|
bladernr posted:As far as I know, that's accepted practice at all test sites, but YMMV so disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 02:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 06:04 |
|
|
NYIslander posted:As soon as I actually study the material for General, I'll try to go for that but my schedule prevents me from going to exams most of the time (had to call in a favor just to take the Tech. exam) but VHF/UHF sound alright for a transmitting starting point. I'll use my G5 to listen in until I find a transceiver. Honestly as a tech, I'd buy a cheap ($100 +/-$20ish) HT and have a blast. They're great first radios and a lot of fun as you can go anywhere and have your radio with you. You can also build some antennas and work a decentish area with the right antenna. This way you don't get bored with ham radio while you're studying for general and extra  IonClash posted:Alrighty, those who are interested in space comms, check out what you can do with a dualband HT and Arrow Antenna: I've been lurking the zed for months waiting for a used one. blugu64 fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Apr 18, 2008 |
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 02:28
|
|
|
KC7JBV chiming in! Alrighty, those who are interested in space comms, check out what you can do with a dualband HT and Arrow Antenna: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HfvmU_utI8 When I saw this in action in real life, I was blown away. Using loving satellites to chat with each other! Hell yeah! I've been licensed for 13 years, and it still blows me away. Also, I am fascinated with QRP operation and emergency preparedness as well. Blasting 1k watts is awesome in its own right, but I am eagerly awaiting my FT-817 so I can operate from the sticks here in Utah on 5 watts of power (or less!). I'll be upgrading to general/extra here in the next few weeks, so I put the cart before the horse and ordered the gear before the new priveliges arrive Are you a Mac user looking for ham gear? https://www.machamradio.com is a great place to start as well. Another one of my favorite ham sites is https://www.eham.net. Good reviews, interesting articles, and equally interesting forums (old timers versus no-code debate will never die). I'm pumped this thread has been started! Let's keep it alive gang!
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 04:02
|
|
|
happy purring catfish posted:Ahaha, I knew the subject of 435 would surface eventually. That repeater is basically the retard bin that keeps mentally damaged operators from infesting the other repeaters. edit: haha hell yeah, it's still there - http://www.435online.com Halah fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Apr 18, 2008 |
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 07:35
|
|
|
IonClash posted:Another one of my favorite ham sites is https://www.eham.net. Good reviews, interesting articles, and equally interesting forums (old timers versus no-code debate will never die).  Here's an article about this really cool antenna I built That's pretty good for a no-code Tech/ Extra Lite Whatever, if you like it, read it, otherwise get out Here's a 10 page essay about how it was better back when I started in 1921. You see,
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 08:43
|
|
|
.
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Aug 28, 2019 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 09:27
|
|
|
I'm just curious here... What's to stop a person from buying a super high powered radio and just spamming dick jokes and a looping fart sound all day and night? How closely does the FCC monitor things? Or is it a matter of people actually reporting other users for silly hijinks? I'm actually sort of curious about this. How does it work for a beginner? Would I go and buy a radio and be able to plug it in and immediately be able to send and receive a signal?
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 09:30
|
|
|
.
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Aug 28, 2019 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 09:47
|
|
|
Just wanted to pimp my HT. Kenwood F7E. Known as an F6A in America with slightly different bands (ie, has 1.25 meter which doesn't exist over here for amateurs in the UK.) It's a great little radio and I stuck a new UHF SMA antenna on it and I love it. I also have a stupidly long telescopic for SWL and low-band VHF stuff, and also a loop longwire that I use for really long wavelength stuff that I built myself. It's literally a 1 meter length of 50ohm coax with a plug on the end, then the 20 meter loop of wire is soldered from the centre core, then back to the shielding. If you disconnect the shielding end, you can really hear the difference, the interference goes up. The good thing about the loop is that I can disconnect one end, and string it wherever I like, wind it around something to make an antenna for a certain frequency, etc. Crude but effective.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 11:10
|
|
|
nmfree posted:That's no exaggeration. So true! I enjoy the site for it's comic relief value. And, to the individual who posted the link to https://www.hamsexy.com thanks! I needed a good geek laugh!
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 16:36
|
|
|
.
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Aug 28, 2019 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 21:21
|
|
|
Jose Pointero posted:apartment stuff Ever thought about getting two hamsticks/clones and making a dipole with one of their adapters? I'm 95% sure this would fit in my patio pretty well, though it'd only work for one band at a time, as you'd need new hamsticks for each band. It seems like a decent way to have an HF setup on the second floor without spending too much, figuring $25/hamstick + $18 for the adapter + $misc tripod/other mount. Anyone else have comments(pros/cons) about this setup that I havn't thought of?  Example picture of a Hamstick Dipole My other thought is shelling out the big bucks and buying an Isotron antenna, but I just can't imagine how they work given their size and shape.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 21:55
|
|
|
.
