Well, darn, luck ran out.

The AnyTone AT-D878UV is OOS for at least a week at Bridgecom. :(

Generally speaking, yes!

Nice, mine should be here in a couple days.

I got asked what I ended up getting from DX Engineering, so here is a short write up. I got the antenna up after about a million trips into the attic and the tree I am putting it in, with some small changes to how I originally wanted to run things, but it shouldn't be too big of a problem.

What I did was not necessarily the cheapest option, however I know a lot of people I have seen online and spoken with said the radio was one they have been happy with. All of this was purchased at DX Engineering, only due to them having the antenna I decided on in stock. Other retailers like Ham Radio Outlet and Gigaparts are also a good source and have the radio with instant rebate and Mail In Rebate as well.
Radio: Icom 7300 Will do all HF bands, along with 6M (50MHz) I paid $1099 and it also includes a $100 Mail in Rebate, which can be completed online with photos of the Invoice and UPC on box.
Power Supply: Kenwood KPS-15. Rated for 25A peak, 23A continuous. Radio said it needed 21A max, so I felt comfortable with the small amount of wiggle room. $146.99
Antenna: MFJ 1778 G5RV 180-10M wire antenna. This is 102' long so it does require some space to hang. My measurements were not exact so the majority of the antenna is straight, with a bend in the middle to make it fit in my backyard, along with the ends pulled down vertical. The ladderline is hanging down and then curves where it enters my house since I only have a single story and the antenna is only about 15-20' in the air. This will likely be an issue on the higher bands to get out, but should work very well as an NVIS antenna, or that is my hope. $69.95
Coax: DX Engineering house brand LMR400 Coax in 25' length with preinstalled PL-259 connectors. $47.99
Accessories:
Mastrant 3mmx100ft of cordage to tie off into my tree and on the ends. $9.99
4 pack of 2-4MM pulleys to run the cordage through to pull the antenna tight where I wanted it. $13.99

Like I mentioned before, this may not be ideal based on the amount of space you have, but for me, it should get me going on HF. I can upgrade and adjust as necessary. Wire antennas tend to take more space horizontally so if you are space constrained, its possible you might want to look into verticals. They can run into their own set of issues with needing a good ground plane made of radials, but some say they aren't required (Cushcraft R-9), but verticals can be tall (think 30-45'). I am not the most well versed on HF but from the time I have spent looking at things these seemed like the best workaround for me currently.

"Shortwave" is a slang or alternative term for HF, yes. see: https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/HAM-BaoFeng-radios-for-dummies/5-2409555/?page=6#i90442080

Although semantically, it's usually used to refer to broadcasting on the HF bands, while two-way communications are generally just called HF.

Some "shortwave radios" are designed to receive broadcast stations and may not have coverage over the entire HF spectrum. Also, lower cost shortwave radios generally don't have the SSB mode which is needed to listen to most non-broadcast users of the HF spectrum.

Sweet! I’m about to order mine. Which site did you order from?

Yeahhh buddy!

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I used DX Engineering due to them also having the MFJ antenna in stock. The other big names like HRO and Gigaparts also had it in stock with the same instant and mail in rebates, however I wanted to do a one stop shop. Ideally I wanted to do it off amazon smile and that way APC would get a small donation, however they don't allow the instant rebate to be applied, so that is an extra $200.

My coax measurement may be off, even though I included the Air Wound Balun required by the antenna, but it was a total WAG so we will see. If it is, it will make decent coax for a dual band antenna due to being low loss on the higher freq's just the same.

I’m thinking about trying to put an antenna in my attic. Any recommendations?

Honestly, I'm still learning with HF as well. Most of my time has been spent on HTs and making different antennas for them. It may not work as efficiently as something in open air between a pair of trees but it should be fine, as long as you don't have a metal roof. I have mine half outside, half inside running the length of my house so far. I just need to get back under the house to route some coax so I haven't had a chance to listen to mine yet.

I would refer you to our ham forum here, or see if @elcope @tnc can give you more direction.

I picked up the IC-7300 too.  Mine just arrived today.  It's the only component I have picked up so far, so it is still in the box.  I still need a power source, an antenna and various cables/connections, as well as a mic.

central ks monitoring 7.213 alternating to 3.861

I cant wait for you to multi hop the ionosphere and contact some czechoslovakian arfcommer!

Exciting times.

Am I using the right lingo. Currently watt ching general vids.

I'll add a little side note because I've not seen it posted elsewhere.

Those buying switching power supplies, they can create noise on the bands.  It's what I run and never really caused me any issue. Linear power supplies are more ideal and do not cause this. But guess what? They are more expensive. Shocking, right? And you want a power supply that will do 25-30 amps.

I agree! OP's alert raised the ol' pucker factor

I picked up a PL660 from Ebay for just over $100. Hopefully that will work.

