[Elmers] Looking For Elmer Guidance | Newly Licensed Technician

Fri Aug 30 10:41:29 PDT 2019

 Hi, Rodney!
Welcome to the world of radio - it's understandable you'd feel a bit overwhelmed at first!
Baofengs are 'workable' radios, but they leave a bit to be desired in user interface for sure.  Like anything, though, once you 'get the hang of it', things will fall in place.
I assume you're wanting to install a mobile radio in your off-road vehicle, as well as a permanent antenna of some sort - many are available that fold over / disconnect / have springs for recovering from low tree branches etc.
Is there a good time to chat?  High-bandwidth bi-directional communication in person or via radio / phone etc isalways nice.

As far as 'two frequencies' , those are one for each band (VHF and UHF bands, typically - depends on the exact model you picked up).  From Laguna, for the 2 meter machine near top-of-the-world, You'll need the following FOT (Frequency, Offset, and Tone) information:
147.645 Receive Frequency147.045 Transmit Frequency (or, a 'minus' offset)110.9 PL tone
If you for some reason can't reach that machine, you can install Echolink on your PC or cell phone and connect to K6SOA-L for Laguna Beach, and K6SOA-R for San Clemente.  Visit echolink.org for details on how to set that up - you'll need to verify your callsign before they'll allow you to connect etc.

            -SteveK6UVR

    On Thursday, August 29, 2019, 07:54:27 PM PDT, Rodney Fujiwara <fuji08 at gmail.com> wrote:  

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Hi All,

My name is Rodney, and I just passed my Tech licensing exam about (1) month ago.  Since then I have been online researching + recently stopped by HRO to ask about equipment and what to look for. In addition I have watched countless hours of youtube videos and read all kinds of blogs (not sure if that helped or hurt given all the online misinformation).  In the end I still find myself not really understanding what equipment will best suit my needs (more on that later), and to that end what type of features should I be shopping for, given my needs.  The next issue isnot really understanding how to use the radio itself…things like programing, why are there (2) frequencies on the display of this cheap Baofeng, which frequency does what, how do I use/connect to a repeater, how to translate all the acronyms and numbers for each repeater listed on repeaterbook, analog vs digital, HF vs UHF vs VHF, and the list just goes on and on.

I’m hoping there may be an Elmer out there that could help guide me in the right direction and provide some Ham 101 type advice?

So a little about me and what I’m looking to do with Ham Radio:

   - Live in Laguna Beach
   - Primarily: looking forOffroad/4x4 communication with other vehicles in my party + portable comms for when I leave the vehicle to do some backcountry recreation (hike, camp, fish)
   - Secondarily: looking for personal emergency communication abilities in the event of a offroad mechanical failure or backcountry medical emergency. In conjunction with these emergency needs, I also have been intrigued by features like APRS and Autopatch.
   - I don’t mind spending good money for good products. I actually purchased the Baofeng after having passed my exam, then did a bunch on online shopping homework, then visited HRO…but in the end still felt SOO LOST that I just went on amazon an purchased a cheap Baofeng thinking maybe having something physically in my hands would help me understand better what type of features/equipment I needed. Long story short – I’m now clueless with a cheap Baofeng 😊
   - Lastly: I want to learn/prepare for a grid down event where “normal” communications are down and I want to gather news or communicate with loved ones and municipal services.
   - I like hobbies: I like tech, I love cars/trucks, I like DIY, I enjoy turning wrenches / wood working / 3D printing…but given all of these past times I’ve never really understood electronics (maybe why I’m having such a hard time with HAM?)…but I’ve done electronic jobs like replacing car stereos, adding components to computers and similar plug-n-play electronic DIY’s but anything more electronically involved and I’m lost.
   - FINAL NOTE: In self diagnosing why I cannot seem to get a hang of Ham radio…there are just so many new terms, acronyms, numbers and the like that I don’t understand. I personally learn better top-down OR hands-on OR in-the-field. To date everything I’ve learned is so conceptual & detailed that I just cannot wrap my head around the girth of information to see how to apply it to my narrower needs.

Thanks for taking the time to read my disjointed ramblings and I hope I was able to provide enough information so that I can get paired up with one or more helpful Elmers that can help me get on the air for my desired needs.

PS – I’m willing to drive to a willing Elmer weekdays or weekends.  

Kind Regards,

Rodney Fujiwara

KA1SEN

949.241.3377 c

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