I am always monitoring 146.52 here in Richmond, KY, just off of I-75 exit 90. Whenever I am home, 146.520 is being monitored. It is pretty quiet, but I do get the occasional request for travel information, etc.
I haven't spoken on .52 in years. When I was still a Tech I always had a rig on .52 lived in the Chicago area. One day had a 18 wheeler come through and he called so I answered. He needed some info which I was able to provide and we ended up talking for about a hour till he was out of range. I had a 40 ft peak on our home so FM was killer for me back then. I always monitor in the car, now we live in rural Iowa. I think if someone came back to me I might drive off the road! Would be shock for sure. I miss the fun of it and wish there were folks around this crazy farm hill area that were on Simplex. There's a repeater but no one ever comes on it. The club they have is about 10 good ole boys drinking beer and whining. Thought about just starting a new club from scratch just to see what would happen. Great job!
Droning Harry Disappointing to hear about your local club! You could try starting a new club if there are enough hams around, but you might end up with the same guys joining. That QSO with the trucker is what ham radio is all about! Keep at it though...ya never know if someone is out there. Thanks for watching and for the comment! 73 de K2CJB
Hello Sir! I see its been 3yrs since your msg. …Did you ever turn the ignition, stomp on the foot starter, and kick up enough dust to fire up a 🔥new club?🔥
Talking to the main club in the state at the annual Hamfest to see if they might sponsor a starter group. I'm hoping it might go somewhere. Someone stole ,y radio and I just haven't ordered a new one.
A few months ago I took the Amtrak Cardinal fro Cincinnati to Philadelphia. At each stop where I could step off the train, I put out a call using my ID-51 on 146.52 and 446.0. I got a reply on 52 when I was on the platform at Washington DC. My home QTH is Ivyland PA. We might make contact on 52. --de N3TS BTW - I had a couple incredible simplex contacts from a glider above Hilltown PA. When I put out the call on 146.52 from the glider, many stations came back; I worked a couple before switching to 446.0. I worked Cape May (95 miles) on 446.0.
I am preposing that every Ham get an inexpensive dual band and program the calling frequencies. 146.52 and 446.00. Dedicate this radio for calling frequencies. Keep it in your car and turned on all the time. The newer cheap radios have USB charging which makes this more feasible.
i made my first 52 contact just the other day while driving down the highway. I was so surprised because I constantly call out while out driving around and this is the first time someone answered. I really love the idea of using simplex because I like the idea of possibly meeting a new neighbor or friend. I thought I was the only one doing this! Great video!
I really enjoyed your video and I do try often to make contacts on .520 and many of the other simplex frequencies in 3 years I've only had a couple of responses. I've put stickers on my car and truck that says I monitor .520. Nothing. The repeaters are always pretty busy. I have a simplex AARL simplex group 60 miles away and I hope when weather gets warmer to put up a my new X510 Diamond and reach them. I don't mean to drone on here but I have to mention that a lot of the older Hams could be a lot more welcoming to new hams and not treat them like they are not welcome. Thank you for the video. Mark KN4DVJ
146.520 is fairly active in Central Alabama. Around the Birmingham area, there's a group that monitors 52 daily. Also, on Sunday Nights at 2000 CST, there's the Central Alabama Simplex Net that meets on 146.580. This is a very active net that averages 90-100 check in's. We have had stations check in from as far as Southeast Arkansas, Central Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia.
for the first time in quite a few months I made a contact on 52 the other day. The guy was up 300 feet in an overhead crane using a small ht. I was 5 miles away. now that was interesting.
Step 1, drive up a mountain. Step 2, call CQ on 146.52 and mention your location. There might be a modest pile-up. One time I quickly worked three stations that were all in a city ~200 km away.
This morning was great for 52. Talked to Tallahassee full scale 62 miles, Orange Park FL half scale 89 miles, Gainesville FL 93 miles half scale, and Ocala FL 140 miles and little better than quarter scale on the meter. Cool nights with bright warm sunshine always makes for great propagation. I'm in Madison County FL.
I've had two past experiences with using 146.52 Mhz FM. When I was younger I was an avid Backpacker. Back in the 1980's I lived in Arizona and used an IC-2AT handheld. I liked to Backpack in the high elevations and mountain topping where I worked 146.52 Mhz at 1.5 watts and 0.15 watts with a hand held dipole. I made many 100 plus mile QSO's it worked well. Later in 2000 to 2001 lived in Wichita Kansas and a 146.52 net was formed which met once a week. Most of the stations also checked in on other net's on the local repeaters which I was active on at the time. I noticed that I was working the same stations on simplex that I worked on the local repeaters. My antenna was a 2 meter base antenna up about 35 ft with about 6 dB gain and running about 50 watts, I was surprised at the coverage and clarity that a basic 2 meter base has. It's a resource worth tapping.
I live in the middle of the woods of northern Virginia, only one repeater in range, so thinking about 2 meter call and discovered your video! Way cool, thanks for posting!!! I just applied to join the group! Thanks for the hookup! 73 my friend!
As a Brit, I'm always interested to hear how things are across the Pond. I notice that 146.52 seems to be used both as a calling and working frequency; our calling channel over here is 145.500, but I bet that even if it had been silent all day with you putting out calls and you eventually got a contact, if you carried on chatting and didn't QSY to another simplex channel you'd have some joker pop up and tell you off for having a QSO on the calling channel! Many thanks for the video, 73, G0CIQ
I bought another one at a hamfest and repurposed the one in this video. Both are now in my truck. One for the 7100 and the other for a CB. Great speakers!
I'm going to start calling regularly on 146.520 in my area. I use the repeaters here, but rarely monitor the calling channels. I guess that's a bad habit to get into. Simplex is awesome, just very range limited from my vehicle.
Hello, Have been a ham (Tech) , for over a decade, and have never attempted 'Simplex' until now! Recently moved to Northern Kentucky, and am learning about the repeaters in the area. Would really like to learn more about Echolink, as well. Just moved here from N. Calif...KI6CMR...Thank you! PS, Love your video special effects!
