Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ham Radios

I know nothing about them but have been considering looking into them. I keep telling myself I'm going to get into it but I never do. Are any of you guys members of a really good Ham Radio Forum? Or do we have a big enough group into it here to get me started? Thanks for any input!

I'm in. kb7loq

I just bought one. Learning slowly but don't really know if I want to get licensed. I programmed in the local repeaters and all i hear on the air is old guys talking about their equipment. I'll probably just learn enough to know how to use it in an emergency.

I tried back when you needed to know Morse code.

This is also on my list of things to do. Beyond simple reading materials there are lots of local clubs. Check them out on the web and find one close to you. I believe many clubs also do meets where they get together on a weekend and do an extended testing of equipment and swap parts, accessories, etc.

When I get to be 65, gain 200 pounds and stop bathing, I will get into ham radios.

Maybe even garage built kit planes too.

🤣

1982 piece of crap Datsun pickup with curled over loop antenna.
Works part time at Radio Shack.

Collie with matted abscess hair wads tethered in the bed on a 3ft rope.

Skywarn tornado spotter sticker

🤣🤣🤣

Ham radio can be a lot of fun, and a great learning experience.

My suggestions:

As previously stated, find a good local ham club. Abundant help is usually available there, and many clubs sponsor classes and license exam sessions.

Don't settle for just a Technician class license that just gives you access to VHF/UHF frequencies. Set your sights on General or Extra class, which gives you access to the HF frequencies, where you can work the world.

If you can follow and learn a reloading manual, you can follow and learn the license manuals.

I'm 65, 6' and 175#. I bathe regularly (every other day at minimum)! Been a licensed ham since 1971. Was really into it for a couple years, then girls, partying, etc. ruled my life for a few years. Then I got married.

Have always hunted and fished. For the last 25 years I'd rather be in a deer blind or trolling for walleye than playing radio. Back in the day when radios glowed in the dark and there was no internet or cell phones it was cool to talk to somebody in far off, foreign lands. Especially for a 13, 14 year old kid.

Maybe when I'm 85, 90 y.o. and 320 pounds I'll get back into it!

73's,
WB9HPF

Hard to be a bot on a radio.

I got a big Motorola amp surplus from the cops. I changed the frequency slightly for the 2 meter ham band. It was in my car.. then in 2000 I got a cell phone. By 2001 everyone had a cell phone. I have not used the ham band since. I still know two old gray engineers who are still talking to each other on the radio.

I knew a couple of guys in the Army that were into ham radios back in the late 80s. Seemed like a cool but expensive hobby, a pawn shop in my area had several ham radios for sale a few years back. They didnt get much attention and they eventually sold them for cheap

I am relatively new to ham radio - 2 years. I began learning so that I will be able to use radios for emergency communication while mountain hunting and while traveling in remote areas.

Good advice - get in a club. Not only do they provide testing education, they offer experience and can help you identify equipment to buy and where to buy.

Used equipment is your friend. Swap meets are good sources. I purchased a used power transformer and HF antennae for about 40¢ on the dollar.

I have been fortunate to pick up 2 radios for free from an older ham operator that was moving into assisted living.

For me, the No Nonsense training guides worked much better than the ARRL training books to gain knowledge to pass the FCC tests.

You definitely want a General class license which provides High Frequency (HF) bands which travel a long distance. VHF and UHF are short range bands.

For wilderness use, I selected a handheld Yaesu VX6R - the only radio I could identify which could survive being submersed in water (think of falling in a creek).

Beat of luck.

Forrest
N8ADV

I got a question.... if a guy was to buy a radio and just start keyin up and blabbing.... who is gonna show up at his door to arrest or fine him?

Cobra 29, peaked, tuned, modulation tuned, matched to a Texas Star 350.
Wired into the lugs on the control panel of a semi.
Turned up on high, keying the mic dimmed the headlights.


Illegal in several ways!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣







Several hams here already hate me!
Even though that was in another century.
Hams bitching about truckers radios is my first thought when the topic arises.
Not my outlaw setup either, just guys running barefoot with a good radio
is enough to rub "Special" guys raw.

Ham radio, like a lot of things, is pretty much what you make it.

Years ago, during commute times, 2 meters was hopping. Plus you'd hear a lot of fun activity most of the time. Many repeaters had autopatch, so you could actually make a phone call from your car or campsite. Now that everyone has a mobile phone, there is less activity. Still, if all you want to do is yak with the local hams, a Technician class license is your path.

My path started in 1960 with a Novice class license, a 20 watt Morse Code only transmitter with one crystal for 80 meters and a kit receiver from Lafayette radio. I had to learn a lot to get it to work, and I actually had a few contacts. That was the start of the learning experience.

In college, I had access to the club station, which was much better. I continued to learn about antennas, feedlines, and different modulation methods. I learned about linear amplifiers, and why they work well on SSB and poorly on amplitude modulation.

Eventually, I learned enough that I could design and build simple projects, and write articles about them for publication. I had a period of time where I was mostly away from my family for work, and very bored in the evenings. So I partially designed and partially copied circuitry to make a portable transmitter and receiver that worked very well and that was useful for entertainment when babysitting the Boy Scouts at scout camp.

The point is not that I've achieved anything unusual. The point is, amateur radio was a learning experience that opened many doors for me. That is what it can do, if that is what you want it to do. If I had not taken that path, my career would not have been nearly so interesting. If you want useful, practical, hands-on experience, amateur radio opens many doors.

There are some of so old that we remember when 11 meters was taken away from the hams, and given to CB. That kind of got the relationship off to a bad start for some.

Lol funny s hit

Nobody. All the talk from hams saying that you'll get prosecuted is BS. There's never been a private individual using ham frequencies without a license fined or jailed, except for a few individuals that pirated channels and broadcast for profit.

Nonsense.