Ham Radio/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| K5TYP??? | 10/30/2011 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: Chris, I see we are both broadcasters (I am a SBE member myself...and just came back from a SBE ... A: Pleased to meet you, Chris! I was at Keesler from about April 1964 to March 1965. It would have ... | ||
| Ham radio | 10/14/2011 | Chris Boone WB5ITT |
| Q: What are the importance of ham radio during these days. Is it really needed or is it dying? A: Yes it IS needed...during emergencies, normal infrastructures that run the sophisticated systems are ... | ||
| Ham radio and apartment life | 9/25/2011 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: Chris, I am new to the ham world, actually having my license for about 2 years now but just ... A: Big question, Jeff, and all the answers depend on exactly what you are looking to do. If you want ... | ||
| Ham Radio Use Without Antenna | 6/18/2011 | Chris Boone WB5ITT |
| Q: I just recently bought a ham radio. I put in the battery and keyed it up a couple of times without ... A: I take it you have a ham radio license? Evidently if you took a class, they did not teach you the ... | ||
| antenna testing | 5/13/2011 | Chris Boone WB5ITT |
| Q: I would like to know if there is a way of testing an antenna for its optimum frequncy in MHZ and ... A: To find the lower SWR and resonant freq of any antenna takes some RF signal for testing. You dont ... | ||
| Power Supply | 4/30/2011 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I recently bought a sw rdo from usa..(Palstar R30A) There's no pwr supply with it... i'm wondering ... A: Any power supply that will give you a clean 12 volt 1 amp source will work fine. If you have a ... | ||
| p25 enryption ? | 4/20/2011 | Chris Boone WB5ITT |
| Q: Will i be able to get las vegas fbi on the radio as well as las vegas police on the digital enrypted ... A: Well, this is not a ham radio question but in any case, the answer is NO...P25 scanners are ... | ||
| icr75 icom | 4/4/2011 | Chris Boone WB5ITT |
| Q: I have the icr75 icom and was wondering if i can get trunked systems on it? What might it have if ... A: That is not a trunked frequency...its a VHF Hiband channel...normal scanners (and the R75) will pick ... | ||
| getting started | 3/20/2011 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: Sir My company has a communications need and we are wondering ir it can be met by HAM radio. We ... A: To begin with, Mark, HAM radio is not the answer. HAM is non-commercial radio which you could not ... | ||
| TV show looking for ham radio expert... | 3/1/2011 | Chris Boone WB5ITT |
| Q: My name is Matt Caliri, and I work for the television show HOARDERS. We are working on finding ... A: You did not leave a main phone number to call...just the extension doesn't help. In ham radio ... | ||
| TV show looking for ham radio expert | 3/1/2011 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: My name is Matt Caliri, and I work for the television show HOARDERS. We are working on finding ... A: Interesting concept, Matt. I retired a couple of years ago and moved to Northern California, but I ... | ||
| What do I need. | 12/22/2010 | Chris Boone WB5ITT |
| Q: I am getting my license on January 5 and I need to know what type of radio I need. I want something ... A: A HT is a good start but you will eventually want a mobile for better range, etc.....I hope you try ... | ||
| extreme tower farm | 12/9/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I have a new neighbor that has recently bought 17 acres next to me for the solo purpose of erecting ... A: Wow, this guy is serious! Luckily, most serious Hams are also responsible Hams and good neighbors. ... | ||
| generation | 10/8/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I'm an eighth grader and I am unsure on how a transmitter generated waves My teacher is not so keen ... A: .. Here is a link to a pretty good explanation... http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio5.htm ... | ||
| SW Radio | 9/27/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: Bushman: I'm thinking about buying an Allied 6 band shortwave radio which is selling for $55.00 ... A: The Pro-2037 is a scanner and not a short-wave receiver. $65 is a pretty fair price for a pretty ... | ||
| SW Radio | 9/25/2010 | George Derringer |
| Q: Derringer: I'm thinking about buying an Allied 6 band shortwave radio which is selling for $55.00 ... A: I strongly suggest you NOT buy this radio. It was OK in its day, which was 1970 or so, but shortwave ... | ||
| SW Radio | 9/25/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: Bushman: I'm thinking about buying an Allied 6 band shortwave radio which is selling for $55.00 ... A: An OK deal, but not great, Francisco. I think it's probably about 30-40 years old, not the latest ... | ||
| Annoying neighbor with radio!!! | 9/9/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: Have young adult neighbor who lives with his dad. Has a radio of some kind he talks on any time of ... A: Pat, this guy sounds very much like a CB'er (Citizens' Band operator). It is very unlikely that he ... | ||
| equipment info | 8/25/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I'm new to the amateur radio world and wanted to know if there is one unit that can do everything a ... A: The short answer is no. Contemporary Ham radios generally only transmit within Ham bands which ... | ||
| help to identify this ham radio of grandfathers | 3/9/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: My grandfather passed away and left his radio to my dad. My dad has since passed away and my mom has ... A: This is a Hallicrafters SX-62 general coverage receiver. It was made between 1948 and 1950. It is ... | ||
| Repeater | 3/6/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: We have a repeater in the area that transmits 100 watts for ten seconds as the hang-time. When it ... A: I can relate to your repeater. I'm old and fade in and out sometimes too <grin>. I don't think just ... | ||
| Long range communication | 3/5/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: Following the latest earthquacke in Chile, I thought about securing means of communications between ... A: Good thought, Jay. The only viable option is to become a licensed Ham. Ham communications during ... | ||
