New Ham

[KD0JBO]

Good evening,
I am new to ham radio, and have been attempting to receive something other than a radio station for the last couple of weeks. I received by technician license this past October, and have a Yaesu FT-817 radio that I have been granted access to with a rubber duck antenna.

I stumbled upon the Ottumwa chapter for ham's as the closest possible location for active hams but todate I have not received any other transmission. I live outside of Memphis, MO about 50 miles south of Ottumwa. I'm sure a big portion of my problem is the antenna that I have, but I have not been able to buy/build anything else. Do you know of anyone that may be closer to my location that could assist me with a first contact.

Thank You
KD0JBO

[KC7YRA]

Welcome and Congrats!!! Nice to meet you.

While I am not familiar with your part of the country, I am willing to bet dollars to donuts that your problem is your antenna. If you are not very close to a repeater, you are pretty limited by rubber duckie alone.

Try to build a J-pole antenna and mount it outside. That will make TONS of difference. You can also build a roll up version out of 300ohm twinlead that works very well.

http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=3481

Are there any repeaters anywhere near by? What about a club? It is always best to get affiliated with a local group that can help.

Good luck and welcome,

Brad

[W0VYE]

Welcome to hamdom and congrats! Step no. 1 would definitely be an antenna, as high and in the clear as possible. If it's 50 miles to the closest repeater I think 2m FM is going to be frustrating or disappointing for you. The real answer is probably HF.

If you can manage to buy/borrow an HF rig you could operate the 10m & 15m bands now, and the upgrade to General isn't really very hard. Good luck!

[K0RGR]

I haven't been down that way for a while, but yes, there is some ham activity around Ottumwa, but really, I think you're more likely to work hams from over by the Mississippi from where you are. Quincy, IL, is the biggest city in your region, but I know there are repeaters in Keokuk, Burlington, and Ft. Madison.
Quincy has repeaters on 146.94, 147.030, both with 103.5 PL tones, and 147.195, tone 114.8. Keokuk is on 145.35 tone 100. Ft. Madison is on 146.865, no tone. Ottumwa 145.41, tone 100. Ottumwa also has a SKYWARN repeater on UHF, 444.850+ PL 100, which is linked to other machines around the state.

Your best bet with the FT-817 is to use it to listen on HF. It's got a decent receiver, and all you need is a fairly long hunk of wire for an antenna for listening. Get that wire outside, maybe up in a convenient tree. 20 and 40 meters in the daytime, and 80 meters at night should find lots of signals to listen in on.

Your next best bet would be working short skip on 10 and 6 meters. You can make a dipole for each band very easily and cheaply. They don't need to be very high to make contacts when the band opens up. Unfortunately, Eskip is highly sporadic at this time of year. It becomes much more common in early summer. 5 watts is enough when the band is open. When the band isn't open, you might also find some people on 10 or 6 - 28.400 or 50.125.

From where you are, you will probably have much more luck accessing remote repeaters via EchoLink. It's not as much fun as working them directly but it beats talking to yourself. Indeed, there's a small town not too far north of you up highway 63, that only has a few hams, but they're active on EchoLink. We've chatted a few times. Just be happy using the computer as a microphone to talk through those distant repeaters.

[KC5AKB]

P M Sent
Welcome To Ham Radio

[K9ASE]

I'm taking my tech test this weekend and have an FT-2900 ready to go I'm in Northwest Indiana maybe we can find each othern through a repeater or echolink if we get lucky

[LOCZ]

I just picked up ARRL Ham Radio Lic. Manual from Barnes and Noble. Im really excited about learning HAM and after looking at sooo many video in youtube about how ppl helping others in emerengcy situation (Katrina, Haiti, and many more). I notice many times that HAM radio are heroes that dont get much spotlight but love the fact that a thank you from volunteers and love ones is good enough. Thats the main reason i want to learn. To go out and help others. Just a thought of calling someone to tell them that their love ones are all ok. Its a feeling i know countless of HAM really love.

The one thing im very concern about ....what should be my first radio. I notice that handheld are cheaper...but which? My budget is tight ....for now..lol. I went to Radio Shack...man that was a mistake. I live in NJ..just a couple of minutes from NYC.

Thanks and looking forward to reading, posting, and of course contacting!!!

[W0VYE]

Welcome and good luck! Just some quick thoughts for you as you start out:

1. Public service is a noble goal, and a big part of ham radio. But it will take time, experience, organizational connections, and money, to do all the things you probably want to do. Go to www.arrl.org, get familiar with the site, find your local ARES contacts, and contact them. Make contact with local hams and clubs. You may find free classes, and you'll almost certainly find some help. If you can find a club or organization that has a club station you can hang out in, you've struck gold.

