater based systems won't work.
yes 28.300 to 28.500 MHz on 10m for SSB Phone if you have your tech/novice license, he did glaze over this a bit. CW is a whole new animal. I just recently started learning it. I been playing with the digital modes, as well as analog on 2m, and 70cm since I got mine.
I'll figure this out eventually, but in the meantime- just getting into this, and I had the notion, it would be like buying an AM/FM radio: all the frequencies are the same, you only need consider sound, and price. Maybe looks. Looking for a hand-held, and am up against choices I didn't foresee.
It can be extremely overwhelming when you first get into the hobby. I bought a $35 baofeng uv-5r, and listened for years before I decided to get my license. The hobby can get pretty expensive depending on how deep you get into it, especially at the General & Extra levels when you get into HF radios as well as all the needed componets. Best thing you can do is watch videos on youtube and research as much as you can, after that you can decide if ham radio is something you want to further explore.
Great video with a great demonstration of the equipment. Just some random thoughts, if anyone is preparing for a shtf scenario: 1. Naturally occurring or man made EMF events can render the equipment useless unless you want to construct a Faraday cage. 2. If the government is involved in the shtf event, they have the technology to put an aircraft up or use existing transmission towers to jam any frequency you would want to talk on. 3. It might be a good idea to have the capability to recharge battery power supplies with a solar charger, in the event that the power grid is down for a significant time period. 4. I have a Ham Technicians license, but do believe that during a shtf event the FCC will not be issuing violation notices, IMHO.
Do some research on Amateur Radio Emergency Services. Hams are not considered a luxury, but a necessity in almost every disaster scenario. One caveat to that was that all amateur transmissions were banned during WWII to avoid interference with frequencies in use by both sides. All receiving stations, however, were encouraged to pass along any intel they might gather. The Germans used 10 meters in their tank corps and field operations in Europe and Africa could often be heard in the us by amateur operators.
@@mondavou9408 Generally the government would not 'jam' frequencies, since they also use the same band plan as amateurs. Do some homework and you will find out which bands are shared and why.
Yes, the Baofengs have the ability to be programmed for FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies, but they're not LEGAL to USE on those frequencies, because they're not FCC Type Accepted for those frequencies!
For what was on the table that they were using, yes. There are older all tube Ham radios that are emp proof. I have a Yaesu FT-101. You will also need, antenna tuner (mine is a MFJ tuner) and the antenna, which could be a simple "T" shape like mine, that the radio guy in the video hung in the trees.
@@geraldhoskins2021 yes cb radio operates on the 11meter frequency while ham radio operates on many frequencies, in the HF, UHF, VHF bands. CB does not require a license, while ham radio does, and depending on your level of license (technician, general, extra) you get access to different bands. In my area CB is pretty much dead, but we have a lot of hams on the 2m and 70 cm ham bands in the area. It's all about having a well rounded way to communicate. I would encourage you to get your technician license, it doesn't cost much to start, and it is a fun hobby, personally I got in to help my county's emergency operations, but that's my story, every one has their one reasons. 73
@@geraldhoskins2021 One big difference is legal power. CB is 5 watts in AM mode, Amateur radio is 1000 watts (1500 watts peak envelope power). The other difference is discipline. CB radio is completely undisciplined and consequently not very useful. Ham radio is fairly well disciplined and if you come on without discipline it is likely no one will talk to you and in the long run do some direction finding and get fined by the FCC.
Very informative dental and completely confused. Wanting to start to look into ham handheld radio for myself and my son-in-law. We know we got to get a license. But I was wanting to know a good quality beginner radio recommended
It all depends on your budget, personally I started out on a very basic baofeng uv-5r just listening to nets and simplex convos on 2m and 70cm, it's a great radio for the price. On your higher price range end look into a yaesu, icom, or kenwood HT's, they all do the samething for the most part with some added features/digital modes as well as better quality.
You need a license for GMRS! BaoFeng Radio's are not type accepted for FRS, GMRS, and MURS, and their legality for even ham above 1 watt is questionable. I know a 10 year old who passed the Technician, and by 11, had her extra.
An Extra by 11?! Wow. My 11 y.o. daughter wants to get her Tech license, but I am having a hard time explaining the material to her at a level she understands.
Great Channel content...you guys were on point, funny, and captivating in your intel and conversation. Well, done!!! Some guys on this topic kill it in a BAD WAY!!! Thank You.
Really great video. No mention of antenna orientation. A 5 watt hand held (HT) can use isw (incident skywave) by turning the antenna and radio side ways (horizontal). As the signal emits 90 degrees from the antenna axis it can go straight up and in a 180 degree arc. If ionospheric's are good it can bounce back down and reach someone.
Great video guys, and for my battery pack I use lead acid ups batteries, the LiPos up in the north don't like the cold when outside in the winter. VE3-ZPQ Canada.
Being able to communicate long range point to point on HF using WINLINK email is one of the most powerful capabilities of ham radio. It is the ultimate prepper tool.
Good video. Nice Job. Ham Radio has a lot of different types of digital radios. DMR, Fusion, D-Star, P25 and NXDN for voice (local). We also have many types of digital packet modes (local and long distance). This mode works keyboard to keyboard. Most law enforcement use P25 and sometimes NXDN as well as FM. P25 is the standard for now.
Go get licensed. Learn about the equipment. If you think you can just pick one of these up during SHTF and talk on any frequency or band, you're going to be disappointed
Exactly. Once you get into an emergency it is too late to learn how to use the equipment. That is like buying a violin and claiming, now you are a musician.
Glad to find a ham guy in Ohio! I grew up in Broadview Hts but live outside of Toledo now. Looking to get into ham and this is very informative. I have friends in Kenton Ohio that have been into ham for years.
