Far Reaching Radios

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Meerkat

Meerkat

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I was looking at radios like VHF or whatever if it was Captain Linda what did she use to communicate with Captain Billy in ' The Perfect Storm '.
If the antennas have to see each other then how did these two talk during that storm?

Its said that she was the last person to speak to those on the boat.
 
Lower frequencies can actually bounce off a layer of the atmosphere and reach several hundred - or even ~1000 - miles. HF (high frequency, which is lower than very high frequency) amateur radios are used to talk to people all over the world. The trouble with this is it isn't reliable; the conditions have to be right for it to work.

Using an HF radio legally in the U.S. requires a General or Extra amateur radio license.
 
bkt said:
Lower frequencies can actually bounce off a layer of the atmosphere and reach several hundred - or even ~1000 - miles. HF (high frequency, which is lower than very high frequency) amateur radios are used to talk to people all over the world. The trouble with this is it isn't reliable; the conditions have to be right for it to work.

Using an HF radio legally in the U.S. requires a General or Extra amateur radio license.
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:welcome: bkt, so most small boat radios like we had on our little Larson were these kind? We could listen to weather and talk to people on channels. But I didn't know what it was at the time. Just radio checks which worked fine.
 
There is a condition called tropospheric ducting that can cause VHF radio signals to travel several hundred miles. It doesn’t happen all the time but it’s neat when it does. I talked to a guy in Missouri from Louisville, Kentucky once on a hand-held transceiver using 5 watts simplex (direct radio to radio) and a small DIY antenna.
 
Meerkat said:
:welcome: bkt, so most small boat radios like we had on our little Larson were these kind? We could listen to weather and talk to people on channels. But I didn't know what it was at the time. Just radio checks which worked fine.
Click to expand...
Conventional marine frequencies are 156MHzto 157MHz (thereabouts) which is VHF. Normally, VHF is line-of-sight but as kd4ulw mentioned it is sometimes possible for these frequencies to bounce off the atmosphere. That's pretty rare, though.
 
If I wanted long distance radios I'd get a single side band (SSB).
 
bkt said:
Conventional marine frequencies are 156MHzto 157MHz (thereabouts) which is VHF. Normally, VHF is line-of-sight but as kd4ulw mentioned it is sometimes possible for these frequencies to bounce off the atmosphere. That's pretty rare, though.
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After posting I watched Capt.Linda Greenlaw and she said he movie was wrong about her conversation with Billy during storm, imagine that Hollyhood dramatizing it.

Caribou said:
If I wanted long distance radios I'd get a single side band (SSB).
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I'll google and see what that is,thanks Car.
 
I remember as a kid (preteen) my dad talking to some people on the almost the other side of the world and hearing the echo of the person. Back then I thought it was really cool.
 
On my SSB I've talked from as far as The Cabo Verde Islands to Halifax and from the Caribbean to a boat off the Pacific Coast of Mexico. I had a station license but I'm not sure if I had a license I certainly never took a test. You can listen legally on any frequency without a license and you can broadcast on some frequencies without a license. In an emergency you can legally broadcast on any frequency.
 
tiffanysgallery said:
It depends.
There's also maritime, which doesn't require an amateur radio license, as i recall.
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Being more complex to operate than the typical VHF marine radio, most countries including the U.S. require that vessels operating MF/HF SSB radios have a station license and the radio operator must also be licensed to operate them.
 
Caribou said:
On my SSB I've talked from as far as The Cabo Verde Islands to Halifax and from the Caribbean to a boat off the Pacific Coast of Mexico. I had a station license but I'm not sure if I had a license I certainly never took a test. You can listen legally on any frequency without a license and you can broadcast on some frequencies without a license. In an emergency you can legally broadcast on any frequency.
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A CB radio that does SSB and which has an amp will reach out pretty far. That's HF - under 30MHz. I've reached pretty far with mine, but it's not at all consistent. And it requires no license at all.

In an emergency if no other means of communication is available, then anyone may use any radio for the purpose of getting help. The real benefit of getting the license isn't to keep things legal. It's to learn how to properly use a radio. The average person won't have a clue how to operate a radio without any training.
 
I'm the kind of radio operator that many radio operators don't like. I may have had a license once or twice but I've never had to take a test and it is long expired if I ever had one. I grew up on boats using VHF and SSB since childhood. I've spent time in villages where everyone had a VHF radio in their home and used it for house to house communication. That is totally illegal but the government is smart enough not be aware of the practice. I can't imagine any of them would be brave enough to enter these villages and try to take away radios, it wouldn't be healthy.

I know the frequencies that I need to use and use them appropriately so nobody gives me a hard time. I know the lingo so I don't really raise any red flags. Only those anal enough to check out every call sign will ever find me out and that hasn't happened yet. It's important to know what you're doing, no matter what you're doing, but the license...meh.
 
Being a libertarian, I generally do not like the idea of licensing because usually it is a means of raising revenue and not of ensuring proper use of a thing. Amateur radio licenses are free, good for ten years, and they're free to renew. The only stipulation to getting one is passing a test that shows you understand radio fundamentals, safety, FCC rules, and general protocol. I really don't see this as onerous.

https://hamstudy.org/ is a great resource. It's free and it will let you study test questions and take practice tests (with explanations to answers!) to get whatever level license you want.
 
bkt said:
A CB radio that does SSB and which has an amp will reach out pretty far. That's HF - under 30MHz. I've reached pretty far with mine, but it's not at all consistent. And it requires no license at all.

In an emergency if no other means of communication is available, then anyone may use any radio for the purpose of getting help. The real benefit of getting the license isn't to keep things legal. It's to learn how to properly use a radio. The average person won't have a clue how to operate a radio without any training.
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Your talking to Mrs.Noclue here :eyeballs: so your right I wouldn't know how to use it but between the two of us we may learn.:Thankyou: though bkt.
 
Go to a Ham Fest and buy some older AARL tech and general instructional manuals plus get some manuals on antenna types. Do some research on line and find some info on older ham HF sets. It is not that hard , and you do not need a license to listen,
A multi band Diapole wire antenna is very good at medium to long range comms.
Heck you might even get interested enough to get a license now that you have the equipment in front of you, to some it makes it easier to understand.
If you are wanting long range comms across a broad range of frequencies that is remotely dependable the ham radio is about the only game in town.
There are 12 volt over 100w radios that can listen and talk for thousands of miles. For the prep lifestyle these units are what we are looking for.
get a CB for comms for ranges of under ten miles.
 
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