Just Starting this page: (Tools, Sites, Information helpful to new hams)
SOME QUICK EQUIPMENT INFORMATION
You need some sort of Radio, and don't want to spend a fortune getting it..
Right??
How far are you from the local repeater, and what are you planning to do with
your new radio.
Handhelds work great and are self contained, and you can take them anywhere...
What you buy is your preference..
There are some good and inexpensive radios out there to get you started, and
they are self contained.. Antenna, Power Supply included..
What are two of them that I recommend?
Wouxun KG-UVD1P Dual-Band Transceiver (VHF and UHF hand held) On Ebay for around
$110 to $140. Great radios..
Go ahead and get the software
and usb programming cable. It makes things very, very easy.
If you want a worth while
upgrade, get the Diamond SRJ77CA high gain antenna.. You will enjoy the extra
coverage you get with it.
Might get it cheaper if
you look but: http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-011332
$30.00
BAOFENG UV-5R Dual Feq UHF/VHF Radio (VHF and UHF hand held) On Ebay for around
$50 to $70.
Small footprint, but good
rado. The dual band features are not as nice as the Wouxun, but, heck,, $50
for a dual band.. Who cares..
They also make high gain
antennas for this radio, but,, it would be my second choice for a smaller radio,
without the extra long antenna. I use mine around the house because it is small
and compact.
HIGHER POWER?
Now you need a Mobile Radio,, good for the House and the Car. You will need
a Radio, Power Supply and an antenna...
Radios: Many are good.. I wil just list three for reference of the Yaesu brand.
FT-1900R 55Watt 2meter Mobile $145.00
FT-2900R 75Watt 2meter Mobile $165.00
FT-7900R 50W/45W 2M/70CM Mobile $275.00 (This radio gives you both bands for
your Tech License)
THEN YOU WILL NEED AN ANTENNA.
The Larson 5/8 wave NMO antennas are great for 2 meters. Drill a hole, or use
a mag mount antenna base. Use this if you can mount it on a fender or trunk
lid extra, that gives you a good ground plane.
Get the Larson NMO NMO150BK which includes everything but the Mount (Trunk Lip
or Mag Mount). About $40-60.
BTW,, works great on a Tin Roof at the house.
For the House, try a home made Copper Jpole. Plans on the Internet. If not,
try KB9VBR Copper Jpoles. It outperformed several other antennas I tested.
You can find it on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Meter-VHF-Copper-J-Pole-Base-Antenna-amateur-ham-radio-scanner-144-148Mhz-/120927817439?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c27dc0edf
Did you decide on a Dual Band Mobile?
The same Copper Jpole does nicely on both bands.
Also, you can try the Open Stub Jpole at: http://www.arrowantennas.com/osj/j-pole.html
They are dual band.
For the Car, I have not tested myself, but, Larson, I am sure does a nice job
there also.
Verify this model number, but it should be correct: NMO150/450CK About $50 -
$60.
THEN YOU WILL NEED A POWER SUPPLY (If you use the Mobile in your house also)
You need a 13.8 Volt power supply, somewhere in the 15 amp neighborhood for
your mobile radio.
Here you go:
33 Amp 12 Volt 13.8V Regulated Radio Power Supply 12V $58.00 from seller: us2us2
http://www.ebay.com/itm/33-Amp-12-Volt-13-8V-Regulated-Radio-Power-Supply-12V-/160487775138?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255dd11ba2
OR,, if you want to save a few bucks and have a screwdrive and volt meter...
New 12V DC 30A 350W Regulated Switching Power Supply MW Ebay Seller: bestdigitalusa
$35.00
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-12V-DC-30A-350W-Regulated-Switching-Power-Supply-MW-/120692623020?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c19d746ac
I have three of these. I have been using one of them to power a 1-FT-2900, an
Alinco Dual Band, and a Kenwood TS-480Sat HF 160-6meter HF rig.. They work great,
but you need to do one thing to them. other than hook a power cord to them..
Get a power cord, something like you would find on your Orange yard extension
cord, or use an old Computer power supply cord. Hook the black wire to the "L"
terminal for load, White to the "N" or neutral Terminal, and the Green
or bare copper to the ground terminal. Then,, hook your radio connector wires
into the (Red=+V) and (Black=-V), and you are ready to tune the power supply
up in voltage. Put your Red and Black Test leads into the +V and -V terminals,
set the Volt Meter for DC and 20 Volts most likely(anything above 12 volts will
work) and plug the power supply in.. There is a small adjustable Pot right next
to the green power light. Watch the meter and turn this srew clockwise and watch
the meter. Turn it up, until it reaches 13.8 to 14 volts, or there about.
Remove the Volt meter and plug the radio in, and Walla, you have just saved
over a $100 bucks for a used or New Competitors Power Supply.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PYRAMID-SOUND-AROUND-PS-36KX-POWER-SUPPLY-32A-CONTINUOUS-/120904820078?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_100&hash=item1c267d256e&vxp=mtr
BTW.. I just replaced my second Pyramid power supply with one of these "Tuned
Up" power supplies from bestdigitalusa.. They usually sell for about $50
on ebay, but Ray Wilson KJ4MWP was so nice to point this vendor out to me..
There are lots of Hams using these power supplies out there now. Usually, they
buy two or three of them at a time.
Now,, when you start collecting radios, and need some way to power a bunch of
them, and you are not using all of them at the same time.. Here is a quick and
cheap way to build a power distribution block..