@JPL they are perfect for your MAG for patrolling and neighborhood watch. Get some kick ass coms training at Brushbeater Training
totally worth every penny!

I may have mispoke, but cant find the original post the 660 does sideband as well.  @JoeJeeps

Anyone wanting to tinker and listen to an SDR water fall for free can go to this website and listen to a remote SDR.

http://www.websdr.org/

Really fun to play with.
Still trying to hear a SKYKING :p

Fuck, I just got done helping my kiddos with their math (which I am horrible at anyway so it's extra time consuming for me)...I can go through these 15 pages but I'm too damn lazy and tired to do that now.  Would one of you dudes who knows about the ham stuff PM me what a decent unit to buy is?  I don't have big bucks, something reasonable, if that's possible.  You don't need to get into any technical stuff if you don't want, just a model number would be great.

If not, fuck it, I'll send smoke signals and carrier pigeons.

That looks fun!

www.preparedham.com is a great website for ham radio that is specifically preparedness minded. They have a forum there as well.

Woohoo!  Here's where I bought it for anyone else interested.

Tecsun PL-660

I don't have one but those seem like a decent radio. Synchronous AM should help with AM (by that I mean normal medium wave) and shortwave broadcast listening.

For a little techie tidbit, I'll explain Synchronous AM and why it's a good thing.

AM is a type of signal modulation ("mode") that is very simple to produce and decode, one of the earliest modes used in radio communications. The resulting signal consists of a carrier signal, along with two positive and negative mirror images of the audio mixed with the carrier. The two mirror images are the upper and lower side bands. Single Sideband (SSB) as is used in communications is a "dissected" AM signal, in that the carrier and other sideband are removed, leaving just one of the two mirror image sidebands. The receiver can reconstruct the signal by mirroring the signal to produce the other sideband, and injecting its own carrier.

Synchronous AM uses similar processing on an AM signal to produce better quality reception. It removes the original carrier from the received one and substitutes it's own. More advanced implementations also receive both of the sidebands independently and sometimes use some logic to use whichever one is better.  The end result of this electronic trickery can be a substantial improvement in sound quality and reduction in fading, at the downside of having to tune the signal very precisely just as one has to do with SSB.  You can sometimes improve reception of an AM station manually by trying LSB and USB separately and seeing if one or the other sounds better. Sometimes you might have some noise on one that isn't present on the other.

I don't know what this is, but will I be able to listen in with my Tecsun PL-660?

Well you almost had your chance. First leap to grab a branch my hands slipped, and when I looked up I realized I was inches away from a little stub that would have likely ripped my palm open had I grabbed there. Then while working my way up, the wet/icy branch I was standing on decided it no longer wanted to give traction to my shoe and I almost lost my footing. However the antenna is in the tree and the house and wired up. I am working on some final steps, however it is mostly ready to go. 9/10 would recommend

It’s fie ow you can just say you identify as someone licensed at the next tier.

Antenna question:  What about lightning?

greatquestion.jpg

There are such  things as a lightning arrestor. (Polyphaser being the one I have the most experience with.) They go between the antenna and radio. (Please note they are band specific. Also can be multi band. They also come in a host of different connectors.) But you'll need a grounding rod to hook them to.

They help. They aren't going to stop everything. But it's cheap insurance to at least try to keep your equipment and everything else safe.

Grounding can be a whole nother crazy subject. Bonding wires with grounding rods can be simple and hard depending on what you're doing. Big thing is to make sure there is a good corrosion free contact.

Also if you live someplace dry, don't forget to water your grounding rod. It needs a good electrical connection.

Long time ham radio operator, and been to many remote places in the world to operate, and willing to help others out.

Unfortunately I only managed to quickly scan about the first 7 pages and then jumped to the end due to time constraints this morning.


One thing I didn't see readily covered, is that in selecting an HF radio it is super helpful to have a general coverage receiver as one of the selection criteria.
An older Icom 735 would be a good example of such a radio and could be purchased used.  General coverage will allow you to scan the bands outside of the normal amateur radio bands, and as such you can listen to some of the AM radio stations as well as other shortwave frequencies.  This is where you may end up getting the bulk of your news in a SHTF scenario.

Much like other aspects of preparing radio can be a bit complicated for those not familiar and therefore takes a bit of learning, but it is a good skill to have.

If you don't have your license, most folks can study for a few days and pass the technician exam.

Are these "shortwave" receivers people are talking about able to run on an external antenna? I've had a cheaper one and it just had a built in telescoping antenna. Is that enough to pick up lower powered amateur transmissions?

This may be more of a cultural question, but when I was a kid, lots of people had high-powered radios - I always assumed they were CBs but wouldn't have known the difference - and I can remember when people would use their radios the way we use text/cell now. I can remember hearing my uncle get on his home CB (complete with 50' tall antenna) and contact his buddies to plan a fishing trip.

