HAM

HAM radio as a part of your Emergency Preparations

9 November, 2015 By Patrick Mikell Leave a Comment

My first interest and involvement in amateur radio was back in the late 1960’s when I was in the Boy Scouts. One of our scoutmasters was a HAM radio operator and would invite us to tour his “Shack” as he called it and see how he was able to talk to people all over the world from his desk. He did not just talk to people, he also sent messages using Morris Code which at the time seemed like secret messages and the stuff spy’s would use. Although I was impressed and interested, the money for a radio was not in the cards, I was saving up for a motorcycle after all.

Fast forward to sometime during 1999, everyone’s talking about Y2K and how all the computers are going to crash. The trucking company I’m working for has us coordinating with computer programmers to fix the bugs within our network. We have weekly strategy meetings to try and cover all the weak points in our system should the worst happen. Since we are running trucks from coast to coast and have over 100 freight terminals, alternate communications is an important part of the planning. Enter the HAM radio operators. It’s decided that we will try and locate at least one licensed HAM in every city we have a office and try to establish a means of communications should the systems come crashing down because of the Y2K bug. Since the system did not crash as was being predicted, we never needed the help of the operators we contacted, but it was enlightening to know there was a means of communicating in a worse case scenario.

Next up is August 28, 2005. We are evacuating our home in Covington Louisiana, which is about 30 miles North of New Orleans, because Katrina is heading our way. We “bugged out” to Dallas Texas for a couple of days and only one day after the storm hit the area, both mine and my wife’s cell phone were useless. For whatever reasons, the 504 area code for the region quit working. We could not call out or receive any calls inside that area code, even using landline phones so we were out of touch with friends and family we left behind.
It was during this time I began to wish I’d gotten around to getting my HAM license.

Finally in April of 2011 some friends told me about a basic HAM class being taught by a local group and I signed up.
I’m sure that people get involved in amateur radio for all kinds of reasons. Many of the experienced HAMs in our local clubs are experimenters and enjoy building their own rigs and repairing electronics. We have others that are interested in public service and serve as local storm spotters when the weather is bad. Others like myself see amateur radio as a major part of their preparation for an emergency situations like tornado’s, hurricanes or floods.

Below are some links for you to explore:
· ARRL is the National Association for Amateur Radio and is one of the best places to find information for both beginners and experts alike. www.arrl.org
· www.QRZ.com is a really good site for information and after you register they have free online tests to prepare you for your Technician, General, and Extra licenses.
· The American Radio Preparedness Net (TAPRN). These folks are the co-creators of the Standardized Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Plan.
· “The Skinny on Ham Radio” is an article on The Survival Mom’s Blog site.
· Radio Survivalist. This site contains links to many different online amateur radio resources for preppers, including information about rigs and antennas.
· Our Communications offerings Links to radio and antenna products that we offer on our site that are Proudly Made In America by Americans.
Remember, Goggle is your friend, try searching for local Amateur Radio clubs in your area to learn where local classes and gatherings are as well as more information from amateur radio websites.

Free instructions for a cheap antenna to boost the range of your Baofeng or other brand of 2 meter Ham radio

9 November, 2015 By Patrick Mikell 4 Comments

Follow the link below for instructions on how to build a cheap and portable 2 meter YAGI Antenna from PVC, a metal tape measure using simple hand tools.

List of Materials you will need:
· 1 – Broken –or- Cheap tape measure, at least a 5/8 inch wide one, but a 1 inch wide would be better
· 3 feet of 1/2 inch schedule 40 PVC pipe
· 3 – 1/2 inch schedule 40 cross connectors
· 2 – 1/2 inch schedule 50 caps
· +/- 4 feet coax cable with the connector of your choice, depending on your radios antenna connection attached on one end (UHF, BNC, SMA, etc.) and the other end stripped back about 1 ½ inches so shield wire and core conductors can be separated and soldered.
· 6 – #12 (11/16 inch to 1 1/4 inch) hose clamps (Alternatively you could use self taping screws to attach the tape to the PVC but you would need additional tools such as an electric drill and drill bits)
· Black electrical tape
· 5 inch piece of solid wire for hairpin tuning component (12 to 18 gauge will work)