Cb/ham radio the original social media. My dad was a ham operator back in the 70s and 80s. Also a rig doctor. Which handy lol . And good god how things have changed
Great video, important stuff. It may come down to like minded neighbors helping each other out and communication may be severely limited. I think the web and cell service could be shut down at some point. I was in Urumqi, China, 2 months after the Uighur/Han riots a decade ago. There was no cell or internet service for 4 mos. If you don’t think that can happen here, you are mistaken. I believe it can and probably will as we are entering very precious times here in America. If you are still sleeping to this fact, it’s time to wake up now and get ready. You don’t have much time.
Thanks for the info!!! I am very interested in the subject of HAM and want to get my license. But i have 1 question to those saying patriots rise up and fight tyranny while using HAM. If i need a government issued license to use it and my position can be triangulated easily, how and why would this be a good idea for a patriot movement? Think people good for emergency and great as a hobby but anything else would be a bad idea.
There is no conflict with the idea of being a Patriot or a prepar and holding a ham radio license. The way I see it, being a legally recognized amateur radio operator and license holder gives you clout that someone not holding a license does not have. The government should not and will not be able to take our licenses away as long as we are legal and do not become a terrorist ourselves. We must fight the system that is bringing down the free country that we have grown up in and by holding a ham license that gives us strength to be able to communicate. I have personally been involved in emergency communications during and after hurricanes that have hit areas of the South. I have been a ham radio operator and broadcast Engineer for over 50 years, and I am still active as such. and consider myself a very strong Patriot - Bill, K5EYS
Without that licence you can get located and slammed with hefty fines for transmitting on Ameteur radios. With it you have the opportunity to learn HOW to use that equipment in case of emergencies or other adventures. This is not a cell phone or a CB radio, there is knowledge involved in getting things to work properly. Idf somebody tries to use a Baofeng radio on a repeater they may find that it wont operate in Duplex mode, I know, you don't know what that means. Essentially duplex operates automatically at a higher or lower frequency when transmitting than it receives at and often has an additional sub frequency transmitted (pl tone) sort of like a pass key to open the repeater for your radios use. If you don't get your licence you wont learn what is necessary and will have a paperweight. Aside from that hams may hunt you down for messing up the frequencies and give you up to the FCC. Learn to do things right so you can share the privileges with others and they will be happy to teach you what they know if you don't come off with an attitude. Unless smoke signals or animal calls are your thing radio seems to be a great tool for communications. No patriot can be effective as a tool for change alone.
Neil, If you want a more up to date and complete look at ham radio for Preppers, visit the "Ham Radio Crash Course". Josh is as versed in ham radio as you are in firearms. Possibly set up a collaboration with him if you think that would be beneficial to your subscribers. Keep up the good work and great content. We need your knowledge and expertise now more than ever. Thanks
For someone like me living on line "Ring of fire", earthquake happen every year ( more than 6 Richter scale), my handheld Ham Radio really helpful for sharing and get information also for communication, i use VEV-v10, a cheap chinese product with 10watt VHF.
Hmmm a “Ham dating service” will be coming soon! Seriously though, if we reach a point where cell service is shut down and most likely all public radio/ tv, the govt is also going to jam up all other forms of radio communication. Only government channels (frequencies) will be available and not for the public. Direct wire communication such as morose code via the telegraph, will be the only thing that works. It would also be the most secure for tactical and logistics information. Unfortunately it’s the most impractical form for obvious reasons unless phone lines can be tapped into. A friend was telling me...
@Doc Red sometimes the auto correct on my phone goes to a different spelling or word and I don’t catch it. Anyway, I’m simply referring to the direct wire method. Any type of radio frequencies can be jammed up. Morse code by wire (because in no line of sight situations) would be one of the few reliable ways to communicate. The impractical part is stringing wires from point to point. Much of the old fashioned phone lines are gone. I suppose some of today’s phone system could be tapped into if someone knew how. I have a friend who worked on Navy radar, and radio communications / jamming equipment back in the 80s. At that time, just two radio and communications jamming aircraft could take down virtually all forms of communications on the eastern seaboard of the United States. One can only imagine what they can do now.
@@lcee6592 The chances of jamming the entire EM spectrum, particularly over an entire continent are slim to none. There are far too many bands and modes of communication that either avoid jamming or can simply get through or past it. It's really not as easy to do as you seem to think. Geoff ex VK5GDR (Advanced Class)
@@geoffroberts1126 perhaps this might cause a slight glitch in communications... This link is from 2009. Technology has most likely advanced somewhat since then. ruclips.net/video/YpuyPfAZRTU/видео.html
Yep but most people rather just pick up a GMRS radio from walmart, and call it good rather than put in the time/effort to actually learn about ham radio. This is a great time to get into it since the FCC dropped the morse code requirements.
When considering communications in a prepper/world-goes-to-heck mindset, I would suggest IN ADDITION TO ham radio, a good CB radio. Yes, a lot of hams turn up their noses at CB, but think about it- tons of people have CB radios sitting in their closets or on a shelf in a garage. If something major happens, folks are going to dig out whatever is available to them, and way more people have a CB sitting around than a ham radio rig. In my opinion, a good communications setup would include a CB for local "everybody" contact, GMRS for more personal contact, a ham setup to cover as many bands as possible- especially HF for long distance contact, and a good shortwave receiver to get news and updates from a variety of sources. I'd also include a good weather radio programmed to your area.
