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Just got my license last night, been scanning around 2m and 70cm just to see who's around. Gonna probably dig into digital modes, especially when my RTL-SDR comes in tomorrow.
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Aug 18, 2020 16:28
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RadioPassive posted:I did that a few months ago. It's almost weirdly strict. When I took mine in August, they made me take everything off my desk, including my mousepad, which raised concerns because it had LEDs in it (I'm gamer trash in my desktop aesthetic). They specifically say you're not even allowed to have a beverage or snack near you when you're taking it. Super make sure that you pay attention to the requirements; with Covid, they're doing more tests with fewer participants to try to pile people into the hobby.
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Oct 7, 2020 22:49
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Achmed Jones posted:Cool, I made my first echolink contact last night and my first actual radio contact this morning. I have a Tenway-branded BaoFeng 8w* HT and apparently it was working really well! Most of the 8w Baofengs are closer to 5w, yes. Plus, every doubling of watts is... what, half an S-unit? So you're not even going from S5 to S5.5 using a 8w over a 5w transceiver. As HRCC said the other day on his stream, pretty much every baofeng is the same, and their advantage is their price.
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Oct 12, 2020 19:29
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What's a decent base station/mobile that will be good for someone who only has their tech that isn't some crazy 1,500$ USD thing? Like, something I can hook up to a better antenna and get some range and more than 2m/440 without droping a half month's salary?
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Oct 20, 2020 03:39
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Motronic posted:Your confusion here is that you think it's about the radio rather than the antenna. What kind of space do you have? I'm only asking because right now all I have is an HT. I'm living middle floor in a triple decker, so I've got some windows and, if I can convince my room mates, a porch on the other side of the house I could run a feedline through, but no roof access and it's a shared backyard so I can't do any sort of perminent installs there.
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Oct 20, 2020 18:31
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Stack Machine posted:I get that nerds will gatekeep literally anything, but this attitude is insane given the amount of technological primitivism in the hobby. You're giving up all of the niceties of modern communications networks to raw dog the ether and there's still somebody there telling you there's only one right way to do that. Anytime this comes up in a hobby, it's always people who's only value is that they were there first, or were able to sneak past the gate when it was closed tighter, and need that in order to feel special. Magic is just as bad, just look up the hate Brian Brushwood gets for teaching people tricks on YouTube. I picked up an N9TAX slim jim a while back to replace my signal stick when I'm at a fixed location and it's made some of the repeater work nicer on my HT, but hitting the local APRS Digipeater/iGate is still intermittent. Wish I could get it up higher, or use a more permanent setup, but I don't have access to the roof and we live middle bitch in a triple-decker. First time in my life I've actually wanted to own a home vs. rent.
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Dec 28, 2020 18:49
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The 3DR has the advantage of the touch screen, but it's not the best even then. The manual is great, but sometimes poo poo just slips my mind, and "AUTO AF DUAL" isn't something that really sticks in your mind. That said, everything else about using it is wicked good.
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Feb 21, 2021 03:32
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Finally got my hotspot working and jesus christ i forgot how unitelligable engineer-written software can be. Not so much in the UX parts of it, but in asking or getting a goddamn question answered. Do you turn on "WiresX passthrough"? Yes, no, yes yes and no, respectively, judging by the various tutorials I've found online. I get that that's relatively simple to test, but it's just frustrating that there's not a clear answer (Yes, if you want to be able to change rooms using your radio).
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Mar 10, 2021 03:58
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Mic fright is real poo poo, though hanging out on the AG0ON TG with other goons helps. Also, if you're looking for some digital modes, RTTY, APRS, and if you get up to General/Extra FT8 are all pretty popular. I know there's something of a movement to bring back RTTY Ragchews, but I dunno if that's going anywhere.
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Mar 27, 2021 03:44
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thehustler posted:What if I’m doing it over FM simplex - does the increased bandwidth matter then? I’ll give this a try at the weekend anyway, from the top of a large hill. If anything, it makes it a bit clearer. SSTV is super "durable" and can be tossed out over basically anything. Some youtubers I watch did it across their little suburban development by holding a phone up to a $10 Wal-Mart FRS radio. Hell, the space station throws it out over an FM link while spinning wildly and screaming through space at whatever speed and people can pick it up with rubber duckies on HTs.
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Mar 31, 2021 15:01
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Woof Blitzer posted:I am studying for Tech. I don't want to use this crappy baofeng anymore! What HT and antenna combo will let me hit digipeaters/sats from a good distance? For Digipeters, I assume you mean APRS digipeaters? For that you're pretty much going to be using either an APRS-enabled radio (which can be a pretty penny), or hooking up something like a mobilinkd to your phone and HT and using ARPS.fi/APRSDroid.
