Best Ham Radio Review and Buying Guide

Introduction

While in a survival situation— and even in the worst-case scenario— worthy survival gear is what can significantly increase your survival chances. But without considerable survival skills, it is quite useless, though. All the weapons on Earth don’t work if you are a bad shooter. Besides, you cannot spend all the time inside your survival shelter: you have to climb out and find nutrition or defend yourself somehow. Some people are okay with only a few basic camping tricks. Others expand their knowledge and build up skills continuously. Who knows what a new day has in store, right? So if you haven’t packed up your survival backpack yet, it is high time you learned something about the items you should put into it. Read on!

TOP Best Civilian Radio and Band

1. Citizens Band (CB)

• 40 channels;
• 26 – 27 MHz (HF);
• 11-meter dual-band.

This radio channel of amateur radio is shared property. It is not recommended to use it for more than 5 minutes. You should also wait for a minute before a new conversation – this will help you avoid constant interference. It refers to the handheld radios type and Citizen band service.

2. Family Radio Service (FRS)

Usually, this amateur radio is used by families for quick communication. It has a small range of operation from half a mile to 2 miles with normal frequencies.

3. General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS)

Farmers usually use it for a quick connection. Unfortunately, you need a license to use this service, but its radio bands are larger.

4. Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS)

A very unstructured type of communication, two-way for giving short signals or call signs, is not suitable for becoming one of the amateur radio operators of this radio service.

5. Ham Radio

With this baby, you can use a huge frequency range with huge power. Hams provide long-distance transmissions and are used on a non-commercial basis.

Choosing a ham radio receiver is the main part of your ham hobby. Most of the budget and time depend on it. If you are not ready to buy it or want to get advice, we recommend you search qrz.com and eham.net. Or you can contact special radio clubs, such as:

To the point

What crazy and unusual hobbies of people do you know? It can be skydiving, extreme diving into the water to view the depths, or jumping from a huge height on a rope or in a special suit. But are they really useful in an emergency, hopeless situation? Today, we will tell you about a hobby that will occupy your free time and help in a difficult situation and simply increase your socialization.

Radio for amateurs, or as it is also called “Ham”, is a very unusual hobby about which you most likely have not heard. However, this unique activity will help you connect with a friend, even if you are separated by several thousand kilometers.

Why will people continue to use the radio if there are more advanced means of communication?

Everything is quite simple. There is a charm in talking about such ancient methods of communication. Radio amateurs enjoy playing as ham radio operators. Remember how we would make a phone out of rope and cups as children, getting a lot of wonderful emotions from this process. Perhaps this has remained with us since childhood.

Ham radio is an entertaining and educational process and a useful skill that will help in extreme cases.

Fortunately, you do not need much to enter the caste of ham radio addicts. It is enough to know radio engineering and electronics base and pass the FCC amateur radio license exam. It is necessary for work and basic equipment.

How Are Amateur Radio and Ham Related?

For the entire existence of ham radio, quite many stories have appeared about the origin of this term. Some of them are more truthful, but most of them are rather funny. For example, one version says that more professional radio users called ham radio operators had little experience handling equipment and sending Morse code. However, even now, no one knows the true origins of the word “ham radio”.

By our time, radio amateurs have learned to curb this term and now proudly call themselves ham! A huge group of radio operators in every corner of the ham radio world are proud of their nickname and respect their work. That’s what real ham radio fans mean.

A Wide Range of Ham Radio Users

You cannot even imagine what kind of people can use the radio for entertainment right now: cooks, welders, Hollywood stars, politicians, police on a construction site. So there is a huge number of areas of ham radio’s use!

Ham radio fans are of different nationalities, ages, professions, and views on life. They can send messages from their old typewriter, communicate over short distances using a portable device, or talk with any person all around the world on long distances using huge radio equipment with more power.

With this radio station, you can make radio broadcasts from the comfort of your car, sitting in your comfortable lair, or communicate while camping. With the help of convenient and small compact stations, you can put them in your backpack. But do not forget about emergencies!

Just imagine such a situation: there is no permanent power source near you, or there was a disaster, but as a ham radio lover, you took the best ham radio with you. It will be the only thread to solve the current difficult situation, especially if it has a backup power supply. You can describe what is around, tell about your location, or plan the following actions with it. Another power supply saves when it comes to a long-term trap.

People concerned about disasters will be ready with a built-up bunker with all the needed equipment inside. Their bunkers are full of technical equipment, food, and everything you need for a comfortable life. Of course, the last thing they should not forget about is getting a radio license just in case.

