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hendersa posted:I had never seen this site before, but some of the news stories on there are pretty entertaining... I love that story... sadly, those types are the exception, not the rule in ARES and Ham radio. We also had them in EMS (called them hooters where I was from)... there's nothing like arriving on scene to find a subaru hatchback with a lightbar, 4 antennas and some guy in a tactical vest trying to triage people while directing traffic and attempting tell those of us on the big white ambulance or the even bigger red firetruck what we should be doing on scene. More often than not, those guys were either First Responders or newly minted EMT-Bs. I've seen my share of those guys (the Ham Radio version) at hamfests too... I especially love the ones that have the yellow lightbar, 14 antennas and ARES magnets plastered all over their cars. I'm an ARES guy, and I have NOTHING at all, save an orange vest that I wear only when necessary, and an ID along with small copies of my certificatons (both Ham and FEMA) in case I need to prove who I am. I'm all for people who actually DO stop to help when there's a wreck or something, but the gotta keep it in perspective.
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Apr 17, 2008 19:38
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It is my suspicion that those are the people that become whackers when they begin to get involved with ham radio. I can understand taking a lot of pride in what you do, but don't demand respect just because you are wearing a funny hat with strobes on it. Yikes.
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NYIslander posted:Just got my call sign from QRZ, it's KC2TFW. I don't have a rig yet (have to read thread first for ideas) but I'm interested in nmfree's idea for goon Echolink once I get the hang of this radio stuff but for now, what meters are good for listening in? I tried 120m but I could barely understand anything even with SSB on. Given that you just got your Technician license... personally, I'd avoid spending much on an HF rig unless you really plan on hitting General and Extra soon. My advice in the new Technican Gear category would be to get a good dual band VHF/UHF to start with and get used to everything. A good dual-bander can be had used for anywhere from 50 bucks to several hundred. Since you can't legally transmit on HF, you can usually find good deals on SSB capable receivers, or older transceivers in the 100-400 dollar range on places like ARRL.org, eBay, sometimes Craigslist and eHam.net. As for what's worth listening to... you have priveleges on VHF/UHF, so use those. You also have 6 meter which can be fun, but can also be frustrating. Same goes for 10 Meter. 15 and 20 meter seem to be good if you want to hear people world wide. 40/80 meters is good sometimes for that, but also can be... different. Check out the 3938 crowd some time. It's like listening to AM talk radio sometimes. Personally, I usually stay off of 40/80 unless there's nothing going on elsewhere, or unless I am interested in some entertainment (again, the aforementioned weirdos that popup on 3938 and other popular frequencies). When I want to talk to DX stations, I just scan the general portions of 15 and 20 meters. Around town and general rag chewing, I stay on VHF and occasionally UHF. I haven't used 6 meters in forever, and never bothered with 10 meters. I also have a fondness for QRP (5 watts or less) and have a ball working other countries on 2.5 watts SSB). I really need to brush up on my CW... Also... W4KDH checking in from NC...
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Apr 18, 2008 00:08
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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. A word of advice... those of you who are Technician licensees who want to take the general test... take the Extra test the same day. You can take them both the same day and only pay the one fee (in most cases). So you don't have anything to lose. I took the Code test, General and Extra the same day. I passed the Code and General, but failed the Extra... HOWEVER, it didn't cost me anything extra to try, and I only actually failed the extra by 5 questions, and that was without ever even looking at the Extra pool or materials. So you never know... you could get lucky. As far as I know, that's accepted practice at all test sites, but YMMV so disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer  but at the very least, be sure to ask the VEs if that is still allowed.
