From my experience, at least in this area of the county, there is far more activity on ham repeaters than CB. CB is nearly dead in this areas. I have rarely heard anything local when i have listened. But on the other hand there is almost always some activity on one of the repeaters around the clock.
purpose of amateur radio in cars?
- Thread starter sirsmiley
- Start date
- Status
From my experience, at least in this area of the county, there is far more activity on ham repeaters than CB. CB is nearly dead in this areas. I have rarely heard anything local when i have listened. But on the other hand there is almost always some activity on one of the repeaters around the clock.
I don’t think most people really understand the purpose and use of Amateur Radio. People at work always asked about the antennas on my car and there use. I did have antennas for scanners and a radio used for a volunteer group I am active in on the car before getting my ham license, but just more now. I use two meter repeaters, since haven’t upgraded to general in both my car and work truck. Will most likely put a HF radio in the car after the upgrade, since can’t have much of a antenna at home. On the local repeaters we have all walks of life on the air and have good conversations during the drive times. Every gets along and respects others unlike CB with people arguing and cussing each other out. I feel that the licensing process really helps in making the Ham bands work well and is not elitist at all. If there is a problem with someone on the ham bands they work to police the airwaves themselves. The first posters comments are from someone that doesn’t have any exposure to ham radio and is quick to criticize. This person should spend some time with ham radio operators before making a uneducated comment on such a public website.
Larry
Larry
Kegan30317
Member
Wow, what a nice way to invite a guy who is curious about a hobby. Imagine if the first time you were curious and wanted to see someone's shack or ask question that is the way they responded to you- to get lost.
Seems like this guy is being responsible doing the research. Now, if the guy loaded up a couple of thousand dollars worth of equipment in the car and started keying up with a "breaker, breaker Rubber-Duckie" you would get your boxers in a bunch, but geeze, give the guy a break for asking a question.
Hm, the last 3 road rallies I participated in as a marshal/support staff and the 50 or so radio operators that made it all possible each time might dispute your claim.
I won't deny there's a lot of chatter on amateur bands that is of interest to a very, VERY small percentage of the listening audience - my way of saying someone's yapping about their radio or how it sounds - but there's much more than that as well.
Ham operators supplement emergency services comms here during large public events. I have worked several fires as a firefighter where the ATV video broadcast courtesy of the local ARES group proved quite valuable to the incident commanders. The police authorities even employed hams as spectrum monitors during the G8 leaders' meeting here in 2002, scouring the airwaves in a sort of a poor man's ECHELON/SIGINT operation.
Having said all that, to speak to the OP's question, I don't have a ham radio installed in my car. I DO have a mobile radio, but it is configured so that I can move it from place to place - generally so I can install it into the rescue/recovery truck when I go out to the rallies.
af5rn
Member
That was my thought too. I got a lot of sarcastic indignance when I asked "why should I listen to shortwave" in the SWL forum, so I kind of expected this thread to head down that same hole. That's too bad. But I do think sirsmiley brought some of this on himself by indicating that he was a happy CBer, lol. A lot of Hams understandably are not eager to draw more avid CBers into the Ham ranks. That's not elitism. That's just choosing your friends wisely. :lol:
commstar
Member
Presenting an unpopular or controversial point-of-view to some does not make one a Troll.
The point of view is valid and I am not the only person on earth who feels this way.I do happen to believe what I posted earlier and standby it- Trolling is posting to cause a problem- there was no intent to do that in this instance. It also does not make me right- it's just my opinion- like yours.
Let the first HAM who has talked on the air this month and not talked once about his radio or someone elses radio or antenna be the first to throw a Bird Watt Meter or a ream of QSL cards at me. Honestly, come on, be honest- you have talked about these things on the air and recently.
HAM radio is about the radios and love of the off-the-shelf technology for the most part- not the hot chicks, the food, camaradierie or even creativity anymore.
The days when you built your own radio from rock salt and a blade of grass are mostly gone and most folks could not and would not undertake this task were it a condition of getting a 'ticket'. Thats fine, lets just be honest it is a love of the off-the-shelf technology and not the undying love of public service that drive the hobby.
