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Inspired by AstroZamboni's excellent shortwave radio thread and bobthenameless's (now-archived) ham radio thread! Some portions of this OP graciously borrowed from bobthenameless's thread. Hey look, we have a ham radio IRC channel now! Come inside and be a huge nerd! irc.synirc.net, channel #hamradio So a good number of people from AstroZamboni's SWL thread are now getting interested in amateur radio. Why receive when you can transmit! Whoa whoa, slow down, champ. What the hell is amateur radio, and do I care? Amateur radio (in the US, at least) is a part of the radio spectrum designated for use not by broadcasters or by companies, but just for ordinary people. Amateur radio operators (known as "hams") are licensed by the FCC to use this airspace for 2-way personal and emergency communications and experimentation. Amateur radio is actually a lot more than that (if you're bored you can read this page to learn more), but here are some of the cool things you can do with an amateur radio license: * Transmit at up to 1500 watts! For comparison, the average FRS 2-way radio has a power output of 0.5 watt. Handheld amateur radios (called HTs) are often capable of 5-6 watts, and mobile radios for your car easily put out 50-100 watts. * Talk to people around the world! Amateurs with higher licenses gain privileges to use the HF radio bands, which are capable of worldwide communications, even at power as low as five watts. It's not uncommon for hams participating in HF contests to communicate with dozens of countries over the span of a few hours, if the conditions are right. * Bounce radio signals off satellites, and even the moon! There are actually satellites in orbit right now that act as "space stations" that hams can use to send messages with, or talk to other hams in real-time. With the right equipment, hams can reach these sats even with a handheld radio. There are even groups of hams that use the moon (yes the loving MOON) as a satellite, bouncing radio signals across a 480,000 mile return path to talk to other hams on Earth.  * Make a real difference in an emergency! Believe it or not, even in the well-connected world today, when disaster strikes, there are almost no reliable forms of direct communication available. Cell towers get flooded, datacenters go down.. anything that requires a working infrastructure in a place where the infrastructure doesn't work is, well, useless. Ham radio, though, is simple -- battery-powered, autonomous wireless communication. Ham radio actually has organizations dedicated to organizing emergency communications for when disaster strikes. Most recently, hams participating in this service were activated to provide communications in the aftermath of Katrina, as well as during 9/11 (where the city's public safety communications system famously failed). * Do some extremely cool poo poo with ham radio and other technologies! There are things you can do with a ham radio today that most people wouldn't have imagined in their wildest dreams even a few years ago. What happens when you pair up a ham radio, GPS unit, and one of these guys? You get a fully-automated global position reporting system! Seriously, how loving cool is that! APRS can quite literally be a lifesaver, too. With a 100-watt mobile transceiver in your car, you can get a position report out much, much farther than a cell tower can ever track your phone. Remember that story about CNet editor James Kim back in 2006? Part of the reason it took them so long to locate the family's car is because they had to sift through the cell tower logs, and then map the terrain to get an approximate location. If the car had been equipped as an APRS station, that story might've ended very differently. If you want to hear what ham radio sounds like, instead of just hearing about it, you can get a sample of HF listening on the 20, 40 and 80 meter bands with this online software radio. Thanks to ValhallaSmith for the link! Ok, I guess that sounds cool.  If I were hypothetically interested in doing all that, where would I start?Well, most people that are interested in ham radio will want to study for the entry-level exam so they can get a callsign and get on the air. If you're in the USA, you'll want to study for the Technician exam. If you're elsewhere, I don't know crap about your government's licensing process, but maybe these links to practice tests will help you out: QRZ.com (USA) Hamtests.co.uk (UK) Canada ...and here are some user-contributed study guides from this thread: http://kb6nu.com/tech-manual/ http://www.hamelmer.com/ Specific to the US exams, I can also recommend from personal experience that you look into buying / borrowing the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. This book is written with the purpose of preparing you for the Technician exam, while helping you understand the concepts that the exam is quizzing you on. Most libraries should have this book available if you prefer not to buy it, though it is a good reference for beginners to have on hand. Amateur radio organizations for other countries should have similar materials available. Do I still have to learn Morse code to do any of this? No! All the Morse code requirements for ham radio were repealed a couple of years ago (the USA was the last holdout on that one). You will find later on that a lot of hams still enjoy operating Morse, but it's not a requirement to get any license class. Fine. Where do I actually TAKE this test? The ARRL has conveniently organized a searchable list of upcoming exam locations; just type in your zip code to find the nearest one. This database also appears to include session listings for Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan (sorry Canada, no idea why you're not on the list... but thanks to Snapshot's