Back when I was 13, I built an HW-101 (tube type) Ham radio which still works. I also had a ham license at that time but in order to get my license, I had to take a 5 wpm code test (code capability no longer needed), taking the novice class out. Although when I took the code test I kept telling the man coding to speed up he was too slow. They finally brought in an advanced extra class to give me the code test and I told him to speed up or I'd tell him the next 3 words. It was then they asked me if I'd had any coding that was faster and I said yes. I was at 125 wpm, so everything they were doing was far too slow as far as I was concerned. I asked them if they would like me to send it to them and they agreed. I sent a simple line that everyone should know because it uses every letter in the alphabet. "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog's back.", and yes I did have the period in the sentence (all 50 letters including spaces), but I did it in 9 seconds. They got the first letter and the period. One guy came running into the room with my sentence, but it was picked up on his computer which was keeping up with the speed that I was sending the code. Then he looked at my hand and it was on the paddles, that floored him. I also hold a CB license for my base station with 25 sub-licenses for CB radio which we use for our CERT group and then it gets posted to the EOC. My ham antenna sits at the top at 108 feet, and the CB on the same tower at 60 feet it's limit by the FCC. That antenna is a Rhon-55 18"x18"x18" triangular tower-mounted 10 feet into the ground with rebar and concrete. That tower has been in place for well over 50 years. Gone through hurricanes, and a couple of tornados without moving. The ground is a 3/4"x20' copper tubing with salt inside. On the CB, my SWR is 0.1 to 1, or basically flat.
I just got my technician license. I did it b/c I like to do things the right way, re: legally. That's why I have a current license to drive. IT'S REQUIRED. Talking on a HAM radio w/o a license is a criminal action and there ARE monitors looking for illegal radio use.
No there's not. If you're screwing around illegally, licensed operators will make a game out of tracking you down. Once they do, they will then report you to the FCC. There's no "active radio police" on patrol..
Great video and Informative As a prepper in the “prepper world” getting a license to use a radio is No Bueno🙅🏼♂️ in a SHTF But to test your gear and to have multiple people who all need to learn how to communicate and operate is a big deal… you can’t expect people to just no how to use a radio that’s not FRS It takes some understanding and practice
Very interesting. Made me think of when I was a kid back in the 60s, my dad and I had CB radios in our cars, but he also had a CB radio in the house he always called the base unit. It looked a lot like that bigger ham radio sitting in front of you. It was a big thing. He also had an antenna on a tower that was attached to the side of the house probably about 25 feet tall. Was that a CB radio or was that similar to a ham radio? He bought it from a friend of his at work.
Good question Sir. In the 60's CB radios were much larger than those radios shown in the video. Many were crystal controlled and had a lot of glass tubes, AC/DC transformers, large paper capacitors, wires running everywhere, and where mostly heavy. One of the smallest was called a Whiteface Johnson. It had five "channels" which were crystal controlled. They were relative expensive in the early 60's also. Digital electronics changed everything. Go to ARRL.org and get your Amateur Radio Liscense. Love to hear you own. 73 W4BEB
CB radios operate on a small segment of the 12 meters HF band at under 5 watts if legally operating. Ham radios are far more powerful. I was having conversations tonight at 17-35 miles distance on the 2 meters VHF band withy 50 watts . Its like comparing a tricycle to a motorcycle.
I echo some of the comments below. First HAM video I've watched that made sense to me. Beautiful property (and storm) by the way. I live at the beach in Nor Cal and think you're view is just as pretty.
True. But, if you don’t know how to use a radio, which frequencies to transmit and listen, you’re screwed. The test is easy and gives the knowledge necessary to operate
I had to learn 30wpm CW to pass the 20wpm CW portion of the Extra Class license test. It still might be a good idea to know Morse code even though it's not widely used.
@@lexheath8276 Well, me too, but from a purely prepper point of view, I would be thinking about the digital modes, particularly those that work on HF with very low power, very low rx signal strengths, SNR barely above the noise and are difficult to recognise as being a form of communication unless you know what you're listening for. Hard to DF something if you don't know it's there. So, decent, modern, stable HF rig, computer with sound card, some interface stuff and you have a fairly covert comm system, at least from someone without similar equipment and skills.
unfortunately CW is slowly dying off, I decided to learn it anyways just to have that knowledge, you never know when you might need it. I actually enjoy it more than voice SSB.
We have watched over a dozen Ham radio videos looking for beginner information. This is the FIRST ONE that made any friggin sense. Thank you.
Same here, being a Brit almost all the info was relevant for over here too. Good work and ganed a sub
Echo that - I had the same experience. Would watch others and I learned nothing. Thanks and nice job.
It makes sense because you know nothing about ham radio, and neither do these guys. You are on the same playing field. If you want to learn about ham radio, you will have to put in the time to learn. It's not an easy bake oven.
I was going to type the exact same thing. I like the way the host kept reeling him back in. That's usually the problem: HAMS tend to start talking over your head right off the bat.
@@mank_legend5584 I dont think anyone in these comments think they only need to have watched this and are now competent in the field!
Interesting stuff. My dad was a ham from the 1950s. I grew up with him sat on his rig most of the time. He was proud of his 30m dipole 'wet string' in the back garden. He had hundreds of thousands of contacts and we had to ditch thousands of qsl cards. He called all round the world and the furthest was a research base in Antarctica. Mum was never impressed as she used to get tangled while putting washing up lol. Still got hs gear as he was silent key about 15 years ago.
Cool story. Any idea what kind of radio it was? My grandfathers was a big black box with tubes, steel toggle switches and spin dials. He gave it to me when it started shocking him. I enjoyed listening to it, SW was the only thing I could hear. I eventually shot it all up with my shotgun when I got sick of getting shocked.
you sound like me steve i grew up around ham radio with my father as well he had from the 1950s as well, my whole life up until he passed away he loved his hobby of ham radio Q cards from all over the world.
@John Cliff i have thought about it but got lots of hobbies at the moment but cant enjoy any of them. Looking after mum and grandsons is taking all my time now. Maybe when i retire 👍
@@steveedwards4495 I'm very much like you Steve, but although my late father went back as far as the 50s on ham radio, I never really watched him much until the 70s. His call sign was N6DDS. I still have the last of his ham gear in storage and I'm thinking I should get it all out of storage and get it working, then get my general license because things are getting crazy these days, and being able to connect with people around the world is a good capability to have.
