I just got my first handheld Ham Radio for Christmas. A Yaesu FT-60R. I hope to be getting skilled on it quickly and make it a useful asset in the backcountry. I dont know how many other canyoneers are Hams? Maybe you can track me down in Utah County sometime.
If you are interested in getting you ham radio license… here is a great website with practice tests you can take over and over till you learn the material for the real test: http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl
-Brando, KD7UPQ
WB
I’ve not found it to be very useful. The radios eat too much power to leave on Power-saving modes do not pick up bad signals well. The Wilderness Protocol (listen 5 min on top of the hour every three hours in daytime) still means you have to keep track of the time. 2M/440 does not get out of canyons very well. Ok to talk to the rim, getting into a distant repeater isn’t happening. General reliability of smaller handheld VHF/UHF ham gear is pitiful, they don’t hold up to abuse or even mild use. Older “brick” style handhelds hold up better but are large and heavy.
For most situations I’d rather have FRS radios. Cheaper, more durable and just as effective for simplex communications for the most part. No worries about going with unlicensed partners/support. Plus almost everyone can afford one so the likelihood of finding help on one is greater. Inexpensive enough that you can have a spare and not cry when one dies.
But if you are in range of a repeater or someone monitoring 145.52 ham radios can be useful.
Although it is legal under FCC Rules to transmit on any frequency (including the Park Service’s) in a life-threatening emergency expect to have your radio confiscated and to be prosecuted if you do so. Still, might be better than dead. Most new radios will need to be modified to transmit out of band. You can’t likely test and verify your access without breaking the law. Not all radios can be successfully modified. Public safety systems that have gone trunked generally cannot be accessed.
-Bill
On Dec 27, 2007, at 1:08 PM, Brando wrote:
> I wouldnt mind having access to the repeater in Zion National Park.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “kiwi_outdoors”
> It would be more useful if one could transmit on the Park Ranger’s >> frequencies – but its not legal. >>
Brando
I wouldnt mind having access to the repeater in Zion National Park.
— In Yahoo Canyons Group, “kiwi_outdoors” wrote:
It would be more useful if one could transmit on the Park Ranger’s > frequencies – but its not legal. >
kiwi_outdoors
It would be more useful if one could transmit on the Park Ranger’s frequencies – but its not legal.