Where can one go to take the test for a ham radio license ? and a study book ?and what's involved to get one ? Thanks

 

You can play with sample tests at qrz.com
Frank.

 

Exams are usually conducted at amateur radio swap meets and are usually organized by the local club for that vicinity. If I were you, I'd look in the phone book for the nearest amateur radio supply store and give them a call and ask them if them to put you in touch with the nearest club. They should be eager to help (after all, you might buy a radio from them).

Alternatively, you could visit http://www.arrl.org/ and see if they have any information on events or clubs in your area.

 

I have a Kenwood, 2530, 2-meter radio. My husband, son, daughter-in-law, and 12 year old grandson are all ham radio operators. We use the 2-meter to communicate with each other while traveling on the highway and also whenever we are wheeling.
I don't like keeping it in the Jeep as I'm afraid some idiot will see it and try to break in to steal it. I have it sitting upright on the "hump" of the floor behind the console. I placed a piece of foam between it and the console so neither get scratched. It is secured with a 2" wide piece of elastic wrapped around the radio and the console so the radio will stand securely upright so I can reach the buttons on the face of the radio.
This is a great set-up for me as all I need to do is unplug it and take it into the house with me until the next time it is needed.

 

What is HAM radio?

 

I just use a few Motorola HT-1000's, and i have them programmed for some generally unused freq. In one of the VHF bandsplits, it's way illegal, but these things work great, and i can be outside the car and still use a radio.

 

Amateur Radio is the proper name for it and it's an all volunteer service for emergency radio communications during times of national or regional emergency. People volunteer for it because it also makes for a quite entertaining and informative hobby, but it's purpose is to provide back-up communications when other more conventional forms are unavailable. Licenses are granted by the FCC and you have to pass a test that is mostly about radio wave propagation theory and FCC regulations. It's called "ham" radio because early commercial and military radio operators would refer to us as "hams" when we mistakenly interfered with their transmissions. The name stuck and now we are all call "Hams".

It's a great hobby to get into if you have a mindset for emergency preparedness. Many ham radio contests are geared around simulating the need for improvised communications (e.g. Field Day). If you're interested, I'd check out the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) site previously posted. They are the main organization that represents the interests of ham radio (we are a self-policing community).

 

I checked out a local group to Charleston, and will get back with them when I redeploy back home

 

I've been thinking about HAMs for the last little while.

About 3 or 4 months ago out in California, we had a pretty decent sized quake. The kind where about half of the office jumps out there chairs and bolt for the doors. What struck me is that about 5 seconds after it stopped shaking everyone was on their cell phones. I tried and the lines were jammed for 30 minutes or so.

I got to thinking if something really did go down I would not be able to contact the wife and family for some time.

So my question is this; what kind of radio would I need to transmit and receive over say a 30 mile radius? I've been reading the posts and what is the differene between 2 m, and 10 meter? What is better vhf or the other one? What kind of wattage would be needed? Assume repeaters are down and out of the equation. What would the antena look like?

I would of course, apply for a license but I'm wondering at this point if its even worth it to bother. If say it would cost $1500 for this kind of setup I'd probably say maybe in the future, but if a workable setup could be had for say $500 I'd be very interested. This subject is very deep and I've been trying to figure it all out but for now I just want to know what a 30 mile radio is gonna require?

Thanks in advance.

 

For 100% reliable comm at 30 miles you need line-of-site, which means one thing: altitude. If one of you is high enough for line-of-site, like on a hill or mountain, a 5-watt 2 meter handheld will work fine for 30 miles. That's why repeaters, whether ham or cell, are on towers (or in space!). Without line-of-site, things get dicier, and that's why the subject is so deep, as you mention.