Email KY8T
RVers have communications needs beyond those of other motorists. CB is probably the band most often used by RVers for on-the-road communications since it permits them to communicate with truckers and others to determine road conditions. For general communications cell phones have come on strong. However, cell phone service is not available everywhere, and you have to know someone and their number to call for information.
Ham Radio is an excellent way for RVers to communicate with the outside world...and it is a fun hobby as well.
Ham radio is organized in "bands", or groups of contiguous frequencies. These bands are usually referred to by the approximate length of the radio wave at that frequency. There are three main groups of band:
There are other bands, such as microwave, but those shown above are the ones most useful to RVers.
Different bands have different personalities and are useful
for differenent purposes. The HF bands are located where signals are reflected
between the earth's surface and the ionosphere high above the earth, which
at times permits communications nationwide and worldwide. However, 160 meters
requires antennas that are too large for mobile operations, and 80 meters
is marginal. 40 meters is most usful for regional communications during daylight
hours and national communications at night. 20 meters is the premier long
distance (DX) band and provides worldwide communications during daylight hours.
17 meters is similar to 20. 15 meters through 10 meters are DX bands, but
they are highly dependent upon the sunspot cycle and are "open"
sporadically except during sunspot peaks, which occur in 11 year cycles. 6
meters and 1-1/4 meters are lightly used. 2 meters and 70 centimeters are
most useful for local mobile communications.
Before operating a ham radio, you must have a license issued
by the FCC. To obtain a license you must pass an exam. While the top rated
license exams require extensive knowledge of radio, the entry class license
requires only a simple exam that anyone should be able to pass with only a
few hours study. For information on license types and exams, see the Licensing
page.
The simplest form of communication is from radio to radio on a single frequency. Formally this is called "simplex" operation, but informally it is called "direct" communication. CBs and family radio operate exclusively in this way. While ham radios can and often do operate in this way, operation on certain bands (mostly 2 m and 70 cm, but some on 1-1/4m, 6 m and 10 m) uses different transmit and receive frequencies via a "repeater". This is called "duplex" operation. This is how police and fire department radio systems work. Putting the repeater on a tall structure such as a building or tower provides much greater range. From my office in Troy, MI, I can talk to stations in Ann Arbor, MI, which is 40 miles away using a 50 watt transmitter. Using 2 m simplex, I am probably limited to 5-10 miles depending upon terrain, less with CB, and less than a mile with family radios.
Most communities of any size have repeaters, usually in the 2 meter VHF band and in the 70 cm UHF band.