needairtime
Member
Just ironic that CB radio has been around all these years and all it took was a cellphone to ruin it all.
“General” frequency to monitor when driving
- Thread starter deeve
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You make it sound like a bad thing. It's called "progress." I'm old and I can remember listening to radio with a crystal and a "cat whisker." Later, I had to wait for the Crosley console radio to warm up before I could listen to "Fibber McGee and Molly." The computer I had in elementary school was.... Wait! That wasn't even a gleam in Bill Gates' eye because he wasn't even born. I worked at a TV station where the sole color studio camera was not much smaller than a Mini Cooper.
You get the idea. Technology remains in a constant state of flux. You should be used to it by now.
needairtime
Member
Actually, the comment was implying that people were using CBs for years and now that cellphones are ubiquitous, so are the laws that outlaw them and CBs while driving...
So it's the laws that are in a constant state of flux...
So it's the laws that are in a constant state of flux...
lol - Bill Gates didn't invent the computer..
Gimme a break. I know that. He didn't even invent Windows. Xerox did.
You got my point, though, didn't you?
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2018
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- 869
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The middle of this October I have several conferences to attend in the Santa Fe NM area, and it was suggested by my friend Barb that I not fly back there from DC but instead, do a road trip ("and take me along, too" she add'd.)
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A Fall Road trip !... Neat !... Virginia, West Virginia-- Kentucky--- will be aflame with colours, the mid-west heat and humidity-- all gone..... Awesome
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Okay; So, we set the date, and this weekend I lined up the rental car (I don't keep any vehicle in DC) ... tomorrow I'll sign myself out of my office for a few extra days... Cool.
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........ And, more salient to this Topic, we'll be taking along Barb's Yaesu FT-7900, a dual-band'er, along with a 2/440 mag mount'd (yet to be acquired) -antenna, (magnetically mount'd ...this will be a rental after all.)
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We'll stagger our week long route across the midwest, until Kansas City, where we'll follow the old Santa Fe Trail down into New Mexico. All along the way we'll actively try and see what kind of activity (ie: truble ) we can create on "52" and 446.0**-- seeing what Heart Land America might offer up to us in the way of ham radio
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Hopefully, there will be some radio fun stuff I can also post here
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Lauri
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**Barb is French and her accent is quite the draw on anything 'Phone. If she fails to get any responses then there is truly no activity, guys ...
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The middle of this October I have several conferences to attend in the Santa Fe NM area, and it was suggested by my friend Barb that I not fly back there from DC but instead, do a road trip ("and take me along, too" she add'd.)
.
A Fall Road trip !... Neat !... Virginia, West Virginia-- Kentucky--- will be aflame with colours, the mid-west heat and humidity-- all gone..... Awesome
.
Okay; So, we set the date, and this weekend I lined up the rental car (I don't keep any vehicle in DC) ... tomorrow I'll sign myself out of my office for a few extra days... Cool.
.
........ And, more salient to this Topic, we'll be taking along Barb's Yaesu FT-7900, a dual-band'er, along with a 2/440 mag mount'd (yet to be acquired) -antenna, (magnetically mount'd ...this will be a rental after all.)
.
We'll stagger our week long route across the midwest, until Kansas City, where we'll follow the old Santa Fe Trail down into New Mexico. All along the way we'll actively try and see what kind of activity (ie: truble
) we can create on "52" and 446.0**-- seeing what Heart Land America might offer up to us in the way of ham radio .
Hopefully, there will be some radio fun stuff I can also post here
.
.
.
Lauri
.
______________________________________________________
.
**Barb is French and her accent is quite the draw on anything 'Phone. If she fails to get any responses then there is truly no activity, guys ...
.
.
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Too bad you will be going so far south of my area of Northwest Indiana, otherwise you could give me a holler on either .52 or 446. I monitor both 24/7 from my shack.We'll stagger our week long route across the midwest, until Kansas City, where we'll follow the old Santa Fe Trail down into New Mexico. All along the way we'll actively try and see what kind of activity (ie: truble
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- 869
Hey Bill....
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Yes, we are staying well away from anything that would bring us near Chicago, though we will skirt the lower ends of your state.
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Our only plan is I-64 across to St. Louis, then ?? to Santa Fe. We leave next week
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My father is giving us one of his 10/11 meter transceivers and a mag mount antenna... I'm not sure if we'll do much with it- the last thing I want to envision is 'Barbi' on channel 19...
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If we have any interesting 2/440 activity, like I said, I'll post it... there should be Someone, at least, on "52" (we are not going to touch any repeaters.)
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Lauri
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Yes, we are staying well away from anything that would bring us near Chicago, though we will skirt the lower ends of your state.
.
Our only plan is I-64 across to St. Louis, then ?? to Santa Fe. We leave next week
.
My father is giving us one of his 10/11 meter transceivers and a mag mount antenna... I'm not sure if we'll do much with it- the last thing I want to envision is 'Barbi' on channel 19...
.
