INGO HAM Radio Club

[lonehoosier]

Is the 550 part of a linked system?

No it's not. It's a private repeater. You have to ask permission and good luck getting it. It took him 4 months to reply back to me.

 

[PistolBob]

No it's not. It's a private repeater. You have to ask permission and good luck getting it. It took him 4 months to reply back to me.

I'm way way south of the ICE machines....doubt if I could even hit it from here. So are homemade multi element beams permitted on GMRS? If I put in a station could I make a beam and aim it at a repeater? Most of what I have seen online are verticals.

 

[lonehoosier]

I'm way way south of the ICE machines....doubt if I could even hit it from here. So are homemade multi element beams permitted on GMRS? If I put in a station could I make a beam and aim it at a repeater? Most of what I have seen online are verticals.

I know some that can hear a Repeater but can't get into it with a traditional antenna have had good luck with a yagi antenna.

 

[Spear Dane]

 

[PistolBob]

Anyone participating in Winter Field Day this weekend? Weather will definitely make it a challenge.

 

[Hawkeye]

Anyone participating in Winter Field Day this weekend? Weather will definitely make it a challenge.

Our club in Northern Indiana is participating. One of our HAMs has a pole barn or garage on his property that we will set up the radios in with antennas outside. Not sure about power sources but we have generators. I understand the garage is heated so that is good!

I probably will not participate due to cold symptoms at this point. better this morning but "abundance of caution" and all that stuff.

 

[gunbunnies]

I might listen in on winter field day but it wouldn't be any fun unless I finally upgraded my license to a General Class... Local HAM repeaters are pretty dead normally... GMRS is normally popping though although my local one is down for upgrades on the tower they are on...

 

[Hawkeye]

I might listen in on winter field day but it wouldn't be any fun unless I finally upgraded my license to a General Class... Local HAM repeaters are pretty dead normally... GMRS is normally popping though although my local one is down for upgrades on the tower they are on...

I understand. If you are in a club, and using the club equipment you can operate on other bands even if only at Technician class. That is what I've done the past couple of Field Days. All I have for radio equipment right now is a dual-band handheld.

 

[gunbunnies]

I understand. If you are in a club, and using the club equipment you can operate on other bands even if only at Technician class. That is what I've done the past couple of Field Days. All I have for radio equipment right now is a dual-band handheld.

Yeah I did that a couple years ago right after I got my license... It was fun but I would like to do it on my own fuel per sey... I did get the Yaesu FT-991a in but didn't get any antennas up on the house yet to properly use it... or I might get on 10 meters or 6 meters and see if I could find someone to talk to... everyday and not for field day cause that is supposed to be out in the wild... lol... I made a Squarolo for 6 meters but haven't got it up to test yet...

 

[PistolBob]

I might listen in on winter field day but it wouldn't be any fun unless I finally upgraded my license to a General Class... Local HAM repeaters are pretty dead normally... GMRS is normally popping though although my local one is down for upgrades on the tower they are on...

If you are doing the event with a club or group or even with one other higher licensed operator, you can operate on HF as long as you have an appropriately licensed control operator. You will have to use their call sign but it is fun and you gain experience. Good luck!

 

[bb37]

I encourage everyone who has an interest in radio communications to get their amateur radio license. The Technician test is fairly easy. Just do some online studying and try to get the concepts rather than just memorize the questions and answers. Also, don't freak out about having to get every question correct on the test. Each Technician test has 35 questions and 26 correct answers is a passing grade.

Don't stop with just getting your license and buying a radio. Just like your shooting, you have to practice. Get on the air, check into local nets, use your radio so you understand how it works, what it can do, and its limitations.

As for radios, I strong recommend against the Baofeng handheld radios that are so popular. Yes, they are cheap. But, they are also cheaply made, hard to program, have receivers that are easily overloaded, and often transmit spurious emissions. Just like with guns, if you buy a cheap product, you often get inferior service. I've owned the Yaesu FT-4X and FT-65. They are less than $100, but are better quality than the Baofengs and are backed by Yaesu's US importer. The Yaesus also don't put out the spurious emissions that many Baofengs do.

Don't get sucked in by the 8, 10, 15 watt claims made about some Baofengs. It's a lie. I bought one that an eBay seller advertised as 10+ watts. It puts out 6 watts on my test equipment.

Once you get your license, I urge you to get involved with your local club. Some clubs are still meeting in person while many clubs are meeting online. You'll get to know the hams in your area and it's a ham radio tradition to help fellow hams. This is called "elmering". I was fortunate to have some good elmers and I try to be a good elmer to others.

