Any Ham Radio Operators Here

[electronjohn]

Sandy G...don't sell yourself short...you probably already know a big chunk of the basic theory needed...just don't know that you know it! I'm fairly well-grounded in the theory, but the sample tests worked well to sharpen me up on a few things. Plus...you can keep trying answers till you get it right...and the sample tests get you up to speed on rules & regs. You're an old-time ragchewer who should be on the air!

[NowhereMan 1966]

KA3WRW here. I run 2 meters using an HTX-202 from Radio Shack, it does triple duty as a handheld, mobile and base rig. I once talked to Canada on it using a rubber duck antenna putting out 1 watt while standing at the edge of Lake Erie in PA.

[g6120]

most people over the years were a bit gun shy because of the code but thats a hurdle you can for the most point avoid and get your ticket .

there are classes you can take to learn basic theory and at the end they will give the people a test so its fairly easy .

i remember buying a scanner and sitting back and hearing the hams on my radio and finally decided it was time to do something about it .

g6120

[2uberoller]

K3ent

Have A Radio (two) But I Have Not Been On In Years. Just Renewed My Advanced Ticket From The Late 1970's

[ke4jhj]

KE4JHJ here. I was first licensed (as Tech plus) in January 1994 and upgraded to Extra class in Jan. '95.

I mainly operate 80 meters on ARES and NTS nets split almost evenly SSB and CW.

A little 2 meters to fill out the rough edges, and there you go.

73,
Dave KE4JHJ

[Fisherdude]

I took the online test just for fun. The questions on the FCC regs were wild guesses, of course, but I was in the 80-90% on theory.

Maybe I should think about this...

[similost]

I've been around hammers and their gear, and always thought it was interesting, but never enough to consider the test and the price of the gear...

I do have a question though I've always wondered about and never asked...

How come ham operators always seem so "proud" of their call letters... I mean, they put them on everything or tell everyone what the their letters are... Even license plates.. Is this kind of like posting your phone number or something so you can listen for when that person out there broadcasting? or is it just being proud you have the license? I never did understand what the purpose of telling everyone your call letters?

[electronjohn]

Probably a couple of reasons: put your call on your hat and other hams can put a face to the call...many hams operate mobile and a call letter license plate can result in a mobile QSO...possibly the fact that your call isn't something that's just "handed out" but something you earned may have a little to do with it. That, and the relatively small number of hams vis-a-vis the general population may have something to do with it as well. Any other guesses out there?

[Cadillac Kid]

I got my license in 1975 but it has expired.

Call sign license plates identify the vehicle during an emergency. They are not vanity plates, they have a special DMV classification. At least that's how it was in California when I was licensed.

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by similost

How come ham operators always seem so "proud" of their call letters... I mean, they put them on everything or tell everyone what the their letters are...

Some of that, but it's also a unique identifier on the 'net. My regular name is a really common generic ethnic-less white American one, there's hundreds of my name in the USA. But only one WA2ISE in the world.

[electronjohn]

Similost: Cost CAN be a factor in the ham hobby...there's transceivers on the market that'll run you about the same as a new Chevy Aveo...or entry level models from some of the same manufacturers that'll set you back a little over $500. Then there's the subject of used gear: fairly recent models from the big names like Icom, Yaesu, etc. that'll perform fine and cost 50-75% of new. (Seems some hams get afflicted with "upgradeitis" too!) The vintage route can run both ways...you can buy a good used car for the price of a mint set of Collins "S" line gear...or you can find lesser-known pieces for relatively small money. Here's my example:
The vintage SSB station I'll be setting up (National 200 transceiver & power supply) has set me back $175...I'll need to get a manual. so there's another $25 or so. Antenna? I'll be erecting a G5RV...a wideband dipole named after the British ham who helped popularize it. I could homebrew...but a factory-built antenna is only $45. Oh...I need an antenna tuner, too...to get an optimum match between transceiver and antenna. Since I won't be running a kilowatt (yet!), I'm trying to pick one up used for about $100. If I have to go new, then make it $150 or so. So...complete ham station for around $400.
The vintage AM station is a different story:
Knight-Kit T-60 transmitter. $49.95 in hard-earned, honest-to-gosh 1965 paper route dollars. The problem? To use it I'll need either a 1) VFO, to alllow operation on a variety of frequencies...and a Knight-Kit VFO to match the T-60 seems to be a rare bird. or 2) a bunch of crystals...particularly those on the frequencies set aside by convention for AM operation. Rare birds as well. The receiver? 1947 vintage RME-45. $25 garage sale find that'll perform well with a recap. so, the AM station will probably be a little tougher to set up than the vintage SSB rig. But, just like vintage audio...the hunt is a big part of the pleasure!

