HAM OP Roll Call......
 

After starting the "Heads Up to CB'ers" thread, it got a number of HAMS to come forth and contribute with posts of their own. I was just thinking that this thread would be a good way to find out actually how many HAMS are out there that check into the JK Forum. It might be a good way for a few of us to set up skeds and meet each other on the air to talk about radio, and of course.....our beloved JKs...!!! :ya:

So, any and all licensed HAMS enter and sign in please...!!! :thumbsup:

I'll start it off.....

Dave / WL7CMG
Kasilof, AK.
General Class
Licensed since 96'

W6FQ
Extra
licensed just over a year....

73's

KG4ZFC
A couple of years or so...

Formerly licensed for many years, but let it lapse. I should get back into it, but getting a son through college on retiree pay sucks up all of my spare cash (that doesn't go to the Jeep, that is!). Technician Class WB6MPD.

Hi Guys....HAPPY NEW YEAR and thanks for posting....:thumbsup:

Mark....I guess that is a tuff choice:dontknow2:.....another Jeep mod or acc., or a good cheap used radio, or antenna..... Looks like it's just a matter of priority....eh?
I think you'd really love getting back into it, especially now with possibly one of the best solar cycles in history upon us. :thumbsup:
73

KB9SLV

I have had it a few years.

I've been wanting to get one for a few years now. I need a good resource for information... Anyone know a good cheap book? I tried a practice from aa9pw.com and got 21 with the knowledge I got from playing around with electronics, and circuits (including the 1 class I took in circuit design). Thanks to everyone for any input.

Angie / KDØFTQ
Tech. Class
2008

Try this site...http://www.w5yi.org The Gordon West technician manual is all you need...First test is pretty straight forward...You can go to this site to take practice exams...http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl

Good luck...

Handle here is Bob, call KB5ASW. Been a Tech for about 23 years! Think I should upgrade? LOL!

73

Thanks for the thread.
Any suggestions on the first Ham? Mobile preferably?

First HAM what??? Seeing that you said "mobile", I guess you mean suggestions on your first HAM radio?

If so........look at the "Heads Up to CBers" thread in the Elec. Lighting, and Sound forum. Lots of talk about radios there.

Hey Dave, W8BUX, extra here. We had a sked on 20m some months ago, and you got me on the first call, Alaska to Michigan. Maybe when propagation comes around we can try jeep to jeep!

73
pete W8BUX

n4rwe
been upgrading to general for nearly 15 years...

Although I haven't got licensed yet (looking to do so soon), my father has been doing the Ham thing for longer than I can remember.

The big 50' antenna along side the house was always a constant landmark growing up!

His call is WB7ESV... I'll never forget it. :)

Hi Angie......GREAT to have another "YL" (woman, XYL= wife) in the hobbie. A YL usually gets a lot of attention when they get on the air. Hope you are having fun...!!!:thumbsup:

Hi Pete.....yes I remember our sked, it's always great to make a sked work first call. Hope we can do it again sometime. Of course it would be great to have a "JK sked too" but I have to get another rig for the jeep other than VHF. I sold my old Ranger AR3500 (10m mobile rig) a couple years ago to buy other gear. I told myself years ago that I would never sell that thing......well I did, and now I'm regretting it. Oh well, there's always more radios where that came from I guess. Thinking about a 706.......we'll see.
Email me when/if you want to sked again....
73

Russ/KA7MPX for the last 27 years. Hold a general class ticket and have know the guy that started this thread for years.......73's

KD4ZKW, licensed since 93, just got the 2 meter FT 2400 installed with a metz coming off the 3rd tail light.

ALso have a VX5r that I use for 440, and scanning marine freqs, since I work making deliveries around all of the bridges in the area.

General class, also a GROL, and have avionics experience. Should upgrade to extra, but haven't had any reason, since mostly I just work 10 meter HF when I have a working rig.