detective work, you can find a list of volunteer examiners right here). Keep in mind that the license is free, but the volunteer examiner organizations usually charge a nominal fee to recoup the material costs for giving the exam (the 2009 exam fee is $15). Don't worry, they're not pocketing the test fee money -- if they did, it would be illegal and the examiners could lose their licenses for doing so! Is amateur radio actually full of old guys talking about their bad joints, and asking for Windows 95 tech support? Yes, but they mostly hang out on 2-meter repeaters, so they're easily avoided. If you're in college (or in that age ballpark) and you want to find younger hams to meet, a good first resource is any of the local colleges' amateur radio clubs. Ham radio is often learned best through hands-on experience, so you might want to take a moment to try googling for amateur radio clubs in your area. And of course you should feel free to ask the hamgoons in this thread anything about radio. So far, these lucky goons have been inspired by this thread (or something) to become hams! grilldos, KA8ONG  aka KE5ZYNMacintosh HD, KD2GZH SoundMonkey NYIslander, KC2TFW - now General class! sklnd, KE5UAF backstage Dolemite, KJ4EPP - from non-ham to General on the first try! TetsuoTW, KC9NYK Hartman, KJ4FMG cvisors, ex-VK3FBSD & VK3LNX, now upgraded to VK3IVY Advanced! wolrah, KD8JQS Sniep, KI6UND, General class on the first try! angrytaxman Hummer Driving human being Goob, ex-KJ4LHZ General (first try!), now W8WEV Drano, KD8KMI Phuzion, now General class! thegreatcodfish, now General class! MullardEL34, KD8LOM AtomicMonsters, ex-AB9UJ, now NB9F tonynaia, KC2VON causticfluids, KD0IVC (and wife, KD0IVB!) dethl, KF5DER Peter Bosbon, KD0IZN General (first try!) Scottw330, KB3TRZ uapyro, KI4VVS yummycheese BigHustle, KC2WTL General (first try!), now fabulized to AC0TW Prince of Dicks, KD0KLS latency No no serious, KB1TTV xergm, KC9RZT Extra (first try!) Xenpo, KJ4UHM DocCynical, VE6XOR bokchoi, VE6NDX AstroZamboni, KF7JKA General (first try!) slap me silly TC the Giant, KB3UJR General (first try!) kaizier, KD8NWI Catastrophe LtDan Partycat Here's a list of hams checking into our thread so far: Larry Horse, KC9L The Notorious PIC FuzzyBuddha, WL7NT hendersa blugu64 Halah, W4WIS nurall, KD5BUY mwdan, KD0BTT, now Extra class! Snapshot, VE3MWB b c n u, KE5NRS nmfree, ex-KC9GJC, now K9CUF General class! thehustler, M3IIG DarkCow, M3YSA Jose Pointero, KE5SRZ bladernr, W4KDH mrbill, K5WCB happy purring catfish, AF6BK Wrongway, KE6FSO NYIslander, KC2TFW sklnd, KE5UAF mas IonClash, KC7JBV Jedi425, KC7TZC Paul MaudDib Wicaeed, KF6DQQ TetsuoTW, KC9NYK Sindow, now Extra class! backstage Piuro lostchicken, K9ZAL Hu Fa Ted Dolemite, KJ4EPP corax, KC8WWS Thunderbird_Wine, KB3PXY ick pik, KC9FBI CompHobbyist, W1KAS PirateDentist Hartman, KJ4FMG Research Indicates, KG6LWI Ephektz, KD5ZEN devilmonk, KD8HSR Radnor cvisors, ex-VK3FBSD & VK3LNX, now VK3IVY Advanced! Gnomad, KL5A ReD_DaWn, KB3IOQ Three-Phase Non-Potable Maide, VA3FOX Beefington, KI4S** Nerobro, KB9WSA lord1234, N1VYF wolrah, KD8JQS TNLTRPB Sniep, KI6UND angrytaxman HFX, KD5TFR Hummer Driving human being mkosmo, KE5HHG Sponge!, KB3GUF Grilldos, KE5ZYN Goob, ex-KJ4LHZ General (first try!), now W8WEV Drano, KD8KMI doctorfrog, KF6OIN Junobug, KC0AJY Phuzion now General class! TheLovliestRedhead, KD5YSG thegreatcodfish, now General class! MullardEL34, KD8LOM infrared35, N8W** Kenderama, N8XHB foghorn, KC2QCY AtomicMonsters, ex-AB9UJ, now NB9F Kyle0wnsyou, KI6BRY Nullsmack tonynaia, KC2VON causticfluids, KD0IVC (and wife, KD0IVB!) dethl, KF5DER Peter Bosbon, KD0IZN General (first try!) Scottw330, KB3TRZ uapyro, KI4VVS Canned Ham Radio, KJ4HTP cydir knuthgrush, KD5RYO yummycheese BigHustle, KC2WTL Prince of Dicks, KD0KLS latency No no serious, KB1TTV xergm, KC9RZT Xenpo, KJ4UHM DocCynical, VE6XOR bokchoi, VE6NDX AstroZamboni, KF7JKA slap me silly TC the Giant, KB3UJR kaizier, KD8NWI Catastrophe LtDan Partycat starsoldier, KC2OWH Bitchkrieg, K1LEA That's ham radio in a nutshell, so now let's discuss it! If you do decide to get your license because of this thread (or if you upgrade), post about it and I'll add you to the OP! Somebody fucked around with this message at 17:56 on May 11, 2021 |
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Apr 17, 2008 00:30
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Haydez posted:Not only do they have the technician pool, but the general and extra pools are up on the ARRL website at http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/pools.html i second this recommendation, the FT-60R is a solid radio in all senses of the word. It's a rugged-as-hell dual-band HT, and it competes very nicely on price. Wild M posted:As a tip for the U.S. technician test, you can also find a question pool somewhere online. It includes all the possible questions (around 650) so I suppose you could read over that if you want to make sure you pass the exam. I'll admit that reading the question pools is certainly helpful, but only using the pool to pass the test isn't a good idea if you plan to really be on the air after you get your license. Most of the reason I recommend the ARRL book for beginners is because it very clearly lays out the most important rules that you need to know about the amateur radio service that you might not get just by reading the questions. For example, if you passed the test, but your test didn't include the question about how frequently you have to identify yourself on the air, you could be in a good assload of trouble for transmitting without identifying the source of communications. The book really makes sure you have the fundamentals down before you get on the air. (by the way, hams have to identify their station every ten minutes, and at the cessation of transmissions.)