Tools needed:
· Hacksaw or PVC pipe cutter
· Soldering iron or gun
· PVC cement
· Electronic solder
· Wire cutter
· Sharpie Black Marker
· Flat blade screw driver or 5/16 inch nut driver to tighten hose clamps.
· Optional electric drill and drill bit

Here’s the Link:

As a Prepper, why you should have your basic HAM License

26 March, 2013 By Patrick Mikell Leave a Comment

To start off with, what actually is Ham Radio?

Ham Radio, also known as Amateur Radio, is a popular hobby and a volunteer public service in which licensed participants operate communications equipment. Many of which have a deep knowledge and appreciation electronics. The hobby portion of Amateur Radio is a mix of relaxation, entertainment, public service, and emergency communications. People get interested in HAM communications for various reasons, mine was primarily for emergency communications.

To become a licensed HAM operator you will need to have a basic working knowledge of electronics, radio technology and operating principles. You will also need to pass an examination for the FCC license to operate on radio frequencies known as the “Amateur Bands”, but I’ll include some links below that will make that process an easy one. These bands are radio frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by hams at intervals from just above the AM broadcast band all the way up into extremely high microwave frequencies.

There is no longer a requirement that you learn Morse Code for any of the licenses.

The first beginner’s level license is the Technician’s license and in all truth should be considered a “Learner’s Permit”. There are numerous publications, study manuals and online courses to help you learn the technical details to enable you to pass the written exam. The exam consists of 35 questions selected from a bank of 396 possible questions. You must answer at least 26 out of the 35, that is a score of 74% or better to pass.

The best way I have found, (along with a number of friends in our local HAM club), is to use one of the web sites listed below to memorize the test questions and get into the hobby so you can actually start to learn how to use the radio. Again, this first level if licensing is a “Learner’s Permit”.

http://www.qrz.com/index.html

This web site offers free test preparation for the Technicians, General and Extra license. They do ask you to register with a valid email address. Under the Resources tab they have a link to Practice Amateur Radio Exams. The exam questions are randomly selected from the pool of questions and you get feed back on every answer, right or wrong. Your final grade is displayed at the end and it tells you which sections you should concentrate your studies on.

https://www.eham.net/exams/

This next one basically does the same thing, just uses a different format and you don’t get feedback on your answers until you complete the test.

http://www.arrl.org/new-to-ham-radio

This is a good site that is full of information and valuable links to continue the learning process.Anyone can be an Amateur Radio operator or “ham” –no matter what age, gender, or physical ability.

So why as a prepper should I have a HAM license & radio?

So that you can communicate almost anywhere you are if the systems like landlines, cell phone and internet networks stop working for whatever reason. In times of disaster, when regular communications channels fail, a HAM radio allows you assisting emergency communications efforts and if you want, work with public service agencies. Wherever you can take a radio, you can set up a communications site. It was the Amateur Radio Service that enabled New York City agencies to stay in touch with each other after their command center was destroyed during the 9/11 attack. Ham Radio was also used extensively and for rescue during Hurricanes Katrina and more recently Sandy, and then in the aftermath after all other communications systems failed and were not repaired for some time.

So, how much will this cost me?

You can purchase the Basic study materials for passing the FCC test and getting your initial license usually cost for less than $40. Many HAM clubs sponsor classes to help the future HAM obtain the knowledge to pass the tests. Goggle HAM clubs in your zip code, you may you surprised how many are out there. Once you have your first license, it’s best to start with simple equipment and as you learn more invest and grow your equipment over time. I spent less than $200 to get my first handheld dual band radio with an external antenna that boosted the range so I was able to start talking to other hams in no time at all. There are also HAM radio “Flea Markets” put on by local clubs all over the country and they can be a source of both new and good used equipment to save you a few dollars.

I’ll have a follow up post on basic equipment a beginning HAM should consider in the near future.

HAM

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