hello folks

just wondered if there are any ham radio people here

g6120 kf2do

KD0DQZ here...recently licensed and in the process of getting my vintage AM/SSB station set up. Need the warmth of tubes for the long Minnesota winter!

had my license for some time now but dont get on the air very often mainly 2 meters for the most part .

learned the code but really have not used it , my wife finally got her license as well

congratulations good for you its a great hobby

g6120

Hi,

K4KT here! Extra Class licensed! I am also a FCC General License with Broadcast Endorsement and SBE certified as a CSBE, CBT, and CNT! I have RF in my veins! :tresbon:

I know WA2ISE's a regular poster here, (ever visit his page? LOTS of cool stuff!) along with Jeff WB8NHV. I'm sure there's more than just a handful who frequent this site...along with possibly some who may be curious about ham radio and would like to learn more. Might even warrant setting up a separate ham radio section here in the antique/vintage radio/TV area. Hmmmmm......

K0FSJ here, occasionally on 2m in the Jeep but also have 70cm and 6m. Tech+, I am. One day will upgrade...

Not a ham, but DO have a small, meager collection of Boatanchors-Collins 51J3, R-389, 2 R-390s, R-391, 2 R-390As, R-392, Hallicrafters SX-28, S-39, S-36, SX-73, National NC-183D, NC-125, HRO50T1, Hammarlund SP-600, Scott RBO-3, 800B, Racal RA-17, Rohde & Schwarz EK-07, 2 Nems Clarke 1302B, ICOM R-7000, JRC NRD-545, and, of course, a mighty, mighty National SW-54 that throws 'em ALL into the creek...

Meager collection, eh? Sandy my man, you need to hit QRZ.com and start taking sample tests. Tech first, then General...and if you feel brave take a whack at Extra. You're the kind of person who'd fit in just fine in the ham community.

Licence expired now but was G8IVL - 40w(valves) FM @144Mhz, all home built (but not designed) including a VFO, into an 8 over 8 slot fed Yagi at 30' (and ~30' asl).

During a 'lift' made it 5 by 9 into Germany (~400 miles) - so felt quite proud of that.


John

Licensed in Canada since 1982, holder of the (now defunct) Amateur, Advanced
Amateur and Digital certificates. In other words, the approximate equivalent
of the U.S. Extra. Not too active over the past 12 years or so, but hope to get
back on HF CW someday, it's really the only part of ham radio that has ever
brought me real pleasure. I don't want to take sides in the code/no-code
debate (it's over anyway, isn't it?), but I do like code!

73 de VE2GTP

73 de WA2ISE. Got it in 1976 as an old style tech (5wpm and general written) and in 2000 upgraded to Extra (took the old advanced and extra writtens, and saved the CSCEs to cash them in on "upgrade day" April 2000. When the FCC dropped the code from 20 to 5wpm for extras. Got a used Kenwood TS440SAT and had a blast on HF (it was at the top of the sunspot cycle then).

back in 1976 the FCC was recycling 2x3 callsigns, and it turns out someone in upstate NY had my call years before I did.

I just never have cared about getting "The Ticket"-Amateur radio is a whole different ballgame than SWLing/collecting. Plus, I'm too gawdam stupid to figger out all the theory & stuff you have to have for yr license. Really, I am...

Kd8bdl. I have a general that I have yet to use.:thmbsp: I have to many hobbies so I decided that this one would be comprised of mostly free or really cheap equipment. So far I have a nice $10 beam for 2 meter, and two free tribands. A very heavy and old Radio Industries/Halicrafters rotor, another freeby. I also have a Hygain tr2c rotor that was free. The guy who gave me the Tr2c said he used a three wire contoller with it, it is supposed to be 8. I have no idea how he did it tho. I might be getting some nice boat anchors from the guy I got one of tribands from, then I just might be on the air!:thmbsp:

N9ZQA - licensed in December 1994. Played around with 2M phone and packet for a while, but really haven't been active much lately. Stuck a magmount on the car and occasionally listen to the local 2M repeaters during my commute, but don't talk much, if at all.