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Apr 17, 2008 00:55
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FuzzyBuddha posted:WL7NT in Fairbanks, Alaska, checkin' in.  I really, really wanted to get the 897 as my HF rig, but the drat thing is too big to operate inside a vehicle, and it's counterpart (the 857) just seemed to small / hard to operate mobile... not enough controls directly accessible. I love how versatile the 897 is, though. Definitely feels like a rig that will take some abuse and still keep on ticking 25 years later.
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Apr 17, 2008 01:06
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Dolemite posted:Interesting! I used to be a DJ at our University-run FM radio station (V89 at Florida State University) and the FCC rule for us was that we had to ID our station every 30 minutes. We had some interesting rules since we were a non-profit. Funny you should mention it, since I was on the engineering staff at my college station too (it's actually how I got introduced to amateur radio... PROTIP: most broadcast engineers also hold ham licenses). Anyway, most of the rules you listed apply to the non-commercial educational broadcast licensees, which means that your station was also more than likely below 92.1 MHz (that's where NCEs are allotted space). Technically speaking, FCC requirements for station ID (call letters + area of license) are only once every hour, but most stations will tell DJs that it's "required" more frequently, so people know who they're listening to. As for the other differences, hams are never allowed to curse, even during the "safe harbor" hours that broadcast stations enjoy. Nor are they allowed to conduct any business activities over the radio, or engage in dealings in which they have a pecuniary interest. So they can talk about their piece of crap rig, so long as they are not being paid to give that opinion (basically). Ham radio is also a 2-way communications service -- broadcasting is illegal. As for power, broadcast stations are required to transmit at their licensed power, no more or less. In fact, they have to apply for permission to operate at reduced power (perhaps due to equipment failure, etc.) if the problem can't be resolved quickly enough. Hams (in the US) can transmit at any power up to 1500 watts peak envelope power (PEP). "Amateur" radio is just the name given to the service; in fact a lot of hams are professionally involved in radio too, like the aforementioned broadcast engineers. Others are just hobbyists, etc. "Professional" radio, as most people think of, is just the terrestrial broadcast AM and FM service. edit: I almost forgot one of the most important ones! Hams are also not allowed to transmit any music on the air, and have to take reasonable measures to prevent transmitting even incidental music. The one exception to this rule is hilarious, because it is for the space shuttle / ISS crew. McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Apr 17, 2008 |
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Apr 17, 2008 02:47
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sklnd posted:Amateur radio operators cannot do business over the radio. They (we, now, since I passed the Tech exam recently) are forbidden from selling things except for on an occasional basis (like for selling ham equipment), and amateurs can't broadcast for the general public. Beyond that and some restrictions on profanity that I still don't quite understand despite studying a fair amount for the Tech exam, amateurs aren't really restricted on speech. It's highly suggested that you remain polite and follow good engineering practices, but we can discuss politics and religion and whatever. Amateurs are limited to using enough power to achieve communication, but in reality are limited to 1.5kW. We cannot intentionally interfere with other stations, etc. You beat me to it while I was typing my reply! But anyway, your post is pretty much exactly why everyone should pick up the ARRL study book, cause everything you said was right on the money. I even forgot to mention the part where hams are required to use the minimum power necessary to achieve communication, so good on you for that one. This is all stuff that every ham should know before getting on the air, but you can't always learn it just from studying the multiple-choice questions.