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Apr 18, 2008 01:16
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McRib Sandwich posted: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. Are they actually set aside for business use, or is this just a case of the manufacturer using 30MHz frequencies at very low power? Having used business bands before for work, there's a requirement just like in Ham radio that you have to ID every so many minutes. More of a curiosity point. Of course, if they ARE just sitting on 30MHz without having a licensed allocation, there's nothing to say you can't sit nearby a McDs with a 10 Meter rig and an amp and just talk all day over their headsets... But I certainly don't endorse that kind of behaviour. The point being, if they are sitting on the Ham bands or even close to the ham 10m band segment and are not licensed/allocated, they have to suck up any interference that may come from said Ham transmitters without complaint. I thought those things were all in the UHF or higher range anyway... I can see using 30mhz or so for business purposes, some state police agencies still use frequencies between 10 and 6 meters for statewide communications. I can not, however, really see using those frequencies to talk 20 - 50 feet away... Then again, it's probably something very similar to when you used to be able to buy those cheap old Walkie-Talkie toys that operated around 27MHz or so... low frequency (I know that's technically HF or low VHF) and low power = cheap to make... errr... at least that's how it seemed to me. I seem to recall something I read a few years ago about people buying toy walkie talkies then messing with fast food restaurants because the toys happened to be on the same frequency as the restaurant transceivers... this was also in a movie I saw once too... And for better content: HF goons - 20m was alive last night until nearly 11 PM EDT... I got in to Dallas from near Raleigh on 20m 59+ and then the band just dropped out from under me. One moment I was talking to a guy and we were both loud and strong, then the next instant, I could barely hear him through the noise... heh...
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Apr 29, 2008 20:00
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Jose Pointero posted:We fell down to page 6? What the hell guys. Yeah... no kidding. I've been hearing southern California, Bonnaire (Netherlands Antilles) and the British Virgin Islands in Central NC. I tried each, but CA is to far for my 100 watts and W5GI, and my antenna is pointed ENE - WSW so hitting the Caribbean is out of the question too  I did make a couple Europe contacts a week or so ago on 20M too though... it's been interesting. I am able at least to relaibly get in to any state from about Texas to Ohio back east. I think in the last two weeks I've gotten most of the east coast and parts of the midwest, plus the aforementioned Texas and Ohio... Now I just need to work on the antenna stuff a bit and hopefully I'll be heard better west of the Mississippi.
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May 20, 2008 22:11
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Dolemite posted:Google for "Amateur Television". Technically, you could get on a ATV repeater and transmit video that way. There's a repeater in central Florida that outputs on 427.25MHz but the input frequency is at 1280 MHz FM. So basically, you need a way to transmit on 1280 and receive on 427.25. I think transmitting could be a problem only because gigahertz transceivers can be pricey according to what I've heard. There's been a group of ATV guys on 14.230 the last week or two that I keep hearing... so there's aways HF for ATV too... now I just need to figure out how to receive/decode the secret signals! 
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Jun 16, 2008 19:27
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Dog Case posted:I'd love to hear if anybody else has goofy identification messages on your local repeaters. 147.27 in Auburn, NC (the Johnston Amateur Radio Society) has a local TV news anchor reading the ID that shows up periodically. He does IDs for the station and also announcements for the nightly net in that deep news anchor voice... I kinda like it actually... all the other ones use CW ID as far as I've ever heard...
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Jun 16, 2008 21:09
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blugu64 posted:I didn't pickup too much stuff this year at hamcom. A new antenna for my HT (Comet BNC-24), an MFJ-550 Telegraph Key, and a 20m CW QRP transceiver kit from Vectronics. When I realized that I could have a QRP rig with a key for under $30, I had to jump on it. Fun fact about the QRP rig, it's crystal locked to 14.060 Good luck with that during the bottom of the solar cycle...  Seriously though... enjoy that. My CW skills have become almost non-existant. I can still usually decipher local repeater IDs, but no way I could do a QSO at this point. I'm going to have to find time and just relearn it from scratch, I think. I have a Pixie II crystalled for 75m that pumps out the awe inspiring sum of 250mW. I have some friends who design and build stuff like this and use them to work Europe and other DX on Field days... There's just something funny about a tiny QRP CW rig in an Altoids tin plugged into a 20 monoband yagi that's pearched atop a 100 foot tower... heh... If you are really into the QRP and especially the QRPp stuff, check out the The Knightlites. It's a qrp club here in NC that I am loosely affiliated with (though I haven't been to a meeting in ages) and the members are from all over the world. There's also NJQRP as well that is pretty well known too. Now that we're on the upward side of the next cycle (or at least finally rock bottom between the two) I'll probably have to start pulling down my QRP stuff and dusting it off and relearning CW.
