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IOwnCalculus posted:Also, aren't HOAs very limited on pursuing antennas since they fall under the FCC's jurisdiction? The FCC is willing to assert federal preemption wrt antennas when it’s a governmental body imposing zoning restrictions via an order called PRB-1, but HOAs are basically contracts between private individuals and the FCC has declined to intervene there. The ARRL has been pushing the Amateur Radio Parity Act to push PRB-1-like protections to deed-restricted/HOA homes. It has made it through the House of Representatives and is awaiting action by the Senate. There are some critics who don’t believe the Act will actually give hams the rights they want though.
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Jun 10, 2018 15:02
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IOwnCalculus posted:Also, aren't HOAs very limited on pursuing antennas since they fall under the FCC's jurisdiction? This is in Norway and regarding racists in Norway there are many people that use the word Neger and hate immigrants. 
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Jun 10, 2018 20:17
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I just hung my dipole between a tree in front and a tree behind my house. It's hardly noticeable from the front, unless you're walking by on the sidewalk and looking up. Never asked for permission, and no one has yet to bother me for the few years I've had it up. In fact, my next door neighbor is on the HOA board. He asked me what it was for one day and all he said was "Neat!". That was at least a year ago. Since then, he's hung some bird feeders and copied my idea of using a dock cleat bolted to a tree trunk to tie off the other end of his ropes. 
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Jun 12, 2018 15:37
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I tried that with magnet wire but that’s when I learned how much stretch those strands can get . Oops . Mostly people don’t care but I’ve been burned by tripping motion lights, fire alarms , and disrupting broadcast tv receivers . And yes you can show up to your neighbor with a screed about FCC part 15 if you want , and then find a hat pin in your transmission line.
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Jun 12, 2018 22:56
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Partycat posted:I tried that with magnet wire but that’s when I learned how much stretch those strands can get . Oops . Wireman sells AWG 26 copperweld stranded with a black jacket and it is the most MAGICAL poo poo. My doublet at 30 feet _disappears_ against the horizon and brush. It's my favorite antenna wire ever. I tested its break strength and it took almost my full body weight, really impressive stuff
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Jun 24, 2018 16:34
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Cross-posting from the electronics megathread... Any time I read about coaxial cables (and calculating the fields and such inside them), its often simply stated that the current flowing through the inner conductor is equal and opposite to the current flowing on the inner surface of the outer conductor (e.g., top of the second page here http://www.ittc.ku.edu/~jstiles/220...sion%20Line.pdf). Why is this necessarily the case? What underlying aspect of Maxwell's equations says this must be true? nmfree posted:My copy of The ARRL Handbook only says that it's because of the skin effect, but doesn't go into the underlying reasons. See, another example!
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Jul 12, 2018 04:46
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I got help to put up 20 meter wire from the top of the building to a tree. It was done very goodly and greatly and the coaxial cables now go through the wall into the living room so it looks better than before. If people say that it looks like Africa after all this work then i am going to be annoyed.
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Jul 28, 2018 15:40
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Not exactly ham radio related, but, other than a couple mobile-style Midland units, is anyone else releasing new FRS / GMRS radios yet that align to the updated FCC regulations on power? I'm looking around but it's hard to tell the difference from old bubblepack combo units and anything new, other than the new GMRS mobile format units
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Jul 30, 2018 03:59
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Sniep posted:Not exactly ham radio related, but, other than a couple mobile-style Midland units, is anyone else releasing new FRS / GMRS radios yet that align to the updated FCC regulations on power? I live under a rock, What changes did the FCC make to FRS/GMRS? Or are you referring to the changes from last April? Zaepho fucked around with this message at 14:16 on Jul 30, 2018 |
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Jul 30, 2018 14:12
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I'm messing around with building my own antennae and I'm having a terrible time with connecting a male UHF connector on my feedline to the wires. I got a chassis mount so-239 (female UHF) from gigaparts, and it was the only plain so-239 I could find. For some reason I can't for the life of me get anything to solder to its positive terminal, nor does crimping work well. Negative terminal isn't perfect either but I've made do with nuts and bolts thru the chassis mount holes. I know the easy thing to do would be to cut up the coax feedline and splice directly to the core and shield, but I'd rather keep the connector on there in case i want to do something else with the line later. All i really want is some kind of UHF breakout connector, with like screw terminals or binding posts or something, why is that so hard to find 
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Jul 30, 2018 14:35
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Zaepho posted:I live under a rock, What changes did the FCC make to FRS/GMRS? Or are you referring to the changes from last April? I live under a bigger rock. What changes did they make last April?
