The Ham Radio (and Related topics) Discussion and Question Thread

The Duck said:

How Far Can a Ham Radio Reach?

Ham radios have a long range, keeping you connected even when disaster strikes. But how far can a ham radio reach? Compare their range to CB, GMRS, and more.
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geekprepper.com

Long Distance Communications with Ham Radios & Satellites

Long Range Communications using Ham Radios and Satellites is easy! Communicate over hundreds of miles in an emergency or bug out situation!
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Worth looking at.
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KGIII said:
Heh... I had already at least skimmed some of that. I really want to bounce signals off the ionosphere (as mentioned earlier). It'd also be kinda neat to hit a satellite.
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My life story a day late and a dollar short and always last in line.

KGIII said:
I'd looked at DMR but didn't really think too much of it.

It's possible to send data over the radio, we do it all the time. With some work, it'd be possible to put up things like web pages and use your radio like a MODEM. That interests me as well. Point to Point microwave is still fashionable in some areas.
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We used the Autopatch in the old days.
 


The Duck said:
We used the Autopatch in the old days.
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That does look pretty neat. In theory, you could use an acoustic coupler and call into a dial-up ISP. Though just sending compressed data would probably make more sense. Though, I do believe I've read that it can't be encrypted on many channels. So, you probably don't want to do your banking this way.

Also, I should probably say 'refract' instead of 'bounce' when it comes to the ionosphere.
 
Back in the my early days Autopatch was pretty neat.
I guess if you was way out where no phone service was available the Autopatch would be a good thing to be able to have available.
Nope I wouldn't want to do banking using an Autopatch.
 
The Duck said:
I guess if you was way out where no phone service was available the Autopatch would be a good thing to be able to have available.
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There are places (such as mine) where cell service is so sparse that a landline (ye old POTS) is the way to go. Sadly, the laws are changing in some areas. The companies with local monopolies are no longer required to maintain the POTS and no longer required to provide service.

That can be quite a problem in my area. Fortunately, again in my area, the outcry would be quite loud if they stopped all POTS service. The claim is that fiber (and cellular) resolves the issue, but they only run fiber where it is profitable and aren't required to service the more rural areas like they were with ye old telephone service.

That and, well, again in my area, there's a big issue with fiber. I've seen the telephone line buried in a snowbank, encased with ice, but DSL still worked fine. Fiber has something like a maximum of a 30° bend before it fails. The fiber they run in those towns around me is run on the telephone poles.

We experience regular outages of service. That's why I have both wind and solar. I have them because the grid goes down more often than I'd like. We have snow and wind. We have ice storms that take down miles of lines. Fixing all that when it's fiber is a much more extensive process and they're too cheap to run the fiber through the ground.

So, Autopatch could still be a useful service in some areas of the country/globe.

A not insignificant percentage of Mainers don't have access that meets the federal definition for broadband - I am among them. There's Starline which is supposed to be great, but when I input my address I am told they don't service my area. I believe my latitude is just a whisker too far north.
 
I used to have POTS and was happy with it along with good old DSL and was happy with it.
In my area I'm close to a major hospital and magnet fine arts school.
A few years back ATT offered fiber optic internet service and so I agreed to it and have no problems or complaints with it.
I could have kept my POTS and DSL however the cost would have doubled and then tripled basically forcing you to change systems.
These days we have fiber internet everywhere no copper wire unless you're on cable or are out of town somewhere where fiber isn't available.
 
The Duck said:
These days we have fiber internet everywhere no copper wire unless you're on cable or are out of town somewhere where fiber isn't available.
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LOL Cable is one of those things that also doesn't exist here. I'd use DSL (and did for years) but the company made me angry. My service was out and they were like, "Yeah, we'll come fix it in the spring."

I was not okay with that. It was like February at the time.
 
That would be a drag for sure.
That's why I like living in the city.
I've lived out in the sticks for a while.
Not for me to far away from anything.
 
