Fellow hams, unite!
 

Welcome to the new Amateur Radio forums!

As a licensed tech-plus since 1990 (N2LCJ), I have an interest in what's been going on with things on the bands, as it's been over a decade since I checked into any of the ARRL message nets.

Back in the days of Desert Storm, I was a local relay for MARS (Military Amateur Radio Service), delivering messages from loved ones in the Gulf, to their families here in Western New York.

Post your call if you like, share your field day stories, learn about the old times, and catch up on the latest technology.....

Welcome home :)

The WB8NHV story
 

I'm Jeff Strieble, WB8NHV. Was first licensed in June 1972, but I didn't get on air until 97 days later. First station was a 60-watt rockbound (quartz crystal controlled) 60-watt Heathkit DX40 transmitter and a Hallicrafters SX-101A receiver, ham bands only, and a 25' loaded vertical. I'll never forget my first contact as Novice class WN8NHV, in October 1972. W9PQO in (at the time) South Bend, Indiana answered my sixth (!) CQ call; I gave him my name, location and RST (signal report), then I couldn't think of a thing to say to him after that.

I was off the air for eleven months after my Novice ticket expired, but in May 1975 I took and passed my Technician class license test (the Tech class only allowed operations from 50 MHz on up in those days) and was back making contacts shortly thereafter. Worked 6-meter AM voice with a Heathkit Sixer transceiver, initially rockbound on 50.35 MHz; I later got a crystal for 51.0 MHz when I found out about a six-meter ragchew net in the neighborhood (Cleveland Heights, east suburban Cleveland) in which I was living at the time. I'll never forget the first station I heard on my new (to me) Heath Sixer with its makeshift antenna (a random length of lamp cord) -- WAØSDK in South Dakota! Never did get back to him, but even after 35 years I've never forgotten hearing him in suburban Cleveland, while using a rig with a superregenerative receiver and a hank of wire as an "antenna." (That so-called antenna really caused TVI problems, both in the house where I was living and the neighbors' homes as well.)

When I moved back to my hometown of Wickliffe, Ohio (far east suburban Cleveland) after graduating high school in 1975, I got back on six meters with my Heath Sixer and a home-brew antenna, but worked only one station -- WA8CSQ (now off the air -- I looked up his call on QRZ.com the other day, or tried to, but found that the license had expired some time ago).

From 1976 until 1982 I worked exclusively 2-meter FM, and was a member of a radio club in suburban Cleveland that operated two repeaters, one east and one west of the city of Cleveland. In summer 1982 I reactivated my Novice station under new Technician rules (Techs now had HF privileges on the Novice HF bands) and worked several states with the Heathkit/Hallicrafters combination, now feeding a loaded vertical once again--not unlike the one I had during my Novice days. The difference between that vertical and my 1982 Tech-Plus antenna, however, was that the latter was a no-tune all-band system, 80 through ten meters, whereas with my Novice vertical one had to move a tap up and down a loading coil to change bands.

I operated CW and 2-meter FM exclusively for the next 17 years, upgrading to General in 1985 and becoming a member of the Lake County, Ohio Amateur Radio Association of Painesville, Ohio (30 miles east of Cleveland and only three miles [!] from where I live today) two years later. In late 1999, I had to give up my HF station, after working 49 states and a handful of foreign countries on 20, 30 and 15-meter CW. I moved in late '99 into an apartment, was off the air for ten years (except for 2m FM), then discovered Echolink about a year ago. EL got me back on HF (I am using the standard EL software, with the EchoBase 100 virtual transceiver addon, installed in my IBM Aptiva 595 computer), and I am still active on 2 meters with the Lake County radio club I mentioned above. If you live in, near, or are planning to visit the northeastern Ohio area, please look me up. On 2 meters I listen on the Lake County ARA repeater, N8BC, 147.81-.21, and participate in the club's weekly 2-meter net. The repeater does not have the fantastic coverage it once did, but it covers Lake County and eastern Cuyahoga County quite well from its new location (as of about four months ago) atop a medical center near Painesville.

That's the "WB8NHV story" in a nutshell. Even after nearly 38 years in this hobby, I still enjoy it, my antenna restrictions as of a decade ago notwithstanding. Since Echolink makes use of RF links in conjunction with the Internet (the latter using a technology known as voice over Internet protocol or VoIP), making contacts with it, especially (in my opinion) when using the software with the EchoBASE transceiver addon, which gives EL the look and feel of a real amateur transceiver, I feel like I never really gave up my HF ham station at all. The links to the grand bunch of fellows in the Lake County ARA via the local repeater help out a lot as well. Been a member of that club since '87, just renewed membership a couple months ago, and will not give it (or ham radio itself) up any time soon--I like the hobby too darn much!


73,

Jeff Strieble, WB8NHV
Fairport Harbor, Ohio USA
Grid square EN91go
Echolink node #331660
Member Lake County, Ohio Amateur Radio Association (N8BC/R, 147.81./21)

Station:

HF: Echolink v9.0208 with EchoBase addon; IBM "Aptiva" 595 PC
2 meters: Icom IC-T22A, 1.5 watt HT
"Hamming it up" since 1972

Ahh, all y'all Hams ain't nothin' but a buncha glorified CBers...."Breaker, One-Nine, yew gotcha one ol' Parts Boy comin' back atcha, breakity-broke ! Howzit bein' lookin' back over yer donkey on this ol' I-81 superslab, mawm back ?!?" Mbwahahahahahaha....'Course, I used to love to listen to 3898 & 3868 at nite...There were a bunch of I-Dots on there who were ALMOST as Rude, Crude, & Socially Unacceptable as me am...My wife won't let me put an R-390A on the nightstand, evil woman that she is, so I miss out on all the fun anymore....

