The Old Folks Home

[Alaskan]

Al, You know what they say about a rut...Just a cemetery plot with the ends knocked out. Get out of the rut before someone fills it in!!

Welcome MMisty!

NO!!!

Say it ain't so! (because it sure is comfy in here. )

never heard that before btw

 

[MrsMistyReal]

Al, You know what they say about a rut...Just a cemetery plot with the ends knocked out. Get out of the rut before someone fills it in!!

Welcome MMisty!

Thanks

 

[bruceha2000]

ham radio is it like cb

They are similar in the sense that you can talk to someone via radio. CB is like a longer range walkie-talkie. Ham radios tend to be more powerful, connected to large ground based antennas and can span the world though there are portable units.

You do need to know something about the ham frequencies and how they behave atmospherically to choose one that will get your signal where you want it to go. With CB you just choose one of the assigned frequencies and use that. I think they all have the same basic range so you can talk to anyone within that circle (physical obstructions notwithstanding) that is also using that frequency. Nothing interesting? Change to a different frequency and listen in. With Ham, a frequency that will get you in contact with someone 100 miles away is useless to talk to someone 1,000 or 5,000 or 10,000 miles away. Thus some of that painful education that @microchick is working through.

 

[MrsMistyReal]

They are similar in the sense that you can talk to someone via radio. CB is like a longer range walkie-talkie. Ham radios tend to be more powerful, connected to large ground based antennas and can span the world though there are portable units.

You do need to know something about the ham frequencies and how they behave atmospherically to choose one that will get your signal where you want it to go. With CB you just choose one of the assigned frequencies and use that. I think they all have the same basic range so you can talk to anyone within that circle (physical obstructions notwithstanding) that is also using that frequency. Nothing interesting? Change to a different frequency and listen in. With Ham, a frequency that will get you in contact with someone 100 miles away is useless to talk to someone 1,000 or 5,000 or 10,000 miles away. Thus some of that painful education that @microchick is working through.

Sorry to bother you.Just wondering how do I go about getting educated on this? I'm really interested in this, & you could do this home base or anywhere?

 

[bruceha2000]

@microchick (or her DH) would be a better reference I just know a little about a lot of things. You can certainly research on the web. There are likely ham radio clubs in your area where you could meet others with an interest in ham radio. I suspect you'll find some "die hard want to know all the technical details" people and others who are not so "hard core".

I THINK most hams are home based so they have access to the more powerful hardware and antennas. But as licensed hams, they can operate anywhere.

 

[Latestarter]

"Citizens Band (CB) radio dates back to the 1940s. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which still regulates CB, took bands from the Amateur Radio (a.k.a. Ham) Service's channel 11 to form a band (460-470 megacycles UHF) for personal and business communication, as well as for controlling model aircraft." https://www.wearecb.com/cb-radio-frequencies-channels.html

CB is UHF, which is "line of sight". So since the visible horizon on a "flat" plain at ~6' above ground level is about 2 miles ( http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2009/01/15/how_far_away_is_the_horizon.html ). Assuming the other send/rcv antenna is also above ground level at some height, that range will increase a bit so maybe 3-4 miles. That's the max range you can expect. The world, of course is not flat, so if you're on top of a hill or mountain, or have your antenna mounted on top of your roof, your range will be longer still. (the longest line of sight ever photographed was 237 miles - https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/5i333o/the_longest_ground_to_ground_line_of_sight_ever/ ). But said signal can also be blocked by hills/mnts/bldgs and such, so if you're in a valley, or the city with tall bldgs, you'll have shorter ranges.

And now, just to throw a little abstract into the equation, there's "skip". "What is skip?
Normally CB radio transmissions are "line of site," or considered to be short range. However, there are times when the earth's atmosphere acts as a mirror and will bounce signals to distant locations. Remember your CB signal also goes up as well as out and away from your antenna. When the conditions are just right, it is possible to bounce the radio signal (or skip) it off the atmosphere and it will land hundreds to thousands of miles away. Therefore it is not impossible for someone using a CB in New Jersey to communicate with another person in California. The FCC made talking via skip conditions legal with its rewrite of FCC Part 95 that went into effect on Sept. 28, 2017. Yes, skip talking is legal now." http://www.nat-com.org/cbfaq.htm

When I first joined the military, I rented a house and had a base station (as well as a car unit) with an antenna mounted up near the top of a pine tree. I talked to many places via skip. Power of the unit also has a bearing and if I recall, CB units are restricted to 4 watts max output. Back before digital, many folks had their CB's "doctored" to increase output.

When returning from an overseas deployment one time, my brother was going to drive my truck from my parents house to the base I was stationed at so I would have my wheels back. I told him what CB channel to listen to and told him I would transmit an ETA update for him so he'd know when I'd be there. I used the aircraft UHF radio tuned to that CB channel frequency to let him know. He said when I talked a wiped out everything on the channel. Of course I was at 20,000 ft using a military (high power) radio. I'm sure people over half the east coast heard my transmission

 

[MrsMistyReal]

"Citizens Band (CB) radio dates back to the 1940s. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which still regulates CB, took bands from the Amateur Radio (a.k.a. Ham) Service's channel 11 to form a band (460-470 megacycles UHF) for personal and business communication, as well as for controlling model aircraft." https://www.wearecb.com/cb-radio-frequencies-channels.html

CB is UHF, which is "line of sight". So since the visible horizon on a "flat" plain at ~6' above ground level is about 2 miles ( http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2009/01/15/how_far_away_is_the_horizon.html ). Assuming the other send/rcv antenna is also above ground level at some height, that range will increase a bit so maybe 3-4 miles. That's the max range you can expect. The world, of course is not flat, so if you're on top of a hill or mountain, or have your antenna mounted on top of your roof, your range will be longer still. (the longest line of sight ever photographed was 237 miles - https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/5i333o/the_longest_ground_to_ground_line_of_sight_ever/ ). But said signal can also be blocked by hills/mnts/bldgs and such, so if you're in a valley, or the city with tall bldgs, you'll have shorter ranges.

