We had 11-year-old girl who just got her license on 52 on a Saturday calling CQ. All she wanted to do was make contacts and she was on for an hour making contacts.
I'm on a Facebook group dedicated 146.520 and most of the time people are complaining that the frequency is always dead. In my area there is a group of us that use it. I agree with using 146.520 for a net. Stir up some people to use the frequency more that way, then maybe the frequency will become more popular in areas that are dead. As for the nay-sayers and frequency police, instead of sitting there idle maybe you should drum up some activity. We lose amateur radio frequencies due to frequencies not being active. So would you rather let a net run on 146.520 or lose precious amateur radio frequencies?
Spot on. I used to involved with a group of guys that used it as a local net. This was just after I got my Technician license 10 years ago. It’s better that 146.52 gets used than not. Plus, where are people who are traveling through your are most likely to be? On 52!
I learned the phonetic alphabet in boot camp going into the military. It's amazing how quick you pick it up when you have a Drill Sargent barking at you to do pushups till you get it correct.
Love the ATAS-120. First try on 20m sitting in the DARA parking lot. Austria. Threw my call sign once dude had me 55 from Dayton OH in the Vienna area of Austria.
Hi everyone. We have local net on 146.520 for about 1 hour a week. We use the frequency for 1 hour and leave the frequency free for about 167 hours per week. During the net we sheared frequency with a lot of radio operators reported to the net and is the most concurrent net. It good opportunity to test your equipment and coverage without repeaters just in case you prepare for emergency situations or hurricane season in my area. We running the net for more than 10 years now. On part 97 not found any about calling frequency. 146.520 is a simplex frequency like other one in 2m or any other band. Enjoy the hobby and make 146.520 great because in emergency situations on “”””calling frequencies “””” you not found anyone to call. 73’s.
Unless the FCC specifies how certain frequencies have to be used you won’t find information about calling frequencies or what mode should be used in the rules from the FCC. Using 146.520 as the 2 meter FM calling frequency here in the US comes from the gentlemen‘s agreement of the ARRL band plan.
Aircraft mobile operator worked me on 446.000 from over 100 miles distant. I used a DJ-S41 300mW HT with permanent stubby. He lamented when he gave a call on "dead" 146.520, everyone stomped on each other. despite his attempts to ask for specific prefixes or suffixes. When he switched to 446.000, we had a long and casual contact. Every exchange, he asked if ANYONE wanted to join in, with NO other answers.
A group of organized Hams in the area, we do a simplex net on 146.430 or 146.535 to test antennas and equipment distance and practice relaying messages across three counties. we leave 146.520 alone.
For the past couple of years I’ve live next to I-75 and was able to cover about a 60 mile stretch from my house simplex wise. And it would be once a week or so I’d hear someone on the interstate calling out on 52. I tried to answer as many as I heard, but the frequency stays quiet a lot. Since it seems it’s quiet mostly across the US, why not stir up some activity on 52 with a net. Check in if you hear one!
Exactly! Our club holds a monthly .520 net to test equipment and let you know what your simplex range is. If an emergency were to happen, everyone in the area knows to go to .520 and then if needed you can move up from there..
My club does a weekly simplex net (open to all licensed operators), and one of the weeks is 2m. We meet on our repeater, take roll, then everyone QSY over to the calling frequency. Our net control announces our intention, invites anyone to join, then we proceed with our net control calling all stations that wanted to participate. When everyone has had their turn, we QSY back to our repeater, inviting anyone that joined from the simplex side along and then everyone gives their signal report. After that sometimes we try simplex D-Star or SSB, depending on whose radio can do what, but that's optional. Never had ANYONE complain about our simplex nets, ever. Use the proper phonetic alphabet. It was developed for a reason. If you confuse Sierra for Zero, you know it is the other one... not that hard.
I host a simplex net every Sunday night in E TN. My suggestion to this guy is since he lives in GA is to check out the SERA band plan. They are the repeater band plan association in the eastern US. On there they have all the simplex frequencies that you can use. The one we use is 146.595
The reading of license plates to practice phonetics is a great idea, and what I employed to "prep" for my career in law enforcement, and pass that part of the entrance exam. Unfortunately what became ingrained in me to the point of it being a reflex action to switch between the normal and phonetic alphabet, was the police phonetic alphabet, which is totally different from the ITU/NATO alphabet used by Hams. I had a helluva time at first, unlearning one phonetic for the other, so I fell back on the license plate reading and was able to quickly make the transfer. Much to my surprise, I didn't loose my ability to still fall into the police phonetics without having to think about it, I became "bilingual". I always wondered how people could do that with regular languages, it's a weird feeling. As Mike says, keep practicing and one day it will just "click", and you'll find yourself being conversant in phonetics... but I still keep a laminated copy of the ITU/NATO alphabet near me for the times I have a brain fart or senior moment, trying to recall a letter.
I live near houston and 146520 is rarely used. In my opinion, if there is no usage in the area, why not use it? If there is someone who wants to use this Freq to call, then the net can move to back up freq. Atleast, the calling frequency is monitored more than never...
From my home to Huntsville and back. The only places I had any traffic on .52 were Indianapolis and Huntsville. I was calling CQ on there about every 5 minutes.
Good advice all round as usual. I monitor .520 when travelling and have only heard two truckers talking to each other a couple of years ago. I still scan it though, just in case. I see nothing wrong with an informal net on that freq, but like you showed, there are a lot of other freqs available. I learned the phonetic alphabet in the Army so using it is fairly easy but I like the exercises you propose. Thanks for another great video.
SETX, in Beaumont, usually has someone listening if not myself answering. I've talked with travelers several times, and you may catch us just ragchewing with each other on 146.52 .
From Reno, NV to La Grande, OR (about 600 miles). On the way up, putting out my callsign about every 20 minutes (or when passing groups of traffic), I made ONE contact. Same result on the way back to Reno. On the road, CB is still king, but not much there anymore either. Oh, and I have NOT done any bonding or grounding with my ATAS120 mounted on my full metal 2016 F-350. I took your advice and didn't bother with grounding or bonding when I installed the mount. Antenna works fabulously!
My diamond mount was on an ATAS, and the screws were on the metal and it didn't work at all. I tried so many times to make it work. It looks so cool and light weight, but I gave up. I love my Little Tarheel - great antenna. No issues with it going up or down. I have had it with three cars.
