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What is keeping you from going ham?
- Thread starter Moleculo
- Start date
I just got my ticket a couple months ago. I use to talk on 11 meter freeband for 15 years, and said I would never conform. I always loved to dx on ssb. I only did the AM local deal in my younger days (not too much local action left). I would mess around on QRZ taking practice tests, and found that I knew most of the answers already from listening to the HF bands,listening on my scanner, and what I knew about radio from being cb'er. I always heard you had to know code to be a general. When I recently found out they got rid of the code I decided to take the tests, more for myself than anything. I figuired, If I hate being a ham I can always go back to 11 meters, but that wasn't the case. I'm enjoying it a ton. It's like a breath of fresh air on an old hobby. The tests are not hard. The tech test gave me more trouble that the general. Got them both the first shot
. Hope this will get a few 11 meter guys who are on the fence to take a shot at their ticket. Do it for yourself, you can always go back to 11 meters. Most of the people I have met so far on 10 meters remind me of most of the guys I used to talk to on 11 freeband, just a bunch of guys that like radio. (I'm ready for a big flame now, LOL.) I'm having such a blast that I haven't got on 11 meters since. Only at work because I'm a truck driver.
. Hope this will get a few 11 meter guys who are on the fence to take a shot at their ticket. Do it for yourself, you can always go back to 11 meters. Most of the people I have met so far on 10 meters remind me of most of the guys I used to talk to on 11 freeband, just a bunch of guys that like radio. (I'm ready for a big flame now, LOL.) I'm having such a blast that I haven't got on 11 meters since. Only at work because I'm a truck driver.
I hadn't even touched a CB in fifteen years. Got interested in storm chasing a few years back. The Emergency Mgr from my county in IA asked me to be the 'unofficial spotter' (which means that I am a volunteer - w/o pay) - since I had a laptop and the GR3 weather software and knew how to use it. Before the end of last year, he asked me if I was a Ham; I said no. He said, "We need you Rob; but you MUST get your Ham ticket so that we can network on the radio when emergencies arise". Which amounts to being booted out of a volunteer service - just because I wasn't a Ham. So, I accepted that challenge...
So - for the past year I've had to cram a lot of info - from this site too. QRZ's practice exams - ad naseum. I crammed my Tech ticket for a week - two hours a night for a whole week- and took the test and passed with a 100%. Then I crammed once again for the General exam - even though I didn't need it - but I did it to learn more about radio. Same method - crammed fro a week and passed with a 97%.
I also have a bunch of CB's - as well as learning to fix and modify them - all in the effort to learn more.
Have I arrived? Absolutely not. If I did - it wouldn't be that interesting.
Did it satisfy the requirements for the Emergency Mgr? Yes - and then some.
Was the test easy? Absolutely not.
Keep in mind, that I had a mediocre knowledge level of radio to begin with - nothing more than CB's fifteen years ago. Fifteen minutes a night studying to pass the Tech exam WON'T do. Get yourself an education by spending some real effort and ace that test - because if you are going to continue into General and Extra - you must resolve to accept/apply good study habits. You aren't trying to out-do the guy next to you; you are trying to out-do yourself. So - push your limits - and learn radio.
I can say one thing for certain; I had to do it all by myself. No Elmer helped me out. There just aren't enough Elmer's to go around, so you will need to study that much harder. If you have an Elmer, that is great! If not - don't let it stop you either...
) - since I had a laptop and the GR3 weather software and knew how to use it. Before the end of last year, he asked me if I was a Ham; I said no. He said, "We need you Rob; but you MUST get your Ham ticket so that we can network on the radio when emergencies arise". Which amounts to being booted out of a volunteer service - just because I wasn't a Ham. So, I accepted that challenge...So - for the past year I've had to cram a lot of info - from this site too. QRZ's practice exams - ad naseum. I crammed my Tech ticket for a week - two hours a night for a whole week- and took the test and passed with a 100%. Then I crammed once again for the General exam - even though I didn't need it - but I did it to learn more about radio. Same method - crammed fro a week and passed with a 97%.