What also matters

Do not forget about a completely new area of use – esports. Gamers use radios to communicate during the game and discuss strategy at various events of a global or local scale. Gamers can make friends just by getting acquainted with each other during the game and recognizing the interlocutor’s voice. So they are also ham operators.

Even if you use the radio for fun, unconsciously, you will learn a lot of new information about the operation of radio devices and electronics, some radio frequencies, the design of a digital communication external antenna, basics of Morse code, and readiness for extreme accidents.

You will always be aware of the events of your close environment, receive some good news, know about upcoming meetings, and will simply be in touch with your friends using the radio. The basic license for using the handheld radio will help you with that.

To become a radio lover, you do not need to have any special skills. You just need to love it!

Ham Radio For Survivors and Travelers

You might be familiar with the topic of survival during a major global catastrophe such as a tsunami, a major earthquake, or a tornado. In such situations, you can be left all alone. The last option you have will be requesting information or sending signals of help.

Every survivalist is obliged to get a special ham radio license, so buy good equipment in the store and conduct the first training to be ready for an extreme case.

When we are talking about a major catastrophe that destroys the developed part of the world, it will mean that it is better to be well prepared. The consequences will be terrible for those guys who are not ready for this.

During a huge disaster, you will benefit from the presence of radio equipment. Moreover, it can save your life! It will be used to contact someone for help.

Any expert survivalist knows that communication is the key moment of the plan to survive and get out of the unpleasant events of fate. So the main thing is to choose equipment that will have long battery life and long-range signal reception.

Many people cannot imagine living without their favorite gadget, but what will they do if they lose it in a difficult situation? The professionals are always ready for this, and they want to apply their knowledge to save their lives.

The Basics of Ham Radio and Communication

You may be used to the fact that at the mention of the word “amateur radio”, you imagine a plastic box that allows you to listen to music from different base stations. But it’s a little more complicated. There is equipment that sends someone a radio wave. Therefore, it is a transmitter. And the receiver can easily receive this wave.

In addition, when using a handheld ham radio, it is possible to use two devices together. A transceiver will help both send and receive a signal or a Morse code.

1. More Information About the Radio Spectrum and Frequency Range

There is such a thing called the electromagnetic spectrum. It is a scale that shows different types of radio frequencies: light waves, infrared, radio waves, microwaves in your microwave, ultraviolet, gamma, and X-rays.

As you can see, radio waves are dual-band radios on a given spectrum. In general, a radio wave is special electromagnetic energy with a certain frequency and wavelength.

Frequency Modulation (or FM) is a case in which a message and its signal are attached so that the entire signal causes small fluctuations in the carrier frequency. While Amplitude Modulation (AM) has a fixed frequency but the signal changes the amplitude.

The carrier waves mixed with the signals are scattered from the antennas of the transmitter or the base stations. They can travel enormous distances until a receiver on the other side intercepts them.

The next step of the procedure

After that, a sent signal is again converted into a voice message using a special board in the radio receiver. This is called demodulation since this is completely the opposite effect of modulation.

All blocks are occupied in the radio frequency spectrum for servicing official organizations, military, emergency services, passenger planes, mobile phones, and radio stations.

It isn’t easy to distribute these frequencies, so a special organization, the Federal Communications Commission (or FCC), is engaged in this. This commission is the one who says on what frequency AM or FM CB radio stations will work.

2. A Bit About the Wavelength

The length that passes from one peak to another is called the wavelength. It, together with the frequency, is in a directly inversely proportional relationship. The lower the frequency, the longer the wavelength, and vice versa.

3. What Are Radio Frequencies and Frequency Ranges?

Some repetitive action happens, and the frequency shows how often this action occurs over a certain time. For example, in slower musical compositions, the frequency of beats is about 70 bpm. In faster ones, it equals about 130 bpm. In radios, the frequency is indicated in Hz, MHz, kHz. High frequency provides better communication.

4. What Are UHF, VHF, and HF?

Different sections of the radio spectrum are called differently. For example, High Frequency (HF) is 3-30 MHz, Very High Frequency (VHF) is 30-300 MHz, and Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) is 300 MHz-3GHz.

High Frequency (HF) is usually used when connecting many ham radios devices, but it all depends on the quality and price of the equipment.

There are also low-frequency radio waves, but it is unlikely that you will learn about them because they do not exist in our ordinary life and communication.

5. Amateur Bands

Different groups of radio frequencies from the spectrum are grouped into special HF bands and blocks. They are distributed along the wavelength or frequency. There are a total of 27 types of ham radio frequencies.

6. Familiar Digital Radios

This type of radio transmits information, voice, or music in space using numbers or digital data. In poor availability, this signal provides maximum transmission quality of amateur radio.