WB8NHV - licensed since June 1972. I had a CW (Novice) station on the air from '72-'74, upgraded to Technician in mid-'75, then moved back to my old neighborhood and operated FM from mid-1975 until 1982, with a brief stint on six meters from May '75 until July '76. (I got the surprise of my life the first day I was on six, crystal-controlled on 50.35 MHz, when I worked WA0SDK in South Dakota--well, sorta, kinda, as I don't think he heard me. :no:) Got back on CW in mid-'82 with my old Novice setup (Heathkit DX40/VF1 transmitter and VFO, Hallicrafters SX101A receiver, and a 25-foot trap vertical) and upgraded to General three years later. Worked 49 states and a handful of foreign countries on 80-15-meter CW with several different rigs, then lost my antenna in early 1999. :no: I moved to my present QTH (location) in late 1999, so was completely off the air at least a year--getting settled in a new apartment and getting my bearings in the new location (12 miles east of my former QTH) took up most of my time.

I am now back on the air, mostly on 2-meter FM (I'm a member of the Lake County Amateur Radio Association or LCARA; have been since 1987), although I do have my HF rig, an Icom IC-725 nine-band 100-watt rig, set up in my bedroom. The radio feeds a Barker and Williamson AP-10A apartment portable antenna and is used mostly on 28.450 MHz, where the LCARA ten-meter SSB net meets at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday of each week. The club also has a 2-meter net on its repeater, N8BC, 147.81-21 in Painesville, Ohio (30 miles east of Cleveland). The net meets each Thursday of the month (except the first, which is LCARA's meeting night) at seven p.m. Eastern time on that repeater. You do not have to be a club member to check in. If you are in the Lake County or eastern Cuyahoga County area, have a hand-held or base 2-meter rig, and are able to access the repeater, you are more than welcome to join us on the 2-meter net; likewise, if you hear the ten-meter net and have at least a Technician class license, you are welcome to check in there as well.

BTW, I am also experimenting with voice-over-IP (VoIP) using K1RFD's EchoLink software on my computer, which also allows me access to the local EchoLink node (N8PB) on 147.57 MHz using my Icom IC-T22A handheld. The node is open to all amateurs in the Lake County, Ohio area within simplex range.

73 (best of regards),

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!

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.

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

K3ent

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

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

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...

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?

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?

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.

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.

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!

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

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,

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,

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.

The FCC stopped requiring people to take and pass a Morse Code test for even the Extra class ham license a few years ago. It's all written tests, electronics theory, and radio rules.

For the General and extra they may ask questions on which HF bands would allow (via the ionosphere) world wide communications. 80 and 40 meters are similar to the AM broadcast band (nighttime long distance skywave), 20 meters more or less round the clock long distance, and 10 meters, during sunspot peaks, daytime worldwide comms, but dead at night. When the sunspots are at minimum, 10 is dead all the time.

They used to merge rules knowledge and theory into the same question, like "You have a linear amplifier, power supply provides 800V to the output tube, what's the max current you can have?". Used to be hams were allowed a max of 1000 watts of transmitter power, that combined with power=volts x amps, would get you an answer of 1.25 amps. Oh, that's an over-simplification, but back in olden days the FCC specified how to measure your transmitter power like this. As hams had access to simple meters but not fancy RF power measurement equipment. A reason for a power limit was to keep rich hams from putting up 50,000 watt flamethrowers that would make life impossible for other hams on the bands, and the neighbors. Make a level playing field.

kd4jks
Have been since the 80's

Okay...
I'll come out of the closet.
N6YCE here.
I don't do much radio anymore. Most of the stations around here are silent.
I did work HF and some digital a few years ago. Now, I only use 2m, when I go hiking, to try and talk to my wife at home. (I need to have a straight shot at the valley to do this.)
This darn audio infection has pushed most of my ham gear into boxes in the closet!
Mike

CQ CQ CQ de N9IKL in Indianapolis.

Still have a Kenwood HF station in operation and 2 meter gear in my truck plus an HT.

As you guys indicate, things are getting quieter on the bands and I don't have time to listen as much as I used to.

And it seems that cell phone use has taken over 2 meters. I used to take my 2 meter gear on trips and talk to my wife and other local hams but I must confess that I use my cell phone for that purpose now, it's more convenient.

:lurk:

Every once and while I'm reminded how much fun you guys are having (not to mention the important aspects of it). WB0BBC tried his best to interest me in ham radio back in the early '70's but the thought of learning Morse code for a test scared the daylights out of me- I had enough problems with SCHOOL.

When CB became popular in the mid seventies I knew the difference between CB and ham. No one seemed to worry about talking on a CB without a license. I knew how much more important ham radio was.

