Any Ham Radio Operators Here

[Jeffhs]

WB8NHV - licensed since June 1972. I had a CW (Novice) station on the air from '72-'74, upgraded to Technician in mid-'75, then moved back to my old neighborhood and operated FM from mid-1975 until 1982, with a brief stint on six meters from May '75 until July '76. (I got the surprise of my life the first day I was on six, crystal-controlled on 50.35 MHz, when I worked WA0SDK in South Dakota--well, sorta, kinda, as I don't think he heard me. ) Got back on CW in mid-'82 with my old Novice setup (Heathkit DX40/VF1 transmitter and VFO, Hallicrafters SX101A receiver, and a 25-foot trap vertical) and upgraded to General three years later. Worked 49 states and a handful of foreign countries on 80-15-meter CW with several different rigs, then lost my antenna in early 1999. I moved to my present QTH (location) in late 1999, so was completely off the air at least a year--getting settled in a new apartment and getting my bearings in the new location (12 miles east of my former QTH) took up most of my time.

I am now back on the air, mostly on 2-meter FM (I'm a member of the Lake County Amateur Radio Association or LCARA; have been since 1987), although I do have my HF rig, an Icom IC-725 nine-band 100-watt rig, set up in my bedroom. The radio feeds a Barker and Williamson AP-10A apartment portable antenna and is used mostly on 28.450 MHz, where the LCARA ten-meter SSB net meets at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday of each week. The club also has a 2-meter net on its repeater, N8BC, 147.81-21 in Painesville, Ohio (30 miles east of Cleveland). The net meets each Thursday of the month (except the first, which is LCARA's meeting night) at seven p.m. Eastern time on that repeater. You do not have to be a club member to check in. If you are in the Lake County or eastern Cuyahoga County area, have a hand-held or base 2-meter rig, and are able to access the repeater, you are more than welcome to join us on the 2-meter net; likewise, if you hear the ten-meter net and have at least a Technician class license, you are welcome to check in there as well.

BTW, I am also experimenting with voice-over-IP (VoIP) using K1RFD's EchoLink software on my computer, which also allows me access to the local EchoLink node (N8PB) on 147.57 MHz using my Icom IC-T22A handheld. The node is open to all amateurs in the Lake County, Ohio area within simplex range.

73 (best of regards),

[JerryR]

JerryR WW0E from Iowa.

DX'er - QRV on all 8 HF bands.

[electronjohn]

Sandy G...don't sell yourself short...you probably already know a big chunk of the basic theory needed...just don't know that you know it! I'm fairly well-grounded in the theory, but the sample tests worked well to sharpen me up on a few things. Plus...you can keep trying answers till you get it right...and the sample tests get you up to speed on rules & regs. You're an old-time ragchewer who should be on the air!

[NowhereMan 1966]

KA3WRW here. I run 2 meters using an HTX-202 from Radio Shack, it does triple duty as a handheld, mobile and base rig. I once talked to Canada on it using a rubber duck antenna putting out 1 watt while standing at the edge of Lake Erie in PA.

[g6120]

most people over the years were a bit gun shy because of the code but thats a hurdle you can for the most point avoid and get your ticket .

there are classes you can take to learn basic theory and at the end they will give the people a test so its fairly easy .

i remember buying a scanner and sitting back and hearing the hams on my radio and finally decided it was time to do something about it .

g6120

[2uberoller]

K3ent

Have A Radio (two) But I Have Not Been On In Years. Just Renewed My Advanced Ticket From The Late 1970's

[ke4jhj]

KE4JHJ here. I was first licensed (as Tech plus) in January 1994 and upgraded to Extra class in Jan. '95.

I mainly operate 80 meters on ARES and NTS nets split almost evenly SSB and CW.

A little 2 meters to fill out the rough edges, and there you go.

73,
Dave KE4JHJ

[Fisherdude]

I took the online test just for fun. The questions on the FCC regs were wild guesses, of course, but I was in the 80-90% on theory.

Maybe I should think about this...

[similost]

I've been around hammers and their gear, and always thought it was interesting, but never enough to consider the test and the price of the gear...

I do have a question though I've always wondered about and never asked...

How come ham operators always seem so "proud" of their call letters... I mean, they put them on everything or tell everyone what the their letters are... Even license plates.. Is this kind of like posting your phone number or something so you can listen for when that person out there broadcasting? or is it just being proud you have the license? I never did understand what the purpose of telling everyone your call letters?

