Years ago I was thinking of getting a "no code" ham license, but never did. Is such a thing still available? Is it worth the trouble?

Now for the important part of this question...what would be a good, small, ham radio to have, never mind any licensing???

No-code licenses are still available and permit you to operate on all amateur frequencies above 30Mhz. The test is very easy since the questions and answers are published by the FCC. If you want to operate below 30Mhz you need to pass a 5 word per minute morse code test which really easy (most people can copy up to 10 wpm with moderate practice) and other written exams. For the best info visit the ARRL web page herre: http://www.arrl.org/hamradio.html. If you wish, they can direct you to a club near you for assistance.

Is it worth it? I met my wife via amateur radio so it is to me. If you are looking for the opportunity to have intelligent conversations with people it is also worthwhile. If you are looking for a radio system to summon help with you may or may not be in luck. I say this because frequencies are not always monitored. If you run into trouble during rush hour or on a weekend chances are you'll be saved before you know it. On the other hand, if you call for help at 2am you will probably be out of luck.

As for what radio to buy I assume you want a handheld unit. Icom, Yaesu, and Kenwood all make good radios. Just stay away from the tiny, shirt pocket size ones which run minimal power. Also, be sure to get a spare battery adapter that utilizes AA alkalines or NiCads because you ain't going to find a replacement rechargeable pack at Radio Shack.

I hope this gets you an idea of whether or not you want to pursue this. Let me know if you have any nore questions.


Chris

I think the US test is something like 35 multiple choice questions - shouldn't be a problem to get lic. I agree that a small 2M hand held is the way to go.

I have a small Kenwood that I quite like. I can transmitt on multiple freq and, importantly, it's not a bad scanner (all amateur bands, AM./FM/TV receive, EMS freq, etc) and the ability to 'patch' into the phone system (not using cellular).

With some of the new technology, you can use the radio to access a local repeater, dial a code and call up a repeater in many part of the world.

If you were just in a blackout (like me), you'll find cellular doesn't work. So, use a pay phone or get the amateur radio lic. It depends where you're located, but I would say that I can contact someone 24/7 based on the places I go (from downtown to country)

No-code test is simple. http://www.hamtestonline.com/ has a version you can try.

I'd suggest any Kenwood radio (except the really small ones that have low power output). If you plan to communicate with non-hams, by all means, skip the ham radio and get a pair of GMRS radios, they are cheaper and fine for local communications. Get a good 5-7 watt model.

In the recent blackout, some Hams used their portables to call home for an "I'm OK" check in, but there was little or no actual emergency communications via ham radio except for a few minor incidents.

Here's a report from the ARRL on the recent blackout:

From: www.arrl.org

Hams a Bright Spot During Power Blackout

NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 15, 2003--

When a blip on the electricity distribution grid August 14 took out
power to at least a half dozen states in the eastern US, many Amateur Radio
operators were ready and able to provide whatever assistance they could. Hardest
hit were metropolitan areas like New York City, Detroit and Cleveland. In New
York, residents and commuters found themselves stranded in
electricity-dependent elevators and subway or rail cars while visitors ended up stuck at airports,
which were forced to shut down. With the cellular telephone system overloaded
or out altogether, the incident turned into a test of Amateur Radio's
capabilities to operate without commercial power.

"It was a good drill," said New York City-Long Island Section
Emergency Coordinator Tom Carrubba, KA2D. But, he adds, it was a cautionary tale too.
"The lesson is that everybody gets a little complacent," he said. "Have
emergency power backup and make sure it's working!" Some repeaters in the
blacked-out Greater New York City area--including the primary 147.000 "TAC 2"
machine--were down, but several others remained on the air with emergency power.

By and large, Carrubba said, the system worked according to plan, and
ARES members did what they were trained to do. "It's going to show the worth
of Amateur Radio," he said of the blackout response. "There were people on the
air immediately."

Diane Ortiz, K2DO, the Public Information Coordinator for NYC-Long
Island was one of them. When power went down in her Suffolk County community, she
started up an informal net on the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club's
146.85 repeater. Over the next 20 hours or so, the net passed approximately 500
pieces of what Ortiz described as largely "health-and-welfare traffic." A lot
of it was on behalf of individuals stuck in the city and needing to contact
family members.

"People are getting on and helping," she said. In addition to handling
messages, amateurs also relayed useful information, such as which stores or
filling stations were open and operating. Many radio and TV stations went dark
as a result of the power failure, and hams were able to help fill the
information void, Ortiz said.

In the Big Apple itself, ARES New York City-Long Island District
Emergency Coordinator Charles Hargrove, N2NOV, remained at the city's Red Cross
Headquarters in Manhattan, where power was restored around 5 AM. "There are some
power fluctuations going on, and that is the main concern right now--that
power may go off again," Hargrove told ARRL.

ARES support of Red Cross operations, which began yesterday (Thursday,
14 August), continues. ARES teams are providing communication for the Red
Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) set up at main transportation centers in
Manhattan--Grand Central Station, Penn Station and at the Port Authority
Terminal. ARES members also accompanied ERVs called into action to follow New York
Fire Department personnel on more than two dozen fire calls. "After a long
night of operations, some ARES members went home to get some rest around 6 AM,"
Hargrove said.

RACES organizations activated in most Greater New York City area
counties after a state of emergency was declared. Some ARES teams--including a few
across the Hudson River in New Jersey--activated or remained on standby to
help if called upon. In New Jersey, a net set up on a back-up repeater
established communication with the Red Cross lead chapter's N2ARC in Princeton--staffed
by members of Mercer County ARES/RACES--and other New Jersey ARC chapters.