My uncle, Alan Furnish (never knew his sign), was very much into ham in the '80's but I never thought I could, or WANTED to verbally communicate (in real time, I mean, listen to me now :D) well enough to be of any 'use'. I got more of a kick out of looking at the equipment they had- the large antennas, the radios (and the EXTRA radios and parts sitting around not being used) and the logs that were kept indicating communication with far away places.

dciurej said that "things are getting quieter on the bands". Is this due to all the 'extras' we have going on today (more TV, games, entertainment, cell phones, the internet, etc.) or to other factors inherent in ham itself?

noticed there are are few hams here who let thier ticket expire and thats a shame but there is a grace period after experation where you still can renew your licence even once its expired .


today you can do that right on line and its very easy

g6120

I was into CB/Ham in the early 70's. Had a Palomar 300W linear with a 5 element beam for CB, talked kinda far with that. Bought an Allied AX-190 (still have it somewhere) but never got a transmitter/license.

My callsign is kf4tei. I have been licensed since July 1997. I do not get on as much as I used to. I also used to go to some of the hamfests around Georgia.

The problem I also have w/the ham community around here, anyway, is that they ALL seem to be 144MhZ guys who know little & care less about HF/AM...I tell 'em about my Boatanchors, & they just kinda look at me like I just got off the Turnip Boat. Their little Keneasucom radios look like glorified garage door openers, NOT proper radios like Arthur Collins intended...

Their little Keneasucom radios look like glorified garage door openers, NOT proper radios like Arthur Collins intended...

HA. That is pretty good, Sandy.

First licensed in 1968 as WNØWKM would have been WAØWKM if I'd stayed with it. In 1984 got interested again and have had KAØSCR ever since, have General Class Radiotelephone license, had to have that for my last job before I retired. Just bought a new ICOM 718 but haven't had time to get my antenna's back up and get it on the air. Also have a Swan 100MX and a Kenwood TS820. Lots of other vintage receivers in my collection.

WB6RLC here. I received my ticket in 1966, I think. Have not been too active lately though. At a recent Ham club auction I pick up a Swan 300. I am looking forward to getting it on the air durning my pending retirement. There is also some 2M gear kicking around. I used to enjoy DXing on 6M. I worked from So Cal to Conn with 50W on AM (Gonset G50) and U of Tokyo on 40M on a Johnson somethingorother with a Tri-bander Beam. Oh the good old days. Looking forward to them again.
Glenn

W4MBG here. greetings from Williamsburg, VA! have a vhf/uhf rig in my honda insight, and a qrp hf rig in my grand wagoneer. got about 48 countries on that one, all mobile!

btw, great callsign K0FSJ ;)

W4MBG here. greetings from Williamsburg, VA! have a vhf/uhf rig in my honda insight, and a qrp hf rig in my grand wagoneer. got about 48 countries on that one, all mobile!

btw, great callsign K0FSJ ;)

;) Good to see another GW owner on here :)

Michael

Greetings from N9QPE .... HF / uhf / vhf & QRP

yeah, just can't afford to drive it! :(

N2LCJ here, haven't been on the airwaves since the early 90s when I used to be a MARS relay for Our Boys in the Gulf.

With the addition of Kamakiri, that makes a total of 22 licensed hams who've checked in on this "net". Update: the power supply for my transceiver shipped today, and an operator's manual w/schematic is en route as well, so I'll be able to give it a checkout soon. Also was able to score FT-243 crystals on 3885 and 7290kHz...two of the frequencies set aside by gentleman's agreement for AM operation. The T-60 hitting the air won't be far behind!

I did not see a VK on here after reading all the posts,so thought I had better add my call sign too.Licensed in 1976 as VK7NCW and still have the same call.
HF rig is Kenwood TS2000s.Two metre /70 CM rig is is ICOM IC208H.
I listen every day still' but very seldom transmit.
Waiting for the next Sunspot Cycle in around 2010.
The code was also cancelled as a requirement here in Aus about two or three years ago,but I still love it.
I also enjoy SSTV on 20 metres and have loads of nature pics from my island which I send to other stations.
I joined AudioKarma to read about my Infinity RS 4.5's which I recently found in a 2nd hand shop for AU$1,250.They are still in pretty good condition' having been refurbished during the past 2 to 3 years.

KB9WAH

Sold most of my gear a while ago so I'm not very active. I do like to listen in on weather nets though.

JerryR WW0E from Iowa.

