What is a ham radio/scanners for?

Question

what are the different type of communication radios, i saw some walkie talkies on craigslist and saw some ham radio, police scanners, but what do they all do ...and what are their uses...are they amateur friendly?

Answer 1

Ham radio or formally known as amateur radio is a hobby for which you must be licensed for by taking a FCC test administrated by VEC's (volunteer examiner coordinators.) It is a hobby with many endless possibilities-too many to list here. Some applications include FAX, Voice, telegraphy, digital modes using computers, transceivers, and interfaces. what applications and frequencies you can do depends on what type of license. I enjoy this hobby myself and am just now getting back into it. My call sign is KB2YUI. I suggest you go to www.arrl.org, www.w5yi.com, www.wikipedia.com (and do a search) to learn more about it.



As far as police scanners go they cover police radio transmissions, EMS, and some even cover weather alerts, and railroad radio transmissions. I do not recommend any one having a scanner and never would have one myself because if law enforcement finds out they sort of frown on it. it is not illegal to have one, but it can draw suspicion on yourself in the event you have one in your car and get pulled over. One in your home might be OK but I would keep it to myself if I had one.

If they are of older or vintage equipment they are amateur friendly so to speak. Newer equipment, as I am finding out myself, can be confusing without having to consult the owners' manual several times.



I hope this kind of lifted some of the clouds for you. If you have any more questions concerning it please feel free to ask any time.

Answer 2

I assume from your question that you are not a licensed amateur radio operator, or "ham," but an amateur listener.



Ham radio equipment is for transmitting and receiving radio signals. You may transmit only when licensed to do so, and only while following strict rules. Hams communicate across the city, across the country, and across the world. I regularly talk to people in the US and foreign countries. See www.arrl.org for more information.



Walkie-talkies come in a wide variety of uses and configurations. Some are ham equipment and may only be operated by licensed people. Some are CB, and some are for specific public service uses. The frequency and power vary from application to application.



A scanner has already been well-described; I won't repeat it. Their use can be fairly involved, though, so be prepared to study the manual.



There are a number of receivers that include AM and FM broadcast, short wave, and some VHF/UHF frequencies. Radio Shack has some inexpensive receivers in this category. One of these would be a good start. If you hear strange beeps and tones, you may want to learn how to decode them. The ARRL can get you started towards a ham license.



Good luck. Hope to hear you on the air with your new ham license someday.



Frank

KK4PR

Answer 3

First of all, a scanner is a radio receiver which is designed to automatically tune itself over a wide range of frequencies, stopping to let you listen whenever it finds an active frequency. Scanners used to be for just police and public service frequencies; allowing police groupies to follow crime in their area.



Each scanner is designed for a specific range of frequencies. Usually, the frequencies are used for more than just one purpose; like old police frequencies also had taxis, delivery vehicles, the weather radio frequencies, sometimes TV channels and so forth. The scanner you buy and it's frequencies will determine what you will hear. The ham (amateur) 2meter band is close to the old police bands, and may be monitored with a scanner. In many locations, the police have moved to higher frequencies, are using digital communications or other techniques to make monitoring more difficult.



Still, if you get a working scanner, you will probably hear something. And the better your antenna, the larger the area that you will be listening to, so the more things you are likely to hear.



Good luck, and enjoy.

Answer 4

Craigslist Ham Radio