Sandy, there has never been a better time than right now to get an amateur radio license. The FCC dropped the Morse code requirement for ham licenses a while back (last year or the year prior, I'm not sure), so now all that's required is a 74-percent or better score on a 55-question written exam, and you're in. You already have half of your station now, with your R-390a; all you need now is a license and a transmitter to go with it. Living on a farm as you do, you should have plenty of room to put up a decent antenna as well. I lived in a Cleveland suburb for years and used verticals, long wires and dipoles with no problems at all, except one with a 70-foot all-band dipole I had for my amateur station. There was a huge apple tree in my back yard; the feedline (450-ohm ladder line) of necessity had to snake through it to get to my station equipment, which was located in my bedroom. Needless to say, every time the tree swayed in the wind (and I can remember some fairly bad wind/snowstorms in my area in the years I lived there), the feedline would move with it, eventually breaking the connection at the antenna.

The ham radio station I have today, in my apartment 15-some miles from my previous residence, is actually in my computer, powered by a system called Echolink. This system uses voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) to connect to other amateurs in this country and world-wide by way of this technology and RF links -- without antennas of any kind needed at the user's end, unless an Echolink user wants to set up his or her own HF or VHF "node" for the use of other hams.

If you don't feel you want to deal with antennas and so on, EL may be the perfect way for you to get on the air. The only catch is that you need an amateur license to use Echolink, but as I mentioned above, getting that license is much easier today than it used to be, for example when I got my first license almost 38 years ago.

"No code" does not necessarily mean, either, that ham radio is now nothing more than a glorified Citizens Band. Nothing could be further from the truth. CB and ham radio are two completely different communications services, with ham (amateur) radio being the more sophisticated of the two. Hams are much more polite (and follow the rules of the road, outlined in detail in Part 97 of the FCC amateur regulations) on the air than CB operators, thanks to the efforts of the FCC to track down and silence scofflaws permanently.

You say Lauriann won't let you have an R-390a on your nightstand...well, there's a way around that. (Where there's a will, there is a way, as the expression goes.) If you can find a small AM/FM/SW radio (I'm sure they can be found about anywhere these days, including Radio Shack) that you can listen to via headphones, she probably wouldn't mind. These radios are nowhere near (and I mean nowhere near) the size of an R-390A (many of these are small enough, in fact, to fit in a coat pocket), so even the largest of the former would probably fit nicely on your bed table with room to spare. Some of the better ones have the same refinements as your R390A, including a BFO (beat frequency oscillator) for copying CW (Morse code) or SSB (single sideband voice).

A bonus feature of having a small SW set like this is that you will also have instant access to the most accurate time in the world, thanks to radio station WWV in Fort Collins, Colorado. This station boasts 1kW signals from individual transmitters on 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz, so you should be able to hear it 24/7 where you are. Never again will you have to call your local time and temperature number (if your phone company has one) to reset your clocks after a power outage; just tune in WWV on the frequency that comes in the best in your area, note the time stated by the announcer, and there you are. WWV states the time of day in 24-hour UTC (universal) time, which in the eastern/southeastern US is either four or five hours different (depending on whether or not Daylight Savings Time is in effect, except of course in Arizona and Hawaii) from Eastern Standard Time. The conversion can be tricky at first, but once you get used to it it will become second nature, or close to it.

The world is as close as your radio (or your computer, if you use Echolink) when you have an amateur license, and as I said, it's so much better than CB it isn't funny. I wouldn't have stayed with it 38 years myself if I didn't believe that as strongly as I do.

73 (best of regards),

Oh, I know, Jeff, I was just tryin' to Start a Ruckus... Actually, I have a JRC NRD-545 that would sit quite nicely on my nightstand...If only I could run an antenna into that bedroom... I'd give my eyeteeth for a short- 20'-40' tower to put up so I could mount my big Winegard FM antenna, I LOVE DXing FM, too, & I bought the module for the 545 where it goes way up into the MhZ bands, too. Of course, I also have an ICOM R-7000 that goes up to 2 gig, so I can cover from 15 KC w/the R-389 all the way to 2 gig w/the R-7000...Not too shabby, I guess...(grin)

How does the VHF performance of the NRD 545 with the VHF module compare to the R-7000? I am presently using an Icom R- 8500 for my DC- to- Daylight Rig. I think the VHF performance of the 8500 is similar to the 7000, I have never had my grubby hands on a 545. I do far better on the FM broadcast band with a Sony XDR-F1HD... This is an amazing FM dx tuner for only a 100 bucks ! In my set-up it takes up no space, as it is small enough to sit on top of my Yaesu rotor control box. :yes:

jr

73 de WA2ISE
 

Got my license in the summer of 1976, as a tech (later would be a tech plus). Had to go to the FCC field office in NYC. Had to send as well as receive code, at 5WPM. I expected to have trouble with the code, and to ace the written, but it turned out the other way, aced the code and barely passed the written (embarrassing for a double e college student). The FCC was recycling callsigns back then for a while, once found that a previous WA2ISE lived in upstate NY. Wondered if the examiner, thing I'd be a code fan, gave me ISE as it's a very short code sequence (all dits). :scratch2: A few months later found out my callsign while at college, and went to the college ham club's shack and got on a novice band for the first contact. Turned out to be someone else maybe ten miles away, this on 80 meters IIRC. Went home for Thanksgiving, and grabbed my mom's HT and got on 2m repeaters to use the new license.