7. Price of a Base Station

A base station can be purchased at different prices. Some are more powerful. Some are less. But we advise you to buy not very fancy equipment first, get used to a new hobby, and improve both skills and equipment according to the measure of interest growth. Do not forget that you need to spend some amount on the general license. If you like to operate with a handheld ham radio, you will not need fancy devices!

8. Mobile Devices

Such types of equipment are very useful for the police and other emergency services around the world because they can be used in a moving car, say call sign, send a quick message and continue chasing the criminal at the same time. Since mobile radios do not need less power, they can easily work from a car battery or be powered from a weak battery in an extreme situation when there are no other ways to get electricity or get by without it..

9. Portable Devices and Radios

In the age of convenience development, portable equipment prevails in all our lives. It does not differ in high power or performance. Still, its main secret is the ability to carry it wherever you want. Such stations operate in many frequencies of dual-band radio, but most often at High Frequencies (HF). More improved models have their batteries. But mostly, this ham radio is used to communicate on the same frequencies.

Three Principles of the Radio Operation

1. The first principle 0f ham radios in which communication is carried out only by one party, respectively, one sends, the other only accepts, calls the simplex;
2. The second principle of ham radios is that communication works in two directions. However, while one side sends information, the other cannot do this. This is called half-duplex;
3. The third option is to send a message simultaneously with your interlocutor. This is a full-duplex.

The Use of Repeaters

Ham radio has a fairly decent range of work. For a technician license, only direct visibility is available, which means a distance of about two miles, which is not enough. What should you do?

Usually, repeaters are used for this, which provides ordinary amateur radio lovers with their nerves, money, and strength. With this, the amateur radio service is growing became like cellular networks.

These repeaters are located on high buildings and can provide 50 miles of signal propagation. With a chain of such structures from antennas, you can cover the entire country or talk with amateur radio operators worldwide, as with cell phones.

Unfortunately, when the power is turned off, the repeaters stop working. Therefore, the work of the amateur radio service is stopped, so we do not recommend thinking that they will help in an emergency. Therefore, we recommend that you get a ham radio license for long-distance communication in case of a disaster.

Rom for Ham Radio

Depending on your experience in ham radio, you can buy yourself more sophisticated equipment. But if you are a beginner, we will recommend starting with simpler and more necessary ham radio equipment so that you can place it in the corner of the table and enjoy it. And then allocate a whole room for your ham radio. To get started, purchase a ham radio license.

To become one of the amateur radio operators, you need to know these things:

• Safety. Make sure that the fire system in your house is properly connected to use amateur radio;
• Fixed antenna. They must be properly positioned and securely fastened;
• Radios equipment. It must work stably and connect correctly.

Carefully consider the layout and installation of your radios. Your enjoyment of your hobby depends on it.

Join the community

1. American Radio Relay League (ARRL)

American Radio Relay League has existed since the First World War and helps people pass license exams.

2. Club AMSAT

These guys are based on building their satellites and helping to launch them into orbit.

3. Young Ladies ‘ Radio League (YLRL)

For women, there is a special club.

4. Handi-Hams

They pay special attention to people with disabilities.

We recommend paying attention to RF ham radios because of their small size and portability but pay attention to their low powerband.

1. UHF ham radios are not so convenient and popular, but they can use satellites for transmission and GPS.

2. Microphones are also important for improving the quality of communication, but basically, the microphones that come with the kit are enough, but it is needed for better voice transmission.

3. The device for transmitting Morse code will help you when it is not possible to transmit a voice signal.

4. Choosing an antenna is also important. You can make the antenna at home, but no one guarantees you the quality of transmission.

• Vertical antenna. It is more portable and does not require complex installation.

• The beam antenna. It directs the signal in certain directions, is suitable for sending and receiving a variety of signals.

More about the community

The Ham community is very wide. You may not even know that a person is in it. It embraces a huge number of nice and wonderful people. Even astronauts sometimes communicate with the help of Ham.

There are many activities in the community, such as field days or fox hunting. You can become a part of this wonderful community of enthusiasts and get all amateur privileges.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQ

Is it hard to learn ham radio?

No, it’s not difficult at all. You just need to get a license to use some hams radio, get into the topic and enjoy your new hobby. Besides, there is a wide community of ham radio users. So you can join them and learn all the peculiarities of the subject.

How do I get started in ham radio?

You need to do a couple of things. Find out what kind of hams radio you want to use, understand whether you need to take practice tests and get a license, buy the first inexpensive equipment, and continue to improve your skills in your new hobby.

How much does it cost to get started in hams radio?

You need to do a couple of things. Find out what kind of hams radio you want to use, understand whether you need to take tests and get a license, buy the first inexpensive equipment and continue to improve your skills in this.