The HAM Radio Thread

[FireGuru]

Great to see everyone on here with their ticket!! My dad got his general at 13!! I have yet to get mine but get the itch all the time. Dad is Charlie, WB8LGA out of Marengo Ohio. Someday you guys are in the area maybe you can catch him on the 146.775 - WN7C 107.2 Mount Gilead repeater. Tell him his son says HEY!! ... he'll get a kick out of it.


Hope to get mine soon though, catch you all on the waves then!! Congrats to all of you. Special group of guys there. :thumbsup:


Darren

 

[Jarred J.]

is the repeater echolink capable? not that i have that capability at the moment

 

[kadetklapp]

The hardest part about getting into HF for me was trying to remember the military phonetic alphabet, since I use the police one at work instead. I still don't think I know it all...

Word. I got my ticket last December and I am always catching myself trying to use APCO phonetic when I'm checking in on a net or something.

 

[kadetklapp]

I just got my HTX100 in the mail today. I still gotta get an antenna for it. I will have another HTX100 coming in the mail, so if you're interested in that, shoot me a PM.

As far as the Relm, yeah, that sounds out of my league, too. Perhaps for collection/shits n giggles, I still might entertain an offer.


Ben, I'm gonna need a refresher of etiquette of making calls on HF. I think I remember having to say QSO a few times if I'm not calling anybody in particular, but don't remember any of the other shit, though I'd imagine identifying every ten minutes and at the end of a convo is pretty universal on any band per the basic rules.

TWO htx100s??? Wow, you must have got lucky on ebay. They are out of production right? If the backlighting is any good, and if they have the upgraded finals I could be interested in one. Let me know how they shake out!


**DISREGARD** I was thinking of the HTX10.

 

[Jarred J.]

since my other radio i bought came in i have twins as well.


2 icom 207's one will be in the car friday for the ragner relay coming through our county friday night. the other will probably go in the house. then ill just ned another radio for my truck. ohh and a better antenna for the car is needed. it'll have to wait awhile.


even though i got my general i dont do alot of HF cause i dont have room at the house for a wire. masts are out of my budget and so are most mobile hf rigs and the PS to run them

 

[grfd711]

I figure it'll be at least another week or so before I might remotely be ready to transmit on 10 meters. Still gotta get the antenna and probably a mast/pole/wtfever you wanna call it.

 

[Jarred J.]

well yesterday when i got off work, i officialy took the 11m rig out of the car and replaced its antennae. put a 2m 440 ant on the car and installed a bracket for the radio which cost an arm and leg to get here when i needed it....


when to my elmers where he has checked out my twins to verify they are in good shape. took me an hour to program 10 freqs into one of them due to its difficulty and odd programing ways. (insert freq, go to one menu set tone, set dup, set offset, etc etc etc. then save to mem, what took the longest realy was, instruction book. go to page 30 for this, need to know how to use the vfo, go to page 24, set the tone page 27, etc etc)


now the 2m 440 is in its place. just have to get power to it from the battery. I have the power wire in the car, just got to squeeze it through the gasket near the wheel well and that might have to wait till tommorow, supposed to be good severe weather today. then its just a matter of rewiring the scanner and removing the 11m rigs power harness.

 

[kadetklapp]

well yesterday when i got off work, i officialy took the 11m rig out of the car and replaced its antennae. put a 2m 440 ant on the car and installed a bracket for the radio which cost an arm and leg to get here when i needed it....



when to my elmers where he has checked out my twins to verify they are in good shape. took me an hour to program 10 freqs into one of them due to its difficulty and odd programing ways. (insert freq, go to one menu set tone, set dup, set offset, etc etc etc. then save to mem, what took the longest realy was, instruction book. go to page 30 for this, need to know how to use the vfo, go to page 24, set the tone page 27, etc etc)


now the 2m 440 is in its place. just have to get power to it from the battery. I have the power wire in the car, just got to squeeze it through the gasket near the wheel well and that might have to wait till tommorow, supposed to be good severe weather today. then its just a matter of rewiring the scanner and removing the 11m rigs power harness.

Just got a brand new 11 meter chicken band radio-





Basically have no where to install it though.


What kind of split rig did you go with?

 

[Jarred J.]

Just got a brand new 11 meter chicken band radio-
Basically have no where to install it though.


What kind of split rig did you go with?

since my other radio i bought came in i have twins as well.

2 icom 207's one will be in the car friday for the ragner relay coming through our county friday night. the other will probably go in the house. then ill just ned another radio for my truck. ohh and a better antenna for the car is needed. it'll have to wait awhile.


even though i got my general i dont do alot of HF cause i dont have room at the house for a wire. masts are out of my budget and so are most mobile hf rigs and the PS to run them

this.