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Apr 17, 2008 02:50
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ExcessBLarg! posted:I should point out that there are FRS radios which may be used without license. They use frequencies that lie in the GMRS band, but the radio themselves are limited to 500 mW output. Most of GMRS radios do FRS frequencies too--but I think finding FRS-only radios are rare. I'm not sure if it's legal to use GMRS radios without licnese on FRS frequencies within the 500 mW power output--I'd assume it's technically not, although nobody would know. It is in fact totally illegal to use the GMRS portions of those radios, and it is frustrating to no end for everyone that's paid for those GMRS licenses. But since all the FRS radio makers need to compete on features to sell their units, it's hard to find an FRS-only radio these days. Non-licensed interference is actually becoming a big problem for that band. Hell, it would probably turn into the next CB if there were more mobile gear for that service. quote:802.11 stuff I'm so glad you posted that. I was considering putting it in the OP, but it's probably too long as it is to keep anyone's interest.
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Apr 17, 2008 03:16
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FuzzyBuddha posted:As for the ham radio callsign license plates, our state DMV allow them as special plates to signify vehicles equiped with amateur radios and thus available to assist in an emergency situation. Which is funny, because you'd think that the illegal light bar and antenna forest on the car's rooftop would give it away. 
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Apr 17, 2008 08:57
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Updated the OP with some information on where to find Canadian exam sessions, as well as a new bullet point about how loving cool APRS is. Thanks to Snapshot for the exam session info!nmfree posted:https://www.hamsexy.com is a great repository of "whackers" of all sorts. Some of the things/people that they document is truly astounding. McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 09:54 on Apr 17, 2008 |
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Apr 17, 2008 09:43
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Definitely keep the pictures coming, guys! It's actually really helpful to see how some of the apartment shacks are done up. Personally I'm just in a terrible position in mine. 3rd floor with no balcony, so everything pretty much has to live inside the apartment. There isn't really even a window dressing to mount anything to. Oh, and a safe ground? Forget about it. I was considering a random wire antenna + an Icom AH-4 tuner, but there's no way to run counterpoise for a wire just going out the window, and apparently that tuner will blow up or something if the wire is a half-wave on whatever band you're trying to tune up. There's also the possibility that an idiot tenant below me will try to grab the wire, since I can't secure it otherwise. I'm looking at getting a low-profile screwdriver antenna set up indoors now, since it will tune HF to 50 continuously, and if I want to operate mobile it should be a relatively easy transplant situation. We'll see how it goes... McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Apr 17, 2008 |
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Apr 17, 2008 19:33
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Earwicker posted:I am not really involved in ham radio anymore and haven't been for like 15 years now but my father makes freeware software for ham radio stuff maybe you guys might find it useful! It's all geared towards DX-related stuff (as is obvious from the name). Oh hell yes, Commander is one of the better CAT/software control programs for desktop rigs, from what I've read online. tell your dad he's awesome! On a similar note, if you're a Mac user, the no-brainer DX software counterpart is MacLoggerDX. It's kept up a 4.9/5.0 rating on eham.net with over 60 reviews. Unfortunately it's not free software, but supposedly it's worth its weight in gold. McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Apr 17, 2008 |
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Apr 17, 2008 19:56
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Hamster posted:My dad's a retired electronic engineer that used to do ham when I was a kid. He doesn't have a lot of money now, but I bet he'd be really interested in some of the new equipment that's out there now. Off the top of my head, the Elecraft K3 was specifically designed to be a modular radio, so you could add the parts you want to when you want to. It's also an amazingly well-built receiver, even without any of the options. I'm not sure how much the base price is, but you can get it cheaper if you order it as a kit and don't mind assembling it. Everything is modular so there's no soldering required. As for digital voice, I don't know much about it but I think Icom is the only one making D-STAR equipment right now, and to my knowledge it's VHF / UHF and higher. Maybe someday hams will be operating narrowband DRM, but to my knowledge there aren't any desktop rigs that operate this mode; even to receive it right now you have to mod your radio by pulling it out of one of the IFs and into a computer. McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Apr 17, 2008 |
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Apr 17, 2008 20:16
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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!
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Apr 20, 2008 23:39
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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 |
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Apr 23, 2008 01:31
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Paul MaudDib posted:To any prospective hams out there, I have a warning and recommendations. Considering that the average age on this board is probably college kids, you will have problems with other hams, especially on HF bands. The assumption is that anyone under the age of 30 is simply using daddy's radio. I have several stories of this happening to me. The end result of this was that I became extremely frustrated and gave up on radio. The only times I operate these days are Sweepstakes. Don't forget, though, that a corollary to some of the ageism in amateur radio means that any of the new or exciting methods and modes like digital voice, microwave experimentation, SDR stuff and exotic packet modes are like kryptonite to the old-timers; you're probably a lot more likely to find younger guys hamming it up with these technologies. That's actually why I suggest meeting and greeting your local college radio clubs too.