Great story, thank you for sharing.
Talking in meters, beginners get confused. What you need to know is the Technician is limited to shorter range frequency bands: UHF and VHF. General gets you into longer range High Frequency bands. With HF you need to get into much longer antennas. Portions of all bands are reserved for Voice, morse, digital and even TV transmissions. I found studying for Technician was also very informative in electrical terms and components. You can get started really inexpensively then decide if you are interested enough to keep going.
Techs have access to the long range 10 meter band.
Me - "I think I want to get into ham radio". Then the dude on the left says "Ham radio is a lot of fun. If you like gadgets there is an endless supply". Me - SOLD!
We have Ham satellites up you can talk through. We do Moon bounce on 6m and up. With moon bounce we can communicate with a station digitally USA to stations at quite distances.
Searched "ham radio 101" and I was glad to see Neil come up! Keep up the great work and thanks for it all
Great information. I started my military career in the Air National Guard working with radio comm from HF to satellites. Haven't done any of that in years but I took a practice test while I was watching this video and I scored a 70 so not bad. I wish I had gotten my license back in the late 90s.
Great video, thanks! As a kid, I used to play with a radio my dad had from WWII. Nowadays, as a software engineer I thought about getting into using antennas in my software. Ham radio gives me an opportunity to combine two hobbies together.
Would love to learn
For the newbies, a wire dipole antenna radiation pattern is broadside. An antenna hung north to south effectively transmits east-west.
Indeed - Imagine either a donut laid 'flat', or a donut sat on it's side
i was a radioman in the navy and have a lot of different experiences. i learned a lot in this video. thank you so much. any further resources or references you can give would be appreciated.
I have been a ham for over 40 years a great sport 73
GMRS requires a license which is really just a fee that covers an entire family including extended family. FRS doesn't require a license, but it's more limited.
@Emmanuel Goldstein your point is moot.
@Emmanuel Goldstein there are additional frequencies available to GMRS including the use of repeaters.
Excellent video, invaluable information!
Just a tiny correction, if I may. At ~4:15 John said "...the ARRL governs the licensing and testing of amateur radio...," but I think that's inaccurate. The ARRL does not govern the licensing or testing. It is an association (although a very big one), and they REPRESENT the interests of the amateur radio community. The FCC (Federal Communications Commision), which was mentioned later on the video, governs licensing and testing in the USA. The ARRL does organize and administer testing, including a lot of paperwork so the licenses can be issued by the FCC. There are other organizations that do that, too (and sometimes more efficiently).
Anyway, thanks, and keep up the excellent work! 73
Digital modes over HF offer a huge advantage to getting info passed long-range on low power. If you're looking to get into radio comms for net-down/blackout/shtf situations, seriously consider getting an amateur license. More power, better equipment, more efficient and much easier communication.
I’m glad I got to see the back of this equipment.
He was using an ICOM 7300 HF radio.
@@TXLorenzo What is the blue stuff on the 7300? I am not a very active ham.
@@Caderic The 7300 is one of the easiest and most capable HF radios out there. Better yet, the price has come down considerably since it's release. The display is very good and the USB connection supports both CAT and audio with a single cable. It is one of the most popular HF radios out there. I highly recommend it for a base station, however, it can be used in the field as well. My recommendation is to get the IC 7300 first, then get a IC 705 when you want to go portable. It is a very easy transition.
@@TXLorenzo Thank you, but I am familiar with the 7300...it is the radio I want. My question was, what is the blue stuff on the radio? I am assuming there is a side handle and two front handles, it the bump on tome that I am really wondering about.
@@Caderic Those appear to be 3D printed handles and an external speaker box. They do not come with the radio.
Gmrs using repeaters can really increase your distance. Hundreds of miles easily with hand held. Great video.
GMRS are few and far between, way behind the number of ham repeaters, which is a shame.
Thanks guys! Good video for the locals. My stepson and nephews are working on radios. Have the GMRS license and there is a goal of ham. Mostly for family com but some fun as well.
I'm still waiting on a Baofeng that takes Glock mags.
😂
Ikkkkkkmmn
G
@@charleyarchuleta4932 ppoiij
Thanks for the extra knowledge about different frequencies and power levels Studying for my tech license now and looking forward to trying a long distance contact when I pass the test and get my call. Looking at that fir tree in my front yard as an antenna tower too.
When the sun spot cycle is up -that's the best time
to talk long. I remember that from my CB days.
Correction, GMRS still requires a license, FRS and CB are the only ones that do not require a license,
Thanks for the information. I'm interested in Ham Radio for when the grid goes down and I have a better perspective after listening to you gentlemen. God Bless.
Thank you for having this Gentlemen on your channel. I'm was looking for information and you guys covered everything I was looking for. Thank you so very much!
I once talked to a person in Kentucky from Jupiter Florida on a home base Cobra CB with an antenna 25 foot high. My neighbor came banging on my door and said I was coming over on his TV. Now that was FUN
Did you have a bootleg amplifier?
@@breckandy nope. All natural
Weather condition was perfect
@@russwilkerson2741 Were you able to fix it or fine tune.
I was once at a drive in movie theater and when I connected the old metal to my window it was touching the metal frame of my van. When I started talking to a fellow CB-er it was broadcasting all over everyones speakers in the theater.
I thought it was funny, everyone else didn't :-(
@@breckandy lol
lol 😆
Excellent, informative, and concise. Nice job, guys.
We appreciate you taking the time to share this incredible way of communication and hope to be joining in on the fun some time in the future. Thank you!
Mine is KF4--- TN.On 2 meter ,And Some Of The 10 meter Band ,440,220 Meter. Through Repeaters Tn to FL and a round the World , Washington state..
