Ham Radio
05-17-2008, 05:07 PM
#41
JK Newbie
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Whittier, California
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Well I am glad you passed but for me... I just don't get it.
When I was a kid I used to listen to a short wave radio in my room every night. I don't remember what they talked about but I thought it was interesting enough to listen in on every night.
I have heard about how much better ham is over cb so I looked into it. I was studying hard for the exam and the one guy I know with a ham license was kind of laughing because I was studying so hard and it was clear I would easily pass the test as I was scoring 90%-100% on practice exams. I was waiting for the next test and he loaned me his hand held for a week or so. I drove around with it and listened to it at home but never heard any conversation that I wanted to join in on.
Everyone was polite and professional but after listening to it for a while I lost all interest in getting my license. The most exciting thing I heard was discussion about getting a hamburger. My cell phone works well for that. It became pretty clear to me that it would just be another $300 pretty much wasted. Sure the radio would look cool in my truck but that is about it. For $50 I can buy a CB and talk to my trail buddies and lucky for me, where I go wheeling my cell phone always works.
Maybe some day if I start getting way out into the boonies I'll look into it again. But if I did that the ONLY use I would have for a ham would be in an extreme emergency and since anyone can legally transmit in an emergency I don't know if I would even bother to get a license.
I don't know. They must be pretty cool and useful because a lot of folks have them.... I guess I am just missing something.
When I was a kid I used to listen to a short wave radio in my room every night. I don't remember what they talked about but I thought it was interesting enough to listen in on every night.
I have heard about how much better ham is over cb so I looked into it. I was studying hard for the exam and the one guy I know with a ham license was kind of laughing because I was studying so hard and it was clear I would easily pass the test as I was scoring 90%-100% on practice exams. I was waiting for the next test and he loaned me his hand held for a week or so. I drove around with it and listened to it at home but never heard any conversation that I wanted to join in on.
Everyone was polite and professional but after listening to it for a while I lost all interest in getting my license. The most exciting thing I heard was discussion about getting a hamburger. My cell phone works well for that. It became pretty clear to me that it would just be another $300 pretty much wasted. Sure the radio would look cool in my truck but that is about it. For $50 I can buy a CB and talk to my trail buddies and lucky for me, where I go wheeling my cell phone always works.
Maybe some day if I start getting way out into the boonies I'll look into it again. But if I did that the ONLY use I would have for a ham would be in an extreme emergency and since anyone can legally transmit in an emergency I don't know if I would even bother to get a license.
I don't know. They must be pretty cool and useful because a lot of folks have them.... I guess I am just missing something.
05-18-2008, 10:56 AM
#42
JK Jedi
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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RKWFXD...... Yes you are missing something. Having only a handheld to listen to, you were probably only exposed to the local 2 meter group. It's gotten to the point these days, that 2 meters is not much more than a glorified CB band.
Put that along with a bunch of old farts (I'm 52) that do nothing all day but talk about how bad they feel, and what they had to eat, and yes....I could see how you could easily loose interest. But check this out....
I have been a ham op for 12 years. So I do have a shack set up above my woodworking shop. I've got some very nice ($$$) gear, along with a couple great antennas. The bands have been poor for a few years now as the solar cycle has just now turned the corner and is on the comeback. So I haven't really been on the radio that much. Last night, after the news I thought I would go out to the shack and see how the bands were. Now I'm talking about HF not VHF. Remember, I'm way up here in Alaska. I started listening on 80m. Heard a couple big signals down on the west coast CO and AZ. but did not transmit. Tried 160m.....Heard only one decent signal somewhere out of WA. Still I didn't transmit. Turned my beam up over the north pole on 20m and heard a very weak signal out of Spain. So I began to think that again, the bands were not that good. By now it was starting to get late.........around 12am or so. Finally I thought I would listen to 40m. BOOM....!!!! Huge signals from everywhere. I listened in for awhile to some JA stations....that's Japan, that sounded like they were in the shack with me. I was about to pull the plug but thought I would go down to where AK and HI are allowed to talk....between 7.075-7.100 meg. You never know what you are going to hear down there. Anyway........I threw out a couple CQs and had a VK comeback to me right away. VK is in Australia. He wasn't very strong and the atmospheric noise was loud, so it was pretty hard copy. But we did make the contact. I signed with him and heard a mobile station calling me. Found out he was in Guam. After that, I had, what we call, a pile-up going......so many stations calling that you can hardly make out one callsign from the other. I ended up talking to 5-6 stations in Australia, one in New Zealand, and the guy that was mobile in Guam ended up calling me again from his base station at home. He was so strong it also was like he was in the room with me. I ended up going to bed at 2 in the morning, with stations from all over still calling me.