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Apr 23, 2008 02:28
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Jedi425 posted:Unfortunately I don't own, I rent, which limits me even further as I technically don't own the property at all. The landlord is totally awesome (he hates this HOA as much as I do), and would almost 100% certainly not give a flying gently caress what I put up as long as it's done safely, but I'm watched on at least two sides by angry old people who apparently live to call the HOA on other people. Your other option in this case is probably to scope out a nice, high-quality screwdriver antenna (High Sierra and Hi-Q come to mind) to put up in a clandestine location around your property. I just bought a High Sierra Sidekick, which is about 15" itself with a 3-foot whip on top. I haven't soldered on the antenna connector ends yet, but this thing is supposed to tune 6m to 80m continuous without breaking a sweat. Cap hat + an 8-foot whip will get you 160m too, but I don't have the space for that. Anyway, one of those in the right place plus a little counterpoise, and you've got a nice little installation going. I got mine with a tripod (can't stick anything on the side of my apartment), can't wait to test it out. The other bonus is that the antenna is reasonable enough to run mobile once I pick up a car, though in all likelihood I would imagine running VHF/UHF before HF mobile.
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Apr 23, 2008 04:04
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In other news, two old fogies just started talking about politics on 146.730 FM locally.  Did I miss the amateur radio exam prerequisite where you have to be an old white conservative to get your ticket, or did they waive that when I took it?
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Apr 23, 2008 04:07
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blugu64 posted:Say what you will, but I don't think I'll ever get tired of debating the merits of Delivery Hamburgers or which local fastfood joint has the best cheeseburgers with old drunks. Wheee... I'm on 147.090 now, listening to some other old guy talk slower than I can tap out Morse (mind you I barely passed 5 WPM for my General). Talking about old transatlantic cables, and now magazines and airmail.  I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.
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Apr 23, 2008 04:29
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Updated the OP with the link that ValhallaSmith provided to that awesome web-controlled SDR project. Did we agree on a time and place for the SA EchoLink net yet? I've never used it before, but if someone provides the details on how to connect to it, I'll add that to the OP too.
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Apr 25, 2008 00:47
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blugu64 posted:EDIT2: Thirded, I think it would be great to see that equipment stay in the family by way of him becoming a ham himself! (sorry to disappoint those of you that wanted the equipment...)
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Apr 25, 2008 00:49
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sklnd posted:study guide Dolemite posted:study guide Added these to the OP under test practice. Let me know if I missed any others.
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Apr 25, 2008 02:41
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Wicaeed posted:Heya fellow ARRL goons, KF6DQQ checkin in here. Haven't talked over the ham bands in goddamn ages, who makes relaiable handheld 2m/440cm dualbanders now? Icon still a good brand? Icom, Yaesu, and Kenwood are the go-to brands for the most part. Alinco has some models out there, but they are not as popular stateside, and a number of them fill a niche (like ultraportable shirt-pocket 0.5-watt HTs). eham.net has tons of reviews on each of their current models, if you're looking to get back into VHF portable. Motorola just bought an 80% stake in Vertex Standard (Yaesu's parent company), so it could be some interesting times for them in the coming months/years. I just hope the price on accessories doesn't get more ridiculous than it already is for their handhelds. That said, I love my VX-7R.
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Apr 25, 2008 06:29
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Paul MaudDib posted:Be careful with the QRZ exams. On my general I got to the point where I could pass with an 90-95% (I do not know why they expect you to memorize the frequency charts; just print them off) and on the real thing I saw a bunch of questions I hadn't seen on QRZ. I ended up passing at about 80% but it was scary for a bit. Could just be random luck, but make sure you're studying off the questions directly too, occasionally. I'm gonna bet that either the question pool changed from the time you used QRZ to the time you took your exam, or (perhaps more likely) that the question pool had already changed, but QRZ did not have the updated set in their practice tests. In either case, it just sounds like you had poor timing on that one. As far as I know, the only question pool slated to change soon is the Amateur Extra one, so anyone studying for their General on QRZ is probably going to be just fine.