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by similost

How come ham operators always seem so "proud" of their call letters... I mean, they put them on everything or tell everyone what the their letters are...

Some of that, but it's also a unique identifier on the 'net. My regular name is a really common generic ethnic-less white American one, there's hundreds of my name in the USA. But only one WA2ISE in the world.

[electronjohn]

Probably a couple of reasons: put your call on your hat and other hams can put a face to the call...many hams operate mobile and a call letter license plate can result in a mobile QSO...possibly the fact that your call isn't something that's just "handed out" but something you earned may have a little to do with it. That, and the relatively small number of hams vis-a-vis the general population may have something to do with it as well. Any other guesses out there?

[Cadillac Kid]

I got my license in 1975 but it has expired.

Call sign license plates identify the vehicle during an emergency. They are not vanity plates, they have a special DMV classification. At least that's how it was in California when I was licensed.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Cadillac Kid

I got my license in 1975 but it has expired.

Call sign license plates identify the vehicle during an emergency.

How? Most people outside ham radio don't know the difference between amateur radio and CB, let alone what they are looking at when they see "WB8XYZ" (for example) on an automobile license plate. They probably do think it's some kind of vanity plate, made up by someone on the spur of the moment. The fact that these plates have the words "amateur radio" at the top, above the call sign, doesn't matter either, if people don't know what amateur radio is. This is one very serious problem ham radio has faced for decades, especially in the '70s when CB was so popular. I've been an amateur radio operator well over 30 years, and still people think I'm actually a CB operator when I tell them I am a ham radio operator. I heard this from someone here in my town a couple of months ago; I had to tell the person that I am in fact an amateur radio operator.

It is too bad that the two services get mixed up. If only people realized how much more organized ham radio is compared to CB, and that amateur operators must be licensed by the FCC ("government" to most people outside radio), whereas the FCC ceased issuing CB licenses in the early 1980s, not to mention the services amateur radio operators provide in times of disaster such as the California wildfires, hurricanes and the like. Citizens Band radio, on the other hand, has become a ridiculous mishmash of nonsense, noise, conversations about nearly everything imaginable, and so forth. The irony of this is that the frequencies now occupied by the Citizens Band (and have been since 1958) were formerly the amateur radio 11-meter band. The FCC, IMHO, should return this band to amateur radio, the sooner the better.


73,

[electronjohn]

Similost: Cost CAN be a factor in the ham hobby...there's transceivers on the market that'll run you about the same as a new Chevy Aveo...or entry level models from some of the same manufacturers that'll set you back a little over $500. Then there's the subject of used gear: fairly recent models from the big names like Icom, Yaesu, etc. that'll perform fine and cost 50-75% of new. (Seems some hams get afflicted with "upgradeitis" too!) The vintage route can run both ways...you can buy a good used car for the price of a mint set of Collins "S" line gear...or you can find lesser-known pieces for relatively small money. Here's my example:
The vintage SSB station I'll be setting up (National 200 transceiver & power supply) has set me back $175...I'll need to get a manual. so there's another $25 or so. Antenna? I'll be erecting a G5RV...a wideband dipole named after the British ham who helped popularize it. I could homebrew...but a factory-built antenna is only $45. Oh...I need an antenna tuner, too...to get an optimum match between transceiver and antenna. Since I won't be running a kilowatt (yet!), I'm trying to pick one up used for about $100. If I have to go new, then make it $150 or so. So...complete ham station for around $400.
The vintage AM station is a different story:
Knight-Kit T-60 transmitter. $49.95 in hard-earned, honest-to-gosh 1965 paper route dollars. The problem? To use it I'll need either a 1) VFO, to alllow operation on a variety of frequencies...and a Knight-Kit VFO to match the T-60 seems to be a rare bird. or 2) a bunch of crystals...particularly those on the frequencies set aside by convention for AM operation. Rare birds as well. The receiver? 1947 vintage RME-45. $25 garage sale find that'll perform well with a recap. so, the AM station will probably be a little tougher to set up than the vintage SSB rig. But, just like vintage audio...the hunt is a big part of the pleasure!

[goraman]

KC6UJS but not active for 5 years since I got a condo.