Our local 2m repeater is on 146.79 and (146.19input) standard -600khz offset. Many of the locals use 146.46 for simplex and I have never heard any interference on the repeater from this traffic. I have never made a contact on 52 either.
I had CW contacts to Sweden and Belgium this weekend on an ATAS. Simple to use with an 891 and effective.
5 місяців тому+3
Plenty of simplex frequencies on 2m so as a matter of polite operation a net would be a no go in my opinion.. I have been guilty of calling then talking on the calling frequencies when there is little to no activity.. 6m SSB sees this happen a lot but people know that the band is open and will bump up 5 to 10 and start calling because most know to scan from .125 to .250 when the band is open.. Calling on 146.52 to collect up a group then move up to .55 is a more acceptable route for a net/conversation that would last for a while.. Nothing wrong with advertising on the calling frequency and moving more people up to a net by calling there either..
I read license plates too. Good practice. And every once in awhile you find a Ham with a call sign vanity plate. Enjoy your videos, keep up the good work.
I learned Phonetics in the Navy, as it was required long before I got my license. Law enforcement mostly use names for a particular letter. It just comes naturally for me but others may take time. Just practice like Mike did reading license plates.
I own a simplex IRLP node and chose 146.43 for it. I purposely avoided 146.52 because I consider the node to be access to a repeater network, and therefore not for a calling frequency. Leave 146.52 for its intended purpose....calling CQ and then moving to a different frequency for "chewing the fat."
Love my ATAS-120A and FT-891 in the 4Runner. I recently got North Pole AK and a station in the Netherlands running 45 watts from NH. I’ve done an activation from the western mountains of ME twice getting 95 contacts combined.
This past Saturday, I went for a cruise on 27 South here in Tennessee and drove down to Dayton. On the way down, I've put out calls and no one came back to me. On the way home, had a station in Cleveland come came to me. Tried having a QSO, but with the mountains, which made it difficult. One more thing, check your local RF governing body. There's plenty of FM and Digital voice simplex frequencies.
7025 KHz is our unofficial CW call frequency during the day here on the East coast of Aus Convention is we QSY off 7025 after an RST if we’re going to rag chew. However, if we don’t, then no one yells at you. It’s CW. Everyone is friendly and are happy if you’re just having a go.
I would go Tarheel because where it shines is on 40m. WSPR tests aside on 20m, which when the band conditions are good will work on a “wet noodle”. To me WSPR is also an unfair assessment because it doesn’t necessarily mean a SSB or even CW signal is going to be heard in the same spot. I initially started with the 891 & ATAS120. I managed to meet a group at 2:30am while traveling to work on 40m with this setup but was seriously subjected to noisy band conditions (lightning crashes on their end) and really bad QSB and was only heard maybe 20% of the time. I switched to the little Tarheel 2 with a 48” whip and this increased me to being heard by the same group 50-75% of the time. I put a 66” whip on and went to being heard by the same group 85-99% of the time. You can’t add a longer whip to the ATAS as it will mess up tuning with the way it’s designed. Also as Mike said you can easily change the whip to a 17’ one and increase your signal by up to 2 S-Units (12db) when stationary on 40m. For me I’m more than willing to give up ease of use vs performance any day of the week. On the higher bands 20-10 it’s pretty much a wash.
I struggled remembering call signs. I started writing down other people's call signs during nets and that helped a little bit. But when i started activations for POTA that's when i REALLY started getting comfortable keeping track of call signs and the NATO alphabet. I'm still improving with every activation
@@dorvinion well, it helps when a good friend of mine is a technician and we activate each other on 146.52, I also used it after a local ARES exercise for a fair number of contacts
It was good to see you on the waterfall the other day and get you in the logbook! If anything was ever "Sad Ham" worthy (or QSH as I call it) it's, "Stay off of five-two!" followed by complaining that "five-two is dead all the time!" Like you, I used to drive around with one channel on146.52 and never, and I mean NEVER, heard a peep on it. My ATAS works great with the 4-screw-into-the-paint mount that's recommended in the instructions. I did make a small effort to improve the grounding before resorting to the "just see how it works" approach, and being happy with the results, stopped any further effort (although the Apollo moonlander-esque copper tape I used in a couple of places looks freaking cool). MFJ makes a simple "up/down" ATAS controller (no memory or anything fancy like that) that can be used with other radios. It just isn't as elegant as the built-in mechanism, but it will get the ATAS dialed in well enough. I have it for when I want to run a non-Yaesu rig in my vehicle. The ATAS is fairly simple in its demands. No DC voltage on the coax, no movement. Send 12vdc on the coax and up she goes; 8vdc brings it down, FWIW. Love the channel, and keep up the good work!! 73!
I got my first ticket in 4-22 or 23 and have talked on the 520 with a fuw who immediately became buddy's and talk every evening and morning almost ever sense but their is a fuw older guys whining about it around here to ! But i say heck with them and i talk any way..i have ben into radios for 35-40 years so im old school 11m guy that may or may not have used to run on the bowel (ch6) with Real Power..lol. (If you know you know) so i can b stubborn to !
I hear a SOTA activation from my QTH once or twice a summer. Up in Yellowstone/GTNP area, I'll hear travelers every once in a while, but not too often. I'd say use it or lose it.
Wilderness Protocol Nets are specifically intended for the National Calling Frequencies. If you’re an amateur station, look up the protocol and initiate your own Wilderness Protocol Nets on the National Calling Frequencies you are able to access at 1, 4, 7, and 10 on both sides of the clock for a period of 5 minutes at the top of the hour during these times. If we don’t use the frequencies, we loose the frequencies.
Im a bit far away from a repeater, 28 miles from a city and 38 miles to a different the opposite direction from living in rural Alabama. I want to try 146.520 daily and people in my area are hardly on.
Have an HT with 2 VFOs. Had the 2nd VFO set to monitor 52. There are many times I’ve heard people on there rag chewing. But I live in Richardson Texas, suburban Dallas, and there are many hams around here so that’s the reason there is traffic on it. Jack / KF5SGC. 73.
Your shirt says it correctly. More cowbell. Just wanna say I also struggled with translating phonetics to callsigns when I started out. Took a while to become more natural. Print out all the things!