And now, just to throw a little abstract into the equation, there's "skip". "What is skip?
Normally CB radio transmissions are "line of site," or considered to be short range. However, there are times when the earth's atmosphere acts as a mirror and will bounce signals to distant locations. Remember your CB signal also goes up as well as out and away from your antenna. When the conditions are just right, it is possible to bounce the radio signal (or skip) it off the atmosphere and it will land hundreds to thousands of miles away. Therefore it is not impossible for someone using a CB in New Jersey to communicate with another person in California. The FCC made talking via skip conditions legal with its rewrite of FCC Part 95 that went into effect on Sept. 28, 2017. Yes, skip talking is legal now." http://www.nat-com.org/cbfaq.htm

When I first joined the military, I rented a house and had a base station (as well as a car unit) with an antenna mounted up near the top of a pine tree. I talked to many places via skip. Power of the unit also has a bearing and if I recall, CB units are restricted to 4 watts max output. Back before digital, many folks had their CB's "doctored" to increase output.

When returning from an overseas deployment one time, my brother was going to drive my truck from my parents house to the base I was stationed at so I would have my wheels back. I told him what CB channel to listen to and told him I would transmit an ETA update for him so he'd know when I'd be there. I used the aircraft UHF radio tuned to that CB channel frequency to let him know. He said when I talked a wiped out everything on the channel. Of course I was at 20,000 ft using a military (high power) radio. I'm sure people over half the east coast heard my transmission

Thanks for your services and that's hilarious when was it safe to go into public?

"Citizens Band (CB) radio dates back to the 1940s. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which still regulates CB, took bands from the Amateur Radio (a.k.a. Ham) Service's channel 11 to form a band (460-470 megacycles UHF) for personal and business communication, as well as for controlling model aircraft." https://www.wearecb.com/cb-radio-frequencies-channels.html

CB is UHF, which is "line of sight". So since the visible horizon on a "flat" plain at ~6' above ground level is about 2 miles ( http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2009/01/15/how_far_away_is_the_horizon.html ). Assuming the other send/rcv antenna is also above ground level at some height, that range will increase a bit so maybe 3-4 miles. That's the max range you can expect. The world, of course is not flat, so if you're on top of a hill or mountain, or have your antenna mounted on top of your roof, your range will be longer still. (the longest line of sight ever photographed was 237 miles - https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/5i333o/the_longest_ground_to_ground_line_of_sight_ever/ ). But said signal can also be blocked by hills/mnts/bldgs and such, so if you're in a valley, or the city with tall bldgs, you'll have shorter ranges.

And now, just to throw a little abstract into the equation, there's "skip". "What is skip?
Normally CB radio transmissions are "line of site," or considered to be short range. However, there are times when the earth's atmosphere acts as a mirror and will bounce signals to distant locations. Remember your CB signal also goes up as well as out and away from your antenna. When the conditions are just right, it is possible to bounce the radio signal (or skip) it off the atmosphere and it will land hundreds to thousands of miles away. Therefore it is not impossible for someone using a CB in New Jersey to communicate with another person in California. The FCC made talking via skip conditions legal with its rewrite of FCC Part 95 that went into effect on Sept. 28, 2017. Yes, skip talking is legal now." http://www.nat-com.org/cbfaq.htm

When I first joined the military, I rented a house and had a base station (as well as a car unit) with an antenna mounted up near the top of a pine tree. I talked to many places via skip. Power of the unit also has a bearing and if I recall, CB units are restricted to 4 watts max output. Back before digital, many folks had their CB's "doctored" to increase output.

When returning from an overseas deployment one time, my brother was going to drive my truck from my parents house to the base I was stationed at so I would have my wheels back. I told him what CB channel to listen to and told him I would transmit an ETA update for him so he'd know when I'd be there. I used the aircraft UHF radio tuned to that CB channel frequency to let him know. He said when I talked a wiped out everything on the channel. Of course I was at 20,000 ft using a military (high power) radio. I'm sure people over half the east coast heard my transmission

 

[MrsMistyReal]

@microchick (or her DH) would be a better reference I just know a little about a lot of things. You can certainly research on the web. There are likely ham radio clubs in your area where you could meet others with an interest in ham radio. I suspect you'll find some "die hard want to know all the technical details" people and others who are not so "hard core".

I THINK most hams are home based so they have access to the more powerful hardware and antennas. But as licensed hams, they can operate anywhere.

Is it costly? By the way love the avatar Sherlock Holmes is 1 of my favs. We have him on DVD with Watson sirica 1939 Id have to check, it's a series from approx that era

 

[Latestarter]

Well, I obviously didn't transmit my name, location, CB "handle", call letters or anything to identify myself But from predesignated keywords, my brother knew it was me I never heard his reply, which of course would be expected as my little CB had nowhere near the power to reach out to me. I was also in a moving aircraft located off the east coast, so though I could be triangulated, the transmission was very brief and only done once. It was also almost 40 years ago, so I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out. I doubt the FCC would be interested in me at this point.

 

[MrsMistyReal]

Well, I obviously didn't transmit my name, location, CB "handle", call letters or anything to identify myself But from predesignated keywords, my brother knew it was me I never heard his reply, which of course would be expected as my little CB had nowhere near the power to reach out to me. I was also in a moving aircraft located off the east coast, so though I could be triangulated, the transmission was very brief and only done once. It was also almost 40 years ago, so I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out. I doubt the FCC would be interested in me at this point.

That's good thanks for sharing Love your fur baby cute