Newbie question about reaching other side of the world.

[RabbitRadio]

I'm waiting to take my tests and studying. In the meantime I have some questions about doing long range voice/data. One of the main reasons why I want to transmit instead of just listening is so I can make contact with HAMs on the other side of the world to practice speaking a second language. I know there are many HAMs active in the country I'm trying to reach because it's a fairly active hobby over there. I have several contacts I've met through groups on the internet that wish to practice their language skills and a lot of them claim to be HAMs or are interested in starting.

I'm trying to figure out what the best set-up for this would be. What kind of antenna and radio I should be looking into buying/building soon and how often I'll be able to reach that far with it. There are multiple mountain ranges and a massive ocean between myself and where that country is located. Plus I'm not in the best location locally to reach out or receive transmissions from the local repeaters I listen to regularly. If I'm away from home driving around things are better but where my home is located I'm in a bit of a valley between two mountains. The only saving grave is I can build pretty much whatever I want because I'm in a very rural area. The only limiting factor is money.

Right now I just have a cheap second hand HT. I can listen to one local repeater with it when I'm at home. But hearing things like the nearest NOAA station is hit and miss depending on time of day. I don't have anything that can do anything outside of VHF/UHF right now so I'm not sure how much better things would be on HF. To make matters even worse my home and all my other outbuildings have tin roofs. But even if I go outside things don't seem to improve that much as far as listening goes.

Can anyone give me a basic run down on what is required to reach my goals and how much I should plan on budgeting for this? I know it's a learning process. I'm trying to hunt down information on my own but some pointers would be helpful. Searching on my own has been a bit of an information overload and a lot of what I've read assume I've already been operating a station for awhile. I would like to eventually have a set-up at home where I can listen to more local stuff on VHF/UHF but also the ability to hear stuff from further out on HF and have them hear me.

The locals I've talked to that run the local repeater don't seem to do much but VHF/UHF. One of them has been pretty friendly but he's busy and I don't want to bother him with my basic questions.

Edit: I should have mentioned this at the start; My goal is to regularly reach Japan and SEA from the the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains.

 

[W4AXW]

My advice would be to start reading/learning about the ionosphere and RF propagation and how it enables (or doesn't) very long range communications on the HF amateur frequency bands.

A General class license, HF transceivers and multi-band antenna systems would be your next research steps.

If you can devise a way to reach Japan on a regular basis from the eastern US via amateur radio, you should bottle it, sell it and retire.

7 3, welcome to amateur radio

 

[K4EET]

Hi @RabbitRadio and Welcome to Radio Reference!

Ham radio is one possibility and you will need at least up to a $1,000 budget to accomplish what you want. However, as @W4AXW eluded to, the communications path is neither going to be 100% reliable nor will it be like talking on a telephone.

Since you have apparently made contact with Japanese speaking people and other Southeast Asians via the Internet, have you considered a computer to computer audio/video route via an Internet based social media service like Microsoft Teams (the replacement for Skype)? That would give you a much more reliable communications route with clearer audio.

 

[nd5y]

You can't just turn on a radio and talk to somebody in Asia whenever you want.
A good start to learning about HF propagation is

HF Propagation - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

 

[dkcorlfla]

If your primary interest is learning and using a second language and less so about radio you might want to look into ham radio over VOIP

Lots of systems to look into: Allstarlink (my favorite), Echo link, Yaesu's digital system (can't remember the name).

All that is needed as far as the radio and licensee is a HT, hotspot and tech license.

 

[dkcorlfla]

You can just turn on a radio and talk to somebody in Asia whenever you want.
A good start to learning about HF propagation is

HF Propagation - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

I think you meant to say "You can't just turn on a radio"

As far as HF goes this would be correct.

 

[nd5y]

I think you meant to say "You can't just turn on a radio"

As far as HF goes this would be correct.

Yep. (dammit) Fixed it.

 

[K4EET]

<snip>

… Yaesu's digital system (can't remember the name).

<snip>

That would be Yaesu’s Fusion/WIRES-X. ICOM/Kenwood have a similar system known as D-STAR.

 

[RabbitRadio]

I'm aware it isn't 100% reliable. My question is given a halfway decent set-up how often would it be possible and what kind of antenna would you guys construct to attempt to do it?

 

[kbrown1075]

I'm aware it isn't 100% reliable. My question is given a halfway decent set-up how often would it be possible and what kind of antenna would you guys construct to attempt to do it?

Getting into HF radio can take considerable funds, time, and experimenting, along with the minimum of a second level amateur license (USA), General Class. Might I possibly recommend looking into digital/ internet gateway modes such as C4FM, DMR, P25, AllStarLink. These can give you world wide communications with a reasonable investment and an entry level license. If you’d like some more info on this, I have provided some information on my QRZ page on modes and applications to get started. QRZ.com/db/kn1b

 

[K9KLC]

That would be Yaesu’s Fusion/WIRES-X. ICOM/Kenwood have a similar system known as D-STAR.