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Aug 2, 2018 12:07
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The Muffinlord posted:I live under a bigger rock. What changes did they make last April? https://bettersaferadio.com/fcc-adopts-long-awaited-changes-prs-bands-gmrs-frs-cb-murs/
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Aug 2, 2018 13:48
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I have a dumb power question. I've got a Maxtrac 300 that I want to use as a ARPS receiving radio in a chase vehicle for a high altitude balloon launch. I've got an Astron SS-25 bench power supply that is rated at 13.8vdc. When I plug in the Maxtrac and power on nothing happens. However when I take it to my vehicle and plug it into 12vdc it powers right up. It's got a 16 pin expansion port on the back and I have pins 7&9 bridged as well as pins 15&16. I wanted to power it on the bench, program it and test it before sticking it in the vehicle. Really I just want to understand why it works in the car and not on the bench.. Good news is I'm almost finished building the trackuino I'm going to use in the balloon! 
johnnyonetime fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Aug 24, 2018 |
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Aug 24, 2018 03:44
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So you have a cable with a cig lighter plug for the vehicle and exactly what for your bench? A cig outlet attached to the supply? If so, that's bad. If you're swapping cables on the tracker for the bench supply, that cable is bad. This is assuming you've tested the output of the supply. There's no magic here. It's time to pull out a multimeter and test voltages/continuity.
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Aug 24, 2018 13:57
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Motronic posted:So you have a cable with a cig lighter plug for the vehicle and exactly what for your bench? A cig outlet attached to the supply? If so, that's bad. If you're swapping cables on the tracker for the bench supply, that cable is bad. This is assuming you've tested the output of the supply. Car: The 2 pin Motorola power connector goes through the car firewall directly to ring terminals on the car battery. Bench: Wires directly screwed into the output of the power supply to a 2 pin Motorola power connector. I've got a multimeter at work that I'll use to check the cabling when I get home
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Aug 24, 2018 17:44
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I suppose 12V is too low to run some equipment when 13.8V nominal is what it wants .
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Aug 25, 2018 00:36
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Well the problem seemed to have sorted itself out. I tested the bench power supply cable and it checked out okay, it was reading 14.06vdc actually. However I had another 2 pin Motorola power connector I found with 10 gauge wire. Swapped in the new cable, read the same voltage 14.06vdc but for whatever reason the radio turned right on. Who knows?? Ran the Maxtrac programming software through DOSBox and programmed 144.390 into channel 1. The Maxtrac took the programming, restarted and I heard a *bleep bloop* of aprs packets every few minutes squawk out of the speaker. Received my Byonics TinyTrak4 TNC in the mail today and my interface cable I ordered from eBay should be here on Monday. I've got a laptop ready with this slick Pinpoint APRS software (http://www.pinpointaprs.com/). I'll post finished pictures of the trackuino when I get the Radiometrix HX1 transmitter soldered to the board. Then I've got to grab a couple of cheap Canon cameras off eBay and load CHDK on them for still photos and video recording. I think I might need additional battery power to run them the entire flight.
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Aug 25, 2018 05:21
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new toy been casually wanting one for like 10 years, and scratched up some fun money this summer, then waited till one came across at the right price and i pounced. I've already worked about 13 states on 40 and 20 meter ssb with simple verticals and wires this weekend. one of the finest radios i've ever played with.
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Aug 26, 2018 00:03
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I was really bored at work one day and decided to work my way through the questions on hamstudy.org and reached the point where I'm confident I can pass the Technician exam, but I have zero actual knowledge. Which book should I get to actually learn about this stuff? I was going to get the ARRL Tech license book, but since I don't really care about using it to study for the test is that still the best option? Would the ARRL Handbook be better?
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Aug 30, 2018 18:27
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I would probably say some sort of electronics book might be a better start. The Technician exam is mostly about rules and proper station operation, very little actual theory. The hardest thing I can recall on that exam having to do with electronics was probably Ohm's Law. The general will get into a bit more theory. The ARRL handbook is more of a reference book than it is reading material. There's a metric gently caress-ton of good electronic info in there, but it doesn't make for good reading if you're trying to read it cover-to-cover. That said, any good ham should have one on their shelf, it's a wonderful source for reference.