Was this just a leftover artifact of a time before landline phones? Is that culture, with its expensive CB radios and antennas and amplifiers that all sat at its own table in the living room, gone now? Or is that basically what you ham guys do?


Second question: I live in a house with a metal roof. Is there a way to manipulate it into working as an antenna without actually attaching a radio to it?

 @PatrickHangry, I can see what you mean here.  

   But try to look at it this way: the minimal knowledge you are going to need to be able to practically use the equipment is roughly the same knowledge that is required for licensing.   So, the advice to study and get your license is really just what is needed to enable you to use the equipment in an effective way without giving yourself or others RF burns, causing so much interference to other systems that you draw unwanted attention to yourself, or being unable to get the system into a functional condition to provide good communications.   Once you have learned all the relevant information, you might as well get licensed, because it will enable you to practice using your equipment legally with no worry of enforcement action.
   Everyone doesn't necessarily need a tall tower, however, an awful lot can be accomplished by hanging wires from existing trees.   How long does your wire have to be, what configuration and what kind of wire?   There is no simple answer, but that is not the fault of the people that were giving you good advice.   It is due to the fact that radio transmissions are governed by the laws of electromagnetism and physics, and they are somewhat complex.    

    Luckily, the knowledge to deploy functional antennas has been accumulated and distilled into practical guidance over time, and it is available in various references.      In general, I would recommend the many books by the ARRL on antenna design.   A couple of these that may be most relevant for you:

ARRL HF Antennas Book

ARRL Basic Antennas

  For your purposes, I would definitely buy one or both of these books, as well as the ARRL Operating Manual and preserve them for future reference, if you really don't have the time to study them now.   There are other books on the subject, which you may want to investigate to determine which would be best for your specific circumstances.  

  However, if some catastrophic event happens suddenly, and you have an immediate urgent need for communication, having a big roll of wire stocked, but an unread book is still going to result quite a delay before you even figure out exactly what kind of antenna you should be building.   You might also discover you need a certain type of connector or coax that might be unavailable to order or procure in those conditions.   The best time to start learning, preparing, and gathering supplies is now.
 I would highly recommend the Yaesu FT-891 HF Transceiver for long range HF communications.  

The more expensive models are going to have increased capabilities, whether it is range, or signal discrimination, which means getting a clearer signal than cheaper  models which might not even be able to detect a signal or communicate in the same circumstances.    

  Yes, scanners are different than transceivers.  Scanners are receivers that are dedicated to scanning through many frequencies to detect other people's transmissions.  (scanners don't transmit at all)  They can contribute a lot to situational awareness, and can be kept operating while doing other activities.   Transceivers can have some simple scanning functions, but aren't as capable for this task as a dedicated scanner.

A dedicated receiver like the Eton Elite is usually simpler to operate than a transceiver and works well if all you want to do is listen / receive.  
The expensive versions will have more sensitive reception circuitry (which means they can receive weaker, distant signals better), bigger speakers for louder, clearer sound, bigger readouts and controls, and more features, which can make them more flexible or capable in some cases.  

Personally, I think for someone like you, who isn't in it for a hobby, but wants practical capability, the best bang for the buck for an HF receiver would be something like a Tecsun PL-380 (~$50). (or a Tecsun PL-310ET if you want to connect an external antenna)

Edited to add:  Please note it has been pointed out that these two basic Tecsun models do NOT do Single Sideband (SSB), however the Tecsun PL-990, Tecsun PL-880, and Tecsun PL-660 DO have SSB capability, as well as having more features and performance than those basic models (PL-380 and PL-310ET).

   Also, note that for things like HF radios, you will need a good quality power supply to power it (or a large capacity 13.8 volt battery, if you want to be operational in grid-down situations).    This means you will need to pay some attention to battery chargers too.

   To summarize a bit:  The Baofengs are good for short range, tactical communications, and are easy to use.   HF is capable of longer range communications, but is not as simple to set-up and operate.   Receivers and especially scanners are good for gaining situational awareness.

    Don't forget you will also need: RF connectors, wire, coax, power supply, power wire and connectors.  Read the ARRL Operating Manual and the owners manual of your radio hardware to figure out exactly what these will be.

    Don't be too wary of the requirements to learn how things work; it really isn't that bad.   During the early days of radio, in the midst of the Great Depression, interested individuals were able to gain impressive skills just from scarce magazine articles and library books.   These days, invaluable information is available by the gigabyte, only a few keystrokes away, to read online, or have it delivered to your doorstep in the form of books and reference materials.    Take advantage of this now, unless you think this availability will continue forever.

@VectorX

Thanks for the info! Is there one between $75-$150 that are a little better than the Tecsun or are they pretty much the same at those  lower price points?

