Comms Equipment#

Frequently Asked Questions#

What radio should I buy?#

Mission dictates gear. Are you attempting to talk to someone 2 states over? Are you hoping to set up a regional discussion? Are you wanting to talk to other guys in your local squad? Are you wanting encryption and the licensing to use it? There is no one-size-fits-all. Asking what radio to buy is a lot like walking into a gun store and asking what gun to buy. The best option depends on MANY factors. If you are looking for a solid squad level kit in order to talk to other guys in your fire team/squad, skip to Radio Kits at the bottom.

What are frequencies and bands?#

In the world of RF, bands don't refer to your favorite music group. Rather bands are groups of frequencies. Frequencies are basically singular spaces. Use your car radio to tune up a couple FM stations and you'll notice they all have a number. That number is the station's frequency. So while 101.5 might be a different station in different portions of the country, it always refers to 101.5 MHz (mega-hertz). When you consider the entire group of frequencies from 88 MHz to 108 MHz you have the entire FM Broadcast Band. Bands are assigned by the FCC in the US and are grouped for different purposes.

Sometimes frequencies within a band are referred to instead as channels. This is common in CB, FRS, GMRS, Marine, and Business bands. If you've heard the old phrase "breaker breaker one nine" that's CB slang for someone breaking into a conversation on channel 19. It's far easier to refer to it as Channel 19 rather than 27.185 MHz. The same is true if you go to the store and buy a pair of family band (FRS) radios. Channel 3 refers to 462.6125 MHz, but it's far easier to stick to calling it Channel 3.

Some bands do not have channels at all and everything is instead referred to by its frequency alone. HAM and broadcast (music) radio are examples of this.

Do I need a license?#

Licenses are handled by band (assigned portions of radio frequency). Some bands (CB, FRS, MURS) license the RADIO so the user does not require a license. Other bands license the OPERATOR (GMRS, HAM) so you are required to get your own license. Lastly there are bands (Business) licensed by the individual frequency, so license requirements depend on the bands you hope to operate on.

How do I study for the HAM test?#

There are many great places to look for guidance and get free education:

• Free study websites:
  • hamstudy.org
  • hamexam.org
• Helpful videos:
  • HAM Radio Crash Course (YouTube)

What are the HAM license levels?#

• Technician
  • This is the lowest level. It gives you access to all VHF/UHF bands (line of sight) and a tiny sliver of HF (long range).
• General
  • This is the next level. The test is harder, but it gives privileges on all bands excluding a few reserved slivers.
• Amateur Extra
  • This is the highest level. This test is HARD, but it gives you FULL band privileges, especially to those reserved slivers.

What do I do to take the HAM test?#

The easiest way is to contact your local HAM club. You can look them up on the ARRL.org website. They also have a place to search for exam sessions, but this is usually not as acurate/up to date as the information the club has, so it’s good to check with the club first. You can actually take all 3 license tests in one sitting at no extra cost so long as you keep passing the tests.

Can I listen in on local Police/Fire/EMS?#

YES. Listening is legal no matter the band. Transmitting is what may require the appropriate license. That being said, most police and fire are switching to P25 digital systems, so you will need a P25 capable scanner or radio in order to actually hear the talking.

How far can I reach with VHF/UHF?#

So you’ve probably noticed that nearly all handhelds are VHF/UHF. These are considered Line Of Sight (LOS) and your range depends heavily on terrain and elevation. Under fairly typical use you can expect 1-5 miles. Mountaintop to mountaintop you can easily get 20+ miles. Using a repeater you can get anywhere from 50-150 miles depending on the repeater elevation. Keep in mind that repeater usage requires licensing.

But how can I reach even farther?#

There are multiple ways to reach beyond the limits of VHF/UHF, but everything has pros and cons:

• The easiest way to really get some distance is to go with a typical HF setup. Most HF frequencies have the ability to skip off of the atmosphere and come back down at very long ranges. It's normal to be able to talk to someone multiple states away and even multiple countries away. The downside is that HF requires a General class HAM license and the skip zone of your signal likley leaves you "deaf" to your region and possibly even your state. This isn't ideal if you're trying to ask for help within yours and neighboring counties.
• Another option to reach out farther is an HF radio set up with an NVIS antenna. This is an antenna specifically designed to send your signal near vertical (strait up) in an attempt to bounce the signal directly back down with a range up to around 300 miles. NVIS requires a specialty antenna setup and is very limited on which frequencies bounce back properly.
• Lastly there is an option that can work with most VHF/UHF handhelds and only requires a Technician HAM license. It's called HAM Satellite Repeaters. The idea is the same as that of land based repeaters except that these are moving satellites. To accomplish this, you will need some sort of satellite tracking program/app. This allows you to know when and where the satellite you shoose is at. Typically the app will also tell you what frequencies you should set your radio to. Connecting to the satellite CAN be done with an upgraded whip antenna, but you will get a much better signal with a dual band yagi. Your range is dependant on the orbit of the satellite but typically you can get over 500 miles. Communication does require that both parties be tracking the same satellite and is not ideal for on demand comunications.

How can I get more power from my radio?#

When it comes to radios, an often overlooked upgrade that can make a huge difference is your antenna. You probably don’t need more power at all. Usually the standard antenna that ships with your radio is an inexpensive and inefficient “rubber ducky” antenna. It’s functional just like iron sights on a rifle. But upgrading it can be like switching to a red dot or LPVO making your same radio much more effective. The other huge benefit of an antenna upgrade is that you get better transmit and receive while more power only effects your transmit.

Radio Kits:#

These kits are offered by EngNerd, a telecom engineer and licensed General HAM. If you are interested you can message him, or send an email to [email protected] Kits can be customized as needed

ALL RADIOS ARE PRE-PROGRAMMED FOR YOUR AREA
They include HAM, HAM Repeaters, FRS, GMRS, MURS, Business, Marine, NOAA (weather) frequencies.

Topic Experts#

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