From experience- I was in the Hobby for a time. I found it to be pointless and less than enlightening. Kinda like an Egalitarian REACT with Legal Linears- to be completely candid. Wish I felt differently but I do not. It all seemed so corny, purposeless, and overblown.
I tried very hard to fall in love with Hobby AMatuer radio but Just could not. I enjoy collaborative projects and endeavors, but ,the egos over the smallest things between 'friends' who I saw screw one another over a couple of bucks and some notoriety was the final and complete dealbreaker for me. I can see/get that at work.
Different strokes for different folks, I am glad the hobby is there and that it is a wonderful outlet for so many. In Closing, no intent to hi-jack, just wanted to clarify and confirm my previous post as a serious point of view. 73's y'all.
Mike
The point of view is valid and I am not the only person on earth who feels this way.I do happen to believe what I posted earlier and standby it- Trolling is posting to cause a problem- there was no intent to do that in this instance. It also does not make me right- it's just my opinion- like yours.
Let the first HAM who has talked on the air this month and not talked once about his radio or someone elses radio or antenna be the first to throw a Bird Watt Meter or a ream of QSL cards at me. Honestly, come on, be honest- you have talked about these things on the air and recently.
HAM radio is about the radios and love of the off-the-shelf technology for the most part- not the hot chicks, the food, camaradierie or even creativity anymore.
The days when you built your own radio from rock salt and a blade of grass are mostly gone and most folks could not and would not undertake this task were it a condition of getting a 'ticket'. Thats fine, lets just be honest it is a love of the off-the-shelf technology and not the undying love of public service that drive the hobby.
From experience- I was in the Hobby for a time. I found it to be pointless and less than enlightening. Kinda like an Egalitarian REACT with Legal Linears- to be completely candid. Wish I felt differently but I do not. It all seemed so corny, purposeless, and overblown.
I tried very hard to fall in love with Hobby AMatuer radio but Just could not. I enjoy collaborative projects and endeavors, but ,the egos over the smallest things between 'friends' who I saw screw one another over a couple of bucks and some notoriety was the final and complete dealbreaker for me. I can see/get that at work.
Different strokes for different folks, I am glad the hobby is there and that it is a wonderful outlet for so many. In Closing, no intent to hi-jack, just wanted to clarify and confirm my previous post as a serious point of view. 73's y'all.
Mike
Nope.
Sorry for your bad experience in the hobby. You are in neither the majority nor the minority, however. Your view, while valid, is far from indicative of "99.99%" of the hobby.
af5rn
Member
To be fair, did you ever do anything other than ragchew on 2m and 70cm? Did you ever honestly explore the totality of the hobby from a technical aspect? Or did you go into it ignorantly, expecting nothing more than the "legal linear" alternative to CB that you found?
That's why so many CBers fail at Ham radio. Because they really know nothing of the hobby. To them, it's just a high power extension of CB with repeaters. The percentage that ever progress beyond the repeater bands, and into actual technical and public service aspects of the hobby is so miniscule that it barely even registers. That's sort of like going to Disneyland, spending all day on one ride, and then proclaiming that Disneyland sucks.
The pitifully low entry requirements make it so easy to get in that there simply is nothing special about it anymore. People take no pride in anything that was too easy to achieve. You pass a 20 minute test that only took two days to memorise, and you're left thinking, "what's so special about this?" No wonder people come in with so little enthusiasm or motivation to progress.
Attitude is everything. And he who expects little will get little.
Last edited:
steveh552
Member
I keep a mobile in my Jeep, and basically have it set to scan unless I am on a conversation with someone. I scan a few repeaters, some standard simplex freqs and the local public service. When I travel, I always preprogram with the areas I am traveling through repeaters incase I am in need of local assistance. I have on more than one occasion helped someone or been helped due to having the radio. It is not always turned on, but always there.
PHOENIX_SCANNER
Member
I know there are good uses for amatuer, but it is amazing how right you are for the most part. I never hardly monitor the ham bands because most of what I hear is something like this: "how well am I coming through? Strong. Where are you. I am right at about such and such street. I am going to buy some more radio parts. OK, sounds good, how am I coming through. Good"(....Fast forward ten minutes; the guy at the store checks in again to see how well the other can copy his transmission....)