I also have a bunch of CB's - as well as learning to fix and modify them - all in the effort to learn more.
Have I arrived? Absolutely not. If I did - it wouldn't be that interesting.
Did it satisfy the requirements for the Emergency Mgr? Yes - and then some.
Was the test easy? Absolutely not.
Keep in mind, that I had a mediocre knowledge level of radio to begin with - nothing more than CB's fifteen years ago. Fifteen minutes a night studying to pass the Tech exam WON'T do. Get yourself an education by spending some real effort and ace that test - because if you are going to continue into General and Extra - you must resolve to accept/apply good study habits. You aren't trying to out-do the guy next to you; you are trying to out-do yourself. So - push your limits - and learn radio.
I can say one thing for certain; I had to do it all by myself. No Elmer helped me out. There just aren't enough Elmer's to go around, so you will need to study that much harder. If you have an Elmer, that is great! If not - don't let it stop you either...
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I agree about this
This pertains to my answer later on down
Up until they dropped the morris
Up until they dropped the morris
Aw shucks morris
I do both CB & ham
Morse Code, I feel is very important to learn, who knows, someday it code be our only means of distant communications, or local comm for that matter.
No comment there.
I've been a Cb'er for a long time. I learned code from my father when I was young. The whole thing about being a HAM to me is giving up the cb'er ways (power, echo, noise toys, and on and on). I do run power when the skip is in, and yes I know, get a bigger beam and you won't have to run all that power.
What gets me is you have all these guys going to HAM, yet they still come down into 11 meter and still run their power thinking it's okay because their a HAM, AND BRAG about it.
To me, these HAMS doing this seems more illegal than a cb'er doing it. The HAMS take a test and sign a paper and are suppose to abide by the rules they agreed on.
Someday when I outgrow the skip/dxing on 11 meter, I will go get my ticket, and when I do I will abide by the rules they set forth.
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I'm a Ham. .General Class, Vanity call.. blah, blah, blah...
I got my ticket in 2000, upgraded the day after they dropped the code requirement...
I am active on 11 meters as well.
I decided the biggest thing i like about the entire radio hobby is playing with audio. On the ham bands, I run ESSB... I'd run AM, but if you don't have a retired AM Broadcast Transmitter (Detuned to legal limit YEAH RIGHT!), you are a Piss-Weaker...
I played on 75 meters for a while, but only having 100 watts doesn't net you many contacts... so my main band is 10 meters... and I only talk to another guy 20 miles from me.. I'm running 4kHz wide Audio and he runs 6 kHz wide.. On SSB
On 11 meters, I run ESSB and AM.. and I mod my radios for Audio fidelity... and there is more people to talk to local...
I was a member of the ARRL, until they fought against lifting the 155 mile contact restriction on 11 meters.. that pretty much summed it up for me that the ARRL is only for paying, licensed Amatuer Radio Operators...
So I play on both... my radio in the truck is capable on 10 and 11 meters as well.. it just depends on the mood I'm in....
But Ham ops that talk down on 11 Meters ops really get my goat... :angry:
I got my ticket in 2000, upgraded the day after they dropped the code requirement...
I am active on 11 meters as well.
I decided the biggest thing i like about the entire radio hobby is playing with audio. On the ham bands, I run ESSB... I'd run AM, but if you don't have a retired AM Broadcast Transmitter (Detuned to legal limit YEAH RIGHT!), you are a Piss-Weaker...
I played on 75 meters for a while, but only having 100 watts doesn't net you many contacts... so my main band is 10 meters... and I only talk to another guy 20 miles from me.. I'm running 4kHz wide Audio and he runs 6 kHz wide.. On SSB
On 11 meters, I run ESSB and AM.. and I mod my radios for Audio fidelity... and there is more people to talk to local...
I was a member of the ARRL, until they fought against lifting the 155 mile contact restriction on 11 meters.. that pretty much summed it up for me that the ARRL is only for paying, licensed Amatuer Radio Operators...
So I play on both... my radio in the truck is capable on 10 and 11 meters as well.. it just depends on the mood I'm in....
