Amateur (Ham) Radio and hiking

[MikeJ]

The 5R is tri-band with 6m, 2m and 440. What is the 4th band on the 7R?

I have never used the 6m band. The basic antenna that came with the radio works for 2m and 440. To work the 6m band you have to unscrew the tip of the basic antenna and screw on a short extension. The replacement flex antenna that I use everywhere works for 2m and 440 only, not 6m. I also have a mobile mag mount antenna for my car and a base antenna mounted on the roof of my house. The mag mount and the base antenna are both dual-band, 2m and 440 but not 6m. I don't think I have ever seen a repeater for the 6m band. I guess what I am saying is that you won't give up much if you go with a dual band radio. If you find out you really like amateur as a hobby then you can upgrade your license, buy a good base unit and talk on all those other bands. For casual use the 2m and 440 bands are probably all you need. A lot of people do fine with just a single band 2m radio.

A friend of mine has a 7R and doesn't particularly like it because it is fairly large for a handheld. I guess for outdoor use the waterproof feature of the 7R is a consideration, although I don't personally know of anyone who has dropped a radio into water.

I just started studying for the General test. I don't have any real need, it just seems like a good thing to do.

[Rob]

The 5R is tri-band with 6m, 2m and 440. What is the 4th band on the 7R?

6R is tri-band with 2m, 220MHz, and 70cm. Price $249.95
7R is quad-band with 2m, 220MHz, 70cm, and 6m. Price $294.95

You've never used 6m, so maybe it's not important.

I phoned Ham Radio Outlet and asked the rep to compare 6R & 7R beyond the $50 price difference. Rep mentioned 7R has "dual receive" and 6R does not. I asked about "Emergency Automatic ID [EAI]" feature, and rep was not familiar with it; nevertheless, rep thought that for hiking, ARTS ranging system between compatible units might be useful, and both 6R and 7R have ARTS. I asked about 6m repeaters, and he mentioned a few in my area (San Diego County), but as you say life without 6m is fine. I asked about size and rep said the difference was barely noticeable.

Prices at Ham Radio Outlet seem to be equal to the lowest Internet prices, so I might as well buy from a local vendor. I wish their store hours were longer because shopping there will cut into daylight hiking hours on Saturday.

Maybe in the future I can get a mobile unit for the car and a base unit for home, but first I need to allow the passage of some time for my wife to get used to HAM radio culture. She almost understands hiking culture now.

I finished reading the Technician study guide and aced a couple of on-line practice exams, so deadline pressure is relieved. A downside of taking the exam this Saturday is that the exam in my area begins at 10 a.m. -- in the middle of PRIME hiking hours.

[Rob]

I plan to take the Technician license exam next Saturday (3/15/2008)

Took exam; passed same.

For anyone thinking about HAM radio, a study guidecosts $24.95. Every week trained volunteers administer the exam at community centers all over the U.S., and Saturday mornings appear to be the most popular exam time. There is a $5 fee for taking the exam. I took and passed the Level 1 exam (Technician Class License) after 2 weeks of leisurely study. Difficulty level is about the same as a driver's license exam or boating rules exam. Some free on-line practice testshelped me get accustomed to the style of questions.

Driving home from the exam center, I stopped at a HAM radio store to purchase my first radio, a handheld transceiver for hiking. Since this might be the only radio that my wife allows me to buy, I decided to maximize the number of radio bands available to me and settled on the quad-band Yaesu VX-7R. I can't push the transmit button until the FCC assigns me a call-sign and publishes it on the FCC web site, probably Tuesday night. I'm anxious to get out on a local trail to give the new radio a spin, and I also look forward to carrying it on longer hikes to test its limits.

[asabat]

That's a great book that really teaches you the material. If you just want to pass the test and don't care if you remember anything, Gordon's book http://www.amazon.com/Technician-Class-Gordon-West/dp/0945053452/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b will do the trick.

