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Quick stupid question. This study material keeps refering to the "amateur station" in that context what the hell is a station? The person transmitting?
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Jun 29, 2015 14:44
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PadreScout posted:Quick stupid question. This study material keeps refering to the "amateur station" in that context what the hell is a station? The person transmitting? The station is the equipment. Part 97 Section 3 posted:(5) Amateur station. A station in an amateur radio service consisting of the apparatus necessary for carrying on radiocommunications. The licensed person in control of the station is the operator, who may not necessarily be the person actually communicating on the station.
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Jun 29, 2015 14:51
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Most people's attitude to the test seems to be that you could study the materials and do fine. But since all of the questions are known , you just study those instead. There are varying degrees of studying, from memorizing the answers (lame), to studying the specific associated material. Depends how much you want to know. As a tech, if you can handle the material you should work with the license manual, as you have a lot to learn off the bat to be able to do anything other than push the talk button on a portable.
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Jun 30, 2015 12:35
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As an Extra that didn't understand the complex impedance calcs and decided to plan to blow out that section and study double for everything else.....don't do that. I mean, I passed, but I just ended up learning that impedance/phase stuff as soon as I got into designing antennas. You'll use every single thing that you learn studying for the test before too long.
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Jun 30, 2015 15:34
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So it stormed this morning. I was going to hang a dipole on my roof. I guess I should do it anyway cause it will work better, right?
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Jun 30, 2015 16:11
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I'm doing a mix of study. I got the ARRL license manual, I'm doing flashcards on the hamstudy.org and I'm trying to kind of get involved in ham culture... but as a unlicensed apartment dweller that one is tough. I'm doing better on my practice tests though. I figure another week and I can go test and be confident I'll pass. Echolink seems cool. As I understand it, this is just like having a transceiver, only you use software instead? The wiki refers to reaching a relay with echolink compatibility, so I'm a little confused on this point. The short and skinny of it is that you can talk to basically anywhere using the internet though, yeah? This seems good for me as my apartment complex would loving lose their mind if I went hoisting an antenna up off my balcony.
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Jul 6, 2015 04:10
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PadreScout posted:I'm doing a mix of study. I got the ARRL license manual, I'm doing flashcards on the hamstudy.org and I'm trying to kind of get involved in ham culture... but as a unlicensed apartment dweller that one is tough. You pretty much got it on Echolink; I wish I had it set up when I was traveling from ATL back to Birmingham. I was talking on a repeater on the outskirts, and then a guy from a few hundred miles got on and was perfectly clear. Within about 15 minutes I was getting mainly static. And you don't necessarily need a large antenna. I was talking to one guy on medium power with a FTM-400DR radio using digital from about 30 miles away; and his antenna was a 1/2 wave antenna he had indoors in his attic.
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Jul 6, 2015 06:28
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PadreScout posted:Echolink seems cool. As I understand it, this is just like having a transceiver, only you use software instead? The wiki refers to reaching a relay with echolink compatibility, so I'm a little confused on this point. Echolink is pure VoIP (and not really a great implementation of VoIP at that). If you connect to another Echolink user there is no radio involved in your connection (unless one end or the other gets their internet wirelessly). The reason they enforce a license requirement for it is that some repeaters are linked in to the Echolink network, and if you happen to use one of those you will be getting retransmitted just the same as if you were in range transmitting on their input frequency. I wish they'd modernize their system so port forwards wouldn't be necessary (they shouldn't be) and multiple users behind the same NAT could then actually connect at the same time, but getting ham radio people to upgrade their software is pretty much automatically a lost cause.
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Jul 6, 2015 14:46
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Funny thing is, the mobile echolink clients work just fine behind NAT - I've used both the IOS and Android versions. It's the desktop versions that don't.
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Jul 6, 2015 16:05
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I'm pretty excited, I've been testing between 96% and 100% on the tests on hamstudy, so I think I'm going to go take my test Saturday. Is it worth waiting a week and trying for general at the same time or is a technical good enough for now? Also- I'm going to need a radio. Are there any "must have" features? The local amateur radio place only has gently caress-you expensive rigs, they're all .. thousands and thousands of dollars. Hell, one is like 9 grand. I don't know any particular models I'd want to go looking in the used market so I'm a bit stumped on this one. Is there a standard "beginners" rig that's popular? Kind of like how people always tell a new motorcyclist to go find a Ninja 250. There a radio equivalent?