I am a licensed GMRS user with a base station and several ht's and find good uses for this service but have never figured out what I would do with amatuer.
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2005
- Messages
- 146
Why would you not want to move from the CB bands to the Ham bands. Even if you just want to have something to talk on while in the car, with no interest in HF bands. Ham's are self policing, and in most areas of the country, you will never hear talk like you would on a CB. If you need help, hams will step up and out of their way to help you. Can you say the same about "Big Daddy" on your CB?
Is it an elitest attidude, or an attitude of a group of people that care about their hobby. You decide.
Is it an elitest attidude, or an attitude of a group of people that care about their hobby. You decide.
You guys bemoaning the dull conversation are hanging out with the wrong crowd, and are doing the wrong stuff. 2 meters is, for the most part, a waste of time. As a member of several closed, private 440 systems, I suppose I'm feeding the perception that it can be elitist. So sue me. But I can chat with friends in the morning about whatever we care to, and frequently have some VERY interesting conversations. And I do know that we're a favorite channel in some scanners out here.
Then there's the radio clubs... stay away from the general purpose radio clubs, stick to the ones with a technical specialty. The collective IQ is higher. Oops. There I go being elitist again. Try some other activities. Learn the code. CW operators seem to be friendlier than most. Try VHF/UHF weak signal work. Want to really be elitist? Try the microwave bands. That's a VERY small and closeknit group, a wonderful bunch of people, really. But yes, newcomers are welcome.
Venture off the beaten path a bit, and try CW mobile. Or Amateur Television. Or moonbounce. Or meteor scatter. From what I see here, most of the complaints about amateur radio are from people who either haven't stuck to it long enough to see what it's really about, or haven't become part of a group that is actually interesting, or haven't developed enough technical skills to do anything worthwhile.
Then there's the radio clubs... stay away from the general purpose radio clubs, stick to the ones with a technical specialty. The collective IQ is higher. Oops. There I go being elitist again. Try some other activities. Learn the code. CW operators seem to be friendlier than most. Try VHF/UHF weak signal work. Want to really be elitist? Try the microwave bands. That's a VERY small and closeknit group, a wonderful bunch of people, really. But yes, newcomers are welcome.
Venture off the beaten path a bit, and try CW mobile. Or Amateur Television. Or moonbounce. Or meteor scatter. From what I see here, most of the complaints about amateur radio are from people who either haven't stuck to it long enough to see what it's really about, or haven't become part of a group that is actually interesting, or haven't developed enough technical skills to do anything worthwhile.
PHOENIX_SCANNER
Member
CB is unlistenable and unuseable around here really. I tried years back to use it with my friend, and when we tried doing so tons of people came on instantly to make fun of us, harass us, and be totally obscene and obnoxious. A few raving lunatics had set up camp with high powered equipment and were making sure everyone within 20 miles heard their insane rants. They talked on for long periods of time about insane conspiracy theories, aliens, etc. It has been years since I really tried to monitor the band locally with a rooftop antenna. Maybe I will have to do that some time soon, so long as I can keep my kids out of earshot.
Obviously there are folks participating in this thread, that are not licensed hams, you know who you are, back off and get a life, assuming that all hams are only interested in how much their stuff cost, and sharing that information, is dead wrong.
It might be that way in your neck of the woods, not everywhere, that is their problem not yours.
I sometimes talk to a friend that goes to work the same time as I do, different home towns, different towns we work in.
When I get the call to go storm spot, I am there, wherever "there" is.
To the OP if you ever come back here, I will apologize for some of the misinformation that is in this thread if you don't come back I don't blame you.
To the other hams here yeah I'm just a low life no-code tech, not because I didn't want to learn the code its because I couldn't, even after thirty years of trying every method known to man Koch, records, tapes, even typing a few letters in cw software, then recording it and listening yo it in my sleep, ain't gonna happen I don't speak spanish either in case your are wondering, and I took classes for that
It might be that way in your neck of the woods, not everywhere, that is their problem not yours.
