September 2015 17
THE LATEST IN NETWORKING AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
many objects but are greatly
attenuated. Furthermore, physics state
that higher frequencies travel over
shorter distances for any given power
and receiver sensitivity. What all this
boils down to is a very short potential
range. For a handheld, the range is
probably only a few miles at best
unless you stand on a tall building or
put up an external antenna -- which I
cannot do.
Anyway, those facts should
have dawned on me when I started
this process. I live in a small town
outside of Austin, TX. Most of the
ham activity is within the city, so
my potential for making contacts is
minimal. Nevertheless, I tried.
Checking Out the Two-Meter Band
The two-meter band has more activity and longer range potential, so I
focused my efforts here. One benefit of this band is the availability of repeaters
to extend the range. A repeater is a station that is usually located at a high point
so it can cover a wide area. The repeater receives a signal from a low power
handheld or mobile unit, then retransmits it on a different frequency at a higher
power level. A cell phone tower site does the same thing.
For example, in the two-meter
band, a handheld will transmit on
146.34 MHz -- the receive frequency
of the repeater. The repeater
retransmits on 146.94 MHz. The 0.6
MHz spacing allows the repeater to
utilize the same antenna for transmit
and receive using a duplexer -- a filter
unit that keeps the simultaneous
signals separate. The repeater
produces a huge increase in the
coverage range of portable units.
I checked the American Radio
Relay League (ARRL) repeater
directory to locate potential nearby
repeaters. I identified about a
dozen potential candidates. Using
the scan function on the HT, I was
able to pinpoint some I could hear.
Unfortunately, I was too far away to
make contact.
Another factor is that most
repeaters use a continuous tone
coded squelch system (CTCSS) to
access a repeater. This is the use of a
unique audio tone that a transmitter
must momentarily transmit before the
repeater will respond. There are 42
possible tones from 67 Hz to 254.1
Hz. You need to know that tone to
use the repeater. Most HTs can be set
up to automatically transmit the tone
once you know it. The ARRL repeater
directory gives these tones as well as
the operating frequencies.
The only way that I was able to
make any contacts was to drive into
Austin at some elevated point where I
could access several repeaters. I made
many contacts to confirm the HT’s
operation, which was satisfactory.
Unfortunately, most repeater users
do not seem to engage in casual rag
chewing, as in using other bands
and modes. Many repeaters belong
to clubs so the users are generally
familiar with one another.
Back in the Saddle
So, I am back on the air. Sadly,
it’s been a somewhat disappointing
experience. The combination of an
agonizingly hard-to-use transceiver
and the short range really limits what
you can do. Unless you use repeaters
or put up a high outside antenna,
potential contacts will be few and far
between. HTs are probably great for
emergencies, but are not so enjoyable
as a ham experience. (Just my
opinion, of course.)
My next attempt will be to get
back on the high frequency (HF)
ham bands using CW. That will
occur when I can figure out what
to do about a stealth antenna. I’ll let
you know how that goes in a future
column. NV
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