So, what can you do with a Technician license? You can talk using any mode (FM, CW, SSB, digital voice, various data modes, etc.) on any frequency above 30 MHz. The 2m band (144-148 MHz) is the bread and butter of amateur radio. Simplex range on 2m (radio to radio) depends a lot on the height of the antennas above ground, the gain of the antennas, and the power output of the radios. Handheld to handheld will only get you a few miles. OTOH, there's a lot of activity on 2m simplex (146.520 MHz) around Indianapolis and you'll hear guys from Fortville, Greenwood, Fishers, Avon, etc. They all have towers (40-60 feet) and gain antennas. You won't get that range with a handheld radio and a rubber duck antenna (the stock antenna that comes with the radio).

Let's talk about repeaters for a moment. Repeaters are a great way to extend the range of a handheld radios. For the most part, amateur radio repeaters are owned by clubs or individuals. Repeaters operate under the license of the club or individual who owns the repeater and repeater frequencies have to be coordinated so that they don't interfere with each other. Keep in mind that you have to program your radio with the input and output frequencies of the repeater.

Let's say you want to use the 146.700 MHz repeater in Indianapolis. You have to program your radio to listen on 146.700 and transmit on 146.100. Most radios do this repeater offset automatically, but you need to check to make sure your radio is programmed that way. BTW, the 146.700 repeater antenna is at around 600 feet above ground on the Channel 13 tower. It hears a lot and people from Anderson, Muncie, Martinsville, etc., often check in. But, it may still not hear your 5 watt handheld with a rubber duck antenna. You can help your handheld's range by using an outside antenna such as a J-pole or an inexpensive vertical like the Diamond X-30. Just getting your antenna outside the house and 10 feet above ground will help your range a lot.

Also, some repeaters require a CTCSS (aka PL) tone in order to access them. For example, the 146.970 MHz (146.370 MHz input) repeater in Indianapolis requires a 107.2 Hz tone. If your radio doesn't transmit that tone, you won't get into the repeater.

Keep in mind that repeaters are a shared resource that take time and money to build and maintain. Support your local repeater organizations.

While digital voice modes are all the rage, I caution you about spending a lot of money to get into one of these modes. D-STAR is probably the best mode in terms of features, but it's dying and their are no D-STAR repeaters in Indianapolis any more (though there may be one in the Noblesville/Atlanta area in the future). Yaesu System Fusion is popular because Yaesu offered clubs killer deals on the repeaters, but only Yaesu makes System Fusion Radios. DMR is popular because of the availability of cheap, Chinese radios, but Indianapolis hams seem to struggle to keep DMR repeaters on the air.

The most popular thing to do with digital voice repeaters is "repeater linking" which allows you to talk to people outside the range of your local repeater. However, we've been doing repeater linking for years before digital voice came along. The 147.315 MHz and 443.425 MHz repeaters in Indianapolis are connected to the Internet Repeater Linking Project (IRLP). You'll sometimes hear guys from southwestern Indiana on those repeaters and you'll hear guys from eastern Pennsylvania during their net on Sunday evenings. The 146.880 MHz repeater on the west side of Indianapolis is an EchoLink repeater which is another analog repeater linking system. And, then there are simple repeater to repeater linked systems like the W9WIN system. The 444.325 MHz repeater on the south side of Indianapolis is directly linked to repeaters in Bloomington, Bedford, and other cities in southwestern Indiana.

Well, I think I've typed enough. I've been a licensed amateur radio operator for 30 years. I've volunteered for public service events like bike rides and marathons, I've been a severe weather spotter, I've been a club officer, I've helped maintain repeaters, I've set up a table at hamfests to test radios, I've been a volunteer examiner at radio license test sessions, I've made contacts into all 50 states using the 20m and 40m HF bands, and I've made contacts with almost 100 countries on HF. I know a lot about amateur radio, but I certainly do not know it all. You never stop learning.

 

[ditcherman]

I encourage everyone who has an interest in radio communications to get their amateur radio license. The Technician test is fairly easy. Just do some online studying and try to get the concepts rather than just memorize the questions and answers. Also, don't freak out about having to get every question correct on the test. Each Technician test has 35 questions and 26 correct answers is a passing grade.

Don't stop with just getting your license and buying a radio. Just like your shooting, you have to practice. Get on the air, check into local nets, use your radio so you understand how it works, what it can do, and its limitations.

As for radios, I strong recommend against the Baofeng handheld radios that are so popular. Yes, they are cheap. But, they are also cheaply made, hard to program, have receivers that are easily overloaded, and often transmit spurious emissions. Just like with guns, if you buy a cheap product, you often get inferior service. I've owned the Yaesu FT-4X and FT-65. They are less than $100, but are better quality than the Baofengs and are backed by Yaesu's US importer. The Yaesus also don't put out the spurious emissions that many Baofengs do.

Don't get sucked in by the 8, 10, 15 watt claims made about some Baofengs. It's a lie. I bought one that an eBay seller advertised as 10+ watts. It puts out 6 watts on my test equipment.

