# explain "10 Meter'...



## tinkersdelight

I'm a novice at this for sure...browsing for comm gear with more range than a CB base station and came across "10 Meter' . Is this really ham or something less and does it have any value in preparedness comm?


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## Asatrur

yes, it HAM and you need a general license at least to use most of the 10M band. Here is a chart of what runs on 10M. Here is a good chart detailing what gets used by who. I just passed mt tech exam last night with 2 weeks of studying. You can do ot.
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band Chart/Hambands_color - Feb 3 2012.pdf

*10 Meters (28-29.7 MHz): *

28.000-28.070 CW 28.070-28.150 RTTY 28.150-28.190 CW 28.200-28.300 Beacons 28.300-29.300 Phone 28.680 SSTV 29.000-29.200 AM 29.300-29.510 Satellite Downlinks 29.520-29.590 Repeater Inputs 29.600 FM Simplex 29.610-29.700 Repeater Outputs


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## tinkersdelight

Thanks, so I'll check into the training. Definitely lots more gear to choose from. Thinking if I had other family do the same would be a outside means should it all go down.


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## k0xxx

10 Meters is right next to CB frequencies (actually, the CB band used to be part of the 10 meter ham band), so it is _very_ similar in characteristics. The up side is that you are allowed more power, up to 1500w as a General, although in a grid down situation it would be challenging to keep an amplifier so large powered. You can expect decent short range communications with a mobile or base setup, and during times of enhanced propagation (what CB'ers call Skip) you can communicate with other parts of the world. The great thing is that once you get a general license, you can use the lower HF frequencies that provide more reliable world wide communications. Older, used HF gear can be found in the $250 and up range, so it's not as expensive as a lot of people think. Good luck in your endeavor.


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## Outback_Joe

I have a Cobra CB that has the 10 meter mod done to it. It has been quiet on the 10 meter side up until about the last 6 months. The solar flares really help propagate the signal on 10 meter band and they were far and few between till lately. I don't have my ticket yet but its on the list to do. I listen to conversations all over the US, Canada, Mexico and beyond when the skip is in. Up in Lakeview we have clear skies that seems to help and the altitude of 5000' seems to help also. Once I move into a real home structure I will study and get legal so I can talk.


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## frankd4

I have talked with people all around the world on 10 meter band we use it in Florida for the ready net.


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## Justaguy987

Okay, I know this tread is over a year old, but almost has just the info I have been looking for. As stated in another thread, I am not yet a "ham" and wont be able to test locally because of my schedule (it's bad). I have been studying what I can find online for free, but the bands are killing me. they just don't make sense and wanted to know if someone could explain them to me.



Asatrur said:


> .
> http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band Chart/Hambands_color - Feb 3 2012.pdf
> 
> *10 Meters (28-29.7 MHz): *
> 
> 28.000-28.070 CW 28.070-28.150 RTTY 28.150-28.190 CW 28.200-28.300 Beacons 28.300-29.300 Phone 28.680 SSTV 29.000-29.200 AM 29.300-29.510 Satellite Downlinks 29.520-29.590 Repeater Inputs 29.600 FM Simplex 29.610-29.700 Repeater Outputs


As stated in the quote, 28-29.7 MHz are in the 10 meter band, but if I did not know this, and was just looking at 28.5 for example, how would I know it was in the 10 meter band? Or is there even a way to know it without just memorizing what is in each band?
More examples are from sample test questions, 52.525 MHz is a frequency is within the 6 meter band (T1B03) and 1296 MHz is a 23 cm frequency...(T1B06). But my question is the same, just looking at a frequency, is there a way to know what band it is on? Is there a mathematical formula for finding out? Can the same frequency be on two bands? (I don't think so.) I have found that the lowest is 30.0MHz and I *think* that was on the 80 meter band and as the frequency get higher like 1296 MHz, it is on the 23 CM band. Thanks for the help so I can quit doing this :brickwall:


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## DKRinAK

*It's all about the speed of light in free space...*



Justaguy987 said:


> Okay, I know this tread is over a year old, but almost has just the info I have been looking for. As stated in another thread, I am not yet a "ham" and wont be able to test locally because of my schedule (it's bad). I have been studying what I can find online for free, but the bands are killing me. they just don't make sense and wanted to know if someone could explain them to me.
> 
> As stated in the quote, 28-29.7 MHz are in the 10 meter band, but if I did not know this, and was just looking at 28.5 for example, how would I know it was in the 10 meter band? Or is there even a way to know it without just memorizing what is in each band?
> More examples are from sample test questions, 52.525 MHz is a frequency is within the 6 meter band (T1B03) and 1296 MHz is a 23 cm frequency...(T1B06). But my question is the same, just looking at a frequency, is there a way to know what band it is on? Is there a mathematical formula for finding out? Can the same frequency be on two bands? (I don't think so.) I have found that the lowest is 30.0MHz and I *think* that was on the 80 meter band and as the frequency get higher like 1296 MHz, it is on the 23 CM band. Thanks for the help so I can quit doing this :brickwall:


