|
After playing with the idea for several years, I finally took my technician exam. It only took a few hours before I showed up in the database and now I am <redacted>. I'll go back in a month or two and take my general. There were over a dozen people taking exams when I was there, and they do sessions once a month. Now I have to figure out mounting some antennas on my roof. I'm in north Seattle, so I don't have a ton of space, but my roof is pretty tall so at least I have good height. DevNull fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Sep 29, 2021 |
#
¿
Oct 22, 2019 18:33
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2024 21:40 |
|
|
I used the app on my iphone. The one Roy Watson made. I also read though this: https://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/ Take long shitter breaks at work, and take a few section quizzes on the phone.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 21, 2019 03:25
|
|
|
the milk machine posted:I got the ARRL book to start studying; is there a consensus on good beginner options for a radio? The options on amazon etc are.... confusing I got my tech license last fall, and have money to spend along with a house to mount antennas. That said, I think my suggestion would be an an Anytone 878. https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016505 It takes a bit of work to get up and running with it, but honestly that is true for any radio. I have a Yaesu FT-8900R with an antenna that gets really good local coverage. It also requires a power supply and an external antenna. It lets you find local talk groups really well, from my experience. That cost close to $800 once you add in the antenna, cable, and power supply. I also bought an Icom IC-7300 and can do a little bit on 6m and 10m, mostly with ft8 and a very simple antenna. You can do a lot of receiving, and a little bit of transmitting. You can use the same power supply as the VHF/UHF, but you are about $1000 in. So, the Anytone 878. I bought it because my co-workers were talking about doing a DMR group. I spend the $220 for the radio. Then like $100 for a zumspot, which you don't really have to get. You can use local repeaters to do DMR if you want. More importantly, you can program in the local analog repeaters and have a really good hand held for 2m and 70cm. The code plug aspect of radio takes a bit more to learn, but the radio does a lot of work for the $220 you put into it. I guess maybe a little more for a slightly better antenna. I had to pull the antennas off my roof for some construction, and the 878 is going to be my main radio for the next several weeks. Hopefully a newbie opinion is helpful. That is if you consider $220 to be a reasonable start up cost.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 14, 2020 07:23
|
|
|
Sir Bobert Fishbone posted:FT8 might be killing ham radio [citation needed], but it sure is a super fun way for a total noob to get confirmation that yes, in fact, your lil' backyard loaded vertical does have enough oomph to get you seen on every other continent on the planet. I have a hex beam, which gets me 6/10/12/15/17/20m really well. The fun part is watching for 6/10m to open up and start hitting Brazil with 5 or 10 watts. Some linked this guide a few weeks back on the Discord server: https://g4ifb.com/FT8_Hinson_tips_for_HF_DXers.pdf Read though that and you realize that it is a lot more complex than just some jack rear end in Missouri blasting 350W from his 80ft tower trying to rack up as many QSOs as possible.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 13, 2020 02:31
|
|
|
Pennywise the Frown posted:Nothing yet. I'm studying for my tech and if I keep this up maybe I can have it by next week. I'm not sure what I want to or what I'm able to do. I want to be able to pick up transmissions from a distance. Mostly listen in on other people's conversations. Be able to find weird poo poo. Bounce stuff off the moon or communicate with a satellite. I mostly like the technology and doing weird stuff as opposed to talking to people. Which is strange because I'd imagine talking is probably a very important aspect of.... radio. Excluding the goon DMR group, I have talked on my radios all of 3 times over the past year. I have over 400 contacts all over the world using FT8, which is just short messages sent by a computer program. With just a tech license, I would suggest sticking to a handheld, aka HT. If you want to start getting into satellite work, you need a good antenna. This is what I have: http://arrowantennas.com/arrowii/146-437.html I have really only listened, or done APRS (digital messages) when the ISS had a repeater. I might play with that more once the weather gets nice again. EME takes an even bigger antenna, since you need a pretty focused beam. Others can help you with that probably. As far as finding stuff to listen to, find which local repeaters are active. If you are just trying to listen to random frequencies, you probably won't hear anything. Even in Seattle, you mostly just hear people on the repeaters. You can almost certainly hit the repeaters with an HT.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2021 19:33
|
|
|
Neito posted:Mic fright is real poo poo, though hanging out on the AG0ON TG with other goons helps. Outside of the goon DMR group, I have used a mic three times in 2 years. Once was to a co-worker. I have done hundreds of contacts with FT8. hbag posted:welp i bought a manual for getting my foundation license (im in the UK) so heres hoping my ADD lets me loving read it for more than 5 minutes I took around a year to study for my tech and a year for my general. I have the book for extra, but will probably take even longer. No need to rush.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 27, 2021 05:22
|
|
|
One option for really simple satellite work is the Kenwood TH-D72, although you might have to get it used because I think the discontinued it. https://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/th-d72a/ I picked one up for satellite work because it does full duplex and does APRS, which enabled me to hit the ISS repeater and get a QSL card.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 27, 2021 05:37
|
|
|
drunk mutt posted:Also I should mention that we run a net on DMR Tues/Fri nights, which more information about that can be found on Discord. I highly recommend this suggestion of joining us on the DMR net and Discord. The Discord is fairly active and we are happy to help with any questions you might have. The DMR is also a good way to practice you radio skills without having to worry about jerks on the air. We are all cool. Well, as cool as a bunch of hams can be.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 11, 2021 02:38
|
|
|
Jonny 290 posted:Yeah third party operation is absolutely fine (in the US at least). "This is <callsign> with third party traffic - handing the mic over to <kid name>" and let them go. They can even do your 10 minute IDs if they want. You need to maintain control of the station at all times, which practically speaking means you are listening and can reach the power switch. This is good to know. I had seen people hold the mic to lets other talk, and really that might be good enough for me. I bought an IC-705 mostly with the excuse to show my nephews that are 10 and 12. If I can get them holding the mic next month, I can probably get them hooked. p.s. I will be down near Corvallis Oregon in a month. At the very least I will be on a rarely worked grid square and everyone will love me.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 17, 2021 06:43
|
|
|
Minus Pants posted:IC-7300 it is! Just ordered it. I'm late to the discussion, but I would have just the same as everyone else. I love my 7300 so much I ended up getting the 705 and 9700 as well. I would say that both of those are more specialty, and the 7300 should be the start.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 24, 2021 05:43
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2024 21:40 |
|
|
drunk mutt posted:Tuesday/Friday at 6pm Eastern/9pm Pacific and oh one hundred hours the next day GMT I think you are very confused on which way the earth spins. 6PM Pacific/9PM Eastern
|
|
#
¿
May 21, 2022 19:37
|
|