Ham Radio for Motorhome

Tom said:

Question from a non-ham. Isn't it dangerous talking and listening while driving? The mic in one hand and only partial concentration on the road. Is this any more or less safe than the folks I see driving with a cell phone stuck in their ear?

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The answer depends.... First.. Ham radio conversations tend to be non-important (By law I can not conduct business on ham radio for example) So, we tend not to concentrate on the radio as much as say, a cell phone call about your bank balance.

Next, many hams have had their license for a long, long, long time and have developed methods for compartmentalizing their thought process... Driving uses many, for want of a better name, I'll use "Sub routines"

For example there is the positional sub routine, this is the one that keeps track of where you are in your lane, where you are in relation to other cars, it's the one that controls your speed and direction and keeps you from crashing.  Involves Eyes, brain, hands and feet

Then there is the navigionational sub routain  In very short WE DA FUGAUWAY  or, Where am I in plain english

I find that when I get involved with the radio.. I loose navigionational ability,, I know where I am reference to the cars around me, Reference to my lane, and other oprational issues (That is I'm still piolting my car properly) but the navigator in me looses track of my position, so I may well miss my exit... I've gone as much as five exits beyond where I wanted to get off the freeway.  Never in any danger (other than running out of gas) but clearly beyond my get-off point. And this is on a route I've driven every day for about 20 years!!!


I"ve also dropped the mic quickly on occasion when the situtation around me suddenly changed (like I said, I'm still piloting)  Others have other ways of dealing with it.

But I've had a 2-way radio in my car since oh, about 197x,  Many conservations via the radio while driving and only one close call or accident... I got rear ended by a vehicle unable to stop in time... (Come to think of it.. Scratch that, the weather was very bad and I had turned OFF the radio as a result so it does not count)  What did count is the fact I turned the radio on AFTER the crash... Did not need to call police though, they were already there.  (You see, we crashed directly in front of the station)

Steve:

That Icom looks exactly what I am searching for.  Lightweight and versatile.  How much do they run new?  I see just one used one on eBay and the starting bid is $500.

Tom:

Hamming in the car or mobile home is comparable to CBing in the vehicle.  I am not saying it is totally safe, but lots of folk learn to do it.  If you have chatted with 18 wheelers on channel 19, you can just as safely chat with hams.  Might be a little more involved in tuning frequencies, but not much. 

For me, however, the big deal is not talking while in motion, but having the communications available to me in the evenings and when camped.  I wanted a mobile sized one in order to keep coach wieghts at a minimum.  Every little bit helps.

Tom,

I think John has covered it better than I have.  Yes the cognitive things are likely to be overlooked but after you have dirven for many years doing both driving and talking the automatic things fall in place.  I like John have been doing it since the late 60s or early 70s so there is an awareness of what we give up.

Again in heavy fast traffic, I would probably not be taking although I chatted to and from work on one of the then fastest freeways in southern CA for about 20 miles each way.  VBG

John In Detroit said:

Ham radio conversations tend to be non-important ..... Next, many hams have had their license for a long, long, long time and have developed methods for compartmentalizing their thought process... Driving uses many, for want of a better name, I'll use "Sub routines"

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LOL John, that can't possibly be a serious response and I can only assume that you're jerking my chain. Ask any of the officers you work with if such casual chat detracts any more or less from concentrating on the road than casual chat on a cell phone.

James Godward said:

I like John have been doing it since the late 60s or early 70s so there is an awareness of what we give up.

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LOL Jim, that's like me saying I know what I give up when I take brief, intermittent naps while driving on a not-so-busy freeway.

And all this presumes one can walk and chew gum at the same time

Tom said:

LOL John, that can't possibly be a serious response and I can only assume that you're jerking my chain. Ask any of the officers you work with if such casual chat detracts any more or less from concentrating on the road than casual chat on a cell phone.

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I'm speaking of the difference between casual chat and business,  Though cell phone traffic is changing (more and more folks are using cells like home phones) there is still a lot of business conducted by cell, Stuff that requires real concentration and possibly even note taking.  This type of traffic is actually prohibited on the ham bands.

The other difference is that unless you have a hands free cell phone (like I do) you hold the cell up to your ear, Where as so long as I'm not turning I tend to hold the mic in my hand, on the steering wheel, moving it off the wheel only when I press the talk button.  In the motor home it's my LEFT hand (I'm marginally right handed)

So yes, I'm serious when I say ham radio chatter is less distracting than business conservations which have a long term effect on your bank balance and thus life.

