gofar99 Messages: 1949 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi Depending on the frequency band, antenna type and power output of the transmitter the range can be world wide. On lower bands such as 40 and 80 meters (roughly 3.5 and 7.2 MHZ) a modest sized transmitter (say 250 watts) can easily do a 1000 miles. The signal will bounce off the ionosphere and travel a long way. The sensitivity and selectivity of the receiver is equally important. At higher frequencies the range is less and by the time you reach about 100 MHZ it is largely line of sight for amateur gear.
Having a ham radio that works worldwide would be really neat. Of course the problem with that is I only know English, so I don't think I could actually communicate unless the other ham radio operator also happened to know English.
Of course, having a ham radio now versus having one when they originally came out would be that many European countries teach English as a requirement in their schools. There is a higher possibility that you would find someone who speaks English.
I think having a ham radio and learning to use one are essential survival skills. Whenever I think of ham radio's I think of end-of-the-world scenario's. I don't know why.
I've noticed that the ham radio "crowd" is a pretty down to earth one. I like them, ham radio's, because they're a holdover type technology from the past.
Hi, That was part of the original reason for international morse code. Not 100% effective but a lot more than local slang.
That's a really good point and why I think Morse code is still useful. As Rhonda said, however, English is known more globally than it used to be, so at least that helps a little too.
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