If we have any interesting 2/440 activity, like I said, I'll post it... there should be Someone, at least, on "52" (we are not going to touch any repeaters.)
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Lauri
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Hey Bill....
.
Yes, we are staying well away from anything that would bring us near Chicago, though we will skirt the lower ends of your state.
.
Our only plan is I-64 across to St. Louis, then ?? to Santa Fe. We leave next week
.
My father is giving us one of his 10/11 meter transceivers and a mag mount antenna... I'm not sure if we'll do much with it- the last thing I want to envision is 'Barbi' on channel 19...
.
If we have any interesting 2/440 activity, like I said, I'll post it... there should be Someone, at least, on "52" (we are not going to touch any repeaters.)
.
.
.
.
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Lauri
In the last decade, I've traveled a lot of the highways you'll be on and I've not had much success. Prior to a trip, I usually try to program pertinent repeaters into my Yaesu FT-8900. It's become an exercise in futility because I get few "come-backs." I keep one side scanning VHF & UHF simplex and, once again, there's simply not much action. A female voice might make a difference, however.
Hey Bill....
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Yes, we are staying well away from anything that would bring us near Chicago, though we will skirt the lower ends of your state.
Well, I finally got my G5RV-JR up in the air last Saturday afternoon. It's hanging between two 28' fiberglass poles; one attached to the front of my house, and the other on the backside of my detached garage.
If you are ever somewhere near a 20m radio, let's set up a sked! I'd love to chat with ya!
Nota bene: those powerlines aren't really that close to the antenna!
Folks, let's try to stay within the same county as the original topic.
n4fo
Member
Back in late November I had to make a road trip from Florida to Ohio and back and monitored 146.52 and 446.00. Didn't have any QSOs on 440, but had several on 146.52; my kids kept asking my wife why we needed my ham radio. After the first QSO on 146.52 and the look on my face she said that is why we have ham radio with us. Even got my kids in on a QSO; good stuff!
needairtime
Member
I have yet to hear [about] anyone on 446.000 ... I've been pretty bad about "abusing" 446.000 for that reason. I do some testing (between two of my radios) on 446.000 specifically for that reason, maybe someone would come back. I suspect nobody would be monitoring any other 70cm frequencies simplex, they only monitor repeaters.
Might have to do the same on 146.520, same deal, yet to hear anyone, though it seems people clearly do monitor it based on the posts on RR. However in both cases I still don't have a good antenna to work with, though I should be able to at least listen if there's any activity even with junk antennas. I just can't efficiently transmit.
Might have to do the same on 146.520, same deal, yet to hear anyone, though it seems people clearly do monitor it based on the posts on RR. However in both cases I still don't have a good antenna to work with, though I should be able to at least listen if there's any activity even with junk antennas. I just can't efficiently transmit.
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Hmmmm, Needs- maybe you're in a BlackOut Zone as far as 446 and "52" are concern'd- but I think you may have nailed the problem with "I still don't have a good antenna."
Its one thing to be able to access repeaters with their superior antennas and geographical-favorable locations- it is entirely another to be successful with point-to-point low power simplex with Mickey Mouse setup's. You need to look at your 'base' antenna(s) if you want to hear anything.
And hearing anything, of course is dependent on whether there is anything around you to hear. I see your location is Colorado- and I'll assume you are somewhere along the Front Range. There is considerable '52' activity from Fort Collins down to Pueblo and beyond- not to over look what's out on the plains to the East.
I think I mention'd it early in this topic- but I'll repeat it here again- when Spring comes and the road up Pike's Peak halfway resembles what a halfway sane person would drive, (sans snow drifts et al,) spend a day up there and you will be amazed at all the activity you will find on simplex- especially if its during some contest-- VHF and UHF. Its nothing to talk to New Mexico, Wyoming and Kansas from up there, especially if you have a small beam and some power (50watts is good- but a handheld and a 'duck' antenna are still going to surprise you.)
My Colorado home straddles the San Luis and Arkansas valleys. We are on a mountain side that has line-of-sight ranges +50 miles in certain directions. I leave a radio 'locked' on "52"- the antenna is a commercial unity gain vertical mounted on a short section of tower overlooking this range. I hear stations frequently over 150 miles away- the mountains have some very interesting reflections and maybe knife-edge refractions, there's atmospheric ductings........... In the summer the SOTA climbers (Summits on the Air) guys and gals make simplex a lot of fun.
Coyote's 2-cents worth-- ??
Do something about your antenna if you are serious about simplex. Stay with '52' at first- if you start to make contacts then go to 446.
And really consider a day on a tall peak (Pike's, Evan's- ) -- the drive up to the top of either of those is worth it alone for the views.
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Lauri
Its one thing to be able to access repeaters with their superior antennas and geographical-favorable locations- it is entirely another to be successful with point-to-point low power simplex with Mickey Mouse setup's. You need to look at your 'base' antenna(s) if you want to hear anything.
And hearing anything, of course is dependent on whether there is anything around you to hear. I see your location is Colorado- and I'll assume you are somewhere along the Front Range. There is considerable '52' activity from Fort Collins down to Pueblo and beyond- not to over look what's out on the plains to the East.
