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Post by jonasparker on Jan 6, 2018 6:07:38 GMT 10
Do you REALLY need that ham license?
I've read numerous posts on the theme "after the SHTF, a license won't mean diddly" and "I'll just gear up now and wait for things to fall apart before I use my transmitter". Unfortunately, that license will still be important, and familiarity with your "gear" (or, in "ham-speak", a "rig") will be vital.
Most hams I know have a logging program with a database on a dedicated computer next to their rigs. If I punch in your call-sign, your name, address, and Maidenhead grid location immediately show in my station log. If you don't give me a call-sign, I won't respond to you unless you're calling "mayday", and then it better be a real emergency with an immediate threat to human life!. If you give me a bogus call-sign, you better have the name, address, grid, and location down pat. If I ask for your QTH, the correct answer is not "Huh? What?". In other words, the minute you make that first transmission, hams will know you aren't for real.
There's a learning curve here. Folks are telling me that they'll have the gear and when the SHTF they'll just power up, set the proper band, frequency, and mode, key the microphone, and transmit with no problem tuning their antenna, setting the filters, or adjusting the microphone gain and transmitting power. Great! Then following that logic, I can buy a rifle, a scope, and a few boxes of ammo and leave them all on a shelf until I need them, then somehow strip and clean the rifle, attach the scope, load the magazines, and hit the 10-ring with my first 5 shots! You and I both know that ain't gonna happen...
So why add to the comms problems in a SHTF scenario when you can be part of the solution. Get your license and get on the air now. Get familiar with your rig and the procedures and the protocols in use. Join your local ham club. Check into a "traffic net" and get familiar with passing traffic. Hone your skills. When you really need them, the skills will be there!
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Post by doomsdayprepper4570 on Jan 6, 2018 6:46:49 GMT 10
I never worried about the radio licences even when you needed one for UHF years ago! Just another tax grab.
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Post by doomsdayprepper4570 on Jan 6, 2018 7:14:09 GMT 10
A had a couple of mates worked in army coms, but they are all dead now from cancer.
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Morgo
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Post by Morgo on Jan 6, 2018 11:52:07 GMT 10
There's a learning curve here. Folks are telling me that they'll have the gear and when the SHTF they'll just power up, set the proper band, frequency, and mode, key the microphone, and transmit with no problem tuning their antenna, setting the filters, or adjusting the microphone gain and transmitting power. Great! Then following that logic, I can buy a rifle, a scope, and a few boxes of ammo and leave them all on a shelf until I need them, then somehow strip and clean the rifle, attach the scope, load the magazines, and hit the 10-ring with my first 5 shots! You and I both know that ain't gonna happen... Not quite the same thing. The user manual that comes with a radio and maybe another book will teach you all you ever need to know to successfully use the radio in no time at all. The same can't be said for shooting where practical experience is key and takes time to learn and master to be effective in its use. The big difference is you DON'T need to be 90-100% accurate with the radio to be 100% effective for SHTF needs. You might only be able to use the radio to 10% of its total but if you can make contact all over Australia, or even a few hundred K's from your position, but can't reach around the world it doesn't matter. With a rifle sure you can learn to use it too in no time at all but the difference is in the results/effectiveness which is much more critical than the radio. With the rifle you NEED to be 90-100% accurate to be effective. If your only able to hit the target 10% of the time then your not effective at all and it REALLY does matter then.
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Post by doomsdayprepper4570 on Jan 7, 2018 7:37:58 GMT 10
Not too worried about radios myself. Just the shelter, meds and food situation.
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gasman
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Post by gasman on Jan 7, 2018 8:29:11 GMT 10
Would be great to have We intend to use uhf for comms We have a saying in our group “ it’s on the list” The list is extreeeeeeemly long and is topped by food water shelter defence etc
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Post by graynomad on Jan 7, 2018 21:07:09 GMT 10
I got one of these bad boys for free It's so old nobody I spoke to knew the model. It came with an antenna tuner as well. I've had it into the local HAM club for testing and it seems good for both Tx and Rx, they tell me I can at least make a start (listening only of course) with a wire thrown up a tree for an antenna. If I get more interested I can work on a decent antenna and maybe even a license. I think it could be useful to get the skinny from people with boots on the ground around Oz and even in other countries, it might even be a fun hobby although if there's one thing I don't need right now it's another hobby Meanwhile, for local comms it will be UHF and 27MHz for me, I have handhelds and base units for both, just need to set up some good antennas for the base units. This was driven home a bit a few days ago when all the mobile phones were off the air here and I had no comms with my neighbour. We only wanted to organise a cup of coffee at his place, but the issues of no comms was highlighted to us. Like Gasman says, it's on the list.
