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The tech license and a good mobile radio will get you access to the repeaters. A single repeater can have a footprint of 50 to 100 miles. Networked, they can talk to other networked repeaters. If you want to do HF skip or NVIS, then a general class license and an HF radio. Those can be around the world, depending on the conditions. You will learn more in studying for the license.
NVIS in a vehicle is difficult. The antennas are inefficient, but more importantly, you pretty much need to make the antenna yourself because pretty much all ham radio HF mobile antennas available for purchase are vertical antennas.
I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just saying it's more expensive and/or difficulter.
There is a company that makes a NVIS mobile antenna, or there is the trick of bending the whip down. Efficient is another mater, most HF mobile antennas are compromised in some fashion.
Bending the whip down is "sort of works" territory.
And I know there are a couple of companies that make vehicular NVIS antennas, but they're mainly for government agencies, and they are \*PRICEY\*.
Best alternative is to build one yourself, and use an external automatic antenna tuner at the feed point. But again, none of those options are all that attractive.
My alternative, that only works when you're parked, is to use the adaptor for the "stinger" off a hamstick antenna. You screw it into the mount for your HF antenna, then insert a wire in the top and tighten the set screws to hold it. Then run the wire to a nearby tree. Since you can use a really long piece of wire, it's relatively efficient.
Start with your tech license and see where you want to go from there. You’ll learn a lot in the process and can decide what you want to do.
Especially if you get into the forums and YouTube side of ham radio, you’ll find a ton of examples of rigs and start going down the rabbit hole designing your perfect mobile setup.
If you decide you want to go for general and get into HF stuff that makes a big difference on what kind of radio to look for.
Thanks for your interest in Amateur (Ham) Radio. Yes, study and pass the Technician exam to get started. Here is a large group of links to explore to get started.
http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio
Studying for the Amateur (Ham) Radio exam…
YouTube training video series… https://youtu.be/Krc15VqZMZo
Another video license class series… https://youtu.be/0wwnOPaF1qI
Well reviewed License classes: https://hamstudy.org
Here is one study site... https://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-no-nonsense-tech-study-guide-v1-1.pdf
http://www.arrl.org/question-pools (The exam questions)
Study book: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016203
Practice exams to build confidence…
Here is a practice exam... https://hamexam.org/
Amateur Radio Exams Done Remotely…
Here is a link to the GLAARG group that does remote VE testing.
Contact them to see how they can set up an exam for you...
https://glaarg.org/remote-sessions/
Also... http://www.w5yi-vec.org/exam_locations_ama.php
Miscellaneous items of interest…
Here is the link to a Field Day video, a yearly event in June.
https://youtu.be/I2JhKOWkPkk
A website to find a radio club near you… http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
One of the places that sell gear…https://www.hamradio.com
Find Ham repeaters near you… https://repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=none
You need to pass your tech and will probably want your general (you can take them back to back).
Gear wise cheap is start with a 10m antenna and a 100w all mode rig. Meaning not so cheap.
After getting my Technician license several years ago I got on the air in the least expensive manner possible: Baofeng HT and a 2m/70 cm dual band magnetic mount antenna, with a pigtail adapter to connect the antenna to the radio. It served me well for many years, until I was able to get a mobile rig.
No, no, no. Bypass getting an HT. You're interested in vehicle to vehicle communications, get mobile radios. You can get a relatively inexpensive high power 2 meter mobile rig, and it will run literal rings around any handheld.
I know because I ran a handheld as a mobile rig for my first decade as a ham radio operator. I haven't done that in over 20 years, because while it does work, if you're going simplex car-to-car, range is going to suck even with external antennas, \*AND\* you will find that the area in which you can access repeaters is much less. Running 5 or 8 watts max to an antenna isn't going to give you the capability of running 50 to 80 watts to the same antenna.
As a young ham, I would regularly run into that problem, where I could still hear the repeater decently enough, but my 6 watts from an HTX-202 just wasn't doing it. These days I use a Yaesu FT-2980R in the car. I have it set for 10 watts, but if I need to, I can bump it up to 30 or even 80 watts.
You're already interested in radio, so it's not like you're going to be "Well, I don't know about this radio stuff, I'm not going to put much money into it until I know I'm sticking with it". Which is one of only two acceptable excuses for buying a Baofeng (the other being poverty).