 

[FireGuru]

is the repeater echolink capable? not that i have that capability at the moment

I don't believe that one is, I think the Columbus one may be though, someone can correct me or add on that, it's the 146.760 net repeater. Used for storm chasers & emergency communications networking.

 

[Ben E.]

when to my elmers where he has checked out my twins to verify they are in good shape. took me an hour to program 10 freqs into one of them due to its difficulty and odd programing ways. (insert freq, go to one menu set tone, set dup, set offset, etc etc etc. then save to mem, what took the longest realy was, instruction book. go to page 30 for this, need to know how to use the vfo, go to page 24, set the tone page 27, etc etc)

Setting up my icom V-8000 was a pain in the ass like this too. I never checked to see if they have computer programming available (probably do), that would make it 100x easier. Hell I can barely remember how to operate that radio even after programming it.

 

[grfd711]

Well, I joined a local club tonight. Also found out they'll be having testing about a mile and a half from my house in a month, so I got a month to cram for general.


On the subject of the club meeting, I gotta tell you about one winner in attendance. I'd say late teens or very early 20s, white, skinny male wearing the black combat boots, digital camo print BDU pants and a uniform button down shirt with the red tape around the epaulet, about six pins on both breast pocket flaps and then on the collars. To top it off, he had a "certified storm spotter" patch on the left sleeve.


They had a bit of show & tell, involving two different grab bags to set up an emergency station and another guy displayed a yagi 2m antenna he built. I didn't get the chance to talk to much folks about 10 meter stuff, but will try soon enough. I think for now I'll go ahead and concentrate on the general test...and finding either an affordable 10 meter antenna for the house OR some instructions for building one.

 

[kadetklapp]

Setting up my icom V-8000 was a pain in the ass like this too. I never checked to see if they have computer programming available (probably do), that would make it 100x easier. Hell I can barely remember how to operate that radio even after programming it.

My V-8000 got easier the more I fiddled with it.

Well, I joined a local club tonight. Also found out they'll be having testing about a mile and a half from my house in a month, so I got a month to cram for general.

On the subject of the club meeting, I gotta tell you about one winner in attendance. I'd say late teens or very early 20s, white, skinny male wearing the black combat boots, digital camo print BDU pants and a uniform button down shirt with the red tape around the epaulet, about six pins on both breast pocket flaps and then on the collars. To top it off, he had a "certified storm spotter" patch on the left sleeve.

And that is why, boys and girls, I will have nothing to do with a radio club. Too many squirrels.

 

[grfd711]

In the club's defense, that was the only goof ball there. A good amount of older folks, but this club is actually networked over the entire state with multiple repeater sites. They've provided lots of commo during disasters or track sever weather through the state, so I gotta at least give them that.


If I make it for the next meeting, I gotta see if I can find his ride. Perhaps I can contribute to the whacker thread...or sell him some stuff. LOL

 

[Jarred J.]

im the whacker in my club or at least thats what some of the guys call me. :hopeless: ( ive worn more uniforms then i can care to remeber but i dont wear them off duty....) Im the second youngest member as we just had a 15yr old get his licensce and join up.


we are electing new officers. our new president is a veteran former cop AND firefighter AND paramedic. he is our county emergency coordinator, since our club falls under the EMA.


we did a big "race" event this weekend. i grabbed all my throw lights and let some of the guys borrow them.


the aforementioned guy borrowed my flatlighter, the current pres used my led beacon, i had a red cadet, a red dashlaser i just fixed friday and a red fireball 2 all in my trunk. i used my single flash amber strobe light on the roof most of the night and ran it off a pora power to save the cars battery for the radio. it was a 12 ordeal from friday to saturday night with 8 of those hours being the run itself.


i had my 207 act up and we think it was because of a crappy radio shack 90 adaptor i had off the radio to the antenna coax to keep a sharp bend off of it.


also had the wouxun on a small mag mount outside the car, was monitoring our main channel for our county, and our back up repeaters we were supposed to have and a scanner full of public safety stuff. (actualy 2)

 

[Jarred J.]

little update. turned out it was the crappy radio shack 90. now has an amphenol 90 on it im borrowing till the next hamfest i can get to.


the real reason for this update is that i have now got my YL (or future xyl) on the bandwagon and after 4 months of studying failing 2 test and taking it again saturday she passed and got her tech.


her callsign is kk4fzv


now she can be more than a "civilian volunteer" when we do all these events and she gets to be the GOTA station for field day.