DX'er - QRV on all 8 HF bands.

i just listen i need to go to a club and take the test maby one day i will be a ham radio operator

i like to listen too.i use to listen in on the ham band more so than i did shortwave.i use to spend countless nights up around 3898 kc and listening to the antics of the hams that hung around there and other frequencies.

hello folks

went to what used to be a big 3 day gathering at a hamfest in this area but i found the turnout to be very dissapointing to say the least .


wonder if anyone has gone to any hamfests this summer as well maybe things such as ebay have hurt the attendence at such events . its too bad because the one on one contact at such hamfests was good getting to know others with the same interest and i dont know just making eye contact looking things over in person has advantages .

ebays fine cuts corners no dought and its makes selling easier but still miss the old fashion walking from table to table at the fests .

oh well maybe im just a stick in the mud old fashion

g6120

I went to one a few years ago and thought it was a real good time. Haven't been since just cuz I am never sure when they are (I guess I need to get on a mailing list). I agree it is good to be able to go table to table and talk to guys who are into the same thing (I'm normally used to a glazed look when I talk about any hobby at all)

Not a ham...

Well Sandy, we all KNOW that's totally false :smoke:

I went to one ham fest in my town. My town is very small so it was not well attended. They had more tables than vendors which leads me to believe that they expected more. It was my first time attending this one. I did go to the Iola car show this summer. It's one of the big ones. Attendance was down again this year. As was sales. The car coral with cars for sale had at least 50% more cars this year. Which leads me to think that people are starting to hurt. They had high prices on them though. I am sure that many dropped prices after the show. I know of a 60 olds 4 door from out west that was really nice that was going for around 7,000. They put it in the auction and had no takers. After some guy offered 2000 and drove off with a hell of a deal. If I would have know they would have let it go so cheap I would have bought it. It had that cool vista view rear window.
I have noticed a very high number of boats and recreation vehicles for sale lately. Bad time for selling.

Well, Walker, NOT a "Ham" in the Amateur Radio sense, anyways... As I've said before, I've been to hamfests around here, they are typically full of computer geeks & 144 mHz guys...You tell them about your R-390As, SX-73s, SP-600s, EK-07s, NC-183Ds, & all that, & they just kinda look at you cross-eyed, unless they are at least 50-55 or so...Nobody gives a shit about HF or AM much anymore, & really, I can't say as I blame them...Who wants to deal with something that may or may not work, sounds terrible, is subject to interference of every sort, & is basically obsolete ?

But that's the BEAUTY of it, Sandy!!! QRM, QRN, finicky tuning, antenna difficulties...hammin' wouldn't REALLY be fun without a few challenges!

KC2BVJ here. Very, very inactive. But I have the gear.

But that's the BEAUTY of it, Sandy!!! QRM, QRN, finicky tuning, antenna difficulties...hammin' wouldn't REALLY be fun without a few challenges!

ive got to agree with electronjohn without question good point :thmbsp:


its a hobby something to work for , setting standards for yourself maybe working with your kids and others with goals and making an accomplishment at what you have started .

i remember cutting and making my very first antenna and getting on the air that was magic - you got to learn and earn your ticket to appreciate it .

anyway thats kinda the way i look at it

kf2do
g6120

Update #2: Recent posts bring the number of licensed hams checking in on this thread to 26. Power supply for the transceiver arrived safely...waiting for a chance to bring it up slowly & take some voltage measurements. I'm continuing to scratch my head over what type of antenna to erect...looks like my lot dimensions and the way my house is situated on it may not allow a G5RV...so I'm thinking some sort of off-center fed dipole could be a temporary solution. I know it would be far from optimum... just need something up in the air before winter!

just recieved a p.m. from sammyb


he being a new member and a Ham radio operator
here which i believe makes him # 27

anyone else lurking around

g6120

W9TR checking in here. Mostly hang out in the McIntosh Audio forum, but I have restored and enjoy a few antique pieces: Philco model 84, Grebe Synchrophase, and a Grunow 4B.

Tech, KC7EGI.
Will upgrade someday when I move out of this SoCal HOA and can put up a real antenna. The canyon I live in makes it a little difficult to get out there without being able to put up a tower.

Use mostly 2M when on road trips. Am I #28??

Tech, KC7EGI.
Will upgrade someday when I move out of this SoCal HOA and can put up a real antenna. The canyon I live in makes it a little difficult to get out there without being able to put up a tower.

Use mostly 2M when on road trips. Am I #28??