About ten years ago, the FCC abandoned all Morse code testing, so I studied up and took the advanced and extra writtens, and come No Code day April 15, 2000, cashed in the CSCEs for an extra class license. Bought a used rig, a Kenwood TS440SAT, tossed some wire in the attic craw space of my apartment to create something vaguely resembling a dipole, and got on the SW bands. Made a contact with this setup to someone in Antartica.

Haven't been on much lately. Mostly 2m repeaters with an Icon ICu2AT.

Now with analog TV gone, and almost no digital TV stations transmitting on channel 2, 6 meters should be more useful. Back in olden analog TV days, hams in towns with a channel 2 avoided 6m to avoid TVI complaints.

Hello, fellow radio operators, and thank you to N2LCJ for starting this forum (as well as Audiokarma/Videokarma itself!).

The short version of my story is, I got my license in 1991 (I went from license study guide purchase to passing Amateur Extra in seven weeks), and I enjoy many types of operating but mostly ATV (Amateur Television), which is two-way mostly NTSC TV sending and receiving. Usually, I get on the air with a bunch of my antique TV sets in the background of my video picture, and the other viewers often ask questions about my collection.

If anyone wants to hear the long version of my exploits in radio, let me know.

73!

Yep, just like a working RCA CT-100 is a glorified 12" color TV set. :)

P.S. I really AM a glorified CBer. I still have my FCC CB license, applied for the day I turned 18.

2GHz, what's up that high? I know that old uhf ch 83 went up to close to 900Mc, but I didn't think anybody ever broadcast anything at any higher frequencies than that.

Nothin' I've ever been able to get...Think there's sposed t'be some ham stuff around 1850 meg, I dunno. The cell phone freqs. were kinda fun at 1st, but how often do you REALLY wanna hear- "Maw, I'm at th' Store-Ya want me t'pick up inny Aigs ?" Now, everything's digital/scrambled, & even back when it wasn't, a lot of the time all you could hear was 1/2 the conversation, & then they'd about always go BLERP ! & quit when they went to the next cell tower's area. The FCC & the media made such a big deal of people listening in on cellphone calls, it was kinda silly I thought, not that many people had ICOM R-7000s, or anything else that would go that high. Yeah, they WERE in the old UHF band, but the chances of someone picking one up on an older TV seemed to be pretty remote. Plus, IIRC, they are narrowband anyway, & TV sound was/is wideband, it just really wouldn't work.

Some stuff that I have heard above 1000 mHz:

Airport Radar - 1030, makes a "swoosh" noise as it scans.
Aircraft transponders - 1090, they emit a "buzz" (identifying code of some sort), when the plane is hit by radar. (fun for plane watching)
Tacan aircraft beacons - up to 1214, transmit CW identifier.
Ham band (23cm) 1240-1300 at least one fairly active repeater in my area.
Geos weather Satellite - 1691, Using an old 10 foot C-band Satellite dish, I have downloaded images of the earth taken from approx 23000 miles up!
Misc Buzzing noises - around 1800 and above 1930, Digital cell phones, data links?

jr

KD0DQZ here. First...a note to anyone who's given thought to becoming a ham (Sandy G are you listening?). Go to www.qrz.com. On the right-hand side of the homepage is a link to sample tests. Start w/Technician and see how ya do!! You'll probably be surprised at the amount of knowledge you already have. Plus...you can go back if you get a question wrong & try a different answer. By process of elimination you'll get the correct answer & learn the reason why it's correct as well. NO CODE TEST!!! The sample tests are actual questions from the FCC question pool...just do 'em over & over again until you consistently score 90 or better...you'll be ready for the real thing then.

Me? Well...I should be celebrating about 45 years as a ham...but TOTAL inability to master the code was my downfall all those intervening years. I was even a BOY SCOUT for cryin' out loud...no Morse code merit badge for me. I still have the gear I bought in anticipation of breezing my way to 5WPM...built a Knight-Kit T-60 and bought a National NC-109 w/paper route $$$. It sat in storage until the dropping of the code requirement a few years ago...then it was off to the Legion Club when the local ham club was administering tests. Aced the Technician test...scored 90+ on the General and decided that since I was already here I might as well take the Extra Class test. Hadn't done any prep for THAT one so my results were dismal. I plan on retaking the Extra this fall. Numerous home improvement projects had to take priority to "playing with radios" (quoting my wife there)...but by this fall the shack should be ready & fully-stocked w/vintage gear. I picked up a really cool National 200 transceiver & can't wait to see how that oldie performs. A customer of mine who's a former ham & not interested in further activity has a somewhat later model Kenwood transceiver that's he's giving me on semi-permanent loan. So...I'll have a mix of vintage & more recent gear to play with.
AM station: Knight-Kit T-60 transmitter, RME-45 receiver ($25 garage sale find!)
I need to find a VFO for the T-60 since I only have about a half-dozen crystals & would like a bit more frequency flexibility.
Vintage SSB: National 200. Dates from around 1963-64...a really nice little rig. Typical straightforward National design.
Newer SSB will be the Kenwood I'll be getting on loan.
10 meter SSB: My godfather gifted me a Radio Shack 10 meter mobile. It's waiting for more sunspots.
Matchin' it all up: MFJ-949 antenna tuner
I had a G5RV antenna erected but ice & wind brought it down...so parts of it will be repurposed to a 130' dipole fed w/ladder line.
Down the road? I got to a ham operator's auction too late to get a shot at any gear...but there were still plenty of junkboxes to bid on. Picked up some big coils & air variables...found a 3200VCT transformer in my junkbox. Can you say AMPLIFIER? I know I have a pair of 813s around...that'd be sweet!
Happy hammin'
73s

My problem is...I can tell you ALL ABOUT this stuff, but I can't tell you a THING as to the "Nuts 'n' Bolts" of it all...I mean I studied some theory & all like that in books, but I NEVER had an "Elmer" to "Splain" it all to me. This is prolly a HORRIBLE admission, but I don't even really know how to read an ohm-meter...I'd be lost even trying to solder up a antenna connector for one of my R-390As...I mean I dunno even REAL basic stuff..Now, I can prolly quote you who all made R-390As, & when, the HISTORY of 'em, the names of the guys at Collins who designed 'em-Lou Coulliard, Ernie Papenfuss, & a few others-And I CAN change Toobs, check 'em & so forth, but the rest of it, I'm lost...