I drive an 18 wheeler across America and monitor 146.52 continuously, .52 is coming back to use and I really enjoy my QSO's I find here. Look forward to working you on .52 one of these day's. Really enjoy your channel and great video. 73' de KC5JSR/ John C.
Every now and then , there is activity on 146.52 MHz , in the Denver Metro Area. We have a Simplex Preppers net meeting , Wednesday , 7 30 PM , 146.55 MHz. My base dual band radio has a 50 Watt maximum setting. Have a Diamond X-200 base antenna. I get out better than many. Tim , KB0VQP.
I like the idea of supporting prepper comms! I recently did a live stream with VE3TWM (Outdoors on the Air) and N9SAB (Tim Ortiz antennas) where we talked about how radio clubs should support preppers.
I like your videos Chris, including this one! It's great for the Ham Radio/Communications Community that you are doing these. ...My sister lives near Philadelphia, so when I drive there from Ohio on occasion I'll look for you on 146.52. :-) I enjoy 2 Meters simplex and have a fairly robust mobile setup for it as well as at home where it is surprising sometimes the enriching QSO's one can have, even when there isn't band enhancement from temperature/humidity inversions - troposphere ducting. With my antenna in the attic I talk with some 2 -Meter simplex stations even in Canada from the Cleveland area frequently; lots of fun! Keep up the good work Chris! And thank you. "Dr. Jack" Nilsson, N8NDL
Everyone keep calling on .52 and let's just keep it active! I was surprised to hear someone call CQ on .52 last night amd 2 of us answered then we had a group talk
I've made a couple of contacts on 146.520 along with 446.000 in Eastern Ohio. There are several of us who use a couple of simplex frequencies regularly in our small town. .52 might not be active all of the time but simplex is alive and well.
Only the wife does Facebook. I dropped my account years ago as no time to do it since I became a Ham. We have quite a few repeaters here in eastern TN and no one ever uses .52 around here even though I've got programmed into my radio. 73's KO4IDL.
520 in the Indianapolis area I spend a lot of time on 520 in the Indy area, I rarely listen to any repeaters. Busy times here are during the Indianapolis 500 mile race, Brickyard 400 race, NHRA drag races in the fall, basketball season, Dayton Hamvention traffic, Peoria Superfest traffic, Indianapolis hamvention (not like it used to be though), usually twice or so a week to and from work in my truck. Nice video, I'm glad you are bringing attention to that freq. '73 de kc9gld
Good work! I have simplex always scanning while I'm mobile and there is times I hear QSO's especially during a band opening. I just recently joined that Facebook group too.
VHF around me is dead unless there are storms, and there is a networked series of repeaters that run on 146.715. Some spotters use this net, called SWIRALINK. There are 4 repeaters beginning with 146.715 I far Western Okla and can link with a system out of Lubbock and Amarillo TX to the west and also 146.410 OKC EM and on to either Ft Smith, AR or Cavanaugh Mtn, SE Oklahoma. So possible to link almost from the Lee of the Rockies to Central Arkansas. Has saved lives. But I never hear anyone on VHF anymore. Most repeaters were switched to UHF a few years back around here when the local club gave them up to SKYWARN. Now everyone who is still active has abandoned BOTH VHF & UHF for digital and digipeaters are going up. I can scan the LOCAL VHF/UHF frequencies for days and the only thing I ever hear are hunters, etc talking on unlicensed GMRS. Most I contact have no clue they are breaking to law. Many don't care. I still run the wilderness protocol whee there is special event like a bicycle race, a cross-country event, or marathon, but in the age of cellphones, that is highly unlikely as well. Lightning got my HF capable base rig a few years back and I can't afford to replaced it. Ham Radio is dead out here.
I like to mix it up. I miss when I lived in Dayton. Robust repeaters and simplex. Simplex in my parts is a bit more rare, but I enjoy it when I can. Shame as this is flat land up here and the Great Lakes. Great place for vhf. Have made a few contacts via 2 meter across the lake into Canada, always fun.
That was pretty cool! Awesome that you had a good QSO! I think I have the calling frequency programmed into the scan bank on my HT's and mobile...will check. I talked to a friend of mine, the same day my tech license appeared on the FCC website. We met on that frequency, but quickly moved away from it...I see that since there isn't any traffic there...why change the frequency these days...lol. I was not aware of the reason he wanted to go up in freq, but he explained it later.
Bargain Basement Ham Radio Yeah, it’s supposed to be a national "calling" frequency, but it's usually quiet. The guy I talked to was saying that he's trying to get more hams interested in simplex ops. Thanks for stopping by! 73 de K2CJB
when I lived up north 146.52 was a busy channel to chat on. Haven't did any down here. don't even have an antenna. do have a 706 with all the repeaters plugged in it.
Great video! I have 146.520 and 446.000 in channels 1 and 2 of my mobile for when Im scanning or traveling out of range of repeaters. Here's a story that will interest you. I have a friend who is a truck driver and monitors 6.52 most of the time when he is traversing between Washington state and California. He told me one day, he was in central California and someone threw out their call on 6.52 so he went back to him and the guy answered. It turned out to be a Navy pilot (and ham of course) in a F/A 18 who had just left Whidbey Island Naval Air Station west of Seattle headed to Miramar. My buddy said he talked to him as he flew all the way down the west coast! To me... catching something like that is exciting!! 73.... K7TMF (To Much Fun)
Great video I think simplex is the way to go !!!! Now the biggest decision will be to go digital or really go for the power with one of the older type 80 watt analogs. Keep up the good work !
I monitor .520 throughout the day and I've made some great contacts. I travel out of town for work and I've had some nice QSO's, while going down the highway. It's definitely on it's way back.
I'm a new(er) general and just yesterday had my first long conversations on "52" - ended with 4 of us talking. Was great fun and experience for me. KE8FYU
I have my call sign and "monitoring 146.52" on the back of my RV. I travel the US with the radio on 146.52 i have never had anyone call my call sign. 2 meter is really dead other rhan local repeater work.
