Howdy...a noob

[Flysc]

I'm a new member here. My adult daughter and I have an interest in becoming licensed HAMs. We both decided to get our feet wet with new radios. We are not licensed yet, but are trying to learn the ropes. We both have Baofeng 8 watt transceivers we hope to be able to use after getting our technician tickets.

Years ago, I piddled with CB (pre cell phone days) and wanted to get into amateur radio. The main stumbling block was Morse. I even bought a cassette tape course (a guy named West sold them) that I spent hours of practice with. I never could get past 5 WPM. I'd tune in guys doing CW on my shortwave and try get my ear to keep up...it was like trying to understand a flustered Italian on cocaine. After a few months, I gave up. Second languages aren't my forte...I did two years of Spanish in HS and all I really recall are some curse words a Mexican friend taught me.

About two months ago I was chatting with a HAM operator in a parking lot and he told me that Morse had been dropped as a requirement, so now my daughter and I are interested again. We both are fairly familiar with radio theory, antenna tuning, SWR, etc from when we used to use the CB base and mobiles back when she was small. She used to really enjoy catching skip contacts simplex when conditions were right, but we both mainly now have an interest for emergency coms if the need arises. Looking forward to being able to listen in and legally participate. I will be studying here and hopefully not having to bend your ears with too many noob questions.

 

[mmckenna]

Welcome to you and your daughter.

Gordon West was one of the guys that did the amateur test preps with the cassette tapes. I remember doing that with my dad. I was never good at morse, either. Like you, second languages are not my thing, I've been exposed to enough Spanish, French and Hungarian that you'd think I'd have picked something up by now, but I haven't, and I've sort of given up at trying.

The Morse code requirement was dropped back in the late 1980's/early 1990's, if I recall.

Now, it's just a multiple choice technical/rules/frequency test. It's pretty easy to do, and your experience with CB will help. While some amateur radio operators are not willing to admit it, most of us got our first taste of radio on CB's.

There are a lot of great resource out there on the internet to pick up the required knowledge. Important part is to not just learn to answer the questions, but have some of the background needed to be able to figure out the answers on your own. Some of the test is pure memorization, like frequency/band layouts, rules, etc.
This website is a great place to come and ask questions, there are a lot of talented people on this site that are happy to assist.

Once you get your licenses, you'll be able to put your radios to work. You'll no doubt want to expand your capabilities as your skill increases, so you'll probably want to be looking at new radios down the road. Portable radios are handy, but base and mobiles can make it a bit more enjoyable.

Passing the amateur radio license test is the first step. It basically opens the door. The learning will be ongoing. The test in no way covers all aspects or rules of the radio service.

Having other family members involved really helps. I've had my license since the late 1980's or early 1990's, can't recall. Anyway about 10 years ago I was finally able to get others interested. Now my dad and I are general class licensees, my wife, brother, sister, mom and brother in law all have their licenses, and it makes more enjoyable.

Good luck, and I'm sure we'll see you around. Feel free to ask as many questions as you want, we'll be happy to assist.

 

[trap5858]

Welcome-

Check around your area for a ham radio club. Most offer classes for each of the license categories and they also administer the exams. Getting involved with local hams is great introduction to the hobby. There are many resources out there for learning the required material. The ARRL has many publications including licensing texts. Good luck, I know you will enjoy amateur radio. Feel free to ask for help.

73’

 

[spongella]

Flysc,

Welcome to the forum, lots of great folks here to help you out. Am a former CB'er like you and eventually got my ham license to be able to communicate worldwide. It's a lifelong hobby that's up there with the best of 'em.

Getting a ham ticket is a good plan. If you have a ham radio club in your area (as was mentioned previously), that'll help you towards getting your license. Also, some hamfests will have ham license tests as part of the agenda so check those out too.

You can also check with your county/municipal government; perhaps there is a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) or MRC (Medical Reserve Corps) that provide training for hams.

Getting an "Elmer" as we hams call it, is also a plus. An Elmer is an experience ham who takes someone under their wing and helps them along. Again, a club is your best resource.

The ARRL is another resource, check their website for more information.

I wish you and your daughter success in getting your licenses and feel free to ask questions. 73's.

 

[Flysc]

Welcome to you and your daughter.

