Amateur Radio Classes in Oklahoma?

[p238shooter]

As others have stated, Ham radio is totally not private, but can be used by anyone with a proper license. Two Technician licensed hams can talk on either on 2M or 440 to each other on simplex frequencies (not using a repeater) for several miles with a handy talkie if the terrain is pretty much line of sight. With additional licenses, you can talk worldwide.

Anything you talk about can and most likely will be heard by others, and they can chime in if they desire. Protocol must be followed, identify with your call sign, clean language, etc. If abused, someone will likely give you a call and help with suggestions on how to act right. Many hams are very good at tracking a renegade station down quickly and if you intentionally persist in violating the rules, they will also help with getting your license and equip confiscated by the FCC. They take their hobby seriously and do not want it to turn into a CB like environment.

The technician test you and your friends will need to pass is mainly rules and regulations with some very basic electronic technical information. I would suggest you Google for some local ham radio clubs in your area and attend some of their meetings, I think you will find many hams that will be happy offer to help you with any questions you might have. If you have a problem finding any of these, PM me and I will try to help. WB5Y

 

[TerryMiller]

I simply googled "Ada Oklahoma Ham Operators" and got the link below. I have no idea if this data is still up to date or not, but it does give a list of names and addresses of folks in the Ada area. Maybe you will recognize a name or address and can get in touch with some of them to help you with questions and ideas. It's worth a try.


Ada, Oklahoma Ham Operators

Many moons ago, I used to be licensed as a Tech-plus operator. However, I never really got into it too much as I had too many other things to do with my time. Good luck with it all. It can be enjoyable and some operators have been in Ham for decades.

 

[jakerz]

Great info guys. I'll into the club thing and see if there is one locally. It looks as if (thanks to the link) that there are quite a few ham operators in my area. Thanks again.

 

[Poke78]

MURS and ARES are a waste of time. Ham radio does not need anymore whackers or wanna-be cops.

MURS/ARES people are not very welcome on the amateur bands with the exception of Skywarn and NWS related stuff. Ham radio is a service/hobby for technically minded people and engineers who can operate in the case of an emergency.

Hmmmm...How does the OP's inquiry on MURS then lead to a broad-brush, stereotyped, and ,IMO, demonstrably false indictment of ARES? Do you have any experience with it? I'll give partial credit where you note Amateur Radio is a service that includes a requirement for emergency communications (see FCC Regulation Part 97.1a). If the OP or you, kd5rjz, wish to better understand ARES, I'd suggest either www.aresok.org or www.arrl.org for accurate info.

2m or 70cm would work fine for this, even HT's would give you a 10+ mile range, more if you use a repeater.

p238shooter has it more correct in that both of these bands are line-of-sight. It would be a mistake in OK to plan to regularly get 10 miles range on an HT to another HT, especially on 70cm. A repeater would definitely give more range.

 

[Nighthawk]

You might check into a business band radio.

 

[jakerz]

You might check into a business band radio.

I was looking at a VHF radio and programming it to the desired channels. Something like this one (recommendation from another user):

http://www.starmarinedepot.com/Standard+Horizon+HX370.html?gclid=CObOhrDd9q4CFQ1U7AodYTzEwg

Still need to do some homework before I make a purchase. I'm not 100% on what VHF is, except that it is used primarily in boating? Anyhow, still researching.

 

[Blitzfike]

And you drfinitely can't use ham radio for business. Strictly forbidden by the FCC.. I've been a ham since 1979 and operated most of the modes available. Do more HF Mobile today than anything else.. I've been involved with ARES for a number of years and am very proud of what we as a community have done..Blitzfike

 

[cw821]

Here's a few websites for ya.

Two of the biggest forums
http://www.qrz.com/
http://www.eham.net/

Ham radio jargon.
http://www.ac6v.com/jargon.htm#V

One of the many online radio dealers. I have ordered from these guys many times.
http://www.hamradio.com/

Its too easy to get a license and used radios are too cheap to not try it out. If anything, you can put them away for emergencies if you want. I initially got interested because I'm a survivalist/outdoors enthusiast. Its also very useful during storm season. Just tune into the local repeater and you can be sure that one of those he's talking about with a vest and strobes on his car is out there storm chasing. Those guys are still useful. You'll have up to date storm info 5 to 10 min. before it makes the news. You'll have the ability to use the same radio to monitor the local fire and sherifs too.

As far as your privacy question. You'll never be completely private. But with ham radios, you can use ctscc codes that only allow someone to hear you if they have the same one programmed, and there are many to choose from and you can change them easily. And yes, it is legal to use. It still doesn't keep someone out of your conversation, but its highly unlikely anyone will waste time searching for your ctscc codes.

Good luck and I hope you do get into amateur radio.

 

[kd5rjz]

Hmmmm...How does the OP's inquiry on MURS then lead to a broad-brush, stereotyped, and ,IMO, demonstrably false indictment of ARES? Do you have any experience with it? I'll give partial credit where you note Amateur Radio is a service that includes a requirement for emergency communications (see FCC Regulation Part 97.1a). If the OP or you, kd5rjz, wish to better understand ARES, I'd suggest either www.aresok.org or www.arrl.org for accurate info.

Anyone that's interested in the truth about ham radio visit: http://www.hamsexy.com/cms/index.php

p238shooter has it more correct in that both of these bands are line-of-sight. It would be a mistake in OK to plan to regularly get 10 miles range on an HT to another HT, especially on 70cm. A repeater would definitely give more range.

Try using something better than the joke of a rubber ducky that comes with most HT's. Try grabbing a $20 19" thin and floppy antenna and get some real performance. You can get hundreds of miles simplex using 50w and a crappy yagi made out of pvc and welding rod. That's the sad thing about ham radio these days, it's full of people that don't know anything about their radios. It's sad really. The hobby will die with today's know-nothings.

Really people, this used to be a hobby full of some of the brightest engineers around... sad.

 

[kd5rjz]

As far as your privacy question. You'll never be completely private. But with ham radios, you can use ctscc codes that only allow someone to hear you if they have the same one programmed, and there are many to choose from and you can change them easily. And yes, it is legal to use. It still doesn't keep someone out of your conversation, but its highly unlikely anyone will waste time searching for your ctscc codes.

Good luck and I hope you do get into amateur radio.

CTCSS or what is commonly referred to as "PL Tones" are part a squelching system. It's simply a subaudible tone sent along with your audio that can disable squelch on radios programmed to squelch by CTCSS. For instance, some repeaters won't key up if the audio they receive isn't accompanied by a specific PL tone. However, anyone monitoring can still hear your conversation. It's a way to filter out other people's transmissions, not code your own.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_Tone-Coded_Squelch_System

Guys, this is a HUGE pet peave of mine, and the reason I went from maintaining repeaters in the Tulsa area and running the Red Cross EOC to only operating QRP CW to finally trading most of my radios for ammo on this very website. Ham Radio is no longer a hobby for the technically minded, it's a hobby where ARRL PR guys use technically minded people's accomplishments to get publicity and donations.