I got 57% on the technicians test with no lucky guesses. You're right - I didn't think I'd do that well.

Sandy...when you're rambling around the hills of East Tennessee in the Mighty Valdez keep an eye peeled for "antenna farms". You know...big towers with stacked triband beams & who knows what else. Pull in! The vast majority of hams are very friendly sorts & more than eager to show off their shacks. Presto!...you may have just found your Elmer! Odds are it'll be a person who'd be more than fascinated with your aggregation of boatanchors. Sandy...a guy like you is someone who'd be a great addition to the ham community...a wide range of interests, a friendly, loquacious sort. A prototypical "ragchewer". And...by the way...soldering up a PL-259 to RG-8 coax is easy-breezy...a big ol' fashioned soldering iron works wonders.

I never really gave it any thought before. But I tried the practice tests just to see how I'd do: passed the technician at 94.3%, flunked the general at 63.9%, stopped there and didn't try the extra.

When I upgraded from Technician to General just short of 25 years ago, my first attempt resulted in failing the code test by one question. I went back home, listened to W1AW's code practice sessions from 35 down to 5 wpm until I was sure I could copy at least 20, then, a month later, went back and tried the test again. This time my results were the exact opposite: I passed the code with 90 percent. I don't remember how well I did on the written test but that doesn't matter, as I do know I passed it and received a CSCE. Was able to get on the air with my newly-earned General class privileges that evening, and have been enjoying the hobby ever since -- even more so than when I just had Novice HF privileges as a Technician.

For Sandy G.: I agree with electronjohn, KDØDQZ. There is probably at least one ham in your neighborhood, and certainly elsewhere in East Tennessee as well, so I'd be on the lookout for tall towers with beams, 220- and 440-MHz antennas (the latter often used by hams such as VK's own W6ATV who are interested in amateur TV) and so on. Where there is such an installation, there is almost always a "shack" (the term used to describe the area where a ham's transmitting/receiving gear is located, though I think the term is more than just a bit demeaning, although traditional, going back to the days when ham radio stations were set up in actual shacks) at the base of or near the antenna farm.

Most hams are, as John mentioned, very friendly folks who would be more than happy to show off their installations, especially to prospective amateurs. One or two visits to local ham shacks, and meeting their owners, may well change your mind about becoming a licensed amateur, and as a nice bonus, you will likely make some good friends along the way. You do not need to know a thing about soldering or anything else technical to get an amateur radio license nowadays; there is no code test anymore, and the written exam can be passed simply by memorizing the answers to the actual tests conducted at FCC field offices and by volunteer examiners. These tests are published in books available at electronics stores or amateur radio supply houses such as Amateur Electronic Supply of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (with branch stores in Cleveland, Orlando, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada; the Cleveland store has been my one source since 1977 for almost all the ham radio equipment I own today). These stores are also set up for 24/7 online ordering of equipment or anything else in their warehouse; go to www.aesham.com to view their price list. You can also request a copy of their latest catalog at this website. I don't remember offhand where the catalog link is, but if you do a little looking around the home page you'll find it.

Amateur radio is a very fascinating hobby, as I have found in my nearly 38 years of involvement in it. It goes far beyond just talking with a microphone to other amateurs over the airwaves; there is amateur television (which ChrisW6ATV of VK fame is very involved in), satellites (known as OSCARs--Orbiting Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio), packet radio, RTTY (radio teletype), et al. I read somewhere, I think it was in an old issue of the (now defunct) Electronics Illustrated magazine in their monthly amateur radio department, conducted by Tom Kneitel, K2AES (now deceased -- an SK, Silent Key, in ham radio talk), that the only way to be bored with ham radio is not to be familiar with it. Most people who have had their television reception ruined by a nearby ham's signals get upset when this happens (or used to; with today's digital TV and most folks having cable or satellite these days, however, I honestly don't think television interference [TVI] is anywhere near the problem today it was when television was all analog), and I remember reading in the old (again, now defunct) Popular Electronics magazine in its Amateur Radio department years ago of a non-ham neighbor of a long-time amateur wanting to actually put the amateur off the air, because the latter was interfering with his neighbor's TV reception. To make a long story short, the amateur, IIRC, eventually talked his neighbor into getting a ham radio license; in fact, the neighbor eventually admitted that, after listening for awhile to the ham's contacts over his TV, the conversations were much, much more interesting to listen to than the TV shows of the time (mid-1960s, IIRC) were to watch.

You do not need a room full of equipment to get started in ham radio, once you get the license. Many amateurs these days start out with a 2-meter hand-held radio and gradually work their way up to HF or VHF gear. But be careful: This hobby can wind up costing a bundle if you really get into it. Many hams start out with older gear purchased at a hamfest or, nowadays, online (eBay has a special section devoted to auctions of ham and shortwave radio gear) and work their way up, as their finances permit.

