If you thought Ham Radio was dead? Surprise, Maria is proving that theory wrong.

[diana8]

This was posted on CNN today about how Ham Radio Operators are helping out in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria:

Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico - CNN

P.S. Hopefully I posted this in the right forum, if not please move.

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Both ham and CB operators as well have been helping with these recent hurricanes! REACT International, Inc. | Public Service Through Communications and REACT Teams | REACT TEAM LISTING

 

[KK4JUG]

I think only a very few people actually believe amateur radio is "dead." Perhaps it's not as active as it used to be in some areas and the naysayers live in one of those areas, I don't know. But, no, it's not dead. Using terms from my homicide investigation days, it's not DRT nor FTD*.

*DRT = Dead Right There
FTD = Fixin' To Die

 

[paulmohr]

I think there are probably certain aspects of it that might be losing interest. And if you want to talk to people all over the globe the internet kind of blew that out of the water. However there will always be people that want to use a radio instead. Either because like the idea of it, or they don't trust modern communications in an emergency situation or when the zombies come.

I pondered about the ham thing, but in the end decided it wasn't for me, but if there was any CB activity in my area I would buy one tomorrow. Just because they are fun. One of the reasons I wanted a scanner was to see what kind of activity there was for CB's around me. As it turns out almost none.

 

[edweirdFL]

A lot of different things comprise amateur radio. Emergency communications (EMCOMM) is just one of those things. In the last decade there has been a lot of investment in building more robust communications systems in the US.

I hear plenty of operations on HF everyday. The amount of conversations on the repeaters local to me is a scant fraction of what it was in decades past. The ability to work distant stations on a consistent basis with low power and a variety of frequencies to choose from isn't like it used to be during a high point in the sunspot cycle.

You don't hear about bowling a lot in the news either, but plenty of folks are still bowling or have a ball and shoes in their closet that they could take out and use if they wanted.

 

[SCPD]

I search repeaters here in NY NJ and hear maybe 2-4 active repeaters.
HF is dead unless theres a contest going on.Then they come out of the woodwork!

 

[TheSpaceMann]

I think there are probably certain aspects of it that might be losing interest. And if you want to talk to people all over the globe the internet kind of blew that out of the water. However there will always be people that want to use a radio instead. Either because like the idea of it, or they don't trust modern communications in an emergency situation or when the zombies come.

I pondered about the ham thing, but in the end decided it wasn't for me, but if there was any CB activity in my area I would buy one tomorrow. Just because they are fun. One of the reasons I wanted a scanner was to see what kind of activity there was for CB's around me. As it turns out almost none.

Does your scanner receive CB frequencies for both AM and SSB? In my travels I have found quite a bit of 11 meter activity, of course a lot will depend on your individual location.

 

[paulmohr]

Does your scanner receive CB frequencies for both AM and SSB? In my travels I have found quite a bit of 11 meter activity, of course a lot will depend on your individual location.

No idea to be quite honest, its a uniden 325p2. I also have an SDR and there isn't much on it either in that range. Occasionally you will hear something. And I honestly don't know that much about SSB either, never really messed with it. Maybe I will read up on it some. My brother is a truck driver and all he has is a normal CB in his truck.

**EDIT**

Ok I just read a little about SSB and discovered it is actually a type of modulation like AM or FM. I highly doubt either my SDR or Scanner has this mode unless there is another name for it. However, I "think" with the SDR even though I can't decode that modulation I would at least see it on the display. I just wouldn't be able to listen to it, or at least not very well. And I rarely see any spikes in that frequency range. I have a diamond discone antenna 30 feet in the air, so I don't think its a reception problem either.

 

[edweirdFL]

AM mode has a center carrier and both a lower and upper sideband that comprise it's signal.

Single Sideband (SSB) is similar but it lacks the carrier and one of the sidebands. The remaining sideband might be the Lower or the Upper Side Band (LSB or USB)

When you get close to a SSB signal it may sound sort of like Donald Duck sqawking until you are tuned in exactly. It's a distinctive kind of sound.

 

[paulmohr]

Ya, I just discovered the SDR does have ssb, both LSB and USB, I wondered what those meant lol.

 

[JACK26]

Great CNN article. Amateur radio has always been the last resort for communications and will probably always will be. It's an expensive hobby but that's always the way it's been. Relatively few people who have the resources are willing to invest the time, education and money into a ham radio setup.
One of the limitations of modern technology like cell phones is the delicate infrastructure it depends on that completely fails in disasters. Dependence on these delicate technologies compounds the consequences of the disaster. Ham radio is only limited to the resources of the owner operator and can be completely independent of surrounding infrastructures.

 

[JACK26]

Ya, I just discovered the SDR does have ssb, both LSB and USB, I wondered what those meant lol.

You can actually build a complete ham radio transceiver with rtl-sdr but it takes a lot of work and requires a ham radio license to legally transmit.

See this link if interested:
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/building-a-ham-tranceiver-with-an-rtl-sdr-raspberry-pi-and-rpitx/
]

 

[K5MPH]

There is a lot of things you can do with ham radio,its just not only about sitting in a 500 dollar easy chair and making contacts.......

 

[TheSpaceMann]

No idea to be quite honest, its a uniden 325p2. I also have an SDR and there isn't much on it either in that range. Occasionally you will hear something. And I honestly don't know that much about SSB either, never really messed with it. Maybe I will read up on it some. My brother is a truck driver and all he has is a normal CB in his truck.

**EDIT**

Ok I just read a little about SSB and discovered it is actually a type of modulation like AM or FM. I highly doubt either my SDR or Scanner has this mode unless there is another name for it. However, I "think" with the SDR even though I can't decode that modulation I would at least see it on the display. I just wouldn't be able to listen to it, or at least not very well. And I rarely see any spikes in that frequency range. I have a diamond discone antenna 30 feet in the air, so I don't think its a reception problem either.

What is your location? There are areas where there is little 11 meter ground wave traffic. However whenever there is an opening, the entire band comes alive. You will see a great deal of activity on your display from 26.965 to 27.405 Mhz, as well as above and beyond the band edges (Freeband operators). There were many band openings this past summer. Remember however that we are at a lower part of the solar cycle, so you can expect those band openings to be less frequent.

 

[spongella]

Years back when the world was a smaller place and communications no where near as sophisticated as today, ham radio operators were the first to inform the world of what was taking place when tragedy struck. However, with Mother Nature acting up and the threat of terrorism looming, ham radio and radio comms in general are being recognized as an essential backup when modern communications systems are hampered or destroyed. The beauty of Amateur Radio is that it is simple to set up a station and get communications reliably established in a short time. The role of hams in Puerto Rico is a good example.