oooohSooooNew

[Carl]

do yourself a favor and start doing the practice tests at

qrz​

. they are the same questions that you will be tested on so it wont be a

surprised​

.

 

[stevesm]

When you take the Tech test and finish/hand it in, they will ask you if you want to take the General while they grade everybody's papers. You can take the General test if you want.

Sounds like your Dad used his CB radio callsign...

I passed the tech, no go on the general. No suprise as I concentrated on the tech untill I could gain more knowledge.

As Far as I can figure, you are right about the CB call sign.
I'll study for the general till 06/10 when I can test again. I am still looking into what RIG I might want. I don't want to make the same mistake twice."not researching enough"
Thanks again to everyone. Hopefully talk to someone soon.

 

[W5LZ]

I think you know that using the same radio on both ham and CB is a 'no-no'. So, make up your own mind about that.
If you want a ham radio, get a ham radio. Most ham radios made in the last 20 years can be 'opened up' for use on other than ham bands. NOT that anyone would ever do that of course. That $400 would get you a very nice used ham radio. Nothing wrong with used, just take the usual care that you would in buying anything used. There are just way too many other things that can be done with a General class license than you'll ever do with a CB radio. Don't limit your self.
- 'Doc

 

[jazzsinger]

I think you know that using the same radio on both ham and CB is a 'no-no'.

that would explain how so many cobra 148 gtl dx mk2's ended up converted to 10m.dollar for dollar if you can find/name a hf radio capable of outperforming a tuned 148 gtl dx on 10m i'll be very impressed.

the 148 gtl dx is still being copied/cloned nearly 3 decades after it was originally designed,i doubt very much you could claim that about any hf set,a true testament to the technical ability of the original uniden r+d dept that designed it.

as for limiting yourself by not only using cb,sounds a tad anti cb,cb has served many people well for the best part of 5 decades and is generally free of the egotistical (know it all/know f@ck all) nuggets so prevalent on the amteur bands that make many peoples lifes a misery,especially new hams.

not everyone wants to play talk 1/2 a mile on 2m walkie talkies or sit back and let their computer do their qso's for them digitally because they are so boring they have nothing interesting or factual to say.

sure ham radio has its place (albeit it has lost the plot in the technical side with the dumbing down of the tests to try to resurrect a hobby that was quite frankly dying on its @rse),but its far from the be all and end all of hobby radio communications.at least 70% of all hams cut their teeth on cb,so to knock it seems a tad hypocritical,i for one will never forget my roots.

as for snobbery of which radio you are using,i think you'll find that comes down to ego and has nothing to do with the particular merits of any radio,anyone coming out with statements like that most probably knows f@ck all about radio anyway and are best ignored,if they did know anything about radio they would know whats important is the antenna system/transmission line you use and not the radio,the difference between the performance of most radios is marginal and is purely down to personal taste,whereas the differences between antenna systems vary greatly.

 

[W5LZ]

jazzsinger,
I agree, a 148 is a nice AM radio. Aside from that one mode, and 10 meter use, it isn't really all that useful. It certainly isn't capable of the usual 10 other bands that 'ham' radios do. That's where the 'limiting' part comes in, not to mention all the other modes besides AM/FM/SSB that using a ham radio makes possible. Don't want to do those modes? Fine, don't. But the possibility is till there, where it's just not with a typical CB radio.
'Anti-CB'? Not really. But you gotta admit that warning about 'no-no's isn't a bad idea, keeps people from having unintentional problems. Having a license in your pocket really does have some benefits. If CB serves your purpose, great, knock your self out with it! But there are things it doesn't do well, or offer. So why limit your self in that regard? A ham that didn't start with CB radio is sort of unusual in this day and age. They are not the same, so why worry about it.
I also agree that ham radio is going through the same 'dumbing down' process that a lot of other things in this country are going through. I'm not thrilled with that, and quite frankly, I don't think everybody ought to have a license. Just like everybody shouldn't have a drivers license. Everyone may be created 'equal', but that's where the 'equalness' ends. After that it's a matter of what they think is worth working to get or be, and then working toward that goal. What's wrong with that?
'Snobbery'. I honestly don't care what radio you have/use, and as long as it works well in the circumstances it's used in, I couldn't care less about what people think about mine. The reason I keep any particular radio is that I like it, it does things reasonably well, and I can afford it. I like Ford cars and Chevy/GMC trucks too. So what?
My post wasn't a 'put-down', please don't think it was. Thinking that one is less limiting than the other isn't 'snobbery', it's being realistic, cuz it's true.
- 'Doc

 

[jazzsinger]

jazzsinger,
I agree, a 148 is a nice AM radio. Aside from that one mode, and 10 meter use, it isn't really all that useful. It certainly isn't capable of the usual 10 other bands that 'ham' radios do.

