Josh, let me know when you’d like to have a QSO. It’ll be great to reconnect. And this just in from the shameless plug division: The General Class Ham Cram is in post-production and is due for release in early June. The price point hasn’t been decided, yet, but whatever it is I’ll offer 20% off for theprepared.com readers.

Great post, Jonnie. You’ve written well about getting into the hobby. And thanks for the shoutout. It’s been fun getting to know you. Keep in touch, you know how to find me. Joe – W1WCN

Jonnie, Sorry for the delay in responding. The email address is returning “invalid.” Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] and I’ll forward the sheet. Joe

Jonnie, welcome to the thread. You’re right, ham radio isn’t the only option for communication in a disaster scenario, but it is the best option because it can cover all of the other options, ie NOAA, broadcast, two-way, etc. I’m not sure where the impression of NOAA being “…unreliable, bulky…” came from, but I disagree with it. NOAA radio is excellent for what it purports to be: broadcasts of weather and other emergency information. The issue is that the information it broadcasts is of limited value for preppers. There are many excellent NOAA radios on the market that are robust, but portable. In short, NOAA radio and ham radio can’t be compared, they’re completely different forms of communication, each having it’s own intrinsic value for preppers. Adequate preparedness requires two-way communication. There are some options to ham radio that are less expensive and don’t require a license. The most accessible is FRS (Family Radio Service). These are the walkie-talkies that can be found in Walmart and other big box stores and CBs are also an option, (along with GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) keeping in mind that all of these options are extremely limited in both distance and frequency accessibility. In the end, ham radio is the best option for communication in a worst case scenario. It’s provides much longer and more reliable two-way communication than any of the others listed. It also provides access to broadcast information such as NOAA and commercial radio. Also, with modification it can monitor first-responder communication and aeronautical/marine traffic. Finally, I’m not sure what you mean by a “rabbit hole,” but earning a ham radio license is not difficult (I’ve developed a tip sheet for passing the exam that I’m happy to share via email) and the expense for actionable ham gear is less than $150 (some would argue less, but I encourage staying above bargain basement). Again, welcome to the thread.

The broadcast stations we’re strong last night, but the good news is that they were strong because propagation is improving. What’s your geographic area. 40 meters may not have been good for propagation between our stations. A quick look at VOCAP will help us choose a frequency for next week. One caveat for next week, though: Eta looks like it might be a problem for my area next week, so I might be busy with that. Both the GFS and NAVGEM models indicate it as a strong T.S. or CAT 1 as it buzzes around FL SUN-THU.

I’ve moved down to 7.288 MHz because of splatter from an Iranian broadcast station. Will keep calling CQ and listening until the top of the hour.

Sorry that I’ve been AOL for the last two weeks. For anyone wanting to test gear or propagation I’ll monitor 7.290 MHz +/- 5MHz and call CQ this evening (NOV 5) between 8:00 and 9:00PM EST.

I won’t be able to make it for QSOs on 40 meters today. The MARS COMEX is in high gear, so I’ll be tied up with HF messages, today. But I’ll be net control for the Maritime Mobile Service Net on 14.300MHz from 2100-2200EDT. Anyone that would like to check propagation on 20 meters is welcome to answer one of my calls for stations.

Sorry that I missed you. I was on from 8:00 to after 9:00EDT and made some contacts. I plan to be on again next THU, but might be a bit late because of the MARS COMEX. Pushing the mic gain can certainly help. Make sure to not overdrive it, though.

Josh, sorry that we didn’t have good prop for a decent QSO. Thanks for waiting while I passed that traffic for the MARS COMEX. You’re signal was pretty good and then dove right down into the noise. I hung out until about 8:00 my time and called your station several times, but no reply. The problem is with your signal, it’s probably that I was on my vertical antenna. The wire NVIS would probably be better to recieve your QRP signal. I’ll use that the next time. You (and others on this thread) might be interested in monitoring the Hurricane Watch Net while hurricane Delta approaches landfall. There are some great net control operators on that net, in particular is AA0WX, Andy Anderson. He was on the team in Puerto Rico with me after Maria. The HWN takes weather reports from stations affected by hurricanes and relays it to the National Hurricane Center. They’ll activate sometime tomorrow. Daylight frequency is 14.325MHz and nighttime is 7.268MHz.  More info at http://www.hwn.org. Anyone without an HF radio can monitor via an online SDR at http://kiwisdr.com/public/ Also, I might Facebook Live from my shack. 73

8:00PM EDT/7:00PM CDT

No worries. I suggest that we move up to 7.290 at 8:00PM/7:00PM to avoid that net on 7.278 and the shortwave broadcast station. I’m going to try and make it a regularly Thursday thing. Anyone is welcome to join and making a general CQ call might generate interest for theprepared.com. I’ll make sure to mention it in any ragchews. By the way, the guys on 7.278 are very friendly. They offered to move, but they’ve been meeting there for years and I didn’t think it was fair for them to move when they’ve established a meeting place. You should check into their net. I did and they sent me a QSO card without expecting one back, though I did send one.