Neil, you thought guns were expensive - welcome to ham radio!
🤣 I told John that this was not going to be good. Neil is already talking about getting more. Thanks for watching
Lol... Well, you can't have just one! The upside is it's a cheaper habit than ammo these days.
But the ammo is cheaper
@@rkayakr What ammo? ;)
@@Hogdriver88,
Yeah, you can't talk to people with ammo, but you can't kill them with radio!
Great video and very informative. As an M6 callsign, which is your Tech licence, it would appear that I seem to have more bands available to me on less power, I have UHF/VHF & HF with a full restriction on 60mtr, but all the rest are available. I have been qualified for 4 years and specialise in /P QRP and have talked all over the world. Its a great hobby especially if you are a prepper and want easy reliable comms local, inter state and international. Thankyou for sharing. M6KVK 73
Use of repeaters greatly extends the range of VHF and UHF radios. Just remember that anyone can listen, but only licensed amateurs can transmit. Also, unless you are calling for a specific operator with a specific callsign, any other operator can answer you, but you are not really obligated to talk to them. The magic of HF is that you can call CQ and you never can be sure who you will get a response from or where they will be.
Hi. So what happens if somebody’s kid get a hold of a radio and starts talking on it? What truly happens?
Awesome!
73 DE K5VPC, Spring, Texas
Long Live The Republic! 🇺🇸
I believe transmitting on a Baofang to a FRS/GMRS radio is technically illegal according to FCC regulations. I'm sure people do it all the time but the chances of getting caught are fairly low. FYI
Yes you are right
You are correct. Baofeng radios are not type certified for FRS/GMRS frequencies which means it’s not legal to transmit on those frequencies with those radios.
Well a lot of the radios like this usually Chinese bought through amazon or bought from American importers are part 97 compliant with the fcc so the radio operator should have a fcc callsighn appropriate for the frequencies being used most GMRS and FRS the radio has its own license for use so the operator doesn’t need one
@@xxxxawolxxxx Even if you have a ham license, if you want to use GMRS, you'll still need a GMRS license.
handheld is typically 5 W but HF rigs with amplifiers can go up to a legal limit of 1500 W. Total range is dependent on transmission conditions and frequency.
Hey neighbors! Great video! Studying now.
From a "prepper" standpoint, the repeaters usually have some type of emergency power. In a total armagedon situation, repeater based systems won't work.
you were wrong about the HF for Technician & Novice License you can use 10 Meter SSB and CW, also you can use CW on 80m, 40m, 20m, & 15M.
yes 28.300 to 28.500 MHz on 10m for SSB Phone if you have your tech/novice license, he did glaze over this a bit. CW is a whole new animal. I just recently started learning it. I been playing with the digital modes, as well as analog on 2m, and 70cm since I got mine.
This is an excellent introduction to emergency communications and amateur radio. Thank you! de KLØT
I'll figure this out eventually, but in the meantime- just getting into this, and I had the notion, it would be like buying an AM/FM radio: all the frequencies are the same, you only need consider sound, and price. Maybe looks. Looking for a hand-held, and am up against choices I didn't foresee.
It can be extremely overwhelming when you first get into the hobby. I bought a $35 baofeng uv-5r, and listened for years before I decided to get my license. The hobby can get pretty expensive depending on how deep you get into it, especially at the General & Extra levels when you get into HF radios as well as all the needed componets. Best thing you can do is watch videos on youtube and research as much as you can, after that you can decide if ham radio is something you want to further explore.
Wealth of knowledge! Thank you very much. Western Maryland here...
Great video with a great demonstration of the equipment.
Just some random thoughts, if anyone is preparing for a shtf scenario:
1. Naturally occurring or man made EMF events can render the equipment useless unless you want to construct a Faraday cage.
2. If the government is involved in the shtf event, they have the technology to put an aircraft up or use existing transmission towers to jam any frequency you would want to talk on.
3. It might be a good idea to have the capability to recharge battery power supplies with a solar charger, in the event that the power grid is down for a significant time period.
4. I have a Ham Technicians license, but do believe that during a shtf event the FCC will not be issuing violation notices, IMHO.
Do some research on Amateur Radio Emergency Services. Hams are not considered a luxury, but a necessity in almost every disaster scenario. One caveat to that was that all amateur transmissions were banned during WWII to avoid interference with frequencies in use by both sides. All receiving stations, however, were encouraged to pass along any intel they might gather. The Germans used 10 meters in their tank corps and field operations in Europe and Africa could often be heard in the us by amateur operators.
Oh our government would never jam frequencies in order to censor us. 😉
If there is an EMP pulse and your gear survives, who do you plan to communicate with?
@@mondavou9408 Generally the government would not 'jam' frequencies, since they also use the same band plan as amateurs. Do some homework and you will find out which bands are shared and why.
Thanks to the guest! appreciate it
Yes, the Baofengs have the ability to be programmed for FRS/GMRS/MURS frequencies, but they're not LEGAL to USE on those frequencies, because they're not FCC Type Accepted for those frequencies!
So when you go to program those frequencies in, for listening of course. Make sure you use the closest setting to legal as you can..
Sad ham.
@@1980Baldeagle LOL Exactly
Not only are the radios not licensed for GMRS, individuals who want to transmit on GMRS need a GMRS license, even if they have a ham license.
Thanks. The RUclips channels mostly want to sell me radios. Like you just did. I have radios.
Thanks again. Love to see you go outside.
Great talk guys! Thanks for the info.
Had my license years ago. N6LFV. California. Used it a bit when we sailed around the world. Was fun should get back into the hobby.
This is truly a great video. Thank you.
The Technician Class Licence does include some HF (10m, 16m, 40m, 80m) but it's either CW (morse code) or RTTY/data.
Awesome video! You answered questions I’ve wondered about for years!
