RadioBanter - View Single Post - How to begin? (To become a Ham Radio operator)

Fred McKenzie · December 17th 15, 06:16 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.antenna

In article ,
lid wrote:

The way I understand it, the Ham radio equipped Spotters get on a
channel and can exchange storm information for the region, or the state.
That would be real useful.

AllThumbs-

You are trying to take all of Ham Radio in at once! There are many
facets, including weather spotting.

You may find there are Hams near you. I think it is a rare community
that does not have some around. You might inquire at your local
Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to see if they have contacts with a
club in the area. If there is none, you may be the spark that gets one
started.

Weather spotting is an example where a local club is needed. A local
club would be likely to have a "Repeater" station that would enable
individuals with a handheld radio to relay reports to a central
operations center. The repeater has a tall antenna with wide coverage
area, so individuals do not need high power or a tall antenna.

Ham equipment can be expensive, especially if you must have the newest
and best available. At the other extreme, there are some Chinese
handheld radios available that cost less than $50 and work well.

High Frequency (HF) radios that use wire antennas or tall towers,
general are used to talk long distances. You can save money with older
model used equipment, and antennas can be quite simple. For example, I
have an antenna in my attic made of several mobile whip antennas mounted
to an electrical box. It does not work as well as an outdoor wire
antenna, but at least I am on the air and making contacts. (Search the
web for Octopus Antenna.)

Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radios are
often less expensive than HF radios. They do not work over as long a
distance, and often work through a club repeater station to cover the
community.

As Ralph suggested, look for information at The American Radio Relay
League (ARRL). They have a study guide for each class of license. If
there is a nearby club that teaches a Ham class, they will likely use
the ARRL study guide as their text.

Another source of information is at http://www.w5yi.org/.

73,
Fred
K4DII