Posted: 10/31/2012 2:43:38 PM EDT
My dad lives over the hill and on the other side of the city, about 12 miles by road, probably more like 8 in a line. I want to get us communication systems that are man portable and capable of operation for about 2 hours (the time it would take for him to walk to my place in case of an emergency). We have cell phones, but we need a better system especially when we are in the hills as we don't always get signal depending on what side of the mountain or valley we are in. What system would suit us best, allows for headphone and mic system (bonus if it works with an ACH)? I am totally clueless, but I know rules are rules so here's a picture of my dad for you leg humpers: |
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question for you –– to the side it says NV –– would you characterize your locality as suburban, semi-rural, or rural? i'm interested to know this because a VERY GOOD solution for your needs is the use of a "2 meter" repeater, and if there is one or more "close" to you both you are 100% set up. and, folks put up repeaters where there is a base of users, not in the middle of nowhere. go here, http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters/ and either plug in your zipcode or select NV and tell us what is "close" –– in terms of miles. ar-jedi |
| Hey thanks for answering my question. The repeater down in the middle of Reno labeled E on my screen is about 2 miles from dad and 8 miles from me, but that's a guesstimate. We're definitely urban in the area that repeater is, with dad living on a hill and me on a hill but we don't have line of sight to that area unless we walk respectively about 10 minutes. It's hilly here in the valley. |
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To answer another facet of your question: Yes, ham radio handhelds are more than capable of connecting to common communications-capable, ACH compatible hearing protection. You will need a dongle/connector, and what type is highly dependent on which radio/hearing protection you choose, as well as HOW you intend to use the system: speaker-mic, PTT, etc. The short answer is, yes.
Most ham radio handhelds will run for 2 hours, no problem. One of the popular chinese radios, the Baofeng UV-5r, offers a 3200mAh battery that can last days if you're not using it much. As you may know, there is a test required before you can use these radios, but don't worry, it's EASY and you can pick up the information you need to know in a few hours of studying. I chose the Ham Whisperer's technician license book, read it in about nine hours over a week, and rocked it. In that process, you'll learn about repeaters, how they work and why (if one is close to, or better yet, inbetween your houses) one will help you tremendously. Most are tied to backup systems that will keep chugging for a while after a disruption, but keep in mind, some of them aren't designed to last forever without regular grid power. For more background information, ar_jedi has a great thread tacked up top of the Ham Radio forum, give it a read if you have some downtime, and let us know if you have any other questions! |
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Don't take line of sight too literally, it sounds like given the distances involved a couple handy-talkies + repeater would cover you.
By the time he was halfway there you could probably even communicate directly, and possibly the whole way directly if your station had a house-mounted antenna. |
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The distances you are talking about are too far for direct handheld-to-handheld communications.
Depending on the exact terrain you might be able to make it that far from mobile to mobile... mobile being higher powered radio installed in a vehicle with a higher performance antenna than what a handheld has. You could certainly make that distance from base station to base station with reasonable tower and antennas, and probably base station to handheld depending on the specifics of the terrain. If you're willing to use an intermediate piece of communications infrastructure (a repeater) you could almost certainly cover your entire area from handheld to handheld. If you are both willing to get amateur radio licenses and learn a little about communications you will find your situation to be a very manageable communications task. If you are not willing or able to both get amateur licenses, you may be able to use a similar setup on the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). Licenses for GMRS are more expensive than the cost for amateur licenses and would have to be renewed, vs amateur licensing which is a one time fee for the testing. |
| I had a lot of past experiences with CB. Picking up skips of a lovely racist fellow just down the road from Lubbock in Slaton all the way up in Walsenburg, CO...not to mention the numerous skips I picked up in high school from San Antonio living just south of San Marcos. Unfortunately my only experience to this point with FM is here in Lubbock (which in case you haven't heard, it's flat). Just my experience with the UV-5R, I can hit the Texas Tech repeater with only 4 watts of power about 7-8 miles away, so I would think hitting the repeater shouldn't be a problem for those little radios. |
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With the hills in the way mobiles with good antenna will probably have a hard time hearing each other, let alone HTs. You'll probably need to rely on a repeater, which may be down or heavily utilized in a bad situation. One thing you could try is some NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) on 80 meters (will require at least a General license, at least during civilized times). It's somewhat portable, but having stations set up at each of your houses would let you at least communicate previous to travel. That way you would know when your dad was on the move and when to expect to hear from him via HT-to-HT (assuming you can't use the repeater). Another thing you could do is setup your own repeater, but only use it for testing and trying times. By law you would have to allow other licensees to use it when it was operational, but, then again, laws tend to go out the window during times of crisis.
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With the hills in the way mobiles with good antenna will probably have a hard time hearing each other, let alone HTs. You'll probably need to rely on a repeater, which may be down or heavily utilized in a bad situation.