Every now and then my local club does a simplex qso net on 146.52 after the weekly net. It's a great way to see who can talk to who if the repeater goes down. Many members that want to have after net chats will tune to that freq to avoid tying up the repeater. Most folks have the freq already programmed in anyway, and it's different tying up the frequency in the surrounding 10-20 miles that your radio can hit point to point from tying up a 60+ mile repeater coverage area. A simplex net isn't really a "net."
Driving cross country I only use 2-meter simplex - too difficult to program multiple repeaters on the go. Best time to call CQ is on those high hills overlooking valleys or driving up the mountain. I've had great QSOs that way only to lose contact after I reached the summit and started going down the other side. Well, that's line-of-sight comms for ya.
The reason it may interfere with the repeater is possibly that the repeater has a link frequency which is specifically using 146.850Mhz. Right or wrong, good or bad, that would at least be a rational justification for avoiding that specific frequency.
I leave the radio on 6.52 while on the highway. When people see my ham license plate, they just naturally seem to go to 52 and give me a call. We just talk right there.
good video! What is your bench radio you showed?? it looks to be a clone of the Yaesu FT8800 (which I have and LOVE!!) Yaesu should have NEVER given up the Hyper Memory buttons. Have you done a review on the model you have on the bench? cheers 73 from Utah
Phonetics. I first learned the alphabet while in the Army. If someone is not fortunate enough to serve, then join a local radio club and take part in the practice nets. When you are ready, become a net control. If you can manage the "interesting characters" on a local net, you can easily handle a pile up on an HF CQ. Good luck all and 73, KF0NNQ.
I have my ATAS 120a mounted (when not on the truck) on a metal chain-link fence. With the exception of 6 meters, it tunes all the bands without a problem. I love mine, and wonder what I did without it. On the phonetics - They're designed to be understood by everyone. So, if you're having trouble copying someone's call sign - they're going too fast, and need to slow down. And, I agree. You probably shouldn't hold a net on 146.52. There are plenty of other frequencies to do it on.
What do you have for a 2 meter antenna? Here in rural Kansas there are almost daily q's going on. Just worked aero mobile C130 crew member on 146.520 and 446.000 mhz a couple days ago!
Lots of areas for 2-meter simplex. 15kc is suggested only. If your area that has very heavy vhf usage, it might be a good idea to use that as a starting point. Where I'm located everybody and their brother has a repeater and the usage is very minimal. you could go all day scanning and hear a handful of people. Use 520 and forget about it, For me it will be great to hear others. I have left Dayton Oh traveling back to Wv and would be lucky on my 4 hour drive if I heard anyone. maybe they are using 147.520 as its a suggestion for simplex as well.
Your review on the retvis RT95 a while ago back persuaded me to buy it as a Christmas gift to myself to have something in my truck. Im just concerned about if the coax will be pinched if i use a hood antenna mount for my ram 1500. 73 kq4hcu
In Los Angeles we hear a lot of 146.520. It's not uncommon for people to call out and make contacts. They'll have a short 5 minutes conversation and then sign. Some times a short round robin will start. Everyone likes it this way. If people are going to have a really long rag chew they'll go up to 146.550 or whatever. The only thing I find annoying is sometimes people will get on 1460520 and start calling CQ CQ Summits on the Air. They can go on for hours and hours and it does get annoying. I'd rather they spot themselves and use another frequency for that because it co-opts the frequency.
If no one is using the calling frequency at the time the net is held I say use it for the net, but have some alternate frequencies just in case someone else is already using the frequency. It is unfortunate that there isn’t much traffic on 146.520 or any other simplex frequency for that matter. I have made three or four random contacts on 146.52 since getting my license two years ago. The first one was during a band opening in June of last year and the other two were this past May when heading to northern Michigan. All my other contacts on .52 were more or less planned. While I don’t have any Yaesu radios yet I agree that if someone has an ATAS capable radio using the ATAS antenna should be a no brainer. If I had the 891 for portable or mobile use I would save my nickels and get the ATAS antenna for my truck. As for the phonetic alphabet I learned that 25 years ago and was drilled into my head by the Army. Practicing it is really the only way to get it down.
I think what you said about using the 146.52 makes sense. Otherwise, who listens to it? If you do listen and someone has a real emergency, you stop the net and respond to them. That's what we should do anyway.
As for interfering with repeaters, doesn't the CTCSS tones that the repeater uses there to prevent simplex signals from hitting the receiver of the repeater? I mean, if you don't have that CTCSS tone set, you shouldn't break the repeaters squelch and open it up.
I really wish '52 was more useful more often. In theory, it should be a great "common room"; but in practice, I think because HTs often just don't have the range, and so many of us are on HTs, it just sits fallow. I've heard some traffic when I'm out on the road, but nothing significant. The rule-follower in me still wants to say, "Don't use '52 for nets", but really, as long as the entire net understand they might get a break-in by someone who isn't necessarily there for the net, from a practical standpoint, meh. In particular, if I got on '52 just looking to make Any Contact and there was a net there, I'd call that Making a Contact and feel pretty good about it 😀 And if I'm looking for someone specific, I'd probably sked to meet them on one of the local repeaters anyway.
If you call CQ CQ 146.52 and don't get any response, then I would say it isn't being used. Look at the band plan for preferred simplex frequencies and avoid repeater inputs/outputs, sat frequencies, and digital mode frequencies.
Mike can you do a demo on how to program a repeter on the Icom -51/52 from the keyboard. There are no instruction in the Icom manual and nothing on line, Thanks PS do not use the repeter list progamed in the phone.
I'm in true nor cal as well and we do a simplex net on .52. :) 99% it's quiet, basically unused unless we are using it, but I've been encouraging more hams to monitor and use it.
My 2 cents worth - I wouldn’t really encourage nets on what is essentially a calling frequency but provided you leave sufficient breaks between overs I don’t object. I do encourage calling for POTA and SOTA contacts, again leaving sufficient breaks for travellers etc.
