Ham radio and ebiking

Oh yeah....how do the hammers know the difference between licensed and unlicensed when they're squawking with each other? Do you have to identify your license before squawking? How do you prevent counterfit squawkers?

What if i form an entire group of illegal hammers to talk with each other? We will call ourselves "Pirate Hammers"...

Afterall we are all on a group together that is probably 80% technically illegal ebikes (over 20mph should be licensed as mopeds by federal law)...why isnt there this huge ebike clamor to get ourselves licensed?

If you ask me what this whole hammer thing is missing is some hammer counter culture...
 
Some have tried. Hams work closely with the FCC in guarding their valuable frequency allocations. When you get on the radio your signals go quite a distance, and if you aren't in the online federal license database it doesn't take long to figure it out. Fines can be in the Opti bike class and more. Not a good plan, Eric. Get an FRS radio instead. Those would be great for an ebike ride - no license required, small, 400 mhz, a few miles coverage, and lower in cost.
 
I don't think you'd get far spoofing a call sign or running without a license. You can look up a callsign in one of several online databases, and hams do that all the time. Everybody kind of knows everybody too. Anybody that breaks the rules gets jumped on right away. Many hams practice 'fox hunting' or direction finding to find a hidden transmitter, and can use this skill to locate violators.

I agree they lack a counter culture, but most of them are just not the type to tolerate it.

Getting a license is not that hard. The test has something like 50 multiple choice questions taken from a pool of 500. You can get and study the entire question pool, so if you can memorize the right answers, you can easily pass without actually knowing any of the material.

FRS radios are amazing these days. You can get a higher powered GMRS radio that operates on the same frequencies and could most likely get away without a license in that band. 2 watts on 460mHz can easily reach 70 miles away with a good antenna and a clear path. It works amazingly well in hilly, mountianous areas too, but at reduced range.
 
Just found the thread. KC9DAK got into it to help others about ten years ago. The last two years have been quiet ones for me, as I no longer have a car. That might sound funny, so I'll explain. As an apartment dweller, I am antenna restricted. No outdoor stuff at all. So I set up an indoor station good enough for ARES, Amateur Radio Emergency Services, but my throat began to suffer. So now I use only mobile or base setups with proper radiators only. I can still talk, but my singing voice is gone. Small price to keep people and property safe. I have rigs for sale, and have given new hams free stations. I am looking forward to taking my VX 5 rs, the weather radio, and a touch screen GPS on rides once one of my bikes is done. For those who want to use nonlicensed radio, I recommend FRS, as Ham is actively regulated by the FCC, and as stated earlier, fines cost more than some new cars. My family has been into CB since before I was born. I had to get a license for it back in the day. Time was, I ran one of the most powerfull stations in town. Nowadays, my fingers do more talking than my throut. But the memories, and the pride from the deeds done, will carry me to the grave. I wish all of you a full and happy life!
Brian L.
 
Not sure if you have seen the Buddipole and HFPack type light-portable operation. Many folks take their rigs out and operate in the field, and many of those do it with bicycles or backpacks. By locating in a good spot even a small antenna can be very effective. Budd, the inventor of the Buddipole antenna system (his son Chris has taken over the business now) operates from a trike outfitted with HF gear.

And of course you can save your voice with a laptop and the new digital modes, or there is always CW. Lots of ways to have fun!

Lots of possibilities!
 
Thanks Alan, mabye I made it sound worse than it is. I can still talk, but it takes effort now. I will look up the Budipole. I am a bit of an antenna guy myself. My last vhf radiator was a copper cactus. I even have an MFJ analyzer. Everything is all packed for shipment, as I had planned to liquidate, in order to fund the ebike. I plan to keep one mobile rig and the HT, but the rest can go. Since this site is bike specific, PM me, and I'll send a list of what's available. I have way more than I will ever use. Cheers all.
Brian L.
 