I've been putting my call out there on 146.52 after watching this video and made a few contacts within a week. Had a great 20-30 minute conversation with someone a town over and it's nice to not hear courtesy tones squelch tails etc. All was done with 5 watts and a mag mount antenna on my stove, while sitting at my kitchen table. Make 146.52 great again! Thanks for the video.
Once in a great while, you find someone that accidentally comes across your call. Now 90% of the people on the group you mentioned (I have joined that too a while back), will tell you that they constantly monitor .520. If they are, they must be real picky about who they talk to. Most of the conversations I have there is usually set up between a friend and I to meet there OR since I live in a tourist city (Rapid City where Mt Rushmore is), I pick up a tourist looking for directions and passing through.
Maybe if the ham license was easier to obtain, more potential hams could be chatting on 146.52. Do it this way, allow people to pay for a ham permit, then make them take the ham test within 6 months, to obtain a full license.
2Bit Interesting thought you have there on the license process. I'm surprised that 2m is relatively quiet given that there are more "preppers" getting licensed. It could alao be that there are alot of experienced hams just listening and not making contacts.
A friend of mine want to talk to me this weekend, he was telling me what repeater to use. Well I suggested we talk simplex and he was glad we did. We were only 15 miles apart.
I had about an hour long QSO on 146.52 last might with 2 others in my area both about 12 miles apart from me to east amd west. It was cool. First simplex contacts for me! New ham as of 7/15/20
Did simplex contact on 146.725 rom the American River canyon to the Sierra buttes I have no idea how that's almost 80 miles no line of sight 25 watts on a mobile. Blew my mind when they read me back my call
Several other amrad vids I have seen make a very good point: when some people say, well, this band or that band is dead, sure as shooting, if you never transmit, and similarly if noone bothers to transmit, of course it's going to be dead. No reason you yourself should not be the initiator of the QSO, it has to start somewhere, might as well be yourself.
I guess I was under the understanding that 5:20 was limited range Simplex 20 miles though is pretty decent what antenna are you using in are you using an amp
robert wilson I have an old dual band vertical on the roof (forget the make) and no amp. Just the V71 into the vertical. It works pretty well! Thanks for stopping by!
With an antenna on my roof I could easily go 35-45 miles simplex with 5 to 10 watts to another station with a high antenna. Antenna height is everything.
Thanks! I continue to monitor it in my truck and at home and will sometimes check-in to see if anyone is out there. Really hit and miss, but sometimes I end up with a nice quick QSO. Thanks for checking it out! 73 de K2CJB
austin h I made a contact on 52 just yesterday and had a nice 15 min QSO. I was mobile and got out of range. I agree with you. Some repeaters are very cliquish...unfortunately.
It's not happening here. There are even numerous repeaters and there is no traffic on them. I am thinking about dumping all my 2m-70cm and going strictly HF
1crazynordlander Sorry to hear that. Are there any ham clubs in your area? Sometimes joining a club can spark some repeater activity if the club operates a repeater. Thanks for watching! Hang in there! 73 de K2CJB
1958johndeere620 That could be. Someone else had mentiined fhey have a net on 52 which I might suggest to the loacl clubs. Thanks for stopping by! 73 de K2CJB
@@erics6177 Wow. Good luck with that! I'm not 100% sold on any of those modes (DMR, Fusion, D-Star). Mainly because of the complexity of programming it. I always thought that an HT should be easy to operate in the field. Seems to me that the digital radios need a laptop to make a change. But, that could be me being an older ham! :-)
@@k2cjbradio the anytone 878 was easy to program analog in the field. My unit had an issue on digital transmission and im sending it back for another one.
I have it on in my car 25 minutes too and from work in northern Arkansas Have never really heard a peep from it. Of course the terrain makes simplex hard around here. KE5MUG
Jim hamradio I'm hearing some locals occasionally from time to time. I might try to make some calls again to see who I can contact. Thanks for stopping by! 73 de K2CJB
I'm in SD going to try it anyway; just got licensed and got a cheap HT that doesn't work well in the truck and an old ICOM IC-255A with no PL tones so no repeaters. KN6JWV
2M FM Simplex is the majority of where I'm at. I've been on 146.520 close to everyday for last 6 years and have regulars that meet up in the mornings out there and new people from time to time as well. When no one is on 52 I'm on another 2M Simplex freq. Why use a repeater when you can work simplex. If you have a less than par mobile setup then that would be great motivation to upgrade and tweak everything you can. Given you have activity near your area. I find it rare that I need a repeater to chat and most my work is in my mobile to other mobiles and base stations. 73
I DID notice the meter was slamming, years ago i was mobile talking to a friend about 20 miles away and along came a guy asking where we were, we told him and he was in Los Angeles , about 500 miles away.. can you say DUCTING , we talked for about 3 or 4 minutes to the guy before he moved on
Make 446 great again. Depending on where you live, you’ll get much better range, less inter-mod, and a lower noise floor by using UHF. You’ll also get the added bonus of smaller antennas, which in turn leads to more gain on both ends since most people are willing to put up with a 9db UHF antenna, but definitely not so many people are willing to run the equivalent sized antenna for VHF. So, if like me, you live in a dense urban city, try 446. Here in SoCal it works better, and further than VHF 9 times out of 10.
It sounds like rapid fluttering, but it’s strong on about 2-3 simplex frequencies. Even on a repeater, just a very strong rapid fluttering noise, but it turns off every once in a while. I’m new to Ham Radio and got a Wouxun KG-UVD1P and finished programming in all the Ham frequencies for 70cm and 2m. I got 3 contacts today for my first try, but I thought it would be much busier on Ham than on CB. It seems about the same.
K2CJB Radio I found out that I was using a defective stock rubber duck antenna with 5.0+ SWR readings. Now I’m back to finding a new portable antenna. The car antenna seem to not show any of the issues with the fluttering sound on the two Simplex channels and I would assume that I shouldn’t have a problem with a connection with a repeater. Just glad I didn’t kill my new radio. The SWR meter saved my ass.