For you folks, here's the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, and some mnemonics to help you all out: A- ALFA (Think 'Alphabet." Spelled with F, not PH, to not confuse orthography to pronunciation) N- NOVEMBER (Think of the 2nd to the last month of the year) B-BRAVO (Think of a celebrating a stage performance) O- OSCAR (Think of the Oscar Meyer hot dogs) C-CHARLIE (Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) P- PAPA (Puh-pah, like what you might call your Dad.) D-DELTA (Think Delta Airlines) Q- QUEBEC (French-speaking Canadian province.) E-ECHO (Echo, to repeat) R- ROMEO (Think Romeo and Juliet) F-FOXTROT (Think of a fox in a forest trotting around) S- SIERRA (Popular city in Nevada) G-GOLF (A popular sport) T- TANGO (Think of the dance) H-HOTEL (Where you go to stay when traveling) U- UNIFORM (Think of the military uniform) I-INDIA (Well-known Asian country) V- VICTOR (Popular name) J-JULIET (Again, Romeo and Juliet) W- WHISKEY (Probably a nice drink when rag-chewing) K-KILO (A common unit meaning "thousand," such as kilogram) X- X-RAY (This should be easy. Think of a doctor's office) L- LIMA (It's actually lee-muh, unlike the bean!) Y- YANKEE (What sometimes us Americans are called. Think of the songs you learned growing up) M-MIKE (Another popular name) Z- ZULU (Zulu is what time format is used in the military, especially maritime)
I have no problem using phonetic alphabet. I am NCS for a local net, we have one ham insets that phonetic alphabet should NOT!!! be used on the VHF UHV repeaters. Your thought?
Haven't watched the video yet, but here is the answer. Do what you want. Be creative the way you want. Don't let the idiots in this hobby change the way you enjoy it. Clubs don't own frequencies. Operators don't own frequencies. Operate anywhere you want with your license privileges. Maybe just go up a few from 146.520. Don't let other people rob you of your joy. The sad hams in this world wake up every day to make everyone's life miserable because they are miserable. There are so many people in this hobby who want YOU to operate the way THEY do, which is just stupid. Why would I live my life to someone else's standards? Don't let them bring you down. Do as you wish my friend, and I'll see you on the air. 73, Bob, K3RDF
I am loging all the local nets. Not net control, just put down all the calls as they log in! I am getting almost good at getting the calls. I think if you are not learning you are not much of a ham!
eh. I don't support using the national calling frequency for a net because as mobile operators come into an area they may wish to use the calling frequency to reach out to local operators, or local operators trying to reach their friends or other regular contacts on the calling frequency before switching to a different simplex frequency wouldn't be able to do so. Holding a net on this frequency would prevent that and there's no specifically identified alternate calling frequency that I'm aware of. It's a good idea to consult the local band plan if for no other reason than the band plan exists to attempt to maximize the use of the spectrum while trying to help keep operating simple. If I'm in a state that recommends 15kHz steps to the create pseudo-channels, I'll use 15kHz steps, if I'm in a state with 20kHz recommended steps I'll use 20kHz. It's not about some kind of hard, fast rule, it's about being polite to other operators, and becomes increasingly important the higher the density of active operators in a given area. If we're supposed to as ham radio operators be polite to each other, then following long-standing guidelines that aren't burdensome shouldn't be a problem.
@@hamradiotube the problem wasn't the guy who sent you the question. It was actually one of the old guard kinda sad hams. thanks for answering . that was great
Proper use of the phonetic alphabet is one of my pet peeves. When I work FM satellites you have a limited time to make a QSO and trying to break in is like a mosh pit. The exchange is callsign, grid, 73 - that's it. When you are trying to copy this simple information, you are expecting to hear a properly sent callsign. When using those 'other' alphabets it makes the contact more difficult. It's ZULU not ZANAZBAR. It's INDIA not ITALY. It's YANKEE not YOKAHAMA. The best way to learn the proper phonetic alphabet is 'BRUTE FORCE MEMORIZATION.' Remember practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.
No. The calling frequency is for seeking contacts/help. Years can go by with nothing, then one day there is an emergency. That is what it is for. Hopefully it is not you that is having an emergency. If people "mess with the rules" soon they will become meaningless.
If nobody is monitoring the frequency and you have an emergency, who will be listening?!? Might as well yell into a paper bag, you will at least avoid hyperventilation.
We do a simplex net on .52. If it weren't for our simplex net the frequency would basically be unused, but I encourage all the hams I know to monitor and use 146.52. There are some locals with a more old school view that it should only be used for calling, but the reality is that it's unused. Even in a more populated neighboring county they have a weekly net on .52 so we thought why not do ours there too. Thanks for the video. Good topics!
We had 11-year-old girl who just got her license on 52 on a Saturday calling CQ. All she wanted to do was make contacts and she was on for an hour making contacts.
That is frickin' awesome!
I'm on a Facebook group dedicated 146.520 and most of the time people are complaining that the frequency is always dead. In my area there is a group of us that use it. I agree with using 146.520 for a net. Stir up some people to use the frequency more that way, then maybe the frequency will become more popular in areas that are dead. As for the nay-sayers and frequency police, instead of sitting there idle maybe you should drum up some activity. We lose amateur radio frequencies due to frequencies not being active. So would you rather let a net run on 146.520 or lose precious amateur radio frequencies?
I agree
I use the freq on the road. It gets interesting at times.
If the frequency is not in use, use it.
Exactly
Spot on. I used to involved with a group of guys that used it as a local net. This was just after I got my Technician license 10 years ago. It’s better that 146.52 gets used than not. Plus, where are people who are traveling through your are most likely to be? On 52!
It amazes people cry about things when no one is using it then cry again when it is being used.
I learned the phonetic alphabet in boot camp going into the military. It's amazing how quick you pick it up when you have a Drill Sargent barking at you to do pushups till you get it correct.
Love the ATAS-120. First try on 20m sitting in the DARA parking lot. Austria. Threw my call sign once dude had me 55 from Dayton OH in the Vienna area of Austria.
Hi everyone. We have local net on 146.520 for about 1 hour a week. We use the frequency for 1 hour and leave the frequency free for about 167 hours per week. During the net we sheared frequency with a lot of radio operators reported to the net and is the most concurrent net. It good opportunity to test your equipment and coverage without repeaters just in case you prepare for emergency situations or hurricane season in my area. We running the net for more than 10 years now. On part 97 not found any about calling frequency. 146.520 is a simplex frequency like other one in 2m or any other band. Enjoy the hobby and make 146.520 great because in emergency situations on “”””calling frequencies “””” you not found anyone to call. 73’s.
Unless the FCC specifies how certain frequencies have to be used you won’t find information about calling frequencies or what mode should be used in the rules from the FCC. Using 146.520 as the 2 meter FM calling frequency here in the US comes from the gentlemen‘s agreement of the ARRL band plan.