@huntsman2448

Glad it was helpful.   Sure, Tecsun has a some other HF receivers, you can search Amazon for "Tecsun PL" and that should bring up most of them.  
The flagship model is the Tecsun PL-990 ~$270 and there is also the PL-880 ~$190 which has improved features and performance over the PL-380 and PL-310ET.  

    I had highlighted the PL-380 and PL-310ET for those people who weren't really that interested in radios, but wanted to get some emergency capability at a minimal cost.   Their reviews indicate a very good bang-for-the-buck for a basic small HF receiver that apparently still has some excellent circuitry.

    At the price level of the PL-990 I think you can also consider the Eton Elite and probably some similar higher end models from Sony and Grundig.

The fudds and leftists are already crying on Reddit, https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/kw9g1b/learning_antenna_theory_could_quash_5g_conspiracy/

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Some fun comments:  

Let them cry.

Some of us are preparing to live in a world where the reality is that the chance of us being censured is greater than -0-. No more.

They're always going to find fault with everything we do. For the last months many of us have tried to build local communities, focus on being more self-reliant......you know, the things that you do when you're building a nation.....and they hate that. Because their vision is ultimately a bunch of cogs in one grand government wheel.

But none of this is news to anyone here, so let's ignore what 'they' are saying.

And lest anyone think they can just buy a magic "lightning arrestor" and it protect them, all a surge suppressor can do is divert energy to ground. It's entirely dependent on the quality of the ground connection as well as the attention to detail of the entire installation, to provide protection.

You can have the best antenna installation, surge suppression and grounding system in place, but if your radio is plugged into the wall on the other side of the building it's all for nothing.

As far as surge suppressors I recommend the ICE ones for HF antennas due to the DC drain. Big HF antennas pick up corona/static.

What's this 'log' you guys speak of?

Apparently I haven't got that far in my ham study questions.

Most people keep a record of their contacts, at least HF ones, if it's not some net or daily roundtable or something like that.

Traditionally people would sometimes exchange postcards to confirm contacts, or the modern way is electronic confirmation, because people try to get awards for different places they contact etc. As an example a common award is the DX Century Club (DXCC), which is confirmed contacts with 100 different countries. Worked All Zones (WAZ) is confirmed contacts with all the ITU Zones, sometimes on a single band. Technical challenges.

People exchange cards for sentimental reasons also. I have a card from my first amateur radio contact with a neighbor and friend who is now deceased. I have a few cards from arfcommers, one who gave me a state I needed for Worked All States.

@ThereBeDragoons

That is an awesome setup.  

Did you have an earlier post about how that was assembled?  
If you can point me toward more information about the components needed, I would appreciate it, as I would be interested in replicating it.

What is the little box connecting the two radios?  

Good points as well, Gamma.

I've had one of my raspberry Pi's that was working as an ADSB receiver go all wonky due to a near by lightning strike.

It's crazy what they can do.

For those learning:
https://www.arrl.org/shop/Grounding-and-Bonding-for-the-Radio-Amateur

First I confess I haven't read all 15 pages.

I have worked to cover most of the bases... armor, ammo etc. I  don't have the money for an expensive receive/transmit rig. I think if things go sideways, I would like to have a decent receiver in an effort to know what's happening (the movie Red Dawn keeps going thru my head).

I just ordered the GP-5 SSB radio off of County Comm. Seems to have good battery life (AA's) and small enough to grab and go. Would be interested if any one has opinion/experience with this radio?

I've purchased from County Comm before and was happy with their products. It's been 10 years since I ordered anything from them.

Anyway, thought it might be an option for some. I got spare telescoping antenna and a "ultimate" coil up shortwave antenna for $100. Used coupon GOV10 for 10% discount.

Lighting produces EMP... essentially they are an EMP.

If you're close enough you get induced energy from the magnetic field around the strike also, unless you have magnetic shielding (this is why communications structures are often steel buildings, shipping containers are common).

Lots of electrical weirdness as the strike energy dissipates away from the point of impact also. If a tree in your yard takes a strike, the voltage differential inside the house wiring can be enough to cause damage.

You don't have to take a direct strike to have damage.


The GP-5 is a neat little radio, and if you're on foot hiding out in the middle of the woods, it would let you find something to listen to.

I think most will probably be better off with a computer-based SDR receiver that allows for a graphical interface and all the features of big dollar radios at an under $200 price.

FIFY

@Harv24
In your case, perhaps consider a HF receiver like the Tecsun PL-380 to gather news from other locations.  
There are also more expensive options, such as the Eton Elite or a Tecsun PL-990.

No need to talk, if you have no one to talk to, but information is critical.

  Go solar.  Once you have the basic setup, it can give you power for years.   (Usually limited by the useful life of the batteries)  

   Get some large panels, a charge controller, battery array, and don't forget an inverter, so you can power all the different chargers for different devices.   Solar panels have gotten quite affordable these days - get them while you can.