27.185 AM, 27385 LSB, 28.4 USB, 52.525 FM, 146.52 FM, 151.94 FM, 223.52 FM, 446 FM, 462.6125 FM, 902.1 FM, 1294.5 FM, light up all the simplex bands ladies and gentlemen. I will be listening. Make my scanner great again!
Great Video! Am guessing you've seen either/or our 146415.net website or our "Make Simplex Great Again" CZcams videos; Simplex is indeed a great way to communicate locally. Our twice local Simplex nets are averaging 20+ check-ins on each net. Am not sure how we can more effectively promote the monitoring and use of the VHF/UHF calling frequencies, other than doing it here as well on other social media. Keep up the good work!
braintrusts Thanks for watching! I have not seen the website or videos but will go check them out. Great idea having simplex nets. I have checked into 6 meter nets around here, but haven’t heard of any simplex nets on 2m. Thanks again! 73 de K2CJB
Not when he's listening every 5-10 seconds. I've had more success calling CQ in the standard HF style cq x3 callsign x3 cq x3 to give any scanning/dual watch radios a chance to get to channel...
52 was never great. It was/is a frequency designated by hams as a simplex comm channel. Nothing special about it. The bigger issue with .52, is the user who more than likely doesn't even know .52 exists for simplex operations and those people doubly, don't even have a decent antenna anyway, just an HT with a rubber duck. You want to make .52 great again, do what I am doing, running RTTY, SSB, and other digital modes on .52, gets people wondering what all that stuff is.
g4kfj calling cq on 145.500 for 21years NO qso s made Ok lets buy very expensive digital equipment start with dstar hello cq ,try wires x hello cq ,, ok dmr will do it hello cq , ah ha HF ok new ic7300 hello cq on 20m nothing lets try FT8 on 14070 GE SUS worked the world in a couple of days Go CB it just makes sense 73 G4KFJ
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I am always monitoring 146.52 here in Richmond, KY, just off of I-75 exit 90. Whenever I am home, 146.520 is being monitored. It is pretty quiet, but I do get the occasional request for travel information, etc.
I haven't spoken on .52 in years. When I was still a Tech I always had a rig on .52 lived in the Chicago area. One day had a 18 wheeler come through and he called so I answered. He needed some info which I was able to provide and we ended up talking for about a hour till he was out of range. I had a 40 ft peak on our home so FM was killer for me back then. I always monitor in the car, now we live in rural Iowa. I think if someone came back to me I might drive off the road! Would be shock for sure. I miss the fun of it and wish there were folks around this crazy farm hill area that were on Simplex. There's a repeater but no one ever comes on it. The club they have is about 10 good ole boys drinking beer and whining. Thought about just starting a new club from scratch just to see what would happen. Great job!
Droning Harry Disappointing to hear about your local club! You could try starting a new club if there are enough hams around, but you might end up with the same guys joining. That QSO with the trucker is what ham radio is all about! Keep at it though...ya never know if someone is out there. Thanks for watching and for the comment! 73 de K2CJB
Hello Sir! I see its been 3yrs since your msg. …Did you ever
turn the ignition, stomp on the foot starter, and kick up enough dust to fire up a 🔥new club?🔥
Talking to the main club in the state at the annual Hamfest to see if they might sponsor a starter group. I'm hoping it might go somewhere. Someone stole ,y radio and I just haven't ordered a new one.
A few months ago I took the Amtrak Cardinal fro Cincinnati to Philadelphia. At each stop where I could step off the train, I put out a call using my ID-51 on 146.52 and 446.0. I got a reply on 52 when I was on the platform at Washington DC. My home QTH is Ivyland PA. We might make contact on 52. --de N3TS
BTW - I had a couple incredible simplex contacts from a glider above Hilltown PA. When I put out the call on 146.52 from the glider, many stations came back; I worked a couple before switching to 446.0. I worked Cape May (95 miles) on 446.0.
I am preposing that every Ham get an inexpensive dual band and program the calling frequencies. 146.52 and 446.00. Dedicate this radio for calling frequencies. Keep it in your car and turned on all the time. The newer cheap radios have USB charging which makes this more feasible.
i made my first 52 contact just the other day while driving down the highway. I was so surprised because I constantly call out while out driving around and this is the first time someone answered. I really love the idea of using simplex because I like the idea of possibly meeting a new neighbor or friend. I thought I was the only one doing this! Great video!
g00glian0 There ya go! Glad you made a contact! Best 73!
I really enjoyed your video and I do try often to make contacts on .520 and many of the other simplex frequencies in 3 years I've only had a couple of responses. I've put stickers on my car and truck that says I monitor .520. Nothing. The repeaters are always pretty busy. I have a simplex AARL simplex group 60 miles away and I hope when weather gets warmer to put up a my new X510 Diamond and reach them. I don't mean to drone on here but I have to mention that a lot of the older Hams could be a lot more welcoming to new hams and not treat them like they are not welcome. Thank you for the video.
Mark
KN4DVJ
146.520 is fairly active in Central Alabama. Around the Birmingham area, there's a group that monitors 52 daily. Also, on Sunday Nights at 2000 CST, there's the Central Alabama Simplex Net that meets on 146.580. This is a very active net that averages 90-100 check in's. We have had stations check in from as far as Southeast Arkansas, Central Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia.
smoketr41 Simplex net is a great idea! I might proposed that at the next club meeting. Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
Thanks ki4wyv getting back into the game 😅
Hope Hull Alabama
for the first time in quite a few months I made a contact on 52 the other day. The guy was up 300 feet in an overhead crane using a small ht. I was 5 miles away. now that was interesting.
preppermedic Cool! Always fun to try!
Step 1, drive up a mountain. Step 2, call CQ on 146.52 and mention your location. There might be a modest pile-up.