Aircraft mobile operator worked me on 446.000 from over 100 miles distant. I used a DJ-S41 300mW HT with permanent stubby. He lamented when he gave a call on "dead" 146.520, everyone stomped on each other. despite his attempts to ask for specific prefixes or suffixes. When he switched to 446.000, we had a long and casual contact. Every exchange, he asked if ANYONE wanted to join in, with NO other answers.
A group of organized Hams in the area, we do a simplex net on 146.430 or 146.535 to test antennas and equipment distance and practice relaying messages across three counties. we leave 146.520 alone.
For the past couple of years I’ve live next to I-75 and was able to cover about a 60 mile stretch from my house simplex wise. And it would be once a week or so I’d hear someone on the interstate calling out on 52. I tried to answer as many as I heard, but the frequency stays quiet a lot. Since it seems it’s quiet mostly across the US, why not stir up some activity on 52 with a net. Check in if you hear one!
Exactly! Our club holds a monthly .520 net to test equipment and let you know what your simplex range is. If an emergency were to happen, everyone in the area knows to go to .520 and then if needed you can move up from there..
My club does a weekly simplex net (open to all licensed operators), and one of the weeks is 2m. We meet on our repeater, take roll, then everyone QSY over to the calling frequency. Our net control announces our intention, invites anyone to join, then we proceed with our net control calling all stations that wanted to participate. When everyone has had their turn, we QSY back to our repeater, inviting anyone that joined from the simplex side along and then everyone gives their signal report. After that sometimes we try simplex D-Star or SSB, depending on whose radio can do what, but that's optional. Never had ANYONE complain about our simplex nets, ever.
Use the proper phonetic alphabet. It was developed for a reason. If you confuse Sierra for Zero, you know it is the other one... not that hard.
When folks don’t use the proper phonetics on the air , I always make sure to use the right ones back at them 😊
You must have a hay day, correcting the Europeans then. 😂
@@kelley64 heck no, the U.S. guys have been far worse so far
I hear bad phonetics all day. I have people read me VIN numbers in various phonetics.
as prior military we said ZULU, not zed, it drives me up a wall...
L@@John_Ai9D
I host a simplex net every Sunday night in E TN. My suggestion to this guy is since he lives in GA is to check out the SERA band plan. They are the repeater band plan association in the eastern US. On there they have all the simplex frequencies that you can use. The one we use is 146.595
What part of E. TN?
@@ricks3313 Fentress County
146.520 is often used in my area. A local garage and rescue squad monitor as cell service is poor in some areas.
I agree with you. I always monitor in the Orlando area do engage occasionally on 146.520 about once a week.
The reading of license plates to practice phonetics is a great idea, and what I employed to "prep" for my career in law enforcement, and pass that part of the entrance exam.
Unfortunately what became ingrained in me to the point of it being a reflex action to switch between the normal and phonetic alphabet, was the police phonetic alphabet, which is totally different from the ITU/NATO alphabet used by Hams. I had a helluva time at first, unlearning one phonetic for the other, so I fell back on the license plate reading and was able to quickly make the transfer. Much to my surprise, I didn't loose my ability to still fall into the police phonetics without having to think about it, I became "bilingual". I always wondered how people could do that with regular languages, it's a weird feeling.
As Mike says, keep practicing and one day it will just "click", and you'll find yourself being conversant in phonetics... but I still keep a laminated copy of the ITU/NATO alphabet near me for the times I have a brain fart or senior moment, trying to recall a letter.
I live near houston and 146520 is rarely used. In my opinion, if there is no usage in the area, why not use it? If there is someone who wants to use this Freq to call, then the net can move to back up freq. Atleast, the calling frequency is monitored more than never...
I’m in Houston . I doubt I’m in range but if you call out I’ll reply
From my home to Huntsville and back. The only places I had any traffic on .52 were Indianapolis and Huntsville. I was calling CQ on there about every 5 minutes.
Good advice all round as usual. I monitor .520 when travelling and have only heard two truckers talking to each other a couple of years ago. I still scan it though, just in case. I see nothing wrong with an informal net on that freq, but like you showed, there are a lot of other freqs available. I learned the phonetic alphabet in the Army so using it is fairly easy but I like the exercises you propose. Thanks for another great video.
SETX, in Beaumont, usually has someone listening if not myself answering. I've talked with travelers several times, and you may catch us just ragchewing with each other on 146.52 .
From Reno, NV to La Grande, OR (about 600 miles). On the way up, putting out my callsign about every 20 minutes (or when passing groups of traffic), I made ONE contact. Same result on the way back to Reno. On the road, CB is still king, but not much there anymore either. Oh, and I have NOT done any bonding or grounding with my ATAS120 mounted on my full metal 2016 F-350. I took your advice and didn't bother with grounding or bonding when I installed the mount. Antenna works fabulously!
My diamond mount was on an ATAS, and the screws were on the metal and it didn't work at all. I tried so many times to make it work. It looks so cool and light weight, but I gave up. I love my Little Tarheel - great antenna. No issues with it going up or down. I have had it with three cars.
Our local 2m repeater is on 146.79 and (146.19input) standard -600khz offset. Many of the locals use 146.46 for simplex and I have never heard any interference on the repeater from this traffic. I have never made a contact on 52 either.
I had CW contacts to Sweden and Belgium this weekend on an ATAS. Simple to use with an 891 and effective.
Plenty of simplex frequencies on 2m so as a matter of polite operation a net would be a no go in my opinion.. I have been guilty of calling then talking on the calling frequencies when there is little to no activity.. 6m SSB sees this happen a lot but people know that the band is open and will bump up 5 to 10 and start calling because most know to scan from .125 to .250 when the band is open.. Calling on 146.52 to collect up a group then move up to .55 is a more acceptable route for a net/conversation that would last for a while.. Nothing wrong with advertising on the calling frequency and moving more people up to a net by calling there either..
I love my ATAS. Florida to Austraila moble. 100 watts amazing.
Propagation is the cause don't propagation no no contacts simple
I read license plates too. Good practice. And every once in awhile you find a Ham with a call sign vanity plate. Enjoy your videos, keep up the good work.
Finding the ham plates is the prize!
I learned Phonetics in the Navy, as it was required long before I got my license. Law enforcement mostly use names for a particular letter. It just comes naturally for me but others may take time. Just practice like Mike did reading license plates.