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Jul 10, 2015 01:42
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I am not a fan of telling people to pick up a 2 meter or dual band radio for their first, as that means your interest or lack thereof will be controlled by your local guys who may be cool or may not be. There are a class of 'swiss army knife' radios such as: Icom 706 Icom 7000 Yaesu FT-100 Yaesu FT-817 Yaesu FT-857 Most have a mobile radio form factor, will cover the HF bands, and let you hit 2 meters and maybe 70cm. But if your local beards are terrible, the radio still has worth. They are not excellent at anything. They are adequate and maybe good at many things. Very popular radios. Most importantly, they retain value well - so if you hate it, you can get your money back - and if you love ham radio, you'll still find use for your 'first' as a mobile or secondary radio. Even though I have a fancy Icom 746, my 735 is still set up full time just so I can leave it tuned to a freq and listen for activity. Look to spend between 400 and 1000 bucks for one of these radios depending on age and accessories and condition.
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Jul 10, 2015 01:47
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The 817 is a great scanner, but makes kind of a weird radio to start with. It's only five watts, which could be way more than enough or not nearly sufficient for your needs. If you're not able to put an antenna outside, you might want to look at another model.
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Jul 10, 2015 16:20
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The Muffinlord posted:The 817 is a great scanner, but makes kind of a weird radio to start with. It's only five watts, which could be way more than enough or not nearly sufficient for your needs. If you're not able to put an antenna outside, you might want to look at another model. I generally agree, but you can also look at it this way: if you REALLY can't put an antenna up outside it's a good radio to backpack with to a park or something and put up a homemade antenna or a buddipole or something. Although starting out on 5 watts is really rough unless your thing is CW or data modes.
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Jul 11, 2015 01:37
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I'll be at the pikes peak hamfest tomorrow morning. Hit me up on talk-in if you make it by! (no its not actually on pikes, sadly)
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Jul 11, 2015 01:39
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PadreScout posted:I'm pretty excited, I've been testing between 96% and 100% on the tests on hamstudy, so I think I'm going to go take my test Saturday. Is it worth waiting a week and trying for general at the same time or is a technical good enough for now? It's free to take the General, so you might as well do it. You could be lucky and get an awesome pool that's easy. As for the radio, specifics would help. Will be be base (home), mobile (car) or HT (portable-handheld)? Are there any features you want/have to have ie Digital? If so, Yaesu Fusion or D*Star, or other? APRS? Easy to program? SD card based?
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Jul 11, 2015 08:27
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go to hamfests $145 for the pile and 65 of that was the bencher i am so god drat excited to find that roller inductor you don't even know
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Jul 11, 2015 17:07
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uapyro posted:It's free to take the General, so you might as well do it. You could be lucky and get an awesome pool that's easy. I originally wanted something for my home, but since I am in an apartment, on the second floor of a 4 story building, in the middle, without direct line of sight out to the big blue world, I have reconsidered and want to go for something portable - for my car. I figure I can drive out to a park or something on the weekends and make a day of it. Features! I do not know enough about them to know what I want. That's why I was hoping for one of those ninja 250 answers where it basically covers all the basics and has enough to show you what you might want in the future.
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Jul 11, 2015 18:11
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that tuner is sweet, it's a mini Johnson Matchbox. link coupled inside and everything. no baluns needed to drive coax or open wire. the old man that built it drew out the schematic and folded it up and stuck it inside the chassis
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Jul 11, 2015 21:02
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I passed my technical. So that was fun. Time to get to work on my general.
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Jul 17, 2015 01:58
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PadreScout posted:I originally wanted something for my home, but since I am in an apartment, on the second floor of a 4 story building, in the middle, without direct line of sight out to the big blue world, I have reconsidered and want to go for something portable - for my car. I figure I can drive out to a park or something on the weekends and make a day of it. If you mean the test questions, some of that's out of date slightly, and some's not. What type of vehicle? Do you want the entire radio as one unit, or do you want the main transceiver so you can have it hidden under a seat or trunk/something? Do you know what frequencies are active in your area? 2M, 440/70CM? Based off of that, you can probably figure out which types of antennas/mounts you'd want.