[goraman]

KC6UJS but not active for 5 years since I got a condo.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Cadillac Kid

I got my license in 1975 but it has expired.

Call sign license plates identify the vehicle during an emergency.

How? Most people outside ham radio don't know the difference between amateur radio and CB, let alone what they are looking at when they see "WB8XYZ" (for example) on an automobile license plate. They probably do think it's some kind of vanity plate, made up by someone on the spur of the moment. The fact that these plates have the words "amateur radio" at the top, above the call sign, doesn't matter either, if people don't know what amateur radio is. This is one very serious problem ham radio has faced for decades, especially in the '70s when CB was so popular. I've been an amateur radio operator well over 30 years, and still people think I'm actually a CB operator when I tell them I am a ham radio operator. I heard this from someone here in my town a couple of months ago; I had to tell the person that I am in fact an amateur radio operator.

It is too bad that the two services get mixed up. If only people realized how much more organized ham radio is compared to CB, and that amateur operators must be licensed by the FCC ("government" to most people outside radio), whereas the FCC ceased issuing CB licenses in the early 1980s, not to mention the services amateur radio operators provide in times of disaster such as the California wildfires, hurricanes and the like. Citizens Band radio, on the other hand, has become a ridiculous mishmash of nonsense, noise, conversations about nearly everything imaginable, and so forth. The irony of this is that the frequencies now occupied by the Citizens Band (and have been since 1958) were formerly the amateur radio 11-meter band. The FCC, IMHO, should return this band to amateur radio, the sooner the better.


73,

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by goraman

KC6UJS but not active for 5 years since I got a condo.

There is still a way you can get on the air, even from a condominium. Barker and Williamson markets an "apartment portable" antenna, model AP-10A, which can be clamped onto a desk, table, even a wooden window sill. This antenna covers 40-10 meters and will handle up to 200 watts. I live in an apartment building and use an AP-10A with my Icom IC-725 100-watt nine-band rig; it works well enough for local contacts (the radio club of which I am a member has a weekly SSB net on 28.450 MHz; I've checked into the net using this antenna, with good results). I still have to find out what this antenna is made of as far as DX is concerned, but cannot use the radio on CW as the 100-watt signal trips the GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) in my kitchen when I key the rig. The irony is that I can use the transceiver on SSB without tripping the GFCI; I'm still trying to figure that one out.

I also operate on 144 MHz (2 meters), almost exclusively on the local repeater (N8BC, 147.81-21). I have an Icom IC-T22A handheld for this band; I often check into my radio club's 2-meter net on the repeater I just mentioned. I also have an old (1978) Midland 13-500 FM mobile rig that I used extensively at my previous residence, on packet radio as well as standard 2-meter FM. I was also very active in traffic nets, mostly CW and FM, from my previous location, but since moving to where I live now, and since my antenna won't tune to 80 meters (the radiating element is too short), I've had to give up that aspect of ham radio, at least for now. Was also a member of ARRL until the dues got too high. I am currently a member, however, of the Lake County (Ohio) Amateur Radio Association (LCARA) and have been since 1987.

73,

[Cadillac Kid]

I hear what you are saying. Getting confused with a CB'er was common and as you know they are polar opposites. In my community Ham operators were pretty organized and worked drills with the American Red Cross and Local law enforcement. Back then I think, before they had vanity plates, a call sign plate was pretty obvious. Now I am not sure there is even a need.

I used to love getting on 10-meters and talking to my friend in Minneapolis, full quieting on 25 watts. Then the signal would fade. Fun times for a kid.

I read a post above about a vintage AM station, I could get into that.