Mike! As always, very informative and funny. Good seeing you at HH. Looking forward to the next time. See you out there. 73 de Bill
I own a simplex IRLP node and chose 146.43 for it. I purposely avoided 146.52 because I consider the node to be access to a repeater network, and therefore not for a calling frequency. Leave 146.52 for its intended purpose....calling CQ and then moving to a different frequency for "chewing the fat."
Love my ATAS-120A and FT-891 in the 4Runner. I recently got North Pole AK and a station in the Netherlands running 45 watts from NH. I’ve done an activation from the western mountains of ME twice getting 95 contacts combined.
Heck yeah, that's awesome! Always nice to get Alaska in the log!
I use the ATAS with an FT-710 in my Corolla. I'm just using that giant MFJ magmount. No extra grounding or bonding. It works amazingly.
This past Saturday, I went for a cruise on 27 South here in Tennessee and drove down to Dayton. On the way down, I've put out calls and no one came back to me. On the way home, had a station in Cleveland come came to me. Tried having a QSO, but with the mountains, which made it difficult.
One more thing, check your local RF governing body. There's plenty of FM and Digital voice simplex frequencies.
whips and chains….didn’t know you were into that stuff LOL
It's not me, it's the antenna, I swear!
7025 KHz is our unofficial CW call frequency during the day here on the East coast of Aus
Convention is we QSY off 7025 after an RST if we’re going to rag chew. However, if we don’t, then no one yells at you. It’s CW. Everyone is friendly and are happy if you’re just having a go.
I would go Tarheel because where it shines is on 40m. WSPR tests aside on 20m, which when the band conditions are good will work on a “wet noodle”. To me WSPR is also an unfair assessment because it doesn’t necessarily mean a SSB or even CW signal is going to be heard in the same spot.
I initially started with the 891 & ATAS120. I managed to meet a group at 2:30am while traveling to work on 40m with this setup but was seriously subjected to noisy band conditions (lightning crashes on their end) and really bad QSB and was only heard maybe 20% of the time. I switched to the little Tarheel 2 with a 48” whip and this increased me to being heard by the same group 50-75% of the time. I put a 66” whip on and went to being heard by the same group 85-99% of the time. You can’t add a longer whip to the ATAS as it will mess up tuning with the way it’s designed. Also as Mike said you can easily change the whip to a 17’ one and increase your signal by up to 2 S-Units (12db) when stationary on 40m.
For me I’m more than willing to give up ease of use vs performance any day of the week. On the higher bands 20-10 it’s pretty much a wash.
I struggled remembering call signs.
I started writing down other people's call signs during nets and that helped a little bit.
But when i started activations for POTA that's when i REALLY started getting comfortable keeping track of call signs and the NATO alphabet. I'm still improving with every activation
Great advice on new hams learning phonetics.
I use 146.52 to call for contacts when doing POTA, this is fine as long as they yield to people needing to make calls.
The last 20 POTA activations at the start and at the end I make a call on 2m and 70cm calling frequencies.
I have never had anyone respond.
@@dorvinion well, it helps when a good friend of mine is a technician and we activate each other on 146.52, I also used it after a local ARES exercise for a fair number of contacts
It was good to see you on the waterfall the other day and get you in the logbook!
If anything was ever "Sad Ham" worthy (or QSH as I call it) it's, "Stay off of five-two!" followed by complaining that "five-two is dead all the time!" Like you, I used to drive around with one channel on146.52 and never, and I mean NEVER, heard a peep on it.
My ATAS works great with the 4-screw-into-the-paint mount that's recommended in the instructions. I did make a small effort to improve the grounding before resorting to the "just see how it works" approach, and being happy with the results, stopped any further effort (although the Apollo moonlander-esque copper tape I used in a couple of places looks freaking cool).
MFJ makes a simple "up/down" ATAS controller (no memory or anything fancy like that) that can be used with other radios. It just isn't as elegant as the built-in mechanism, but it will get the ATAS dialed in well enough. I have it for when I want to run a non-Yaesu rig in my vehicle. The ATAS is fairly simple in its demands. No DC voltage on the coax, no movement. Send 12vdc on the coax and up she goes; 8vdc brings it down, FWIW.
Love the channel, and keep up the good work!! 73!
Indianapolis .... almost always someone listening, quite a number of hams here monitor 146.52 ... all good things to all of thee & all of thine, 7 3
Sunday night net on 52 Indy metro area
I got my first ticket in 4-22 or 23 and have talked on the 520 with a fuw who immediately became buddy's and talk every evening and morning almost ever sense but their is a fuw older guys whining about it around here to ! But i say heck with them and i talk any way..i have ben into radios for 35-40 years so im old school 11m guy that may or may not have used to run on the bowel (ch6) with Real Power..lol. (If you know you know) so i can b stubborn to !
THE 70s CB people were people who looked out for other users still use 11 meters NZ to AUSSIE good bunch of guys
@@glyn1 yea same around here for the most part
I hear a SOTA activation from my QTH once or twice a summer. Up in Yellowstone/GTNP area, I'll hear travelers every once in a while, but not too often. I'd say use it or lose it.
Wilderness Protocol Nets are specifically intended for the National Calling Frequencies.
If you’re an amateur station, look up the protocol and initiate your own Wilderness Protocol Nets on the National Calling Frequencies you are able to access at 1, 4, 7, and 10 on both sides of the clock for a period of 5 minutes at the top of the hour during these times.
If we don’t use the frequencies, we loose the frequencies.
Hi everyone- KE2AUM from The Bronx NY - Good video- 73 everyone 📡
Im a bit far away from a repeater, 28 miles from a city and 38 miles to a different the opposite direction from living in rural Alabama. I want to try 146.520 daily and people in my area are hardly on.
Have an HT with 2 VFOs. Had the 2nd VFO set to monitor 52. There are many times I’ve heard people on there rag chewing. But I live in Richardson Texas, suburban Dallas, and there are many hams around here so that’s the reason there is traffic on it.
Jack / KF5SGC. 73.
Your shirt says it correctly. More cowbell. Just wanna say I also struggled with translating phonetics to callsigns when I started out. Took a while to become more natural. Print out all the things!
Yes, because otherwise it will be another year with absolute NOBODY on that frequency.