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Apr 26, 2008 01:53
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Dolemite posted:EDIT: I don't know the theory behind it, but you can almost make music with this thing. Tune it to CW narrow mode, then run the yellow tuning thing back and forth over 3595 KHz. As you tune over 3595, the tone ramps up and carries off into different notes. I want one of these radios just so I can make ambient/experimental music. The principle that makes this happen is called heterodyning. Generally speaking, when you electronically mix two signals of different frequencies, you get four products from that mix: each of the original frequencies, plus two others; these remaining two frequencies are at the sum and the difference of the original frequencies. In fact, almost all modern receivers use this principle to downconvert the radio frequencies you pick out of the air into the audio range. In each intermediate stage of the receiver, an "intermediate frequency" (IF) is mixed with the frequency you are tuned to, and the lower heterodyne frequency is extracted. This happens a couple times to bring the signal down into the baseband audio range, where it comes out as intelligible audio (assuming voice operation). The reason this specifically works on that web app, though, is because the receiver is in SSB/CW modes. Without getting into the details, SSB is different from regular AM in that in SSB, the carrier wave is suppressed (in other words, not transmitted), and the receiver has to provide the correct reference wave to demodulate the signal. Full-fledged AM operation does not suppress the carrier wave, so the receiver has an accurate reference that it can pull from the transmission. By tuning around the band on SSB, you are effectively changing the frequency with which the signal is demodulated, and due to the principles of heterodyning, you are changing the audio frequency of the tone being put out. CW is just a carrier wave itself, so obviously tuning around it will produce the same fluctuations as the SSB example. Science. edit: don't worry, you need to know maybe 10% of this for the Technician ticket. McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Apr 26, 2008 |
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Apr 26, 2008 07:00
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TetsuoTW posted:So, drat you all, I'm looking to get into ham radio now. I'm reading through Ham Radio for Dummies, looking through the linked study guides, doing practice tests on QRZ, and soon to try and get in touch with the VE running the Taipei Tech exam in June. And so, I've got one question (for now) - I suspect it would be, but would an HT be sufficient a rig for a newbie? So I actually think that everyone should start with an HT. They're super easy to pick up and use, and they have an appropriate feature set for beginner licensees without getting into the crazy filtering options on HF rigs and whatnot. Just remember that for transmitting, HTs are going to be VHF / UHF FM, no worldwide coverage here. Most beginner licenses don't allow HF anyway though, so it's not a big deal. My HT was my only rig until very recently, but it's served me very well (and still does). I'm a bit of a gadget whore, so when I got mine, I wanted features like dual receive and a lot of other crazy stuff that comes on some of the higher-end HTs. Because it was my only rig, I also wanted one that was capable of wideband receive, so I could hear as much stuff as possible (within the limits of my antenna). I know you're already into SWL, so you probably have other equipment that can listen to HF already. Probably anything that will let you listen to the airband and commercial/public safety frequencies is a good bet. Anyway, I don't want to clog up the thread with long posts, but if you have more questions about HTs, just post them here. I'd be happy to do a feature comparison on some of the models out there. P.S. PROTIP: With an HT + mag-mount on your car, you can listen to fast food drive-thru window conversations while you're in the line. Drunk/stoned people at 2am = unlimited entertainment. McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Apr 28, 2008 |
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Apr 28, 2008 02:58
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thehustler posted:You probably won't even need the mag-mount, a rubber duck antenna that came with the HT is more than sufficient. Not when the drive-thru speakerbox transmits on 30 MHz. Why there are 10-meter channels set aside for business use is completely beyond me.
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Apr 29, 2008 01:08
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bladernr posted:Blugu nailed it on the HF business band frequencies, but here's a little secret: pretty much every drive-thru in the country seems to operate on some very specific channels. In fact, if you peruse the FCC database for enough drive thru business allocations, this becomes obvious very quickly. Generally speaking, the headsets are almost always VHF/UHF for obvious reasons like antenna consideration, but sometimes the speakerbox operates near 10 meters. The system is pretty interesting, actually. The last time I remember listening to one of these, I was surprised to find that the speakerbox is constantly transmitting, even if there are no cars there. When a car drives over the loop, a CTCSS tone is engaged and the system transmits a loud audio *bong* to let the staff know a car is there, then it opens the mic up so they can hear the guy in the car. So clearly the headsets have tone squelch set for the speakerbox, so they hear the box audio only when a car is present. What surprised me though is when I found out that the headsets themselves are capable of two different tone outputs -- apparently one tone is used to key the speakerbox as you would expect, but the other is used as a talkaround so the other workers with headsets on can communicate with each other, without talking to the customers. The system is also full-duplex; the entire time your car is over the loop, they can hear everything happening in your car... and I mean *everything* -- those mics are wide open. I'm 99% sure the attendant can still hear the conversation while they are talking, which is different from most ham equipment, which usually cuts the speaker when transmitting. Anyway drive thrus are loving sweet to listen to so clearly you should all go out and do it now. It's actually really fun to try to reverse-engineer how the system works purely by listening to the exchanges on both frequencies. I'm sure it's even more fun if your HT is freebanded, but of course as a responsible ham you would never do that. 
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Apr 30, 2008 15:50
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nmfree posted:They were all CBs, and most of them came with crystals for channel 14. Actually, I was under the impression that the toy walkie-talkies operated on those wacky ISM frequencies reserved for low-power unlicensed stuff, maybe not though. You know those cheapo R/C cars? They always operate on 27.something and 49.something MHz; each of those is a small ISM allocation if I remember correctly. I figured the cheapo walkie-talkies where the same way. Either way, those were some fun times.
