Amateur radio: Not much going on, other than the motherfucking satellite

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Amateur radio: Not much going on, other than the motherfucking satellite

Island Nation: Jun 20, 2006; Trust No One

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.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2008 23:57

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 07:12

Island Nation: Jun 20, 2006; Trust No One

bladernr posted:

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...

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.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2008 00:39

Island Nation: Jun 20, 2006; Trust No One

Well, I just got General here at The Last HOPE but only got 19/50 for Extra so I'm good for HF now so what would be good as a portable ham radio? I see Icom and Kenwood around here but I just would want a second opinion.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2008 16:32

Island Nation: Jun 20, 2006; Trust No One

nmfree posted:

Portable as in H/T or as in the Icom IC-703 or Yaesu FT-817?

probably H/T since the 2 models you mentioned look to be worn on the body and I meant in hand like the IC-V82.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2008 02:20

Island Nation: Jun 20, 2006; Trust No One

AstroZamboni posted:

Getting started on building my first piece of homebrew equipment: a morse keyer! I'm not about to spend 150 bucks on an ornate piece of idiocy when a morse key is the most basic electronic device on the planet.

This is still a work in progress. I'm just figuring out the overall design, and have yet to incorporate the wiring and electrical contacts. Once I have a final blueprint, I'm going to order a full set of the needed parts from bricklink in a uniform dark gray color so that I don't drain my stock of LEGO Technic components and large base bricks.

Click here for the full 783x630 image.

Click here for the full 936x515 image.

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Click here for the full 1024x768 image.

I can't think of any reason why Legos and Morse Code shouldn't go together, it's a engineers wet dream. Hopefully it works out for you.

Also good luck on the general exam. If I pulled it off with no radio experience, there's no reason why anyone couldn't do it. All I have to worry about is the Extra exam which I'm planning on taking in July.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2010 01:16

Island Nation: Jun 20, 2006; Trust No One

xergm posted:

I didn't realize how many of you weren't Extras. Makes me feel that much more awesome to go from non-ham to an Extra.

However, you guys are still considerably cooler because you have radios. Echolink...

Don't feel bad, I don't have a radio either. In fact, I just signed up for Echolink since I forgot I could use it with my computer. Maybe now I'll get some use of my license.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2010 01:14

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 07:12

Island Nation: Jun 20, 2006; Trust No One

AstroZamboni posted:

The ARRL website was updated massively last week and these seem to have disappeared. This sucks, because I was going to start studying for extra...

http://www.arrl.org/question-pools -links to NCVEC

Of course the zip file should work too

# ¿ Apr 23, 2010 03:47

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Amateur radio: Not much going on, other than the motherfucking satellite