Every now and then my local club does a simplex qso net on 146.52 after the weekly net. It's a great way to see who can talk to who if the repeater goes down. Many members that want to have after net chats will tune to that freq to avoid tying up the repeater. Most folks have the freq already programmed in anyway, and it's different tying up the frequency in the surrounding 10-20 miles that your radio can hit point to point from tying up a 60+ mile repeater coverage area. A simplex net isn't really a "net."
Driving cross country I only use 2-meter simplex - too difficult to program multiple repeaters on the go. Best time to call CQ is on those high hills overlooking valleys or driving up the mountain. I've had great QSOs that way only to lose contact after I reached the summit and started going down the other side. Well, that's line-of-sight comms for ya.
The reason it may interfere with the repeater is possibly that the repeater has a link frequency which is specifically using 146.850Mhz. Right or wrong, good or bad, that would at least be a rational justification for avoiding that specific frequency.
Also: ... don't call it a "net' ....... have yourselves a scheduled "Roundtable" and everything will be just fine ... your welcome
Now that's using your noggin!
I leave the radio on 6.52 while on the highway. When people see my ham license plate, they just naturally seem to go to 52 and give me a call. We just talk right there.
good video! What is your bench radio you showed?? it looks to be a clone of the Yaesu FT8800 (which I have and LOVE!!) Yaesu should have NEVER given up the Hyper Memory buttons. Have you done a review on the model you have on the bench? cheers 73 from Utah
Phonetics. I first learned the alphabet while in the Army. If someone is not fortunate enough to serve, then join a local radio club and take part in the practice nets. When you are ready, become a net control. If you can manage the "interesting characters" on a local net, you can easily handle a pile up on an HF CQ. Good luck all and 73, KF0NNQ.
I have my ATAS 120a mounted (when not on the truck) on a metal chain-link fence. With the exception of 6 meters, it tunes all the bands without a problem. I love mine, and wonder what I did without it. On the phonetics - They're designed to be understood by everyone. So, if you're having trouble copying someone's call sign - they're going too fast, and need to slow down. And, I agree. You probably shouldn't hold a net on 146.52. There are plenty of other frequencies to do it on.
The answer is yes....only YL nets with check-ins 3 hours in advance. The only acceptable nets.
A club in my area holds a net on 146.52. That's the only activity I've ever heard on that frequency. I am fine with it.
Very rare people monitor at .520, especially here in LA.
In my area 520 is quiet. If the freq is available go ahead and use
Great video and info!!73!!
What do you have for a 2 meter antenna? Here in rural Kansas there are almost daily q's going on. Just worked aero mobile C130 crew member on 146.520 and 446.000 mhz a couple days ago!
Lots of areas for 2-meter simplex. 15kc is suggested only. If your area that has very heavy vhf usage, it might be a good idea to use that as a starting point. Where I'm located everybody and their brother has a repeater and the usage is very minimal. you could go all day scanning and hear a handful of people. Use 520 and forget about it, For me it will be great to hear others. I have left Dayton Oh traveling back to Wv and would be lucky on my 4 hour drive if I heard anyone. maybe they are using 147.520 as its a suggestion for simplex as well.
We have a fair amount of traffic on 145.52 as well as a weekly simplex net that has good participation.
Your review on the retvis RT95 a while ago back persuaded me to buy it as a Christmas gift to myself to have something in my truck. Im just concerned about if the coax will be pinched if i use a hood antenna mount for my ram 1500.
73 kq4hcu
Chips, dip, chains, and whips. Good times...POTA ON!
In Los Angeles we hear a lot of 146.520. It's not uncommon for people to call out and make contacts. They'll have a short 5 minutes conversation and then sign. Some times a short round robin will start. Everyone likes it this way. If people are going to have a really long rag chew they'll go up to 146.550 or whatever. The only thing I find annoying is sometimes people will get on 1460520 and start calling CQ CQ Summits on the Air. They can go on for hours and hours and it does get annoying. I'd rather they spot themselves and use another frequency for that because it co-opts the frequency.
If no one is using the calling frequency at the time the net is held I say use it for the net, but have some alternate frequencies just in case someone else is already using the frequency. It is unfortunate that there isn’t much traffic on 146.520 or any other simplex frequency for that matter. I have made three or four random contacts on 146.52 since getting my license two years ago. The first one was during a band opening in June of last year and the other two were this past May when heading to northern Michigan. All my other contacts on .52 were more or less planned.
While I don’t have any Yaesu radios yet I agree that if someone has an ATAS capable radio using the ATAS antenna should be a no brainer. If I had the 891 for portable or mobile use I would save my nickels and get the ATAS antenna for my truck.
As for the phonetic alphabet I learned that 25 years ago and was drilled into my head by the Army. Practicing it is really the only way to get it down.
I think what you said about using the 146.52 makes sense. Otherwise, who listens to it? If you do listen and someone has a real emergency, you stop the net and respond to them. That's what we should do anyway.
Here’s a tie breaker for you. ATAS or TARHEEL try a HyQ it’s noticeably better !
I've heard good things about them. I've never seen them at any of the ham festivals though. Unless I just missed them.
As for interfering with repeaters, doesn't the CTCSS tones that the repeater uses there to prevent simplex signals from hitting the receiver of the repeater? I mean, if you don't have that CTCSS tone set, you shouldn't break the repeaters squelch and open it up.
I really wish '52 was more useful more often. In theory, it should be a great "common room"; but in practice, I think because HTs often just don't have the range, and so many of us are on HTs, it just sits fallow. I've heard some traffic when I'm out on the road, but nothing significant. The rule-follower in me still wants to say, "Don't use '52 for nets", but really, as long as the entire net understand they might get a break-in by someone who isn't necessarily there for the net, from a practical standpoint, meh. In particular, if I got on '52 just looking to make Any Contact and there was a net there, I'd call that Making a Contact and feel pretty good about it 😀 And if I'm looking for someone specific, I'd probably sked to meet them on one of the local repeaters anyway.
If you call CQ CQ 146.52 and don't get any response, then I would say it isn't being used. Look at the band plan for preferred simplex frequencies and avoid repeater inputs/outputs, sat frequencies, and digital mode frequencies.
Mike can you do a demo on how to program a repeter on the Icom -51/52 from the keyboard. There are no instruction in the Icom manual and nothing on line, Thanks PS do not use the repeter list progamed in the phone.