Today, there is a way to enjoy ham radio without ever actually transmitting signals over the air. A software program called Echolink is available, which will connect your computer to well over 10000 amateurs in 193 nations world wide; there are some 4500 amateurs using the system at any given time of the day or night, so you will never be lacking for someone to talk to. The software takes advantage of a technology known as VoIP, Voice over Internet Protocol, which has been and still is used as the backbone of Internet chat rooms. Echolink is available as a 100-percent free download at www.echolink.org; a companion program, EQ-100, is also available for free download at QRZ.com. Look up the callsign N8AD on the latter; you will be taken to the listing for the amateur to whom this callsign is registered, Leonard A. Stefanelli, of Fairview, Pennsylvania, near Erie. The listing will also have a link to Len's personal website, which will contain a download link for EQ-100. The installation process involves installing Echolink itself (EQ-100 won't work without it), then installing EQ-100. The latter will "hook" to Echolink, resulting in an image on your screen of a "virtual" amateur radio transceiver. Although Echolink will work perfectly well as a standalone program, EQ-100 gives it the look and feel of a real hardware ham rig. I use EQ-100 with Echolink and like it a lot -- since I can now get back on HF, if virtually rather than via the airwaves, I haven't missed my over-the-air (OTA) HF station at all, even though I was totally off the HF bands for about nine years before discovering EL.

I don't know if you knew this, Sandy, but some years ago (at least two decades), a five-year-old boy in Vincennes, Indiana, took and passed the tests for Novice through at least General, if I remember the news item correctly (it was in QST and the other amateur radio publications of the time). His call sign is (or was) WB9VPG--I don't know if he still has his license today.

The reason I bring up the foregoing is to make a point: if a 5-year-old can pass a code and written exam to get an amateur license, so can you. There are people on the ham bands today who know even less than you do about electronics; their lack of technical knowledge, however, does not stop them from enjoying ham radio for what it is -- a means of communicating with other, like-minded people. Ham radio is used (and was originally intended as its primary reason for being) for emergency communications and public-service activities as well, such as message traffic handling, the latter being undertaken by hams operating within the National Traffic System or NTS. The latter is a public service division of the ARRL in suburban Hartford, Connecticut.

I'm definitely not trying to twist your arm and tell you to become a ham; it's your choice. However, in this post I have tried my best to give you an overview of what ham radio is, the public service aspect of the hobby (the emphasis being on "service"), and how much fun it can be once you get into it. Once you get your license, as I said, all that's needed to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, of this great hobby is a 2-meter handheld transceiver; you can add more gear later, as your finances permit.

I am a member of a local radio club and try to get on their weekly 2-meter net using simply my Icom IC-T22a 1.5-watt handheld radio, through a repeater about five miles from my apartment. I say "I try" to get on that net because much of the time I get involved in other things and wind up forgetting about it; oh well, one of these days I'll get back to it. Between that net and my computerized HF station (with Echolink, EQ-100, and my ten-year-old way, way outdated IBM Aptiva 595 computer), I am finally enjoying ham radio again, every bit as much as I did when I was working DX, mostly on 30-meter CW (Morse code) from my former residence in suburban Cleveland.


Give it some thought, Sandy. As I said in a previous post in response to one of yours in another thread, there has never been a better time to become a ham than right now. No more code tests, the theory exam is duck soup as well, with the exam questions now available in book form (known as syllabi) -- good grief, it is almost criminally easy to get an amateur radio license these days.

I'm not a fan (fanboy, if you will) of any of the foregoing, being an old-school ham (there was a code test and you had to actually know the regulations and more than just a little about electronic theory to pass the written test when I got my first license in 1972), but, as the late Walter Cronkite used to end the old CBS Evening News, that's the way it is. Some people may think that today's amateur radio is little more than nine bands of glorified CB, but believe me, it isn't -- not by a long shot. Ham radio, for one thing, is much better organized than CB ever was; the former still requires a license, whereas the FCC ceased issuing CB licenses over 25 years ago.

Listening to hams chatting back and forth is just half the fun of amateur radio. The other half is being able to talk to these people yourself over the air and, judging from how you seem to like to post to VK's various forums and you have a lot to say in those posts (I read them with much interest whenever and wherever they appear on VK), you'd very likely enjoy the heck out of ham radio as well.

73 (best of regards),

Getting the Technician ham license would be a good start in ham radio; in fact, Technician is the new entry point for prospective amateurs, as the FCC did away with the Novice license some years ago. The Technician ticket gives its holders privileges in every VHF ham band, from 50 MHz (six meters) to microwaves; it also conveys Novice-class privileges in the HF bands (80, 40, 15 and ten meters, CW [Morse code] only). You can start out with a 2-meter handheld radio as soon as you have your Technician ticket, then work your way up to HF gear later. Many amateurs start out in this hobby with used HF and VHF gear acquired at hamfests or eBay auctions (eBay has a section devoted to auctions for shortwave and ham gear), and do very well, using just about anything imaginable as an antenna; some hams have used bedsprings, the rain gutters around their homes, random wires . . . name it -- and have worked some good DX, often with low power (QRP in ham talk). I read in an old issue of the (now defunct) Electronics Illustrated magazine of one amateur who lived in an apartment building and, of course, was forbidden to install an outdoor antenna. This fellow got around the problem--well, sorta--by loading up the metal beams of his building's elevator shaft with his transmitter. The dodge worked, according to the article, well enough for the fellow to make local contacts around town; however, the building's elevator operator became more than just a bit suspicious when he started drawing sparks off the control panel. The ham was eventually evicted for obvious reasons; however, once he moved to a new location (QTH in ham lingo) and got settled in the new apartment, he began his antenna experiments once again--this time by mounting an antenna on the fire escape. The article did not elaborate, however, on how well or how poorly this makeshift installation worked.

