Hello, does any on have any information on radios and other communications available to use while storm chasing? I have a 40 channel Cobra 29 LTD Bluetooth CB radio that i currently use to communicate with the other vehicles that i chase with. I've heard of the popularity of the 2 meter Ham Radio with the Skywarn Spotter Groups. To be honest with u i really dont want to go through the prosess of licensing for the use of 2 meter. I Chase with a local TV Station and we recently added the storm chaser to the weather department and i was put in charge of comming up with a good communication system to communicate back to the station. our chase range is obivously the same range as our television broadcast range. which is about a 30 mile radius. (were a low power television station) is there anything out there that we can get in a mobile (vehicle mounted) type that will give good range without the FCC liscensing required to operate the radios? any ideas, info or advise would be greatly appreicated.

thanks,
Zach

Hello again, i forgot to add on my previous post that we are trying to find TWO-WAY Radio Communication. NOT any type of cell phone service.

Thanks again,
Zach

Hello, Zach

My name is Robert the Asst. Admin for EXTREME WEATHER STORM CHASE TEAM, A chase team out of Sioux falls, SD. The answer to your question is simple but tough. You have to get your ham cert. There is no way around it. Sorry my friend. So while inbetween seasons, you should be studing to get that licens you need, Im working on mine my self.

I am CHASE 4 and I will see you there

"keep your eyes to the skies"
Robert Brown
EXTREME WEATHER CHASE TEAM

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mod_ivy,

Zach, if you're doing this for your TV station, the amateur radio service is NOT for you! Forget FRS/GMRS as well. You need to use a radio service that's legal for commercial use.

Your TV station has several frequencies available to it that would be ideal. But you still need to get a license and assigned frequencies. Or you can apply for a regular business band license. If your station can't afford the $100 or so license fee, then it can't afford a field reporter.

There are no limits on LPTV antenna height, so you may be able to collocate a 2-way repeater and antenna with your broadcast transmitter and antenna and get great coverage for little or no added tower fees. However a base antenna mounted on top of an inexpensive 100' tower at the shop will easily cover a 30 mile radius, using standard 25W radios.

If for some reason a license is impossible for you, then you can get a fair range using unlicensed ISM radios. The problem here is that the most popular, most available and most cost-effective radios in these bands are designed for networking (Wi-Fi), not voice communications. There's no prohibition, but the equipment simply doesn't exist. On the plus side, you can run 10W EIRP, which may be enough to reach 30 miles if you choose your antenna systems carefully. To get voice, you can use a standard VoIP phone set, or a dedicated computer etc.

Get your FCC Ham Tech NO Code license, its very low cost, $10 to $20 for the exam fee, License is basically free and good for 10 years with free renewal. The GMRS license is expensive at $100 for the frequency set and renews every 2 years at whatever the FCC set the cost at. Having a good ham setup at the tv station also puts other trained spotters with ham gear available to your purposes. Also, setting up a Ham repeater on the TV antenna tower and working with the Local Ham Radio club will be good public relations between your station and the public at large. If you didn't know it already, the NWS has HAM stations in their weather forcast offices for reports from trained HAM Skywarn Spotters and Radio Clubs that also do storm spotting.

Charlie Johnson, KD5AWS

Getting your Amateur Tech is not really all that hard, as KD5AWS said. I got mine back in April (KD0HMI), and soon hopefully will have my General by the end of the year. There are several sites -- here is one of them that I used -- http://teara-ve.ka4puv.com/techguide.html. You can also get the ARRL book, which will help. The tests cost $14, and you need to score at least a 75% (I aced my test -- 100%). Getting a rig is not a big deal, a good HT (Walkie Talkie) costs about $150 or so. Only thing is, you cannot get "paid" while using the ham radio. Repeaters are nice, but even with a five watt HT, you still will get several miles on SSB (single side band). And to KD5AWS -- 73's, KD0HMI.

You can't use ham to support a commercial entity. If you are employed by them, even if NOT getting paid, it benefits them so Amateur Radio is out.

The ARRL clarified this just a few weeks ago.

Something we are aware of, and not always working out. Here in Kansas City, they out Amateur Radios in several hospitals incase of emergencies. Now, as it turns out, if an employee who has a license, is not able to operate under any circumstances.

Support your local Amateur Radio clubs. They are most likely much more experienced and can operate those radios without the legalese.

My club is where I have been hearing most of it (K0GQ, Raytown, MO, 4th Place 2A, ARRL Field Day, 2009). In fact it is club VP that is the one above.

I'm floored here. I got me ham license about 30 years ago. i would think skip would be the better way to go in storms. side band or skip wouldn't be hard to hear in the storm, am i wrong ?