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Post by jonasparker on Jan 10, 2018 3:17:16 GMT 10
There's a learning curve here. Folks are telling me that they'll have the gear and when the SHTF they'll just power up, set the proper band, frequency, and mode, key the microphone, and transmit with no problem tuning their antenna, setting the filters, or adjusting the microphone gain and transmitting power. Great! Then following that logic, I can buy a rifle, a scope, and a few boxes of ammo and leave them all on a shelf until I need them, then somehow strip and clean the rifle, attach the scope, load the magazines, and hit the 10-ring with my first 5 shots! You and I both know that ain't gonna happen... Not quite the same thing. The user manual that comes with a radio and maybe another book will teach you all you ever need to know to successfully use the radio in no time at all. The same can't be said for shooting where practical experience is key and takes time to learn and master to be effective in its use. The big difference is you DON'T need to be 90-100% accurate with the radio to be 100% effective for SHTF needs. You might only be able to use the radio to 10% of its total but if you can make contact all over Australia, or even a few hundred K's from your position, but can't reach around the world it doesn't matter. With a rifle sure you can learn to use it too in no time at all but the difference is in the results/effectiveness which is much more critical than the radio. With the rifle you NEED to be 90-100% accurate to be effective. If your only able to hit the target 10% of the time then your not effective at all and it REALLY does matter then. Really Morgo? So you already know the phonetic alphabet? You know the "Q-codes"? You know which SW bands are used for phone transmissions on USB and which are used on LSB? You know which frequencies are limited to CW and data, and which are open to phone? You know the power limitations on the various bands? You know the different types of antennas and how to tune them to your transceiver? Good luck with your "instant ham" plug-in and key the mic comms plan. You'll need it!
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Morgo
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Post by Morgo on Jan 10, 2018 6:23:45 GMT 10
Not quite the same thing. The user manual that comes with a radio and maybe another book will teach you all you ever need to know to successfully use the radio in no time at all. The same can't be said for shooting where practical experience is key and takes time to learn and master to be effective in its use. The big difference is you DON'T need to be 90-100% accurate with the radio to be 100% effective for SHTF needs. You might only be able to use the radio to 10% of its total but if you can make contact all over Australia, or even a few hundred K's from your position, but can't reach around the world it doesn't matter. With a rifle sure you can learn to use it too in no time at all but the difference is in the results/effectiveness which is much more critical than the radio. With the rifle you NEED to be 90-100% accurate to be effective. If your only able to hit the target 10% of the time then your not effective at all and it REALLY does matter then. Really Morgo? So you already know the phonetic alphabet? You know the "Q-codes"? You know which SW bands are used for phone transmissions on USB and which are used on LSB? You know which frequencies are limited to CW and data, and which are open to phone? You know the power limitations on the various bands? You know the different types of antennas and how to tune them to your transceiver? Good luck with your "instant ham" plug-in and key the mic comms plan. You'll need it! Why do I need to know the phonetic alphabet? Why do I need to know the "Q-codes"? Why do I need to know which SW bands are used for phone transmissions on USB and which are used on LSB? Why do I need to know which frequencies are limited to CW and data, and which are open to phone? Why do I need to know the know the power limitations on the various bands? Why do I need to know the know the different types of antennas and how to tune them to your transceiver? I bet most of that is simply standard operating practices or regulation/licence requirements all of which mean nothing during a SHTF. Also any equipment requirements and how to tune them should be in the manual or the second book I mentioned. Nothing you have presented can not be learned in an afternoon to become effective. Its a radio, its not rocket science it does not require some special life long skill to use. During a SHTF its laughable to suggest people on the radio are going to ignore you because you're not using the call signs or special lingo that they do. Now I'm not saying don't get a licence, if it's of interest to people and they have the spare time and resources to invest in it then do so.
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Post by jonasparker on Jan 10, 2018 6:39:22 GMT 10
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Morgo
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Post by Morgo on Jan 10, 2018 12:06:54 GMT 10
From the website amrron.com/webstore/?product_cat=comms-s-o-i"If it all went down tomorrow and your family’s life depended on it…" See that's just it, I plan so my faimly's life doesn't depend on it, that I don't need to get on a radio and call other people for help if the SHTF. Its something I might add one day that can be used quite some time after the SHTF. Its something that when I have time post SHTF I'll read the books I bought to go with it, learn how it works, set it up and see who is about. I'd also imagine that at the start of a SHTF it would be nearly useless anyway as all those people who think they can call for help would be flooding the radio waves.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jan 10, 2018 17:23:58 GMT 10
Do you REALLY need that ham license?