But Ham ops that talk down on 11 Meters ops really get my goat... :angry:
Why I made the switch.
I started with shortwave listening and eventually moved to CB, though I was mobile only to keep any trouble away from the house. I was on CB for a good bunch of years too.
1) To find people I could really learn the real art/science of radio.
2) To elevate my choice in crowd for conversations...CB here is very limited that way.
3) To have so many more modes and so much more bandwidth to play with radio.
4) To find a larger majority that were interested in actually talking to one another vs interfering/keying down/cursing etc etc which is the predominant mode for CB here now, vs what it was 20yrs ago.
Unfortunately, yeah, there are hams that are no better than those on the CB band, but there is a lot more elbow room for their nonsense and they are still very much the minority. It's easy to move and find someone else to work.
I've never regretted the move and the amount of understanding I've picked up in just a couple years as a ham has been tremendous.
If anyone is really into radio as a hobby, you really should 'just do it'. If radio is a toy and you like to interfere, curse people out and generally create havoc...stay with CB, it is perfect for that. As a matter of fact, as long as an op isn't interfering with other people, I really don't care what power or equipment people on 11m are running, never have cared. The only issue is if they are disturbing other services or people with their operations.
I started with shortwave listening and eventually moved to CB, though I was mobile only to keep any trouble away from the house. I was on CB for a good bunch of years too.
1) To find people I could really learn the real art/science of radio.
2) To elevate my choice in crowd for conversations...CB here is very limited that way.
3) To have so many more modes and so much more bandwidth to play with radio.
4) To find a larger majority that were interested in actually talking to one another vs interfering/keying down/cursing etc etc which is the predominant mode for CB here now, vs what it was 20yrs ago.
Unfortunately, yeah, there are hams that are no better than those on the CB band, but there is a lot more elbow room for their nonsense and they are still very much the minority. It's easy to move and find someone else to work.
I've never regretted the move and the amount of understanding I've picked up in just a couple years as a ham has been tremendous.
If anyone is really into radio as a hobby, you really should 'just do it'. If radio is a toy and you like to interfere, curse people out and generally create havoc...stay with CB, it is perfect for that. As a matter of fact, as long as an op isn't interfering with other people, I really don't care what power or equipment people on 11m are running, never have cared. The only issue is if they are disturbing other services or people with their operations.
W
W9WD
Guest
It's not the government, it's the self servant hams.
Besides....
Why would someone want to become a ham besides all the hyped up "help the community, Learn electronics, talk all over the world" and other isms.
Just courious
Besides....
Why would someone want to become a ham besides all the hyped up "help the community, Learn electronics, talk all over the world" and other isms.
Just courious
W
W9WD
Guest
Because you can do all the stuff you want legally.....
You can "shoot skip"
You can "run power"
You can bounce signals off the moon to other hams.
You can talk to the space station.
You can bounce signals off meteors in meteor showers
You can send TV signals.
You can do experiments.
You can even petition the FCC for temporary private frequencies to do communications experiments on.
And the FCC encourages experimentation with radios, antennas and communications techniques.
All that is asked is that you be civil and follow a few "common sense" rules.
But come to think of it, that might be too much to ask for some of the "me first" crowd
You can "shoot skip"
You can "run power"
You can bounce signals off the moon to other hams.
You can talk to the space station.
You can bounce signals off meteors in meteor showers
You can send TV signals.
You can do experiments.
You can even petition the FCC for temporary private frequencies to do communications experiments on.
And the FCC encourages experimentation with radios, antennas and communications techniques.
All that is asked is that you be civil and follow a few "common sense" rules.
But come to think of it, that might be too much to ask for some of the "me first" crowd
And More?
Comon...you'll have to do better than that...Becoming an licenced Amatuer radio operator does not appeal to everyone and why anyone would think that everyone that has ever keyed a mic is chomping at the bit to do so is fooling themselves. I for one could care less how a radio works internally...plug and play and I'm happy...if it breaks call a tech. I'm too damn old to be climbing up and down building an antenna farm that a homeowners org will dis-approve or to be climbing around in a hot dusty attic with a dipole.
