Amateur Radio stop on in, Call Sign, Grid Square, DXCC; years licensed.

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cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,683
58
91
Licensed Amateurs,
Say Hello, leave your Call Sign, your Grid Square and if you have DXCC yet.

Yes DXCC on several bands and modes. :)

Licensed since March 2007.
 
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Thebobo

Thebobo

Lifer
Jun 19, 2006
18,574
7,672
136
Dad use to be a HAM, I tried to back when you had to learn morse code for a licence. K3CQ I think.
 
clamum

clamum

Lifer
Feb 13, 2003
26,256
406
126
I decided to take the technician license exam several months ago because it was being offered at the local university and I had a passing interest in it. The instructor attached a study guide to the email he sent out and said to make sure to study it; I did but not even close to as much as I should've. I don't know how I passed that exam; it wasn't hard but the amount of information was staggering, especially for someone who had zero previous knowledge of the stuff and who only had an 8 hour or so class to learn everything. Holy balls was I tired too; towards the end I was almost nodding off. Oh man.

But not too long ago I picked up a BaoFeng BF-F8HP handheld but haven't played around with it too much yet. I tried to pick up local police/fire stations but didn't have any luck. As far as I could see I had the proper CTCSS/DCS tone codes entered but maybe not.

Anyway I'm glad I got the license and radio. I think it's a good thing to have for very little cost; never know when it could really come in handy.
 
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Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
71,226
14,047
126
www.anyf.ca
I've been thinking about it. I want to play with APRS mostly, maybe even setup an iGate. I setup an ADS-B receiver for flightaware.com and adsbexchange.com and later on learned about APRS and iGate and kinda want to set that up too which requires a license. I'm in a decent location for it too as I doubt there's much APRS activity here but it would be cool to be able to pickup any activity that there is and feed to the aprs map.

I'd like to experiment with long range weather balloons at some point too, which would most likely use APRS and other ham bands for communication. Maybe even do a satellite.

I probably would not do much of the voice stuff, but who knows might get into that too, with the license there's just so much you can do. Would not hurt to get a radio and understand the proper etiquette etc and be prepared in any kind of emergency situation. Like entire city is cut off or something wouldn't that be cool to be THE guy that makes an outside contact.


RF is like some kind of voodo magic though, I have a LOT to learn about it before I can take the test. Like all the theory behind how antennas work, and impedance matching and all that stuff is pretty crazy but also really interesting.
 
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cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,683
58
91
Red Squirrel said:
I've been thinking about it. I want to play with APRS mostly, maybe even setup an iGate. I setup an ADS-B receiver for flightaware.com and adsbexchange.com and later on learned about APRS and iGate and kinda want to set that up too which requires a license. I'm in a decent location for it too as I doubt there's much APRS activity here but it would be cool to be able to pickup any activity that there is and feed to the aprs map.

I'd like to experiment with long range weather balloons at some point too, which would most likely use APRS and other ham bands for communication. Maybe even do a satellite.

I probably would not do much of the voice stuff, but who knows might get into that too, with the license there's just so much you can do. Would not hurt to get a radio and understand the proper etiquette etc and be prepared in any kind of emergency situation. Like entire city is cut off or something wouldn't that be cool to be THE guy that makes an outside contact.


RF is like some kind of voodo magic though, I have a LOT to learn about it before I can take the test. Like all the theory behind how antennas work, and impedance matching and all that stuff is pretty crazy but also really interesting.
Click to expand...


Being in Canada, https://apc-cap.ic.gc.ca/pls/apc_anon/apeg_practice.practice_form
 
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tynopik

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2004
5,245
500
126
i always thought ham/amateur radio was cool from a technical side

the problem was that to use it you had to talk to people, so yeah . . .
 
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cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,683
58
91
tynopik said:
i always thought ham/amateur radio was cool from a technical side

the problem was that to use it you had to talk to people, so yeah . . .
Click to expand...

If you are mute, or just don't like to talk; you can still use Amateur Radio. :)

Besides old fashioned, but still used Morse Code, aka CW,
there are many digital modes now, where you can send text type messages back and forth,
and often at a lower power than what would be needed for "phone" voice contacts. :)

I have used digital modes to send short messages to over 100 DX Countries.

DX Countries in the Amateur Radio hobby are more than would be for diplomats,
such as Hawaii and Guam, and Alaska are considered separate DX Countries.
 
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tynopik

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2004
5,245
500
126
cavemanmoron said:
Besides old fashioned, but still used Morse Code, aka CW,
there are many digital modes now, where you can send text type messages back and forth
Click to expand...

same thing

whether it's voice, CW or texting, it's conversing back and forth with someone

i like forums because i can leave thoughts on a topic that interests me and move on
 
Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
71,226
14,047
126
www.anyf.ca
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John Connor

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,757
619
121
Fly from RLG and turn 050, intercept 315 DVV and look for the orange glow of the SAM. You will then know you're near my house. :D

I'm not posting a callsign yo!
 
Thebobo

Thebobo

Lifer
Jun 19, 2006
18,574
7,672
136
cavemanmoron said:
If you are mute, or just don't like to talk; you can still use Amateur Radio. :)

Besides old fashioned, but still used Morse Code, aka CW,
there are many digital modes now, where you can send text type messages back and forth,
and often at a lower power than what would be needed for "phone" voice contacts. :)

I have used digital modes to send short messages to over 100 DX Countries.

DX Countries in the Amateur Radio hobby are more than would be for diplomats,
such as Hawaii and Guam, and Alaska are considered separate DX Countries.
Click to expand...

I made a meager attempt to learn morse when I was like 10 but I had the attention of a flea. Watching my dad use morse was amazing. its was so fast I couldn't imagine ever understanding it. But he says it's like a spoken language, he hears the words not the individual dots and dashes.
 
Hayabusa Rider

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,268
126
Thebobo said:
Just curious do you mind if I ask you why? My dad had the special ham license plates with his call sign on it.
Click to expand...

If I have a license number I know you are and it's a simple matter to find someone. That's not a problem out in the public where a plate is more of a curiosity, but crazy people do reside on the internet, and we've had a few questionable people here. I err on the side of safety.
 
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cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,683
58
91
Hayabusa Rider said:
If I have a license number I know you are and it's a simple matter to find someone. That's not a problem out in the public where a plate is more of a curiosity, but crazy people do reside on the internet, and we've had a few questionable people here. I err on the side of safety.
Click to expand...

I better delete every post I ever made here then. ;)

Hmm I can't even edit the oldest one I can find.

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/who-makes-a-tower-w-120mm-fan-and-400wattp-s.493513/
 
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herm0016

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,524
1,132
126
Tech class used it for running search and rescue operations when I was the coordinator. I have not used it in a while, but have kept up on the licence. I'm not much of a chit chatter. Some of those guys can talk to nobody for hours.
 
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