A radio band is a group of frequencies which are all described by a given characteristic, such as the purpose of the band (Aircraft Bands), a given wavelength (120 meter band) or a given frequency range. For example, amateur radio operators generally refer to frequencies according to their wavelength, with the 19-meter band containing the range of frequencies with waves about 19 meters long. The frequencies are measured in either kilohertz (kHz) or megahertz (MHz).

You can use the following equations to convert between kHz, MHz and meters.

To convert MHz to kHz, multiply by 1,000. For example:
9.62 MHz x 1000 = 9620 kHz
To convert kHz to MHz, divide by 1,000. For example:
2780 kHz divided by 1000 = 2.780 MHz
To convert MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of MHz. For example:
300 divided by 7.1 MHz = 42.25 meters
To convert meters to MHz, divide 300 by the number of meters. For example:
300 divided by 42.25 meters = 7.1 MHz

Ham radio - ya, it is a geek hobby.


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## Justaguy987

DKRinAK said:


> To convert MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of MHz. For example:
> 300 divided by 7.1 MHz = 42.25 meters
> To convert meters to MHz, divide 300 by the number of meters. For example:
> 300 divided by 42.25 meters = 7.1 MHz
> 
> Ham radio - ya, it is a geek hobby.


THANK YOU! :2thumb: That is just what I was looking for. 300 seems like an odd number, but I am sure it has its place in the big picture of the radio world. But it brings up another question. Is the 40 meter band really anything from 40 to 49.99? I think this is the first time I have seen a 42.25 meter band but can easily understand grouping everything together and just calling it the 40 meter band.


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## DKRinAK

Justaguy987 said:


> THANK YOU! :2thumb: That is just what I was looking for. 300 seems like an odd number, but I am sure it has its place in the big picture of the radio world. But it brings up another question. Is the 40 meter band really anything from 40 to 49.99? I think this is the first time I have seen a 42.25 meter band but can easily understand grouping everything together and just calling it the 40 meter band.


Speed of light in free space is

wait for it

300,000 meters/sec (OK, 299,792,458 m/s but we can round up a bit )

7 Mhz is 7,000,000 cycles per second

and from the there math is easy.

80 meters is about 3.5 Mhz
40 is about 7.0 Mhz and so on. It really is a hold over from the really old days of radio - and kinds fun to use.


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## k0xxx

Justaguy987 said:


> THANK YOU! :2thumb: That is just what I was looking for. 300 seems like an odd number, but I am sure it has its place in the big picture of the radio world. But it brings up another question. Is the 40 meter band really anything from 40 to 49.99? I think this is the first time I have seen a 42.25 meter band but can easily understand grouping everything together and just calling it the 40 meter band.


Yes, the Ham bands are just referred to by the a generalized "meter" number. The 40m Ham band is technically from 7MHz (42.85m) to 7.3MHz (42.09m), but it is SO much easier just to call it the 40m band.


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## bigdadvrod

Asatrur said:


> yes, it HAM and you need a general license at least to use most of the 10M band. Here is a chart of what runs on 10M. Here is a good chart detailing what gets used by who. I just passed mt tech exam last night with 2 weeks of studying. You can do ot.
> http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band Chart/Hambands_color - Feb 3 2012.pdf
> 
> *10 Meters (28-29.7 MHz): *
> 
> 28.000-28.070 CW 28.070-28.150 RTTY 28.150-28.190 CW 28.200-28.300 Beacons 28.300-29.300 Phone 28.680 SSTV 29.000-29.200 AM 29.300-29.510 Satellite Downlinks 29.520-29.590 Repeater Inputs 29.600 FM Simplex 29.610-29.700 Repeater Outputs


your link doesnt work..not for me anyways. just FYI


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## tinkersdelight

update from the front of the thread...got my tech license and currently utilizing 2m band with a HT and mobile unit. Have a prepper net that is starting up and much fun and learning opportunity. Need to work on my General license next and grow to the next step.


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## k0xxx

Very cool tinkersdelight. Congrats!


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## Tacitus

bigdadvrod said:


> your link doesnt work..not for me anyways. just FYI


Try this:

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Hambands_color.pdf

Or go here:

http://www.arrl.org/graphical-frequency-allocations


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