LeoG

Small dipole 5' tall 7.2dBi gain, fiberglass so you can paint it camouflage brown and green. Deer won't be spooked other than when you were installing it. Theft... can't help you there.

I love the dual receive. I'd actually like to have a 4 band receive. I know they exist, but I have enough radios. Did I say that out loud?

Works fine. I do it all the time. The only thing is you need to have the Tx AND Rx CTCSS set for the reverse frequencies to work with another radio. At least mine does.

One option for the height is might scenario for your Dad would be to put an antenna up on his hut as high as you could get it and it may extend your range more.

I didn't find that the Smiley Rubber Duck antenna equaled the Nagoya 771G. It was better than the OEM antenna on my TD-H3 but the 771G went 1/3-1/2 mile farther than the Smiley when I was testing my RT97S

People tend to think of repeaters in a commercial way. On a mountaintop with a 40-200 mile range. There are tons of smaller repeaters around that do neighborhoods and towns. With ranges of 5-15 miles, mostly due to antenna height limitations.

I'm using Win7 also. Chrome doesn't like that.

Same way I think about it. "Some people" are in ideal conditions and don't understand the rough terrain others are in. Even with my repeater, because I can't elevate my antenna to 200' or more I still have a lot of areas that can't be reached. I live in a valley and just want to be able to connect to family 10 miles away.

Ya, I have my browser locked down pretty hard and the site still gets through. It's from a political site, but the article isn't political. And I know some browsers make it hard to get to those sites. I also have a naked browser. In my case it's Chrome. I have nothing added to it. No blockers no anti script nothing added so when I find one of those types of sites I can still get there by switching over to that browser. If I can't get in on that browser I don't need to see the site.

So big commercial towers 200' tall pointing at each other.

Understandable.

As the disaster unfolds in North Carolina, I am reminded of other significant events that have affected entire communities in one form or another. From hurricanes to wildfires, earthquakes, or any other major incident, one thing is getting less and less recognition these days, and that is the amateur radio service. Yeah, I get it. There is a perception that it's just a bunch of elderly gentlemen sitting around smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, listening to the ether, and pounding some morse code to some contact halfway around the world. Or maybe they are repeating CQ CQ CQ into a microphone and listening for a return call. They will spend a bunch of money on equipment, experiment with antennas and electronics, and even try to implement newer technology into what they do. Some might look at it and call all of this a hobby or even a waste of time, but it's not because all of this may be needed for more than just talking to Japan or Croatia for fun. Make no mistake, though, that the perception of old guys huddled around the warm glow of radio tubes is probably closer to reality than you think. The reason for that is twofold. Those involved are aging quickly. The current average age of an amateur radio operator is 68 years old and getting older. There are, however, younger people who are exposed to the service; they are just not as interested. Please make no mistake: the service is losing members faster than we are gaining, and it's becoming a dying art form. As for outreach to the youth or younger members, the Boy Scouts of America still have a radio badge they can obtain. Sometimes, exposure might occur on Field Day every June in your local community park. Or it might happen at a POTA (Parks On the Air) activation. Here's a bit of trivia for you. Guglielmo Marconi built the first radio set and sent the first transmission 1 km away at the age of 20. We need more of that. The second reason it's an aging service is that in today's society, we have become too comfortable with the technology we use and assume it will always be available. We look at our cell phones and see 2 or 4 bars everywhere. But those connect to towers and not each other. Some of those towers are in very remote areas, require a stable climate-controlled environment, and always require reliable power. Interestingly, some sites also house the first responders' radio services. However, as the Lahaina Hawaii fire and the Helene flooding in North Carolina have shown, no technology is infallible. Including the internet connection you are reading this article on. Without power, nothing works. But as I sit listening to Broadcastify along with over 700 others to N2GE 145.19MHz Mount Mitchell amateur radio repeater in North Carolina, I hear the coordination between operators posted at hospitals, fire stations, and police stations. All of it is in real-time. Some are staged at local airports, flying in helicopters to deliver radios and supplies or assisting in critical evacuations. It would not surprise me to discover that radio operators are embedded with search and rescue teams. Some of these communications include wellness check requests from people outside the affected area. This can free up valuable first responder resources even if their radio services work. Who are these people? Well, they are experienced radio operators who volunteer their time and their own equipment to assist in emergencies such as this. In some cases, they belong to two volunteer emergency radio communications teams, ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). What's the difference? ARES provides local, remote, or relay EMCOMMS (Emergency Communications) and coordination. Conversely, RACES works with local civil defense officials and government agencies such as FEMA or DHS. Between the 2, ARES has more flexibility. You might ask yourself why amateur radio works when everything else doesn't. The reason for that is that amateur radio operators, by their very nature, are tinkerers and experimenters. They figure out how to maintain power and stretch that resource out for as long as possible. This might include different battery technologies, implementing solar panels, or more efficient antennas. Having a more efficient antenna uses less power to transmit. More power is not necessarily better in this instance, and it could be bad to use the wrong antenna. Needless to say, we find a way to make it work in our hands, vehicles, and homes because adaptability to any situation is key. From HF (High Frequencies) to UHF (Ultra High Frequencies), operating for short and long distances, this is our specialty. So, in an emergency, that neighbor with the view-crushing antenna the HOA has been fighting to remove just might save your bacon. You might knock on their door, buy them a coffee, and talk to them about what it is they do. Also, consider contacting your local clubs, even if it's to get a basic understanding of the different radio services available to the average person, whether that is FRS (Family Radio Service), GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service), or amateur radio. Knowing more about them and their capability will always be helpful in an emergency. I want to point out two things if you have made it this far. Even if you don't have an amateur radio license, you don't need one to listen. You also don't need one if it is a last resort of communication for you and your family in an emergency. You can use any radio on any service to ask for help. In addition, no matter what radio you get, you should be able to listen to NOAA radio for local weather information. So, if you were to pick up a radio at Walmart or order one on Amazon right now, would you know which channel is the commonly used emergency channel or frequency? Do you know the NOAA frequencies for your immediate area? Do you know what the radio's limitations are? Please don't believe the packaging that says it can talk 20 or 30 miles; they can't. That would only be in perfect conditions with a direct line of site. To summarize, learn about the service you are interested in and how it can work for you in an emergency. Please don't wait for the next disaster to be left in the dark without communication or information. Don't think you can rely on your neighbor in an emergency because they may have evacuated, been injured, or suffered worse. Nowadays, with information at our fingertips, many resources are available to learn about what radio services can do for you or even your family. With books, websites, and even YouTube channels dedicated to teaching people about amateur radio and GMRS services, it's all there for you, and in most cases, it's free. Finally, to those providing communications to the affected areas right now in North Carolina, I've been listening. You guys are doing outstanding work with Net Control, resource coordination, information gathering, and disseminating that information to those who need it. I applaud you for being a shining example of what amateur radio is truly about --giving back to the community. I can only hope that if I am ever in that situation, our local radio operators can be as calm and organized as you. For now, I will be signing off with this. 73 de Whiskey Zero Whiskey Foxtrot Mike and I will be clear of this frequency.