Ya or DMR. I think a lot of guys from Japan are on D-Star though as opposed to the rest, that's where that mode got started. Back for the month or so I played VOIP DX I found a lot of them on D-star as opposed to the other modes. This was a few years back however so it could have changed by now.

 

[kc2asb]

Answering your question as to how often it would be possible on HF is difficult, at best. Have you listened to the HF bands at all? If not, I recommend using an online software-defined radio (SDR). In addition to the links above on HF propagation, listening regularly will give you an idea of the signals you can hear.

The link below is a listing of the HF amateur bands and their propagation characteristics:

Radio Amateurs HF Bands Charactaristics

Radio Amateurs HF Bands Charactaristics

www.qsl.net

I live on the East Coast and hearing amateurs from Japan/Asia on HF is not a regular occurrence. Most of the overseas amateurs I can hear regularly are from Europe and Central/South America. However, I live in an urban area and do not have space for large HF antennas. I mostly use homebrew longwires and dipoles for monitoring and a vertical for 10m operating.

This link is to a world map of online SDR receivers. (Kiwi, Open Web RX and Web SDR). Choose one close to your location and tune around. I normally use the Kiwi receivers.

Map of SDR Receivers | World of Receivers and Transmitters

rx-tx.info

 

[K4EET]

I'm aware it isn't 100% reliable. My question is given a halfway decent set-up how often would it be possible and what kind of antenna would you guys construct to attempt to do it?

Ideally, the antenna system that you would want to accomplish your objective might be cost prohibitive. The ideal configuration would be a tower-mounted beam antenna that will cost many thousands of dollars.

I have talked to Asia many times over the past 50 years using a simple dipole antenna system costing less than $500. But to try to talk to the same few stations on a fairly regular schedule would be iffy. HF contacts are somewhat random due to HF propagation and a regular point-to-point contact to Asia would be less likely.

To make a WAG quantitatively, a daily Asian contact from your area at the same time of day using a decent dipole antenna system with 100 watts RF input power, you might make contact once or twice a week on the average. The success rate would go up if you vary the time of day and frequency band used on a daily basis. Whether or not you can make that contact is dependent on many factors. Even a successful contact can be broken the next minute due to propagation changes. Planning is key to making a point-to-point contact work on any given day.

Sorry that I can’t be more precise but reliable communications on HF as you apparently are desiring is a very complex scenario involving your station, the distant station and the space in-between stations. For example, take a look at VOACAP (VOACAP Online for Ham Radio). That is an application that models the scenario and indicates what HF band at what time-of-day for a certain probability percentage that you would be able to make contact.

 

[N5ZKK]

Edit: I should have mentioned this at the start; My goal is to regularly reach Japan and SEA from the the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains.

Welcome and good luck with the tests. Japan is a great target due to the number of very good stations. Search for images of JA stations and you will see some amazing radio antennas.
Given that you want HF DX naturally the antenna will be the most important part of your station. I like the 10 meter Moxon for its longevity and ability to null out the noise.

 

[K4EET]

Just for giggles, I ran the VOACAP path predictions for today (2025-05-20) using 100 watts into dipoles at 33 feet (10 meters) AGL between Charlotte, NC and Tokyo, Japan. The resulting plots show low probability with that setup. More power and better antenna systems would clearly help.

Here is the 100W/33ft plot:



Try running that same scenario using VOACAP but using 1,500 watts into a beam up 99 feet (30 meters) to see the difference.

 

[K4EET]

<snip>

Try running that same scenario using VOACAP but using 1,500 watts into a beam up 99 feet (30 meters) to see the difference.

Here is the same plot but using 1,500 watts into a 3-element Yagi antenna up 99 feet (10 meters) on both ends:

 

[popnokick]

Here is another option available to licensed hams that is much simpler and less costly than an HF radio setup for your desire to practice speaking a second language -

HAMSHACK HOTLINE (c)

 

[KF6DGN]

With a tech ticket you can talk to the world for zero $! Check out DroidStar (most of the digital modes) on Android or DudeStar on Windows. Other free programs are EchoLink and Peanut (DMR/Fushion,etc). RepeaterPhone is available on Apple for a small price. Repeater phone has AllStar and EchoLink.

Once you explore around then buy your equipment for what you enjoy. Maybe a HT and a hotspot. Or just get the m1ke from SharkRf: M1KE – SharkRF a little pricey.

Echolink:

Introducing EchoLink

echolink.org

DroidStar with vocoder:

DroidStar download wVocoder.pdf

drive.google.com

RepeaterPhone:

RepeaterPhone iOS App

When you're out of range of the repeater

repeaterphone.com

Very important note, when you get your license, register at: RadioID.net
You can’t do much on the Digital modes until you register above.

I enjoy taking my Anytone HT and my OpenSpot 4 (hotspot) on my dog walks. Nothing like hiking and taking to the World! If I forget my HT I can do the same on my mobile phone with Peanut, DroidStar or EchoLink!

Good luck on passing the test. Then download some apps and pus the PTT button!

7 3

 

[tswansiger]

I run a Icom 7300 with a dipole in my house attic and can usually reach Eastern Europe regularly from Ohio depending on band propagation.