2. Ham radio doesn't have to be expensive, but it does take some money when you start out. A hand-held transceiver is pretty limited. Your best bet with a limited budget is probably used gear, bought with the help of someone you trust who's knowledgeable. Stay away from ebay. Radio shack has nothing. You have stores near you that cater to hams. They may sell used gear with warranty.

3. Most of ham radio isn't going to make much sense unless you can listen to the HF ham bands. Assuming you go on in ham radio, buying a used, older transceiver is the cheapest and best way to do this, but you need help to buy wisely.

4. If you just can't help yourself and have to buy something right now, you can get a a VHF handheld for around $100. Spend more if you can, but the cheaper ones will work. Spending a little more will get you a much better product. The Big Three are Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood. All are good. Alinco is a name brand and it's fine. With new gear, you pretty much get what you pay for. Every piece of ham gear sold in the last half century will have user reviews posted on QRZ.com and elsewhere. Do read them.

73 and good luck!
Gwen

[KC7YRA]

I just picked up ARRL Ham Radio Lic. Manual from Barnes and Noble. Im really excited about learning HAM and after looking at sooo many video in youtube about how ppl helping others in emerengcy situation (Katrina, Haiti, and many more). I notice many times that HAM radio are heroes that dont get much spotlight but love the fact that a thank you from volunteers and love ones is good enough. Thats the main reason i want to learn. To go out and help others. Just a thought of calling someone to tell them that their love ones are all ok. Its a feeling i know countless of HAM really love.

The one thing im very concern about ....what should be my first radio. I notice that handheld are cheaper...but which? My budget is tight ....for now..lol. I went to Radio Shack...man that was a mistake. I live in NJ..just a couple of minutes from NYC.

Thanks and looking forward to reading, posting, and of course contacting!!!

Good luck with studying and testing. Let me help you with something though, so that it isn't a shock later on.

Ham radio has helped out folks in dire situations. There are news articles about this all over the internet. Ham radio is valuable when normal lines of communications are down.

With that said, it is extremely rare and "FAR BETWEEN" situations where hams are required to pass such traffic. While it does happen, it does not happen much. I have been a ham for 13 years and I have only passed a very few "important" messages. Usually from stranded travelers and hikers that are lost in the Wyoming wilderness. Typically they just need me to make a phone call for them. While it is important, it is not lifesaving or amazing.

99.999999% of ham radio is simply about connecting with other hams. And that is the most fun IMO By all means, get into radio with the mindset of helping folks, but don't get bummed if it doesn't happen often.

As far as radios go, it is up to you. Getting the license is the first step, but getting a radio can make you want that license more.

If you do a large amount of hiking or biking, a handheld radio is great. They are easy to carry and will fit right on your belt. I have several dozen handhelds that I use somewhat. Mostly when I am backpacking or climbing. They are limited in their power and antenna though and if you are not near a repeater, they can be pretty useless. I started with a handheld when I was first licensed (as a young child) because I was always riding my bike and could not drive yet. It was perfect for me.

If you do not do so much of that activity AND you drive a bit, a mobile rig is great. More power, better receiver, and a wider array of antennas to use. These typically do around 50 watts on 2 meters and can access repeaters hundreds of miles away (if they are in a good location ). They can also be setup at your house and connected to a large outside antenna. The one downfall is that they are not really portable (as in you can't just carry it around).

Eventually you will want both a handheld (or several) and a mobile rig for each vehicle and a "base" station for your house. Then when you get into HF, you will want many more radios.

Ham radio = Fast way to spend money.


Good luck with your testing and let us know how you do.

Brad

[W0VYE]

Brad, KC7YRA, makes a good point when he says, "it is extremely rare and "FAR BETWEEN" situations where hams are required to pass such traffic. While it does happen, it does not happen much. I have been a ham for 13 years and I have only passed a very few "important" messages."

My comment about "big part of ham radio" might be misleading. Disaster preparedness and public service/education can be as big a part as you want them to be. But you aren't going to get many chances to personally jump in and handle emergency traffic. Maybe you'll never get any chances.

Right after the Haiti quake, I checked into the SATERN net. (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Net) This group did a lot of work after Hurricane Katrina, passing health and welfare traffic. See www.SATERN.org. Anyway, after Haiti there was nothing to do. None of the 5 or so ham stations in Haiti were being heard. Hams all over North America were standing by with nothing to do except watch CNN.

If you really feel motivated to do disaster relief work, I'd say get involved with the Salvation Army or the Red Cross now, and develope skills like ham radio that will be useful. You can also do your own disaster prep now. Ham radio itself is pretty techie stuff. If you like that, wonderful. But it's not for everyone.

73