General License prep

[mechmedic]

I just renewed my Technician license the other day. Thank heavens they have a two-year window on renewal applications because I was off by a whole year on when I thought mine expired. When I get back from this deployment I would like to test for my general license and start getting into HF. What are some good study sites, books, etc that you have found? Also, I am going to need a good HF radio. I don't need one that does VHF and UHF because I will be getting a separate base station radio for those bands. Just something rugged and not too expensive or feature-laden that a Marine could figure it out easily. Also, I want something that non-HAM's would be able to use in a grid down situation. I look forward to hearing you on the air when I get back!

[Jackalope]

   There are a ton of resources available for upgrading your license.  The ARRL ( www.arrl.org) offers multiple guides and books for upgrading.  The last time I taught an amateur radio licensing course, we used ARRL educational materials.  The ARRL books offer the background material, so that you can understand the practical application of RF concepts.  Another great site is www.eham.net and they have free practice exams on their site, plus their gear reviews are very helpful.

     You didn't specify whether you wanted to purchase new or used equipment.  The Icom IC-7200 is a rugged HF solid state radio, that's relatively simple to operate.  I have a couple of them, including one that is in a Go Box.  The IC-7200 has a USB port so it can be directly connect to a PC, which eliminates the need for expensive interface equipment.  The IC-7200 was recently discontinued by Icom, but there may be some still floating around on dealers' shelves.

      Other older HF radios that are simple to operate include the Icom IC-718, Kenwood TS-130s, and Ten Tec Omni D's.  These older radios are available used in the $200-400 range.  I'm recommending these particular models because I've owned and used them.

       Modern radios are amazing.  The best bang for your buck today is the Icom IC-7300.  The IC-7300 uses SDR technology, so the receiver is very sensitive, yet due to modern filtering techniques it is highly selective.  The IC-7300 will allow the operator to communicate in situations where the older radios would be wiped out.  The IC-7300 has a built in USB port, again simplifying digital communcations.  Price is under $1000.  Carrying/protective handles are available, and it has a built in antenna tuner.  It would be possible to operate the IC-7300 without reading the manual, but in order use all of the radio's functions it would be best to at least glance at the manual.  Output power is rated at 100 watts.

       Another modern/SDR radio is the CommRadio CTX-10.  The CTX-10 is a QRP radio, with a transmit power of 10 watts.  It is a compact, rugged radio.  It is simple to operate too.  It has built in batteries and an antenna tuner.  Because it is a niche radio, it is priced accordingly, at around $1000.  I have one, in a pelican case, for emergencies.  I find it less useful than the IC-7300, because it only puts out 10 watts, so it's difficult to make contacts due to the low power.  I've tried to use it during the UP nets.  I can hear everyone fine, but no one hears the CTX-10 in crowded band conditions.  So the CTX-10 has a decent receiver, but for reliable two way communications more power is needed.

     Amateur radio operators are fortunate today because there are so many options out there, both new and used.  Personally, I'd go with a new radio because of the advances in technology, and having a warranty.

       

[bennington.camper]

When I upgraded, I used Hamtest online.
Worked great for me.

https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/

I know you said you didn't want a radio with v/uhf,  but I have two Yaesu FT-857's that I love. One in my van, and one stored for EMP p protection. They have quite a following as well.

'73



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[pkveazey]

All that info that Jackalope gave you is spot on. The latest and greatest radio for the money today, is definitely the ICOM 7300. I've got 2 ICOM IC-718's and if I weren't 74 years old, I have a brand new IC-7300 on my desk right now. I can't see me buying it and then having the radio outlive me. If you can find a good used ICOM IC-718 they're good radios and won't cost you an arm and a leg. They don't have the newer WARC bands (60 meters, 30 meters, 17 meters and 12 meters) but removing one tiny chip opens them up to transmit anywhere you want so you can access the WARC bands. When you get back, see if you can reach BARRY on the Roanoke Rapids, NC repeater. He is a volunteer examiner and can help you with your upgrade testing.

[mechmedic]

I have given the CX10 some serious thought. Most of my HF work grid-down would be the tristate area at most. Plus it would be used for mobile use for LRRP in my area and double as a base station at home until I can get a separate radio to be a dedicated base station that can put out more power. I think it might be the best radio for my use initially. Thank you for the study material. I was looking at the ARRL book. But I like the other resource you guys posted as well!

[mechmedic]

Pk, I'll definitely have to give that guy a call. There's another guy that lives near me that is on here as well that is part of a ham club that does testing. But options are good. Especially with schedules being what they are.

[JohnyMac]

Wow Mechmedic some good advise. What I am to add is only to make things as clear as mud. LOL

I have suggested this option for upgrading that so far, has resulted in 100% upgrading.

1) Buy the ARRL General Test book. Do not buy a used one unless it is the most recent one. The date (s) it applies to
    is listed on the cover.
2) If you have a smartphone, download the app for the General exam questions
3) Sign up on the ARRL or eham site for the practice exams

Then...

1a) Tackle one chapter a week in the ARRL text book. Read it and take the practice question for that chapter. If you can do
      two chapters a week great BUT try not to drink from a fire hose.
2a) When you have stupid down time like, waiting in the doctors reception room, waiting in line at the DMV, listening to
      your E8 tell that same story over again...You get my drift. Pull out your smartphone and start answering the exam
      questions from the chapters you have read.
3a) Now that you are signed up with either .org site (training) start taking the by chapter exam questions or the whole
      practice exam. Once you consistently get a 80% on the complete exam is the time to start looking for a place to take
      your FFC exam.