Once you get your license, I urge you to get involved with your local club. Some clubs are still meeting in person while many clubs are meeting online. You'll get to know the hams in your area and it's a ham radio tradition to help fellow hams. This is called "elmering". I was fortunate to have some good elmers and I try to be a good elmer to others.

So, what can you do with a Technician license? You can talk using any mode (FM, CW, SSB, digital voice, various data modes, etc.) on any frequency above 30 MHz. The 2m band (144-148 MHz) is the bread and butter of amateur radio. Simplex range on 2m (radio to radio) depends a lot on the height of the antennas above ground, the gain of the antennas, and the power output of the radios. Handheld to handheld will only get you a few miles. OTOH, there's a lot of activity on 2m simplex (146.520 MHz) around Indianapolis and you'll hear guys from Fortville, Greenwood, Fishers, Avon, etc. They all have towers (40-60 feet) and gain antennas. You won't get that range with a handheld radio and a rubber duck antenna (the stock antenna that comes with the radio).

Let's talk about repeaters for a moment. Repeaters are a great way to extend the range of a handheld radios. For the most part, amateur radio repeaters are owned by clubs or individuals. Repeaters operate under the license of the club or individual who owns the repeater and repeater frequencies have to be coordinated so that they don't interfere with each other. Keep in mind that you have to program your radio with the input and output frequencies of the repeater.

Let's say you want to use the 146.700 MHz repeater in Indianapolis. You have to program your radio to listen on 146.700 and transmit on 146.100. Most radios do this repeater offset automatically, but you need to check to make sure your radio is programmed that way. BTW, the 146.700 repeater antenna is at around 600 feet above ground on the Channel 13 tower. It hears a lot and people from Anderson, Muncie, Martinsville, etc., often check in. But, it may still not hear your 5 watt handheld with a rubber duck antenna. You can help your handheld's range by using an outside antenna such as a J-pole or an inexpensive vertical like the Diamond X-30. Just getting your antenna outside the house and 10 feet above ground will help your range a lot.

Also, some repeaters require a CTCSS (aka PL) tone in order to access them. For example, the 146.970 MHz (146.370 MHz input) repeater in Indianapolis requires a 107.2 Hz tone. If your radio doesn't transmit that tone, you won't get into the repeater.

Keep in mind that repeaters are a shared resource that take time and money to build and maintain. Support your local repeater organizations.

While digital voice modes are all the rage, I caution you about spending a lot of money to get into one of these modes. D-STAR is probably the best mode in terms of features, but it's dying and their are no D-STAR repeaters in Indianapolis any more (though there may be one in the Noblesville/Atlanta area in the future). Yaesu System Fusion is popular because Yaesu offered clubs killer deals on the repeaters, but only Yaesu makes System Fusion Radios. DMR is popular because of the availability of cheap, Chinese radios, but Indianapolis hams seem to struggle to keep DMR repeaters on the air.

The most popular thing to do with digital voice repeaters is "repeater linking" which allows you to talk to people outside the range of your local repeater. However, we've been doing repeater linking for years before digital voice came along. The 147.315 MHz and 443.425 MHz repeaters in Indianapolis are connected to the Internet Repeater Linking Project (IRLP). You'll sometimes hear guys from southwestern Indiana on those repeaters and you'll hear guys from eastern Pennsylvania during their net on Sunday evenings. The 146.880 MHz repeater on the west side of Indianapolis is an EchoLink repeater which is another analog repeater linking system. And, then there are simple repeater to repeater linked systems like the W9WIN system. The 444.325 MHz repeater on the south side of Indianapolis is directly linked to repeaters in Bloomington, Bedford, and other cities in southwestern Indiana.

Well, I think I've typed enough. I've been a licensed amateur radio operator for 30 years. I've volunteered for public service events like bike rides and marathons, I've been a severe weather spotter, I've been a club officer, I've helped maintain repeaters, I've set up a table at hamfests to test radios, I've been a volunteer examiner at radio license test sessions, I've made contacts into all 50 states using the 20m and 40m HF bands, and I've made contacts with almost 100 countries on HF. I know a lot about amateur radio, but I certainly do not know it all. You never stop learning.

Great write up, thank you!

 

[Ingomike]

Great explanation bb37. Thanks! I have been following and researching for a while, even asked a few questions here.

I don't want a new hobby, got too many already. I just want to talk to my brother 50 miles away, when SHTF, as simply as possible. Want to buy it, test it, put it away until needed. How is that goal accomplished?

 

[bb37]

One suggestion for that distance would be 6m. But, 6m antennas are fairly large and single-band 6m radios are rare.