| Best radio for range | 2/28/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I am trying to determine what kind of radios to buy that could be used in the event of a ... A: 40 meter monobanders are rare, Steve. There are some good options out there in compact multiband ... | ||
| Best radio for range | 2/26/2010 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I am trying to determine what kind of radios to buy that could be used in the event of a ... A: Assuming you are talking about Ham Radio, then 40 meters would suit your needs. Repeaters are used ... | ||
| ssb | 12/17/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: i have an ordinary sw radio , i tuned it to 7 -7.1mhz .there is only ssb,but my receiver have not ... A: Of course you could build a BFO, it's merely an adjustable oscillator. The difficult part would be ... | ||
| ssb | 12/16/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: i have an ordinary sw radio , i tuned it to 7 -7.1mhz .there is only ssb,but my receiver have not ... A: If your radio has a variable beat frequency oscillator (BFO) - a setting that creates a tone used to ... | ||
| Antennas | 12/10/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I have a 6 in external antenna that I connect my radio to on my jeep, it is a 0db unity gain ... A: Well, Ryan, I think there are too many variables here to know for sure. My best guess is that there ... | ||
| Ham radio external antennas | 12/6/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: especially the UHF ham bands. I was if connecting a CB magnetic mount antenna to a UHF Ham radio ... A: Wow, Ryan, you sure are full of questions tonight!!! If the SWR is very high, there is a very high ... | ||
| Ham radio external antennas | 12/6/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: especially the UHF ham bands. I was if connecting a CB magnetic mount antenna to a UHF Ham radio ... A: There are things called traps and coils in small antennas that make them think they are big. They ... | ||
| Ham radio external antennas | 12/6/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: especially the UHF ham bands. I was if connecting a CB magnetic mount antenna to a UHF Ham radio ... A: You need to remember, Ryan, that frequency and antenna length are directly related. Antennas for ... | ||
| 2 way radio | 11/19/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I have 4 Audiovox FR548-2ch 2 way radios that are 6-7 years old..I have 2 chargers..each will charge ... A: If the charger was designed for NiMH cells, then the capacity of those cells is not a compatibility ... | ||
| SK / etiquette of radio practice | 11/17/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: A very good friend recently died and I would like to use his call sign as a Morse code cell phone ... A: Elizabeth, I think he would be honored. I know of no rules, practices, or traditions that would ... | ||
| new radio | 9/19/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I have just purchased a new Icom IC-V82 the new 7watt radio they have come out with. I am having a ... A: You don't actually set the transmit freq, you set an offset from the receive freq. You tell the ... | ||
| using a ham radio as a pger? | 9/17/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I have a puxing 777 and was wondering if this unit can be used as a pager. By this I mean say for my ... A: Tony, I'm afraid that your Puxing is not capable of that. Your pager, which is probably a Minitor, ... | ||
| using a ham radio as a pger? | 9/17/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: I have a puxing 777 and was wondering if this unit can be used as a pager. By this I mean say for my ... A: The first thing to do, Tony, is to find out what frequency is used by the paging system. The ... | ||
| SONY 7600GR | 9/13/2009 | George Derringer |
| Q: I would like to listen to overseas radio stations (shor-wave radio stns) in my car (!). I read a ... A: You have chosen a fine radio -- but shortwave doesn't work well in moving cars. The metal of the ... | ||
| MFJ-969 Ant tuner - Worth getting? | 8/24/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: Mr. Bushman, Have not been on-line lately, laptop HD failed. I wanted to recover as much data as ... A: Joe, if I were in the market for a tuner, I would buy this one. MFJ has a reputation for providing ... | ||
| SHORT WAVES RADIOS. | 7/9/2009 | George Derringer |
| Q: SIR, WOULD YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW THAT WHICH ARE BEST POSSIBLE SW RADIOS[BOTH PORTABLE AND DESK TOP] ... A: Well, "Best" is a judgment call and depends on how much money you can spend. I can offer you a few ... | ||
| IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE HAVE A PRIVET RADIO STATION IN OUR SETUATION | 6/17/2009 | Chris Bushman |
| Q: My name is Abdullah Almershed, living in Kuwait,which is about 818,17 Km, located in Arabian Gulf. ... A: I am most familiar with Ham Radio, not broadcast radio, but here is some information that may be ... | ||
| Ham Radio vs Wireless Security Systems | 5/4/2009 | George Derringer |
| Q: I am writing to ask about possible interference between Ham Radio signals and wireless burglar alarm ... A: There really is no reason that amateur signals should interfere with your wireless security system ... | ||
Chris Bushman
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I have been an amateur radio operator for about 36 years.
Experience
In real life I manage a small motion picture film lab in Hollywood. I've been a fireman, a teacher of English in Okinawa, a personal computer tutor.
I am an Advanced Class Ham radio operator using my originally issued callsign WB6EEQ. I have operated for extended periods of time from Okinawa (KR6FX & KR6OP), Texas (K5VXG), and Mississippi (K5TYP).
While in the Air Force, I was a Manual Morse Radio Intercept Operator.
BS Zoology, UC Davis
Member, Society of Motion Picture/Television Engineers http://www.smpte.org/ - Member, American Radio Relay League http://www.arrl.org/ - Member, Quarter Century Wireless Assn. http://www.lockport-ny.com/radio.htm - President, Zen Nippon Airinkai, So Cal Chapter http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Chris_Bushman/ - Member, Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Society http://www.westval.com/mfalcons/ - Alumni, American Brewers' Guild http://www.abgbrew.com/
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