New to Ham stuff ..Great normal presentation
Really nice overview. Would have been nice if you also touched on DMR, which enables worldwide digital access with a technicians license.
Wouldn't DMR be more advanced than the topic?
@Evan Yes. DMR, YSF, D-Star, etc, all of the digital IRLP would be a different topic to get into after talking about the basics of analog VHF/UHF.
Got my technician license along with a few other buddies. Very handy to have
Speaking of a grid down situation, do we need to keep these types of radios in an EMP-proof bag or faraday cage?
Thanks for watching
For what was on the table that they were using, yes. There are older all tube Ham radios that are emp proof. I have a Yaesu FT-101. You will also need, antenna tuner (mine is a MFJ tuner) and the antenna, which could be a simple "T" shape like mine, that the radio guy in the video hung in the trees.
@@justlooking2222 is there a difference between ham and a cb radio like a trucker would use
@@geraldhoskins2021 yes cb radio operates on the 11meter frequency while ham radio operates on many frequencies, in the HF, UHF, VHF bands. CB does not require a license, while ham radio does, and depending on your level of license (technician, general, extra) you get access to different bands. In my area CB is pretty much dead, but we have a lot of hams on the 2m and 70 cm ham bands in the area. It's all about having a well rounded way to communicate. I would encourage you to get your technician license, it doesn't cost much to start, and it is a fun hobby, personally I got in to help my county's emergency operations, but that's my story, every one has their one reasons. 73
@@geraldhoskins2021 One big difference is legal power. CB is 5 watts in AM mode, Amateur radio is 1000 watts (1500 watts peak envelope power). The other difference is discipline. CB radio is completely undisciplined and consequently not very useful. Ham radio is fairly well disciplined and if you come on without discipline it is likely no one will talk to you and in the long run do some direction finding and get fined by the FCC.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and skills.
Very informative dental and completely confused. Wanting to start to look into ham handheld radio for myself and my son-in-law. We know we got to get a license. But I was wanting to know a good quality beginner radio recommended
It all depends on your budget, personally I started out on a very basic baofeng uv-5r just listening to nets and simplex convos on 2m and 70cm, it's a great radio for the price. On your higher price range end look into a yaesu, icom, or kenwood HT's, they all do the samething for the most part with some added features/digital modes as well as better quality.
The ARRL doesn’t control the licensing of The Amateur Radio service. The FCC controls, the ARRL does have testing in their system.
You need a license for GMRS!
BaoFeng Radio's are not type accepted for FRS, GMRS, and MURS, and their legality for even ham above 1 watt is questionable.
I know a 10 year old who passed the Technician, and by 11, had her extra.
Thanks for watching and commenting
An Extra by 11?! Wow. My 11 y.o. daughter wants to get her Tech license, but I am having a hard time explaining the material to her at a level she understands.
Stuart Hall to be fair, she passed by memorizing questions and answers from the practice tests.
@@Timothy-NH That's still impressive.
damned whippersnappers
Thanks for explaining all that, this has been the most useful explaination on ham radios. Thumbs up.
Just got my Technician certification on Saturday....woohoo
congratulations!!
What a nice dude he is too. Makes me want to be more upstanding, how strange. Grate vid thanks
Great Channel content...you guys were on point, funny, and captivating in your intel and conversation. Well, done!!! Some guys on this topic kill it in a BAD WAY!!! Thank You.
Really great video. No mention of antenna orientation. A 5 watt hand held (HT) can use isw (incident skywave) by turning the antenna and radio side ways (horizontal). As the signal emits 90 degrees from the antenna axis it can go straight up and in a 180 degree arc. If ionospheric's are good it can bounce back down and reach someone.
20:20
Why didn't you guys show the equipment 🤣
Yeah not helpful looking at the rear end of it
Great video guys, and for my battery pack I use lead acid ups batteries, the LiPos up in the north don't like the cold when outside in the winter. VE3-ZPQ Canada.
You’re incorrect. You do have to have a license for GMRS.
Correct but it just a send the app in thing, no testing.
I bet you are the life of the party. Nothing like being a Karen.
Fuck a license
@@andrewfischer7279 It's $35 to allow your entire family to use GMRS for 10 years... Just pay it.
@@Chaz042TFC wow really?
Excellent Video. Nice to see a slingshot Tree-Antenna technique in action.
Being able to communicate long range point to point on HF using WINLINK email is one of the most powerful capabilities of ham radio. It is the ultimate prepper tool.
Good video. Nice Job. Ham Radio has a lot of different types of digital radios. DMR, Fusion, D-Star, P25 and NXDN for voice (local). We also have many types of digital packet modes (local and long distance). This mode works keyboard to keyboard. Most law enforcement use P25 and sometimes NXDN as well as FM. P25 is the standard for now.
Go get licensed. Learn about the equipment. If you think you can just pick one of these up during SHTF and talk on any frequency or band, you're going to be disappointed
Exactly. Once you get into an emergency it is too late to learn how to use the equipment. That is like buying a violin and claiming, now you are a musician.
Glad to find a ham guy in Ohio! I grew up in Broadview Hts but live outside of Toledo now. Looking to get into ham and this is very informative. I have friends in Kenton Ohio that have been into ham for years.
Great video. Easy to understand. Where do you get the slingshot you used to get the antenna over the tree? Can't quite see it in the video.
From his pocket.
Thanks you for the time putting your video together.
Very good information
GMRS can go up to 50 watts , and with repeaters , range can be greatly extended
Cb/ham radio the original social media. My dad was a ham operator back in the 70s and 80s. Also a rig doctor. Which handy lol . And good god how things have changed
Great video, important stuff. It may come down to like minded neighbors helping each other out and communication may be severely limited. I think the web and cell service could be shut down at some point. I was in Urumqi, China, 2 months after the Uighur/Han riots a decade ago. There was no cell or internet service for 4 mos.