I sometimes talk to a friend that goes to work the same time as I do, different home towns, different towns we work in.
When I get the call to go storm spot, I am there, wherever "there" is.
To the OP if you ever come back here, I will apologize for some of the misinformation that is in this thread if you don't come back I don't blame you.
To the other hams here yeah I'm just a low life no-code tech, not because I didn't want to learn the code its because I couldn't, even after thirty years of trying every method known to man Koch, records, tapes, even typing a few letters in cw software, then recording it and listening yo it in my sleep, ain't gonna happen I don't speak spanish either in case your are wondering, and I took classes for that
commstar
Member
I appreciate the discourse, thanks for the civil conversation. My final reply, as I believe this thread would like to die in the near future:
Last edited:
i dont really use my cb, the antenna has a break in it
i only use it on road trips, and i do computers and communications for military for a living (never had to deal with amateur radio), mainly satellite , point to point and computers/data circuits.....and so far some people are taking this too personally. I asked a simple question and most of the people have been kind in their response, but a few, to be bluntly, are dicks. I hope if i go amateur radio i find the 90% that are nice and not the 10% that take everything personally. You should take the viewpoint of educating and give me facts, and not personally attacking because you think i insulted your hobby, i dont know anything about it so thats why im trying to learn.
that said ive got my asbestos suit on
commstar
Member
Jimbo, you must have missed the part where I passed the test. Don't forget to tie your ladders off when fully extended. Don't get your back up my okie brother- it just was not for me and I am saying so. onward- thank you for your service, sir.
Mike
NWI_Scanner_Guy
SCANNING THE AIRWAVES SINCE 1987
i dont really use my cb, the antenna has a break in it
You should take the viewpoint of educating and give me facts, and not personally attacking because you think i insulted your hobby, i dont know anything about it so thats why im trying to learn.
that said ive got my asbestos suit on
That's how I was; didn't know much about ham radio. I mainly listened to them on my scanners and short wave receiver. However, the more I heard the more interested I became. After listening to various club nets, I e-mailed a couple with some questions. Without fail, all of them were more than happy to answer my questions. I was encouraged to attend meetings to see what ham radio was all about. I learned a lot in a short period of time ( although I realize I have soooo much more to learn still ). Was encouraged to take the technicians license, which I did. Studied some theory, and am still interested in learning more. Got my ticket about two weeks ago.
Anyway, to get to my point; try finding websites for various ham clubs in your area. E-mail them with your questions. If the hams in your area are like the ones in mine, they will be more than happy to answer any question(s) you may have.
That's my two cents worth; good luck!!
SSSG
"Jimbo, you must have missed the part where I passed the test. Don't forget to tie your ladders off when fully extended. Don't get your back up my okie brother- it just was not for me and I am saying so. onward- thank you for your service, sir.
Mike"
So you had to slam the entire ham community, because it was not for you, it is not our fault it was not for you.
af5rn
Member
Agreed. However, that analogy is not relevant to this situation. What we have here is you deciding that, because you don't like liver and onions, everything else on the entire buffet sucks. And yes, you do need to try those other things before you can intelligently reach that conclusion. See the difference?
Well, the phrase "REACT with legal linears" comes to mind. You have to admit that suggests a CB background. No crime there. A lot of us started there. Although, I will solidify my "elitist" image here by mentioning that I was last a CBer back when we actually had FCC licences.
Listen, I'm not defending Ham radio. Nor am I judging you. In fact, all I did was ask you some questions. I didn't make any accusations. If the shoe fits, wear it. If not, take no offence. I agree with much of the sentiment expressed here. It is true that, if all you do is hang out on the local repeaters, all you will hear is socially challenged techno-geeks talking about their radios and their computers. That's why I haven't even owned a Ham radio in a decade. But again -- TO BE FAIR -- there is a lot more to the hobby than that, and anyone who is really interested in finding it can do so very easily. It's possible that there is nothing in Ham radio that really appeals to you, even if you experience it all, and that's okay. It's not for everybody. But until you have honestly sought it out, it is unfair to judge the entire hobby by the "legal linear" ragchewing of all the no-code techs on 2 metres.
- Status
Similar threads