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Apr 30, 2008 15:54
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Aha, found it... the unlicensed 27/49 RC devices (and I think all modern toy walkie-talkies, too) are technically Part 15 devices, and while the 27 MHz one operates in the CB service range, it doesn't occupy a CB voice channel. Some of the old walkie-talkies did occupy CB space, but apparently those were phased out of that band some time ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CB_usage_in_the_United_States#Part_15_and_ISM_Devices
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Apr 30, 2008 23:45
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TetsuoTW posted:If I could take you up on this it'd be much appreciated. I'm off to Hong Kong on Thursday, and I plan to check out a couple of ham specialists while I'm there with the thought of perhaps buying an HT. Any suggestions what I should be looking at, like particular features or recommended models? I'm not looking to drop a huge bag of cash, but I don't want to end up buying some cheap pile of poo poo either. I'd especially like to know if there's anything to watch out for as far as getting in on IRLP or Echolink or anything like that, since I don't hold out much hope for significant English-language conversation with local hams. Crap, I totally missed this post, sorry for the delay. I'll do my best to compare the features on the different types of HTs out there. First, if you're buying new, the big three manufacturers to look at are Yaesu, Icom, and Kenwood. eham.net has reviews of all the current models, and that is a great starting point to get info about the different models. Pay a little more attention to the more recent reviews, as low reviews from when the product first came out may not reflect any firmware changes, etc. that have happened in later runs of the radio. With HTs, you'll probably want to get at least a dual-band capable rig. I can't speak for your part of the world, but in the US, 2-meter and 70cm are both pretty active bands, and having a radio capable of TX both bands is often useful. Single-band radios are often more intermod resistant, since they are concerned with smaller slices of spectrum, but they are often limited units in terms of RX frequency range, too. Realistically, almost any dual-band HT will serve you well if money is a factor. Most HTs at that price point have a minimum expected level of features and are a good buy. In particular, I'm a big fan of Yaesu HTs, and specifically, the FT-60R is an absolutely wonderful rig for the money. I own a VX-7R that has a lot more bells and whistles, but there are times where I still wish I had the 60R. It's basically a ham rig in a business-class chassis. Great price point, nearly indestructible, and Yaesu got all the basics right with that rig. If you do want to go nuts on the features, the higher end rigs will let you do things like dual simultaneous receive, wider RX coverage including broadcast radio and lower bands, and more crazy stuff - the 7R has a frequency counter function, so you can hold up a radio of unknown TX frequency next to it, and the 7R will tell you what it's frequency is. The Yaesu 6R and 7R are designed to be submersible as well. Kenwood's high-end rig is the TH-F6, which also does dual receive and is also all-mode receive, including SSB. Whether or not this is actually useful in an HT is another story, though. My personal opinion is that for the money, you can't beat the FT-60R. I think it's also internet-repeater ready, but you should double-check this before putting down any cash. What I did when buying was I first read all the eham reviews for the various models, then I went and read through the rig manuals online, so I knew exactly how the features compared across rigs, and just how they were actually used on the radio itself. If you do all that, you won't be disappointed when it comes time to make a purchase. Do let us know what you end up getting!
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May 2, 2008 07:05
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Jose Pointero posted:BRRRRRTTTTZZZ Speaking of that, here is a good 3-part series from QST about effectively protecting your station from lightning strikes: http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/lightning.html
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May 10, 2008 08:08
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backstage posted:Apparently I do, as I am the proud holder of a $14 Extra class CSCE after passing them all back to back. (Inspired by this very thread on the internet!) Right now I would have no idea what to do if you gave me a radio but am fully authorized to poo poo all over the spectrum, which I suppose is why there are people who grouch about the way exams are set up now. Congratulations on the Extra ticket! Are you an EE by trade (or similar), out of curiosity? It's pretty rare that someone passes all three in one go without that kind of experience. When you get your callsign, post it up and I'll add it to the OP. I'll have to go back through the thread to check, but you might be the first one here to have picked up a ticket because of the thread. More on that later... Anyway, if you're looking for where to go from here, another good purchase to consider along with that HT is the ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications; it'll get you up to speed on more of the practice and procedures side of amateur radio, whereas for the most part, the tests you took tend to reflect the technical knowledge necessary for those license classes (that goes double for the Extra exam).
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May 13, 2008 06:20
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Small update, added a list of hams that have posted here to the OP, as well as the people that got their tickets since the thread was started. If I missed anyone or made any other glaring errors, or if you don't want to be on the list for some reason, just let me know.
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May 13, 2008 09:44
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nmfree posted:That's pretty cool looking; it's a little unfortunate that they extended the receive even more instead of tightening up the front end of the VX-7 (for instance). Be interesting to see how much that's going to be, I'm sure we'll find out on Thursday or Friday this week at Dayton. Neat little radio. All I can say is, it's about freaking time Yaesu gave a nod to APRS in their HTs... I just hope this isn't the kind of feature that only lives exclusively in the high-end models. They do support ARTS across their product line, so maybe they'll see APRS as supplanting that kind of role down the line, who knows. And remember kids, never buy Rev. 1 Yaesu gear, unless you enjoy being a guinea pig. Sometimes I feel like Yaesu's ham division is just wide-scale beta testing for their Vertex Standard business/land mobile lineup. 
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May 14, 2008 15:01
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Jose Pointero posted:Anyway, a hearty congratulations to you on your purchase of a new home! I hope to reach that point in a few years. Hope it's in a radio-friendly spot! Get your stuff moved and post some pics of your shack. Seconding the pic request... I'd love to see a proper satellite setup in action! Definitely be sure to document your new setup as it gets constructed, too.