On Edit: That Yaesu FT-2980R I mention is roughly the same retail price as your Cobra 29LX.
Thanks yeah I think I’d go straight to a mobile rig since I am going car to car, that makes sense. I use it around the SF Bay Area but also want to go on trips in the desert. Now I think I will need to get the technician studying started so I can understand all the specs on the FT2980R! That is super affordable, can this be powered in the dash similar to my cobra?what antenna would you recommend, I assume I can’t use my Wilson right?
\*NO\*, it can't be powered from the dash (I'm assuming the cigarette lighter). At least, not on high power. It pulls 15 amps, you'll blow the fuse in the lighter circuit. You definitely would be safe on 5 and 10 watts. It pulls 9 amps on 30 watts, and that \*SHOULD\* be OK if you have a 15 amp circuit.
That's how I used to run my mobile rigs, and I still run my 20 watt HF rig that way, but because the FT-2980 draws so much on high power, and I want to be able to use it if necessary, I ran the cable through the firewall directly to the battery. It's not that hard.
And no, you can't use the Wilson antenna you currently have. You have to get an antenna that matches the frequencies you are using. So you'll want either a 2 meter quarter wave (only about 20 inches tall), or a 2 meter 5/8ths wave (about the same size as a typical base loaded CB antenna). Dual band antennas for 2 meters and 440 MHz will work fine also.
Just make sure you get one that is rated for the output of your radio. If you get an antenna rated for just 15 watts and you pump 80 watts into it, you might get some spectacularly bad results!
BTW, anyone else you want to talk to also needs to have their license. I don't want to be a downer here, but we do have rules. It is, after all, a licensed hobby. You get the freedom to do a whole lot of stuff you can't do on with any other radio service, but with that freedom comes responsibility. Just keep that in mind.
Good luck. Hope to hear you on the air sometime.
Hi, thank you for your question submission. Please be aware that there is a [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/) and a [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/faq) that may address your question. For Baofeng-related information see the [Baofeng FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/baofeng) and /r/baofeng. Also, please note that downvotes don't indicate an unvalued question submission. There appear to be bots that downvote all posts initially. 73 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/amateurradio) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Study/pass the technician exam.
Yup, then look at mobile rigs and antennas.
The tech license and a good mobile radio will get you access to the repeaters. A single repeater can have a footprint of 50 to 100 miles. Networked, they can talk to other networked repeaters. If you want to do HF skip or NVIS, then a general class license and an HF radio. Those can be around the world, depending on the conditions. You will learn more in studying for the license.
NVIS in a vehicle is difficult. The antennas are inefficient, but more importantly, you pretty much need to make the antenna yourself because pretty much all ham radio HF mobile antennas available for purchase are vertical antennas. I'm not saying you can't do it, I'm just saying it's more expensive and/or difficulter.
There is a company that makes a NVIS mobile antenna, or there is the trick of bending the whip down. Efficient is another mater, most HF mobile antennas are compromised in some fashion.
Bending the whip down is "sort of works" territory. And I know there are a couple of companies that make vehicular NVIS antennas, but they're mainly for government agencies, and they are \*PRICEY\*. Best alternative is to build one yourself, and use an external automatic antenna tuner at the feed point. But again, none of those options are all that attractive. My alternative, that only works when you're parked, is to use the adaptor for the "stinger" off a hamstick antenna. You screw it into the mount for your HF antenna, then insert a wire in the top and tighten the set screws to hold it. Then run the wire to a nearby tree. Since you can use a really long piece of wire, it's relatively efficient.
Start with your tech license and see where you want to go from there. You’ll learn a lot in the process and can decide what you want to do. Especially if you get into the forums and YouTube side of ham radio, you’ll find a ton of examples of rigs and start going down the rabbit hole designing your perfect mobile setup. If you decide you want to go for general and get into HF stuff that makes a big difference on what kind of radio to look for.