Gordon West was one of the guys that did the amateur test preps with the cassette tapes. I remember doing that with my dad. I was never good at morse, either. Like you, second languages are not my thing, I've been exposed to enough Spanish, French and Hungarian that you'd think I'd have picked something up by now, but I haven't, and I've sort of given up at trying.

The Morse code requirement was dropped back in the late 1980's/early 1990's, if I recall.

That is what the local HAM guy told me and my new interest.

Now, it's just a multiple choice technical/rules/frequency test. It's pretty easy to do, and your experience with CB will help. While some amateur radio operators are not willing to admit it, most of us got our first taste of radio on CB's.

Well, if a fellow is too snobby to admit he dabbled in CB radio, I probably won't care much for his company anyway. I just don't care for snobs. Life is too short.

There are a lot of great resource out there on the internet to pick up the required knowledge. Important part is to not just learn to answer the questions, but have some of the background needed to be able to figure out the answers on your own. Some of the test is pure memorization, like frequency/band layouts, rules, etc.
This website is a great place to come and ask questions, there are a lot of talented people on this site that are happy to assist.

I intend to.

Once you get your licenses, you'll be able to put your radios to work. You'll no doubt want to expand your capabilities as your skill increases, so you'll probably want to be looking at new radios down the road. Portable radios are handy, but base and mobiles can make it a bit more enjoyable.

Passing the amateur radio license test is the first step. It basically opens the door. The learning will be ongoing. The test in no way covers all aspects or rules of the radio service.

Having other family members involved really helps. I've had my license since the late 1980's or early 1990's, can't recall. Anyway about 10 years ago I was finally able to get others interested. Now my dad and I are general class licensees, my wife, brother, sister, mom and brother in law all have their licenses, and it makes more enjoyable.

Well, right now it is only us two. My interest is to support my daughter. We both are interested in emergency communications (personally and in support of others in a time of need). She really finds the aspect of helping out to be the most important. I bought us both the little Baofengs, but I gave her Christmas money to buy a larger radio (ICOR???) and some external antennas. Truth be known, I don't have an interest to become a guru "elmer" as you say. She may? Don't know. If we both can build our own antennas and assist, that is about as far as I care to go. Maybe make a few friends in the pursuit would be good too.

Good luck, and I'm sure we'll see you around. Feel free to ask as many questions as you want, we'll be happy to assist.

Thanks for your reply and the offer of help.

 

[Flysc]

Welcome-

Check around your area for a ham radio club. Most offer classes for each of the license categories and they also administer the exams. Getting involved with local hams is great introduction to the hobby. There are many resources out there for learning the required material. The ARRL has many publications including licensing texts. Good luck, I know you will enjoy amateur radio. Feel free to ask for help.

73’

Well, I have. That HAM I mentioned (from our county) that I recently talked to never called me back. My daughter has found info on a few local clubs. We still have a study book to order and a programming cable coming for our Baofengs, so it'll be a bit before we are even ready to test. She has a small child, so study time for her is scarce.

 

[Flysc]

It amazes me of how much information is online. One Youtuber HAM's videos is what made me spring on the little Baofengs. His name is Hoshnasi. He copiously punctuates his videos with links. In one video you can bookmark stuff like ARRL and this site and it's local freq listings for export.

 

[Flysc]

BTW, checked and the other mobile radio she bought is an ICOM 2300H. Is that a decent rig for her truck? Specs say it is capable of 65 watts if needed..

 

[Flysc]

Thanks, spongella. Will do.

 

[mmckenna]

BTW, checked and the other mobile radio she bought is an ICOM 2300H. Is that a decent rig for her truck? Specs say it is capable of 65 watts if needed..

Yes, excellent choice. A basic 2 meter band VHF mobile will do a lot.

Proper installation is key. That means powered directly off the battery. Do -not- tap into existing wiring or attempt to power off the cigarette lighter.
External antenna is required. If she's serious, do a permanent install in the center of the cab roof. There are alternatives, but that's the ideal install.

 

[KC5AKB]

Looks like you all are off to a Good start. Feel free to drop me a pm and I will send you my phone number. Not sure about your area but here in a 5 county area near Fort Worth Texas we have a group of women that have there own net and are very active in the area .YL is a term for women and girls
W5YI : Resources for Amateur & Commercial Radio and HamTestOnline - Ham Radio Exam Courses and Practice Tests are a few of the places to study.
Pm sent.

