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Ham...

W

Whiplash-265

Active Member
Aug 14, 2011
280
17
28
59
Ontario, Canada
mini-RANT

nothing against the users at all...would love to get up into the frequencies myself. I guess my issue is with "the system".

Basic (which i believe is the same as "tech" in the US) you need to learn electrical. K, i can understand knowing the difference between AC and DC and the basic principals...but what the hell do you need to know about resistors, caps, etc etc for when you're not allowed to build your own transceiver? Antennas, sure teach me...coax, sure teach me...etiquette, qs, frequencies and anything else having to do with the respectful operation of a radio....sure teach me. But make me learn about something electrically beyond the on/off switch that i'm, according to your description of the basic certificate not supposed to mess with is imo kinda ridiculous

it's like having to learn about air brakes to drive a car....but do you? no. you learn about road signs and speed limits and how to share the road with other drivers.
You don't have to stick your finger into a light socket to know it's a bad thing. It'll hurt like a bitch and could kill you. Really, what more do you need to know :)

Tech (which i believe is the US "general" classification) you're allowed to build your own rig...hell build a 2k kicker to go in there too, it's all good :)
Here i can see having to have a much more advanced knowledge of the workings of a radio and the dangers once you pull off the covers.

Basic ham to me should be like free-band (or how it was in the day...old skool free-banders would know what i mean). A solid understanding of protocol, consideration and a desire to conduct a respectful and clean qso.

I've been on brain overload for months, this hasn't been a good year. Guess it pisses me off some that I have to learn a bunch of stuff that I really won't ever need to know. I make some good cash...what ever radio I want I'll buy...the only thing i'll ever need to do is open it up to access no-man's land, and hell even that i can pay someone to do. Do I need to know about picofarads and how to convert them to .0000000xxxxxxx farad?

RANT done, back to the book that i'll only ever have a need for once :headbang
 

I guess no matter how easy they make the test someone will complain about it being too hard. Pardon me for saying so but you are sooooooo lucky to have the test you do have. I could go on about how the test was when I took it, had to walk uphill thru ass deep snow, both ways, to get to a Dept. of Communications office to take the 2 hour exam involving multiple choice, and written paragraphs, as well as schematic diagram knowledge and get 100% on the Morse test just to be able to operate CW on 15,20,40, and 80m and phone on 10m and 160m but I won't go into that. :whistle:

You said you "can understand knowing the difference between AC and DC and the basic principals...but what the hell do you need to know about resistors, caps, etc etc for when you're not allowed to build your own transceiver?"

Well the basic principles of electricity involves Ohms Law at the very basic level and that itself requires knowledge of resistors and capacitors. Besides, if you pass it now you will only have 35 more multiple guess questions to upgrade to advanced.Also understanding resistance and reactance will also help you to better understand transmissions line and antenna fundamentals and I would assume you do want to use an antenna don't you? :D

I get the feeling you want to be one of those operators that has no clue whatsoever about the equipment he is running and doesn't care if he ever does as long as there is someone else around to bail him out of trouble.No offense intended BTW. that's just my feeling. I have seen it a million times; an advanced ham asking how long to make a 20m dipole or why his multimeter reads a dead short on an antenna when it is supposed to be a 50 ohm impedance. Ham radio has ALWAYS been a technical hobby and to a very small extent it still is so lets not throw the last bit of it away.
 
I cant comment on the differences in the test questions, between the US, and Canada, but even here, this was a few questions on caps, resistors, etc. I dont have any intentions of doing any major circuit board work, but, if I wanted to pass the test, I had to study up. It wasnt that hard to learn the symbols for a capacitor, resistor, diode, etc, and memorizing what they do. Just learn them to pass the test, and forget them if you arent going to use that stuff. I was able to get my wife up to snuff within a week's time to pass her tech test, so its only as hard as you make it out to be, here in the states at least. Your test could be alot worse though. Even the extras who were the VE's, said the extra exam had tons of useless stuff on it, that is of little practical use, but if you want to pass, you got to memorize the stuff, and take it while its fresh.
 
Streetglideok said:
I cant comment on the differences in the test questions, between the US, and Canada, but even here, this was a few questions on caps, resistors, etc. I dont have any intentions of doing any major circuit board work, but, if I wanted to pass the test, I had to study up. It wasnt that hard to learn the symbols for a capacitor, resistor, diode, etc, and memorizing what they do. Just learn them to pass the test, and forget them if you arent going to use that stuff. I was able to get my wife up to snuff within a week's time to pass her tech test, so its only as hard as you make it out to be, here in the states at least. Your test could be alot worse though. Even the extras who were the VE's, said the extra exam had tons of useless stuff on it, that is of little practical use, but if you want to pass, you got to memorize the stuff, and take it while its fresh.
Click to expand...