I have an IC V80000 and an alinco dr 430 in the house. Used to work a lot of packet back in the days. Looking at the new stuff coming out with aprs track to target features. I like that stuff, great idea for locating the lost sheep, so to speak.

Cb isn't really a bad band. In reality, you only need one guy with the right equipment to keep a whole convoy of jeeps in touch. Sort of a commo guy. So while someone is pulling my stock X out of the mud, hopefully someone will be pulling my signal out of the mud too. BTW, my vote for best rig would havee to go to the VX8R, dual band, with aprs capability, can be submerged and still work, long battery life, can be taken portable, and has a lot of wide band scanning capability for less than 400 bux. Add an HT amp, and a dual band antenna, and talk for miles with it full quieting.

You can be grandfathered in as General class. :thumbsup:

KB5AJA General Class here.

Sked???
 

Hi Russ......glad to see you made it. Like I said earlier in the thread, if anybody would like to sked, don't hesitate to post here or PM me.
73 from the Great White North......
Dave / wl7cmg

Just passed my Tech exam this morning. Ran right out to HRO in San Diego and got really confused, so I didn't buy anything. Better do a lot more homework before I start "redistributing my wealth." The examiners said my call sign will be posted to the database in about 10-14 days.

Excellent...!!! Congrats and welcome to the HAM Radio Fraternity...!!! Yes, there are SO many radios to choose from. It really depends on what you want to do.....mainly, if you plan on being a Tech for quite awhile then you are "somewhat" limited to what freqs. you can use. So.....a mobile 2 meter rig, or handheld, or a mobile 10m rig is about the cheapest way you can go and get on the air right away.
If you feel that you won't want to stop there and want access to quite a bit more freqs. by upgrading to General class soon, then, depending on how much you want to spend, an all band radio, either mobile or as a base, will get you just about anywhere you are allowed. In this case, and if you are mainly still thinking about mobile ops, then the IC-706 (all versions) as well as the new IC-7000 are a real good way to go. If they are a bit out of your $$$ range new, then look on ebay, QRZ, or Eham for a good deal on a nice used one.
So, take a little time to realistically ask yourself what you feel will interest you the most now, or in the near future. Look at freq. allocations and modes of operations. This should help you decide on a radio that will suit your needs and get you on the air ASAP...!!!
Again....congrats and welcome...!!!:thumbsup:

Hello OM. KC2GMH in Alma, NY. On here rather frequently. 73 Mike

Addendum: If anyone interested I monitor our 147.210 repeater which can be brought up anytime via EchoLink. Use the find button and search for KA2AJH-R. Take care & 73...DE:KC2GMH

General Class license here - been licensed for about 20 years or so.

Ki6vbq
 

Here's my callsign: KI6VBQ. Also received my paper license yesterday, one week to the day after I passed the test. Who knew? :thumbsup:

Holy Moly! You're right! Just looked up the info. Now I gotta find my original ticket!

:clap:

Ai4w
 

CALL AI4W
Licensed Extra
Member of AMSAT, FISTS
FCC National Volunteer Examiner Accredited ARRL, W5YI & WCARS
Trustee of KY's first and only D-Star Repeater W4DSI 2Mtr,.70Mtr & 1.2Gig Data

Pat
Lexington Kentucky
MOBILE ICOM IC-7000
High Sierra 1800 Pro
Better RF Antenna Controller
07 JK 4 Door Black Rubicon Soft-Top

Just passed Technician
 

Hi there.

I just passed my Technician exam this morning in Brownsville, TX. Hopefully I'll get my name in the FCC ULS soon.




ADD: I have now received my new call sign. It is: KE5YZZ

Just want to say welcome again to all you new Techs.:thumbsup:

Another thing that came to mind was this.....and it is from experience....

When you do decide to get a radio and get on the air there is a chance you may get discouraged. Meaning....you may hit your local 2m repeater, give your call and say you are "listening" or "monitoring", only to not have a single person comeback to you. You may try, and try, and try again with the same results. Be patient. There is a good chance the guys that hear you have their own little "click" like many CBers do, and till you've been around for awhile "they" may not "let you in" so to speak.