The state of emergency included five counties in northern New Jersey,
said SEC Steve Ostrove, K2SO. He spent about four hours at the EOC in
Elizabeth after the blackout began. "The Elizabeth Police were impressed with the
information I was able to provide," he said. The net stood down at about 10 PM
after telephone communication among the Red Cross chapters had been reestablished
and power began to be restored.

In upstate New York, Fred Stevens, K2FRD, says the situation reminded
him of the 1964 power blackout in the eastern US. "This is an emergency
communicator's wildest fantasy: a major power outage in which we can demonstrate our
preparedness," he said. In his county, Chenango, ARES has been activated and
the local EOC is staffed by Amateur Radio operators and the Chenango Amateur
Radio Emergency Service net is up and running with stations on battery power
and standing by. "We are ready for whatever might happen," Stevens said.

Comments posted on the HamsEF reflector by Ken Davis, KB2KFV, who's
president of the Rensselaer, New York, County ARES/RACES Club reflected that
attitude. "It seems that the amateurs were better prepared than the government
sector," he said. "Amateurs in this area were up and on the air before there
was any response from local government." Davis said Rensselaer County EC and
Chief RACES Officer Jim Noble, K2ZP, activated ARES and mustered a net on the
Troy Radio Club RACES repeater, requesting stations to standby and monitor the
frequency for updates.

Michigan and Ohio

Michigan Section Manager Dale Williams, WA8EFK, reports scattered ARES
activations in his state. Williams, who lives in Dundee south of Detroit, was
without power this morning and relying on his emergency generator. "It could
be another 48 hours before power is restored," he said. Some ARES teams in
Michigan were providing assistance to emergency operations centers and to the Red
Cross, because the relief agency's telephone system relies on commercial
power. Nets have been brought up on both HF and VHF frequencies.

In Ohio, Section Emergency Coordinator Larry Rain, WD8IHP, reports
that all ARES organizations in northern Ohio were activated after the power grid
went down. Still going strong are ARES teams in Cleveland and Akron--both
still without power. "ARES is handling communication support for Ohio Emergency
Management in the affected cities and communities," Rain said. Power has been
restored in Toledo, however.

Rain reports a power surge that occurred when the electricity came
back on disrupted the Richland County Hospital's telephone system. "Amateur Radio
was there to provide back-up communication until 4:30 this morning," he said.
Ohio VHF and UHF nets and the Ohio SSB net on HF have been handling
blackout-related traffic.

Nancy Hall, KC4IYD--who lives 20 miles west of Cleveland--said she's
glad of two things: That she had taken the ARRL Emergency Communications Level
I class, and that she and her husband have an emergency generator. "We used it
to run the fridge for about two hours and then used it to run the 2-meter rig
and HF rig to listen to the ARES nets," she said. Hall said she just
received a follow-up survey on the emergency communications class that asked if she
had used any of the information she learned. "I can now say, 'yes,'" said
Hall, who noted that she's now signed up for the Level II class." I will again
highly recommend them to anyone who wants to learn more about emergency
communication. "She and her husband also made use of their BayGen windup radio to
listen to local broadcasts. "We also own a hand-crank flashlight," Hall added.
She said the family put aside drinking water early in the blackout--which
turned out to be a good thing, because their community's emergency generator was
only good for about two hours to run the water supply's pumps. "I have to say
that being a ham and knowing about emergency preparedness did make life easier
for me and my family," Hall said.

New England

New England states were far less affected by the blackout since most
operate on an altogether different power grid than the one that failed. New
England area ARES/RACES operators were in standby mode after the blackout rippled
through the system to the South and West. Only Connecticut and sections of
Western Massachusetts reported significant outages, and ARES nets activated in
both states.

ARRL Eastern Massachusetts PIC Jim Duarte, N1IV, reports the
ARES/RACES response in the Bay State was "quick and organized, showing that our recent
drills and training sessions have proved beneficial. "Western Massachusetts
SM Bill Voedisch, W1UD, reports the Leominster EOC was activated on a standby
basis. Although he is equipped with a diesel-powered generator to supply his
house and ham shack, his part of Massachusetts suffered no power losses.

Parts of Berkshire County in extreme western Massachusetts suffered
from the blackout, although power was restored fairly promptly there. Bill
Sexton, N1IN/AAR1FP, an Army MARS member, said his emergency power capability
permitted him to run his station and maintain e-mail contact.

"We had the Northeast SHARES (National Communications System HF Shared
Resources Program) up and running cross-country on a Condition Two readiness
alert." Sexton said. He reports that when he called in on the SHARES channel,
a MARS station in Nebraska responded to say he was ready to handle any relays.

"The experience proved once gain the great strength of ham radio in an
emergency," Sexton said. "It is self-starting, and it is everywhere."

Cost for the Licensing exam is $12.00. The Technician exam consists of 35 multiple choice questions from a pool of 511 questions. To pass you must answer 26 correctly. The following website www.w8mhb.com has all the questions to study. If you purchase a study guide book make sure it contains the revised questions after 1 July 2003. No morse code is required for the Technician License.

The GMRS radios require a license ($75.00 for a 5 year license). You can apply at the FCC website. No exam is required, just the $75.00 fee.

As an aside there is somewhat of an unofficial effort to monitor Channel 1 on the GMRS and FRS bands as an emergency Channel like Channel 9 of the CB bands. Range on the GMRS is "advertised" "5 miles under ideal conditions". Ideal conditions as best as I can determine is in the middle of a large calm lake. Probably less on land and even less inside of a building. But you can get external antennas for the GMRS radios and that should boost their range even with their limited power output.

Thanks for all the info. We live in the Sierra foothills, and my wife and I like to do some 4-wheeling from time to time. We carry a cell and have a CB installed, but most of the time we are out of range of both. We were thinking of something that would let us contact a "base station" or hit a phone patch somehow in an emergency. I'll do some reasearch on the sites provided.

thanks again, OBG