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Aug 28, 2019 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 22:05
|
|
|
Halah posted:Is that the one that has/used to have an online stream? I seem to remember listening to an LA repeater a few years back wondering how they got away with all the poo poo they were pulling. Yup, the stream is up and down intermittently. They have been the scourge of our VHF scene for at least 20 years. They have been the unwilling home of some famous (infamous?) operators, such as Jack Gerritsen (ex-KG6IRO, Google him sometime). Most of the repeater transmissions consist of music playing, jamming, porn movie sountracks, etc. I think the reason they're still around is that Riley Hollingsworth (FCC) would rather keep them confined to their own repeater. At least that way he can keep tabs on them and be more assured that they aren't making their presence felt on innocent, unsuspecting repeater systems.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 22:45
|
|
|
thehustler posted:Just wanted to pimp my HT. The F6A has a very dedicated following here in the States. I never could get the hang of the menu, as it has a very different feel from my Yaesu, but apparently a great many people have an easier time navigating it. You must get a lot of interesting signals from mainland Europe. I'm jealous, because we don't get a lot of the cool stuff out here in California. Mostly religious broadcasters (who are responsible for the HF bands turning into poo poo) and a few powerful Pacific Rim stations.
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2008 23:24
|
|
|
I've been interested in getting my Ham license for a while. My uncle has an old, semi-retarded Yaesu rig he's willing to give me (got hit by lightning, and now ti doesn't remember any pre-sets), I'm just not sure how I'd set up an antenna rig in my apartment. I live on the first floor of a 3 story apartment building about a mile from Downtown. There's no way for me to get an antenna above building-level without violating a lot of lease terms. There are a few nearby tress I could try to run an antenna up, but they aren't particularly tall trees. What are my options?
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2008 18:33
|
|
|
happy purring catfish posted:The F6A has a very dedicated following here in the States. I never could get the hang of the menu, as it has a very different feel from my Yaesu, but apparently a great many people have an easier time navigating it. Yeah, I pick up lots of awesome stuff on HF from around the continent. Sadly the HAM usage on UHF is all but dead, and on VHF it's sporadic. If I'm going to be honest, I passed my licence exam because I thought it'd be cool, bought the radio, and have transmitted like twice in three years. But I do take it whenever I go adventuring in the mountains because it may well come in handy. I mostly use it for scanning, but it's nice to be able to transmit if needed.
|
|
#
?
Apr 19, 2008 18:40
|
|
|
Zuph posted:I live on the first floor of a 3 story apartment building about a mile from Downtown. There's no way for me to get an antenna above building-level without violating a lot of lease terms. There are a few nearby tress I could try to run an antenna up, but they aren't particularly tall trees. What are my options? Welcome to my life, and from what it sounds like some other folks here. Scroll up just a bit and take a look at the Hamstick Dipole that I'm looking into. I think I know someone that has one local (to me) that I'm going to see if I can take a look at and judge the $/performace of. Other then that take a look at Jose Pointero's post on the previous page for some more apartment HF ideas.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2008 06:36
|
|
|
Navy Radioman reporting in. Heres some of the stuff I get to work with everyday. Oh yeah pretty sure im steral from all the RF radiation. GRC-211 http://www.columbiaelectronics.com/vhf_400___an_grc_211_vhf_radio_sets.htm AN/FRT-96 (HF) http://www.janes.com/extracts/extract/jmc/jmc_0475.html AN/URT-23 (HF) http://www.boatanchors.org/URT-23B.htm AN/FRT-72 (LF) Radio transmitting set, 30-150KHz, 12.5 Hz steps, CW/MCW/AM/SSB/ISB/FSK/FAX, 25 to 100KW output, 230/460 VAC, 50-60 Hz, 3-phase, 135 kVA, Continental Electronics Manufacturing Company model 218B. WSC-3 (UHF) http://www.columbiaelectronics.com/an_wsc_3_v_9_uhf_radio_set.htm I do get to work with more stuff but thats more or less EHF and SHF which doesnt interest your hammys.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2008 06:53
|
|
|
.
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Aug 28, 2019 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2008 08:26
|
|
|
Global688 posted:I do get to work with more stuff but thats more or less EHF and SHF which doesnt interest your hammys. You'd be surprised, there are quite a few people that use the amateur bands up in the gigahertz. Granted, the range is poo poo, but still.. Also, second LF info request
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2008 13:52
|
|
|
So here's another question: who here runs an APRS station? I've wanted to for some time, but I would primarily do so when mobile, and I don't currently have a car. If you have APRS set up in your car, take pictures of it and talk about it!