Mine works great. I have one in the truck and one in the house.. You can use
whatever type of connectors you are comfortable with. The new standard that
many ARES groups are going with is the Anderson Power Pole.. If you have a few
extra bucks,, this is a good way to go.. I think most people are using the 15amp
versions..
http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles/powerpole-sets/15-amp-red-black-anderson-powerpole-sets.html
If not, use the standard yellow male/female crimp style bullet connectors.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-YELLOW-MALE-FEMALE-CRIMP-BULLET-CONNECTORS-OTHER-TERMINALS-LISTED-FREE-POST-/140612642409
Just make sure you use the Female for the hot wire coming off of the power supply,
so the male connector does not short out on something from the tip being exposed.
Make all of the connectors the same. So, the radio red lead has the male connector,
and plugs into the Female red wire coming off of the power supply..
SEE A SIMPLE POWER SUPPLY BLOCK YOU CAN MAKE HERE:
http://www.kj4sly.com/Projects/PowerBlock/index.htm
Now,, you are surely ready to go....
DO YOU TRAVEL???
Check out the ARRL Repeater Directory (Current Year). You can usually find them
for $7 to $10 online, and you can program in some local repeaters on the way,
on your trip.
Plan your trip on Google Maps or something similar, and zoom in on your route..
Look for anything out to 50 or 60 miles from the highway and program it in with
some type of information, so you can look at the map as you go,, and key up
on the repeaters as you pass through. Make sure you program in several of the
repeaters in the area you will be stopping for the night or staying for a few
days.. Not every repeater out there has a lot of active hams... Be nice and
courtous, and show an interest in the area, and ask what are the things to "not
miss" when you are in the area.. Don't be surprised if someone asks where
you are, and invites you to a local cafe for luch or dinner.. Have fun with
your new license... There are lots out there just like you,, who want to try
out their gear, and see how long the batter will last.. Ha..Ha..
So,, Now,, I don't hear you yet??? Where are you??? Ha..Ha..
I hope this helps you get on the air a bit faster.. and with less expense...
Cheers....
GRID SQUARE LOCATORS
Find your Grid Square or Lat/Lon Coordinates
BEST ONE FOR MY USE: Maidenhead Grid Square Locator
To find a Grid location using an Address, Callsign, or 4 or 6 character Grid
Square.
http://www.levinecentral.com/ham/grid_square.php
To find Lat/Lon Coordinates for a Given Address. Checks Google, USC and Yahoo
and gives results. Also gives an address for the Lat/Long Coordinates.
http://stevemorse.org/jcal/latlon.php
This one gives you the Grid ID, not Grid Number based on an address.
http://agforceusa.com/rma/ri/prf/maps
DISTANCE FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER
You can find one point with an address, select it, find another, select it too,
and it calculates the distance between the two points. Nice to use if you want
to see if you can hit the repeater from where you will be.
http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm
It can also be used to Calculate Altitude differences between two points.
Here is another, but I did not check it out.
http://www.freemaptools.com/measure-distance.htm
ECHOLINK
Using your computer and the Internet to connect to Repeaters all
over the Country and World.
www.Echolink.org
If you are goint to be traveling, or in a Hotel or something, use the above
tools to find your grid, and then use Echolink to see if there are Repeaters
where you will be that you might use to let someone else contact you while you
are in that area, when that someone has Echolink installed on their computer
and wishes to use Echolink to contact the local repeater where you are and talk
with you.
Go here and enter the Grid Square to get started:
http://www.echolink.org/links.jsp My Gridsquare for this trip will be FN20.
Then use the distance Calculator above to be sure you are close enough to use
the repeater.
Ruth will be using the Echolink Node: 570945 AA3E-R in Eagleville, PA, which
will be SouthWest of me by 10.3 miles. (146.835-TX/146.235RX 88.5) Thursday
night 7pm net.http://aa3e.org/products.htm
Here is another Echolink Node:412705 KB3SBC-L Pennsburg, PA (1) which will be
NNW of me by 17 miles (147.570 218.1 (Said Access Denied)
Here is another Echolink Node: 414735 WC2EM-R near Warren County OEM, NJ which
will be NNE of me by 35 miles. (146.820-/146.22 110.9) (Possible) NetTuesday7pm
And Another: Echolink Node: 230150 W3LR-R in Center Valley, Pa (1) which will
be NNE of me by 22 miles. (443.590+/448.590 151.4 ) (POSSIBLE)http://www.w3oi.org/local-freqs.htm
talked with w3lr
And Another Echolink Node: 2128 N3QZR-L in Allentown, PA which will be NNW of
me by 26.4 miles. (145.700 Simplex no PL Robert Has a Video on Echlink)Left
him a message.
And Another Echolink Node: 88314 W3BXW-R in Bucks County, S.E. PA. which will
be EES by 21 miles. (147.300 131.8 (4 State Repeater don't use this on if you
don't have to http://w3bxw.com/)
If anyone knows how to get the Uplink/downlink frequencies and PL codes, send me a note.. I have not figured that out yet, unless every listing has a standard +/- being plus I guess.. Usually they say what the Repeater is TX on, and whether it is + or -.. Hmm.. I had to search for the Call signs of the repeater and look it up that way.. Takes alot of extra time. Seems Echolink would have this available with a right click, info.. Hmmm...
How to Install and Setup Echolink:
Download and Install the software.. Then validate it: http://www.echolink.org/validation/
A good video about Echolink: http://www.dlarc.org/gallery/displayimage.php?album=11&pos=0