Ham radio?

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

Ok, since I asked about CBs, is anyone  a ham?  I know a guy through Scouting who is an avid ham, and he has offered to be my "Elmer," aka mentor.  Given how far from town I live, I think I could set up a base station in 2m / 70 cm for just a few hundred bucks.  There are a lot of repeaters around my area, too.

 

I think CB is mostly dead, but ham isn't.  But is it worth getting into?  I couldn't put a mobile in Mrs. Cassidy's car unless she got a license, which I would guess isn't going to happen. 

[Pat Riot]

My uncle was a Ham. I honestly believe that was a big contributor to he and my aunt’s divorce. What started as a hobby became an obsession. 
 

My advice is to keep what I said above in mind when your wife starts giving you “the look” when you talk about your new obses...I mean, hobby. 

[Tex Wilson]

I used to have a Ham license, I didn't let it turn into a full blown hobby and let my license expire.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

HAM setup is handy for sure.

Even more so when you live in  BFE.

There are many different levels of a HAM license. 

I haven't been active in many yrs.

Find a local HAM club for guidance. 

K6MTY,

73's

 

[Sedalia Dave]

Been a licensed ham since 1992. KC7CEX. Started out Technician Plus. Upgraded to Extra Class in the 90s. My MARS call sign is NNN0BOU.

I highly recommend that both you and your wife become licensed operators. The exams are not that difficult and both of you can easily pass the initial exams. My Wife KC7WMM has been licensed since the late 90s. Every time we PCSed from duty station to duty station we used out HTs for car to car communications. Infinitely more convenient than cell phones and 100% reliable. No trash talk, foul language or any of the other negatives of CB.

 

Were if not for amateur radio operators, communication in and out of major disaster areas wouldn't exist. Amateur radio operators that volunteer their services and equipment for Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) are the cornerstone of emergency communications for just about every city, county, state and federal disaster plan in the US. 

 

Yes everybody has a cell phone today but the cellular infrastructure is not very robust and has a proven track record of failure during every natural disaster since cell phones were invented. Yes cell companies now have portable systems that they can put in place several days after an incident but they are easily overloaded.

Where as ARES and RACES operators are prepared to set up local and long haul communications in hours vice days.  They understand network discipline and are trained in the use of the phonetic alphabet, and prioritizing traffic. Not only do they have the equipment to operate off the grid for days, they are prepared with their own food water and shelter so they don't add additional burden to those they are assisting. 

Our local Club has a fully equiped Emergency Operations and Communications trailer as well as propositioned equipment at  strategic locations in the area. We train a couple of times a year with first responders so that they have a basic knowledge of what amateur radio brings to the table.

 

Couple of years ago I volunteered to teach and administer exams to our local Texas National Guard troups. The Texas NG has made Amateur Radio part of its disaster preparedness plan and expects its members to have a working knowledge of ham radio.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Back when I was into serious cycling (10,000+ miles/ year) we always loved to see a HAM antenna because it meant top of a hill.

[Sedalia Dave]

1 minute ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

Back when I was into serious cycling (10,000+ miles/ year) we always loved to see a HAM antenna because it meant top of a hill.

 

Lost count of all the bike races and marathons I have provided communications for.

 

[Marshal Hangtree]

I started about 6 years ago with my Technician's license.  I found an excellent deal on a used 2 meter mobile and power supply on craigslist.  I was fairly active with the Ham club down in Panama City before I moved to Alabama.  Now my rig is in the closet, and the antenna and pole are up at my property.  As soon as we get our house built this summer, the antenna tower is the first thing getting put back up.  Plus, we will be located on the highest hill for about 20 miles.  I do miss having my radio up and running.

 

K4PDI,

73's y'all

[Noz]

WB0ZDP

I had everything needed to go "on the air" except money.

 

Even built my own QRP. It progressed to the point that everyone in my neighborhood knew who to complain to when their TV went out.  My 2 watt station never sent information just interference.

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

De KD8NGE, ham for better than a decade: Burning River Traffic Net a few times a week, formal message-handling system that works when nothing else does.

Ham communication is robust as it's scattered.

Each ham has their own equipment and their own power source; when natural disaster hits and wipes out the infrastructure, ham radio is generally one of the first things to go active again.

Of all the message I've passed that originated from a disaster scene -- I handled messages out of Hurricane Sandy, Katrina, a variety of tornadoes, floods and other miseries -- the one message remains my favorite, and the most meaningful.

This one came out of an Oklahoma tornado strike.

Stripped of its header and other identifiers, the message ran, and I quote:

"It's a Boy!"

[Dude Slade]

N1JAC here... but I haven't done anything with it in quite a while.

 

73

[Smoky Pistols]

Currently studying to take the exam

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

21 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 

There are many different levels of a HAM license. 

 

 

Hey pard, they simplified it down to only three levels of license:  Technician, general, and amateur extra.  The older levels are still recognized until you have to renew, at which time you'll go into one of those three.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

2 minutes ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

Hey pard, they simplified it down to only three levels of license:  Technician, general, and amateur extra.  The older levels are still recognized until you have to renew, at which time you'll go into one of those three.

