Ham Up

Had a ham license since I was 15, this is my two cents. Many long haul truckers have ham licenses, they are no longer that hard to get and the radios are no harder to install than CBs. It is not unusual to hear trucker hams arranging meetups when they are several states apart, and sometimes days in advance. Most long haul guys use a frequency on 14 MHZ, also known as 20 meters. You can talk for hours on 20 with no range problems. I don't care what how you get into ham radio, once you have a license ( and dump the CB lingo) other hams will not only be happy to talk to you but be interested in your travels. There is not much traffic info on the ham bands, so keep the CB for that. You will find "nets" on 20 meters which include a net for RV owners to kick things around and the "Maritime Net" which follows sailors all over the world, and has access to medical and other experts to help these folks as they sail.
Ham radio clubs now give the license tests and there are plenty of study guides available. We WANT more folks in the hobby, and the FCC has made it easier to get people started. Right now, with the sunspots starting to perk, 20 and several other bands are open all over the world, it's like Forrest Gump and his box of candy. There is a large amount of technology built into mobile ham tranceivers, once you use one you will realize how LITTLE you get for your money in a CB. Looking for a radio club which can provide the tests, just google "ARRL", the national ham organization. Once you learn a little about the technology, and get the license, you come to understand what a good clean signal is all about.
BTW, hams don't pay for our frequencies, we have had most of them ASSIGNED to us since the 1920s. License renewals are FREE.

 

BTW maybe you guys can help me...is there a UHF GMRS/FRS radio frequency now in use instead of Channel 19. I'd like to put that in the receive only bank of my mobile ham VHF/UHF radio. Thanks

 

Yes, many ham transceivers have "general coverage" receivers which cover the 11 meter CB band, receive only, no transmitting. Given the surface mount component technology in the units, dorking with them to TRY to make them transmit could turn into an expensive mistake. So long as you just want to listen, units from Icom, Yaesu, and Kenwood, for example, will amaze you in how much better they hear than the CB receivers. Since ham gear is not on "channels" on HF you would have to learn how to tune the channels by frequency, (19 is what...27.185 MHZ) but if you get a license you
ought to have learned enough to do that.

 

Let me add a little to my answer. I know some ham "radio cops" will be upset that I mentioned that mobile ham transceivers can LISTEN on CB, but you would find THAT info just by looking at the specifications. My bet is that if you are a long haul trucker, get a license and put a ham transceiver with the proper antenna in your truck you will find enough interesting people to talk to all over the US and elsewhere that the ONLY time you will be able to stand listening to "19" is when you are stuck in traffic and want to know what is going on. I've hunted on the vast paper company tracts in northern Maine, all private roads, you really NEED a CB there to work with the drivers of the big log haulers so you don't pull out in front of them, for example. Most intersections have signs reminding you to announce your intentions on 19 before pulling out and the truckers are always letting people know where THEY are by mile marker. It's a good thing, too bad the crazys and crackpots have made it useless in most populated areas.

 

I use a home made folded dipole (no brand name) on 17 at home. I also like 60 meters where mobile ops have a fighting chance despite the short antennas.