Amateur radio: Not much going on, other than the motherfucking satellite

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Amateur radio: Not much going on, other than the motherfucking satellite

OFFENSIVE USERNAME: Mar 19, 2005; I visited TCC and all I got was this lousy avatar

AF6BK checking in. I'm not really in a position to put a dipole on my roof, so I'm confined mostly to 2/440. I'm using a Yaesu VX-7R that I love, though I would highly recommend the programming software, as you will go nuts trying to figure out the menu. I also own a Yaesu VX-3R, an Icom IC-91AD digital/analog handheld, and a now-defunct Icom IC-T90A. From time to time, though, I get to play on the big Icom IC756-Pro III at the local ham radio store.

Any other VHF/UHFers in L.A. in this thread?

edit: to clarify some confusing terminology

OFFENSIVE USERNAME fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Apr 17, 2008

# ¿ Apr 17, 2008 20:05

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 06:53

OFFENSIVE USERNAME: Mar 19, 2005; I visited TCC and all I got was this lousy avatar

blugu64 posted:

Brought my HT to LA a few months ago, on a business trip, and had alot of fun operating from the 10th~ floor of the hotel. Also what is up with that 147.435 repeater?

Ahaha, I knew the subject of 435 would surface eventually. That repeater is basically the retard bin that keeps mentally damaged operators from infesting the other repeaters.

edited for clarity

# ¿ Apr 18, 2008 01:08

OFFENSIVE USERNAME: Mar 19, 2005; I visited TCC and all I got was this lousy avatar

Halah posted:

Is that the one that has/used to have an online stream? I seem to remember listening to an LA repeater a few years back wondering how they got away with all the poo poo they were pulling.

edit: haha hell yeah, it's still there - http://www.435online.com

Yup, the stream is up and down intermittently. They have been the scourge of our VHF scene for at least 20 years. They have been the unwilling home of some famous (infamous?) operators, such as Jack Gerritsen (ex-KG6IRO, Google him sometime). Most of the repeater transmissions consist of music playing, jamming, porn movie sountracks, etc.
I think the reason they're still around is that Riley Hollingsworth (FCC) would rather keep them confined to their own repeater. At least that way he can keep tabs on them and be more assured that they aren't making their presence felt on innocent, unsuspecting repeater systems.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2008 22:45

OFFENSIVE USERNAME: Mar 19, 2005; I visited TCC and all I got was this lousy avatar

thehustler posted:

Just wanted to pimp my HT.

Kenwood F7E. Known as an F6A in America with slightly different bands (ie, has 1.25 meter which doesn't exist over here for amateurs in the UK.)

It's a great little radio and I stuck a new UHF SMA antenna on it and I love it.

I also have a stupidly long telescopic for SWL and low-band VHF stuff, and also a loop longwire that I use for really long wavelength stuff that I built myself.

It's literally a 1 meter length of 50ohm coax with a plug on the end, then the 20 meter loop of wire is soldered from the centre core, then back to the shielding. If you disconnect the shielding end, you can really hear the difference, the interference goes up. The good thing about the loop is that I can disconnect one end, and string it wherever I like, wind it around something to make an antenna for a certain frequency, etc. Crude but effective.

The F6A has a very dedicated following here in the States. I never could get the hang of the menu, as it has a very different feel from my Yaesu, but apparently a great many people have an easier time navigating it.

You must get a lot of interesting signals from mainland Europe. I'm jealous, because we don't get a lot of the cool stuff out here in California. Mostly religious broadcasters (who are responsible for the HF bands turning into poo poo) and a few powerful Pacific Rim stations.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2008 23:24

OFFENSIVE USERNAME: Mar 19, 2005; I visited TCC and all I got was this lousy avatar

Dog Case posted:

Does anybody make a 2M ONLY antenna with an SMA mount? It seems silly to use a dual/tri band antenna on a mono-band HT.
The Kulduckie antennas look like exactly what I'm looking for, but they only come with BNC mounts

There is no such thing as "only 2 meters". The poster a few above me is right, it will also be resonant on 70 cm.

# ¿ May 3, 2008 05:59

OFFENSIVE USERNAME: Mar 19, 2005; I visited TCC and all I got was this lousy avatar

andrzejpw posted:

Will one of these FT-60R radios let me listen to all of the cool stuff you guys have listed here, like numbers stations, Radio Moscow, etc? I'm still a bit confused on that. Would I just need a better antennae?

I'm thinking of taking the test for Technician/General.

The Ft-60R is VHF-UHF, so no. You will need an HF radio for numbers stations.

# ¿ May 12, 2008 23:33

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 06:53

OFFENSIVE USERNAME: Mar 19, 2005; I visited TCC and all I got was this lousy avatar

Goon in the Mist posted:

Haha, my dad and I took the test a few weeks ago. My dad's an electrical engineer, and he got his extra-class on his first try, which surprised/pissed off the crusty old hams that were running the test.

I'm going to be in China this summer (Beijing specifically), does anyone have a good way to communicate using ham across that kind of distance (china to california.) I was thinking I could use that thing where you hit a repeater that passes it through the internet over to a repeater on the other side, but I forgot what that was called (dstar? d..link? d something.)

Thanks!

You're thinking of VoIP. I don't know much about it, but I'm sure Google would be helpful.

As far as talking on the radio over that distance, you're going to need an HF radio with some decent power and a beam antenna to direct your signal. It's a lot of big equipment, so you will either have to have it shipped or just buy it over there.

# ¿ May 21, 2008 00:26

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