simonsay
New member
7 days? Took the test on Jan 18th. Can't find my name anywhere.
Ham & off road
- Thread starter DannyLlama
- Start date
7 days? Took the test on Jan 18th. Can't find my name anywhere.
DannyLlama
Elite Member
[MENTION=99880]simonsay[/MENTION] It took them almost 3 weeks to assign mine. They are understaffed and it depends how many requests they have to process.
Stay away from FT-857D .... I was going in that direction and was told it's complicated to use out on the field and you would have to carry separate antennas to use for all 3 bands.
Stay away from FT-857D .... I was going in that direction and was told it's complicated to use out on the field and you would have to carry separate antennas to use for all 3 bands.
flyinhawaiian01
New member
Try this search then...
License Search - Advanced License Search
ONLY put your last name in and state (add county if you have a common last name like jones or adams), then hit SEARCH (not geosearch). Might take a minute or two to load the page.
This will be the first place your license is listed. All other lists are fed from the ULS database.
And y'all should be happy it only takes a couple weeks! When I got my first license back in '91, it took over 6 weeks to get confirmation! They weren't even online back then, so you couldn't just look it up like we can now! :rockon:
License Search - Advanced License Search
ONLY put your last name in and state (add county if you have a common last name like jones or adams), then hit SEARCH (not geosearch). Might take a minute or two to load the page.
This will be the first place your license is listed. All other lists are fed from the ULS database.
And y'all should be happy it only takes a couple weeks! When I got my first license back in '91, it took over 6 weeks to get confirmation! They weren't even online back then, so you couldn't just look it up like we can now! :rockon:
flyinhawaiian01
New member
What's so hard about that radio to use? Once you learn the basics of that (as well as any) radio, its easy to use! Every radio will have its learning curve, but after playing with it for a week or so, you'll be able to flip through it without an issue.
And its a multiband radio, not just 3 bands. What bands are you needing to run on it? If you're running it in the field as a portable radio on a battery pack, then just throw a dual band antenna with a 90º pl-259 to bnc adapter, put a rubber ducky dual band antenna on there and call it good!
If you're going to run HF, you either have to carry an antenna for every band you plan on running (160, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 , 10, 6 meters, add 11M if you modify the radio for CB use), or you can spend a bit of money and get the ATAS-25, which covers all the bands with one antenna.
Personally, the 857d is an overkill radio for anyone who doesn't get their general or extra license. You're not allowed on HF except for 10M, so its basically an overpriced, unnecessarily-overly feature-filled dual bander! For a grand, you can buy a really nice dual bander, antenna system, remote cabling and a hand held 40 channel cb with a mag mount, and still save a couple hundred bucks! When you go on a club run, throw the mag mount antenna on the roof, pop it on your hand held cb, do the run without issue. When done, pack it up and put it away. Use your dual band rig when you wanna play on the repeaters or when a club run is running an amateur radio comm run.
CharlestonFisher
New member
I had my call sign within 3 hours. By the next morning I was in the database. I guess it depends on the region.
MTN4RNR
New member
HT Transreciever
Test is coming up next month, studying accordingly. Looking at getting a radio before I take the test (mostly to commit myself to the test, ha) so that I can get familiar with it, and to play around with settings, programming, etc. Not transmitting though, because that would be illegal
Looking at grabbing a Yaesu FT-60R from a local HRO in Sunnyvale. Seems to be a great all arounder and a good radio to start with. Eventually if it proves useful I will install a mobile unit in the rig and move the HT to the center console for adventure out of the rig. Any thoughts?
Test is coming up next month, studying accordingly. Looking at getting a radio before I take the test (mostly to commit myself to the test, ha) so that I can get familiar with it, and to play around with settings, programming, etc. Not transmitting though, because that would be illegal
Looking at grabbing a Yaesu FT-60R from a local HRO in Sunnyvale. Seems to be a great all arounder and a good radio to start with. Eventually if it proves useful I will install a mobile unit in the rig and move the HT to the center console for adventure out of the rig. Any thoughts?
BettysNephew
New member
It has been taking longer than in the past for callsigns to get processed. Also there is kind of a snow storm that has certainly slowed getting to work in DC a bit. Many lower priority agencies are taking a week off to reduce congestion during the clearing operations. Like the House and the Senate.
flyinhawaiian01
New member
Test is coming up next month, studying accordingly. Looking at getting a radio before I take the test (mostly to commit myself to the test, ha) so that I can get familiar with it, and to play around with settings, programming, etc. Not transmitting though, because that would be illegal
Looking at grabbing a Yaesu FT-60R from a local HRO in Sunnyvale. Seems to be a great all arounder and a good radio to start with. Eventually if it proves useful I will install a mobile unit in the rig and move the HT to the center console for adventure out of the rig. Any thoughts?
Looks like a nice ht! You'll be surprised how well an ht does, especially if you just get a good antenna for it.
I ran an old Icom ht for several years in my old truck, it worked extremely well with a mobile antenna, 12v plug, external speaker and a hand-held mic. I only upgraded to a mobile after about 2 or 3 years because I wanted it more permanent in the truck.
An ht really is a good thing to have anyways, because you can take it almost anywhere and you don't need a power supply.
eorange
New member
I had a FT-60R for many years. It was the most rugged HT I ever owned. Solid construction, loud audio, super dependable - you won't go wrong. I used it a lot for satellite work.
The stock antenna is just OK; get a better antenna like this one to get your signal out a lot farther:
Diamond® Antenna ~ SRH77CA Dualband HT Antenna
I've got an FT-60R. It's a beast, but the UI is plain terrible. If I don't have a manual in front me of, I can't do much more than change bands, scan, and change the power level. A buddy made me a serial programming cable. There is freeware available which makes setting up channel groupings a breeze.
