Finally Started HAM radio!

[maverik]

Well after a long period I am finally (along with a quarter of my squadron) enrolled in a technician HAM course!  Some of it seems pretty simple with the EIR and PIE formulas.  Along with technician I am also self-studying general and extra class since I can pay for technician then take general if I pass and then extra if I pass general for no cost my instructor said so I figured why not?  Anyways any tips or advice from the operators here on CT?

[Jerry Jacobs]

The test for Technician is easy enough, however the General test is MUCH more difficult with harder electrical theory.  However you can just take the online test enough times to pass both tests if you really want to.  But if you want to pass both and know the stuff, be prepared for lots and lots of studying.

KJ6CCE

[JoeTomasone]

The test for Technician is easy enough, however the General test is MUCH more difficult with harder electrical theory.  However you can just take the online test enough times to pass both tests if you really want to.  But if you want to pass both and know the stuff, be prepared for lots and lots of studying.

KJ6CCE

+1.   Learn as much as you can about antenna theory, emergency power, and proper operating technique in nets and the like.  All of those skills will come in handy in CAP comms as well. 

AB2M / YI9MV

[Jerry Jacobs]

The test for Technician is easy enough, however the General test is MUCH more difficult with harder electrical theory.  However you can just take the online test enough times to pass both tests if you really want to.  But if you want to pass both and know the stuff, be prepared for lots and lots of studying.

KJ6CCE

+1.   Learn as much as you can about antenna theory, emergency power, and proper operating technique in nets and the like.  All of those skills will come in handy in CAP comms as well. 



AB2M / YI9MV

And during the zombie apocalypse those skills will be highly needed.

[tdepp]

The test for Technician is easy enough, however the General test is MUCH more difficult with harder electrical theory.  However you can just take the online test enough times to pass both tests if you really want to.  But if you want to pass both and know the stuff, be prepared for lots and lots of studying.

KJ6CCE

+1.   Learn as much as you can about antenna theory, emergency power, and proper operating technique in nets and the like.  All of those skills will come in handy in CAP comms as well. 

AB2M / YI9MV

Or just use your cell phone.  I hear you can talk to all over the world with it! 

[RADIOMAN015]

The test for Technician is easy enough, however the General test is MUCH more difficult with harder electrical theory.  However you can just take the online test enough times to pass both tests if you really want to.  But if you want to pass both and know the stuff, be prepared for lots and lots of studying.

KJ6CCE

+1.   Learn as much as you can about antenna theory, emergency power, and proper operating technique in nets and the like.  All of those skills will come in handy in CAP comms as well. 

AB2M / YI9MV

Or just use your cell phone.  I hear you can talk to all over the world with it! 

Amateur Radio is know as the communications service "When All Else Fails!!".   There's lots of amateur radio operators thoughout the world that can get a signal through when disaster strikes and normal communications is disrupted.

Even locally, we run Emergency VHF Nets twice a week, 1 simplex & the other via the repeater, to test out the range comm range using mobiles, bases, & portables.

When I run training with our cadets, I do emphasize that IF their cellphone will work than by all means use it.  Go to the higest point they safely can reach.  Also they might have to set up a relay system with the low powered ISR's in the valley and one of them with the cellphone & an ISR on the top of a hill or mountain talking back to mission base via the cellphone & relaying via radio to the team below.

Even getting your technician ticket opens up the potential for satellite communications and even the simplest as simplex comm on VHF or UHF.  Experiment with slow scan TV, digital modes, etc.. Radio equipment is relatively inexpensive and there's a lot of hams that are willing to help the new amateur.

Good luck and I'd suggest getting the Technician ticket first, than working on the General, Extra later.

RM

[maverik]

Alright by the sound of it right now I'm not into the slow scan stuff but I definately want to get into HF  mainly something like a mobile that I can put into a pack with it's own power supply etc.  ow being self sufficient is what really gets the geek out of me 

[JoeTomasone]

Alright by the sound of it right now I'm not into the slow scan stuff but I definately want to get into HF  mainly something like a mobile that I can put into a pack with it's own power supply etc.  ow being self sufficient is what really gets the geek out of me 

Can't use it for CAP, but....

http://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=102&encProdID=0372FA803B7BBADBF3076C94ACA7A8C5&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0

[tdepp]

^^And when HAM radios fail, there are always steel drums and smoke signals.    And yes, I know we need radio communications to do our jobs for CAP and that if barnyard matter hits the fan, down go the cell towers and we need the HAMs and other radioheads for vital communications.  But my cell phone sure is handy!

[RRLE]

I definately want to get into HF  mainly something like a mobile that I can put into a pack with it's own power supply etc

Take a look at the ICOM 703 Plus

[Major Lord]

^^And when HAM radios fail, there are always steel drums and smoke signals.    And yes, I know we need radio communications to do our jobs for CAP and that if barnyard matter hits the fan, down go the cell towers and we need the HAMs and other radioheads for vital communications.  But my cell phone sure is handy!