Good day, sir. Jeff, WB8NHV here. I live in a first-floor apartment (the apartment building is only two stories high) in northeastern Ohio, 35 miles east of Cleveland. I also must use indoor antennas because of lease restrictions (no structures of any kind mounted outside the building); currently have a Barker and Williamson AP-10A portable antenna and an Icom IC-725 9-band 100-watt rig, and an Icom IC-T22A handheld. The latter gets out well to access a local repeater a couple miles from here. I am a member of the Lake County, Ohio Amateur Radio Association, and have been licensed since I was 16 years old in 1972 (I'm now 52). License progression: Novice 1972-74, off air eleven months between June '74-May '75, Technician May '75-June '85, General June '85 to present.

Even with indoor antennas, however, I manage to get on the air with my club's 2-meter and ten-meter nets, so my equipment isn't just sitting around gathering dust. I was very active on 80-10 meters, mostly CW, from my former QTH (location) in suburban Cleveland until 1999, when I moved and had to give up my 70-foot all-band dipole, 30-foot-high Cush Craft Ringo Ranger for 2m, and my packet radio installation (the apartment I live in now is too small for all that gear except the Icom HF transceiver). I also enjoyed DXing on 30-meter CW from my former QTH; don't know how well I'd do with an indoor antenna on that band, although one of these days I'm going to give it a whirl again from here. Living only a mile or so from the southern shore of Lake Erie, I should be able to work into Canada (southwestern Ontario, VE3) and southeastern Michigan (Detroit area) without too much trouble. Thirty meters being the QRP (low power) DX band it is, I should also be able to work all over the country with my 100-watt Icom rig and indoor antenna (I worked stations like gangbusters on 30 from my old QTH, so I know high power isn't a strict requirement for DXing there or on 17/12 meters either).

I wouldn't write off HF just yet. There are ways to get on the so-called "d.c. bands", 80-10 meters, with indoor antennas, as I have done. The B&W AP-10A (I'm sure they have an updated version, AP-10B or C, by now; it, or a similar version put out by MFJ of Starkville, MS is available at, among others, Amateur Electronic Supply in Milwaukee) is good for apartments and other settings (motel rooms, etc.) where large outdoor antennas are prohibited or impractical.

Good luck, and again, don't give up on trying to get on HF, even from an apartment. Where there is a will, there's a way.


73,

K5OG, Fred, here.
Extra class since 1977.
Mostly collect and restore Signal Ones but have other boat anchors as well.
http://www.k5og.com/

de KI5SL.. I've kept the license current, well, as current as a grandfathered Advanced can be...but very rarely get on the air...usually only to check into the Collins Collectors net on Sundays....

Worked a lot of stations via satellite in years past when AO-10 and AO-13 were hot...made contact with the Space Shuttle twice, once via voice and once via packet...

Got into Ham radio in the eighties when I started worrying about all the power I was using on Chicken Band and fearing a visit by Uncle Charlie...also wanted to explore the digital modes like FAX, RTTY, PACKET, etc...remember, this was before the Internet explosion...but, we did set up a TCP/IP network here back before there was ANY html at all, using Kantronics D4-10 radios, Ottawa Packet Interface cards in our computers, and the NOS program...had my own dotted IP, I guess it's still mine...we had a gateway to the Internet at the old Datapoint Corp., here in town...we used the net back then to set up skeds with Hams all over the world, well, wherever there was a DARPANET/Internet gateway to Packet radio, I guess, everything was at command line, even the chats...no Windows, even pre Linux...ahh, the good old days!!!

It was always fun to download weather fax from the likes of Bracknell, NOAA, even some of the satellites...and to search out and find FAX and RTTY transmissions from news outlets around the world, sometimes even ships at sea...those are gone, moved to the Internet and to satellite communications, no more "eavesdropping"!...

I have been a SWL since 1963, though, 2 years after my first exposure to Ham Radio with a visit to my Father's best friend in New Jersey...but, as a nine year old kid didn't know anybody that was in to it down here in San Antonio...so, got a cheapo SW receiver for my 11th birthday and been hooked ever since...

I do miss high sunspot activity and the days of the Cold War and all the various propaganda outlets by all the little third-world countries...interesting times...maybe when the spots swing around again I'll get active....HF was always my favorite but there's just nothing that I can hear lately that makes me want to get on the air...

.

New ham here KI6JUV.
Made my first contact Last week on the Battleship Missouri in pearl harbor Thanks to the Missouri A.R.C. KH6BB.
Also got a tour of the radio room TO COOL!!!

