Communication with board members in WROL

[USMC0331]

Yeah, their about page pretty much says they are organizing a "pass it along" network using low power setups.  At least that's what I got out of it.  I'm sure HAM guys have a plan to put up mobile setups when the time comes but like you said, the first rule of HAM club is "there is not HAM club!"

Listening to the broadcasts now, looks like a great resource.  Thanks for pointing out.

[Shadow]

Just a suggestion, before you think that you will be able to free band on amateur radio frequencies, thinking that the FCC would be too busy to enforce any rules, think again.

Amateur radio has not been governed for a long time by the FCC.
The FCC helps out with the most severe problems, K1MAN etc.
The day to day workings of amateur radio is taken care of by hams - mostly by hams called O&O's.
The job of the official observer is to monitor the bands and ensure that everyone using the bands is operating according to the Part 97 - which is the rule book written by the ARRL and Enforced by the FCC.

Think of amateur radio like a Interstate Highway.
Think of amateur radio frequencies like having a commercial drivers license.
Those that has the license can operate the big rig vehicles, while those that just has a regular operating permit can only operate automobiles and light pick up trucks.

Could you operate a 18 wheeler without any sort of knowledge of how the truck works, how to operate it, how to drive on the road and how to back the vehicle up when you get to where you are going?  The answer is NO!  You might get away with it for a couple of minutes or hours, but eventually the truck will run out of fuel or need maintenance or you will run off the road or into someone else and it will end at the very least with you getting caught.

If you have a force of almost 700k licensed amateurs in the USA and probably another 1 million throughout the world, how long could you operate illegally without getting caught?

The Technician Class license really doesn't give you much, and it really doesn't take much to get, but at least there is a effort put forth to at least try to pass a 35 question, multiple guess test, in which you have to get 70% right!  Big deal!

To do what you propose, you would need to operate on either 40 or 75 meters and you would need at least a General Class License.  That would require passing two - 35 question multiple guess tests...

The reason why most amateur radio retailers refuses to help non hams is because it would be illegal for them to knowingly sell a radio to you if they thought that you were going to use it for illegal purposes.  Modifying it to operate on 11 meters, or use on HF -licensed amateur frequencies would be considered operating it illegally.

[Shadow]

G'day, @ Special-K, would this work for those models in Australia or am I looking at having to research further into this myself? My intent is not only being able to communicate within Australia but also with you guys in the states and anyone else around the world. My last question, have you considered doing instructional videos on youtube with the advice on setting up this type of gear?

You will not be able to achieve reliable or predictable communication with the U.S. from Australia on the 11 meter band.  For more predictable and reliable world wide communication you will need to use a much lower frequency.  FYI, lower frequency = higher meter band, it's an inverse relationship.  The lower the frequency the longer the distance from wave peak to wave peak.  Get it?  I have no knowledge of government frequency allocation in Australia or whether or not any "free band(s)" are available down there.  You will need to consult the web and/or an amateur (HAM) operator down there.  I'm pretty sure these lower (worldwide) frequencies will require a license but you still may find a free band to communicate with the locals. 

As for instructional videos on YT, to make a long story short, my Sony Handicam is not compatible with my Mac.  There is a program to make the two work together, but it cost money, and since I spent my time learning about radios instead of computers, I'm not sure exactly how to obtain said program, for free, without getting caught or catching a virus or mal-ware.  So, I do have a YT channel, but with no uploads of my own.

It has been my experience that all signals reduce at the square of the distance away, and that all reliable communications is line of sight.
If you want anything other than line of sight, you have to have some type of atmospheric conditions that allows you to communicate further than line of sight.

In all my years of being a shortwave listener and a ham, about the highest frequency I have ever heard Australia or New Zealand is on 17 meters - 18 Mhz...

Most all of what I have experienced working DX has been on 10 or 12 meters!

Places like England and France and Italy is usually just about 3000 miles from my QTH.
Not much different than trying to talk to California.

When you try to talk to your Antipode - exact opposite place on the earth, 12,000+ mile paths are very difficult to do, even on an occasional basis.

If as the scientists have predicted and we go into a solar minimum the likes of which has not been seen since the 1400's, it may be 400 years before we see band openings like we had in the 1950's, 60's, 70's and 80's...

[Nemo]

I really need to learn something about this stuff.  Because all I can say about anything in this thread is Rock On Dude.

Nemo

[JohnyMac]

Many years ago, most HAM radio shops and clubs offered classes to help student get one or all of the available tickets. Now with the internet, Sat phones and the basic cell phone there appears less and less interest in HAM.

I have contacted groups like, ARRL seeking local classes to be promised info and for nothing ever to appear.

Any thoughts folks?

[Shadow]

Well Johnny, this is your lucky day.

Here is some advice.

Buy the ARRL or the Gordon West Technician and General Class License Manual.

Read both books, study all the material in the back of the book.
There are online resources when you get to this point that will give you the questions and just the right answers.  I gave away all of my cheat sheets years ago...

When you get to the point of where you think you know all of the material, then you can advance to the next stage, which is to go online and take some of the practice exams.
I must warn you, the practice exams are a lot easier than the ones that the ARRL has.
When you get to the point where you can consistently get 80% or more right on every exam, you are probably ready to take the license exam.

There are VEC - Volunteer Examiner Coordinators and VE's - Volunteer Examiners that gives the exams on regular intervals.
The ARRL maintains a web site of active clubs that administers their exams - with exam dates and locations.
There is a number of other VEC's such as W5YI and LARC....

If you can find a LARC exam in your area, it would benefit you to go there, since they give all examinations - FREE.  The other VEC's charges somewhere in the neighborhood of $16.00!

Any questions you don't understand, feel free to ask - offline and I would be more than glad to explain them to you.

[Shadow]

Some VEC's offers - Ham In A Day Classes.
Basically you pay a fee, buy the book, study on your own, go to an all day class, where they ham cram the information you need to know to pass the exam and then they give you the exam for a fee.

If you fail, then you have to pay your $15.00 - $16.00 again to retake the exams.

Most VEC's will allow you to retake it twice in one day!

You don't actually learn anything by passing the exam in a ham in a day class, because everything you learn goes into your temporary memory and is usually forgotten in a couple of days.
What you do learn is the basic rules - how to operate a transceiver properly and how to identify and how to hook up the power to your transceiver.  Basic A B C's of amateur radio...

The General Class Exam is much harder....

If you pass the Tech, you can take the General the same day for FREE, which is one good reason to study both before you take your exam.

We can get into power supplies, transceivers, coax, antennas another time, after you get the license.

It would probably benefit you to find a programmable scanner and put up a temporary outside antenna and program the local amateur radio frequencies into your scanner.
Most clubs has a net once a week, where you can find out information like when the next VE test session is, and where it will be located.  When their next club meeting and breakfast is and where it is located.  You can look up the call signs of the amateurs you hear via the internet.
It will give you a rudimentary understanding of how amateur radio works and how people talks on 2 meters...