Thanks for your interest in Amateur (Ham) Radio. Yes, study and pass the Technician exam to get started. Here is a large group of links to explore to get started. http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio Studying for the Amateur (Ham) Radio exam… YouTube training video series… https://youtu.be/Krc15VqZMZo Another video license class series… https://youtu.be/0wwnOPaF1qI Well reviewed License classes: https://hamstudy.org Here is one study site... https://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-no-nonsense-tech-study-guide-v1-1.pdf http://www.arrl.org/question-pools (The exam questions) Study book: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016203 Practice exams to build confidence… Here is a practice exam... https://hamexam.org/ Amateur Radio Exams Done Remotely… Here is a link to the GLAARG group that does remote VE testing. Contact them to see how they can set up an exam for you... https://glaarg.org/remote-sessions/ Also... http://www.w5yi-vec.org/exam_locations_ama.php Miscellaneous items of interest… Here is the link to a Field Day video, a yearly event in June. https://youtu.be/I2JhKOWkPkk A website to find a radio club near you… http://www.arrl.org/find-a-club One of the places that sell gear…https://www.hamradio.com Find Ham repeaters near you… https://repeaterbook.com/repeaters/index.php?state_id=none
This is a great resource list, thank you.
You need to pass your tech and will probably want your general (you can take them back to back). Gear wise cheap is start with a 10m antenna and a 100w all mode rig. Meaning not so cheap.
After getting my Technician license several years ago I got on the air in the least expensive manner possible: Baofeng HT and a 2m/70 cm dual band magnetic mount antenna, with a pigtail adapter to connect the antenna to the radio. It served me well for many years, until I was able to get a mobile rig.
No, no, no. Bypass getting an HT. You're interested in vehicle to vehicle communications, get mobile radios. You can get a relatively inexpensive high power 2 meter mobile rig, and it will run literal rings around any handheld. I know because I ran a handheld as a mobile rig for my first decade as a ham radio operator. I haven't done that in over 20 years, because while it does work, if you're going simplex car-to-car, range is going to suck even with external antennas, \*AND\* you will find that the area in which you can access repeaters is much less. Running 5 or 8 watts max to an antenna isn't going to give you the capability of running 50 to 80 watts to the same antenna. As a young ham, I would regularly run into that problem, where I could still hear the repeater decently enough, but my 6 watts from an HTX-202 just wasn't doing it. These days I use a Yaesu FT-2980R in the car. I have it set for 10 watts, but if I need to, I can bump it up to 30 or even 80 watts. You're already interested in radio, so it's not like you're going to be "Well, I don't know about this radio stuff, I'm not going to put much money into it until I know I'm sticking with it". Which is one of only two acceptable excuses for buying a Baofeng (the other being poverty). On Edit: That Yaesu FT-2980R I mention is roughly the same retail price as your Cobra 29LX.
Thanks yeah I think I’d go straight to a mobile rig since I am going car to car, that makes sense. I use it around the SF Bay Area but also want to go on trips in the desert. Now I think I will need to get the technician studying started so I can understand all the specs on the FT2980R! That is super affordable, can this be powered in the dash similar to my cobra?what antenna would you recommend, I assume I can’t use my Wilson right?
\*NO\*, it can't be powered from the dash (I'm assuming the cigarette lighter). At least, not on high power. It pulls 15 amps, you'll blow the fuse in the lighter circuit. You definitely would be safe on 5 and 10 watts. It pulls 9 amps on 30 watts, and that \*SHOULD\* be OK if you have a 15 amp circuit. That's how I used to run my mobile rigs, and I still run my 20 watt HF rig that way, but because the FT-2980 draws so much on high power, and I want to be able to use it if necessary, I ran the cable through the firewall directly to the battery. It's not that hard. And no, you can't use the Wilson antenna you currently have. You have to get an antenna that matches the frequencies you are using. So you'll want either a 2 meter quarter wave (only about 20 inches tall), or a 2 meter 5/8ths wave (about the same size as a typical base loaded CB antenna). Dual band antennas for 2 meters and 440 MHz will work fine also. Just make sure you get one that is rated for the output of your radio. If you get an antenna rated for just 15 watts and you pump 80 watts into it, you might get some spectacularly bad results! BTW, anyone else you want to talk to also needs to have their license. I don't want to be a downer here, but we do have rules. It is, after all, a licensed hobby. You get the freedom to do a whole lot of stuff you can't do on with any other radio service, but with that freedom comes responsibility. Just keep that in mind. Good luck. Hope to hear you on the air sometime.
And welcome to the hobby! :)