Have some photos of the Missouri and the Bowfins radio room.
if you would like to see them let me know.
bill

All vintage, mostly all Hallicrafters:

HT-32/SX-101A, HT-44/SX-117, SX-100, Viking Ranger, SX-71, SX-16,
Zenith 1948 AM/FM table model, 1936 Zenith console on loan to my son.

Just discovered this forum by reference in Vintage. Audio-wise, I'm mostly interested in Dynaco.

Harry Vaught, KT4AE
Maryville, Tennessee

Glad to have you around, hvlee!! My 5th grade math sez 32 licensed hams have checked in to this thread so far. Which Halli setup do you prefer...or is it the SX100/Ranger combo that gets the most airtime? John de KD0DQZ

Boy, that's a hard one. To keep it fairly short, I have to say that the HT-44/SX-117 gets more use. Emotionally, I'm more attached to the HT-32/SX-101A but the HT-44/SX-117 is almost like solid state in terms of stability and convenience. The pair can be slaved together for "tranceive" operation. There's not much AM action here and I only have a vertical, so the Ranger/SX-100 mostly sits. I love the SX-100 in spite of its well known faults. It's the one I'll take to the nursing home, just to look at if there's no more AM.

I forgot to mention an S-20R which is a great little radio. It reminds me of (and is the ancestor of) the S-40A that my Dad had which started the whole thing for me.

Actually, when I started I wanted everything but I've trimmed down to the point where I only have the pieces I really want.

If I go first, my wife says she's keeping the Ranger and the SX-16 to remind her of me. She likes the looks.

If she goes first I'm keeping the Marantz 2285B & BIC Venturi Spec 6 Formula II's that we call "Hers" and she abuses with "Oldies".

Harry, KT4AE
Maryville, Tennessee

You bet, K0IS, Larry. Been a ham since 1966...operate mostly CW on HF and mostly SSB on 6 meters. Use my Drake C Line regularly and an ICOM IC 740. Latest project is getting a Butternut vertical set up here for 80/40/30.

73,
Larry

I'm a ham, too, though I don't get on so much anymore, too much QRN on lower HF, too few sunspots for 17m, and 2 meter FM seems to be totally DEAD!

I get on 6m when skip is in, and will probably do so more when lowband analog TV stations (my favorite DX) sign off for good.

Rob (call sign not included for a degree of privacy, please write)

KC2EDH here, I've been a ham since I got my Tech+ when I was 13. Since then I've upgraded to General but haven't been especially active lately. For now I have 2m\400 in my car and a Hallicrafters receiver at home, but thats about it. My father got me into radio, he has been licensed since he was in high school and is into DXing mostly on 20 and 15 meters. He has a great HF station set up, with a collection of Yaesu and some older Kenwood and Drake transcievers.

I've since moved out and gotten my own apartment, but not much room here to set up an HF antenna! Can pull in shortwave broadcast from around the world, but not so much amateur activity.

The hamfest scene has been reduced the last few years around here too, some area ones which were huge when I was little are now quite small. Must be a better market for boatanchors and transcievers online than at the flea markets.

Well, Larry,Rob & KC2EDH...looks like you guys are #s 33, 34 & 35 respectively. Thanks for checking in!

I mostly read the TV forums here, so I missed this topic until now. My ham radio activities have included a bit of almost everything over the past 17 years, from packet to kit-building, from HF contesting to repeater coordination. My favorite mode is... ATV :)

No real antique amateur equipment in my shack, though. The nearest would be Heathkit HW-101 and Drake TR7 HF rigs from the 70's. I also have a couple of 40's TV sets made by National and Hallicrafters that would fit well with their ham gear of the same era.

-73-

My ham radio activities have included a bit of almost everything over the past 17 years, from packet to kit-building, from HF contesting to repeater coordination. My favorite mode is... ATV :)



Wonder if any hams have set up any digital ATV. "AHDTV"? We'd need an MPEG-2 encoder feeding an ATSC digital TV modulator, and output it onto the ATV frequency up around 432 or so MHz in our band up there.

DTV repeaters would be interesting. Just demodulate the ATSC RF carrier to the digital MPEG bitstream, then remodulate it to another ATSC carrier. Or just heterodyne the received RF to move it to the new channel without demodulating it. Oh, I'd have a demodulator at the repeater site to use to sense the presense of a signal, to control the transmitter.