Congrats Rob, and 73,
AA6J

[Rick M]

Welcome to amateur radio Rob. You might want to program in some of the repeaters that asabat has on his web site while you're waiting for your ticket. I took a look at it and wish I had known about it years ago. I started making up a similar repeater guide for the Mojave Desert when I was with desert rescue but before we could get many of the team members licensed they came out with cell phones (even though coverage was first limited to the interstate for awhile. That made life sooo much easier as I carried at one time a SAR pager, fire department pager, 2m radio, 800mHz sheriff radio, and depending on the mission, an FRS/GRMS radio and on rare occasion, a CB.

Once when going up Gorgonio we stumbled across an abandoned campfire that had spread in some brush and a tree. Fortunately, there was no wind and we were able to put out all the fire except above 8' on the tree. Using a homemade roll-up J-pole antenna I was able to reach someone on the Laguna Peak repeater who relayed my message to the forest service who had no clue as to where I was talking about until I discovered they were in the Cleveland Nat'l Forest so I gave the Lat and Long and within an hour a helo landed with a hand crew to chain saw the then sparking tree down. What made it weird was that because of my location, I was not able to hit three "local" repeaters. Point is, don't just program in the closest repeaters.

Also, once while on a brush fire, I couldn't get out until I used a metal trash can lid to reflect my signal to San Bernardino dispatch. And in emergency situations, sometimes just moving as little as ten feet can make the difference. Any way, do some experimenting and have fun.

Rick KC6WZY

[Rob]

AsABat & Rick M .... Thank you .... Trying to bond with handheld Yaesu .... Gosh, there are HUNDREDS of repeaters in SoCal!

[Rob]

I'm experimenting with different methods for carrying my handheld transceiver while hiking. I've hiked several times with the HT in a side pocket of my daypack and listened using either speaker or earpiece; disadvantage is it's awkward to reach the radio in a side pocket, and keylock is a pain but prudent. Last Saturday I tried something different. I hiked for several hours with the HT stowed in my daypack, then at an appropriate elevation I broke out the HT suspending the HT on its cord from my daypack's chest strap and tucking the HT inside the neck zipper of my fleece. This worked very well because it was easy from this position (in front of my chest) to push buttons or adjust volume, and my fleece kept the HT from bouncing around. (I assume that trail etiquette is to turn down volume to zero when other hikers approach?) As soon as the weather warms and I don't wear fleece while hiking, I'll have to find another method for carrying the HT.

Comms from elevation are fantastic! Last Saturday, halfway up Baldy, I hit a repeater 120 miles away in southeast San Diego County (Lyons Peak) and got a simplex (direct) radio check from a ham in Orange County. On the other hand, I'm puzzled by my inability to hit a Palomar Mtn PARC repeater from the north, although I've had good comms on the same repeater from the south. Is that repeater on a south-facing slope? I could hear it but could not break into it.

I need to spend more time with AsABat's PCT repeater guide and other references to groom my Yaesu VX-7R's scanning list. At present my VX-7R is programmed to scan "only" 125 freqs. Some active repeaters in Los Angeles County and in the high desert share frequencies with repeaters elsewhere, so in some cases I was able to hear chatter on certain repeaters but it was pointless to attempt a test because I knew the PL setting was wrong, and I did not pack a pocket repeater guide.

. . . Rob, KI6PGI

[asabat]

The Palomar ARC repeaters are oriented to the southwest (towards San Diego) and are not on the top of the mountain. This design was deliberate to minimize interference from LA. However, they do work on the south-facing higher slopes of San Jac and Gorgonio.

Yes, I suggest turning the volume down when others are around. This avoids the debate about wilderness and technology (made more audible now that everyone has a cell phone).

How to carry the radio - well, I usually leave mine off, but when I do need it I use a Pouch case, either attached to my belt or sometimes to my shoulder straps. There are chest harnesses designed to hold radios. Besides making sure the radio doesn't fall out, watch where the antenna is so it doesn't get broken on a branch or, worse, the antenna mount inside the radio is broken.

I had one friend who always carried an external frame pack, and mounted a mobile antenna to the top frame. It worked good except going under low branches!