Dreamstreamr Ham Radio

Ham Radio Works!

rev Mar 17, 2010

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We are Jim, N5RTG and Debbie, N4RTG. We are a couple of hams. No, really, we are amateur radio operators aka hams. Why? Pretty simple, but not a very short story. Tune in for five minutes and I'll lay it out here:

You probably already know we are full-timing in our Airstream trailer, traveling throughout North America. We will sometimes be pretty far off the main track. Will cellular phone service reach everywhere? Could we implement a better communications system in case we have an emergency, need to report something, or want to assist in an emergency? Jim first became interested in amateur radio as back-up communications for our full-timing travels.

We had experienced countless times with loss of cell phone signal. CB radio is reliable up to as little as three to four miles. Ham radio, depending upon the equipment, site altitude, and atmospheric conditions has send and receive capability for everything from hundreds of feet to over six thousand miles. The amateur radio capability for requesting assistance or information, when other means of communication fail, might be a good mode for a couple of full-timers.

Things so often are different than you thought they may be (often better, thankfully). We bought an Airstream travel trailer in 2004, thinking it would be a good base of operations for backpacking trips. Yes, the camper will work as a rolling home from which we can stage section hikes of some of our Nation's great trails. We were totally unprepared for other benefits of Airstream ownership.

Did you know the largest single-brand RV owners' association is Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI), the Airstream Owners' Association? We are delighted to have shared the enjoyment of camping, caravanning, socializing, and learning with other members of WBCCI. This has been a totally unexpected and delightful dimension to having an Airstream travel trailer.

So it has been with our introduction to amateur radio. We studied information about amateur radio and learned about the licensing requirements. We obtained the study book for Technician class through Amazon and used the exam content tests online at QRZ, a great site supporting amateur radio. We were fortunate to pass our Technician exams on the first try and started shopping for our first amateur radio. Since we were without experience and had not yet joined, or had exposure to an amateur radio club or other operators, we weren't sure what to invest in this potential interest.

We first bought a Yaesu FT60R handie-talkie from Ham Radio Outlet for under $200.00 as well as a mag-mount one-quarter wave antenna (another $25?) for the car roof to connect the portable radio when in the car or truck. You're supposed to talk on these things, right?

We learned about our local Amateur radio club and weekly two meter emergency net, where local hams gather for a moderated net discussion and practice. Jim enjoyed this very friendly group of operators. The "formal" section of the net is not too formal but is affable and friendly (unfortunately this is not true of some amateur radio nets). Jim practices radio communication weekly when we're in town and enjoys attending the monthly club meetings. Amateur radio -- Now we're talking.

Jim wanted to investigate higher power lower frequency amateur radios for greater range. Two meter (VHF) amateur radio communications is basically limited to short range simplex use and local repeater range of approximately 25-50 miles radius. He studied and passed the General class exam to allow use of most of the HF bands. Now we have an ultra-compact mobile Yaesu FT-857d, a very capable HF/VHF/UHF radio.

You might have read in our journal about transporting Jerry's and Ann's Airstream and truck from Bakersfield, California, to Belmont, NC? [see that story here]. Our amateur radios played a big part in safety and enjoyment of the trip. Debbie and Jim talked across the country with the amateur radios to each other as we drove over 2,500 miles in nine days. We already had the Yaesu radio in our tow truck. Jim installed another radio, a Kenwood TM-D710a, in Jerry's truck temporarily. This provided us much stronger radio capability than CB radio does. We can talk miles apart and we can talk to other amateur radio operators as we cross their part of this great country.

Early 2010 we added a GPS18pc puck in the truck to tell the Kenwood radio our location. Our position is now updated when the truck is on the move, and you can see where we are according to our last reported position here.

We moved the Yaesu 857d radio to the Airstream, and installed the Kenwood TM-D710a in our truck. Jim has mounted a motorized multi-band antenna from High Sierra onto the roof of our Airstream trailer. The High Sierra HS1800Pro antenna is attached to a Tarheel Lift n Lay motorized fold-over mount to store the antenna flat against the trailer's roof or raise it ninety degrees up. The whip extends to 20 feet above ground, high enough to see over nearby trailers, fifth wheels, and motor homes.

Jim is able to communicate on 17, 20, 40, 60, and 75 meters with the High Sierra antenna. Jim also mounted a 1/4 wave Larsen 270 antenna on the roof for 2m and 70cm bands, then changed it to a much longer Hustler LM270. We are often able to communicate on the nation-wide RV Service Nets on 20 meters and 40 meters. The RV Service Net holds nets across the U.S. on 20 meter, 40 meter, and 80 meter bands and is open to all RVers regardless of RV brand. Look it up here, it is a great club for anyone interested in RVing or amateur radio.

We have found amateur radio operators to be much like the Airstream owners friendly and very helpful. We also found a fun group of people within WBCCI, the WBCCI Amateur Radio Club members. We meet several times a year at various ralllies, helping one another with antenna or power or radio issues, catching up with one another, and comparing our newest equipment changes.

Jim has had two-way radio contacts with amateur radio operators in over twenty-five countries and many U.S. states from California to Maine, Washington to Florida. We've made good friends, many of whom we we've met in person, in different parts of the continent through amateur radio. Pretty cool! And we know we are capable, from anywhere in the world, of contacting amateur radio operators for assistance.

When All Else Fails, Amateur Radio Works!

For more information about amateur radio and how you can get started, email me or go to ARRL's website here

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73,

Jim N5RTG

find us here: http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?n5rtg-9

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