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Jun 17, 2008 12:49
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Epicenter posted:This is the area I have to work with. Limiting, I know. I added some info to try and explain how things are set up. Forgive the MSpaint-ery. Ummm shrink that image... You could try one of these (PDF file) It's an HF antenna made for apartments... Conversely, if you could get away with attaching a wire to the building, you could run a wire antenna from your window to the roof or to the ground (not sure what kind of building you have). I've also heard of people getting a GOOD tuner, and just connecting a feedline to rain gutters and downspouts and tuning those (assuming they are metal and not plastic, of course). There's also this over on eham.net about antenna restrictions and apartment antennas.
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Jun 18, 2008 17:21
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Dolemite posted:So I for the first time, I attempted to work some DX stations thanks to my friend letting me use his HF gear! I tried to answer a Venezuelan station's CQ, but I guess he couldn't hear me. The bands have been total poo poo for a couple days now. They weren't "terrible" on Saturday though, at least not from North Carolina. I worked several Kids Day stations across the country, got another Cuba call, a couple Italys and a couple Canadians... and I wasn't even on the air THAT much... A lot of it will depend on what kind of equipment you use, espeically given how lovely the bands are right now. The last two days, 20 meters has been noisy as gently caress all, and yesterday there were S9+ lightning crashes from a storm about 40 miles north of me, but I still got in some DX and a couple new states too... And other Ham Goons, what kind of stuff are you running? My meager shack consists of: Radios: FT-840, FT-817, IC-V8000 and an Alinco HT. Amps: cheapo 35W 2m FM/SSB amplifier (use it for 2m SSB) Antenna: Cushcraft 11e 2m beam, W5GI mystery Antenna at 40 feet, and a random piece of wire that is stapled along my fence (used for SWL mostly). No fancy stuff for me, though I do want to build a 2m loop for SSB and I want to get a decent vertical for 40/20/15.
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Jun 24, 2008 17:27
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McRib Sandwich posted:Nah, I had checked on Saturday afternoon but was surprised not to hear anything. Even checked 2-meter SSB but I couldn't pull anything out. There were a lot of thunderstorms through this area, so I wouldn't be surprised if local activity had to cease, but I was expecting to hear at least a few voice QSOs on HF. Dunno... there were quite a few. I worked a 1D station by myself for FD. I wanted to make it a 1E station (100% emergency power) and I did try for the first 3 hours running 5W into either my PAC-12 Vertical or my W5GI colinear, and did not make one single contact. I finally gave that up and went to 100W with my FT-840 and made contacts hand over fist... I worked 20M from about 9pm EDT to 1AM EDT, when 20m finally gave out completely, then worked 40M after changing coils on my PAC-12 until about 5:30 EDT sunday morning. Then back on 20 unitl about 10AM when I finally just had to go to sleep... I woke up at 4pm, just in time for it to be over. I only made about 100 contacts overall though, which was a bit disappointing for all that time, but considering I did them on my own, and I had fun working the contest atmosphere... I realized that I need to get a REAL vertical antenna... wire just ain't cutting it at 100 watts. I can work most of the east coast and Central/South America with my wire, but the vertical gets more punch when trying to work anything farther west than Texas (Im in North Carolina)... I tried 2m SSB too, but heard absolutely nothing. I didn't bother with anything beyond 40 and 20 though...
