Amateur Radio and the backcountry

[BEEBEE]

Fellow HAZer’s

I have been an active hiker, backpacker and camper for many years I am also active in the amateur radio service. I always take my handheld radio with me on hikes and use it regularly. I have been asked about it many times and what I use it for. I decided to post this for others who may be interested. I have borrowed some of the information below from the American Radio Relay League “ARRL” http://www.arrl.org and other sources on the internet.

One of the most important features of life in our modern era is easy communication over long distances. Thanks to the advancements in technology today, we can easily pick up a cellphone to call someone hundreds of miles away, you can find out the weather in Hawaii from New York, and listen to thousands of songs on your mp3 player. We can even do these many of these things using wireless technology like that of Bluetooth devices. We take for granted the ability to pick up a telephone or log on to the Internet and communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time. Unfortunately, this essential ability to communicate freely with others sometimes is unavailable to us due to natural disasters or being in a remote area.

However, there is one means of communication over long distances that is not dependent on outside services such as the power grid or the telephone system, and can be operated by individuals without going through any other intermediaries: the amateur radio service.

The definition of amateur radio

In the United States, the FCC grants licenses at no charge to qualified individuals who wish to make use of certain portions of the radio spectrum for their own personal use. (Most other countries have analogous authorities that do the same for their citizens and residents, so most of this discussion is applicable to you even if you live in a country other than the United States, although the details will vary with the specific country.)

The benefits of amateur radio

Once you are a licensed radio amateur (or "ham"), you can use readily available, relatively inexpensive electronic equipment to communicate with people in your local area, the rest of the country, and even other countries throughout the world. To do so, you won't need to pay any usage charges, you won't have to sign up with any providers, and you can use this service as much as you like whenever you like.

Even in normal times, this can be a source of entertainment and enjoyment, as many thousands of amateurs have discovered throughout most of the last century. But there is much more to it than that. Amateur radio operators have proven their worth in setting up emergency communications systems in virtually every kind of disaster from earthquakes to floods.

Anyone of reasonable intelligence can get a license and learn to operate an amateur radio station, so long as they have the motivation. The cost of the equipment is relatively modest; a complete long-range station can be set up for well under $1000, while a local station can be as simple and cheap as a $100 hand-held transceiver. In several of our backcountry areas I have been able to make phone calls from the handheld radio I carry via a repeater phone patch where my cell phone had no service. I have also set up scheduled radio check in times with other HAZ members who are camping or hiking alone so they could check in daily rather than having to wait for them to be several days overdue if something should happen to them. The tests for the license level that most people start with can be passed with a few dozen hours of preparation, and even the higher level licenses that give broader access to the long-range communication frequencies can be obtained with relatively small effort. In my case, I spent about 10 hours of online study to get my first license “Technician Class” this is the entry level and allows for the types of communications I described above. I spent another 10 hours to get the “General License” and finally 20 additional hours of study was sufficient for me to upgrade to my current license, which is called "Extra Class".. The latter class also gives you access to the long-range frequencies that can be used to communicate with stations all over the globe.

Arizona has extensive linked amateur radio repeater systems that give great coverage to the backcountry areas that we all frequent. I have made good use of them as well as others in the HAZ community.

How to get started

Assuming I've convinced you of the benefits of amateur radio, this link will take you to a search engine to locate classes http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class, or if you prefer self-study you can go to http://www.hamtestonline.com and for small fee prepare for the test yourself.

Ready to Test

Okay so you have studied online and are ready to test. Here is link to a search engine that will help you locate a test session in your area. http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-rad ... am-session
If you are in the Phoenix Area the Examiner group I am a part of a group gives tests the second and third Mondays of every month at the following locations

2nd Monday
Central Phoenix VE Team
South Mountain Community College (Library)
6:30 PM (Walk-ins allowed)

3rd Monday
East Valley VE Team
City of Mesa Utilities Building on Mesa Drive between University and Brown
6:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)

Questions
Anyone who has questions please pm me or post it on the forum any question you have may benefit someone else so please ask all you want. If I don’t have the answer I will get it from someone.

[Hippy]

Funny you should post this because I ran out of books to read a few weeks back and found my old HAM test book and began cruising the pages, I can totally justify the weight of a handheld especially on a backcountry trip. Might make a good xmas gift for myself this year.

Oddly enough another great place to learn more about HAMs and even check out a pretty sweet HAM shack (and maybe give it a test drive) is at the AZ Science Center, dad and I use to volunteer there.

[BEEBEE]

I am on the volunteer list for W7ASC AZ Science center also and I have several Ham friends that man the station. The Superstition ARC supplies a lot of the Hams that staff the exibit.

If you need any help with testing or selecting an HT let me know.

[Grasshopper]

@BEEBEE A nicely done presentation Brian

[BEEBEE]

Thanks Hank found a group here in AZ you might like http://www.4x4ham.com/ The group is free to join and access the forum.