There far better things to get involved with than being a Ham. Community politics, community policing (and not a hamsexy idiot with all kinds of antennas on his car running around trying to be a cop), State and national feed the childern, state and federal meals on wheels, state and local community block clean up and organazation ...If one gets really involved helping others, then the Ham side of the coin is but a miniscule speck of sand on a beach.
JMO
W
W9WD
Guest
I know it and the worst part is calling a place and being able to order whatever you want as far as radio gear and even worse than that is being able to take advantage of the good deals offered by the guy that puts ("MUST HAVE AMATEUR LICENSE TO PURCHASE")
Another downfall is having access to all the extra frequencies when you are bored and just want to kickback and play radio talk for the afternoon and 11 meters is dead the extra option to actually scan the other bands and find someone or a group to talk with just ruins my day.
All in all on a serious note what one does with there license is there choice skys the limit it just makes for more options. I have some great friends on 11 meters AND TALK WITH THEM A FEW DAYS A WEEK HELL alot of them are also ham operators but we have alot of members of our Tuesday night 27.375.00 LSB net that are not Hams and thats fine its there choice for whatever reasons but there still great friends and Im gonna talk with them whenever there out there and I have the chance to talk with them.
We would never force anyone to get licensed nor do we talk ham allnight on 11 meters for the fact that some of the people and good friends can give 2 $h!+$ about Ham or even hearing about it. What it boils down to is respect which is what this world lacks alot of more and more as the years pass and thats where this crazy CB against Amateur operators starts and is the main source of the problem.
I think everyone on this site is great and we have an awsome batch of members CB Ham operators alike and its good to see I like to see these to groups mesh and help oneanother out Being CB or Amateur operator either way does not always make one smarter than the other there are knowledgable people in both hobbies. Im just really glad to be a part of this forum there were times like about a month ago things started happening and dissrespect was allover these boards I about shut down my ventures here but I couldnt find myself doing it.
I have met some great people and great deals here as far as selling trading buying I had 2 bad experiences but when looking at howmany transactions I made the good way overweighed the bad and the most important was the help with finding things I wanted when I was fighting this stupid disease I aquired lots of reading material from Justi Depolis and a few others. I tell my wife if something ever happens to me this is where I want her to go for technical help and for help with thinning out my collection which she wouldnt need all of The mixed enthusiists we have here is what makes it the forum it is.
Another downfall is having access to all the extra frequencies when you are bored and just want to kickback and play radio talk for the afternoon and 11 meters is dead the extra option to actually scan the other bands and find someone or a group to talk with just ruins my day.
All in all on a serious note what one does with there license is there choice skys the limit it just makes for more options. I have some great friends on 11 meters AND TALK WITH THEM A FEW DAYS A WEEK HELL alot of them are also ham operators but we have alot of members of our Tuesday night 27.375.00 LSB net that are not Hams and thats fine its there choice for whatever reasons but there still great friends and Im gonna talk with them whenever there out there and I have the chance to talk with them.
We would never force anyone to get licensed nor do we talk ham allnight on 11 meters for the fact that some of the people and good friends can give 2 $h!+$ about Ham or even hearing about it. What it boils down to is respect which is what this world lacks alot of more and more as the years pass and thats where this crazy CB against Amateur operators starts and is the main source of the problem.
I think everyone on this site is great and we have an awsome batch of members CB Ham operators alike and its good to see I like to see these to groups mesh and help oneanother out Being CB or Amateur operator either way does not always make one smarter than the other there are knowledgable people in both hobbies. Im just really glad to be a part of this forum there were times like about a month ago things started happening and dissrespect was allover these boards I about shut down my ventures here but I couldnt find myself doing it.
I have met some great people and great deals here as far as selling trading buying I had 2 bad experiences but when looking at howmany transactions I made the good way overweighed the bad and the most important was the help with finding things I wanted when I was fighting this stupid disease I aquired lots of reading material from Justi Depolis and a few others. I tell my wife if something ever happens to me this is where I want her to go for technical help and for help with thinning out my collection which she wouldnt need all of The mixed enthusiists we have here is what makes it the forum it is.
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