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Jun 30, 2008 20:06
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Irish Thunder posted:He's mainly looking to boost membership for the Amateur Radio Club, but when would I realistically use these skills? As often as you'd like. It's a fun hobby, and depending on what you're into, especially as an EE, there are all sorts of sub groups dedicated to things like circuit design, RF design, radio building, etc, etc... That doesn't even start on actually USING the radio to communicate. But more on the Realistically Using Skills part, I don't know where you live, but I have actually used mine many times for emergency comms. We get the occasional Hurricaine here, plus snow or ice storm, thunderstorms that knock power out, etc. I've used mine a bit to contact family members during weather events, and for public service: reporting outages, storm damage, stranded motorists, calls for EMS, etc. Plus it's useful too if you travel and end up in a new city. Hams on the local repeaters are usually a good place to get directions, recommendations on restaurants, hotels, activities, etc too. Besides, if you're an EE, you need to keep up the Neckbeard image 
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Aug 28, 2008 18:26
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preetree posted:It is for work, but only occasional use, and mostly in the 150-156mHz frequencies which isn't that far out of it's intended use of 144-148mHz if I'm reading all the specs right. I suppose I might use it for marine band too or would that be risking damage to the unit? Just about any old business band radio will work... at least the ones that handle what the US calls the MURS frequencies: http://www.csgnetwork.com/mursfreqtable.html Those are wide open in the US (roughly same rules as FRS and CB) but in the 150-154 range (very specific frequencies are on the chart if you follow the link I added) and you can usually find them for sale fairly cheap depending on whether they are programmable, VFO or xtal controlled. I have a set of old Radio Shack business radios I use during group trips... far better than FRS for range and indoor use and without the license requirement of GMRS. As for what's legal in Canada, that's another story all together, and IANAL, YMMV, OMGWTFBBQ and all that stuff. But at least in the US, there are frequencies in that range that are open to use by anyone. Either way, if this is a work thing, if it were me, I'd just find the cheapest LEGAL radio I could find and use that, HOWEVER, if this is a work thing, your work should be paying the bill to give you a radio anyway. At least in the US, and presumably in Canada as well, businesses are alotted specific frequencies and are required to have a license to operate on those frequencies. The FCC is not terribly kind to businesses that operate on any of the public frequencies (Ham, CB, FRS, GMRS, MURS, Maritime, etc) and even less so to businesses that just use VFOs and tx on any drat frequency they feel like.
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Feb 10, 2009 21:52
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thehustler posted:And don't get me started on people who insist you use morse... What's wrong with CW you ungrateful whippersnapper?  Heh... I love the reasoning I hear from time to time "Well, if I had to learn CW to get my HF ticked, you should too!" Personally, I would not want to see it go away completely, and I was more in favor of opening General class HF to anyone who can pass the written test and still require at least the last 5WPM standard for Extra class. The biggest reason is that, despite the rise of digital modes, and all these fancy things you young kids can do these days with your echo links and your rtty and your dtv and xboxes, in a pinch, a very low power CW signal can be heard and picked out of a noise floor a lot better than most other modes... BUT, that's just my opinion. I already had an HF ticket when the CW requirement went away, so what do I care? I can just lord it over you no-code generals and extras that I did it semi-old school
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Feb 10, 2009 21:56
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Grilldos posted:The only stable argument I can see is you never know when it will come in handy. It's like learning to drive stick. You may or may not wind up in a situation where it can save your rear end, or at the very least an unfortunate alternative. I still have my FT-817 and batteries, which is my primary emergency radio, but the little altoid special will run for probably 2 months on a 9v battery, while my 817 will only last about 3 weeks on the gel-cells I have. And in any case, I drive a car with a stick every day... but that IS the same argument I made to my wife when I insisted she learn to drive one too.
