HAM Radio while touring
 

So, i'm on the final part of planning my trip trough central america, and i was wondering if there is any kind of radio for communications that i can mount on my bicycle, how to, and stuff like that.

You already Got your call Numbers?. .. sort out the Amateur Licence ..

Satellite Phones are very expensive services so having it has to matter a Lot.. https://satellitephonestore.com/

None are small so you would not mount them... you stow in your bags, then until you stop and use them.

I have no clue about cell phone coverage in Columbia , with no cell towers in US its spotty in the rural areas .





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I don't have call number, is this a strictly required thing?
and i don't think i will be paying international roaming service, most likely i'm considering to have a sim card on each country

I'm no ham but worked with a guy who was and even years ago he had a small handheld unit, but no idea on the range, cost, license requirements, etc. Good luck.

If you have a radio to call people, will they also have the same frequency band and be waiting for you to call at the time you want to call them?

A friend of mine used to have a satellite phone. If you really wanted to call someone, that might make more sense, although they are not cheap. My friend bought it because he owned his own airplane and he used the phone to download radar images of bad weather when he was in his plane. But when we were on a kayak trip and out of range of cell phone service, he used the sat phone to call his voice mail.

If you anticipate occasionally being in places with wifi, set up your smartphone first with a VOIP phone service assuming you have such a phone. I use Google Voice and Hangouts and Hangouts Dialer to make phone calls when I have wifi.

HAM Radio is bulky and a license is required to operate one. CB Radio might be another option, but range is a limiter. Cell phones might still be your best bet as satellite phones are expensive to operate.


If you are worried about breaking down and having to call someone, then you are not prepared enough. Unless you need to get to a hospital stat, then you are just out of luck in case you are out of cellphone reach.

There are lots of compact ham radios now-a-days, smaller than most smartphones. But yes it is something you actually have to pass a test for and get a licence and understand how its used... how to look up repeaters and get their frequency and offset (they usually receive on one frequency and transmit on another) and sometimes need pl code to activate. I've been out of the hobby for many years. But they are useful for other things to, many units have wide band receive so you can pick up everything from weather, AM, FM, even the audio portion of TV broadcasts as well as fire, ems, and police bands, etc.

I've had my ham license for over 10 years now.

1) you need a license. You have to pass a test. You have to study for that test. Not super hard, but you need a license to operate.

2) Most popular "band" for the use you have in mind is 2-meters (144 mhz or so). This system uses repeaters to extend your coverage area. Someone needs to be listening to said repeater (another ham operator) for this to be any use to anyone. In my area we are fortunate to have many well used repeaters. That is not true across the US.

A 2-meter handheld (walkie-talkie) will set you back $150 minimum for something of quality. Yes, there are cheap rigs out there and they are exactly that: cheap.

I think you may be better served with a pre-pay phone or a SAT phone as mentioned above. Not to discourage you, but unless you want to pursue amateur radio as a hobby, you're not gonna replace a solid phone.

I'm no expert on this but I'd think that showing up in a few countries like Cuba, Venezuela, Phillipines etc etc ... with a ham radio is a good way to sample their jail facilities. :-)

https://www.twowayradiotalk.com/best...ld-ham-radios/

Do people use CB radios much anymore?

It doesn't seem any are smaller than any smartphone.

The OP is talking about Central America.

A satellite messenger device, like spot, is probably the cheapest. These are "emergency" devices but they can let people track you.

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-adv...r-beacons.html

You could still use a cell-phone even with just wifi to talk to people.

Satellite phone at $80/week is expensive.

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A ham or CB radio isn't likely to be useful anywhere.

Not beyond truck drivers. I know hardcore radio geeks that scan those channels, but that's just being nosy.

I missed that somewhere!

I have no idea why anybody would have mentioned it as an option. Seems obvious that it wouldn't be very useful.

Not just you. (Easy enough to have missed; no big deal.)

Delorme Inreach satellite 2-way text messenger might be an option.

My 15(?) year old yaesu ht is half the size of my current smart phone. One of my ham friends has one a lot smaller than mine...
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/a...psyqecryln.jpg

But the point is moot if the OP didn't realize he'd need a licence and all that and is unwilling. Size might not even be a big concern, I was just throwing it out there. And for the record I have no idea how much ham activity is in Central America, what bands they use, I haven't really been into the hobby since my college days.

That's small. I wonder how common those ones are.

I suspect there are all sorts of reasons why ham (and CB) radio isn't going to be useful to the OP.

Third world local cell service can be very cheap and include low cost texting/calls to the USA. Last time I was cycling in Jamaica I bought a phone with 1000mins of in-country/USA talk and a gizzllion texts to the USA included for $25.

I have that same radio, the VX-2 I think. Mine gets used as a scanner more than anything these days.