Another suggestion would be to find a good 2m repeater that's between you and your brother. Here's a link to the repeater directory on the Indiana Repeater Council website (https://flexweb.ircinc.org/search.html). You can enter your town name or your lat/lon and find what repeaters are within a certain radius of you. For example, you can filter on 2m repeaters that are within 30 miles of you. Then, do the same search using your brother's location. Compare the two lists of repeaters and find the ones that are on both lists. You can sort the lists by distance and you can also click on the Google map view icon at the bottom of the page to get an idea where the repeaters are located.

The end result of this exercise should be a list of repeaters that both you and your brother can hit. Note that being able to use those repeaters may require that you get 50 watt mobile radios and put up outside antennas. Alinco, Icom, Kenwood, and Yaesu all have 2m mobile radios with 50 watt output for less than $180. You can power these radios with a car battery or a deep cycle marine battery.

Will your chosen repeaters be available in a SHTF situation? That's a good question. The issues will be is the tower still up and does the site still have power. Many repeaters are located at sites that have back-up generators already in place. Some repeaters are set up with battery back-up. But, if things get really bad, keep in mind that your first choice repeater may be tied up with amateur radio operators helping the local public safety agencies, so have a few alternate repeaters in mind.

Once you get all this worked out, test your set-ups at both ends regularly. At least once a month. Make sure you have a way to keep your batteries charged.

Aside from 2m, you may have to look at upgrading to the General class license (another 35 question test). With a General, you can get on HF frequencies. But, the radios are more expensive and the antennas are larger which makes them more challenging to put up. Do some research into Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) antennas. They are fairly close to the ground, but can cover reasonable distances on the lower HF bands.

One other thing...Don't settle on one tool and expect it to work in all situations. In order to be prepared for different situations, you may need a range of solutions.

 

[M4Madness]

New ham from the hilly southern portion of Indiana here. I went from no license to Amatuer Extra in three weeks. I've got a Yaesu FT-70DR HT for tinkering around locally on the repeaters to learn the ropes and proper etiquette. I'm planning to pick up an Icom IC-7300 in the next few weeks, unless I find something I like better in the meantime. I still have lots of reading to do regarding antennas.

 

[PistolBob]

Wanna check out your setup for capability? This weekend is the EURAO party...using only dipoles. Good time to check your receive and even your transmit if you have a license for the HF bands.

Give it a listen!

 

[bb37]

The Icom IC-7300 has been described as "disruptive technology". It brought SDR features to a radio in a box with knobs at a very affordable price. I have one that I use as a portable radio, and it's big brother, the IC-7610 that I use at home.

Here's something for new hams to consider about HF radio. It's very tempting to put up a multi-band antenna and jump around from band to band in an attempt to find people you can talk to. Getting started in HF is like drinking from a fire hose. So many bands, so many modes. Also, multi-band antennas are usually a compromise. There are some good ones, but a single-band antenna will almost always have better performance. My suggestion for folks just starting out is to focus on just one band. For example, build a good 40m dipole and concentrate on that band for a while until you get the hang of things. 40m offers a pretty good compromise of long-distance and closer-in communications. Another thought is 80m which would give you great night-time communications throughout the midwest. But, 80m antennas are roughly double the size of 40m antennas.

 

[M4Madness]

Yeah, I remember from studying for the tests that multi-band antennas pretty much suck. I live out in the country, so it shouldn't be much of a problem to set up band-specific antennas, other than coming up with the cash to do so. LOL! I just started reading this last night:

http://www.hamuniverse.com/n4jaantennabook.html

 

[bb37]

I hear people rave about the My Antennas end-fed half-wave antennas. I've not used one, but they work on almost all bands and the theory seems sound. https://myantennas.com/wp/product-category/antennas/efhw-multi-band/

I have to be a little bit stealthy so I don't attract the attention of my HOA. So, I put up a 3-band fan dipole. It's supported from a beam at the top of the pergola (arbor) over my deck so it's only about 16 feet off the ground. It has elements for 80m, 40m, and 20m that are all connected at one feed point. The elements fan out from the feed point so that each dipole is somewhat of an inverted V. Getting the element lengths right was a challenge, but I've made a lot of contacts with that antenna and you can't see it from the street.

 

[M4Madness]

Let's say that I want to cover all the bands that an IC-7300 is capable of with minimal tuning. How many antennas will I need? As mentioned earlier, I live in a rural area surrounded by large farms. I'm on a decent hill overlooking a large, open valley. I only have one acre, but an adjoining landowner wants to sell me some pasture. Plus, I could string up pretty much as long an antenna as I wanted regardless, as the landowner to my rear would let me extend it over the property line. It's wooded, so I'm not sure how that would affect things.

From my browsing of the linked book above, I saw mention that "long wires" running inside the shack expose you to very high RF. Lots of things to learn to be both efficient with your power and safe in operation.