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Newbie ?

dx31353 said:
I don't understand all this ham nonsense. I just wanna talk on the radio.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Amateur Radio involves Science, Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry, Geography, the use of languages including English, some knowledge is required about the construction of efficient antenna's, phase relationships, VSWR, how a transmitter works, harmonic's, more complex things like how to do a field evaluation - survey of your signal when you use more then the minimum amount of power allowed - most bands it is 100 watts.
The rules - since you would have anarchy without the rules.

Since you are dealing with lethal amounts of power, you need at least a basic understanding of grounds, how feed lines works, and even the most basic precepts like which wire is ground and which wire is hot - even if it is only 13.7 DC..

A local ham died, his equipment was still in his room. His family found his equipment, one radio looked a lot like a scanner, it was a Two Meter Mobile.
They did not understand voltage and they wanted to try it out, so they connected it's power leads to an extension cord and plugged it into the 120 VAC. It made a pop noise and that was the end of the radio.

A friend of mine needed a donor radio because his display went dead.
The display in the donor radio still worked.

Had the owner not plugged it into the wall socket, it would have been worth several hundred dollars, after their mistake, they were glad to get $40 for it!

I loved CB radio when I was a kid, there wasn't a lot to learn.
Put up a antenna, cut it for resonance, hook up some power and talk.

I wish that when I got my license I would have been able to find one real ham that I could have used as an Elmer that could have told me which radios to buy, for what I wanted to use them for.

Had I had an Elmer, I wouldn't have bought a Yaesu FT 8900R, I would have bought something that would do Single Side Band, then I could have enjoyed some of what the other forum members spoke about - playing side band, which would be a lot more enjoyable then playing CB on the FM with the repeaters.

Other then the occasional rag chew on FM, and the weekly nets, there isn't a lot that you can do with a FM radio anymore ..
Nobody here does packet, not that there is a lot of need for it.
I don't believe that APRS was invented so people could track their vehicles.
There isn't anyone here to show me how to work Satellites.

I actually feel cheated when I hang out with nice people like you, even though we aren't on the radio.


 
Captain Kilowatt said:
We get it. You do not like the Chinese radios. you have made that pretty clear in several of your posts. The above post by Browningman was not "funny". Would it have been just as "funny" if he used the word "Kenwood" instead of Baofung?

While I am not real keen myself on buying a Chinese HT I can see the reason people do. As far as ruggedness goes they may be far less rugged but then again a Kenwood (or Yaesu or Icom) is Japanese junk compared to a Motorola or old Pace Landmaster series HT's when it comes to durability. As far as usefulness on the air the Chinese radios are no different. If one breaks you are out +/-$50. My Kenwood battery pack costs more than that. Some of these Chinese "junk" radios actually meet standards for commercial use and are actually approved by the FCC for such service. Yes China is not know for quality but to simply label everything as "Chinese junk radios" is a little over the top.
Click to expand...

It saddens my heart Captain Kilowatt that you did not like or appreciate my post.
Being a HAM and a CB'r yourself, I think you could appreciate the direction I was going in and I am sorry that you didn't get it.
Thinking back to my CB radio days, I would have to wonder how many contacts I could have made, had the only radio I owned been nothing but a handheld radio..
I don't think I could have made more then 5 contacts in a lifetime.
I hold amateur radio in the highest regards and I think that if a person wants to be a real ham that they would pony up the bucks and buy a real radio and put up a real antenna and be of some use to others - more then just wanting to squawk on the local FM repeaters.

Without a linked repeater system in my area, there would be nothing to do - had my only radio been a two meter FM handheld.
Even just a 50 watt mobile, which was as much radio as I could afford when I first got into the hobby, and a old Commercial low band VHF scanner antenna, was enough to get me into the repeaters as much as 65 miles away - on a daily basis. Several times I heard unusual repeaters that with the help of the Internet, I was able to decipher their call signs, look up their PL and get into the repeaters.

One repeater was especially special to me because it was in Florida - 800 miles away.. Another was a School Round Up station in Tennessee - about 500 miles away, and another was a repeater in North Carolina - about 400 miles away.. Had it not been for the 50 watts and the internet, I never would have heard those repeaters or been able to get into them.

Two summers ago when Two Meters opened up, I was able to participate in the Trivia Net on a repeater near Sandusky Ohio - 120 miles away.
Fortunately the local repeater owner allowed me to shut off his repeater while I worked the more distant repeater.

I since have been appointed the trustee of two amateur radio repeaters and I belong to the local repeater council and I do consultation work for those wishing to have their repeater coordinated. I just happened to have the software to do the surveys for the signals and I just happened to be the only person in the group that knew how to use the software and had a tower construction background that allowed me to understand things like Engineering reports and soil analysis.
Although I hear it all the time that a new ham will say that all they can afford is a handheld radio, I also see them with the latest and greatest cell phones and a data plan that would make an astronaut jealous.
Had they spent the money on a ham radio, it would be a one time investment instead of a waste of money - like the handheld radio in my part of the world.