We talked about antennas, radio gear, the weather, and our families.....not once did anybody mention a hamburger.....ha!!!
Granted that you have to have the "gift-o-gab".....as they would say, to have fun on the HAM bands. But talking to people on the other side of the globe at the speed of light still never ceases to amaze me...!!!
Like I mentioned....from here on out for the next 5 plus years the solar cycle will get better and better. How would you like to be 4 wheelin say from a mountain top 100 miles from home, and talk to a guy in Iceland with nothing but a 5 watt radio and cheap antenna...???!!!
Sounds fun to me...!!!! Try it.........you'll like it.
73.....
Dave / wl7cmg South Central Coast of Alaska.
Put that along with a bunch of old farts (I'm 52) that do nothing all day but talk about how bad they feel, and what they had to eat, and yes....I could see how you could easily loose interest. But check this out....
I have been a ham op for 12 years. So I do have a shack set up above my woodworking shop. I've got some very nice ($$$) gear, along with a couple great antennas. The bands have been poor for a few years now as the solar cycle has just now turned the corner and is on the comeback. So I haven't really been on the radio that much. Last night, after the news I thought I would go out to the shack and see how the bands were. Now I'm talking about HF not VHF. Remember, I'm way up here in Alaska. I started listening on 80m. Heard a couple big signals down on the west coast CO and AZ. but did not transmit. Tried 160m.....Heard only one decent signal somewhere out of WA. Still I didn't transmit. Turned my beam up over the north pole on 20m and heard a very weak signal out of Spain. So I began to think that again, the bands were not that good. By now it was starting to get late.........around 12am or so. Finally I thought I would listen to 40m. BOOM....!!!! Huge signals from everywhere. I listened in for awhile to some JA stations....that's Japan, that sounded like they were in the shack with me. I was about to pull the plug but thought I would go down to where AK and HI are allowed to talk....between 7.075-7.100 meg. You never know what you are going to hear down there. Anyway........I threw out a couple CQs and had a VK comeback to me right away. VK is in Australia. He wasn't very strong and the atmospheric noise was loud, so it was pretty hard copy. But we did make the contact. I signed with him and heard a mobile station calling me. Found out he was in Guam. After that, I had, what we call, a pile-up going......so many stations calling that you can hardly make out one callsign from the other. I ended up talking to 5-6 stations in Australia, one in New Zealand, and the guy that was mobile in Guam ended up calling me again from his base station at home. He was so strong it also was like he was in the room with me. I ended up going to bed at 2 in the morning, with stations from all over still calling me.
We talked about antennas, radio gear, the weather, and our families.....not once did anybody mention a hamburger.....ha!!!
Granted that you have to have the "gift-o-gab".....as they would say, to have fun on the HAM bands. But talking to people on the other side of the globe at the speed of light still never ceases to amaze me...!!!
Like I mentioned....from here on out for the next 5 plus years the solar cycle will get better and better. How would you like to be 4 wheelin say from a mountain top 100 miles from home, and talk to a guy in Iceland with nothing but a 5 watt radio and cheap antenna...???!!!
Sounds fun to me...!!!! Try it.........you'll like it.
73.....
Dave / wl7cmg South Central Coast of Alaska.
05-18-2008, 11:31 AM
#43
JK Newbie
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Whittier, California
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AK4
Yes that does sound a lot better and similar to the stuff I listened to as a kid. Maybe I'll look into it again. Maybe start with a decent receiver to listen in again.
Yes that does sound a lot better and similar to the stuff I listened to as a kid. Maybe I'll look into it again. Maybe start with a decent receiver to listen in again.
05-23-2008, 07:19 PM
#44
JK Freak
Thread Starter
I have my rig in my Jeep infact the way I set it up I can put it in or take it out of the Jeep in about 3 minutes.
I have to agree about some of the phone in the area, 70cm and 2m sometimes it's a bit lame but other times I learn something. Talk of gas prices gives me gas and I really don't care what the price is, I have to get to work.
I'm studying for general when I pass it then I'll be getting a HF rig, I have an FT8900R now but don't get much on 10m or 6m... I figure I'll get a used HF rig to start and put up a yagi on the roof of the house.
Another month and we head to SD, WY, and CO so I hope to make some contacts mobile. Tode will get a visit at their store
I have to agree about some of the phone in the area, 70cm and 2m sometimes it's a bit lame but other times I learn something. Talk of gas prices gives me gas and I really don't care what the price is, I have to get to work.
I'm studying for general when I pass it then I'll be getting a HF rig, I have an FT8900R now but don't get much on 10m or 6m... I figure I'll get a used HF rig to start and put up a yagi on the roof of the house.
Another month and we head to SD, WY, and CO so I hope to make some contacts mobile. Tode will get a visit at their store