 

[ryanm]

little update. turned out it was the crappy radio shack 90. now has an amphenol 90 on it im borrowing till the next hamfest i can get to.


the real reason for this update is that i have now got my YL (or future xyl) on the bandwagon and after 4 months of studying failing 2 test and taking it again saturday she passed and got her tech.


her callsign is kk4fzv


now she can be more than a "civilian volunteer" when we do all these events and she gets to be the GOTA station for field day.

Woohoo! Congrats.


Make sure she gets to run up the score on the GOTA station!

 

[Drewstang]

Are there any good sites for beginners? I've got a Yaesu FT7800-R that I've basically setup for a scanner but I'd like to learn more about transmitting and repeaters. I understand the basics, but the 2 meter, 10 meter and other bands confuse me.

 

[Jarred J.]

Are there any good sites for beginners? I've got a Yaesu FT7800-R that I've basically setup for a scanner but I'd like to learn more about transmitting and repeaters. I understand the basics, but the 2 meter, 10 meter and other bands confuse me.

after studying the guides or taking the practice tests enough you can get a technician licensce. there are manuals available at most book stores or online to get you started in earning your "ticket". once you've felt you have learned enough to pass a test you will have to find a test session to take your test. these costs starting at $10.(depends on the VE's how much they charge) You'll get a FCC licensce with your callsign that will be good for 10 years (renewal is free)


QRZ.COM


eHam.net Home - Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) Community Site


are good sites to get a general idea about ham and they both have practice test. all you have to do is pass 28 out of a 35 question test.


the "meters" in the band are what frequency range they are. the smaller the meter the higher the frequency range is.


Hams are allowed to transmit in HF, VHF, UHF, and microwave frequencies that are in the "dead spaces" of other bands like air, public safety, marine, business, etc...


google Ham radio clubs in your area and see if you can attend their meetings to find an "elmer" to guide you along the path to get your "ticket"

 

[Jarred J.]

here are some clubs near you....


KY4KY, Amateur Radio Clubs, Ham Clubs, Louisville area, Shepherdsville, Kentucky, Bullitt County, Ham Radio, Amateur Radio, Club, Louisville, Kentuckiana, BARS Club, BARS, Bullitt Amateur Radio Society, Amateur Radio Society, ARRL, ARES, Field Day, H


W4CN - A.R.T.S. Club


KYHAM Links


there are also the KY colonels in bowling green and a whole bunch more...

 

[kadetklapp]

Are there any good sites for beginners? I've got a Yaesu FT7800-R that I've basically setup for a scanner but I'd like to learn more about transmitting and repeaters. I understand the basics, but the 2 meter, 10 meter and other bands confuse me.

Study study study on QRZ. Use the practice tests. They are your friend.


As an aside, I got my first HF rig. XYL bought me a Magnum 257 for Christmas. Ready for some ten meter fun as soon as I get a run up the tower and an antenna rigged up.

 

[gfpd26]

Are there any good sites for beginners? I've got a Yaesu FT7800-R that I've basically setup for a scanner but I'd like to learn more about transmitting and repeaters. I understand the basics, but the 2 meter, 10 meter and other bands confuse me.

Try this site:


AMATEUR RADIO STATION W9KXQ Greenville, IL


This is my local radio clubs President's personal site. He has a great study program on the page. About a 1/3 the way down.

 

[Ben E.]

Study study study on QRZ. Use the practice tests. They are your friend.

As an aside, I got my first HF rig. XYL bought me a Magnum 257 for Christmas. Ready for some ten meter fun as soon as I get a run up the tower and an antenna rigged up.

Nice! I think you'll like it. Did you get the 257 or 257HP?

 

[kadetklapp]

Nice! I think you'll like it. Did you get the 257 or 257HP?

HP. You have one, yes? What kind of antenna are you running (if you are using it as a base)?

 

[Ben E.]

HP. You have one, yes? What kind of antenna are you running (if you are using it as a base)?

I have one, but it's mobile. Planning on getting another for base, I was just gonna use an Antron 99 or similar.

 

[Jarred J.]

so whats everybody's field day palns?


the Bedford County Amateur radio Society and the Short mountain repeater club are going in together here for a pretty good sized field day.


we will have support services from the murfreesboro veterans hospital bringing some of their incident support equipment.


a 6k generator a shelter house with A/C and a vsat satcom trailer. (for internet)


we have a member of the SMRC who is a caterer and will bring his trailer for cooking etc.


we will have a 6m 7 element beam (31 feet long)


2 m 7 element beam (30 feet)


conditions are right they'll be a 432 EME (moon bounce) station


160m dipole


80m dipole


40 - 20m dipole.


and a few other goodies.


if there are any hams in TN who are close by and want drop in visitors/operators are welcome.


are call sign for the event is KI4NJJ


we will have a talk in freq of eitgher 146.91 + no tone


or


147.06 + no tone.