One time I quickly worked three stations that were all in a city ~200 km away.
This morning was great for 52. Talked to Tallahassee full scale 62 miles, Orange Park FL half scale 89 miles, Gainesville FL 93 miles half scale, and Ocala FL 140 miles and little better than quarter scale on the meter. Cool nights with bright warm sunshine always makes for great propagation. I'm in Madison County FL.
Nice!
I've had two past experiences with using 146.52 Mhz FM. When I was younger I was an avid Backpacker. Back in the 1980's I lived in Arizona and used an IC-2AT handheld. I liked to Backpack in the high elevations and mountain topping where I worked 146.52 Mhz at 1.5 watts and 0.15 watts with a hand held dipole. I made many 100 plus mile QSO's it worked well. Later in 2000 to 2001 lived in Wichita Kansas and a 146.52 net was formed which met once a week. Most of the stations also checked in on other net's on the local repeaters which I was active on at the time. I noticed that I was working the same stations on simplex that I worked on the local repeaters. My antenna was a 2 meter base antenna up about 35 ft with about 6 dB gain and running about 50 watts, I was surprised at the coverage and clarity that a basic 2 meter base has. It's a resource worth tapping.
I live in the middle of the woods of northern Virginia, only one repeater in range, so thinking about 2 meter call and discovered your video! Way cool, thanks for posting!!! I just applied to join the group! Thanks for the hookup! 73 my friend!
Fantastic!
Hi Chris - Just saw video - Glad to see the group is getting attention in the east! Thanks for recording this! 73
Thanks!! I was going to try and shoot a follow up mobile video while driving...but didn't think that would work out too well! Best 73!
As a Brit, I'm always interested to hear how things are across the Pond. I notice that 146.52 seems to be used both as a calling and working frequency; our calling channel over here is 145.500, but I bet that even if it had been silent all day with you putting out calls and you eventually got a contact, if you carried on chatting and didn't QSY to another simplex channel you'd have some joker pop up and tell you off for having a QSO on the calling channel! Many thanks for the video, 73, G0CIQ
I love the Radio Shack speaker!!!! I still have the exact same one from the 90s!
I bought another one at a hamfest and repurposed the one in this video. Both are now in my truck. One for the 7100 and the other for a CB. Great speakers!
I'm going to start calling regularly on 146.520 in my area. I use the repeaters here, but rarely monitor the calling channels. I guess that's a bad habit to get into. Simplex is awesome, just very range limited from my vehicle.
Hello, Have been a ham (Tech) , for over a decade, and have never attempted 'Simplex' until now! Recently moved to Northern Kentucky, and am learning about the repeaters in the area. Would really like to learn more about Echolink, as well. Just moved here from N. Calif...KI6CMR...Thank you! PS, Love your video special effects!
Thanks!!! Have fun!!
Glad you were able to escape Commiefornia.
73😎
I drive an 18 wheeler across America and monitor 146.52 continuously, .52 is coming back to use and I really enjoy my QSO's I find here.
Look forward to working you on .52 one of these day's.
Really enjoy your channel and great video.
73' de KC5JSR/ John C.
Thanks! If you ever find yourself on I95 in Philly, we might run into each other! Thanks again! 73 de K2CJB
You'll be heard in the Seattle area for sure.
Every now and then , there is activity on 146.52 MHz , in the Denver Metro Area. We have a Simplex Preppers net meeting , Wednesday , 7 30 PM , 146.55 MHz. My base dual band radio has a 50 Watt maximum setting. Have a Diamond X-200 base antenna. I get out better than many. Tim , KB0VQP.
I like the idea of supporting prepper comms! I recently did a live stream with VE3TWM (Outdoors on the Air) and N9SAB (Tim Ortiz antennas) where we talked about how radio clubs should support preppers.
I like your videos Chris, including this one! It's great for the Ham Radio/Communications Community that you are doing these. ...My sister lives near Philadelphia, so when I drive there from Ohio on occasion I'll look for you on 146.52. :-) I enjoy 2 Meters simplex and have a fairly robust mobile setup for it as well as at home where it is surprising sometimes the enriching QSO's one can have, even when there isn't band enhancement from temperature/humidity inversions - troposphere ducting. With my antenna in the attic I talk with some 2 -Meter simplex stations even in Canada from the Cleveland area frequently; lots of fun! Keep up the good work Chris! And thank you. "Dr. Jack" Nilsson, N8NDL
Jack Nilsson Thanks Jack! If you travel on the PA Tpke, you'll find a bunch of networked repeaters that cover pretty much the whole state!
Everyone keep calling on .52 and let's just keep it active! I was surprised to hear someone call CQ on .52 last night amd 2 of us answered then we had a group talk
I've made a couple of contacts on 146.520 along with 446.000 in Eastern Ohio. There are several of us who use a couple of simplex frequencies regularly in our small town. .52 might not be active all of the time but simplex is alive and well.
Chuck B Thats good to hear! Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
Only the wife does Facebook. I dropped my account years ago as no time to do it since I became a Ham. We have quite a few repeaters here in eastern TN and no one ever uses .52 around here even though I've got programmed into my radio. 73's KO4IDL.
Great video! I've been trying lately on 146.52 with no luck yet but will keep trying!
ducktapepilot I monitor it all the time at home and mobile. Occasionally I’ll hear a couple of guys chatting. Thanks for stopping by! 73 de K2CJB
520 in the Indianapolis area
I spend a lot of time on 520 in the Indy area, I rarely listen to any repeaters. Busy times here are during the Indianapolis 500 mile race, Brickyard 400 race, NHRA drag races in the fall, basketball season, Dayton Hamvention traffic, Peoria Superfest traffic, Indianapolis hamvention (not like it used to be though), usually twice or so a week to and from work in my truck. Nice video, I'm glad you are bringing attention to that freq. '73 de kc9gld
I'll bet it gets busy when the race is going on! Probably alot of fun! Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
Good work! I have simplex always scanning while I'm mobile and there is times I hear QSO's especially during a band opening. I just recently joined that Facebook group too.