Well done on the IC-7100. You won’t be dissapointed. What’s your application? For EMCOMM I agree with Josh. The Chameleon is good for NVIS which is what most EMCOMM operators use for HF. If you’d like something that you can also use for everyday ham use, such as DX, contesting, rag chews, then I suggest starting with a G5RV because they’re low cost ($50), have both verticle and horizontal properties, light weight, can be set up in many configurations (I use one on a daily basis for EMCOMM in a sloping inverted V), and work well for NVIS if lower than one half wavelength. The Buckmaster is also a good off-center fed antenna, but can be pricey, is long, and doesn’t play well on 15 meters. Which brings up another point, how much land do you have? If you’re limited on space, then a verticle might be in order. The Hustler BTV is great, but pricey. Of course, all suggestions are based on multi-band antennas. As for “playing with window line and coax” you’ll end up needing to experiment with any wire antenna you use. They’re not “set it and forget it.” Also, don’t worry about ladder or window line. Stick with coax until you’re ready to erect an antenna farm. One more point about HF EMCOMM, get into building your antennas as quickly as possible. Especially in portable situations. More often than not people flame out in EMCOMM because they think they’ll be successful if they buy the right equipment. Success in amateur emergency radio comes from knowing how to get it done with limitations. Also, SWR meters, particularly internal ones, are very little help in building antennas because they won’t tell you if the SWR is high because the antenna is too long or too short. Just use the 468/MHz equation for a dipole and let the internal tuner do the work while you save up your pennies for an antenna analyzer. All of the above is for HF EMCOMM. VHF/UHF EMCOMM is a different skillset. Buy a radio, hook up a manuctured antenna, get to work. Again, fine business on the IC-7100. That’s a great rig.

I’ll be on 40 meters (7.280MHz) tonight at 7:00-8:00EDT (2300-0000UTC) if anyone would like to try HF contacts. Also, MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio Service) is conducting an exercise during the entire month of October. The emphasis will be on interconnectivity with the amateur radio community, particularly the National Traffic System and Radio Relay International. Training will target the ICS-213 form (this is the primary radio communication form used by disaster response organizations) and how to use it to relay information on a “bad day.”  Information will be broadcast hourly via WWV/WWVH on 5.000, 10.000, 15.000, 20.000MHz. The broadcasts are 10 minutes after the hour on WWV and 50 minutes after the hour on WWVH. Interoperability will be on 60 meters channel 1. I’m the operations officer for Army MARS in Florida and can answer any questions regarding the exercise. This is a great opportunity to gain HF skills for disaster scenarios.

RGR I’ll start calling at 1800 CDT.

A few points… At 10-15 feet on 80-40 meters you’re probably getting NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) which is exaclty what you want for ECOM. The strongest propagation will be 300-500 miles radius. 20 meters and above will have a more horizontal launch angle. How do you have the counterpoise configured? Sometimes when using a sloper configuration it helps lay it directly under the radiator in parallel. It will act like a reflector and reinforce the NVIS properties. (The manual illustrates laying it away from the radiator, but sometimes ya’ gotta break the rules.) If you have extra wire laying around, attach with the counterpoise. If you have several pieces, then lay them out in a star pattern. Don’t worry about length for now. In general, the more radials the better. You can fine tune cut them to resonance later on. In fact, there’s a school of though that says random length radials are better. An inverted V configuation will produce more verticle polarity, so it should propage further. Try tuning to 5.000mHz, 10.000mHz, 15.000mHz, and 20.000mHz to monitor WWV. Which ever one produces the strongest signal will help you decide which band to try. Listen for the Maritime Mobile Service Net on 14.300mHz. They run continuously from 12:00 noon through 10:00PM EDT. Check in with net control when they ask for general checkins and ask for a signal check. They’re great guys and love helping with signal reports. I monitor them throughout the day. If I hear you checkin I’ll call CONTACT and they’ll let me call you. Here are two SDR sites have a few more options for you to check propagation. http://kiwisdr.com/public/ http://www.globaltuners.com. Finally, your experience will make for a great blog post. You’re experiencing exaclty why I tell people that they can’t just pass the text, wait for TEOTWAWKI, then throw an antenna up in a tree. It takes a lot of trial and error to learn what works. I’m lucky here in Floida, I have great soil for propagation and tons of water to act as a reflector. It’s much harder in the midwest and Rockies. And please forgive me if I’m pointing out anything you’ve already tried. I want to be sure to cover all of the possibilities. Grace and 73, Joe

What frequencies have you tried? How high is your antenna? 20 meters will probably work between us during the day and 40 meters in the evening. I’ll be at my radio all afternoon if you want to try a QSO. Also, I’m net control for the Maritime Mobile Service Net tomorrow (THU) at 9:00PM EDT. Anyone that would like to try HF is welcome to check in with me.

Karen, Thanks for the kind words. The ARRL book is great. Another one that is a bit more concise is the Gordon West book. Gordon is quite a character and his books are the best on the market. In fact, I mention them in all of my classes and recommend and link to them as an Amazon Affiliate in my blog posts. Joe

Sam, Please see my reply to your other post regarding MURS. To be prepared for what you describe, high frequency privileges are necessary. That requires at least a General class license which is the middle of the three classes. Technician class is the entry level. While the Technician class does have access to 10 meters, 10 meters has been usable for 3-4 years and won’t be usable again for another 3-4. Even when the sunspot cylce comes back it isn’t reliable for emergency communication. The Technician class exam is easy. The General is somewhat more difficult, but many people take the Tech and General in the same session. I’ve written a blog post with some tips and hints for passing the Tech exam. http://valiantoutfitters.com/how-to-study-for-the-ham-radio-test/ Also, I have an online 4 hour course to prepare for the Tech exam in the final phase of development. It should be available before the end of the month (I want to avoid spamming this site, but I’d be happy to get the information to you, if you’re interested in the course). People (over 100 of them) who have taken the in person version of the course have all passed the exam in less than 4 attempts. The exam is free through some organizations and I list those in the blog post. You’ll want to take the exam before the end of the year. Ham licenses are currently free, but the FCC is probably going to start charging $50 next year. Of course, this is a great community at theprepared.com and you can get a lot of help here. Grace, Joe (W1WCN)