Ham Radio (and Other Comms) Thoughts
Let me tell you about my involvement in ham radio.
I got my entry-level (Novice back then) ham ticket in the mid 1980s. Have been active on and off since then, mostly on. Before then I used 27 MHz. CB and 49 MHz. Part 15. These days I also use FRS for home stuff (house to back yard) along with a half dozen other families in town.
It’s a hobby. My activities include contesting, VHF/UHF+ weak-signal work, QRP, restoring/operating “green radios” (military surplus rigs), and occasionally getting involved in EmComm (Emergency Communications) through ARES. Some of that might be survivalist-oriented, but if you’re a self-identified “prepper” I’d rather not see you getting a ham license because most of you are insufferable ass clowns and it pains me to see you also identify as a ham operator in much the same way it pains me to see cop-wannabes involved in EmComm.
If you don’t want to get a ham license because you have no desire to get really into radio comms like a friend of mine from out West, then it’s cool, you’re cool, and we’re cool. Just like him, you got CB, FRS, and MURS radios to play with that will get the job done for your local comms with like-minded individuals. My friend REDACTED is a fellow survivalist who is a gunsmith and all-around outdoorsman. He don’t need a ham license, doesn’t want to get one, and his 2 watt FRS HTs and the Cobra 19 in his Wrangler do a good job keeping him in touch with his buddies.
If you’re a paranoid who thinks a ham ticket will put you on a database, then do both of us a favor and don’t get it. But still buy whatever you want, the more expensive the better, toss it in an ammo can, and make sure it stays in good condition so I can get a nice deal from your estate or a pawnshop later when you pass away or need some money. I prefer Icom and Yaesu, but if you can afford some nice late-model Motorola or Harris P25 rigs with AES by all means please buy them. FPP preferred on bands adjacent or on Part 97 allocations, and make sure you knock a digit or two off the end of the price when your spouse asks you how much you paid for it. Makes it easier for my friends and I later. If you’re buying the el-cheapo Baofengs don’t worry about that last part. If they wind up in a landfill it’s no big loss.
Yeah my handle was chosen because one of my first hacks involved freebanding my first rig: an Icom IC-02AT. Still have one and still occasionally use it. I’ve talked about, and waxed poetic about ham radio for survivalist purposes for a good 30+ years now. I’m done doing it under this masthead. You won’t see much Part 97 stuff in Cyber-Tek going forward. I’m moving it over to a blog under my callsign (IYKYK) where I can about the specific cool shit with those of you who are also on the air and don’t mind using your callsigns in the right venue (this isn’t it.) The prepper types can go do and say what they want. Not my monkey—not my circus. Em-dash deliberate.
If I know you through the Amateur Radio hobby, I’ll be sending you a URL. You can also send me an email and I’ll reply with the URL. Make sure you include your callsign.
In the meantime, there’s also other cool tech stuff to talk about on here, including Part 95 and Part 15 wireless stuff.
Baofeng Redux
I’ve bad-mouthed Baofeng radios quite a bit in the past, and the UV-5R deserves the hate for its crappy build quality. Newer models on the other hand are significantly better. My ham club has a member who is on a mission to get more people into ham radio and specifically VHF/UHF work. He sells some decent reasonably-priced gear at hamfests across the region. He found these really nice, fairly rugged $10 UHF 30 channel HTs that are not only suitable for Part 97 ops, but also for LMR and GMRS work. Thirty UHF channels is enough for a whole region’s worth of linked repeaters, simplex frequencies, and a GMRS/FRS frequency for interoperability with the UHF Part 95 operators. They’re made by Baofeng under the Alervites label. Here’s the Amazon link. (The link is Affiliate. I get a cut.)
Software is free and runs under Windows. You’ll need a Baofeng programming cable which is easy enough to get ahold of. These radios are dirt simple—power/volume knob, ptt button, and two function buttons for changing channels. That’s it. That’s all you need. No donking around with menus when you need to do something.
What do we use them for? Hamfest intercoms and microwave liaison work. We got a simplex frequency we use at hamfests for chatting and on mountain tops when aiming dishes, and a bunch of wide-area linked repeater networks for when simplex won’t cut it. The radio is bright orange so you can’t lose it on the ground, and so it can serve as a visual recognition device. It’s cheap so if you do lose or break it you’re not out a lot of money.
They’ll also work just fine on GMRS or UHF LMR business band (Part 90). GMRS license is only $30, and the whole family can operate under it. GMRS also interoperates with FRS. If you run under Part 90 you can use the encryption feature on these radios. Don’t know what it would cost to get a low-power or itinerant LMR license, but then everyone who you say works for your “business” can run under your license using encryption.
