|
causticfluids posted:I think you can get in to some HF on a grad student's salary. I'm looking into getting a yaesu Ft-897d and a chameleon whip antenna -- it can handle down to around 40m. It isn't strictly disposable income on a grad student salary, nor would a grad student have a lot of time to do anything with it, nor will it likely work flawlessly mounted in the attic of my apartment, but it's possible.
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2009 03:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 13:32 |
|
|
I've given in and bought a Diamond SRH77CA mobile antenna and an Arrow OSJ146/440 for my FT-60r. I've moved from the third story of an apartment to a house and my reception has tanked; I've just been picking up very local repeaters. It's going to be fun to mount my first antenna. It's a good thing I halfassed my General test studying and failed it because I can't afford HF poo poo right now, either. I guess when decent gear becomes affordable I better start studying up. I would love to get on those bands. Kenderama posted:I drive a VW beetle, so don't want huge antennas. (And to be honest, not a lot of room for a radio mount!) Oh God, I would like to shove an FT-897d or 857d into my car and glue an antenna to the top of it. I drive this (plus wicked spoiler), and I don't care how it would look: 
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2009 04:37
|
|
|
10 Meters has really opened up today. I've made about 12 contacts all over the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast, with my little 25w mobile rig and tree mounted wire dipole. The 28.400 calling frequency is piling up like crazy. MullardEL34 fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Jul 29, 2009 |
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2009 23:00
|
|
|
Cool! I have my shortwave tuned to 28.4 just in case...but probably will get nothing until I put up a decent antenna. The little astronaut on my G6 really clears up the QRN. I picked up an FT-60R and a diamond dual band antenna. So much fun! I have heard lots of contacts, municipal services, business...and I've been only listening on my lunchbreaks! Just need to get a mag-mount for the car and a microphone when I get a license. I go on "vacation" soon to visit my parents in WI and SD, and am interested as to how my reception changes in the plains as opposed to the hills of NH. The are soooo many LF beacons in WI, it's going to be a blast trying to catch them all and decipher the CW. Of course, it's incredibly painful to not be able to answer CQ, or test the Tx abilities of my HT. Aug. 19th is so far away... On that note, I breezed through the technician manual and am scoring 90-100% every time. I'm about a quarter way through the general and am starting to score 70-80%! Not bad! Getting the final 30% solid will be harder though, I have to memorize what parts of the bands do what and the inspection and EM radiation measurement rules. I figure probably another week and I will get it down pretty well. Then I'll pick up the Extra manual and start all over again. There are so many tests for the 1st! ( The day I fly at 2am  )
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2009 05:16
|
|
|
I have a thread over in SH/SC asking for help translating some speaker interference I recorded, and it was suggested that it's possibly some sort of SSB/ham radio transmission that you guys might be able to help translate. If anyone wants to give it a shot, I'd appreciate it!
|
|
#
?
Aug 1, 2009 21:01
|
|
|
Got my technician ticket in '05, didn't use it till about a month ago! I'm operating out of Long Beach, and with my old ICOM IC-255A, I had no chance of getting into most repeaters down here w/o a PL encoder. Yesterday I purchased a Yaesu FT-2800M from another ham I met on the Catalina Island Repeater. Works awesome, and finally I can get into the repeaters here in Southern California. I'll be on the 2M band for some time now, I don't see myself getting into other bands for a while. KI6BRY
|
|
#
?
Aug 3, 2009 16:54
|
|
|
Why would you even own a VHF/UHF radio without a PL encoder?  It's on par with people not understanding that PL/DPL can be used on the receive side of your radio to mute intermod (or people you don't want to listen to on simplex frequencies). I lost count a long time ago the number of people I've had to teach that a radio can have Tx PL, Rx PL, both, or neither...and that they can be different from each other (like Tx 110.9 Rx 210.7 or something). It's amazing how stuff that's been standard in the public safety radio world since the 1970s (if not earlier) still isn't understood by the ham community at large (DPL is one, voting receivers on a repeater system is another, the concept of "talkaround" would likely be a third).
|
|
#
?
Aug 4, 2009 00:47
|
|
|
TNLTRPB posted:Why would you even own a VHF/UHF radio without a PL encoder? The ICOM radio was built sometime in the 70s and was a gift from my uncle as a 'starting point'. It's built like a tank and I would never be on the air today without it. It has FIVE memories! Wow!
|
|
#
?
