Posted: 11/13/2010 1:02:46 AM EDT
|
I have a tech license, but I've never actually used an amateur radio. Hell, I don't think I've ever physically touched one, so please excuse my ignorance.
Is it possible, using any amateur radio technology, to reliably communicate with a specific person over a large distance at any time? I'm in Illinois, and I'd like to be able to communicate with family in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Over very short distances, I'd be pretty sure that we'd both be able to use 2m radios. Over longer distances, though, I'm not sure how it would work. From what I've read, it seems like a lot of long-distance communication is based on atmospheric conditions. I'd assume that this means that sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't. Is there any reliable way that two people separated by several hundred miles could pick up a ham radio and talk to each other regardless of the time? Thanks, LDL |
|
The simple answer is: "It depends."
There are some communications that work well over ground-wave or NVIS propagation - basically anything between ~ 100-400 miles, using appropriate antennas on the 40 meter band, you can just about always talk to them. But outside of that range, you're basically at the mercy of propagation. But there are things you can do to even the score - amplifiers and gain antennas help a lot. |
|
It's certainly not like a cell phone.
At the very least, you'd have to set up a daily schedule of ten or twenty contact attempts in two or three half hour periods, using different bands on a prespecified timetable. 5:00 AM EST: 14.325 mhz 5:05 AM EST: 7.225 mhz 5:10 AM EST: 3.950 mhz 5:15 AM EST: 21.425 mhz repeat the 14 and 21 at 1 PM repeat the whole set at 10 PM Change as needed when contact is made, but make sure you receive an aknowledgement and copy of any changes. With something like that, your odds aren't bad. But it's definitely nothing like a cell phone. |
|
HF bands + directional antennas + a little atmosphering luck...thats pretty much the formula.
You can look into linked repeater systems...could depend on echolink if the propagation just isnt there, but I would think you want to look at 40m or 80m with some kind of beam antenna. There are some areas that I always seem to hear, but I wouldnt count on being able to make a contact to a given station in a given place on a repeatable basis. |
| So many people want "cell like" reliability. They don't think about how a cell signal is only traveling 1-5 miles to a tower than being sent over a hardwire network to a tower 1-5 miles from a cell phone on the other end. If amateur radio only had to travel <10miles at a time, it's 100% reliable. But until radio users make use of networked repeaters (like phones use), it's really comparing apples to kumquats. |
|
The answer to what you are thinking is "no".
The alternative answer is that it's possible to communicate pretty reliably over those distances, but it's not going to be a matter of just pick up the mic and talk, and they will hear you. Here are the last couple installments of the biweekly "amateur radio comms with the family for shtf" threads: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=22&t=640578&page=1 http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=22&t=640369&light= The essential difference in your case is that you are far beyond the distances where a V/UHF band communications path is viable. HF is your only practical option and that's a whole different operating environment. With a technician class license you're very limited in what you can do on the HF bands that would be needed for this. Out of curiosity what part of IL are you in? |
|
Your question has no really simple answer. You would need a set of frequencies that are your contact frequencies, however, you also need to check the Maximum Usable Frequency for any given time to figure which one of your contact frequencies is optimum for that time. I't's 99% 'do-able' given the right conditions and frequency agility. Digital modes like MT-63 will work when voice doesn't....and CW will work when nothing else does. |
|
Quoted:
It's certainly not like a cell phone. At the very least, you'd have to set up a daily schedule of ten or twenty contact attempts in two or three half hour periods, using different bands on a prespecified timetable. 5:00 AM EST: 14.325 mhz 5:05 AM EST: 7.225 mhz 5:10 AM EST: 3.950 mhz 5:15 AM EST: 21.425 mhz repeat the 14 and 21 at 1 PM repeat the whole set at 10 PM Change as needed when contact is made, but make sure you receive an aknowledgement and copy of any changes. With something like that, your odds aren't bad. But it's definitely nothing like a cell phone. Listening to beacons will help give you an idea of how good the propagation is. Also, listening to WWV's frequencies will help. |
|
Quoted: Looking at this from a different perspective. Are there any echolink repeaters in the area where your family is? If so, then you could contact them using a radio and the internet. Echolink, too, requires both parties to be licensed. In a real emergency I wouldn't count on internet access on both ends...which is required for echolink. |
|
Quoted:
I have a tech license, but I've never actually used an amateur radio. Hell, I don't think I've ever physically touched one, so please excuse my ignorance. Is it possible, using any amateur radio technology, to reliably communicate with a specific person over a large distance at any time? I'm in Illinois, and I'd like to be able to communicate with family in Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Over very short distances, I'd be pretty sure that we'd both be able to use 2m radios. Over longer distances, though, I'm not sure how it would work. From what I've read, it seems like a lot of long-distance communication is based on atmospheric conditions. I'd assume that this means that sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't. Is there any reliable way that two people separated by several hundred miles could pick up a ham radio and talk to each other regardless of the time? Thanks, LDL Some options : -aeronautical mobile - If one or both of you has a pilot's license, or permission of the pilot, you can transmit from an aircraft. That'd give you 150mi or so line of sight from a small aircraft at 10000 ft to a 30' height antenna. Service ceiling on a Cesna 172 is 13k ft, so that's achievable. - amateur traffic nets - If message passing rather than direct communication is acceptable, you could pass messages on one of the ARRL affiliated national traffic networks. - amateur satellite - Since you've said you haven't gotten on the air yet, this isn't realistic. And as with the nets, you'd be limited to transmitting when the resource is available (within line of sight). But if uploading a message for later retrieval is acceptable, this can let you forward a message even when you don't both have simultaneous line of sight to the satellite. Pulling this off will require better gear and more experience than either of the above options. Whichever method you choose, you might want to seriously consider getting some operational experience before relying on that plan in an emergency. |