From: Glen Closson (glen@closson.com)
Date: Mon Jun 02 2003 - 18:20:11 PDT
1. Many amateur repeaters are "open" meaning that anyone with a valid
license and who obeys the rules can use them to talk to other hams but not
necessarily use them for the more advanced features such as "auto-patch"
that permits you make phone calls from the repeater. To do that, you
typically need to belong to the club that operates and maintains the
repeater, or make a donation to the people that own it, etc.
2. Some repeaters are "closed" and they don't want you talking on it
(however in a emergency I'm sure they would help you) unless you are a
member of their club. Sometimes its an old boy's club and they don't want
new members.
3. Even the 5 watt FRS (i.e. UHF) radios may not work for long conveys
and/or ones that go through hilly terrain. This is due to the LOS (line of
sight) characteristic of UHF. The lower the frequency the more likely it
will "curve" around corners. Personally I have had very good luck with the
400mW FRS Motorola radios. FRS has become the defacto standard for many
applications.
4. I earned my ham license many years ago when you needed to learn the code.
Now you don't have to get a license that will permit you to transmit on all
sorts of frequencies and powers. Go to
http://www.wvara.org and click on "exam practice" and take the online test
a bazillion times until you feel comfortable (you will end up memorizing the
answers) and the take the test (that's what I did to get my advanced
licenses)! Having the license will give you many, many options for talking
to one another.
Regards,
Glen N6PQP (Extra)
May the Joys of today be those of tomorrow!
May thy goblet of life hold no dregs of sorrow!
Work like you don't need the money,
love like you've never been hurt and
dance like nobody is watching.
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