Yup, another story about Ham operators helping the communities.

https://www.uncoverdc.com/2024/10/09/an-aging-volunteer-service-is-amateur-radio-still-needed

There they are.

Copy/Paste I believe. Yup

Yup. All I see are JPG links and when I click them I get nothing.

Pics aren't showing (for me)

Yup, 7 segment led displays were fun to play with. My 1st calculator was LED. I made a LED clock using a kit. Had round LEDs to separate the Hours, Minutes and Seconds. I think I still have it up in my attic, but unfortunately I don't believe it works anymore.

LEDs Yup, that's old.

Always wide band.

Put your radio on scan and listen to the repeater channels making sure you have no Rx tone encoded. The stations that seem to have no traffic are probably good. Look at the repeater list here and on a few other websites that list them to see if there are any known site near you (35-70 miles) After you find a channel that seems unused in your area hang on that channel for a week to see if anything comes across. If you can hear one sided conversations it's likely not a repeater and just people on simplex. It also matters what you think your repeater range will be. If you are sticking it on top of a mountain and plan on a 50-200 mile circle then you have more to worry about than if you plan on putting an antenna up 50' which will limit your range considerably.

Ya, that can be annoying when you set the Tx first and the Rx wipes it out. But that's the nature of the radio when programming from the keypad. If you do it from a computer or bluetooth you don't have to deal with it.

Keying the repeater is just "using the repeater" He wants you to ID with your call sign when you first use the repeater and then again when you are done using the repeater. If you are talking with someone a long time, every 15 minutes you need to ID using your call sign. That's just standard FCC protocol. Radios are capable of putting out multiple sets of tones to activate or ID or call another radio. And there's a thing called a Roger Beep that usually goes off when you release the PTT button to let the other party know you are done talking. It takes the place of saying "over" at the end of each conversation. Since you are new to the radio world it's very doubtful you have any of these programmed into your radio other than the PL tone which is used to activate the repeater.

10MHz But after reading the regulations it sounds like no one can use this.