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Jul 17, 2015 03:29
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uapyro posted:If you mean the test questions, some of that's out of date slightly, and some's not. It will go into my Subaru GL. I like the idea of those radios that have the controls nad display detached, but honestly, until it becomes the standard and there isn't much of a price premium, I don't think it is cool enough to pay for. I'm in Dallas, so the 2 meter seems pretty alive. I checked the repeater listing and there are a ton of those things up, like 10 or 20 of them. EDIT: I also joined the local club , they're having a breakfast tomorrow, seem like nice guys so I plan on chatting with them over what might be good rigs to gt my feet wet as well. PadreScout fucked around with this message at 13:52 on Jul 17, 2015 |
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Jul 17, 2015 12:19
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PadreScout posted:EDIT: I also joined the local club , they're having a breakfast tomorrow, seem like nice guys so I plan on chatting with them over what might be good rigs to gt my feet wet as well. This is how you get thrown a free starter rig, btw guys. Or at least a cheap hookup. I personally have a stack of $10 hamfest 2 meter mobiles that I am ready to hand out to new hams at a moment's notice. That's how much I don't wanna talk to Baofengs.
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Jul 17, 2015 17:23
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I went to the local Ham Radio Outlet. They're nice guys. They told me I want a handheld. I'm honestly not very enthusiastic about handhelds - but they assure me this is a common way to get going and will work good for me. So they tried to sell me something called a FT-60 and an antenna with mag mount called a M24S antenna. They assure me this is a good little setup the will let me talk to people and be good to have in the long-run and whatnot. These dudes shooting straight with me?
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Jul 17, 2015 18:55
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Yeah, FT-60R is a solid tank of a radio. Nobody I have ever talked to in the past 25 years with a Yaesu HT has been disappointed. Antenna looks okay, $40 for a quarter wave mag mount is a littttttle steep, but it's Comet so it's probably okay quality. Make sure you get some sort of aux power source for it - power supply for the house, cig lighter plug for the car, something like that. Living and dying by the HT battery sucks.
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Jul 17, 2015 19:16
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Jonny 290 posted:This is how you get thrown a free starter rig, btw guys. Or at least a cheap hookup. I personally have a stack of $10 hamfest 2 meter mobiles that I am ready to hand out to new hams at a moment's notice. That's how much I don't wanna talk to Baofengs. A Baofeng was one of the Amazon Prime Day deals. That went quickly. Kind of scares me a bit to be honest since I'm wondering how many of the buyers were hams...
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Jul 17, 2015 22:51
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Jonny 290 posted:Yeah, FT-60R is a solid tank of a radio. Nobody I have ever talked to in the past 25 years with a Yaesu HT has been disappointed. Antenna looks okay, $40 for a quarter wave mag mount is a littttttle steep, but it's Comet so it's probably okay quality. I strongly vouch for the FT-60R, i've used/abused to death and it barely has a scratch on it, solid as hell. For backup power especially when travelling etc I recommend getting one of these: http://www.amazon.com/FBA-25/dp/B003VS6YIU/ I have two NiMh packs, but just having that part in my ham poo poo bag is nice to know i could just hit a 7/11 if i had to. ---- e: Try to go to some place local first before amazoning it, it should be closer to 15 bucks. Sniep fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Jul 18, 2015 |
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Jul 18, 2015 01:00
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Sorry for double-post, but in unrelated to HT news, my new VHF/UHF antenna showed up! You have to tap out the elements from the top half and attach them to the solid copper (what, about 8awg?) part coming up from the bottom antenna:  I pulled the entire top element out from the top half, the bottom wasn't easily accessible:  Combined with a higher power 2m radio I'm picking up from Jonny290 tomorrow I cant wait to see how this does for FM simplex this coming week. --- e: looking alright, so far so good  SWR meter tests: 2m band from top to bottom doesnt hit above 1.02>1 440 band, well, low in band gets up to about 1.25 @ 430.000, 1.15 @ 435.000, 0 @ 440.000-449.500, 1.05 @ 450.000 Sniep fucked around with this message at 07:11 on Jul 18, 2015 |
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Jul 18, 2015 02:11
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How do I get my FRN? Does this happen automatically when they add me and my callname to the fcc website?