Radio's, radio's, radio's are not unlike opinions, everybody has one.

All the radio's listed are good options. For a used radio that is simple I like the (Icom) IC-735 (Patriotman has one so we know it has to be simple enough for him to operate  ) and as mentioned, the IC-7200, and of course the Yaesu FT-857. The IC-718, IC-735, and FT-857 does not come with a internal antenna tuner which makes these rigs a challenge for a Marine to figure out or extra equipment to carry.

The CTX-10 is a damn good radio however, as already mentioned, max wattage is 10-watts. For a first time HF rig, I would go with one that goes up to 100-watts.

Last, and more important then you might think, as again already mentioned, go with a rig that has an internal modem for sending digitally. Yes you can buy an external modem (Signal link or rig blaster) BUT, it is just one more piece of equipment to carry and go wrong and, at least for me, a bitch to setup without someone to help ya'. Being able to TX and RX digitally will be a good skill to have in a grid down situation.

Have fun Brother...

[mechmedic]

Thank you for the response JM! I will definitely keep your advice in mind. Especially about the radio. I will start looking online for those ones with an antenna tuner built-in. That is a feature I would definitely appreciate. Plus the digital thing, that is something I would definitely want. As it would make telemedicine much easier. I will go ahead and get the ARRL book today.

[pkveazey]

Pk, I'll definitely have to give that guy a call. There's another guy that lives near me that is on here as well that is part of a ham club that does testing. But options are good. Especially with schedules being what they are.

Its great that you have a nearby tester and Ham organization. I forgot to mention that Barry is the owner of the Roanoke Rapids repeater and he's a great guy. As I recall, most of the testing in your area is done in Rocky Mount. I'm delighted anytime any prepper realizes that Radio Coms are the final word in a disaster situation. There is a whole world out there who think that damn Cell Phone will save them when it won't.

[mechmedic]

I have a few Baofengs. I got my Tech back when I was in high school. I only started to realize what it really meant for me a few years ago. But I thought UHF and VHF were the only things that were relevant to prepping. Thanks to NCScout and this forum I learned how relevant HF was. 

[pkveazey]

HF is the "GO TO" area when VHF and UHF aren't good enough. It can get really complicated if you want to contact someone a long ways away on VHF and UHF because you would have to use a bunch of repeaters that are linked together and then you have to know the code numbers to plug in to link them all together and then you're tying up repeaters all over the country. Then, there's the possibility of the linking system being down. Then you're screwed. Then again, there is always the old fashioned method of using one repeater to contact someone who is willing to write down your message and then call another distant repeater to pass the message along to another and another and another until the message gets where you want it. On HF, you just need to know what frequency the person you want to contact is on and if the band is open enough, you just call them and talk to them. The really cool thing nowadays is to use your computer's audio in and audio out jacks to connect to your HF radio and use a DIGITAL computer program to send a message. PSK31 is the most popular digital mode. You just type what you want to send and turn on the VOX on your radio and any audio leaving the computer automatically keys up your radio and broadcasts it. You can either set a speaker next to the mike or hard wire it to the radio by sending the audio into the radio's mike jack while the VOX is turned on. The computer gets its input signal from the external speaker or audio line out jack on the radio. Some folks spend a bunch of money on a system that connects the computer to the radio and Vice Versa. Way back during the Viet Nam war, I was told that the military kept a C-130 in the air with a repeater on board and any soldier in the field could use a Handi-Talkie to talk all over the country. I think that led a lot of people to think that VHF or UHF could be used for long distance coms. I've also been told that they used UHF up to a Satelite repeater system which had some seriously long range coverage. I've actually seen one of the UHF survival Handi-Talkies that was supposed to talk through the Satelite. Getting back to HF..... If you look at military HF frequencies, you'll notice that they switch bands during different times of the day because some bands work better at night than in the daytime. They like to use frequencies near our 15 and 20 meter band in the daytime and then drop down near our 80 and 40 meter band at night. The bottom line is..... Upgrade your license and get a nice HF transceiver.

[bennington.camper]

I am not a big fan of internal options like tuners and digital interfaces. If it breaks, the whole unit has to be sent for repair.
I prefer an LDG external tuner (one button press tuning) as I can opt not to have the additional weight when portable with a tuned antenna, and I can move the tuner to another radio as it suits me.
All the same reasons apply for a digital interface.
Part of using radios is learning how all these things work together and how to troubkeshoot them. Part of the fun!


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[mechmedic]

When I was in the Marine Corps our C-130's had a UHF/VHF radio that was separate from the other ones because it could be amplified enough to hit the military satellite network. It was a pretty cool system. It could be encrypted without the need for an additional piece of hardware like our other VHF and UHF radios did, and it had SatCom capabilities. But it was finicky. If the crew didn't set it up properly they would complain that it was broken. I would run out to the plane, adjust one knob and it would work.  pilots. We rarely used HF but we would get checks on the radio every so often. I remember the frequencies being in the 3-5 Mhz range. When I was in Japan we used to regularly get checks with a station out of Australia. The female operator that would answer if you were lucky sounded quite cute. We'd always get excited if she was the one that responded.