They could also experiment with bouncing signals off a nearby mountain, assuming there is one they can both see. Directional antennas on both ends would be helpful here. One thing you could try is some NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) on 80 meters (will require at least a General license, at least during civilized times).
This is another option. All licensed amateurs have CW privileges on 80 meters. Yes, it requires a working knowledge of Morse Code, but that's something every preparedness-minded ham should have anyway. 
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By law you would have to allow other licensees to use it when it was operational Completely untrue. There is nothing that requires a licensee in either the amateur or GMRS services to allow other people to use their station. There are "closed" repeaters in both services on the air. One thing you could try is some NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) on 80 meters
NVIS HF for 8 to 12 miles? For someone who doesn't know anything about radio? 
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By law you would have to allow other licensees to use it when it was operational Completely untrue. There is nothing that requires a licensee in either the amateur or GMRS services to allow other people to use their station. There are "closed" repeaters in both services on the air. One thing you could try is some NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) on 80 meters
NVIS HF for 8 to 12 miles? For someone who doesn't know anything about radio? Agreed! |
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Wow you guys rock, someone filled my inbox with a shit ton of info. Having Dad print out them guides and he will drop them off tomorrow so I can study during work (if I'm slow). Ok, we definitely want handheld radios so we will be using the repeaters if possible. The good thing here is that every mountain is littered with radio towers so I'm sure somewhere someone set up one for people to use. I was reading the 101 thread and to be honest, I got a little lost but I have lots of reading material to work my way through. Also I checked on one site for classes or tests here in NV and couldn't find any listed in Reno. So, assuming I will pass (and I will pass General and Tech and actually considering memorizing Extra as well) what would be a reasonably priced hand held that is water proof, rugged and awesome for my Dad and I? Also, can you help link to an awesome cool looking "tactical" headset for us? Thank you so much. I went from trying to find one of those walkie talkies in Cabelas to working on my license in one post. Ok I forget originally why I was posting: So on this question the answer is (B) as noted right after the question number correct? Why are there more numbers with answers behind that? Are those old test answers that are there for records? And also, how do I control a space station? lol G1B06 (B) [97.113(a)(4) and 97.207(f)] |
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Ok I forget originally why I was posting: So on this question the answer is (B) as noted right after the question number correct? Why are there more numbers with answers behind that? Are those old test answers that are there for records? And also, how do I control a space station? lol G1B06 (B) [97.113(a)(4) and 97.207(f)] those numbers in blue above refer to the specific sections of FCC rules which govern this particular operating aspect. ar-jedi |
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I think you're on the right track. Remember that your dad will also need to get licensed, at least the entry-level Technician class, in order to use the common VHF/UHF bands ("2 meters" and "440" being the most popular), repeaters on those bands etc. Higher class licenses give you increasing privileges on the HF (shortwave) bands.
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And also, how do I control a space station? lol Get licensed. Become a huge uber geek. Join AMSAT, work like crazy. Tons of money probably wouldn't hurt. 
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Quoted:
I think you're on the right track. Remember that your dad will also need to get licensed, at least the entry-level Technician class, in order to use the common VHF/UHF bands ("2 meters" and "440" being the most popular), repeaters on those bands etc. Higher class licenses give you increasing privileges on the HF (shortwave) bands. Quoted:
And also, how do I control a space station? lol Get licensed. Become a huge uber geek. Join AMSAT, work like crazy. Tons of money probably wouldn't hurt. I was surprised to find out recently that the cost of a cubesat, launched, is about $100K. Actually getting into the realm of wealthy amateurs. |
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Quoted:
Wow you guys rock, someone filled my inbox with a shit ton of info. Having Dad print out them guides and he will drop them off tomorrow so I can study during work (if I'm slow). Ok, we definitely want handheld radios so we will be using the repeaters if possible. The good thing here is that every mountain is littered with radio towers so I'm sure somewhere someone set up one for people to use. I was reading the 101 thread and to be honest, I got a little lost but I have lots of reading material to work my way through. Also I checked on one site for classes or tests here in NV and couldn't find any listed in Reno. So, assuming I will pass (and I will pass General and Tech and actually considering memorizing Extra as well) what would be a reasonably priced hand held that is water proof, rugged and awesome for my Dad and I? Also, can you help link to an awesome cool looking "tactical" headset for us? Thank you so much. I went from trying to find one of those walkie talkies in Cabelas to working on my license in one post. Ok I forget originally why I was posting: So on this question the answer is (B) as noted right after the question number correct? Why are there more numbers with answers behind that? Are those old test answers that are there for records? And also, how do I control a space station? lol
G1B06 (B) [97.113(a)(4) and 97.207(f)]When is an amateur station permitted to transmit secret codes?A. During a declared communications emergencyB. To control a space stationC. Only when the information is of a routine, personal natureD. Only with Special Temporary Authorization from the FCC I have a Yaesu FT-270R (pretty rugged, it can get wet). I know Yaesu has some waterproof radios to choose from. Don't really know about some of the other options though. |