If you don’t think that can happen here, you are mistaken. I believe it can and probably will as we are entering very precious times here in America.
If you are still sleeping to this fact, it’s time to wake up now and get ready. You don’t have much time.
Biden just signed an EO to not secure the grid.
@@sarashepard7504 Biden is the worst person to occupy the White House. That includes the British when they burned it in the War of 1812.
Would like to have seen the 'front end' of those rigs you used...Kind of boring seeing that back side of 'em....
73's from N6HYD in Oregon
Glad to see a good Ham Radio video oriented to preppers. Good content and enjoy the hobby. 73
Rotterdam The Netherlands says hi! ... Thanks for the video. Eventhough amateur licenses and frequency bands are different here, still very useful ✌🏼😎
Thanks for the info!!! I am very interested in the subject of HAM and want to get my license. But i have 1 question to those saying patriots rise up and fight tyranny while using HAM. If i need a government issued license to use it and my position can be triangulated easily, how and why would this be a good idea for a patriot movement? Think people good for emergency and great as a hobby but anything else would be a bad idea.
There is no conflict with the idea of being a Patriot or a prepar and holding a ham radio license. The way I see it, being a legally recognized amateur radio operator and license holder gives you clout that someone not holding a license does not have. The government should not and will not be able to take our licenses away as long as we are legal and do not become a terrorist ourselves. We must fight the system that is bringing down the free country that we have grown up in and by holding a ham license that gives us strength to be able to communicate. I have personally been involved in emergency communications during and after hurricanes that have hit areas of the South. I have been a ham radio operator and broadcast Engineer for over 50 years, and I am still active as such. and consider myself a very strong Patriot - Bill, K5EYS
Without that licence you can get located and slammed with hefty fines for transmitting on Ameteur radios. With it you have the opportunity to learn HOW to use that equipment in case of emergencies or other adventures. This is not a cell phone or a CB radio, there is knowledge involved in getting things to work properly. Idf somebody tries to use a Baofeng radio on a repeater they may find that it wont operate in Duplex mode, I know, you don't know what that means. Essentially duplex operates automatically at a higher or lower frequency when transmitting than it receives at and often has an additional sub frequency transmitted (pl tone) sort of like a pass key to open the repeater for your radios use. If you don't get your licence you wont learn what is necessary and will have a paperweight. Aside from that hams may hunt you down for messing up the frequencies and give you up to the FCC. Learn to do things right so you can share the privileges with others and they will be happy to teach you what they know if you don't come off with an attitude. Unless smoke signals or animal calls are your thing radio seems to be a great tool for communications. No patriot can be effective as a tool for change alone.
I needed to see this. Thanks a million!
Neil, If you want a more up to date and complete look at ham radio for Preppers, visit the "Ham Radio Crash Course". Josh is as versed in ham radio as you are in firearms. Possibly set up a collaboration with him if you think that would be beneficial to your subscribers. Keep up the good work and great content. We need your knowledge and expertise now more than ever. Thanks
Would love that video.
ruclips.net/video/0wwnOPaF1qI/видео.html
For someone like me living on line "Ring of fire", earthquake happen every year ( more than 6 Richter scale), my handheld Ham Radio really helpful for sharing and get information also for communication, i use VEV-v10, a cheap chinese product with 10watt VHF.
Hmmm a “Ham dating service” will be coming soon!
Seriously though, if we reach a point where cell service is shut down and most likely all public radio/ tv, the govt is also going to jam up all other forms of radio communication. Only government channels (frequencies) will be available and not for the public. Direct wire communication such as morose code via the telegraph, will be the only thing that works. It would also be the most secure for tactical and logistics information. Unfortunately it’s the most impractical form for obvious reasons unless phone lines can be tapped into.
A friend was telling me...
@Doc Red really?
So go ahead mr smarty tell everyone all that you know about it.
@Doc Red sometimes the auto correct on my phone goes to a different spelling or word and I don’t catch it.
Anyway, I’m simply referring to the direct wire method. Any type of radio frequencies can be jammed up. Morse code by wire (because in no line of sight situations) would be one of the few reliable ways to communicate. The impractical part is stringing wires from point to point. Much of the old fashioned phone lines are gone. I suppose some of today’s phone system could be tapped into if someone knew how. I have a friend who worked on Navy radar, and radio communications / jamming equipment back in the 80s.
At that time, just two radio and communications jamming aircraft could take down virtually all forms of communications on the eastern seaboard of the United States. One can only imagine what they can do now.
@Doc Red I’m sure that must mean something important. Lol
@@lcee6592 The chances of jamming the entire EM spectrum, particularly over an entire continent are slim to none. There are far too many bands and modes of communication that either avoid jamming or can simply get through or past it. It's really not as easy to do as you seem to think. Geoff ex VK5GDR (Advanced Class)
@@geoffroberts1126
perhaps this might cause a slight glitch in communications...
This link is from 2009. Technology has most likely advanced somewhat since then.
ruclips.net/video/YpuyPfAZRTU/видео.html
I miss it. Some day God willing I'll get back to it
Great Video, I've Been Trying to Push Ham Radio, To Preppers. But they don't Really seam That Interested.
Yeah comms is probably the most important item when trying to survive esp with what's going in our world now.
Yep but most people rather just pick up a GMRS radio from walmart, and call it good rather than put in the time/effort to actually learn about ham radio. This is a great time to get into it since the FCC dropped the morse code requirements.
@@pnwhamnation2722 They'll get into GMRS first because the fee is going down to $35.00.