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2008 23:39
|
|
|
McRib Sandwich posted:So here's another question: who here runs an APRS station? I've wanted to for some time, but I would primarily do so when mobile, and I don't currently have a car. If you have APRS set up in your car, take pictures of it and talk about it! Comon man don't steal my thunder like this, my weekend project was building an OpenTracker+. Its an OpenSource APRS tracker that should handle everything. After I finish setting it up I'll post about it, gotta hurry up though as I want it to be ready for a camping trip I've got coming up. As I'm just going to hook my 5watt HT up to it. As far as getting a pretty map and stuff I've heard good things about using UI-View in conjunction with AWGPE (No clue what it stands for but it's lets your computer use your soundcard as a TNC). It's worked for me. Granted that's windows software, I havn't invested the time to get the linux sound modem package running yet. I probably should.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2008 02:05
|
|
|
With the supervision of a friend and some beer (probably too much beer...), I built this neato twinlead jpole antenna: http://www.qsl.net/wb3gck/jpole.htm I don't have my HT yet so i can't tx, but it seems to work decently for receiving on 2 meters. It seems to perform about as well as my magmount antenna, but I haven't done a side by side comparison. Construction was fairly easy except for stripping both sides of the twinlead to solder the coax on. I just ended up cutting it in half and soldering it back together where i attached the coax, because stripping a wire in the middle is really hard. The joint that attached the coax shielding wasn't super great, and broke pretty quickly. I've since fixed it, and took it for a spin on my balcony. Oh also I put some heatshrink over the notch it has you cut out of the 1/4 wave side to make that a little less crappy.For the amount of time, effort, and money I spent on it (maybe 1.5 hours and $free since I used leftover parts), it's pretty awesome. sklnd fucked around with this message at 04:02 on Apr 21, 2008 |
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2008 03:56
|
|
|
McRib Sandwich posted:So here's another question: who here runs an APRS station? I've wanted to for some time, but I would primarily do so when mobile, and I don't currently have a car. If you have APRS set up in your car, take pictures of it and talk about it! I've been running UI-View and AGW Packet Engine on my laptop at home and desktop at work just for fun. I don't have a portable TNC yet to go mobile. I'll probably get a Tiny Tracker III to use with my Garmin and HT if I ever get around to it. I make my own custom maps with MS Streets & Trips that you can import into UI-View. UI-View is kind of funky to get setup the first time, but once you get it running it's pretty easy to make changes and such. Oh, I also run UI-NWS Get with it as well so I can see county wide weather alerts from the National Weather Service, which was my main interest in setting it up and probably why I would ever setup a mobile rig with a laptop as well.
|
|
#
?
Apr 21, 2008 04:34
|
|
|
.
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Aug 28, 2019 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 03:21
|
|
|
Jose Pointero posted:Cool, got any pics? I've read about those and have been wanting to build one. Dunno where I'd put it though.  As you can see its not all that big. As you can also see my camera has a dirty lens.  Close up. Nothing fancy. Ignore the giant hole i put in it tacking it to the wall with nails last night. I need to buy some push pins. There's also a pushpin hole for when my buddy and I were first testing it. He took the push pins home with him.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 03:42
|
|
|
.
Jose Pointero fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Aug 28, 2019 |
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 03:56
|
|
|
I just did a quick test with that j-pole versus the magmount. I was listening to N5MJQ and was able to catch two guys talking on the input frequency. On the magmount I can't get either of them on the input. I also had my first QSO on that repeater using my new HT (that came in today )
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 04:44
|
|
|
So I got my shiny new-to-me Dual Bander Mobile (FT-7800R) today, and man this radio is a ball. Just got it hooked up and hopped on a few repeaters, made a few QSO with some new hams. I then decided to try 2meter FM Simplex. Holy crap, FM Simplex is pretty awesome as compared to getting on the repeaters. I'd imagine a 70cm jpole would be pretty small, like 20-25inches or so?
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 05:08
|
|
|
Jose Pointero posted:Nice. They seem pretty easy and cheap to make. I'm planning on making a 440 version of it for use with my HT. I figure I can get some suction-cup hooks from Wal-Mart and put it in the window. The only thing I'm worried about is not having an SWR meter for the 440 band...so I won't actually know how well it's performing. Just gotta measure it as best as possible and hope for the best.  confirms what I thought I remembered from when I built my own twinlead j-pole: one cut for 2 meters will usually work pretty well on the upper part of 70 cm, as well; if you're trying to work the lower end of the band (toward ~430 MHz or so), you'll have to adjust your sizings a little.2. http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0302038.pdf is a PDF from QST on building these little wonder antennas, just thought I'd toss that link in there. Also, I'm partial to this J-Pole design. 3. If you're a real masochist like me, L. B. Cebik has a four part series on J-Poles. Also, what does everyone think about maybe doing an Echolink get together on Tuesdays around 0100 UTC? (It would have to start next week since I'll be out of town tomorrow, or someone else could take charge and run it themself.) What about some other time? (I know that's pretty late for Euros.)