Your point is well taken, but remember, that it was the work of hams and amateur's in the pre-ham decades that made your cellular phone a possibility. ( Marconi did not have a ham license) Marconi, Edison, Tesla, and many of the greats were basically men driven to tinker with electronics ( before the word existed) and today's hams are the guys who will be designing the communications systems of tomorrow. Our grandchildren will probably laugh out load when they see us on old-fashioned Blueray Disk movies pushing little buttons to send 5 word abbreviated messages (texting) or holding primitive battery powered devices up to our heads and talking while crashing into trees. My first cellular phone cost $1500.00 and weighed about 25 pounds, and that was only twenty years ago! Lets see what the world brings in another ten years. ( assuming we survive the Barackocalypse )

Major Lord

[wuzafuzz]

My first cellular phone cost $1500.00 and weighed about 25 pounds, and that was only twenty years ago! Lets see what the world brings in another ten years. ( assuming we survive the Barackocalypse )

We'll all be issued Star Trek style communicator badges with the "O" logo on them.   Searches will become a thing of the past thanks to their 24/7 tracking of our whereabouts   

[wuzafuzz]

Well after a long period I am finally (along with a quarter of my squadron) enrolled in a technician HAM course!  Some of it seems pretty simple with the EIR and PIE formulas.  Along with technician I am also self-studying general and extra class since I can pay for technician then take general if I pass and then extra if I pass general for no cost my instructor said so I figured why not?  Anyways any tips or advice from the operators here on CT?

Good luck with your class and happy hamming!  :clap:

I keep meaning to get back into ham radio, but some of the locals are less than friendly.  Upgrading to general class will expand those horizons quite a bit, freeing me from the local repeater scene.  My next home will NOT have antenna restrictions! 

[tdepp]

^^And when HAM radios fail, there are always steel drums and smoke signals.    And yes, I know we need radio communications to do our jobs for CAP and that if barnyard matter hits the fan, down go the cell towers and we need the HAMs and other radioheads for vital communications.  But my cell phone sure is handy!

Your point is well taken, but remember, that it was the work of hams and amateur's in the pre-ham decades that made your cellular phone a possibility. ( Marconi did not have a ham license) Marconi, Edison, Tesla, and many of the greats were basically men driven to tinker with electronics ( before the word existed) and today's hams are the guys who will be designing the communications systems of tomorrow. Our grandchildren will probably laugh out load when they see us on old-fashioned Blueray Disk movies pushing little buttons to send 5 word abbreviated messages (texting) or holding primitive battery powered devices up to our heads and talking while crashing into trees. My first cellular phone cost $1500.00 and weighed about 25 pounds, and that was only twenty years ago! Lets see what the world brings in another ten years. ( assuming we survive the Barackocalypse )

Major Lord

My Lord!
I was with you until the Barackocalpyse comment.  He's my Man Crush. 
My first cell phone was smaller than yours in 1993 (size does matter).  It was a "bag phone" that had a lead battery that weighed probably at least five pounds and would keep about 20 minutes of charge if you were lucky.  Otherwise, you used it in your car.  It was the size of a small athletic bag.  The phone itself was about the size of a standard house phone.  And that's the way it was and we liked it! 

So, to all you Hammies i have made fun of through the years, you stand on the shoulders of giants--Te Slaa, Marconi, Edison, Armstrong, and Major Lord.  I salute you and thank you for my Blackberry (except when I get client calls and emails in the middle of the night or on weekends).

[cap235629]

when Katrina Hit Mississippi one of the first things that happened was that the Cell towers went dark or were blown down.  So much for your beloved cell phone....  HF was the only option.

[Major Lord]

We used VHF tactically to pretty good effect.....Had to have a guy on the roof of the Marriot on Tchapitoulas Street to talk to the West bank and the Ninth Ward though! I miss the red beans and rice and the Crawfish Ettoufe'  but not the MRE's!

Major Lord

[brenaud]

Well after a long period I am finally (along with a quarter of my squadron) enrolled in a technician HAM course!  Some of it seems pretty simple with the EIR and PIE formulas.  Along with technician I am also self-studying general and extra class since I can pay for technician then take general if I pass and then extra if I pass general for no cost my instructor said so I figured why not?  Anyways any tips or advice from the operators here on CT?

Advice?  Sure...Have fun.  And let us know when you have a callsign.

WR4MS

[maverik]

Will do I'm studying for both technician and general with some extra mixed in (I probably wont test for it just yet)  so everything should go well I test on the 24th.  Anyways the ICOM and Yaseu are both fantastic looking rigs but I think for my first rig i'll either go used base station route or hand held.

[AlphaSigOU]

Depending on the VEC (Volunteer Examiner Committee), you may be able to take all three tests in one session. When I took my ham radio exam, I passed the Technician (Element 2), then was given General (Element 3). ( I didn't pass.) If you pass General you might be offered to take the Amateur Extra exam.

Good luck and 73,
V7/KJ6GHO

[JoeTomasone]

when Katrina Hit Mississippi one of the first things that happened was that the Cell towers went dark or were blown down.  So much for your beloved cell phone....  HF was the only option.

There were 2m repeaters operating as well in some areas; Hancock and Jackson counties, for example.