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Feb 10, 2009 23:31
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I'd also suggest getting a variac and bringing the power up SLOWLY on the thing. I had an old Heathkit HW-16 and learned the hard way... Electrolytic capacitors vent lots of smelly purple smoke when they explode Also on the subject of Tubes... A: if you can find good tubes, get a set and just hold on to them. Tubes last forever if cared for properly. I've got an old Lafayette receiver (AM/CW) that I use for SWL and broadcasts that still has the original factory tubes. It's better than 50 years old now, and while it does drift a bit, it still works just fine. I've got two sets of replacement tubes in storage for it should I need them, and that should last longer than I'll live, really...Now, my own question... I'm about to replace the caps on an old txcvr. Do I need to find a particular type of cap to replace the old cardboard wrapped electrolytics, or would a modern cap of sufficient value from Radio Shack (or in my case somewhere like Mouser) work without a problem?
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Feb 17, 2009 15:47
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Jose Pointero posted:Oh and I got an HTX-202 last week and I gotta say, this is the best drat 2 meter HT I've ever used. It's rock solid, simple, has great TX and RX audio, and hits all our repeaters with 2 watts on a stock antenna from inside my house. So just a heads up if you see one going cheap somewhere, grab it. Not positive, but I thought the 202 was built by Icom for RS... That's what I read, anyway, and having had one, I can say it was as good as any of the Icom HTs I've owned. However, I've never owned an HT that performed better than my Icom T-81A did... I only used it on 2m/440 and it's the only radio that I regret selling (even if I DID sell it to get cash to put toward my FT-817).
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Feb 27, 2009 20:47
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Jose Pointero posted:And dude, you have a 440 repeater sitting in your house? Fire that bitch up! Ummm... no... but drat, that is a sad new meme...  Do you have a 440 repeater in your house? I am protected!Seriously though... where did you get that idea? T-81A = quad band HT from Icom... FT-817 = QRP HF from yaesu... The closest I ever came to having a repeater was when I had an FT-8900. I used the crossband repeater a lot when my wife would drag me to the mall to shop. I could set the VHF side up on the local IRLP repeater frequency, and use my little Alinco 440 HT from wherever I was hanging around. Made some great international QSOs that way... and Australian truckers are absolutely insane.
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Mar 9, 2009 19:36
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Jose Pointero posted:I was referring to TNLTRPB's post about having an old repeater from the family business sitting around. My post was poorly laid-out though, I was sleepy at the time HAH... that's ok... I read his post and didn't make the connection until you pointed it out... sigh... it's been a LONG day... and I currently hate hardware engineers...
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Mar 9, 2009 21:32
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HFX posted:He did say it seems to be only putting out 50watts on 10m, but the rest are 100watts. It also was modified into a freebander (broadcast on everything). I'd say absolutely not, unless you already have an HF radio and just want to toss money into another one randomly. Especially on one that's been modified somehow by someone and now only puts out half power on at least one band. Just personal experience. The first HF rig I bought when I first got my general ticket was an old Yaesu that never worked. It was probably even worse off than this one may end up being. You could key it on any HF band other than 10m and get 80 watts out, switch to 10m, get 100 watts out, and back to any other HF band and the output would drop to 20 watts. It fluctuated all over the place, and the modzzz that had been done to the poor thing turned it, basically, into a 100 - 150 watt CB radio. I handed it off to one of the old hams in my club, the kind of guy who worked in electronics (building and designing) his whole life, and all he could get out of it was 70 watts on HF after fixing the mods... Not saying that you'll experience the same thing, but I paid 350 for that radio, and it was absolutely useless. I ended up selling it for 100 bucks to another ham who wanted it for parts For 450, even 350, there's no way I'd touch that thing. 200 bucks maybe... MAYBE, but unless you know what's been done to it, and you are good enough with electronics to do it yourself and inspect what was done, it's not worth the hassle. For 450, you can get a very good used HF rig that hasn't been hosed with and possibly screwed up.
