[Blindtlk] Ham radio

[Lloyd Rasmussen]

In addition to the NFB's ham radio group, there are other resources.  

An organization called Handi-Hams, part of the Courage Center in Minnesota,
has provided a lot of helpful information, including a weekly newsletter
sent out to those who pay dues.  They also conduct some camps where ham
radio information is taught.  The web address is www.handiham.org .

The American Radio Relay League is the nationwide ham radio organization.
Its website has lots of information, including a section on resources for
hams with disabilities.  Their magazine, QST, is available in audio form
from NLS, including on BARD.  Their website is www.arrl.org .

I am active on a listserv where a lot of blind hams, in and out of the NFB,
discuss ham radio..  One can subscribe by sending a message to
  listserv at listserv.icors.org
with the first line of the body being
  subscribe blind-hams
.  Some of us on this listserv have started nets on 20 and 40 meters.

You didn't ask about radios for particular frequencies.  Many people get
started with a Technician license which has privileges primarily on bands
above 50 MHz, and communication is mostly local.  There are a lot of
transceivers for two meter and 70 centimeter FM that are accessible, and
others that are not so much so.  Equipment and antennas can be quite small.

I have had a license for the HF or shortwave bands since 1955, where it is
possible to contact people worldwide at times.  The disadvantage is that you
cannot put up antennas for these HF frequencies in most apartments, and may
even have difficulty getting approval to put up antennas at a detached
house.  I have a 60-foot tower and beam antenna upin my back yard, less than
a half mile from a Washington Metro station.  But if I were trying to get
this put up today, and not in 1982, zoning restrictions would not have
permitted it, and I would have to be content with smaller, less effective
antennas.  The most accessible transceiver for the HF range is currently the
Kenwood TS590.  But many of us get by with a little less accessibility, as
we always used to, for the sake of other features or cost.  Much modern
equipment can be controlled by PC's running specialized software such as Ham
Radio Deluxe, which can be more or less read with Window-Eyes or JAWS.

You can write back to me off-list if you need more information.
73,
Lloyd Rasmussen, W3IUU, Kensington, Maryland
Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
Work:  http://www.loc.gov/nls
http://www.facebook.com/lloyd.rasmussen
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of David Thomas
> Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2011 11:13 AM
> To: blind talk
> Subject: [Blindtlk] Ham radio
> 
> Hello This is David Thomas.
> I want to get into ham radio and have a couple questions.
> 1. Are there any completely accessible radios that will speak all menus.
> 2. What are some good resourses to learn and study?
> 3. Is there an NFB group or any group of blind ham operators.
> I am completely blind by the way
> David Thomas owner of the web site
> http://blindtechsupport.com
>