I looked into the ham scene down here a few years back-nice guys, for the most part, but not a one of 'em was into HF-It was all 10 meter, 220 & 440 stuff, & their radios were these teeny-tiny widdle things that were about the same size as an early-day cell phone...I started yakkin' about R-390As, SX-28s, HROs, EK-07s, & they just kinda gave me the fish-eye. Went to a "hamfest" in Knoxville years ago, & the only Tooob stuff there was some guy who'd looked like he'd cleaned out the Junk Hole in one of the labs at Oak Ridge Nat'l Lab- Bunch of junky old scopes, a tube sig gen or 2, some sad lookin' VTVMs...Junk. You MIGHT have been able to make one or 2 good scopes out of the 2 pickup loads of the stuff that was there...Maybe. Some dude wanted REAL bad to sell me a radio, IIRC, it was a lesser-model Hallicrafters, or maybe it was an NC-88 National. I did get an NC-125 at another "hamfest" I went to, It was absolutely, positively, swear-on-a-stack-of-Bibles GUARANTEED to work, of course, it didn't. Did after it went to see Terry, though. Anyhow, my experiences w/the local Ham scene has been less than stellar, maybe that is affecting me. They also-HERE- seem to be a rather insular & clannish lot, not really wanting to swap stories/lies/whatever about stuff. But maybe I oughta give 'em another chance...

Well, Sandy...if the hams around there are snoots you'll just have to ragchew with somebody in Wyoming...or Alaska...or Portugal. You get my drift. One comment that some folks have made about some ham clubs is a somewhat-exclusionary attitude. Not nice. Hams should be doing everything they can to attract newcomers to the fraternity instead of some misguided "elitist" attitude. I'm not a member of the local club (prolly should join, hmmm?) but the members are more than happy to see me if I pop by during Field Day or something like that. Locally there seems to a be a big gap...quite a few older fellows, along with a number of really young folks...some of whom came to hamming through Boy Scouts. But...not as many in the 30-50 age bracket.

We gotta find a good ham in East Tennessee to take ol' Sandy G under his wing.

Man ! you still playing with the little bitty stuff ! :D Just joking, of course... but you might enjoy this saga of a Ham/Broadcast Engineer carting a real "boat anchor" home:

http://www.sbe124.org/old_xmtr_rescue/our_old_xmtr.html

(from the SBE 124 website)

jr

Now THAT'S some "Heavy Metal", that is...My EK-07 is West German, & it apparently spent a LOT of time quaffin' brewskis at the Hofbrau Haus, 'cos it weighs in at a rather porcine 152 lbs...Not many radios can make an R-390A look svelte, but Der Weinerschnitzel does...It was designed in the mid-late 1950s as a cost-be-damned general purpose receiver for the newly re-formed Bundeswehr. Operator ease, receiving superiority, & stability were prime design concerns. Size, weight, cost, complexity, were of little or no consequence. Incredible selectivity was a hallmark of these sets-their ability to ferret out a Combloc fleapower source deliberately placed adjacent to the VOA, BBC, Deutsche Welle, or one of the other Western blowtorches was almost unbelievable. So was their sensitivity-I've been able to pull in one-lunger daytimers from Kentucky, Virginia & North Carolina w/it, stations whose range is usually barely even the local county line. There were only about 1000 made 1958-73 thereabouts, & possibly no more than 3-4 dozen in this country. It has 25 "Rohren"-tubes, & a fair number of transistors. It even has a built in self-diagnostic test, which is kinda advanced for then. This marvel cost the Germans some $6K back in the early-mid '60s, which partially explains why there are relatively so few of them. Even today, some aspects of its use are classified, & its rumored, that like its American counterpart, the R-390A, it is still in use somewhat by the German army.

It's a shame - every hamfest I've attended seems to be composed of about 85% senior citizens. Most folks I've found to be pretty friendly. Free time is the biggest reason I never looked further into becoming a ham; I really wonder what some of the hamfests are going to look like 5-10 years from now when a good chunk of these folks are gone.

Ten years from now, many of today's amateurs will be in their fifties, sixties and older, so these are the people you, I and everyone else will see at most hamfests (and hear on the air) by that time. Amateur radio is not lacking for participants at this time (there are over 640,000 licensed amateurs in the US), but there don't seem to be as many licensed hams these days as there once were. The reason for that is, in large part, the Internet and online chat rooms; many younger folks today would rather chat online than over the airwaves.

I don't see this killing amateur radio any time soon, but I do see it cutting into the number of new hams licensed every year. The FCC has dropped the Morse code requirement for every class of license, but the written test is still difficult to pass without studying for it beforehand; the passing grade is 74 percent, which means seven or more correct answers out of ten (assuming a ten-question test; most written amateur license examinations, however, have far more questions, but the passing mark is the same). The problem is that many younger people today are not interested in technical fields such as electronics. They may have an interest in computers, but quite a few teenagers and younger kids use their Windows 7 computers just to play games; they could not care less about the nuts and bolts of computers or the Internet, as long as the systems work.

