I'm less than a newbie. I have no radio or experience and am wondering what
the ins and outs are. The idea of conversing with people all over the
place sounds very interested.

Can someone give me some feedback on how it works, what kind of range there
is, general ideas about the $$ involved, and a few things I'm too ignorant
to ask? I know there is a broad range but I have to start somewhere.

Thanks
Eph

Ephraim wrote:

I'm less than a newbie. I have no radio or experience and am wondering what
the ins and outs are. The idea of conversing with people all over the
place sounds very interested.

Can someone give me some feedback on how it works, what kind of range there
is, general ideas about the $$ involved, and a few things I'm too ignorant
to ask? I know there is a broad range but I have to start somewhere.

You must be thinking about 'HAM' radio.

Here is a good place to begin looking:

http://www.arrl.org/

Steve
Holland, MI
Drake R7, R8 and R8B

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm

If the idea of "listening" to people all over the world is what you are
looking for, you are in the right place, well sorta, if you can get by all
the off topic posts.............

"Ephraim" wrote in message
...
I'm less than a newbie. I have no radio or experience and am wondering
what
the ins and outs are. The idea of conversing with people all over the
place sounds very interested.

Can someone give me some feedback on how it works, what kind of range
there
is, general ideas about the $$ involved, and a few things I'm too ignorant
to ask? I know there is a broad range but I have to start somewhere.

Thanks
Eph

Ephraim wrote:
I'm less than a newbie. I have no radio or experience and am wondering what
the ins and outs are. The idea of conversing with people all over the
place sounds very interested.

Can someone give me some feedback on how it works, what kind of range there
is, general ideas about the $$ involved, and a few things I'm too ignorant
to ask? I know there is a broad range but I have to start somewhere.

I think what you're looking for is "amateur" or "ham" radio. The
suggestion to start at http://www.arrl.org is a good one. In theory
this newsgroup is for those listening to international broadcasts (and
not talking back) but there's a lot of overlap.

Amateur radio requires a license. I'm making the educated guess from
your post's headers that you're in the USA. Here, a license that allows
operation on the international HF frequencies requires passing a simple
written test and a 5wpm (VERY slow!) Morse Code exam. The Morse
requirement is likely to be deleted in the next two years (or sooner),
though there are real advantages to knowing Morse even if it's not
required by the government.

Already, you can obtain a "Technician Class" license without passing a
Morse exam. This allows operation on VHF and UHF frequencies. On these
frequencies communications throughout your metropolitan area are
possible; sporadic nationwide communications are possible on the 50MHz
band. (and potentially worldwide but you'll have to wait for an 11-year
atmospheric cycle to come around)

The licensing exams are given by local radio clubs, often at annual
hamfests. The arrl.org site has lists of local clubs and examination
schedules, as well as outlines of the written tests. There is no fee
payable to the FCC for a ham license, but there is a modest ($10 IIRC)
examination fee.

Range is potentially worldwide. That is somewhat dependent on
atmospheric conditions and the quality/size of antenna you're able to
install. Contacts throughout North America are very possible with
simple antennas, poor conditions, and low power.

A basic ham station consists of a "transciever", a power supply for that
transciever, a microphone (and Morse key?), an antenna, and "leadin"
cable to connect the antenna to the transciever. Good quality
transcievers can be purchased new for as little as about $700; used gear
is of course cheaper. A decent power supply will run about $150, or you
can use a car battery if you have a safe place to store it and a safe
way to charge it. A microphone is usually included with the
transceiver. A wire antenna can be home-made from parts available in
the wiring department of Home Depot for less than $50. You'll have to
get the leadin cable elsewhere though (probably the same place you buy a
transceiver), $50 should probably cover that too. So I'd say just shy
of $1,000 to get started with new gear.

You will need some space for the antenna. How much space determines how
many of the frequency bands available to hams you're able to efficiently
use. A 260-foot antenna may be necessary to use the very
lowest-frequency band available, while 20 feet is plenty for the highest
band. There are ways of getting on with something smaller (many hams
operate from their cars) though they're somewhat more expensive and less
efficient.
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

Eph:

Short wave listening (SWL) lets you listen on frequencies from other countries.
Some of the content is beamed toward specific audiences on high power shortwave
stations. To receive this, a decent "general coverage" receiver is usually in
order, along with some sort of external antenna. You can get started with a
portable and the supplied whip antenna, but they tend to receive only the
strongest stations due to limitations of the antenna. There are numerous web
sites that detail listening frequencies and times for specific broadcasts, or
you can just tune the dial to se what's out there at a given time. Doing a
Google search for "short wave listening" or "short wave frequencies" should
result in some places to start reading. If you are interested in knowing what
you are listening to, you should probably get a radio with digital frequency
display. For portable, carry around operation, I use a Sangean ATS-909 (same as
a Radio Shack DX-398).

