Handheld Ham Radio

[CarinaPDX]

It's been a couple of decades, but while still in San Diego I went down to Tijuana and to the Mexican equivalent of the FCC there to get the license. If you are carrying fishing equipment then that is a good time to buy the required fishing licenses, whether you plan on fishing or not.

Have a good trip.

Greg

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by SailorTrish

On a more serious note! Does anyone know if I should start applying for a license in Mexico? The plan is to be there sometime in November. ( fingers, toes, and everything else crossed. You know the drill trying to get away from the dock.)

Congratulations on your new license.

I don't believe you can get an XE license until you have inbound immigration paperwork. The last I understood you can operate /XE as soon as you submit your paperwork once you get into Mexico.

See xe-permit.wd9ewk.net and Licensing information Mexico XE . The first link is more current; the second link is data the ARRL points to. ARRL maintains information online for CEPT, IARP, and bilateral reciprocity. At the moment the country-by-country information is here Reciprocal Permit but the ARRL seems to enjoy rearranging their web site and breaking deep links.

73 es sail fast de dave KO4MI

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by SailorTrish

Passed the General exam last Saturday and checked in to my first net Tuesday evening. Told my husband I outranked him now that I was a General and he was only a Captain.

On a more serious note! Does anyone know if I should start applying for a license in Mexico? The plan is to be there sometime in November. ( fingers, toes, and everything else crossed. You know the drill trying to get away from the dock.)

We were in Mexico from Nov 2010 until Mar 2012.

When we arrived in La Paz I went to the local CoFeTel Office with all the proper paperwork and copies of my licneses, passport and visa.

The clerk then asked me how long I was going to be in La Paz, because it would take about a month to process the paperwork and issue the endorsement. He also told me that the endorsement would expire with my VISA and I would have to renue the endorsement again... and of course I didn't want to wait around in La Paz for a month to pick up the endorsement

The other problem is that Mexican VISAs are only six months long. I had checked in in Cabo, so my VISA was already a month old, meaning my Mexican HAM Endorsement would expire in 4 months from the time I received it.

I am one who usually follows host country rules, but with all the hastle, I choose not to obtain my endorsement. I used my radio regularly in Mexico and was a Net controller for three different nets over the time I was there. I just used my nomral call sign without the Mexican desigantion.

Although you will hear cruisers using the XE designtion, very few have actually obtained their endorsements or renued them after the first issue...

In my opinion, that will get you into more trouble, falsely using a call sign, than just saying hey I don't have one, but to each there own...

So I am not advising you one way or the other, but the time I was in Mexico the rule was not enforced at all...

If you want to obtain you Mexican HAM Endorsement I have included two links with information o how to do it...

Good Luck!


Mexican (XE) amateur radio permits for foreigners

Obtaining a reciprocal ham radio permit in Mexico | DL6KAC's Virtual Home

[Ullorona]

I'm sorry for bump..just my two cents.
I bought an ICOM base station this year, its 100 watts multi-band (2 meters to 160 meters) and I coupled it to a dipole antenna (ZS6BKW G5RV ZS80) that I temporarily hoisted a whopping 20 feet up in the air. I'm considering putting up a wind turbine so I might get a real tower soon.
I was able to pick up chatter from all over the USA. But since I'm not a licensed ham, I just listened.

For Christmas, my Santa, brought me a Yaesu FT60R https://secretstorages.com/best-handheld-ham-radios/ ($154 free/shipping) (vhf/uhf) and I've been playing around with it for the past couple days listening.

Listening to a repeater 26 miles away, I could hear conversations very clearly.

I decided I needed to know how effective the 12 inch rubber duck antenna is and figured I'd bend the rules a bit, just once.

I was also able to transmit to that repeater 26 miles away while sitting in front of my home computer. It took me a few minutes to figure out that I had to program in something called a PL tone for it to work, but once I did, it worked like a charm. On my very first attempt, my "CQ radio check" was acknowledged. Of course, once I knew others could hear me, I stopped transmitting as all I wanted to do was to make sure it actually worked.

My santa didn't just get me the Yeasu FT60R on a whim by luck, it was something I've been researching so I could find a portable solution to talk back to the base station in a SHTF and for something I could recommend to friends and neighbors.

Would a Bofang radio do the same? I'm sure it would, but I didn't buy my radio for hobby use while camping, I bought it to serve me in times when I'm going to depend on it, possibly my life will depend on it.

With that in mind, I certainly wouldn't purchase Chinese hardware for such purposes.

You purchase Chinese stuff when you don't mind exchanging it at walmart or throwing it out.
You purchase high quality stuff when its going to be used for important things.

[gatorman49]

The ARRL says there is no operating agreement for non-Mexican hams to operate in Mexico. You would have to be in international waters and operate as a maritime mobile. I imagine chances of getting caught would be slim if you operated in port but if you did, you know the Mexican authorities operate. They would want everything down to your underwear.