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Mar 16, 2009 22:29
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TNLTRPB posted:I'd like to break from the rest of the thread and encourage new hams to think about what would suit their needs best. Do you actually plan on using a radio outside of the car? How about the local repeaters (height, terrain, etc.)? If you do a lot of driving, and plan to use a radio primarily while mobile, look into some of the many VHF/UHF mobile radios (and a nice antenna). If you live somewhere that has excellent repeater coverage, and you don't drive much or if you plan on using a radio while out on foot a lot, a portable is probably more appropriate. That's a good point, and I think the following applies, however: 1: Most people suggest inexpensive HTs because they are relatively cheap. New Hams seem to want new and shiny equipment (didn't we all?) instead of someone's second hand rig. It's not until after they get some experience (in general terms) that they realize the value of picking up a good used rig from an experienced Ham 2: Mobiles are great, but just IMHO, I'm on the HT as a first radio bandwagon. When I first got my Tech ticket, I poured over catalogs, websites and so forth looking at mobile and HT dual banders and multi-banders. And as a truely general purpose radio, I really think a HT is the right choice. Small, inexpensive (mostly), capable of getting your feet wet, and most important, portable. My first rig was an ICOM T-81a quad-bander. 2m/70cm/6m/2.4GHz... I only ever used it on 2m/440 and rarely on 6m, BUT it opened the much larger world of ham radio to me. On 2m and 440 at 5w out, I could hit most repeaters in my area, and with a good mag-mount, I could hit repeaters up to 100 miles away, given good conditions on 2m and maybe some ducting to help it along. On 6m (FM only) I could hit a couple 6m FM repeaters and I did from time to time. They weren't used much but honestly, the few contacts I made on 6M FM from my HT are what really got me to sit down and get my General ticket. I then (regrettably) sold my T81a and bought a Yaesu FT-8900 and a small Alinco credit card 440 HT and I used that setup for x-band when I was portable, and 2m/440 when mobile. I guess the point is, with a mobile, a new ham is limited to either setting it up in his/her house with some sort of antenna and power supply and talking there. OR mounting it in the car and either only using it while driving, or having to sit in the car in the driveway when using it. With the HT, a new ham gets much more exposure and air-time since they can use them just about everywhere. Don't get me wrong, you make some good points for getting a mobile as a first radio... more power out, better range, better audio, etc, but at the same time, being able to actually USE it all the time, as opposed to only in certain circumstances can make a big difference when you're just starting out and exploring the airwaves... And as a disclaimer, the only mobile I own right now is an IC7000 rig that's sitting on my desk not hooked up to anything at the moment. Still looking for a small, x-band capable dual band mobile that also has detachable face and isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg... AND, I'll correct one thing... I can think of one/two radios that I'd consider as mobile for a first timer.... the FT-817 or the IC-703... All modes on 70cm - 160m. only 5 watts out, but lets you do FM/AM/SSB/CW on all bands, PLUS, it's mobile AND portable!! And as a second disclaimer, I also have an FT-817 that's gotten me into a lot of countries at 5W on SSB...
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Oct 8, 2009 15:19
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Sindow posted:Which one of you is this I giving kinky on you... quote:I enjoy receiving straight sex,and giving kinky on you. SSBBW? Single Side Ba... 
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Mar 22, 2010 16:34
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Blue Bar Crash - The tech exam is pretty easy, really. Download one of the various practice exam programs and practice a few times and you'll be fine. It's been a few years since I took it, but it's not terribly long and most of the exam focuses on FCC rules and safety with a small bit that actually covers radios and antennae. Also, while you're there, go ahead and take at least the General exam. It won't cost you anything extra, and you might just luck out... When I took the tech exam, I missed General by 2 questions, having never even seen any of the materials for General. When I took General, I missed Extra by about 5 after only quickly studying. Either way, I'd say get General as fast as you can. That's, IMHO, where the real fun is (not to dis any UHF/VHF ops). ReD_DaWn posted:Has anyone looked that call up on google? This guy has many profiles: http://www.stdfriends.com/KB3CNV STD(s) : Other 
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Mar 22, 2010 23:04
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xergm posted:This guy entertains me; he's a total nutjob. "11 meters is where all the pirates hang out" FEMA NWO This guy is the youtube equivalent of most 80 meter nutjobs. I'm following him now... thanks for this!
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Mar 24, 2010 23:22
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