Aug 4, 2009 03:25
|
|
|
TNLTRPB posted:Why would you even own a VHF/UHF radio without a PL encoder? :psyduck:
While it's true that everyone's first radio should have tones installed, there are plenty of uses for radios that don't have them installed.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2009 02:01
|
|
|
What kind of antenna setup do you guys run? I finally got a Yaesu FT-897. For VHF, I was thinking about building a cheap J-pole out of wire or copper pipe. For HF, I'm probably going to throw up a dipole of some sort.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2009 02:51
|
|
|
Grilldos posted:I've given in and bought a Diamond SRH77CA mobile antenna and an Arrow OSJ146/440 for my FT-60r. Both of these arrived yesterday, so there's my setup. Of course I still need to mount the thing and get some coax to run. If you're handy you could whip up a j-pole pretty drat easily for fairly cheap. I took the lazy route.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2009 03:35
|
|
|
Goob posted:What kind of antenna setup do you guys run? I finally got a Yaesu FT-897. For VHF, I was thinking about building a cheap J-pole out of wire or copper pipe. For HF, I'm probably going to throw up a dipole of some sort.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2009 18:21
|
|
|
Oh yeah, copper cactus' are cool. I built one myself, and it works great. If you wanna get fancy, one of the guys in the local club made a few with shock-cords inside so they could be collapsed up for storage when not used, for temporary antenna needs. We used them for spotting during a Sled Dog Race, where we had to drive to different points along the course, and they worked pretty well.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2009 19:15
|
|
|
mwdan posted:Oh yeah, copper cactus' are cool. I built one myself, and it works great. If you wanna get fancy, one of the guys in the local club made a few with shock-cords inside so they could be collapsed up for storage when not used, for temporary antenna needs.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2009 19:25
|
|
|
I tried one of those, but I think there's something in my walls, possibly a foil backed insulation, that caused massive reflected power when I was trying to set it up inside, so that's why I put up the copper one.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2009 01:03
|
|
|
How into amateur radio are you? Just saw this in the "Post your favorite picture that makes you laugh" thread.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2009 17:49
|
|
|
Holy crap, Just when I was starting to think that 2 scanners (RadioShack pro-28 and icom R3), 2 2-meter radios (Realistic HTX-202 HT and Kenwood TM-241a), and a couple of frs/gmrs radios just might be a bit much... I'm just starting to get back into the hobby a bit after not operating for 10 years too. Just wish I had money to buy the fancy toys that are around these days. Can anyone help me build a WA5VJB "cheap-yagi" for 2-meters operation?
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2009 06:42
|
|
|
Nullsmack posted:Can anyone help me build a WA5VJB "cheap-yagi" for 2-meters operation?
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2009 07:29
|
|
|
I got on the air about three weeks ago. The call is KC2VON. I've just been using a 2M HT (Icom IC-V82) to talk to people locally, and just added a mag-mount antenna to my car. I'm on the Jersey shore if anyone ever wants to chat. Also, I'm looking to get a dual band transceiver (2M/440) for my car, and a practical antenna. It's proving to be difficult on a college budget. Does anybody have any recommendations?
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2009 02:54
|
|
|
tonynaia posted:I got on the air about three weeks ago. The call is KC2VON. I've just been using a 2M HT (Icom IC-V82) to talk to people locally, and just added a mag-mount antenna to my car. I'm on the Jersey shore if anyone ever wants to chat. Are you able to reach any of the N3KZ linked repeaters from where you are? I know there are some in Jersey and eastern PA. I'm in PA, we could set up a QSO over that network if you can reach any of them. Edit: nvm I just realized you only have a 2m HT, the N3KZ network is UHF ReD_DaWn fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Aug 17, 2009 |
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2009 16:11
|
|
|
ReD_DaWn posted:Are you able to reach any of the N3KZ linked repeaters from where you are? I know there are some in Jersey and eastern PA. I'm in PA, we could set up a QSO over that network if you can reach any of them. Well, once I get the money together to get a VHF/UHF transceiver, we should be able to set up a QSO. I know there's a linked repeater system in Jersey that has VHF and UHF capability. The repeater local to me is VHF, and apparently has limited coverage into eastern PA. It's the W2NJR system.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2009 04:37
|
|
|
