well 146.520 is the national calling frequency on 2m, and 446.000 is the national calling frequency on 70cm. if you buy a ham radio, and are unlicensed, it is ILLEGAL to operate (transmit), but you can always listen. those two frequencies are used as a "lobby" basically to make simplex communications (radio to radio), once you make a contact with someone, people generally QSY (move to another frequency close by). yaesu makes a radio for about 70 dollars, dont buy a baofeng, they are shit. and study for your license. please respect the airwaves, we take a test and pay for a license to use the service, please dont abuse it.
tl;dr 146.520 AND 446.000, you are not allowed to transmit unlicensed unless there is no other way to communicate and you have an absolute emergency that is life-or-death
no problemo fren. thats what we're here for, to help each other out. check out hamstudy.org you dont need to remember why everything works, you just need to memorize all the answers. its a 35 question test, you need to get 27 correct. trust me, im a general. you'll kill yourself trying to remember all the reasons why the answers are the way they are. for now, just focus on memorizing the answers to all 400 possible questions they are going to ask you. once you are licensed, you have all the time in the world to learn WHY all this stuff works the way it does.
CW (morse code) is not required anymore, but you should learn it later. theres a fun app to learn it on your phone, its called "MorseMania"
download the hamstudy.org app to your phone, for either Android/iOS
and bookmark the site as well on your computer!
if you want a CB, look into a brand called PRESIDENT on amazon. or if you just want something cheapo, get a uniden bearcat 980 SSB. its not just plug and play tho, you will need to probably cut your antenna to the right length for optimal swr.
Why Amaz0n? Why not buy from a reputable dealer who can sell you the correct accessories and provide technical support when needed? Isn't Jeff Bozo rich enough?
(Forgive me but Amaz0n was instrumental in killing off my small business. Amazon started offering all of my niche products and there was no way I could compete with "free" postage)
buy it wherever the hell you want. im not a fan of amazon either, but like them or not, they are the most "heard of" place to buy it. not to be a dick, but i gave you the name of the product, you could always do a search on the internet and buy from a non-amazon vendor....
that being said, i'm sorry to hear about your business. that really sucks, and i really hope you are able to get back to business once this is all over. and it will be someday. for now, hang in there, and be safe.
Nobody seems to have answered the CB radio question so let me help because it's my specialist subject and I used it in the UK.
The range is pretty much limited to line of sight. At 27 MHz I managed to transmit 50 miles from a hilltop but both I and the person responding were using "burners" giving around 75 Watts, and a decent antenna.
The antenna is key. Unless you are using an efficient one, nothing else matters.
I used a "burner" rated at 100 Watts output with 4 watts input (FM). However, I ran it with only 3 Watts input because otherwise the "splatter" (unwanted interference) was tremendous. The difference in range between 75 and 100 Watts wasn't noticeable. Obviously, if you are simply listening, the transmission power is irrelevant.
Realistically, on flat ground, 4 Watts of transmission power will provide a usable range of around 5 - 10 miles with a decent antenna at roof height. Terrain will affect this. You get reflections off hills and buildings, which might help or hinder.
As I didn't want trouble from neighbours, I made my own antenna from an aluminium mast with an ordinary TV antenna on top to form a "capacitance hat". The mast was insulated from its support bracket and the ground-plane was made of wires inside the roof space. I used specific lengths of 50 and 75 Ohm coaxial cable to provide impedance matching.
The range can be increased slightly by using single sideband transmission. It was also more private because not many people used it. When I was in the UK, this was illegal but, provided that you didn't cause interference, and stayed away from the amateur bands, nobody was likely to bother you.
I don't know anything about the current CB scene in the UK or USA but I suspect that it's a lot quieter than it used to be.
I would also like to ask anons what some recommend HAM radio freqs
well 146.520 is the national calling frequency on 2m, and 446.000 is the national calling frequency on 70cm. if you buy a ham radio, and are unlicensed, it is ILLEGAL to operate (transmit), but you can always listen. those two frequencies are used as a "lobby" basically to make simplex communications (radio to radio), once you make a contact with someone, people generally QSY (move to another frequency close by). yaesu makes a radio for about 70 dollars, dont buy a baofeng, they are shit. and study for your license. please respect the airwaves, we take a test and pay for a license to use the service, please dont abuse it.
tl;dr 146.520 AND 446.000, you are not allowed to transmit unlicensed unless there is no other way to communicate and you have an absolute emergency that is life-or-death
Thank you!! Yes, I’m purely listening and am studying for the exam. I really, really appreciate the breakdown
no problemo fren. thats what we're here for, to help each other out. check out hamstudy.org you dont need to remember why everything works, you just need to memorize all the answers. its a 35 question test, you need to get 27 correct. trust me, im a general. you'll kill yourself trying to remember all the reasons why the answers are the way they are. for now, just focus on memorizing the answers to all 400 possible questions they are going to ask you. once you are licensed, you have all the time in the world to learn WHY all this stuff works the way it does.
CW (morse code) is not required anymore, but you should learn it later. theres a fun app to learn it on your phone, its called "MorseMania"
download the hamstudy.org app to your phone, for either Android/iOS and bookmark the site as well on your computer!
if you want a CB, look into a brand called PRESIDENT on amazon. or if you just want something cheapo, get a uniden bearcat 980 SSB. its not just plug and play tho, you will need to probably cut your antenna to the right length for optimal swr.
Why Amaz0n? Why not buy from a reputable dealer who can sell you the correct accessories and provide technical support when needed? Isn't Jeff Bozo rich enough?
(Forgive me but Amaz0n was instrumental in killing off my small business. Amazon started offering all of my niche products and there was no way I could compete with "free" postage)
buy it wherever the hell you want. im not a fan of amazon either, but like them or not, they are the most "heard of" place to buy it. not to be a dick, but i gave you the name of the product, you could always do a search on the internet and buy from a non-amazon vendor....
that being said, i'm sorry to hear about your business. that really sucks, and i really hope you are able to get back to business once this is all over. and it will be someday. for now, hang in there, and be safe.
It's fine. I was due for retirement anyway. Just a shame for my staff.
Nobody seems to have answered the CB radio question so let me help because it's my specialist subject and I used it in the UK.
The range is pretty much limited to line of sight. At 27 MHz I managed to transmit 50 miles from a hilltop but both I and the person responding were using "burners" giving around 75 Watts, and a decent antenna.
The antenna is key. Unless you are using an efficient one, nothing else matters.
I used a "burner" rated at 100 Watts output with 4 watts input (FM). However, I ran it with only 3 Watts input because otherwise the "splatter" (unwanted interference) was tremendous. The difference in range between 75 and 100 Watts wasn't noticeable. Obviously, if you are simply listening, the transmission power is irrelevant.
Realistically, on flat ground, 4 Watts of transmission power will provide a usable range of around 5 - 10 miles with a decent antenna at roof height. Terrain will affect this. You get reflections off hills and buildings, which might help or hinder.
As I didn't want trouble from neighbours, I made my own antenna from an aluminium mast with an ordinary TV antenna on top to form a "capacitance hat". The mast was insulated from its support bracket and the ground-plane was made of wires inside the roof space. I used specific lengths of 50 and 75 Ohm coaxial cable to provide impedance matching.
The range can be increased slightly by using single sideband transmission. It was also more private because not many people used it. When I was in the UK, this was illegal but, provided that you didn't cause interference, and stayed away from the amateur bands, nobody was likely to bother you.
I don't know anything about the current CB scene in the UK or USA but I suspect that it's a lot quieter than it used to be.