Ok I've never flown paragliders, but I have flown regular gliders. We did have air band radios on board anyway - not just for emergencies but also to communicate with other air traffic of course. Today they even have to carry ADS-B transponders, but when I did it that rule was not in place yet.
I'm surprised you use the ham frequencies, I'm also a ham but if I wasn't it would be a bit annoying having to study for the ham exam just because I would want to paraglide. For the air band there is another procedural exam here in Europe but that's ok because you really need to know how to behave on that band. But the ham exam is really focused on building your own radios which a paraglider would have no need for.
Ok I'm surprised. I don't think anyone here in Europe flies without a radio. If only just to monitor local traffic. Most of the flying club members even carried backup portables. I didn't proceed to my full license so I never did. But I did have lots of ham radios on which I could receive (not transmit) the airband if needed.
I have zero experience flying planes (or being near people flying them), but I do have ham radio experience. Sounds like that might actually help a lot. I've even spent some time listening to the ~120 MHz AM aviation bands.
Heh, yes, that's true about the FPV pilots. I'm pretty sure I've got an FPV camera kicking around here from China that actually transmits on the amateur bands, although it definitely wasn't marketed as a ham transmitter :). I also suspect that it'd be way out of spec, but I haven't actually hooked it up to the spectrum analyzer, nor do I use it. It's a curiosity that came in a kit a long time ago.
And I suspect the reason the people on long range UHF do so within spec is because, in my experience anyway, the ham guys get more and more grumpy as you go down in frequency. That video transmitter above operates in the 1.2GHz/23cm band, and no one (around here at least) seems to particularly care too much about it. Going downwards, the UHF (440MHz/70cm) band and the VHF (146MHz/2m) band are used pretty frequently for voice communication, so someone splatting all over the band would have people enraged. Going lower into the HF (<30MHz) bands, you've got people worldwide using those for communication, and they're more than happy to get the FCC or Industry Canada or whatever your local regulatory body is on your ass for breaking the rules.
Heh, try a 2M radio with a mag mount antenna on the roof. Even without repeaters I've been impressed with the range.
The amateur radio tech license is really easy, I'd say about half is common sense along the lines of do no harm, just an evening or two of studying to get enough of the 30 ish multiple choice questions to pass.
Obtaining an amateur radio licence in the UK is fairly trivial. The courses and exams are administered by volunteers so the hardest part is finding availability to align with your schedule. COVID really helped because it became possible to take the exams online.
There are 3 levels, Foundation through to Full which come with different privileges. You can achieve a lot with the basic Foundation.
In terms of airborne transmitting - yes the UK is an outlier. It is forbidden to make amateur radio transmissions in the air over the UK, or use a UK licence to do so anywhere I think. The key word here is amateur - so specifically on those bands and with that licence. I think the ISM bands would be fine - and there are balloon projects and clubs in the UK.
I have a Finnish amateur licence in parallel and that doesn't have this restriction but naturally it would still not be allowed to use it to transmit from an aircraft over the UK. And even if it were to be elsewhere there are still some rules surrounding that, and it's hopefully obvious that you need permission of whoever's in charge of the aircraft.
Thanks for the link. I was in Puerto Rico when Maria passed and having a ham radio would have made things so much better. I felt a really deep remorse for never taking the exam. I'll study and get certified now.
Can anyone recommend equipment choices for a noob?
Recently got my tech license, it wasn't that difficult. In an emergency it's permissable to use cheap radios that do not confirm to GMRS/FRS rules on those frequencies.
If anyone is interested in amateur radio in the US, don't let the current situation dissuade you. There is at least one VEC now offering completely remote exams - I just took both my Technician and General exams with GLAARG completely remote.
I myself did not know any amateur radio operator but read about it on the internet. I then did some research on what is needed to get on air - which is a license. Without a license, you can buy gear and listen to the airwaves (but are not allowed to press the PTT button) or listen to shortwave communications via WebSDR. Some people visit local amateur radio clubs, learn stuff there and get help. I went the following route:
* I decided that I want to get the beginner license first, then do a second exam for the big license
* bought some books for exam preparation
* bought a cheap 30€ handheld radio to listen to local repeater traffic while studying
* downloaded an exam preparation training tool
* worked through the material halfway through
* have registered for an exam
* stood up every morning at 5 and learned 2h before the family woke up for two months
* did the exam, got the beginner license
* studied another two months
* got the big license
* met other amateur radio operators a year after that ;)
There is so much more to write and I don't know where to start, but here are some fun facts:
* you don't have to learn morse code anymore for the license in most countries
* for local communicaiton, a budget of 30-100€ is sufficient
* for world wide shortwave communication, a budget of 400 to 700 can be sufficient when buying used
* you can do digi modes (computer to computer communication) instead of talking to people. This helped me the first year to get into it since i was mic shy.