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 09:02
|
|
|
KC7TZC checking in. I haven't done much for a long time, since I have lived in one place after another that is run by anal-retentive HOAs. The old crone next door has already called them on me some 4 or 5 times for incredibly minor things since I moved into my current place, so I can only imagine what will happen if I try to put up any sort of antenna. Now that all the code requirements are gone, I should upgrade from Tech.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 11:14
|
|
|
nmfree posted:Also, what does everyone think about maybe doing an Echolink get together on Tuesdays around 0100 UTC? (It would have to start next week since I'll be out of town tomorrow, or someone else could take charge and run it themself.) What about some other time? (I know that's pretty late for Euros.) That would work for me, though I'm not sure if there is a decent echolink client for linux. Jedi425 posted:I have lived in one place after another that is run by anal-retentive HOAs...I can only imagine what will happen if I try to put up any sort of antenna. I've got one word for you my friend, Ventenna.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 20:07
|
|
|
blugu64 posted:That would work for me, though I'm not sure if there is a decent echolink client for linux. There's SvxLink's Qtel client. It's packaged in rpm's so you have to do a little work to get it running under a debian based system, but alien and a little patience works fine. I've sent and received sound using the test facilities on echolink, and it works. It's not as feature rich as the echolink client. Also, there is echolinux, but I haven't experimented with it yet. nmfree posted:Also, what does everyone think about maybe doing an Echolink get together on Tuesdays around 0100 UTC? (It would have to start next week since I'll be out of town tomorrow, or someone else could take charge and run it themself.) What about some other time? (I know that's pretty late for Euros.)
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2008 21:28
|
|
|
Snapshot posted:I've been experimenting, after getting validated last week. I've found that wine will run the echolink app just fine under Kubuntu Gutsy with the winehq package. One problem for me though, it refuses to capture from my mic. If you've got a working mic setup, then give that a try. I installed the wine package on xubuntu, and played with alsamixer until I got my audio settings right and looks like I'm good to go.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2008 00:34
|
|
|
blugu64 posted:I've got one word for you my friend, Ventenna. Hmm. I'd have to install it so no wire showed at all (one of the reasons the HOA got called on me was apparently due to a loose wire hanging over the edge of the roof from a previous tenant's eff'd up satellite dish installation), and I'm not sure if I can manage that, but it's a start. Thanks for the tip, I'd heard of these things but never really gone looking.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2008 00:47
|
|
|
blugu64 posted:I installed the wine package on xubuntu, and played with alsamixer until I got my audio settings right and looks like I'm good to go. Glad to hear it. I'll try to be around tonight at 2100 EDT (0100Z) on echolink. Is the net going to run this week? I'd rather not set it up, since I have NO experience on echolink, and no experience as a net controller, yet. If so, let me know where and when, if not, look me up. I don't know my node number, but my call is VE3MWB.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2008 01:14
|
|
|
Snapshot posted:Glad to hear it. I'll try to be around tonight at 2100 EDT (0100Z) on echolink. Is the net going to run this week? I'd rather not set it up, since I have NO experience on echolink, and no experience as a net controller, yet. If so, let me know where and when, if not, look me up. I don't know my node number, but my call is VE3MWB. I'm pretty much in the same boat, I think there was talk of running it sometime in the coming week or two. It'd probably be best to let someone with experience running net control, run net control. McRib Sandwich posted:The answer to all your antenna problems is right here. That's really really creative, and very awesome. blugu64 fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Apr 23, 2008 |
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2008 01:16
|
|
|
Jedi425 posted:KC7TZC checking in. I haven't done much for a long time, since I have lived in one place after another that is run by anal-retentive HOAs. The old crone next door has already called them on me some 4 or 5 times for incredibly minor things since I moved into my current place, so I can only imagine what will happen if I try to put up any sort of antenna. The answer to all your antenna problems is right here.  blugu64 posted:I've got one word for you my friend, Ventenna. Sorry, excessive patriotism not found. McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Apr 23, 2008 |
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2008 01:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 06:04 |
|
|
blugu64 posted:I'm pretty much in the same boat, I think there was talk of running it sometime in the coming week or two. It'd probably be best to let someone with experience running net control, run net control. Ok. I'm going to fiddle and see if I can get alsa/kde/wine/echolink working. If not, I'll reboot, and be on at 0100Z for contacts.
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2008 01:32
|
|