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Aug 30, 2018 18:58
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Seconded, the tech manual is more of a reference to the base of knowledge. Finding a project book can also give you some practicum of application.
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Aug 31, 2018 01:37
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Thanks for the info! I'll grab the handbook and look around for an electronics book.
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Aug 31, 2018 23:07
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If you're already studying for the tech and it's going well, you may want to consider just going for the general. General is effectively tech + some questions about propagation, and finishing it gives you a lot more options. I ended up just doing both in the same visit.
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Sep 1, 2018 06:01
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Progressive JPEG posted:If you're already studying for the tech and it's going well, you may want to consider just going for the general. General is effectively tech + some questions about propagation, and finishing it gives you a lot more options. I ended up just doing both in the same visit. Yep - this The test is free, and you're already there with your rear end in the chair. Just give yourself the extra half hour to take the next exam up, worst that could happen is you just leave with the tech afterall, best is you are now a general. Or an extra, i mean, if nothing else but for the test experience.... but i've heard people give it a random shot and "win" extra with zero prep before.
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Sep 1, 2018 06:46
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My test this year was 60% regulations and procedure and the rest was actual math/radio wave/signal things.
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Sep 1, 2018 13:46
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Radio Nowhere posted:https://bettersaferadio.com/fcc-adopts-long-awaited-changes-prs-bands-gmrs-frs-cb-murs/ Shootin skip is legal now?? Ugh, gotta up the echo board game now.
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Sep 1, 2018 15:36
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Extra would probably need a bit more studying, unless you're already an EE or something. But it's not nearly as hard as people claim, and it's not unheard of for people to get all three at once. A couple years after getting the tech/general I studied for the extra on and off for 3-4 weeks (hamstudy.org + kb6nu book) and apparently overdid it because I ended up getting 100%  Since then most of the stuff from the extra exam has actually been really useful in understanding wtf is going on, so the system works I guess
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Sep 1, 2018 16:45
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Greetings. I decided to skip ahead to see how the goonhams were doing. I took my Tech, General practical, and General Morse tests the day after the FCC announced they were removing the Morse requirement. The code was the hardest part; got 100 on both of the writtens. Alas I haven't done much in the past several years. I was mostly mobile until people started busting up cars in garages, so I took my antenna down and removed all my gear since the vandal-thiefs were talking anything that looked valuable, even if it was a faceplate to an amateur radio. (Two breakins, glass replacements $700, total property stolen $20, plus a faceplate to something not a car stereo). Dumm waste of time. Lately I've gone back to practicing my Morse. I might be close to trying some listening / decoding practice via websdr since it'll handle 40m easily. I'd be really happy if I could start listening to some cw nts messages being passed. I've put ideas for antennae in the back of my mind for now; maybe I'll come up with a solution that allows me to start transmitting sometime.
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Sep 1, 2018 17:49
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And on the other, other, other digital side of the hobby, I think I'm getting into DMR. It's fun as hell, the quality is always great, and there's lots of people to talk to that aren't on about politics. My pile of MOTOTRBO poo poo has escalated to "Requires a bin" status  How hard would it be to get like a goon DMR TG set up on brandmeister or w/e? Looks like the input is here: https://support.brandmeister.network/servicedesk/customer/portal/4/create/69 ... .Then simply wait after justifying to see if they think it's a valid use case and then we get the TGID. Does any other goon have the DMR bug? Or am I it? Sniep fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Sep 3, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 01:15
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Sniep posted:Does any other goon have the DMR bug? Or am I it? My local radio club have a project to set up a repeater for DMR this year. I really hope it is done because phone quality sound WITHOUT naise? Noice. 
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Sep 3, 2018 22:30
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One of our clubs has two repeaters up on Brandmeister. I have a MD380 and I’ve made a few interesting contacts . Been mulling my next radio purchase too, the bfdx? The anyone? The cs-800d?