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Jul 18, 2015 08:12
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I think so, but don't quote me on it. I felt a little  before I started and didnt want my SSN on the paperwork, so I got one before I took the test.
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Jul 18, 2015 15:09
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You'll get it with your callsign. It's printed on the license. It's also on the ULS listing for your license. If you haven't gotten the piece of paper yet, it's worth looking for your name in the ULS and see if they've added you yet. Officially, the license is whatever is in the ULS anyways, as you have to opt in getting paper license after they send you the first one.
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Jul 18, 2015 23:50
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I have a MD-380 DMR HT now ... and I'm out of range of the repeater to hear me. I hear it just fine with like... no signal. Cool poo poo.
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Jul 26, 2015 00:24
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Sniep posted:Sorry for double-post, but in unrelated to HT news, my new VHF/UHF antenna showed up! Should do well, I have an X-50 that is excellent, especially with height. And I have a 2M all mode which is pointless with the vert, but 50W out on V/U is stellar with any of these. Also w/r/t that you're obviously shadowed by the building, so if you're trying to get to the other side of it, it will be rougher. You can sink some pipe in a bucket w/ concrete and use that to toss in the parking lot for better radial, though less height. Partycat fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Jul 26, 2015 |
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Jul 26, 2015 00:29
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Apologies if this has been covered before, as this thread is huge and I have only read a small bit of it. I'm trying to decode some POCSAG pages on OS X with multimon-ng and having a hell of a time getting anything to work. I'm using samples pulled from this page as a starting point to validate my setup. Here's the command I'm running: code:
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Jul 26, 2015 05:12
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Jonny 290 posted:ok, so i've had a victory shot and now want to freak out I'm probably way out of my League here but, I see hi-pro 11ghz dishes( 6'-10' normal 11ghz bands dip down well into the 10ghz range ) all the time getting torn down shouldn't be hard to come by one.from ATT or VZW and re-purpose it.
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Jul 26, 2015 05:42
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yeah thats old news, i'm not worried at all after shoppin' around. under a grand for a ground station. 700 for a DB6NT transverter for uplink, junkyard dish, LNA and associated hacks
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Jul 26, 2015 06:08
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oh i didnt mention in here - Virginia Tech announced they're working hard to finalize a contract with us government to get phase 3E up finally here's video of the announcement http://amsat-uk.org/2015/07/26/video-of-p3e-satellite-announcement/ high orbit satellites are the absolute jam and i am very very excited. it seems like amsat is entering a new era lately, getting out of the LEO sat gutter (i have Opinions on these)
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Jul 26, 2015 22:42
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I got my call sign. I'm officially technician license KG5IOT. Still haven't sorted the radio thing out, but I'll get there. More time for practice on my general.
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Jul 27, 2015 11:27
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Got off my rear end and picked up the Technician's manual to start studying at night after work. HERE WE GO! ARES and RACES are what my first interests are but I vaguely remember Civil Air Patrol working with amateur radio back when I was a scrubby cadet in the late 90s. Does anyone know if CAP actively ties in with those now? I think the emergency management volunteering stuff is pretty cool and wouldn't mind being involved with CAP again. Or, you know, actually contributing to it this time.
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Aug 22, 2015 13:46
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I was browsing around and came across NooElec and SDR USB sticks. I guess there are a bunch of these things now. I was aware that software defined radio was a thing, but I didn't realize that it was so cheap and capable. What do I need if I want to start playing around with SDR? Which brands are good? I am pretty clueless on all of this, but it seems like it would be fun to listen to stuff and look at cool waterfall diagrams.
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Aug 27, 2015 15:59
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taqueso posted:I was browsing around and came across NooElec and SDR USB sticks. I guess there are a bunch of these things now. I was aware that software defined radio was a thing, but I didn't realize that it was so cheap and capable. http://www.rtl-sdr.com/about-rtl-sdr/
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Aug 27, 2015 16:20
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