If you should get the chance to listen in on the ham radio bands, don't let the old-school "one by three" call signs you will hear every now and then fool you. These callsigns, known as 1x3 due to their format (W#xxx/K#xxx, where # is the call area numeral and xxx is the callsign suffix) were originally assigned to amateurs in the 1930s through the fifties; at the time, their holders were, by and large, younger folks who are now senior citizens in their 80s, deceased (silent keys in amateur radio lingo), or former amateurs who have let their licenses expire. The FCC has made these old callsigns available for reassignment under the "vanity" callsign program, which was implemented several years ago so, more often than not, if you hear a 1x3 callsign on the bands today, there is no telling how old the holder may be -- he or she could be sixty years old or more or just a 17-year-old or younger kid. The chances are, however, that most of the time when you hear a 1x3 callsign these days, the holder will be quite young. The Extra class one-by-two calls are mostly all available for reassignment under the vanity callsign program these days, as most if not all the amateurs who originally held these callsigns 50 years ago or more are almost certainly silent keys by now. This means that, if you hear a 1x2 (e. g. W#xx/K#xx) callsign on the HF amateur bands today, the odds are in your favor that the holder is probably much younger than 50 years of age.

Vanity callsigns are nice to have, if you want a callsign that has your initials as the suffix, for example, or if, for whatever reason, you don't like the callsign the FCC assigned you on a new license. But they come at a price: The last I checked, the fee for a vanity callsign was $13.30. Once assigned, these callsigns are normally valid for ten years or until your license expires, whichever comes first. I personally do not have and do not want a vanity callsign; my WB8NHV call is my first one after upgrading from Novice, dating to my Technician days in the mid '70s and continuing to the present day. I have made probably thousands of contacts under this callsign and my Novice one (WN8NHV) combined over the last nearly 38 years; the fellows in my local club (the Lake County, Ohio Amateur Radio Association) know me by the General callsign, and I see no reason to change it at this late date.

Recently, NPRs "All Things Considered" ran a brief snapshot of Ham radio in this day of Twitter, Facebook and other competition... Surprise! it seems as if this "old fashioned" hobby has added a substantial number of participants in the last year or so, and appears to be growing:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...86&ft=1&f=1019

jr

The thing that saddens me is the dearth of youngish boys at the events I've been to- Generally, its just a bunch of middle-older-age guys...Sometimes the REALLY old fogies will maybe talk to you about Tooob stuff, but the younger ones don't wanna hear it...They're more interested in what the latest whizbang Yeacomwood does...But when you've been raised on the internet, & its all so effortless, the prospect of learning a bunch of arcane rules, put up w/fussy old men, & there's no pictures, yeah, I can see why the kids don't wanna fool w/it.

I've had a license for 10 years (KB9WAH) but was only active for a couple years after I got it. I just didn't have much of a use for it as there really wasn't anyone I was interested in talking to or anything all that interesting being talked about. I'd just rather use instant messenger programs and chat on the internet with friends that I already know. Back then I thought I'd find the phone patch on the local 2 meter repeater to be useful, but I got a cell phone and that was the end of that. I'm not trying to be negative and bring the thread crashing down, though. I tried it, enjoyed the electronics aspect and the theory and learning all the rules and regulations, but in the end I was just more interested in not giving others the ability to listen in to my conversations, and being a computer guy, I wanted to be involved in the online conversation mediums that most of my friends participated in.

There is a computer program called Echolink, developed by an amateur in New Hampshire (Jonathan Taylor, K1RFD) that will allow you to use your computer to talk to other amateurs world-wide via voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP), without having to erect an antenna. I use this program with my ancient Windows 98 machine because I live in an apartment building, and cannot erect outdoor antennas. The software works great, and has kept me making contacts on the HF ham bands despite my antenna problems. (I still use an RF-based 1.5-watt Icom IC-T22a handheld to keep in touch with the members of my local radio club.)

There is an addon as well for Echolink called EQ-100 that will give the program the look and feel of a hardware amateur HF rig. Together, these programs can transform your computer into an amateur radio station, again without the need for outdoor antennas. The program is available as a free download at www.echolink.org; the EQ-100 addon is also a free download, but to get to the link you need to look up the callsign N8AD, on QRZ.com or HamCall.net. This is the callsign of the developer of EQ-100, Leonard A. Stefanelli, of Fairview, Pennsylvania; the download link is about a third of the way down from the top of the home page. This program will "hook" onto Echolink (the latter must be installed on your computer), allowing full control of EL via your mouse, just by clicking buttons on the virtual transceiver.

This is just an idea I had after reading that you only used your ham license for two years or so before going back to online communications in chat rooms, etc.; you can use it or ignore it, of course, as you see fit. I mentioned Echolink because you said you are a computer person and don't seem to care much for the RF aspects of ham radio. EL does use RF links (transceivers connected through an interface board to the Echolink software), but they are behind the scenes, being used as "nodes" to link Echolink-enabled computers to the HF bands.

I am not trying to twist your arm and tell you to get back on the air; it is your choice. It's just that, liking the hobby as much as I do and as involved in it as I am, I hate reading or hearing about licensed amateurs who give up on the hobby after only a short time. I've had a license for nearly 38 years and am still active, both on 2 meters with the local radio club and on HF with Echolink.

BTW, you are right on the mark as far as repeater autopatches vs. cell phones are concerned. With more and more people (including hams) having cell phones these days, the need for repeater autopatch systems is nowhere near as pressing as it was in the days before cellular really took hold in the US; in fact, I don't remember the last time I heard anyone in the local club use the repeater's autopatch. I have never used the system's autopatch personally, and I've been a member of the local club for well over two decades; however, since I have a cell phone, I have no use for the repeater's phone patch.

