Anyone know of a HAM cram class?

[nnnnnate]

So something that I've wondered about with the numerous amounts of repeaters across the state. How do you guys know what repeaters are in range as you are out driving around? I know about Repeater Book and it seems like a good solution but isn't that data dependent? As in, when you don't have cell coverage its not going to tell you what repeaters are around you? Do know the terrain and mountain peaks well enough that you look at what you've named the stations in your programming and you are able to instantly know which repeater you will be coming into range with as you lose the last one? Are your radios always on while you are out and about?

I imagine that while coming and going from work you get to know the local stuff but I'm more curious about what happens when you leave on a trip or decide to go for a Sunday drive.

I had gotten all excited when I got my ticket two years ago about repeaters and whatnot but in practice have only used simplex on club runs and with family (who got licensed at or near the same time I did.) I listened in on only one net, listened one time on my way to work as two "old" guys talked about something while they were on their way to work, and have never actually used my own gear to hit a repeater. I'm working to change this but am just curious about how others that are closer to my generation use their ham radios in practical ways.

 

[Bart]

Hey, it looks like I will be free again this evening. If anyone would like to get together and discuss/use some ham radios, speak up.

I missed this and a lot more apparently. Guess I'd better check in more often than morning only.

 

[McFate]

So something that I've wondered about with the numerous amounts of repeaters across the state. How do you guys know what repeaters are in range as you are out driving around? I know about Repeater Book and it seems like a good solution but isn't that data dependent? As in, when you don't have cell coverage its not going to tell you what repeaters are around you? Do know the terrain and mountain peaks well enough that you look at what you've named the stations in your programming and you are able to instantly know which repeater you will be coming into range with as you lose the last one? Are your radios always on while you are out and about?

Repeater book is a good resource, and they have a smartphone app for iOS & Android. I don't know about the Android apps, but the iOS version does work offline, as it stores a copy of their database on your phone. Even in areas with no coverage, I've been able to use it to look up a repeater. But when I'm planning a trip, I'll use their website to lookup the repeaters for the areas I'll be in, and then just print a list to take with me. I love my gadgets, but I'm also the sort of person that prints paper backup copies, just in case.

I don't know the terrain and stuff well enough to know which repeaters I'll be able to hit, so one of the other things I do as part of my trip prep, is to save the possible repeaters for my trip into a memory bank. My radio allows you to group memories into 10 different banks, and then to limit scanning to just one particular bank. So when I'm out, the radio is usually on, with one side tuned to the group/club simplex, and the other is scanning the repeaters I setup in the bank for the trip. (It's a dual-receive radio.)

 

[TurboMinivan]

How do you guys know what repeaters are in range as you are out driving around?

A little trial-and-error experience will quickly let you develop reasonable expectations of what you can do from where. You'll quickly learn not only the best locations for repeaters, but also you'll realize how terrain will restrict access to various repeaters from specific locations. Mobile operation is a fabulous instructor.

Do know the terrain and mountain peaks well enough that you look at what you've named the stations in your programming and you are able to instantly know which repeater you will be coming into range with as you lose the last one?

There is a concept known as "height above average terrain." The greater the HAAT of a repeater's antenna, the wider its coverage. Gaining even a basic knowledge of the local topography will greatly increase your success at using local repeaters. To that end, I often study (or at least look at) this web site:

http://lmemmott.info/UtahRepeaterMap.htm

It gets its data from the aforementioned list of Utah repeaters web site, and plots each repeater on a google map. (For some reason, at times it can't get this data and thus the site doesn't work--the resulting map is blank. If that happens, be patient and try it again later.) Using this map, you will have a visualization of which repeaters are around you (or your destination), and you can also see which inconvenient mountains might impede your signal. I find this site extremely helpful.

If that map isn't working (or even if it is), take another look at this list of Utah repeaters:

http://www.utahvhfs.org/rptr.html

In that nifty chart, the next-to-last column on the right is labeled Info. One letter that sometimes appears there is X, which designates a "Wide Area Coverage" repeater. This repeater offers unusually wide coverage, typically due to its excellent location. The vast majority of repeaters I have programmed into my radios are 'wide area coverage' ones.

Are your radios always on while you are out and about?

In the Suburban, nearly always. In the Jeep, less so but still very frequently.

am just curious about how others that are closer to my generation use their ham radios in practical ways.

I don't have any real 'shack' at home, so virtually all of my radio time happens in the car. I most often monitor the 146.760 machine, located on Lake Mountain (which is between the center of Utah Lake and Eagle Mountain). This is a very active repeater, and there are a few dozen 'regulars' that I usually chat with. This has allowed me to build a number of friendships, which I genuinely appreciate. Sometimes if none of my friends are monitoring, I will scan through my programmed channels to see if there is something else to listen to. Thanks to linked systems and IRLP, I've had conversations with people as far away as Las Vegas and even Alaska.

Do you monitor any specific repeater(s) during your commute?

But when I'm planning a trip, I'll use their website to lookup the repeaters for the areas I'll be in, and then just print a list to take with me.

I don't know the terrain and stuff well enough to know which repeaters I'll be able to hit, so one of the other things I do as part of my trip prep, is to save the possible repeaters for my trip into a memory bank.

This and this. When planning a trip, preparation is everything. Doing a little homework before you leave home will greatly increase your chances of maintaining radio contact while you're on the road.

 

[nnnnnate]

Do you monitor any specific repeater(s) during your commute?