Here's a piece of Ham Radio gear repurposed into e-bike use:

DSC_5283.JPG


The black blocks around the tubes holding the controller and the battery pack are Antenna Tubing Saddle Block Clamps from DX Engineering. They are made from a slightly flexible injection molded plastic, so they conform to the tubing even when it is not quite round, and get a very good grip without deforming the tube!
 
Not sure if I made this clear enough earlier, but the ebike is a good platform to take amateur radio (ham) equipment out away from the noise and antenna restrictions of the home location, and then operate stationary on the HF bands. Work some DX (long distance) from the salt marshes near the bay, or get some elevation and work long distance VHF/UHF (shorter wavelengths). No need to operate while riding, though I've seen a video of a local operator who put HF on his trike and worked contacts as he pedaled along (no motor). The interference from the motor controller might be difficult to hear weak signals through on the lower frequencies, but was no problem for pedal mode.

I was looking at the JuicedRiders ODK cargo bike, and it would make a great platform for carrying a radio setup along to a nice spot to operate from. Perhaps in a nearby park, or on a hilltop, or a beach. Any bike that can carry some gear makes it much more pleasant to bring along a radio and gear, and many great locations are not accessible to vehicles.
 
Because you can..

All those watt/hrs in your battpack sitting there screaming for something else to do other than spinning your wheels :p
 
rider95 said:
I have no ideal what ham radio has to do with e bikes
Click to expand...
Other than the obvious "because it is there", and because it's interesting (to some of us):

One *idea* ;) is that for those of us that want to, we can communicate with others so-equipped anywhere in the world using the open system of ham radios, even far outside areas covered by wifi, celphones, etc.

With the proper repeaters and interfaces left within the range of those other methods, one could even use ham radio to reach those networks even from well outside the places they presently exist.



You could even communicate with people on space stations and whatnot (and when we used to send them up, you could talk to the shuttle crews, too).



Ham radios are all over the place (possibly less than before cellphones and wifi were as common as today, because there was a time when it was the only easy way for just anybody to talk to someone else literally anywhere in the world realtime), in the air on balloons and aircraft, on the sea on boats and ships and even subs, in cars on roads around the world, homes, barns, fields, tractors, and in space. Why not on bikes, too?


Heck, it's been done before; there was a guy that built a bike just to carry his gear; I can't find it right now, though.


But the search found this site right at the top:
http://www.bmha-hams.org/
BMHA
Bicycle Mobile Hams of America


http://www.google.com/images?q=ham+radio+bike&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result_group

And this wiki article has a pic that *might* be the one I'm thinking, at it's top left
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_operation_(amateur_radio)
 
I was always worried about RFI getting into the Chinese motor controller and causing "undesired operation". Better to stop before operating.

What does ham radio have to do with guns either? But there is a definite connection in many ways. Hiram Percy Maxim, the inventor of the Maxim machine gun, also founded the ARRL.

I think it has to do with inventiveness and DIY projects.
 
Often carry a 2/70 but it's noisy.

Pirate stations are not uncommon. On some frequencies you find little else. Most hams don't want you to know this though. It's the "they had to take a test, so you have to" mentality. Many that hold full licenses won't talk to lesser license holders. They are not a friendly bunch on the whole. Just a load of old beards killing their own hobby seems a fair description.
 
I remember keying up 35W on 70cm inside a parking garage in the city and setting off several car alarms. Maybe use a beam and see what happens if you aim .5kW toward a Tesla :twisted:

Around here, they go after the pirates. They don't wait for the FCC. I'd have to agree with "load of old beards killing their own hobby". Since the internet and cell phones, making a contact across the world or making a phone call from a car is no longer a big deal. The spirit of innovation is what the hobby is supposed to be all about. That seems to be beyond the reach of many operators these days.
 
Skip is running hot of late, even hearing Scotland coming in to Australia.
 
The sun is at or near the peak of the sunspot cycle. Maybe I should fire up the rig and take a listen.
I can remember back in the days of analog TV, I was watching programs from the east coast here in California on E skip.
 
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