A nice AM radio the 148 gtl dx may well be,but its on SSB that it really ticks,hence the reason it is legendary amongst dx'ers the world over,also in its other guises as a superstar 360 fm etc.its no slouch on FM either which makes it very very popular in europe.

it may not be capable of other bands straight out the box,but if you had the know how you could convert it for many of those 10 bands,being a monoband radio though it will never do them all simultaeously like most hf rigs,but then it doesn't trade off performance for bandwidth like most of them do,incidentally it also does CW as well,which makes it flexable for ham use,its selectivity is superb and its sensitivity is above average for multimode radios.

it isn't really all that useful? you might want to explain that to the thousands of users both amateur and cb'er who would never part with it and who use it daily.

as for the other modes,like i said before,radio is about talking,if you want to let your computer do the talking for you,you might find broadband or a mobile phone a far better way of communicating than any hf radio,certainly they are far more reliable.

why shouldn't people use high quality cb's on 10m? if thats a no no then that is snobbery,especially as many of them perform better on 10m (as those in the know are well aware of) than wideband hf radios which are generally deaf by comparison and lack selectivity,unless very pricey after sale optional filters are added,because the ones supplied suck.

 

[AudioShockwav]

why shouldn't people use high quality cb's on 10m?

No Reason not to, back in 1995 after my upgrade to General i often used my old 148 on ten meters.
It worked very well, i never got a negitive comment from anyone and was told many time`s it sounded very good.
It used to be a very common pratice to convert old SSB cb`s for ten.
Here in the US the Hobby has changed a bit, we see new guys comming into the hobby that want a FT 1000 or a new All mode/all Band Kenwooh or ICON ( Sorry for the typo`s real radios say Yaesu on them ) but many moons ago it really was about roll yer own.
One of the cooest things about Ham radio is the fact that you can do that.....

73
Jeff

 

[mechanic]

can I go directly to the General test or do I have to go tech and then general to get my license?


BTW my dad( in the 70's) always ended a conversation with "this is KAFX7515 on the side" Funny how the call signs have changed through the years.

You have to take the test in the order of your license class, if you are just starting, then you need to take the Tech then the General then the Extra. The three are taken in order and must be planned ahead at the VE's test session. You will pay only one fee that session for any or all tests and you can repeat the test if you fail if there is time. I have yet to take the Extra!
Best study is the practice tests on QRZ. You will learn by rote or repetition and it works! And you will need to use some of it down the "road" as you operate, build antennas and rigs.

mechanic aka KB8DNS

 

[RickC.]

Right. I messed around and let my license lapse and didn't realize it until the renewal period was past (I was not on the air during that time), and took all elements in one sitting, including the code. It was my own fault I had to do that, but you take them in order.

PSK-31 didn't even exist when I'd taken my last amateur exam (1979), and I had some things to catch up on. The biggest change that I noticed was all the RF exposure stuff.

Good luck-- you seem motivated, that's all you need. You'll do fine.


Rick

 

[mechanic]

Just to start a Flame!! op:

AM is a mode that can be used on ten meter.... just not on the novice / technician part of the band. And if you define AM with scrutiny, CW is a basic form of AM with out the modulation!
Keying a rig in AM mode without modulation will yield CW! It might be a bit wide but no modulation will keep the side bands to a minimum or just a spike on the spectrum analyzer....

mechanic

 

[hookedon6]

you can't get there from here

... its illegal for liscensed hams to talk to unliscensed operators on ham frequencys except to tell them its illegal to talk without a liscense ....

huh......... i'm still trying to figure this one out