I think I mention'd it early in this topic- but I'll repeat it here again- when Spring comes and the road up Pike's Peak halfway resembles what a halfway sane person would drive, (sans snow drifts et al,) spend a day up there and you will be amazed at all the activity you will find on simplex- especially if its during some contest-- VHF and UHF. Its nothing to talk to New Mexico, Wyoming and Kansas from up there, especially if you have a small beam and some power (50watts is good- but a handheld and a 'duck' antenna are still going to surprise you.)
My Colorado home straddles the San Luis and Arkansas valleys. We are on a mountain side that has line-of-sight ranges +50 miles in certain directions. I leave a radio 'locked' on "52"- the antenna is a commercial unity gain vertical mounted on a short section of tower overlooking this range. I hear stations frequently over 150 miles away- the mountains have some very interesting reflections and maybe knife-edge refractions, there's atmospheric ductings........... In the summer the SOTA climbers (Summits on the Air) guys and gals make simplex a lot of fun.
Coyote's 2-cents worth-- ??
Do something about your antenna if you are serious about simplex. Stay with '52' at first- if you start to make contacts then go to 446.
And really consider a day on a tall peak (Pike's, Evan's- ) -- the drive up to the top of either of those is worth it alone for the views.
.
Lauri
Gmork
Member
I will monitor 520 or 446.0. On several road trips I have made contacts on the east coast of the US mainly on 520. Now for DMR Simplex calling, that is a different topic.
I have one radio with a dedicated U/V collinear antenna tripod mounted on a 10' mast for a total elevation of 42' to the tip. This radio monitors 146.52 and 446.00 24/7/365.
Two days ago I heard a very strong signal on '52 S9+, when his current QSO ended I gave him a call. During our yak, we determined that we were roughly 39 airline miles apart. Just for fun, we QSY'd to 446 briefly. Reception of him was very weak and low volume. He could likewise barely hear me. We then tried 50m FM for S&G, but it was even worse than UHF, likewise on 15m LSB. We eventually went back to '52 and continued chatting for another 30 minutes.
I have also worked quite a few mobiles on both calling freqs, but then I'm also only about 1.4 miles south of the Indiana Toll road, so there's quite a bit of traveling hams passing through to and from Chicago.
Two days ago I heard a very strong signal on '52 S9+, when his current QSO ended I gave him a call. During our yak, we determined that we were roughly 39 airline miles apart. Just for fun, we QSY'd to 446 briefly. Reception of him was very weak and low volume. He could likewise barely hear me. We then tried 50m FM for S&G, but it was even worse than UHF, likewise on 15m LSB. We eventually went back to '52 and continued chatting for another 30 minutes.
I have also worked quite a few mobiles on both calling freqs, but then I'm also only about 1.4 miles south of the Indiana Toll road, so there's quite a bit of traveling hams passing through to and from Chicago.
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Here is a great resource for Band Plans. Check out: https://sera.org/index.php/frequency-coordination/frequency-utilization-plans-revision-band-plans/ and on the right side of the page are the Band Plans listed for each frequency band in the spectrum. It's quite informative & lets you know what frequencies are used for what. While it lists all the whole frequency spectrum, here is a shortcut to just the VHF (2m): VHF (2m) Band Plan and the UHF (70cm) Band plan: UHF (70cm) Band Plan hope this helps!
David
David
nd5y
Member
Only applicable in the states where SERA is the frequency coordinator.
Other areas have their own band plans or use the ARRL band plans.
bill4long
Member
I'm a ham, and I've literally driven all over the USA in the last 12 years. I have a dual-receive radio (one capable of receiving 2 meters and 70cm at the same time). The radio can program 1000 channels for each "side." (Left I use for VHF, right I use for UHF, generally.) I have every standard simplex and repeater output and input frequency programmed in.
If I'm just looking to find some ongoing transmissions, I keep both "sides" or my radio scanning channels and if I hear something interesting, I stop on that channel and listen. This has led to many good resulting QSOs. Or I may be content to just listen. For certain cities, I have some pre-programmed well-known repeaters that I will give a call on.
As for 52, I find that in and around cities, I often get someone to come back to me on 52 during normal waking hours. Outside of the cities, out in the farm sticks, 52 is practically useless. I've never gen'd up a QSO on 446. Ever. Nor do I hear anyone on there. If I'm parked and not driving, I may switch to VFO mode and scan.
I don't see any reason to limit yourself to a single frequency to monitor. Monitor them all. We have modern radios that scan that can hold all the standard frequencies and then some. They can VFO limit scan. Use the radio's capabilities. That's what they are there for.
If you really don't want to be alone on a trip, you can get into DMR. Get a DMR radio and a DMR hotspot and you'll never ride alone again. Total cost about $150 for radio and hotstop, if you already have a cell phone that provides WIFI hotspot. There is ECHOLink for your cell phone also. Most hams aren't interested in those, but they are available.
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