Brad Snyder Thanks! I listen in the mobile alot too. Sometimes I hear someone out there...
I am glad that the FB page inspired you to get on 146.520. I like your youtube channel, I just subscribed.
Trad Aradcuss Thanks!! Yes, I came upon the FB page and think it's pretty cool that hams are getting more active in simplex ops. 73 de K2CJB
Fairly active here in NC, although I'm on mountain top, so you might hear anything out 40 miles or more.
VHF around me is dead unless there are storms, and there is a networked series of repeaters that run on 146.715. Some spotters use this net, called SWIRALINK. There are 4 repeaters beginning with 146.715 I far Western Okla and can link with a system out of Lubbock and Amarillo TX to the west and also 146.410 OKC EM and on to either Ft Smith, AR or Cavanaugh Mtn, SE Oklahoma. So possible to link almost from the Lee of the Rockies to Central Arkansas. Has saved lives.
But I never hear anyone on VHF anymore. Most repeaters were switched to UHF a few years back around here when the local club gave them up to SKYWARN. Now everyone who is still active has abandoned BOTH VHF & UHF for digital and digipeaters are going up. I can scan the LOCAL VHF/UHF frequencies for days and the only thing I ever hear are hunters, etc talking on unlicensed GMRS. Most I contact have no clue they are breaking to law. Many don't care. I still run the wilderness protocol whee there is special event like a bicycle race, a cross-country event, or marathon, but in the age of cellphones, that is highly unlikely as well. Lightning got my HF capable base rig a few years back and I can't afford to replaced it.
Ham Radio is dead out here.
I like to mix it up. I miss when I lived in Dayton. Robust repeaters and simplex. Simplex in my parts is a bit more rare, but I enjoy it when I can. Shame as this is flat land up here and the Great Lakes. Great place for vhf. Have made a few contacts via 2 meter across the lake into Canada, always fun.
That was pretty cool! Awesome that you had a good QSO! I think I have the calling frequency programmed into the scan bank on my HT's and mobile...will check. I talked to a friend of mine, the same day my tech license appeared on the FCC website. We met on that frequency, but quickly moved away from it...I see that since there isn't any traffic there...why change the frequency these days...lol. I was not aware of the reason he wanted to go up in freq, but he explained it later.
Bargain Basement Ham Radio Yeah, it’s supposed to be a national "calling" frequency, but it's usually quiet. The guy I talked to was saying that he's trying to get more hams interested in simplex ops. Thanks for stopping by! 73 de K2CJB
I am a member of the Facebook group. I have the decale on my truck. hear very little on it. I used to use it a lot years ago.
Rohn Daughtry Yeah, I thought I'd give it a try. I haven’t heard anything since though. Thanks for stopping by!
when I lived up north 146.52 was a busy channel to chat on. Haven't did any down here. don't even have an antenna. do have a 706 with all the repeaters plugged in it.
Great video! I have 146.520 and 446.000 in channels 1 and 2 of my mobile for when Im scanning or traveling out of range of repeaters. Here's a story that will interest you. I have a friend who is a truck driver and monitors 6.52 most of the time when he is traversing between Washington state and California. He told me one day, he was in central California and someone threw out their call on 6.52 so he went back to him and the guy answered. It turned out to be a Navy pilot (and ham of course) in a F/A 18 who had just left Whidbey Island Naval Air Station west of Seattle headed to Miramar. My buddy said he talked to him as he flew all the way down the west coast! To me... catching something like that is exciting!! 73.... K7TMF (To Much Fun)
Great stuff. I used to get on 52 a lot but most have abandoned it. I’ll have to get on again soon. 73
Dave Quick I scan it all the time and will hear QSOs occasionally. Thanks for watching!
Great video I think simplex is the way to go !!!! Now the biggest decision will be to go digital or really go for the power with one of the older type 80 watt analogs. Keep up the good work !
zing913945 Thanks for checking it out!
I monitor .520 throughout the day and I've made some great contacts. I travel out of town for work and I've had some nice QSO's, while going down the highway. It's definitely on it's way back.
Hilman N5ABI That’s great to hear! It’s been a little quiet here these days.
I also joined that FB group. Still no luck on simplex.
Tony sessions Yeah, it’s hit and miss...mostly miss.
We use 52 when traveling with a group. Somewhat active in Philly area at night with a couple locals.
I'm a new(er) general and just yesterday had my first long conversations on "52" - ended with 4 of us talking. Was great fun and experience for me. KE8FYU
John Mcdowell That’s great!! I used to hear a few guys near me, but it’s been quiet lately.
I have my call sign and "monitoring 146.52" on the back of my RV. I travel the US with the radio on 146.52 i have never had anyone call my call sign. 2 meter is really dead other rhan local repeater work.
You might be right on the state of 2m activity. I have 52 programmed in all my radios and have never heard any activity on it when scanning.
I've been putting my call out there on 146.52 after watching this video and made a few contacts within a week. Had a great 20-30 minute conversation with someone a town over and it's nice to not hear courtesy tones squelch tails etc. All was done with 5 watts and a mag mount antenna on my stove, while sitting at my kitchen table. Make 146.52 great again! Thanks for the video.
CWB Glad to hear it! That's fantastic!
Once in a great while, you find someone that accidentally comes across your call. Now 90% of the people on the group you mentioned (I have joined that too a while back), will tell you that they constantly monitor .520. If they are, they must be real picky about who they talk to. Most of the conversations I have there is usually set up between a friend and I to meet there OR since I live in a tourist city (Rapid City where Mt Rushmore is), I pick up a tourist looking for directions and passing through.
Maybe if the ham license was easier to obtain, more potential hams could be chatting on 146.52. Do it this way, allow people to pay for a ham permit, then make them take the ham test within 6 months, to obtain a full license.
2Bit Interesting thought you have there on the license process. I'm surprised that 2m is relatively quiet given that there are more "preppers" getting licensed. It could alao be that there are alot of experienced hams just listening and not making contacts.