Cool shirt! Cowbell CW could be fun 🐮🛎
I made contact with uraguay from CA With an atas on a windowscreen saturday for pota
Here in true N😅othern Cal I have one heard 3 others use thev2 meter calling. I have never heard anything on the 70 cm band 446.00
I'm in true nor cal as well and we do a simplex net on .52. :) 99% it's quiet, basically unused unless we are using it, but I've been encouraging more hams to monitor and use it.
We use 146.520 to ragchew all day every day,it's like channel 38 lsb on cb, it's a mad house...lol
Off topic but, what is your 2/70 mobile rig shown in the vid?
My 2 cents worth - I wouldn’t really encourage nets on what is essentially a calling frequency but provided you leave sufficient breaks between overs I don’t object. I do encourage calling for POTA and SOTA contacts, again leaving sufficient breaks for travellers etc.
Sometimes with the ATAS, you just need to take a break and check emails. It will come back on
Lol!
I think if we remember to leave breaks, go ahead and use .52
For you folks, here's the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, and some mnemonics to help you all out:
A- ALFA (Think 'Alphabet." Spelled with F, not PH, to not confuse orthography to pronunciation) N- NOVEMBER (Think of the 2nd to the last month of the year)
B-BRAVO (Think of a celebrating a stage performance) O- OSCAR (Think of the Oscar Meyer hot dogs)
C-CHARLIE (Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) P- PAPA (Puh-pah, like what you might call your Dad.)
D-DELTA (Think Delta Airlines) Q- QUEBEC (French-speaking Canadian province.)
E-ECHO (Echo, to repeat) R- ROMEO (Think Romeo and Juliet)
F-FOXTROT (Think of a fox in a forest trotting around) S- SIERRA (Popular city in Nevada)
G-GOLF (A popular sport) T- TANGO (Think of the dance)
H-HOTEL (Where you go to stay when traveling) U- UNIFORM (Think of the military uniform)
I-INDIA (Well-known Asian country) V- VICTOR (Popular name)
J-JULIET (Again, Romeo and Juliet) W- WHISKEY (Probably a nice drink when rag-chewing)
K-KILO (A common unit meaning "thousand," such as kilogram) X- X-RAY (This should be easy. Think of a doctor's office)
L- LIMA (It's actually lee-muh, unlike the bean!) Y- YANKEE (What sometimes us Americans are called. Think of the songs you learned growing up)
M-MIKE (Another popular name) Z- ZULU (Zulu is what time format is used in the military, especially maritime)
I have no problem using phonetic alphabet. I am NCS for a local net, we have one ham insets that phonetic alphabet should NOT!!! be used on the VHF UHV repeaters. Your thought?
Ignore him!
Haven't watched the video yet, but here is the answer. Do what you want. Be creative the way you want. Don't let the idiots in this hobby change the way you enjoy it. Clubs don't own frequencies. Operators don't own frequencies. Operate anywhere you want with your license privileges. Maybe just go up a few from 146.520. Don't let other people rob you of your joy. The sad hams in this world wake up every day to make everyone's life miserable because they are miserable. There are so many people in this hobby who want YOU to operate the way THEY do, which is just stupid. Why would I live my life to someone else's standards? Don't let them bring you down. Do as you wish my friend, and I'll see you on the air. 73, Bob, K3RDF
I recommend boot camp for anyone having issues with phonetics.
Hahaha I'm sure that works very well!
more cowbell nice. was you in a band in hs?
From middle school into my late 20's I've been in bands. Not the marching band mind you. Heavy Metal!!
@@hamradiotube I was in marching band all of HS and i can still hear it in my sleep lol.
Nice video
I am loging all the local nets. Not net control, just put down all the calls as they log in! I am getting almost good at getting the calls. I think if you are not learning you are not much of a ham!
Whips and chains? Kinky!
That i think its rude is hearing crossband on .520 for a event. .520 can be busy here
eh. I don't support using the national calling frequency for a net because as mobile operators come into an area they may wish to use the calling frequency to reach out to local operators, or local operators trying to reach their friends or other regular contacts on the calling frequency before switching to a different simplex frequency wouldn't be able to do so. Holding a net on this frequency would prevent that and there's no specifically identified alternate calling frequency that I'm aware of.
It's a good idea to consult the local band plan if for no other reason than the band plan exists to attempt to maximize the use of the spectrum while trying to help keep operating simple. If I'm in a state that recommends 15kHz steps to the create pseudo-channels, I'll use 15kHz steps, if I'm in a state with 20kHz recommended steps I'll use 20kHz.
It's not about some kind of hard, fast rule, it's about being polite to other operators, and becomes increasingly important the higher the density of active operators in a given area. If we're supposed to as ham radio operators be polite to each other, then following long-standing guidelines that aren't burdensome shouldn't be a problem.
146.520 is the Simplex Calling Frequency,
Why not...? There is no problem holding a net on the simplex frequency...
Well at least someone using it (146.520)
The net question was from one of the guys in my club!!!! ae4xo
Well tell 'em to stop crying and pick a damn frequency!! 🤣
@@hamradiotube the problem wasn't the guy who sent you the question. It was actually one of the old guard kinda sad hams. thanks for answering . that was great
Oh I completely understand it. Let em cry I say!
Proper use of the phonetic alphabet is one of my pet peeves. When I work FM satellites you have a limited time to make a QSO and trying to break in is like a mosh pit. The exchange is callsign, grid, 73 - that's it. When you are trying to copy this simple information, you are expecting to hear a properly sent callsign. When using those 'other' alphabets it makes the contact more difficult. It's ZULU not ZANAZBAR. It's INDIA not ITALY. It's YANKEE not YOKAHAMA. The best way to learn the proper phonetic alphabet is 'BRUTE FORCE MEMORIZATION.' Remember practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.
No. The calling frequency is for seeking contacts/help. Years can go by with nothing, then one day there is an emergency. That is what it is for. Hopefully it is not you that is having an emergency. If people "mess with the rules" soon they will become meaningless.
If nobody is monitoring the frequency and you have an emergency, who will be listening?!? Might as well yell into a paper bag, you will at least avoid hyperventilation.
We do a simplex net on .52. If it weren't for our simplex net the frequency would basically be unused, but I encourage all the hams I know to monitor and use 146.52. There are some locals with a more old school view that it should only be used for calling, but the reality is that it's unused. Even in a more populated neighboring county they have a weekly net on .52 so we thought why not do ours there too. Thanks for the video. Good topics!