I guess if a person lived in a city and had a target rich environment of repeaters it wouldn't matter what kind of radio they owned.
Very few hams that only buys a handheld radio ever amounts to much later in their radio career when it comes time to buy a HF radio - because they have the mindset that they don't need to do much or buy much as long as they stay on the Two Meters FM with their handhelds.

It becomes an excuse for them not to upgrade or to do anything or learn anything.
I have tried loaning radios and antenna's to those people, but they won't even buy a stupid piece of coax to get on the air.
You can only hold someones hand for so long before you have to give up on them and just let them do what they want to do.
The clubs are full of these hams with a hamshack on a belt.

Other then an activity that allows them to play walkie talkie - like a parade or a marathon or bike race, I can't seem to get them to do anything, even study for the General exam...

The funniest part is that our county's EC (Emergency Coordinator) doesn't even own a mobile UHF / VHF radio or a antenna or a HF radio.
He can't participate in the HF nets, and if there is a emergency, he has to run to the EOC ( Emergency Operations Center ) to get on the air.
When his shift starts as a police dispatcher, he has to leave the EOC to go to work at the police station and then our county is left without a Emergency Coordinator.
The EOC doesn't have a HF radio either....
It's a messed up world.....
 
Browningman said:


Amateur Radio involves Science, Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry, Geography, the use of languages including English, some knowledge is required about the construction of efficient antenna's, phase relationships, VSWR, how a transmitter works, harmonic's, more complex things like how to do a field evaluation - survey of your signal when you use more then the minimum amount of power allowed - most bands it is 100 watts.
The rules - since you would have anarchy without the rules.

Since you are dealing with lethal amounts of power, you need at least a basic understanding of grounds, how feed lines works, and even the most basic precepts like which wire is ground and which wire is hot - even if it is only 13.7 DC..

A local ham died, his equipment was still in his room. His family found his equipment, one radio looked a lot like a scanner, it was a Two Meter Mobile.
They did not understand voltage and they wanted to try it out, so they connected it's power leads to an extension cord and plugged it into the 120 VAC. It made a pop noise and that was the end of the radio.

A friend of mine needed a donor radio because his display went dead.
The display in the donor radio still worked.

Had the owner not plugged it into the wall socket, it would have been worth several hundred dollars, after their mistake, they were glad to get $40 for it!

I loved CB radio when I was a kid, there wasn't a lot to learn.
Put up a antenna, cut it for resonance, hook up some power and talk.

I wish that when I got my license I would have been able to find one real ham that I could have used as an Elmer that could have told me which radios to buy, for what I wanted to use them for.

Had I had an Elmer, I wouldn't have bought a Yaesu FT 8900R, I would have bought something that would do Single Side Band, then I could have enjoyed some of what the other forum members spoke about - playing side band, which would be a lot more enjoyable then playing CB on the FM with the repeaters.

Other then the occasional rag chew on FM, and the weekly nets, there isn't a lot that you can do with a FM radio anymore ..
Nobody here does packet, not that there is a lot of need for it.
I don't believe that APRS was invented so people could track their vehicles.
There isn't anyone here to show me how to work Satellites.

I actually feel cheated when I hang out with nice people like you, even though we aren't on the radio.
Click to expand...


Some satellites work with fm and our good old space station..I did get a chance to talk to them using nothing more then a tape measure yagi and a ft 60r ht.

Depends on the satellite your trying to hit to which mode or communication you use..several free tracking programs for said satellites.

Most operate with an uplink and down link frequency "much like a repeater" but a different antenna design is used if you don't want to aim your antenna as it passes. "My favorite is the 4 45 degree dipoles phased .crossed polarization ..no aiming needed "several plans on internet".

Moon bounce and meteor are ssb and require yet another highly focus antenna ..again several plans on Internet .

Enjoy the hobby
73
 
Dutchman11 said:
I passed my Tech exam tonight and was wandering how long it takes before you see your call sign in the fcc data base. Can't wait.
Click to expand...

IIRC, it was about ten days or so before mine showed up in the database. I received the snail-mail version a few days later.
 
m42duster said:
They should let a guy key up as soon as he/she passes the test. I don't see the big deal, just use some kind of temporary call sign or something until you actual ticket comes.
Click to expand...

Well, if they had the means to instantly assign someone a "temporary" callsign upon taking the test then, theoretically, they would also have the means to instantly assign you your "permanent" one as well, correct?

The point I'm trying to make is that if they had the ability to do one, they'd have the ability to do the other, making this entire conversation moot, no? ;)
 
Browningman said:
It saddens my heart Captain Kilowatt that you did not like or appreciate my post.
Being a HAM and a CB'r yourself, I think you could appreciate the direction I was going in and I am sorry that you didn't get it.
Thinking back to my CB radio days, I would have to wonder how many contacts I could have made, had the only radio I owned been nothing but a handheld radio..
I don't think I could have made more then 5 contacts in a lifetime.
I hold amateur radio in the highest regards and I think that if a person wants to be a real ham that they would pony up the bucks and buy a real radio and put up a real antenna and be of some use to others - more then just wanting to squawk on the local FM repeaters.