If you want to talk, you will need to become a general class ham (Amateur Radio
Operator) (if you are in the US, other countries have similar radio licensing
requirements), and acquire a transceiver. The General Class license will allow
you to transmit on specific bands to communicate with other hams around the
world. Antennas are generally more critical for transmitting, either cut to a
specific band or built in a manner to cover multiple bands. You can talk around
the world with 5 or 10 watts output if the conditions are right. Most Amateur
Radios have variable output to 100 watts, with a few available with higher
output. For those that think they have to have the strongest signal out there,
Linear amplifiers allow increasing the power output, but generally, they are not
needed. You can purchase a new bare bones transceiver starting at about $600 or
so, or pick up a very good used one from $300 or so. Many Ham Transceivers also
have "general coverage" receivers and can receive from below the US AM radio
band to 30Mhz, the limit of the standard HF ham bands. US Hams work 10m 12m 15m
20m 40m 80m and 160m bands. (10m is 10 meters). If you find you are interested
in becoming a Ham, you may want to purchase a transceiver to use as a SWL
receiver, so you don't have to buy another radio down the road. So long as you
don't transmit on it until you get your license, it is legal to own. One
transceiver I own that is good is the Icom-751 or Icom 751a. Both versions are
easy to use, with sensitive general coverage receivers and reasonable filtering
built in. They are often seen on eBay selling between $350 and $550. To really
"do it right" you will also need a good antenna (which could be as simple as a
wire strung through the trees), an antenna tuner, and SWR/Power meter. Many
transceivers (like the 751) have the metering built in, but I prefer an external
meter. If you were using the transceiver as an SWL radio, you could just
unplug the microphone, hook the radio up to a power supply and connect an
antenna and you are ready to listen...

As an Amateur Extra class ham, I began with SWL, and have owned a bunch of
different radios over the years. Currently I operate with an Icom 746Pro into
an x-9 beam on a 48 foot tower, and when mobile I use a Yaesu FT-857 into an
Atas-120 antenna mounted at the back edge of the cab of my pickup. In the
mobile rig, I listen to SWL stations as much as I operate as a ham. Due to the
noise of the truck ignition and computer systems, the radio is not nearly a
sensitive under way as when I'm sitting still, and the Atas-120 antenna is a
significant compromise compared to a half wave dipole or beam antenna like I use
on the home station.

Good luck
--Rick AH7H

Ephraim wrote:

I'm less than a newbie. I have no radio or experience and am wondering what
the ins and outs are. The idea of conversing with people all over the
place sounds very interested.

Can someone give me some feedback on how it works, what kind of range there
is, general ideas about the $$ involved, and a few things I'm too ignorant
to ask? I know there is a broad range but I have to start somewhere.

Thanks
Eph

Thank you very much. Learn a bit every day
Eph
"Rick Frazier" wrote in message
...
Eph:

Short wave listening (SWL) lets you listen on frequencies from other
countries.
Some of the content is beamed toward specific audiences on high power
shortwave
stations. To receive this, a decent "general coverage" receiver is
usually in
order, along with some sort of external antenna. You can get started
with a
portable and the supplied whip antenna, but they tend to receive only the
strongest stations due to limitations of the antenna. There are numerous
web
sites that detail listening frequencies and times for specific broadcasts,
or
you can just tune the dial to se what's out there at a given time. Doing
a
Google search for "short wave listening" or "short wave frequencies"
should
result in some places to start reading. If you are interested in knowing
what
you are listening to, you should probably get a radio with digital
frequency
display. For portable, carry around operation, I use a Sangean ATS-909
(same as
a Radio Shack DX-398).

If you want to talk, you will need to become a general class ham (Amateur
Radio
Operator) (if you are in the US, other countries have similar radio
licensing
requirements), and acquire a transceiver. The General Class license will
allow
you to transmit on specific bands to communicate with other hams around
the
world. Antennas are generally more critical for transmitting, either cut
to a
specific band or built in a manner to cover multiple bands. You can talk
around
the world with 5 or 10 watts output if the conditions are right. Most
Amateur
Radios have variable output to 100 watts, with a few available with higher
output. For those that think they have to have the strongest signal out
there,
Linear amplifiers allow increasing the power output, but generally, they
are not
needed. You can purchase a new bare bones transceiver starting at about
$600 or
so, or pick up a very good used one from $300 or so. Many Ham
Transceivers also
have "general coverage" receivers and can receive from below the US AM
radio
band to 30Mhz, the limit of the standard HF ham bands. US Hams work 10m
12m 15m
20m 40m 80m and 160m bands. (10m is 10 meters). If you find you are
interested
in becoming a Ham, you may want to purchase a transceiver to use as a SWL
receiver, so you don't have to buy another radio down the road. So long
as you
don't transmit on it until you get your license, it is legal to own. One
transceiver I own that is good is the Icom-751 or Icom 751a. Both
versions are
easy to use, with sensitive general coverage receivers and reasonable
filtering
built in. They are often seen on eBay selling between $350 and $550. To
really
"do it right" you will also need a good antenna (which could be as simple
as a
wire strung through the trees), an antenna tuner, and SWR/Power meter.
Many
transceivers (like the 751) have the metering built in, but I prefer an
external
meter. If you were using the transceiver as an SWL radio, you could just
unplug the microphone, hook the radio up to a power supply and connect an
antenna and you are ready to listen...

As an Amateur Extra class ham, I began with SWL, and have owned a bunch of
different radios over the years. Currently I operate with an Icom 746Pro
into
an x-9 beam on a 48 foot tower, and when mobile I use a Yaesu FT-857 into
an
Atas-120 antenna mounted at the back edge of the cab of my pickup. In the
mobile rig, I listen to SWL stations as much as I operate as a ham. Due
to the
noise of the truck ignition and computer systems, the radio is not nearly
a
sensitive under way as when I'm sitting still, and the Atas-120 antenna is
a
significant compromise compared to a half wave dipole or beam antenna like
I use
on the home station.

Good luck
--Rick AH7H

Ephraim wrote:

I'm less than a newbie. I have no radio or experience and am wondering
what
the ins and outs are. The idea of conversing with people all over the
place sounds very interested.

Can someone give me some feedback on how it works, what kind of range
there
is, general ideas about the $$ involved, and a few things I'm too
ignorant
to ask? I know there is a broad range but I have to start somewhere.

Thanks
Eph