I sold my IC-701 on eBay recently since it had no AM support and I wasn't finding anything of interest on the sidebands except lots of noise and a little morse, and the sidebands of AM voice transmissions I'd love to have HEARD, but they sounded like donald duck. All of them. So I'd like to get an inexpensive radio, (very inexpensive), and an apartment antenna to get my feet wet with HF after my less than stellar results with the IC-701. I'd like something that covers as wide a frequency range as possible (at least for listening), doesn't need to have a lot of output power. Ease of connection to a PC for PSK/SSTV/RTTY etc. is important-- e.g. I don't want to have to make bizarre adapters with potentiometers to hook up audio out from a PC to the mic jack like I did on the IC-701, and that never really worked right. An onboard frequency counter with an LED or LCD readout would be nice but isn't required. Cosmetic condition doesn't really matter, hell, it can be beaten to poo poo so long as it functions. I figure I'll combine it with an apartment antenna until I move and then set up something with a little more permanence, maybe on a balcony or something. Is anyone looking to get rid of a rig like that, or have a recommendation which model to look for? I liked the looks of the Yaesu 747GX but I could never seem to find one for a reasonable price..  There's a modification that lets you listen from around 100 KHz to 30 MHz-- which would be awesome, even if I only xmit on the HAM bands.Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2009 20:33
|
|
|
Epicenter posted:...and an apartment antenna... I'm interested in a good apartment antenna as well. I'd like to get my general, but I just don't have the motivation to do so since I didn't think I had a good place to put an antenna. I'm on the third floor, but facing the parking lot so it can't be too obvious. Right now I'm using a mag mount attached to an ft-60r for local stuff.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2009 20:58
|
|
|
IonClash posted:How into amateur radio are you? Just saw this in the "Post your favorite picture that makes you laugh" thread. Here's the whole album: http://www.jtrg.org/Photoalbum/Members/AF4KK/AF4KK-Project%20Car/index.html I honestly don't know what to say to that,  doesn't even come close.
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2009 03:38
|
|
|
Epicenter posted:I sold my IC-701 on eBay recently since it had no AM support and I wasn't finding anything of interest on the sidebands except lots of noise and a little morse, and the sidebands of AM voice transmissions I'd love to have HEARD, but they sounded like donald duck. All of them. How much money are we talking. An Yaesu 857 D will do all that you are asking with ease. You can also grab the model before it (FT-100D) for a cheaper price. As to antenna's, I continue my hunt. I'd still like to get my G5rv up at the apartment, but they have cut back the trees and been preforming renovations which would make it hard to hide.
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2009 20:11
|
|
|
Tomorrow MY WIFE and I will be taking our exams. I am going for General, and her for Technician. We are taking our test at the HRO manufacturer's day in Salem, NH. Any goons? I missed out on the chance at a $50 FT-2800 on craigslist, it's my own freaking fault. There is an TM-251A for $90 locally...but I really don't have the money. Hopefully there will be a clearance or something tomorrow, or someone has used gear. Even used, it would probably be out of my price range. I picked up a comet 2M/440MHz mag-mount for the car. Haven't played with it too much but seems marginally better than my diamond dual bander. (When used inside the car.) I guess my problem is using my HT inside the car is kind of awkward at best. I don't know of any microphones with keypads and tuners that will work with the FT-60r or if any mic with the right adapter will work. So I was hoping to pick up a used mobile 2M for my car, leave the HT for other uses. If I could find a nice stereo mic, (With keypad and tuning buttons) that would work too, and would probably be less expensive. I could always wait for that student loan to hit, too, and just buy a dual bander for the car...so much money. Not to mention drilling holes in my new car! Why is radio so depressing. And the waiting for the call sign, dear god, why?
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2009 04:23
|
|
|
TNLTRPB posted:Here's the whole album: http://www.jtrg.org/Photoalbum/Members/AF4KK/AF4KK-Project%20Car/index.html Sweet Jesus. Talk about your "distracted driving."
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2009 20:31
|
|
|
So the manufacturer's day went pretty well. I passed tech and general, and my wife passed her technician, and failed a general which she hadn't studied for anyways. We came and went for about four hours for the great raffles. They gave away HT's on the hour. They gave away two ICOM 718's!!! I was literally praying. Of course, I won an HT "holder" for a desktop. (I appreciate anything I win, but seriously...waiting on those radio drawings in a pool of about ~100 people was nerve racking. Of course, the people who won the radios were older and already had 5 of them, but I digress.) Now we just wait. When I get my callsign I'll pick up a mobile - probably the Yaesu FT-2800. Maybe the FT-8900. That would wrap up a little beginner low VHF. I brought my mostly-blind (legally) friend to the testing and he tried to take it but couldn't see anything. When he asked for an oral test, they refused. We weren't too upset by it; I assume there is some rule about oral testing, but how then are fully blind persons examined? There were many VE's there but there was a lot of testing going on. 29 tried, 11 got tech, 5 got general, and 2 got extra. So the main VE said to contact him via email and come out to the next one in October/November. They weren't rude but I was surprised there was no way for my friend to test, and he basically spent the rest of the day feeling up radios he wouldn't be allowed to use, pretty boring for him. causticfluids fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Aug 23, 2009 |
|
#
?