Until last week I only had a HT and augmented its capabilities with a mag mount antenna that I'd hook up when I was on runs. The mag mount got put away with the rest of the gear until the next trip and the HT went into the center console as well. I've been working really hard the last few days to get my new mobile installed in my cruiser and am almost there. In fact, last night while I was wrapping up some loose ends the PL-259 broke off the antenna so I've got to fix that today which after looking at youtube videos seems pretty easy. I'm going to continue to use the mag mount with my mobile for another few weeks then I'll but a real antenna and mount it on the hood. I think with this mobile being installed and in view I'll have it powered on while driving around and hopefully get a better feel for repeater action.

Thanks Dempsey and Fogo for that information. It looks like the HAAT map is down right now but I've bookmarked it and will check back later, it seems very useful.

Do you have to worry about SWR and tuning on ham antennas like you do with CB or is that just not relevant for whatever reason?

 

[TurboMinivan]

I've been working really hard the last few days to get my new mobile installed in my cruiser and am almost there.

Glad to hear you saw the light and bought an actual mobile radio. Which model did you choose?

I'm going to continue to use the mag mount with my mobile for another few weeks then I'll but a real antenna and mount it on the hood.

You'll be impressed with the increased performance of the mobile radio, and I'm sure you'll love the reduced hassle of use as well. When you finally upgrade to a 'real' antenna, I bet you'll be surprised by the further increase in performance.

Do you have to worry about SWR and tuning on ham antennas like you do with CB or is that just not relevant for whatever reason?

Yes and no. By definition, any radio antenna should be tuned for its specific frequency of output. Most of the high quality name brand antennas (such as my beloved Larsen NMO2/70B, which I would recommend to you and everyone else) are essentially pre-tuned at the factory and require very little adjustment, if any at all. CB radio channels span a very small 'slice' of the radio specrum--a mere .440 MHz. By comparison, the 2m ham band encompasses over nine times as much at 4.000 MHz... and the 70cm band envelops nearly seventy times as much at 30.000 MHz.

In my mind, this is why tuning a CB antenna is so critical--you're asking it to perform in practically one specific frequency, and you want/need to maximize its performance due to the low power output allowed. The ham bands I mentioned are so broad, it becomes very impractical (if not nearly impossible) for the same small antenna adjustments to have a major impact on your radio's performance. Most of us leave it to the antenna manufacturer to design and test the antenna for decent performance across the band(s), then we just install it and go.

I do have a local ham friend with a fancy antenna analyzer. It plugs in to your antenna, then it sweeps the entire 2m and 70cm bands and plots an SWR chart. I had him check my Jeep's antenna simply out of curiosity, and we were both satisfied to see a wide v-shape result... but I didn't see a need to make any adjustments as a result. $.02

 

[sixstringsteve]

I do have a local ham friend with a fancy antenna analyzer. It plugs in to your antenna, then it sweeps the entire 2m and 70cm bands and plots an SWR chart. I had him check my Jeep's antenna simply out of curiosity, and we were both satisfied to see a wide v-shape result... but I didn't see a need to make any adjustments as a result. $.02

That's awesome.

 

[nnnnnate]

It was always my plan to get a mobile radio, it just happened a little later than I had hoped it would. I got licensed in March 2014 so I should be a lot better at all of this.

I ended up buying the Yaesu FTM-400XDR. I was teetering between that one and the Kenwood D710 because I wanted the built in APRS. I finally have it more or less mounted but am missing a bolt to secure the remote face plate to the mount and I still need to figure out how I'm going to run the mic and whether I need an extension for that. I'm going on Cruise Moab next week so I've been working to get it all setup before then. That run was also the basis for my other questions about accessing repeaters while out and about. Because I spent as much as I did on the radio I'm running low on "fun money" so thats why the antenna is temporarily on hold. I have a $120 rebate that I'm about to send off so I may just wait until I get that back to buy the antenna and associated parts.

I really wish we had a Ham Radio Outlet in town.

 

[TurboMinivan]

I ended up buying the Yaesu FTM-400XDR.

(forehead smack)

Now that you say that, I remember when you mentioned it earlier in this very thread. Sorry for my brain fart. At any rate, that looks like a sweet radio. I'm sure you'll love it.

I finally have it more or less mounted but am missing a bolt to secure the remote face plate to the mount and I still need to figure out how I'm going to run the mic and whether I need an extension for that.

This is part of the fun of mobile operation--the installation process. You can set things up exactly the way you like them. Here is a poor photo of my Jeep's setup:

At that time, I was just making sure everything functioned as I wanted. Since taking that picture, I have cleaned up and organized the wiring. It looks much more professional now.

I'm going on Cruise Moab next week so I've been working to get it all setup before then. That run was also the basis for my other questions about accessing repeaters while out and about.

In Moab, there are likely only two repeaters you'll try to use: 146.760 (outside of town on Bald Mesa) and 146.900 (located downtown). The downtown machine has very low HAAT, so it doesn't offer very significant range. The Bald Mesa repeater, however, was located specifically for an advantageous HAAT, and it shows--it has spectacular range. Even better, that machine is part of the Sinbad system... meaning anything you transmit through it will also be simultaneously transmitted by a dozen other repeaters scattered around the eastern/central area of Utah, including one right here on Lake Mountain. This is how I have been able to have conversations with friends in Salt Lake and/or Utah counties while bumping along various Jeep trails around Moab.

EDIT: there is also one 70cm repeater in Moab, and it is also located on Bald Mesa. However, that is a closed repeater and is for use only by members of the Cactus Club (which looks like a group of elitist old radio snobs, so I haven't even had a desire to look into joining them). Ignore that machine.

I really wish we had a Ham Radio Outlet in town.

I know what you're getting at, but their Denver location is fantastic. They typically stock everything important, and their shipping times are pretty short compared to most other major ham sellers (I'm looking at you, GigaParts).