 

There's also 'code' and no 'code' now.

Not sure I could pass the 'code' test now....

My first 'HAM' license was "unrestricted w/code".

OLG 

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

1 minute ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 

There's also 'code' and no 'code' now.

Not sure I could pass the 'code' test now....

My first 'HAM' license was "unrestricted w/code".

OLG 

Hahaha...I don't even know what that means.  I've only just gotten a book and started perusing it.  I assume you're referring to Morse code?  I don't have an interest in learning that right now, but maybe someday.

[Sedalia Dave]

1 minute ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

 

There's also 'code' and no 'code' now.

Not sure I could pass the 'code' test now....

My first 'HAM' license was "unrestricted w/code".

OLG 

 

There is no longer any requirement for Morse code with respect to amateur radio licenses. It was dropped when they restructured to only 3 license classes

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

41 minutes ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

Hahaha...I don't even know what that means.  I've only just gotten a book and started perusing it.  I assume you're referring to Morse code?  I don't have an interest in learning that right now, but maybe someday.

 

Yes, MC.

OLG 

[Sedalia Dave]

55 minutes ago, Cyrus Cassidy #45437 said:

Hahaha...I don't even know what that means.  I've only just gotten a book and started perusing it.  I assume you're referring to Morse code?  I don't have an interest in learning that right now, but maybe someday.

 

I suggest you and your wife study together. Something to do while sheltering in place.

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

I suggest you and your wife study together. Something to do while sheltering in place.

Except I'm actually working full-time from home, so it would have to be an evening activity.  Plus, she's not interested in the slightest.  I think it would be great for both of us to be licensed, put up a base station in the house and a mobile in each of our vehicles, but she simply doesn't care to. 

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

7 hours ago, Smoky Pistols said:

Currently studying to take the exam

You'll find Tech and General have an incredible amount of overlap.

Sit for both exams the same day.

Costs not one centavo more and if you can get your General out of the way you'll have a much greater range of frequencies available!

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

KG5GYL here.  Since the fire I have not had my antenna erected or HF station back on the air. The 2 meter rig is up and running. Should maybe sign on tonight and see if anyone is talking

[Lawdog Dago Dom]

Grew up next door to a ham. 2 meter, code only. Old school.

Frank's radio ran just after sunset on Sunday nights.

In the warmer nights with the windows open, you could hear the dots and dashes as he chatted around the world.

Last sounds I heard at night before school on Monday morning.

My "signal" that the weekend was over.

 

Still want to give it a try. Maybe there is a ham starter set out there somewhere?

[Will Kane]

K5JX here. Got my Novice ticket in 1968 when I was still in high school. From my perspective, ham radio is a lot like cowboy action shooting in terms of many “sub-interests”. There’s even a competitive aspect to it called contesting or radio sport. 

[LostVaquero]

Got a license Amateur Extra, hardly use it but always figured good to have.  You can take all three exams at once.

[bgavin]

My Dad carried the Amateur Extra class for decades.
He was into DX and SSB stuff.  I never caught the bug.

He got a letter from the licensing board, said he has failed to renew, and had to take the CW tests all over again.
He couldn't grandfather in, as he was 10 years overdue to renew.

I wrote him a simple code generator for his Atari 800 so he could practice.
Type in the phrase you want, and it would sound the speaker in the dits and dahs.
He was in his 80s when he passed his CW test and renewed again.

[Sedalia Dave]

For those that want to learn morse code there is a study kit called Code Quick.  I cannot recommend it enough for learning morse code. I went from zero to 10 wpm in a couple of months.

 

One thing though, Morse code is like a lot of other skills, if you don't use it you get rusty. However with a little practice is comes right back. 

[Will Kane]

In my experience, the rush you get being on the receiving end of a cw (Morse code) pileup and making a whole lotta contacts per minute is pretty much like the rush you get shooting a stage fast and clean.

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

Morse code and I are at odds. My tinnitus and hearing loss make it almost impossible to distinguish code at any speed over... ohhh 5 letters a minute.  I hear something and then have to decide if it is a buzz, a dit or dah at pitch. Sometimes the frequency of the code is right where my hearing has a huge hole and I miss the sound altogether. SUX.  I once considered semaphore on HF, but never could wave two radios for any length of time.

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

1 hour ago, Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022 said:

Morse code and I are at odds. My tinnitus and hearing loss make it almost impossible to distinguish code at any speed over... ohhh 5 letters a minute.  I hear something and then have to decide if it is a buzz, a dit or dah at pitch. Sometimes the frequency of the code is right where my hearing has a huge hole and I miss the sound altogether. SUX.  I once considered semaphore on HF, but never could wave two radios for any length of time.

I have tinnitus, too, in both ears.  I came very close to an incoming mortar round one time in 2003.  When it exploded, my ears started ringing and never quit.

 

That said, morse code is only a tiny piece of ham.  

[Muleshoe Bill SASS #67022]

True.  It is just one part of it, but one I used to like.  Goes back to sitting in MARS stations back in the early 60's. Oh well, I have a nice rig running a graphic equalizer to the speakers. Listen to the world in stereo.  Noe all I have to do is get the antenna back up.