When considering communications in a prepper/world-goes-to-heck mindset, I would suggest IN ADDITION TO ham radio, a good CB radio. Yes, a lot of hams turn up their noses at CB, but think about it- tons of people have CB radios sitting in their closets or on a shelf in a garage. If something major happens, folks are going to dig out whatever is available to them, and way more people have a CB sitting around than a ham radio rig. In my opinion, a good communications setup would include a CB for local "everybody" contact, GMRS for more personal contact, a ham setup to cover as many bands as possible- especially HF for long distance contact, and a good shortwave receiver to get news and updates from a variety of sources. I'd also include a good weather radio programmed to your area.
Back when I was 13, I built an HW-101 (tube type) Ham radio which still works. I also had a ham license at that time but in order to get my license, I had to take a 5 wpm code test (code capability no longer needed), taking the novice class out. Although when I took the code test I kept telling the man coding to speed up he was too slow. They finally brought in an advanced extra class to give me the code test and I told him to speed up or I'd tell him the next 3 words. It was then they asked me if I'd had any coding that was faster and I said yes. I was at 125 wpm, so everything they were doing was far too slow as far as I was concerned. I asked them if they would like me to send it to them and they agreed. I sent a simple line that everyone should know because it uses every letter in the alphabet. "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog's back.", and yes I did have the period in the sentence (all 50 letters including spaces), but I did it in 9 seconds. They got the first letter and the period. One guy came running into the room with my sentence, but it was picked up on his computer which was keeping up with the speed that I was sending the code. Then he looked at my hand and it was on the paddles, that floored him.
I also hold a CB license for my base station with 25 sub-licenses for CB radio which we use for our CERT group and then it gets posted to the EOC. My ham antenna sits at the top at 108 feet, and the CB on the same tower at 60 feet it's limit by the FCC. That antenna is a Rhon-55 18"x18"x18" triangular tower-mounted 10 feet into the ground with rebar and concrete. That tower has been in place for well over 50 years. Gone through hurricanes, and a couple of tornados without moving. The ground is a 3/4"x20' copper tubing with salt inside. On the CB, my SWR is 0.1 to 1, or basically flat.
Wow! I don’t think you Pro’s understand how close my brain is to EXPLODING! I’m trying my hardest to learn, but holy cow.
I just got my technician license. I did it b/c I like to do things the right way, re: legally. That's why I have a current license to drive. IT'S REQUIRED. Talking on a HAM radio w/o a license is a criminal action and there ARE monitors looking for illegal radio use.
No there's not. If you're screwing around illegally, licensed operators will make a game out of tracking you down. Once they do, they will then report you to the FCC. There's no "active radio police" on patrol..
Great video and Informative
As a prepper in the “prepper world” getting a license to use a radio is No Bueno🙅🏼♂️ in a SHTF
But to test your gear and to have multiple people who all need to learn how to communicate and operate is a big deal… you can’t expect people to just no how to use a radio that’s not FRS
It takes some understanding and practice
*SO...HOW MANY TATTOOS AND MUSCLES DO I NEED TO HAVE BEFORE I CAN WORK THE RADIO?*
Eight.
You can get on a small section of hf with technicians license
Very interesting. Made me think of when I was a kid back in the 60s, my dad and I had CB radios in our cars, but he also had a CB radio in the house he always called the base unit. It looked a lot like that bigger ham radio sitting in front of you. It was a big thing. He also had an antenna on a tower that was attached to the side of the house probably about 25 feet tall. Was that a CB radio or was that similar to a ham radio? He bought it from a friend of his at work.
No way to know based on your description. If he wasn’t using a callsign it was probably a CB.
Good question Sir. In the 60's CB radios were much larger than those radios shown in the video. Many were crystal controlled and had a lot of glass tubes, AC/DC transformers, large paper capacitors, wires running everywhere, and where mostly heavy. One of the smallest was called a Whiteface Johnson. It had five "channels" which were crystal controlled. They were relative expensive in the early 60's also. Digital electronics changed everything. Go to ARRL.org and get your Amateur Radio Liscense. Love to hear you own. 73 W4BEB
CB radios operate on a small segment of the 12 meters HF band at under 5 watts if legally operating. Ham radios are far more powerful. I was having conversations tonight at 17-35 miles distance on the 2 meters VHF band withy 50 watts . Its like comparing a tricycle to a motorcycle.
@@anthonyrosa5006 There are trike motorcycles!
I echo some of the comments below. First HAM video I've watched that made sense to me. Beautiful property (and storm) by the way. I live at the beach in Nor Cal and think you're view is just as pretty.
Nice info guys. Time for patriots to organize.
My dad used to be a ham operator, he knew people all over the world..I always wanted to do this
Cant the people that are ahead a couple of hours send you back the lottery numbers? hmmmmm....
Great info! Alot of people want ham radios in case of a SHTF situation. There won't be an FCC or government to punish you over a license.
You do not need a license to legally transmit on Ham in the case of an “Emergency”, life, medical or loss of property, If I’m not mistaken.
True. But, if you don’t know how to use a radio, which frequencies to transmit and listen, you’re screwed. The test is easy and gives the knowledge necessary to operate
Fascinating discussion for generating an interest in radio coms
I had to learn 30wpm CW to pass the 20wpm CW portion of the Extra Class license test. It still might be a good idea to know Morse code even though it's not widely used.
Amen. I'm an old Advanced Class, and now they are giving CW spectrum to keyless kids! wy7ac
@@lexheath8276 Well, me too, but from a purely prepper point of view, I would be thinking about the digital modes, particularly those that work on HF with very low power, very low rx signal strengths, SNR barely above the noise and are difficult to recognise as being a form of communication unless you know what you're listening for. Hard to DF something if you don't know it's there. So, decent, modern, stable HF rig, computer with sound card, some interface stuff and you have a fairly covert comm system, at least from someone without similar equipment and skills.
unfortunately CW is slowly dying off, I decided to learn it anyways just to have that knowledge, you never know when you might need it. I actually enjoy it more than voice SSB.
Really good breakdown of licensing info and technical terms.