 

[popnokick]

+1 on HamTestOnline... was how I got my Extra. If you are a person who has short bursts of time in which you can study (after dinner, kid's nap, etc.) it's ideal because when you have to drop what you're doing and go to something else it remembers where you left off AND provides guidance for your "weak areas". It sneaks questions from your weaker subjects back into the queue when you're learning something new. And rather than just "drill and kill" memorization it actually provides more information on the subject right in front of you on the same screens.... reducing the need to go to a different website or book to find out more.

 

[Flysc]

Yes, excellent choice. A basic 2 meter band VHF mobile will do a lot.

Proper installation is key. That means powered directly off the battery. Do -not- tap into existing wiring or attempt to power off the cigarette lighter.
External antenna is required. If she's serious, do a permanent install in the center of the cab roof. There are alternatives, but that's the ideal install.

Thanks for the advice. That ICOM and new antenna will likely stay in it's packaging for a while until she can pass her testing. We both have a lot to chew on just with license study and learning the Baofengs. Her 2 year old gobbles most of her time up too. She may even have me first set it up as a base station configuration first.

Also, I understand the center-cab install. If I remember correctly, the horizontal metal serves as a ground plane surface for best propagation and low SWR issues. That might be an issue with her husband because the truck is brand new Ford F-150.

 

[Flysc]

Thanks for the offer for PM advice. We are both located in St. Clair Co. in Alabama. From my cursory findings there is at least one group in our county (one I talked to in person never called me back) and at least one group in a neighboring county (Shelby).

I will bookmark the links you provided too. Note: Firefox recently updated and has got my bookmarking arrangements scrambled into a mess. Trying to get my head wrapped around fixing that now. Grrrr...

Looks like you all are off to a Good start. Feel free to drop me a pm and I will send you my phone number. Not sure about your area but here in a 5 county area near Fort Worth Texas we have a group of women that have there own net and are very active in the area .YL is a term for women and girls
W5YI : Resources for Amateur & Commercial Radio and HamTestOnline - Ham Radio Exam Courses and Practice Tests are a few of the places to study.
Pm sent.

 

[Flysc]

Sounds good from two aspects...#1, I'm getting old...my memory used to be a large bowl, now it is a collander. #2, sounds ideal for her study snippets chasing a 2 YO. Her advantage is being young and having a stouter mind than I ever was granted.

+1 on HamTestOnline... was how I got my Extra. If you are a person who has short bursts of time in which you can study (after dinner, kid's nap, etc.) it's ideal because when you have to drop what you're doing and go to something else it remembers where you left off AND provides guidance for your "weak areas". It sneaks questions from your weaker subjects back into the queue when you're learning something new. And rather than just "drill and kill" memorization it actually provides more information on the subject right in front of you on the same screens.... reducing the need to go to a different website or book to find out more.

 

[majoco]

Welcome to the forum - there's plenty of helpful people here.

Just one tip, it's "ham", not "HAM". It doesn't stand for anything, it's origins are obscure - some think it's from "ham actor" as in not a professional, but who really cares!

 

[N9RMA]

Type in [ham cram.com]....A good site for test study...... GL de Bob N9RMA

 

[Flysc]

Interesting. Noted.

Welcome to the forum - there's plenty of helpful people here.

Just one tip, it's "ham", not "HAM". It doesn't stand for anything, it's origins are obscure - some think it's from "ham actor" as in not a professional, but who really cares!

 

[Flysc]

Type in [ham cram.com]....A good site for test study...... GL de Bob N9RMA

Bookmarked in my now mentally unstable Firefox BM file.

 

[mmckenna]

Also, I understand the center-cab install. If I remember correctly, the horizontal metal serves as a ground plane surface for best propagation and low SWR issues. That might be an issue with her husband because the truck is brand new Ford F-150.

Really easy trucks to install in. Just put 2 antennas on a 2017 F350 regular cab a few months back. The cabs are aluminum, so magnetic mounts are out. It'll either need to be a permanent mount or a compromise mount off the front fender. Do not mount behind the cab, bad location.