Well Said. But,, what if,,one actually studied it, learned it, and then knew how to apply it?

I can not even count how many times I heave listened to QSO's on the ham bands about "licensed" amateurs discussing the wire antenna they purchased.
They pased the test exam, but failed to apply the knowledge.

A real HAM would have rolled their own as "real" hammies are cheap.
 
wavrider said:
Well Said. But,, what if,,one actually studied it, learned it, and then knew how to apply it?

I can not even count how many times I heave listened to QSO's on the ham bands about "licensed" amateurs discussing the wire antenna they purchased.
They pased the test exam, but failed to apply the knowledge.

A real HAM would have rolled their own as "real" hammies are cheap.
Click to expand...

AGREED!! Today all people want to do is memorize something for a day, pass a test, and then forget everything. Whatever happened to learning something? As for the OP's beef with learning about resistors, what if he wanted to connect the radio to his computer and had no idea how to adjust the high audio level out of the computer low enough so as to not overload the input to the radio? I suppose he could get one of us old [slash]bastards[/slash] buzzards to wire up a patch cord with a built-in audio pad for him or he could go and spend an extra $100 for a little box that is already made for him.I see people all the time spending up to $200 or more for an interface so they can run SSTV or PSK. I made mine from two pieces of shielded wire and four connectors.The PTT line required another piece of wire, two resistors and a transistor, and the proper connectors. Total cost: $20 if it was all bought new and it does the exact same thing. I put the other $180 into my antennas. (y)
 
Alot of the test content I retained, as I can put some of it to some use with the work I do. My wife, its all but useless to her. It would be useful as Capt KW said, to know at least ohms law, etc. Knowing how many amps something uses, when all you have is amps and volts can be helpful, and making an antenna, whether to be cheap, or in case of an emergency, is something that could be put to good use.
 
Streetglideok said:
Alot of the test content I retained, as I can put some of it to some use with the work I do. My wife, its all but useless to her. It would be useful as Capt KW said, to know at least ohms law, etc. Knowing how many amps something uses, when all you have is amps and volts can be helpful, and making an antenna, whether to be cheap, or in case of an emergency, is something that could be put to good use.
Click to expand...

You can't cover everything in one test ....
 
wa4gch said:
Could you send me a copy of a rule in Canada making building your own illegal :unsure:
Click to expand...


You calling me a liar? :D I'll have to look the RIC number and get back to you. Basically a Canadian ham that has only the basic ticket cannot build their own radio gear nor run any more than 560 (?) watts. You have to read the Canadian regulations.

Found it. Section 1.4 straight from Industry Canada.

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf01008.html
 
Basic Qualification:
  • access all amateur bands above 30 MHz
  • use a maximum of 250 watts DC transmitter input power
  • build 1 and operate all station equipment, except for "home-made" transmitters
Basic with honours (80% or above score) - access to all amateur bands below 30 MHz

Footnote
1. "Build" in the context of the Basic Certificate is limited to the assembly of commercially available transmitter kits of professional design.


Still that in it's own merit CK...would open the door for many to learn much more than they ever dreamed or thought they could...

Kit building sure was an Eye (I) opening experience for me...
Not to mention working up to a Harris/pair of 4CPX100K's...modulated by a pair....damn that is a beautiful "little" xmiter(y)
All the Best OM
73 ..
BJ
 
BJ radionut said:
Basic Qualification:
  • access all amateur bands above 30 MHz
  • use a maximum of 250 watts DC transmitter input power
  • build 1 and operate all station equipment, except for "home-made" transmitters
Basic with honours (80% or above score) - access to all amateur bands below 30 MHz

Footnote
1. "Build" in the context of the Basic Certificate is limited to the assembly of commercially available transmitter kits of professional design.

Still that in it's own merit CK...would open the door for many to learn much more than they ever dreamed or thought they could...

Kit building sure was an Eye (I) opening experience for me...
Not to mention working up to a Harris/pair of 4CPX100K's...modulated by a pair....damn that is a beautiful "little" xmiter(y)
All the Best OM
73 ..
BJ
Click to expand...


True but in that context one is merely assembling a kit and not really building something. Building something from scratch requires an actual working knowledge of various components. In the case of kits, someone else with all that knowledge and experience has done all the design and merely put all the parts in a box along with instructions telling you what goes where but not why it goes there.
 
Captain Kilowatt said:
True but in that context one is merely assembling a kit and not really building something. Building something from scratch requires an actual working knowledge of various components. In the case of kits, someone else with all that knowledge and experience has done all the design and merely put all the parts in a box along with instructions telling you what goes where but not why it goes there.
Click to expand...

Now that hair got split super thin (y)
 

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