Any chimpanzee can pass the Technician test these days. No excuses.
A friend of mine want to talk to me this weekend, he was telling me what repeater to use. Well I suggested we talk simplex and he was glad we did. We were only 15 miles apart.
Donald Weiser Yes! It works just fine! Thanks for checking it out!
I had about an hour long QSO on 146.52 last might with 2 others in my area both about 12 miles apart from me to east amd west. It was cool. First simplex contacts for me! New ham as of 7/15/20
ok this got me to try calling on .52. no response yet but I will keep checking in on it.
I'm starting a net on this frequency on Thursdays 7:30p San Francisco
I was monitoring 146.52 on field day, got a whopping 2 QSOs ;)
I never thought to break out an HT and try to make a contact. Ugh.
I just joined that facebook group becaus of yout mention. Two years after younpoted this video, thoygh. 73 de N1WKO
That's ok! Better late than never!
Did simplex contact on 146.725 rom the American River canyon to the Sierra buttes I have no idea how that's almost 80 miles no line of sight
25 watts on a mobile. Blew my mind when they read me back my call
Why not use Vestigial Sideband Xmission instead of SSB? Wouldn't be easier to tune into?
Great vid! Also keep in mind the Wilderness Protocol. On hours 7, 10, 1, 4, listen in on 146.520 and 446.000 for anyone who may be in distress.
Jason Siebert I'll do that! Thanks! 73 de K2CJB
Same here i monitor most weekends when I’m home and when hiking I use the Wilderness Protocol
Btw, it’s easier to have the national calling frequencies saved on memory. I just scan on all the 2 meter and 70cm frequencies in my bedroom.
furonwarrior Yep. All my radios have them programmed in. Thanks!
K2CJB Radio Of course, would love to hear advice and personal experience if you want to share.
👍👍👍
Several other amrad vids I have seen make a very good point: when some people say, well, this band or that band is dead, sure as shooting, if you never transmit, and similarly if noone bothers to transmit, of course it's going to be dead. No reason you yourself should not be the initiator of the QSO, it has to start somewhere, might as well be yourself.
I guess I was under the understanding that 5:20 was limited range Simplex 20 miles though is pretty decent what antenna are you using in are you using an amp
robert wilson I have an old dual band vertical on the roof (forget the make) and no amp. Just the V71 into the vertical. It works pretty well! Thanks for stopping by!
With an antenna on my roof I could easily go 35-45 miles simplex with 5 to 10 watts to another station with a high antenna. Antenna height is everything.
Never heard anyone on 52 until I went up on a mountain.
Elliot Huh? I’ve seen a few youtube videos of guys that have done SOTA activations on 2 meters. The elevation is a big help
What antenna are you using? I have the same radio. Also, you may want to open up the squelch.
Allan Beckman I forget what it is. It’s a dual band vertical. Not a Ringo. Good point on the squelch!
Remember back in the day it was cq cq cq 2 or cq 146.520 megacycles ! 73's
GOOD VIDEO. KK7T.
Thanks! I continue to monitor it in my truck and at home and will sometimes check-in to see if anyone is out there. Really hit and miss, but sometimes I end up with a nice quick QSO. Thanks for checking it out! 73 de K2CJB
I'll start listening in more on 146.52
The repeaters are useless most of the time unless your in the right "circles".
austin h I made a contact on 52 just yesterday and had a nice 15 min QSO. I was mobile and got out of range. I agree with you. Some repeaters are very cliquish...unfortunately.
My experience also. Oh well.
Just saw a sticker on a car with 146.52 never heard it, just checking out what it means
It’s a long-standing call up frequency for 2 meters. I think it was established before repeaters became popular
I just got my first radio Pofung UV-82 and can't hear anything in MD, 52 looks dead over here
i was on the 52 last night till 4am talking, its active all hours here
Excellent!!
What is the transmit frequency/ offset for 146.52?
146.52 is simplex. Same freq for tx and rx.
what antenna setup are you using?
I have an old 2m/440 vertical up about 30’.
It's not happening here. There are even numerous repeaters and there is no traffic on them. I am thinking about dumping all my 2m-70cm and going strictly HF
1crazynordlander Sorry to hear that. Are there any ham clubs in your area? Sometimes joining a club can spark some repeater activity if the club operates a repeater. Thanks for watching! Hang in there! 73 de K2CJB
Hi.......... It's the same over here in the UK. you can sit on 145.500 our call Frequency ( S20 ) all day long and hear nothing...........73s
We have a group around here that chats on 52 most every night. I would put money on that people heard you every time you id'd just didn't respond.
1958johndeere620 That could be. Someone else had mentiined fhey have a net on 52 which I might suggest to the loacl clubs. Thanks for stopping by! 73 de K2CJB
I listen on 52 a lot and I do not hear a lot of traffic so I do not think there is any thing wrong with calling CQ.
Bob Carver Absolutely! You never know who else is listening.
Im in bristol pa. You monitor the bears repeaters?
Sure do! I have them programmed into my mobile rig and the home rig. I'm in the Penn Wireless club that meets in Fairless Hills.
@@k2cjbradio i might have to call out for you sometime. -ws3ric
@@k2cjbradio im learming dmr now on my anytone 878
@@erics6177 Wow. Good luck with that! I'm not 100% sold on any of those modes (DMR, Fusion, D-Star). Mainly because of the complexity of programming it. I always thought that an HT should be easy to operate in the field. Seems to me that the digital radios need a laptop to make a change. But, that could be me being an older ham! :-)
@@k2cjbradio the anytone 878 was easy to program analog in the field. My unit had an issue on digital transmission and im sending it back for another one.
I have it on in my car 25 minutes too and from work in northern Arkansas
Have never really heard a peep from it. Of course the terrain makes simplex hard around here. KE5MUG
It’s hit and miss I think.