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Sep 3, 2018 23:48
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Partycat posted:One of our clubs has two repeaters up on Brandmeister. I have a MD380 and I’ve made a few interesting contacts . Been mulling my next radio purchase too, the bfdx? The anyone? The cs-800d? All the MOTOTRBO stuff from Motorola works over DMR right? A quick glance on eBay and all those radios are pretty pricey. I like my CDM1250 because it's built like a tank but I'm not ready to fork over that kind of cash for DMR. Plus the software to program the radio.
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Sep 4, 2018 17:28
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johnnyonetime posted:All the MOTOTRBO stuff from Motorola works over DMR right? A quick glance on eBay and all those radios are pretty pricey. I like my CDM1250 because it's built like a tank but I'm not ready to fork over that kind of cash for DMR. Plus the software to program the radio. MOTOTRBO is the Moto brand for DMR and they are pretty much The Definitive implementation thereof, but there are fully decent and cheap (with free programming software to boot) alternatives from off brands - AnyTone, TYT, et al.
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Sep 4, 2018 17:34
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Hytera is another pretty big maker of DMR radios, they're not the cheapest either but make decent quality equipment.
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Sep 4, 2018 21:07
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They do. Both hytera and Moto should come from a ham friendly dealer to be safe I guess. The moto CPS subscription isn’t that bad if you want to go in on it with a club or some buddies. If it’s like their iDEN stuff it’s probably out there somewhere but I haven’t heard chatter on it in forever . Some of the Chinese radios have terrible programming software. I’d give connect systems my money on the bfdx or their radios since there’s a company to contact at least if there is trouble, but the price point on some of these other things is tempting. I just don’t need any more e-waste I have enough of that as it is.
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Sep 4, 2018 22:32
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AFAIK the Motorola CPS is tied to a user account that has licenses right? Hytera stuff is a little friendlier in that case; the license for a feature is contained in the radio so you don't need to register at all if your radio has the features you need and you can get the CPS installer. I bought a used MD785 and it came with all necessary features, it even had Tier 3 trunking and keypad programming (can change most parameters for DMR channels, subtones etc. for analog). Never had to talk to a dealer (though the local dealer is very ham friendly). This works well if you're like most people and have a handful of radios, or buy used gear from other hams since they'll likely have the licenses you need already. The only bullshitty thing they do is region code the radio models so the MD785 is a european model, and they sell the MD782 in the US. The CPS will only work for one region at a time (it can be changed relatively easily I think, so might need to keep a VM or something to program a foreign model). It's usually not necessary to use but it can be difficult to find the alignment software if you for some reason need to tune something not covered by the CPS. Hamdigitaal.nl keep an archive of software, firmware, and service manuals (at least for the euro variants). For buying used, make sure the radio isn't password protected for programming, if it is it's likely stolen/"lost". A much less common supplier is Kirisun, they also make fairly nice hardware, though looking at their schematics and how they're configured they look a lot like Hytera with worse support and firmware. Not sure I'd recommend getting Kirisun gear unless it's cheap, the DP770 is perfectly adequate for example. Their programming software/service manuals are fairly easy to get (firmware is limited to closed Yahoo groups or talking directly with dealers).
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Sep 5, 2018 18:00
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Dineren posted:I was really bored at work one day and decided to work my way through the questions on hamstudy.org and reached the point where I'm confident I can pass the Technician exam, but I have zero actual knowledge. In addition to some electronics theory book, check out the ARRL Operating Manual. It's a pretty basic text about what you can do with you license. The ARRL usually will give you a copy for free if you pony up for a year's membership.
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Sep 6, 2018 00:42
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^ Some good DMR info, thanks! That Hytera MD785 is solid, looks as nice as the Motorola radios and no fuss with the software. I finished soldering the Trackuino, programmed the Arduino and it's working well. I've been running it in my car driving to/from work and it's cool seeing the trail on aprs.fi  Now it's time to build the foam enclosure for my balloon payload. I've got a 1.3ghz video transmitter and a quadcopter camera I'm going to load in there with two Canon cameras running CHDK. I think I'm going to power the whole thing with a LiPo battery and some buck convertors for the various electronics.
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Sep 6, 2018 03:47
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look at my awesome long wire antenna performance! NOT!
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Sep 7, 2018 19:09
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What did you use to get the chart? I've got a fancy rigexpert with usb output but I haven't tried that out yet
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Sep 7, 2018 20:41
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