The Duck said:
That would be a drag for sure.
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It's one of the things I give up to live here. I'm okay with that. I much, much prefer it over urban living.

I could live pretty much anywhere. I pick here.
 
So, I got an antenna... I linked to it above, in another post.

It's a foldable antenna, which is convenient. Now, if I understand physics properly (and electromagnetic radiation is a fickle thing that I'm not all that fluent in), the antenna would work better when it is unfolded.

Now, the length of it is important - and it's optimized for a couple of chunks of the spectrum.

But, if it's folded it is still just as long.

Is there a significant advantage to leaving it unfolded, or will it work largely the same when it is folded up?

images
 
KGIII said:
So, I got an antenna... I linked to it above, in another post.

It's a foldable antenna, which is convenient. Now, if I understand physics properly (and electromagnetic radiation is a fickle thing that I'm not all that fluent in), the antenna would work better when it is unfolded.

Now, the length of it is important - and it's optimized for a couple of chunks of the spectrum.

But, if it's folded it is still just as long.

Is there a significant advantage to leaving it unfolded, or will it work largely the same when it is folded up?

images
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Try it out both ways and see how it works.
As for leaving it folded that's just for convenience.
In my experience an extended antenna always receives better.
 
The Duck said:
Try it out both ways and see how it works.
As for leaving it folded that's just for convenience.
In my experience an extended antenna always receives better.
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It's much clearer than it was with the previous antenna, so there's that.

I live in an area with not a lot of radio traffic, but I was able to get some reception from towns further out - but that was not clear. I didn't play with it too much yet, as I've not really had much time.

I'll try it folded for a while tomorrow. I'll have to take it outside and see if things are more clear. Thanks.
 
I was able to pick up NOAA, which was neat. They've gotta be up on a hill, or broadcasting with a lot of power. I believe they're way down in Gray. As the crow flies, that's something like 85ish to 95ish miles away.
 
The Duck said:
NOAA has a lot of power and use repeaters everywhere.
NOAA can be heard.
I live in one of the tornado alley states.

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It might have been closer, now that I think about it. I think they might have a repeater up on Sugarloaf, which isn't too far from me. It's still many miles, but it's a mountain. It's where WTOS is, as well - and they hit most of the state. That's maybe 20 miles away, as the crow flies. I'm not sure where to look to find their repeaters.

The forecast was for Western Maine and parts of New Hampshire. So, it was even applicable.

Hmm... I guess Sugarloaf could be considered Western Maine.
 
KGIII said:
It might have been closer, now that I think about it. I think they might have a repeater up on Sugarloaf, which isn't too far from me. It's still many miles, but it's a mountain. It's where WTOS is, as well - and they hit most of the state. That's maybe 20 miles away, as the crow flies. I'm not sure where to look to find their repeaters.

The forecast was for Western Maine and parts of New Hampshire. So, it was even applicable.

Hmm... I guess Sugarloaf could be considered Western Maine.
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Here is their list of stations in Maine. You most likely are hearing the one from Sugarloaf.
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kc1di said:
Here is their list of stations in Maine. You most likely are hearing the one from Sugarloaf.
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That's what I thought but today I managed to hear NOAA talking about the coastal region.

Sadly, I didn't note the channel the first time. I should get a little notebook to keep notes in. I'm not sure if it was the same channel or not. It was giving me temps and conditions for Casco, Sebago Lake, and stuff in that area. The radio needed to be near the front of the house and came in better when I pointed the antenna due south. The audio quality wasn't great but it was tolerable.

Of course, Sugarloaf is also south of me. Does NOAA give weather for that area along with the western Maine and parts of NH region? I haven't got a clue as I am not actually in the habit of listening to them on the radio. Though being able to hear them on the radio is alright by me. I have their channels in a bank on my scanner but that bank isn't turned on as a general rule.

Also, my ISP kept me offline for much of the day.
 
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