Aug 23, 2009 03:18
|
|
|
causticfluids posted:I brought my mostly-blind (legally) friend to the testing and he tried to take it but couldn't see anything. When he asked for an oral test, they refused. We weren't too upset by it; I assume there is some rule about oral testing, but how then are fully blind persons examined? Wow, seriously? That's ridiculous of them. Sounds like they were just being lazy about it. Examiners are required to accommodate people who have physical disabilities. From 97.509 (j) quote:(j) The administering VEs must accommodate an examinee whose physical disabilities require a special examination procedure. The administering VEs may require a physician's certification indicating the nature of the disability before determining which, if any, special procedures must be used.
|
|
#
?
Aug 23, 2009 23:07
|
|
|
Radnor posted:Wow, seriously? That's ridiculous of them. Sounds like they were just being lazy about it. Examiners are required to accommodate people who have physical disabilities. From 97.509 (j)
|
|
#
?
Aug 24, 2009 22:07
|
|
|
nmfree posted:True, but in general it's considered appropriate to contact the VEs ahead of time so they can plan ahead for accommodations (large print tests, someone to read the questions/answers out loud) they might have to make, especially in light of the doctor's note clause in the rule. I'm not surprised they turned him away, and personally I don't think they did anything wrong-- what if there was no place they could go to administer an oral test? They couldn't just do that in the same room as the other test takers. Ditto this, any responsible VE team will make sure to specify in their public notice that disabilities will be accommodated, provided there is prior notice given so that they can know specifically what needs to be prepared for any examinee with special needs. Then again, if this was at some sort of event where they were expecting a large amount of people to take the test, perhaps they should've been prepared to accommodate at least some more common disabilities, like blindness / deafness. As a current VE, I feel for that team; it can be difficult for a small volunteer group to prepare for something like that without prior notice. Anyway, I hope that doesn't discourage your friend from getting his ticket, just make sure that the VE team is on the same page with him next time around and I'm sure it'll go smoothly.
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2009 07:36
|
|
|
No, there were no hard feelings on either side. The team was pretty busy, and he just has more time to study. I am trying to decide between a 2m/440MHz mobile and a 29/50/144/440MHz mobile...those extra HF bands sure sound nice. I wonder how much I would be sinking into antennas for the 10m and 6m bands though. If I just get 144/440, that would pretty much mean spending 600+ dollars later for a HF transceiver.
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2009 18:32
|
|
|
causticfluids posted:No, there were no hard feelings on either side. The team was pretty busy, and he just has more time to study.
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2009 19:49
|
|
|
causticfluids posted:If I just get 144/440, that would pretty much mean spending 600+ dollars later for a HF transceiver. That's just my opinion, though, there's really no right or wrong answer; you should do whatever you want.
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2009 23:46
|
|
|
nmfree posted:Honestly, I think the best bang/buck these days comes from the all-in-one radios like the IC-706 and the FT-857 (especially used), since they're all-band and all-mode. While it's true that they're "Jack of all trades, master of none", I think that it's more useful when starting out to have something that can get your feet wet in as many aspects of the hobby as possible. I agree wholeheartedly. I took a look at the FT-857 and was very impressed. Due to budget constraints I picked up an IC-208H. I sort of settled between the ubercheap FT-2900 and the FT-8900, picking up an ICOM because HRO was out of the comprable Yaesu model, and I got a nifty $20 rebate. Total cost to me: $289.00. This pretty much covers the entire radio portion of my Ham budget when combined with the $180.00 I spent on the FT-60R. (I will allow myself to get a better antenna.) Now my wife and I each can have a radio, I have a dedicated mobile for the car which I don't feel silly using indoors, and we have the HT for when we are hiking and rock climbing. Plus, two car trips just got a lot less boring. My antenna situation is poor at best. I replaced my rubber duck on the FT-60R with a Diamond SRH77CA 2m/70cm with marked improvement. Then I bought a Comet mag-mount for the car. In the car, I get about the same performance as using the Diamond inside the car...ok... Now indoors, I got worse performance from the comet mag-mount than the diamond. Waste of $25. I'm going to be looking for a better solution hopefully around $75. I can't drill any holes in my car, and will probably look for a hood mount or trunk mount compatible with my hatchback. Then again, NMO mounts are pretty cheap, Larsen is a good company, and just leaving the mount in might not affect the resale of my car. My home location sucks for SW and ham radio. I am at the