Out of sheer curiosity, I looked up your callsign on HamCall.net a few minutes ago. Your license expired 56 days ago (from the date of this post, May 24, 2010), but you can still renew it as it is within the 2-year grace period. Again, I am not telling you to do anything; it is entirely up to you whether or not you renew your ticket, but I just thought I'd let you know that as of 56 days ago, you are no longer licensed. However, I wouldn't wait too long to renew. Two years can go by awfully quickly, and once the grace period expires, you will need to retake the written test (there is no longer a Morse code requirement for US amateur radio licenses).

73,

Don't feel too bad, you're not the first person to try twisting my arm to get back into it. Now more than ever actually, as I have a couple coworkers who are licensed... and given that I work at a TV station and we host the local club's repeater on our tower. There are lots of reasons why I should do it. Also, I have a large enough back yard to put up an aerial. My place is no stranger to antennas, as I've got VHF and UHF tv antennas on the roof, and a big C-band dish in the back yard... so a 40' Rohn tower wouldn't be too out of place. :p:

Yea I do know about the License expiring. A couple months ago I tried to renew it but there was some odd issue with the renewal website. It shuts down after a certain time in the evenings so I kinda forgot about it. I'll look back into that before time runs out.

I think my main problem though, is that I have way too many hobbies. I just don't think I'd have time for it unless I thinned out a few of my other interests.

Yes, the terrain of ham radio is changing, but so does everything else. I still enjoy it after all these years. I was first licensed in 1977 and work primarily HF DXing. I could go on and on, but I feel that ham radio is far from dead. There are a great many new people coming in and the old timers need to loosen up and let them have at it. We have some youths, 10-12 years old, who get on one of our local repeaters, and though they can be real knuckle heads at times, we just let them go. No harm done. Were we not 12 years old at some point in our lives? There is so much about ham radio that I have not gotten into but would like to such as EME, earth-moon-earth. The new digital modes are a lot of fun as well.

K1XT

I went down to take the technician test and ended up passing all 3 and getting the extra license. have had it a little over a year now and rarely use it. im from the age of cell phones texting and internet and have a hard time making random conversation with strangers.
I do like dx and 10m is my favorite because I grew up with cbs and always wanted to mod the cb to work on 10. the rag chewing prostate conversations are not for me.

ctc17

I've always been a DXer. I have all the entities confirmed along with many deleted countries. I think my total is around 345 confirmed. Ten meters is certainly fun when it's open. It doesn't take much to talk around the world on ten. I once worked 75 countries during a CQWW contest from my car using an 8 foot whip and 90 watts. As for the chit chat, I like to talk on 2/440 with people that I personally know. I also like talking with the Europeans. I have to agree with some of the "rag chewing prostate conversations" you mention.

Great on you having the Extra. You might look at some of the digital modes if you haven't already. They can be rather fascinating. PSK, Olivia, MFSK, etc.

Whats a good set up for someone who is just getting started and getting a tech lic.? I have some radio experience but it is limited. CB and SSB is fun but it does get boring. I've been doing it for years and want to move up. Althought it is fun to have the neighbors television set turn completely black when I key up on SSB, Aparently "Antron" or "Solarcon" 99's are real bad for bleed over. I've heard other people licensed and repairmen say that digtal television is less prone to TVI, Its not. I found out myself the hardway. Somewhere it is analog or the signal just finds its way in. Like the older sets with converter boxes or/and ground breaks in the new sets.

BTW: My Hoffman set is in pieces right now waiting for restoration. Going to college for electronics so that will help with the resto. But not the fact I've moved since then and EXTREAMLY tight on space for it. Still watch my '52 Packard Bell set though. It works great with a new ant. cable and a digital cable box.

The best setup for someone who is getting started in ham radio is one that lets
you listen a lot and (eventually) transmit a little. In other words, listening to
actual ham radio practice will let you learn a lot about the do's and dont's of
transmitting. Possibly the best place to listen is on a local 2-meter or UHF
repeater, especially if you don't have space to set up big HF antennas.
73 de VE2GTP.

...I've got a T-195 that I keep threatenin' to do a little "Piratin'" on...(grin) I DID turn it on once, just no power to the transmittin' tubes...Thing has a Shop-Vac inside of it to keep 'em cool...

Hey just checking in for the first time here... I'm N6MHW. Got my generals back in 1982 and have kept my license active, but haven't had a station in quite some time. Used to have an HF rig with a 40 meter/ 80 meter inverted V (with traps) and quad beam for 20-15 and 10 meters. Briefly toyed with an old Icom 02AT, very nice 2 meter rig. I might just check out that computer hamnet mentioned above... just looking for some encouragement from other hams. My code speed back in the day was 20wpm. I was going for my advanced when I had to move and sell my station.

Ernie,

20wpm is pretty good speed. You should definitely get back into CW.

I have been considering learning to use the code. Attaining a good transmit speed seems daunting enough, but, on top of that, learning all the CW shorthand that is used in DXing makes CW all the more difficult to become proficient. If I were a lot younger, it might be easier to learn.

Ralph
KD8LWF

I just received my tech license here in July after getting fed up with the lack of activity/hash 11 meter band. Call sign is KD0PEZ. Been enjoying making contacts in the immediate area any given day unlike 11 meters where all there is to talk to is truck drivers, and some of them don't want to talk to you. Of course there are those times when skip is rolling but trying to make contacts on 38 LSB was hit or miss.

I have never used any ham equipment. My friends were all Hammies, and they got me going to hamfests. I got into being a vendor at hamfests. I did that for years, selling electronics and computers. There's not much money to be made doing that anymore. Now I go to hamfests as a shopper. I have found many'a prize at hamfests.