Could you tell me a bit more about your icom vhf radio? What is the frequency range? How many watts? How do you program frequencies?

 

No problem. Had to dig up the manual to answer your question properly. If you are not a ham you can't use this radio. This radio is a few years old now and there are even better ones available.<br>I tune the radio by twisting the dial to the frequency I want. Can program it to tune in steps of 5, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25, 30 &amp; 50 khz steps. Can tune by using the dial on the radio or from the mic. <br>Power output is selectable 5, 10, 20 &amp; 50 watts on VHF. 5, 10, 20 &amp; 35 watts on UHF.<br>It is repeater cabable with DTMF tones. Can also be used as a scanner.<br>Frequencies for VHF are:<br>Tx 144-148 Mhz Rx 118-174 Mhz<br>Frequencies for UHF are:<br>440-450 Mhz<br>Hope this answers your questions.<br>de VE3AH

 

Just curious...<br>The radio I have is a vhf transmit and receive 136-174 range. Industry range. I don't have a call sighn (not required) I am required to take it to the radio shop to be programed. I use it to communicate with logging trucks.

 

What is required for your ham licence? (probably diffrent for canada)

 

The basic rules are the same from country to country. What's required is an understanding of operating rules, and regulations, as well as some radio theory. The licence class to operate on VHF and UHF frequencies requires pretty basic theory and there is probably a amateur club in your area that conducts classes, and may administer the test. You might want want to check with the Canadian Radio Relay League to find a club in your area.<br><br>Tom, K3GM

 

Re the ham licence. As Commatoze said. Go for the ham licence. It is a lot of fun and you will never regret the effort.<br>My radio can be programmed to go from 136-174 Mhz on receive but the US laws require it to be restricted to 118-174 Mhz. <br>As hams we have many priveledges that CB'ers do not have. Just to mention two differences for example: Our allowed power levels are considerably higher that that allowed for CB'ers. Many CB'ers illegally boost their power. We are also allowed to communicate internationally. When I used to have my HF rig in the car I have confirmed contacts in over 70 countries.<br>Hope to hear you as a ham one day.

 

......And of course there's the ubiquitous VHF and UHF repeaters about the USA and Canada which allow a low power transceiver, say 25 watts, to communicate many miles, sometimes on a reqion wide basis using a network of repeaters.