bottom of a valley, surrounded by apartments. Luckily I am on the third floor. I think I could clandestinely put up a dipole on the outside wall. Like I said, my wife and I are climbers, so we'd have no problem belaying me out a window to put up a dipole. Good lord, what will the neighbors think? And I don't mean to be E/N, but there is a chance I can find my long-absent grandfather via ham radio. He left my dad and grandmother when my dad was just a kid. One of the only pictures I ever saw of him had him speaking into a mic in front of a bunch of what I assumed were radios. When I told my dad I got my license he mentioned to me how his father is probably still on the air, though he may have passed away. There are only about ~8 hams licensed with his last name, so I just have to ask my parents what his first name is, and I can tried to set up a contact. How trippy would that be? "Is this causticfluids Sr Sr?" "Why, yes..." "Yeah I'm your grandson. C1FLUIDS closing station." Edit: It's official, I'm KD0IVC and my wife is KD0IVB. causticfluids fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Aug 28, 2009 |
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2009 05:13
|
|
|
causticfluids posted:It's official, I'm KD0IVC and my wife is KD0IVB. Awesome, sequential calls for the two of you. Congrats and welcome to the hobby. Today, I built a 6m dipole from 1/2" PVC, 12 gauge FTTN wire, and some coax a friend had lying around. I'm probably going to put it up in the attic tomorrow and try to get everything working. I'll post pics of it tomorrow if people want, but it's nothing spectacular, it's a T made of PVC pipe with a piece of coax sticking out the bottom. If I can't get it up in the attic, I'll probably just end up taping it to my wall for now. I'd still like to talk with some local hams around the Cleveland area. My usual hangout repeaters are W8OKE 147.025 and KB8WLW 442.225. If you guys can hit those, let me know, and we'll chat.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2009 06:06
|
|
|
thegreatcodfish posted:I'm interested in a good apartment antenna as well. I'd like to get my general, but I just don't have the motivation to do so since I didn't think I had a good place to put an antenna. I'm on the third floor, but facing the parking lot so it can't be too obvious. Right now I'm using a mag mount attached to an ft-60r for local stuff. I'm pretty much in this exact same situation. I found out about a free class for the general license through work, and it seems like a lot of fun, but I'm not sure what kind of range or reception I'd be able to get from an apartment. Also, I can't really judge what kind of equipment you would need to transmit/receive from other countries? I assume a 5W hand-held wouldn't be able to transmit very far? I'm sure the efficiency of the antenna has something to do with it as well, but I was trying to gauge just what I would be able to do.
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2009 04:13
|
|
|
Scottw330 posted:I'm pretty much in this exact same situation. I found out about a free class for the general license through work, and it seems like a lot of fun, but I'm not sure what kind of range or reception I'd be able to get from an apartment. I was actually talking to a guy a know the other day and he suggested I look into Hamstick. It's a system of interchangeable antennas that don't need a ground wire or anything. Here is the website: http://www.hamstick.com/products.html I start a general class next Thursday  I'm able to get ~50 miles with my FT-60r with a mag mount at my apartment. Of course, I'm pointed right at the repeater and it's on top of a mountain.
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2009 04:53
|
|
|
Scottw330 posted:I assume a 5W hand-held wouldn't be able to transmit very far? I'm sure the efficiency of the antenna has something to do with it as well, but I was trying to gauge just what I would be able to do. My experience has been that portables usually don't do much better than 5-10 miles (through a repeater with a rubber duck antenna standing outside), more than that if you get a decent antenna. Portables are great for dicking around the house with, or very local simplex communications, but if you really want to have a decent setup in the car, get a mobile radio (>=50 watts).
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2009 21:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 13:32 |
|
|
TNLTRPB posted:My experience has been that portables usually don't do much better than 5-10 miles (through a repeater with a rubber duck antenna standing outside), more than that if you get a decent antenna. Portables are great for dicking around the house with, or very local simplex communications, but if you really want to have a decent setup in the car, get a mobile radio (>=50 watts). My FT-60R made a 23 mile simplex chat with great quality using a small external antenna on the trunk of my car, on 5 watts. So watts can go a long way if you are in good conditions. I was driving on the freeway and had a chat for about ten minutes before it started breaking up, and the point when I started it I was CQing and may have been able to have it longer had I not done so sooner.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2009 08:47
|
|