* the community is awesome, people share their knowledge and help each other
* you can buy a digital handheld radio for around 200€ and work the world without any antennas over the internet. For some not the real thing, for others a blast.
Just to add another facet: there are folks from other hobbies (like R/C planes) who obtain an amateur radio license because it lets them legally transmit at higher power levels.
The ham radio spectrum is specifically regulated to require training because you will be using uncertified radio equipment that can communicate on whatever band you want, not just the ham radio ones.
Thanks! I'm well aware I'm not legally allowed to transmit and don't plan to either. I'm just fascinated by the prospect of receiving invisible waves and having them translated into sound in my hand.
Can I read somewhere about which frequencies are used by ham operators, and descriptions of things like UHF and VF and narrowband and such?
1. I got my license in college, since my advisor was a big radio guy. I never really could get into it because it’s inherently social (you have to talk to people over the radio). That’s not to say people were unfriendly- everyone really was welcoming. I just never built a “sticky” social connection to it. I was young and didn’t really need more socializing while in school, and didn’t try to make it work...
2. The best trustworthy guide is a person IRL. But others have listed great online resources too.
The technical stuff is super fun and you could spend a lifetime playing with the cool equipment and fiddling with your setup. BUT if you don’t make a social connection and interact with others, it gets old. I keep my radio for emergency purposes (probably good enough reason alone to get into it), and because I see the appeal of it as a hobby, but I almost never use it.
There is a ton of events and things people do “in the community”. There are competitions of all sorts, and meetups, and radio-related things. I haven’t done any, but I also didn’t see much in other comments so I’m hoping people with more knowledge can share.
There’s also related tech like packet radio which is kinda like “dial up over radio”. That’s what the original article linked would most likely be used for. There are emergency prep groups, including completely digital tech that doesn’t use traditional radios like SFWEM and AREDN (basically an emergency mesh WiFi network using special frequencies and commercial equipment).
The test was easy to anyone with a technical background (electrical, not software). To everyone else it’s still pretty doable with studying and prep. I was in school studying electronics, but I think I studied for like 3 total hours for the test. It’s a mixture of topics ranging from regulation to antenna information. IMO the test gives you a good insight into part of the hobby. If you enjoy studying for it you’ll enjoy the technical stuff.
I haven’t picked up my radio in years. Every time I move, I think “surely the Bay Area has a lot of hams, this is a good time to try it out again” and then never get around it it.
YMMV and I don’t want to disparage or discourage anyone from trying it out. There’s a ton of cool things to do. It’s just a reminder that it’s social.
This discussion reminded me that I really should get a US ham license. (I have a Swedish one but the reciprocity is only one year at a time which makes it a pita.) I can probably pass the technician exam just on common sense (judging from the online test exams) so it wouldn't hurt.
I got into it through wanting some cheap radios to keep in my house, so I wouldn't have to go all the way upstairs when I needed to communicate with my daughter.
Well let me tell you Baofeng radios are extremely cheap but really flexible. I got these things for the simplest possible use case but after realizing their potential I just had to learn more about the space. You can adjust their configuration with a tool called Chirp and you're off to the races!
I attended a local severe weather awareness event where I met some hams who were part of an emergency response network. It's really cool to learn about how these communities operate. It's legal to receive even without a license - you only need the license to transmit.
I plan to take the technician test soon and get my license so I can help out at a nearby bike event. The area is incredibly rural so there's no cell coverage and the ham operators are really helpful in coordinating things.
Anyway, I feel like the hobby is a bit of a dying art, but it's something that seems like it would have a lot of appeal to the programmer crowd.
I'm surprised you use the ham frequencies, I'm also a ham but if I wasn't it would be a bit annoying having to study for the ham exam just because I would want to paraglide. For the air band there is another procedural exam here in Europe but that's ok because you really need to know how to behave on that band. But the ham exam is really focused on building your own radios which a paraglider would have no need for.
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