A few of us here in ne Pa have been using 520 so ya need to be there when someone calls. Like fishing hi hi. ke3jh
Jim hamradio I'm hearing some locals occasionally from time to time. I might try to make some calls again to see who I can contact. Thanks for stopping by! 73 de K2CJB
I would not think this would work in San Diego everyone is on DMR here.KG6VVO
I'm in SD going to try it anyway; just got licensed and got a cheap HT that doesn't work well in the truck and an old ICOM IC-255A with no PL tones so no repeaters. KN6JWV
2M FM Simplex is the majority of where I'm at. I've been on 146.520 close to everyday for last 6 years and have regulars that meet up in the mornings out there and new people from time to time as well. When no one is on 52 I'm on another 2M Simplex freq. Why use a repeater when you can work simplex. If you have a less than par mobile setup then that would be great motivation to upgrade and tweak everything you can. Given you have activity near your area. I find it rare that I need a repeater to chat and most my work is in my mobile to other mobiles and base stations. 73
in so cal and they send me qsl cards a ham nearly cried when he made a contact kg6mn
I DID notice the meter was slamming,
years ago i was mobile talking to a friend about 20 miles away
and along came a guy asking where we were, we told him and he was in Los Angeles ,
about 500 miles away.. can you say DUCTING ,
we talked for about 3 or 4 minutes to the guy before he moved on
That’s pretty cool!
@@k2cjbradio Yes it was full scale and full quieting like he was right next to us
Make 446 great again. Depending on where you live, you’ll get much better range, less inter-mod, and a lower noise floor by using UHF. You’ll also get the added bonus of smaller antennas, which in turn leads to more gain on both ends since most people are willing to put up with a 9db UHF antenna, but definitely not so many people are willing to run the equivalent sized antenna for VHF. So, if like me, you live in a dense urban city, try 446. Here in SoCal it works better, and further than VHF 9 times out of 10.
p a Not a bad idea! I'll listen around here to see what kind of activity is out there. Thanks for watching! 73 de K2CJB
I thot vhf had better range and UHF more line of sight ..?? Let me know details ,like to try it. Kc3cfz
@@CoolOldBiker you are correct... vhf is generally better range than uhf
Hello, do you know why there is so much noise on some simplex channels?
furonwarrior What kind of noise?
It sounds like rapid fluttering, but it’s strong on about 2-3 simplex frequencies. Even on a repeater, just a very strong rapid fluttering noise, but it turns off every once in a while. I’m new to Ham Radio and got a Wouxun KG-UVD1P and finished programming in all the Ham frequencies for 70cm and 2m. I got 3 contacts today for my first try, but I thought it would be much busier on Ham than on CB. It seems about the same.
If you wanna tune in and see if you have it, I can give you the frequencies to see if you experience the same problem.
furonwarrior let me know and I’ll give it a listen
K2CJB Radio I found out that I was using a defective stock rubber duck antenna with 5.0+ SWR readings. Now I’m back to finding a new portable antenna. The car antenna seem to not show any of the issues with the fluttering sound on the two Simplex channels and I would assume that I shouldn’t have a problem with a connection with a repeater. Just glad I didn’t kill my new radio. The SWR meter saved my ass.
Hamsters are dying down on The radio no action
You make want to turn down your squelch to pick up the weak signals on the fringe stations.
Good point.
27.185 AM, 27385 LSB, 28.4 USB, 52.525 FM, 146.52 FM, 151.94 FM, 223.52 FM, 446 FM, 462.6125 FM, 902.1 FM, 1294.5 FM, light up all the simplex bands ladies and gentlemen. I will be listening. Make my scanner great again!
well i talk on simplexs 146.520 no body on there, im in utica ny ,i mean no body.
Even through this time when a lot of folks are home, it’s pretty quiet here too
Great Video! Am guessing you've seen either/or our 146415.net website or our "Make Simplex Great Again" CZcams videos; Simplex is indeed a great way to communicate locally. Our twice local Simplex nets are averaging 20+ check-ins on each net.
Am not sure how we can more effectively promote the monitoring and use of the VHF/UHF calling frequencies, other than doing it here as well on other social media.
Keep up the good work!
braintrusts Thanks for watching! I have not seen the website or videos but will go check them out. Great idea having simplex nets. I have checked into 6 meter nets around here, but haven’t heard of any simplex nets on 2m. Thanks again! 73 de K2CJB
"Make 145.520 Great Again" and their join warning is no hint of politics. Hmmm.
This is KG5FRQ Carlsbad NM anny rig VHF or UHF I have the simplex frend in my radios
If you arent calling CQ on .52 then anyone hearing you assumes your are "just listening"...........
Walter Perry Very true!
Not when he's listening every 5-10 seconds. I've had more success calling CQ in the standard HF style cq x3 callsign x3 cq x3 to give any scanning/dual watch radios a chance to get to channel...
CQ is for morse code. You just need to use your call sign and say monitoring or looking for contact.
Another ham not using the International Phonetic Alphabet correctly. Kilowatt, sugar, elephant, etc., is not in the alphabet. Otherwise great video
52 was never great. It was/is a frequency designated by hams as a simplex comm channel. Nothing special about it. The bigger issue with .52, is the user who more than likely doesn't even know .52 exists for simplex operations and those people doubly, don't even have a decent antenna anyway, just an HT with a rubber duck. You want to make .52 great again, do what I am doing, running RTTY, SSB, and other digital modes on .52, gets people wondering what all that stuff is.
g4kfj calling cq on 145.500 for 21years NO qso s made
Ok lets buy very expensive digital equipment start with dstar hello cq ,try wires x hello cq ,, ok dmr will do it hello cq , ah ha HF
ok new ic7300 hello cq on 20m nothing
lets try FT8 on 14070 GE SUS worked the world in a couple of days
Go CB it just makes sense
73
G4KFJ
You must be in a real dead zone to never get a reply on 145.500, it's fairly busy most evenings around the northwest of England.
Too late all equipment sold !now on Peanut
Shakey cam 🤢
Will have to start trying this out. KQ4CID 73