A buddy showed me his cheap-o Chinese (BaoFeng?) radio. The UI is orders of magnitude better than the FT-60R.
As eorange said, upgrade the antenna post haste.
Also, look into doing the MARS mod. Allows you to transmit on all received frequencies. Useful for pairing up with GMRS/FRS friends. However, transmitting outside your certified bands is against the rules and if you're scanning on emergency channel freqs and accidentally open up on TX, you done f'd up real bad.
A buddy showed me his cheap-o Chinese (BaoFeng?) radio. The UI is orders of magnitude better than the FT-60R.
As eorange said, upgrade the antenna post haste.
Also, look into doing the MARS mod. Allows you to transmit on all received frequencies. Useful for pairing up with GMRS/FRS friends. However, transmitting outside your certified bands is against the rules and if you're scanning on emergency channel freqs and accidentally open up on TX, you done f'd up real bad.
transworldmoto
New member
Picked up a couple of these for my next Mojave Road trip in May
I'll have to give you our call signs when we establish them!
MattAK
New member
I passed my test! KM6BSM - Tech. Time to head out on a trip to put it to use
Congrats!
N/A
New member
I passed my test! KM6BSM - Tech. Time to head out on a trip to put it to use
Congrats, got mine a few weeks ago. Just installed a mobile in the 4Runner and picked up a VX-6R for on the river
DannyLlama
Elite Member
I passed my test! KM6BSM - Tech. Time to head out on a trip to put it to use
Hey dude, CONGRATS!!!
I'm still looking at getting a radio for the truck, I think i narrowed it down to Kenwood D710GA .. It has APRS built in (GPS Tracking)
TM-D710GA | Amateur Radio | Communications | KENWOOD USA
Would anyone be interested in a group buy? I can do the leg work if there is enough interest.
Thoughts?
rochmpr
Senior Member
I passed my test! KM6BSM - Tech. Time to head out on a trip to put it to use
This is handy for planning routes;
Repeater Book
Bay Area Repeaters;
Mt. Diablo
N/A
New member
I hummed and hawed a long time over what to get. I ended up with and ICOM 2730 as it was cheaper and I was getting a handheld as well. Seems good so far. I will probably upgrade once digital seems to sort out what direction it is going in
flyinhawaiian01
New member
First off, congrats to y'all that passed your tests! Now, get on the radio and don't let the old farts ruffle your feathers!
Personally, I would go for one of those cheap Baofeng radios as a first starter radio. Why? Because its a low initial investment to help you determine whether you really are interested in this hobby or not.
Also, it allows you to figure out what you really want for your next radio! APRS is fun, but using a handheld for APRS while in the middle of nowhere works as well as cellphones in the same area. If you don't have someone near enough to pull your signal in and re-transmit it, you'll disappear off the map pretty quickly. Having a mobile with APRS will work much better.
Finally, starting off with an expensive radio with all the bells and whistles has proven many times to be a real turn-off for new hams. Screwing with a ton of settings and having people complain about how you sound or not being able to hear you will make you insane to say the least!
My first real ham radio? An old Tempo S15! Wanna see a basic radio? Here ya go!
And ya know what? I had a friggin' blast with that big ol' honkin' thing! It sounded great on the air, was easy to program for the local repeaters, and got out well with 5 full watts!
Of course, my next few radios had all the bells and whistles, and I still have most of them today. Sadly, that S15 was stolen out of my car not long after I got my license, but I never lost my respect for such a mundane radio!
Hopefully, your local offroad gang/club will also use ham radios for communications, its always a lot more fun when you can hear each other crystal clear on FM, rather than scratchy, non-tuned cb's that get about 500 yards before they almost disappear, or are overwhelmed by local guys running a few kilowatts from their home base!
So, now that you guys have your licenses, find your local radio clubs and see which ones fit your lifestyles! They will help you get set up and keep you entertained!
And, if you ever hear one of them hosting a fox hunt, by all means, go! The most fun you can have with your radio is going on a foxhunt with an experienced ham!!!
Personally, I would go for one of those cheap Baofeng radios as a first starter radio. Why? Because its a low initial investment to help you determine whether you really are interested in this hobby or not.
Also, it allows you to figure out what you really want for your next radio! APRS is fun, but using a handheld for APRS while in the middle of nowhere works as well as cellphones in the same area. If you don't have someone near enough to pull your signal in and re-transmit it, you'll disappear off the map pretty quickly. Having a mobile with APRS will work much better.
Finally, starting off with an expensive radio with all the bells and whistles has proven many times to be a real turn-off for new hams. Screwing with a ton of settings and having people complain about how you sound or not being able to hear you will make you insane to say the least!
My first real ham radio? An old Tempo S15! Wanna see a basic radio? Here ya go!
And ya know what? I had a friggin' blast with that big ol' honkin' thing! It sounded great on the air, was easy to program for the local repeaters, and got out well with 5 full watts!
Of course, my next few radios had all the bells and whistles, and I still have most of them today. Sadly, that S15 was stolen out of my car not long after I got my license, but I never lost my respect for such a mundane radio!
Hopefully, your local offroad gang/club will also use ham radios for communications, its always a lot more fun when you can hear each other crystal clear on FM, rather than scratchy, non-tuned cb's that get about 500 yards before they almost disappear, or are overwhelmed by local guys running a few kilowatts from their home base!
So, now that you guys have your licenses, find your local radio clubs and see which ones fit your lifestyles! They will help you get set up and keep you entertained!
And, if you ever hear one of them hosting a fox hunt, by all means, go! The most fun you can have with your radio is going on a foxhunt with an experienced ham!!!
