FEMA Administrator on ham radio

[fishgutzy]

After Hurricane Andrew went through Florida, the only operation comms for public safety (aside from HAM) was the Open Sky system made by one of my former employers.
The state of Florida went the 'us" and Motorola. Motorola was so sure they'd get the contract anyway that they told the state that it would take at least 2 years. My former employer delivered prototypes in 10 weeks.

Personally I can't imagine myself getting into HAM. No time. And another way for Guv to milk money from me.
But hey. HAM is just like Twitter but without the 140 character limit and no typing.

 

[noway2]

Personally I can't imagine myself getting into HAM. No time. And another way for Guv to milk money from me.

Please explain. I assume here you're referring to the up to $15 fee (mine was $12) for the test and licensing. It doesn't go to the government, but it does cover the costs of the supplies and materials, and yes there are consumables and other supplies used, that the VEC, who is a volunteer in your local community who administers the tests and files your application with the FCC. Also, it is something you only have to do once.

HAM is just like Twitter but without the 140 character limit and no typing.

Try having a twitter conversation SAFELY while going down the road.

 

[htperry]

There is no license fee to GovCo. The sitting $10-15 fee you pay is to the ham examiners that take their time to organize and administer the test.

 

[fishgutzy]

Please explain. I assume here you're referring to the up to $15 fee (mine was $12) for the test and licensing. It doesn't go to the government, but it does cover the costs of the supplies and materials, and yes there are consumables and other supplies used, that the VEC, who is a volunteer in your local community who administers the tests and files your application with the FCC. Also, it is something you only have to do once.


Try having a twitter conversation SAFELY while going down the road.

That quote was from an episode of Last Man Standing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Bf3EZU8W4
How many years does it take to actually study for the exam?
I had a CB in my 2010 Jeep

 

[hp468]

How many years does it take to actually study for the exam?

I studied for a couple weeks. Tech is really not that hard at all.

 

[noway2]

That quote was from an episode of Last Man Standing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Bf3EZU8W4

That's a good video clip. I never watched the show but that was definitely funny.

How many years does it take to actually study for the exam?
I had a CB in my 2010 Jeep

Not very long. If you have a basic understanding of electricity / electronics it will be easier, as for example there are basic questions on Ohm's Law. There are other more 'difficult' questions that are more of a memorization, which is why I say the test is designed to verify that you read the book, like what is the maximum baud rate allowed in a digital transmission at the XYZ frequency, but then there are also tricks like noticing that each of these questions has B as the correct answer on the multiple guess test.

I would suggest going to one of the on line test sites, like hamexam.org , and trying the sample test and seeing how close you already are.

 

[Bailey Boat]

I picked up a cheapie HAM handheld and played with it for weeks and the only thing I ever heard (beside static) was the guy at the Honey Baked ham store. I need help and now that I see Howard on here I'll probably schedule an afternoon with him and see if he can help me hear something beside my heartbeat....

 

[hp468]

There's not much traffic here on 2m and i'm not set up for 10m yet. There are a couple local nets that I listen to but i'm limited like you with a cheap HT. I threw up a home brew 2m quarterwave ground plane the other day, hoping I can get a bit better range now.

 

[Tigard]

I picked up a cheapie HAM handheld and played with it for weeks and the only thing I ever heard (beside static) was the guy at the Honey Baked ham store.

Unless you have every repeater around you programmed in your HT and then scan them all the time, you will miss out on what's going on around you. I've found it worthwhile to have an SDR ($25) and just kinda watch the band(s) to see where and when the traffic is.

Here's an introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaKEYEyrRgk

 

[backwoodsshooter]

There's not much traffic here on 2m and i'm not set up for 10m yet. There are a couple local nets that I listen to but i'm limited like you with a cheap HT. I threw up a home brew 2m quarterwave ground plane the other day, hoping I can get a bit better range now.

https://www.repeaterbook.com.

you might be surprised what's all around you.

 

[hp468]

https://www.repeaterbook.com.

you might be surprised what's all around you.

I have all the local repeaters already programmed in but have only heard traffic on the local clubs repeater for their nightly and morning net. Could be my radio, going to hook up the new antenna tomorrow an see if i can get some feedback on how its sounding.

 

[htperry]

We have so many repeaters in the CLT area that are dormant much of the time. The 145.230 is busy throughout the weekday with around town service truck drivers, the 145.350 is busy off and on all the time with drivers and old guys. The 444.450 and 444.350 are pretty busy. However, at night Mt. Mitchell on 145.190 and N. Wilkesboro on 146.820 are very busy.

 

[fishgutzy]

That's a good video clip. I never watched the show but that was definitely funny.

Not very long. If you have a basic understanding of electricity / electronics it will be easier, as for example there are basic questions on Ohm's Law. There are other more 'difficult' questions that are more of a memorization, which is why I say the test is designed to verify that you read the book, like what is the maximum baud rate allowed in a digital transmission at the XYZ frequency, but then there are also tricks like noticing that each of these questions has B as the correct answer on the multiple guess test.

I would suggest going to one of the on line test sites, like hamexam.org , and trying the sample test and seeing how close you already are.

I design components for mobile phone handsets. But ironically, when one gets used to using CAD/CAE software for everything, one must take an effort to keep the basic fresh.
Little things like the impedance of a capacitor at a given frequency. Ha!

 

[hp468]

Unless you have every repeater around you programmed in your HT and then scan them all the time, you will miss out on what's going on around you. I've found it worthwhile to have an SDR ($25) and just kinda watch the band(s) to see where and when the traffic is.

Here's an introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaKEYEyrRgk

..and amazon takes more of my money...