 

[firefighter31]

Here is my ham bio..


KD0RSH


got my licence for the local oem I volunteer with. My plan is to use it in case of weather-storm spotting, and local emergencies I.E Joplin, and buffalo city area tornadoes.


I currently have a yeseu 2500 mobile mount and am trying to find an antenna for it..

 

[Jarred J.]

i highly recomment k1cra radio store id you need some stuff he has in stock.


HRO and gigaparts are to ham radio as GALLS is to public safety. sure they got it but its higher than mom and pop stores.


i also reccomend high sierra and a few other online places.


Id also recommend getting involved in more than 2m 440 if you have time resources. ive done a lil HF but i dont anything to do it with.

 

[Ben E.]

This reminds me. For those of you who picked up a Magnum 257HP, beware. My SSB took a dump and won't RX or TX. I sent it in for warranty repair, and when it was returned, the ticket inside the box said "performed all updates", but you guessed it; sideband still doesn't work

 

[kitn1mcc]

any one been on 6m ssb

 

[Rofocowboy84]

Try this site:

AMATEUR RADIO STATION W9KXQ Greenville, IL


This is my local radio clubs President's personal site. He has a great study program on the page. About a 1/3 the way down.

I randomly clicked on this link, and after perusing it for a minute, decided to finally stop putting this off and get my license. There's a test in my area on July 8th, I'm going to try for at least Tech, if not General or even Extra. I have an ability to do really good on multiple choice tests, but of course I'm going to make sure I know Tech before moving on and studying the other two...

 

[uniden278]

I'm planning on getting my Tech before the end of the summer. I've had the "Now You're Talking" book for like 10 years or more now and read it a few times over... time to put it to use. Going to do some practice exams today and tomorrow and see how I'm doing and go from there.

 

[AdaFire38]

Some friends talked me into taking a "Ham In A Day" class. Basically, its a cram period. The instructors give you the FCC question pool (all bazillion of them) with the correct answers. You study this for 4 hours by reading the questions through as many times as you can, then take the test. Our class had no one fail, and they claim of the 1000 people that have taken this test, they've only had 3 fail. The class costs about $35 and includes the FCC fees for the test.


Try finding one of these in your area.

 

[ryanm]

Field Day is this weekend. Go out and find a field day station and play a little!


Field Day Station Locator

 

[kadetklapp]

This reminds me. For those of you who picked up a Magnum 257HP, beware. My SSB took a dump and won't RX or TX. I sent it in for warranty repair, and when it was returned, the ticket inside the box said "performed all updates", but you guessed it; sideband still doesn't work

Wonderful. Just got my antenna but haven't used it yet.

 

[GaryErrol]

I've had a GMRS license for a little over 10 years. I've thought a few times about getting a ham one but never went far with it. For one thing I'm not much at getting on a radio and just chatting. I seldom use my GMRS equipment outside of events and instead us my cell phone. My wife would have no interest in getting a ham ticket and I have no other family to use it with. Where I live, I can not see any real weather approaching and since my wife has a disability, I feel my place during bad storms is with her, not out someplace trying to be a weather spotter. I already have a UHF receive only frequency for a local ham club they bring up during storm nets programmed into my Kenwood TK-390 that I listen to when bad weather is near.


I recently purchased a Boafeng UV-5R dual band radio that has again sparked my interest a bit. Also, our team has at times talked about getting into ham radio more. A few of our members already have their ticket. Also having access to local ham repeaters might be of benefit to us for some events to far away to use our GMRS one.


I did a search for the "Ham in a Day" classes mentioned but saw no hits here in Indianapolis for that. However something like that is what I probably need. If anyone has insight to something along those lines, please either reply here or send me a PM.

 

[Rofocowboy84]

Some friends talked me into taking a "Ham In A Day" class. Basically, its a cram period. The instructors give you the FCC question pool (all bazillion of them) with the correct answers. You study this for 4 hours by reading the questions through as many times as you can, then take the test. Our class had no one fail, and they claim of the 1000 people that have taken this test, they've only had 3 fail. The class costs about $35 and includes the FCC fees for the test.

Try finding one of these in your area.

Was that just for Tech or all three?

 

[SlickTop Solutions]

Was that just for Tech or all three?

Probably just Tech, I have yet to see one for General or Extra, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there.

 

[Jarred J.]

Field Day is this weekend. Go out and find a field day station and play a little!

Field Day Station Locator

yea i revived the thread with what we're doing for field day

 

[Ben E.]

Wonderful. Just got my antenna but haven't used it yet.

Yeha, tell me about it. I was really pleased with the radio until that happened. Then I went and did some research on the Googles and found many threads on many forums complaining about issue after issue with the 257HP. Not happy