Reasons why CBers should consider HAM Radio

[shane4x4]

[Lost Cosmonaut]

I have a CB and thanks to Dale at the Summit, I'm going to be getting into HAM soon too.

Pretty soon my FJ is going to look like a radio station control room (I want a scanner too )

- Patrick

[BriansFJ]

Wow, long thread! Good points by all. For what it's worth, my rig runs a Yaesu 7800, a Midland CB, and an Icom SAR handheld radio with an external antenna. I want to add a scanner too, and maybe an HF rig when I upgrade to a General class license. Hmmm, lots of antennas, that lightning is making me nervous!

[spincycle]

MountainMan previously said:

i have to say, my experience at the summit convinced me of two things

i need to get a CB (cause almost everyone had them)

and

HAM technology is SOOO much better than CB (each run i was on had at least 1 other HAM, at times more, and talking was so much clearer with them than listening to the CB chatter which i was able to do at times; and talking to HAMs on other trails - i.e. Imogene to Black Bear and the like was very cool)

So, it seems to me that we're comparing apples to oranges (or, rather, tangerines to oranges). Why? One of the ADVANTAGES of CB in its short range. You can have two trail groups separated by a mile or two, and have little or no interference (although, for some reason, our CB interference increased dramatically as we descended into Telluride?). On a 2m or 70cm HAM repeater, it's MUCH harder to be clear about instructions.

Let's say I'm trail leader on some trail, and we're all using some repeater. If I call out "This is KD0ECN, make sure to turn right at the large cairn on the right, KD0ECN clear", that's harder to decipher than "Leader on channel 14, turn right at the cairn".

My point? people should have BOTH. I even carry some FRS radios just in case someone has neither HAM nor CB.

[Mountainclimber]

spincycle previously said:

My point? people should have BOTH. I even carry some FRS radios just in case someone has neither HAM nor CB.

I carry those GMR/FRS radio as well for the very same reason.

Lost Cosmonaut previously said:

Pretty soon my FJ is going to look like a radio station control room (I want a scanner too )

- Patrick

You guys that are looking for scanners, the FM rigs that have wideband, multimode receive on them can be set up to scan a variety of channels and frequencies. If set up right could eliminate the need for a scanner.

[spincycle]

Lost Cosmonaut previously said:

I have a CB and thanks to Dale at the Summit, I'm going to be getting into HAM soon too.

Pretty soon my FJ is going to look like a radio station control room (I want a scanner too )

- Patrick

I think that we should organize a technician test at next year's summit. What better way to not only get main forum members, but also kids & spouses licensed?

[opg4759]

spincycle previously said:

I think that we should organize a technician test at next year's summit. What better way to not only get main forum members, but also kids & spouses licensed?

might be a good idea.

if one or two other hams would like to step up and get there Volunteer Examiner certification from the ARRL, I will as well. That way we could setup a testing session.

I'd be willing to provide this service.

[Wolf]

opg4759 previously said:

might be a good idea.

if one or two other hams would like to step up and get there Volunteer Examiner certification from the ARRL, I will as well. That way we could setup a testing session.

Yep, w5wi was just discussing this in another thread. I'm an ARRL VE, so I'm down with it. I believe both he and his mate are as well.

Ya know, The knowledge needed for the entry-level Technician's License is real easy and fun. It might even be cool to have a study group or a beginner's class right there one evening - then test later on another evening.

Howls,
FJ Wolf

[1911]

spincycle previously said:

Let's say I'm trail leader on some trail, and we're all using some repeater. If I call out "This is KD0ECN, make sure to turn right at the large cairn on the right, KD0ECN clear", that's harder to decipher than "Leader on channel 14, turn right at the cairn".

My point? people should have BOTH.

I agree, but in the example you gave each trail group could choose their own simplex frequency different from the others - problem solv-ed while retaining all the advantages of ham, no? Or am I missing something obvious as a ham newbie?

[MountainMan]

1911 previously said:

I agree, but in the example you gave each trail group could choose their own simplex frequency different from the others - problem solv-ed while retaining all the advantages of ham, no? Or am I missing something obvious as a ham newbie?

you are exactly right, if everyone is within range then you would not use the repeater. it would be bad form. you would tie up the repeater with traffic needlessly. you would pick a simplex frequency for the group to use.

i used simplex the entire time at the summit, only hit the repeater once or twice to see if it was in range. didnt use it for COMMs.

in addition, you could even have two groups using the same simplex frequency and specify a seperate PL tone (privacy tone) for each group and the two groups would not hear each other. a cool feature - you probably wouldnt do that cause its easier to just pick two simplex frequencies, one for each group