Right John, I took you seriously and feel the same way.  That is why I compared hamming to CBing.  Most of the conversation is rather banal in nature.

I rarely, if ever, use my cell phone for business use. Probably 80% of the people I see using cell phones while driving are kids who, most likely, are chatting casually with their buddies rather than conducting business. My question remains - what's the difference between casual chat on a cell phone and casual chat via ham radio that makes one safer while driving than the other?

Even the cell phone companies warn against using a cell phone while driving. Why shouldn't ham radio manufacturers do the same?

I had a long-time friend who was a ham since long before I first met him in 1970. He had a dedicated ham room at his home and a huge crank-up antenna in his back yard. He had a ham RX/TX in his car but, in the 35 years I knew him and travelled with him, I never once saw him use it while driving. He would pull over, stop the vehicle, turn off the engine and start his ham chat. That seemed to me to be the safe and responsible way to use his mobile equipment.

IMHO chatting on the cell phone, ham radio, or CB while driving is not a good idea as it does distract the driver from their primary driving activity.  Why even Mythbusters confirmed that talking on a Cell phone while driving hampered a drivers ability to drive safely.  I'm sure the same would apply to Ham or CB radios as well.

Seems to me that vehicles with on-board drivers using cell phones, ham radios, or CBs should carry some very visible warning so other drivers know that these folks are not paying full attention to the road and that they should take appropriate precautions. e.g.

Warning, partially-attentive driver.

or:

Danger, driver focusing on other things.

or:

Stay clear of this vehicle.

or:

It might be safer if you change lanes or don't follow this vehicle.

Might be an idea for products to sell at QZ.

LOL.? Another would be CHATTY DRIVER Please use extreme caution

Ron said:

IMHO chatting on the cell phone, ham radio, or CB while driving is not a good idea as it does distract the driver from their primary driving activity.

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Ron, I get really scared every time I pass the local elementary school, either at the end of the school day or at lunch time. It's bad enough that parents (typically mothers) park their SUVs such that there's no clear view of kids who might run towards the roadway. They hustle their child(ren) into the car, stick their cell phone to their ear and proceed to talk and drive.

I like yours better Ron. I'll get the artwork ready.

How about? ? WARNING CELL PHONE ON BOARD

Ron said:

How about WARNING CELL PHONE ON BOARD

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But then I'd need separate artwork for ham radio and CB. Also, I'm not concerned if it's someone other than the driver who's doing the talking.

OK CHATTY driver will do.  ;D

Tom said:

Even the cell phone companies warn against using a cell phone while driving. Why shouldn't ham radio manufacturers do the same?

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I have seen the studies... Personally, based on both studies and expierence, I believe there is a world of difference between a 2-way radio and a cell phone...or any phone for that matter.

Hams, at least, do preach responsibility.  And most all practice what they preach.

One question that was published in QST (the official organ of the American Radio Relay League, which is a major orgination of ham radio radio oprators and which argues the case of ham radio before congress) was something like:  "What does a ham license make you an instant driving expert"  The questioner went on to explain how he often heard conversations where one or more hams were commenting on the increadablely stupid moves by drivers around them.

I don't know if it makes you an expert... But having a safety valve to vent through may well make them better drivers.  And who knows... I have seen (and heard, and participated) in getting those increadable idiots OFF the road and into a nice safe room that did not move. (Twas my job for 25 years after all)

I once asked a quesiton of one of my supervisors. ...Why is it the person I'm talking to or listening to during a high speed police chase (I'm now, retired but then was a police dispatcher) is the DRIVER of the patrol car,, Why not the parter thus allowing the driver to keep both hands on the wheel.

The answer that I received was a good, valid and honest one  (I won't go into it) but there is a real reason they train the troopers to drive and operate the radio at the same time during a chase. (Ok, I will give it, one man patrol cars, no partner)

If the police can do it during a high speed..... Well, that is the most intense driving one ever has to do

There is a big diff between Cell phones and 2-ways... That is about all I can say  Phones take a lot more of my personal resources.

Well that sure didn't convince me. The fact that troopers have to be trained to talk while driving doesn't explain why mobile hams can do it without training.

I'm obviously not going to get a serious, unbiased answer to my question.

As long as CB radios are included in the same category as cell phones and ham radios, I am in agreement.  I interjected because I saw little difference between a mobile ham radio and a mobile CB radio.  Most CBers are only different from hams in that they use 11 meters instead of 10 meters or other frequencies. 

Tom, what do you think about hams and CBers who do not engage in 2 way communication but simply monitor such as listening for road traffic?