I've read numerous posts on the theme "after the SHTF, a license won't mean diddly" and "I'll just gear up now and wait for things to fall apart before I use my transmitter". Unfortunately, that license will still be important, and familiarity with your "gear" (or, in "ham-speak", a "rig") will be vital. Most hams I know have a logging program with a database on a dedicated computer next to their rigs. If I punch in your call-sign, your name, address, and Maidenhead grid location immediately show in my station log. If you don't give me a call-sign, I won't respond to you unless you're calling "mayday", and then it better be a real emergency with an immediate threat to human life!. If you give me a bogus call-sign, you better have the name, address, grid, and location down pat. If I ask for your QTH, the correct answer is not "Huh? What?". In other words, the minute you make that first transmission, hams will know you aren't for real. There's a learning curve here. Folks are telling me that they'll have the gear and when the SHTF they'll just power up, set the proper band, frequency, and mode, key the microphone, and transmit with no problem tuning their antenna, setting the filters, or adjusting the microphone gain and transmitting power. Great! Then following that logic, I can buy a rifle, a scope, and a few boxes of ammo and leave them all on a shelf until I need them, then somehow strip and clean the rifle, attach the scope, load the magazines, and hit the 10-ring with my first 5 shots! You and I both know that ain't gonna happen... So why add to the comms problems in a SHTF scenario when you can be part of the solution. Get your license and get on the air now. Get familiar with your rig and the procedures and the protocols in use. Join your local ham club. Check into a "traffic net" and get familiar with passing traffic. Hone your skills. When you really need them, the skills will be there! Thanks for the reminder about getting the licence and starting to use it before it’s really needed. It has been interesting to read the different viewpoints. Learning more about ham radio has been on my list for quite a while. Not sure how quickly it will make it to the top of the list, but once it does, assuming I haven’t left it too late, I will get a licence.
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gasman
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Post by gasman on Jan 10, 2018 20:30:53 GMT 10
When u have a group of like minded prepper individuals, everyone has there own special interests/ skills they are really good/ passionate about , and the rest of us dabble in Multiple prepper related topics I would love to have a ham licence/ expertise, and if a group member presented that as their area of expertise they would be a valued member I have too many prepper related interests/ hobbies to pick up another one and not do it properly!!
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Post by jonasparker on Jan 10, 2018 23:42:42 GMT 10
A close mate of mine is a ham geek. Has a 6m x 6m shed full of radio gear; much of it from warships as they are decommissioned. He works for the state Police repairing and maintaining their radio network. He's the man when it comes to ham. He told me that most hammers rely on repeater stations linked via the internet. How will that impact on the ham network when the internet goes down? Repeaters are for VHF and UHF FM, usually where the Technician-class licensed hams operate. The only internet link needed is for our logging programs. If the 'net goes down, we'll be logging our calls the old fashioned way, with pencil and paper. For those with General or Amateur-Extra licenses, HF SW, SSB AM is the mode of choice. No repeaters needed, just 100 watts or so and a good antenna. We're "stand alone", so a 12 volt battery and a solar panel for recharging is pretty much all we need. Most of us have small (1 kw or so) sine-wave generators as backup. In the US, a good internet-based ham course called hamtestonline is available. I would imagine something similar is available in Australia. The best resource for people getting started is your nearest ham club.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jan 11, 2018 7:03:17 GMT 10
Does anyone know of an Australian internet based ham licensing course?
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Post by jonasparker on Jan 12, 2018 2:21:06 GMT 10
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Post by Peter on Jan 12, 2018 22:54:31 GMT 10
...it might even be a fun hobby although if there's one thing I don't need right now it's another hobby Preach!
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paranoia
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Post by paranoia on Jan 16, 2018 12:00:31 GMT 10
Thanks for the post, Jonasparker. The shooting analogy is not perfect but I feel valid and agree with the sentiment.
The idea that you'll "just pick it up in an afternoon" after reading the manual I feel is a flawed one but not because you won't know the Q codes or won't be able to turn the radio on. The radio spectrum is a big wide world out there and if we're talking SHTF communications you'll have limited power so accuracy of communication will be vital.
To use another imperfect analogy... You're seeking help in an abandoned city, there are a handful of people in the city in different places during different times of the day. You have a map, a compass and a book on navigation.
It's going to be fairly important that you've spent time in that city if you ever want to find help. Why would I need to know which region of the city the people will be in or what kind of buildings they would be in is not something you'd ask.
It's not a matter of people ignoring you if you use the wrong slang... You'll just never find someone.
For me the importance of getting your licence is the opportunity to spend time in that great big city that is the radio spectrum and learn what goes down when. Success in radio is not when you've transmitted a signal but when you've made contact.
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paranoia
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Post by paranoia on Jan 16, 2018 12:14:59 GMT 10
Does anyone know of an Australian internet based ham licensing course? My belief is that the best way to get started is this book... Can get a copy online or your local ham club will sell it to you for like $20 If you're new to electronics and em waves some of the content may take a bit to wrap your head around. Good to review the content before going for a course.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jan 16, 2018 14:37:32 GMT 10
I can see the advantage of a ham licence and set up when the SHTF, and of having used it before a time like that, and having made contact with people, etc. That is all still prep for when the bad times come.
What is the advantage of a ham licence for times when things are going well?
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