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May 18, 2008 04:03
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Jose Pointero posted:We fell down to page 6? What the hell guys. drat do I need to get my hands on a good soldering station. My screwdriver antenna is just sitting here with a bare 20-foot run of RG-58 that I can't put the UHF connectors on because I don't have the right tools to do it with. I'd take pics of the rig otherwise (in the hopes that it would get others to post theirs too, hint hint), but my camera met an untimely death at the hands of a car door just a couple weeks ago 
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May 20, 2008 23:08
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nmfree posted:welp Congrats on the upgrade! I'll add it to the OP soon. I'm actually studying to become a VE as we speak, so that's interesting in and of itself. As for the new call, my newfound VE training says that unless you specifically requested a new sequential call from the pool upon upgrading, you should be keeping your original call.
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May 21, 2008 16:48
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IIPunnII posted:So if I wanted to get started in this and got my license... how much does an average ham radio actually cost, starting with nothing? Heh, that's a loaded question. If you're buying new, a little handheld FM transceiver can be $200 or less if you look around, and definitely cheaper than that if you get a hand-me-down. The handheld radios work in the VHF/UHF bands, so they'll be for communicating locally, but a lot of them have wide-coverage receive too (which lets you listen to local business and public safety radios, aircraft band, etc.) Desktop rigs can really run a wide range depending on how old or used you buy. Probably one of the best ways to get a lead on cheap ham stuff is to find a local ham radio club and see if they have a for sale / trade list. Some clubs have a lot of older rigs they will loan to their members to get them on the air, too. When you're just starting out as a ham, the technician-level license doesn't give you a great deal of operating privileges on the lower bands, so usually a handheld is a decent first radio to get. It's nice that they're inherently portable, too. The Yaesu FT-60R has come up a few times in this thread as a great HT to own. Generally speaking, the other hams I know (college-age) all have an HT, as we do some public safety nets around here; others also have a mobile rig for their car, and a couple people own desktop rigs too. Most of them are only technicians though, so it makes sense that they don't own any lower-band gear (of which almost all desktop rigs today are).
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May 21, 2008 18:34
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Jonny 290 posted:Those ancient Kenwoods are BULLET. PROOF. I had a TR-7800 as my first radio, $75 from a hamfest, and we had to work for weeks to find a six pin mic connector, they were evidently used for approximately 42 minutes and then everybody moved to 8-pins. Fun times. That rig got beaten to hell and back, I mounted it on my Huffy mountain bike with a vertical dipole and 7 amp-hour gel cell and talked simplex from the woods. God, such a nerdy kid. Kenwood just absolutely perplexes me... they can't even standardize across their own hardware. Every time a new rig comes out, something stupid and unnecessary has changed on it, usually for no discernible reason. Like how none of their mobile rigs let you plug the microphone into the head unit. Or how none of their head units even mount to the radio itself. You really can't beat the TS-2000 for a do it all HF/VHF/UHF rig, though, I'll give it that. For all the features it has, that thing's a steal. McRib Sandwich fucked around with this message at 04:56 on May 23, 2008 |
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May 23, 2008 04:54
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U.S. Barryl posted:What kind of antenna would be recommended if I want something cheap to make or buy, and want the widest range of coverage possible? Also, I'm on a second story apartment, but I have pretty much free range to put anything out on the patio or to tie poo poo to the tree out front. I also know the upstairs neighbors very well and would be able to string something from my patio up to theirs and onto the roof if necessary. Basically, I just want to start out with an antenna that I won't need to upgrade for a while. I plan on testing for extra in a month or so, and I'd like to play around with my new privileges. Well, by far, things like antenna height are probably going to matter more than what type of antenna you end up deciding on. Getting a wide coverage range isn't usually the easiest thing to swing (certainly not the cheapest), purely because of things like the laws of physics being a bitch. It totally depends on what bands you're trying to tune, but for multiband HF, a decent solution might be just as long a random wire as you can manage, paired with something like an Icom AH-4 tuner. That device will tune just about any random wire for HF (as long as the length of the wire isn't too close to 1/2 the wavelength of the frequency being tuned). The random wire tuners will give you the ability to tune most, if not all, of HF rather quickly, and obviously the parts list is dirt simple. The downside is that you have to buy a tuner. If you really want to go DIY, all you really need is a little knowledge on how to cut and match wires for the bands you want to use, and you can find that from any of a few google searches, or in more formal places like the ARRL Antenna Book. Just remember that without a tuner, it's probably going to be difficult to build one antenna that will work on a large swath of spectrum. Hope that helps, maybe now someone with more practical antenna experience can chime in and tell me where I screwed that up.
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Jun 1, 2008 23:07
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 23:39 |
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On a loosely-related note to antennas, eham.net recently posted a good article on how to effectively crimp coaxial connectors as opposed to soldering them, and what tools to use for best results. If you've ever had to solder a UHF connector, you intimately know why this sucks. http://www.eham.net/articles/19257
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Jun 2, 2008 00:45
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