Then again, one day you may key up the repeater and have a half dozen old timers come right back to you with open arms. The HAM radio fraternity can be kinda "clicky" at times, so please try not to let it bother you.

Also remember, since the FCC dropped the morse code requirement, more and more CBers have gotten into HAM. And many older HAMS feel that this is a real bad thing. The CBers now will be the new 2m people, and will bring their CB "on air bad habits" with them. Most hams don't like this at all. Some are gracious about it, but other old farts, set in their ways, will be mean. It's just the way it is.

My advise to you is.......listen a lot. Listen to HAMS that have been around and have good operating skills. Learn them. A seasoned HAM will be MUCH more inclined to respond to you if he likes what he hears.

As you venture more into the HAM world, you will find that the HF group can be quite a bit different than the VHF group. That's why I incourage you to get your General class license as soon as possible. This will open many "GREAT" doors for you. You will find alot more people that are just as happy with a relaxing ragchew QSO than they are trying to break a pileup to a rare station. To me, this is where the FUN begins.

Anyway....congrats on the new ticket, and by all means HANG IN THERE...!!! You will be glad you did.

All the Best from Alaska.....
Dave / wl7cmg

Oh yeah
 

Welcome Kilo Echo Five Yankee Yankee Zulu...!!!....has a nice ring to it.
Be sure and list what license you got......Tech, General, Extra?

73 & Have Fun...!!!

Tech class here...KC9LIT :thumbsup:

Welcome, welcome...:thumbsup:

I was also thinking besides just checking in, maybe it would be nice to hear why you decided to become a HAM op and what appeals to you most about HAM radio? Also possibly what your goals might be?

With as many venues as there are in HAM radio, I think it would be interesting to all to hear what direction you are heading towards, and why? Maybe what gear you have your sights on? Weather it's just to have a tricked out mobile station for the JK, or a full fledged, hi power HF shack and antenna farm. What has got you dreamin' about?

73 and Let us know...

Dave / wl7cmg

HAM Radio Phonetics
 

For those of you that don't know your phonetics.....here they are.

Memorize them...:thumbsup:

Phonetic Alphabet
A Alpha
B Bravo
C Charlie
D Delta
E Echo
F Foxtrot
G Golf
H Hotel
I India
J Juliet
K Kilo
L Lima
M Mike
N November
O Oscar
P Papa
Q Quebec
R Romeo
S Sierra
T Tango
U Uniform
V Victor
W Whiskey
X X-ray
Y Yankee
Z Zulu

I actually got my license so that I could legally put a transmiter for video in a high powered rocket that I built, but I'm thinking since I've already got my license I should start digging into the hobby and maybe get a mobile rig going in my JK.

I decided to go for my Technician Amateur Radio Operator license a few months ago, when I was part of a disaster drill with one of the local hospitals and EMS. I liked the action and saw a few hams participating there. As an EMT and a ham, I feel I can really be part of a good team. So a few months later I took the test and got my license. I actually made my first contact when I was working at EMS.

I passed my Tech at 6:30 pm, but couldn't pass the Gen... I didn't study for it and it was the first time I saw it. However I did get 18... Hey a free peek is great. :synister:
I got it to have it. It sounds like fun, and for such a cheap fee, why not try.
Now I have to work on the vanity call I want. I know I want it to end with 4 India Mike Foxtrot, for I am Ef... :D
:ya::ya::ya:

I really want to thank you for becoming a HAM. Being an EMT AND a HAM there is no telling how much good you can do. You never know when you may here a MAYDAY over the air close to you. A first responder WITH training is hard to beat...!!!

Now that I think about it, even if you heard a MAYDAY over the air and it wasn't close to you, you still could work somebody through a possible emergency all over the air.
FANTASTIC...!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
All the Best....
Dave / wl7cmg