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Jun 24, 2021 13:24
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Casual Encountess posted:
King of the 'fengs over here.
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Jul 6, 2021 20:02
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Get on AG0ON and play some Action Castle.
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Jul 17, 2021 22:02
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charliebravo77 posted:Welp, ordered a Yaesu FT-3DR - who's on Wires-X? As far as my (eastern MA) experience is, Wires-X is a mode exclusively used to control PiStar boxes for connecting to DMR TGs. I think maybe HRCC has a WiresX room/reflector/whatever they call it, but that's legit the only time I've seen it.
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Aug 11, 2021 05:14
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Jonny 290 posted:You can sooooometimes mess with combining two antennas in different directions - or an omni plus a directional - but really, most of the time it's over-engineering. See, 'directional' antennas aren't really like lasers, more like lanterns with a reflector on one side. Even off the back or side of a yagi or log periodic the signal will be only 10 to 20 db off 'peak'. This is often more than adequate to pick up locals but lets you aim it at the weak signals of interest that need the main lobe. I have a small VHF/UHF tv antenna for OTA, and aim it at the weakest station I want to pick up, and all the local ones come in great even though it's not looking at them at all. I should do that. There's an APRS digipeter I always have trouble hitting but everything else is local and pretty loud.
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Sep 23, 2021 22:32
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Wrap a steak in antenna wire and transmit on 2m for two minutes or until well done.
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Oct 21, 2021 14:38
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America posted:You'll probably want to add a ground strap to the steak for maximum flavor transfer. You definitely want an SWR (Sizzle to Wrap Ratio) of 1:1.
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Oct 21, 2021 15:43
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His Divine Shadow posted:I just got my two old rear end 27mhz walkie talkies working again, but the telescoping antennas are in bad shape. I wanna buy new ones and I got some questions. SWR is basically the "fitness" of the antenna to the the frequency being used, and is effected by a ton of stuff, up to and including matching networks and antenna tuners. If you're buying a CB/27mHz antenna specifically, then any will work as long as the connector is right, as it will be purpose-made for that band and a low, or at least acceptable, SWR. If the old ones can come off, post a picture and any of us can identify a connector.
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Oct 22, 2021 14:12
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Officially I don't think you're allowed to modify anything in the case and keep it part 95 accepted for CB if you're in the US. IDK how the law works elsewhere, check your local listings.
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Oct 22, 2021 18:51
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sporkstand posted:Alrighty then. I'm interested in getting a GMRS license but I'm not super comfortable with my name and address being available in a publicly searchable database. I've noticed that a lot of the people that use GMRS around me are far-right nutjobs that brag about their gun ownership and love of Drumpf. So my question is, if I use a name and address other than my own, am I running afoul of some federal law? Or should I just use whatever I want and not worry about the FCC? It just has to be an address that you can regularly recieve mail at; I know that a lot of hams use a local PO box or such for their license address. As for name, I think that does have to be your own, because the license is issued to you as a person.
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Oct 22, 2021 22:36
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VHF 6 is 82-88 MHz, not commonly used other than butting up against the low end of broadcast FM. I don't think there's anything that should be dumping a data carrier (the static you describe) on that frequency unless something really lovely is happening. Could you record the sound? A few of us can identify data by ear.
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Nov 23, 2021 22:45
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Coxswain Balls posted:My building's exterior is going to be undergoing an overhaul over the next six months which made me think of this post. I'm going to have ten stories x fifty meters of scaffolding adjacent to my balcony, is there any way I can leverage this into a stupid antenna? If KI6NAZ has taught me anything, it's that all you need for an antenna is a balun, a matching network, an unpainted surface, and a dream.
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Apr 12, 2022 19:51
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blugu64 posted:Well I know some folks think FT8 is cheating, but I’m sure having fun. Anyone against digital modes is just an old mad that they don't have computers.
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Jun 21, 2022 19:00
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Isn't 900 MHz one of the Forbidden Frequencies cus we still haven't updated the lovely "no spying on analog cell phones" law from the 90s?
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Aug 21, 2022 19:20
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Also if you're bored, a bunch of people are trying to make CB interesting again, and that's license-free.
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Feb 7, 2023 22:52
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And if he wants to keep portable, the Signal Stuff Signalstick may be overkill, but it's reletively cheap and an awesome, reliable beast of an antenna.
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Nov 7, 2023 14:39
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 13:57 |
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As I slowly rebuild myself into the amatuer radio world, I was thinking of setting up an RPi with an SDR in my bedroom. Anyone have any luck with that, or having web/remote accessablility on something like that, ideally with the HackRF or one of those cheap SDR sticks?
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May 3, 2024 22:32
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