Without a linked repeater system in my area, there would be nothing to do - had my only radio been a two meter FM handheld.
Even just a 50 watt mobile, which was as much radio as I could afford when I first got into the hobby, and a old Commercial low band VHF scanner antenna, was enough to get me into the repeaters as much as 65 miles away - on a daily basis. Several times I heard unusual repeaters that with the help of the Internet, I was able to decipher their call signs, look up their PL and get into the repeaters.

One repeater was especially special to me because it was in Florida - 800 miles away.. Another was a School Round Up station in Tennessee - about 500 miles away, and another was a repeater in North Carolina - about 400 miles away.. Had it not been for the 50 watts and the internet, I never would have heard those repeaters or been able to get into them.

Two summers ago when Two Meters opened up, I was able to participate in the Trivia Net on a repeater near Sandusky Ohio - 120 miles away.
Fortunately the local repeater owner allowed me to shut off his repeater while I worked the more distant repeater.

I since have been appointed the trustee of two amateur radio repeaters and I belong to the local repeater council and I do consultation work for those wishing to have their repeater coordinated. I just happened to have the software to do the surveys for the signals and I just happened to be the only person in the group that knew how to use the software and had a tower construction background that allowed me to understand things like Engineering reports and soil analysis.
Although I hear it all the time that a new ham will say that all they can afford is a handheld radio, I also see them with the latest and greatest cell phones and a data plan that would make an astronaut jealous.
Had they spent the money on a ham radio, it would be a one time investment instead of a waste of money - like the handheld radio in my part of the world.

I guess if a person lived in a city and had a target rich environment of repeaters it wouldn't matter what kind of radio they owned.
Very few hams that only buys a handheld radio ever amounts to much later in their radio career when it comes time to buy a HF radio - because they have the mindset that they don't need to do much or buy much as long as they stay on the Two Meters FM with their handhelds.

It becomes an excuse for them not to upgrade or to do anything or learn anything.
I have tried loaning radios and antenna's to those people, but they won't even buy a stupid piece of coax to get on the air.
You can only hold someones hand for so long before you have to give up on them and just let them do what they want to do.
The clubs are full of these hams with a hamshack on a belt.

Other then an activity that allows them to play walkie talkie - like a parade or a marathon or bike race, I can't seem to get them to do anything, even study for the General exam...

The funniest part is that our county's EC (Emergency Coordinator) doesn't even own a mobile UHF / VHF radio or a antenna or a HF radio.
He can't participate in the HF nets, and if there is a emergency, he has to run to the EOC ( Emergency Operations Center ) to get on the air.
When his shift starts as a police dispatcher, he has to leave the EOC to go to work at the police station and then our county is left without a Emergency Coordinator.
The EOC doesn't have a HF radio either....
It's a messed up world.....
Click to expand...


Well first of all I was replying to KW4HKY as I thought he was poking fun at you and your post however apparently I was mistaken as to the context in which you made that post. I thought you were defending the HT user and saying there is nothng wrong with the Chinese radios. Guess I was wrong. I DO agree that amateur radio has a LOT more to offer than simply yakking on an HT however this thread was not about that it was about the quality and appeal of the Chinese radios hence my confusion as to what you were really trying to say. Truthfully I deplore someone getting an HT and then dropping oit of amateur radio because it just did not suit them. They didn't even scratch the surface of what is available however there is nothing wrong with getting an HT to start with as long as you check out wbat HF has to offer before deciding that amateur radio is not for you.

BTW just for the record I am indeed a ham of 25 years tbis year but I haven't been a CBer for pretty much the same amount of time.
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
Well first of all I was replying to KW4HKY as I thought he was poking fun at you and your post however apparently I was mistaken as to the context in which you made that post. I thought you were defending the HT user and saying there is nothng wrong with the Chinese radios. Guess I was wrong. I DO agree that amateur radio has a LOT more to offer than simply yakking on an HT however this thread was not about that it was about the quality and appeal of the Chinese radios hence my confusion as to what you were really trying to say. Truthfully I deplore someone getting an HT and then dropping oit of amateur radio because it just did not suit them. They didn't even scratch the surface of what is available however there is nothing wrong with getting an HT to start with as long as you check out wbat HF has to offer before deciding that amateur radio is not for you.

BTW just for the record I am indeed a ham of 25 years tbis year but I haven't been a CBer for pretty much the same amount of time.
Click to expand...

I guess that's a struggle for all Ham organizations... I know my local club does. And I can't remember what percentage of newbies they told me never even get on the air. I let my Novice ticket expire when I was a kid, simply because other things took priority over ham radio, I didn't really care for CW, I could just get on the CB and talk all over the US, and a ham rig was out of my reach price wise (or so I thought). One of the guys that got his Tech ticket the same time I did has only been on the air about 3 times. The other fella I know has not ever gotten on the air... a ham friend of his poo-poo'd Chinese HT's, so he wasn't interested in borrowing one of mine to get on the air.

I am constantly telling these guys how much fun HF is, and showing them eQSL's that I have received just to pique their interest. Fortunately, one fella of the two is taking General course right now with me, and I plan on helping him get on HF once we get our General tickets.

73,
Brett
 
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