Any amateur radio operators ?

[jazzboypro]

Hello all, I know people are in all sorts of hobby besides cigars. Are there any amateur radio operators here? If so what's you callsign?

[BrightonCorgi]

Been wanting to get into HAM radio. Just want that license plate!

[jazzboypro]

Go for it my friend !!! Nice project for the new year waiting for you just around the corner.

[BrightonCorgi]

11 minutes ago, jazzboypro said:

Go for it my friend !!! Nice project for the new year waiting for you just around the corner.

What do I need to know to get started?  My family was big into CB and my uncle had a Ham radio license.

[jazzboypro]

26 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

What do I need to know to get started?  My family was big into CB and my uncle had a Ham radio license.

Amateur radio requires a licence in order to operate. There are courses available online or in person. You then have to pass an exam. In the USA there are 3 levels of licence:

Technician class

General class

Extra class

Your class licence determines on witch bands so can transmit etc.

[SonGoku]

Both my dad and grandad where amateur radio operators. My grandad's callsign was ea5fu. He got into the amateur side of it after the Spanish civil war. My father would tell me stories of how he would administer beatings to my father and siblings with one hand while morsing at a high speed with the other hand 

My father's callsign was oz1kgo. He got into it after marrying my mother and moving to Denmark in the mid 70's. I remember him always missed Spain while living in Denmark. So he probably got into it because he missed talking to his father and having a connection to other Spaniards. This was way before the Internet and a telephone calls out of country was extremely expensive. I remember having conversations with my grandfather over the radio 😄

They both enjoyed talking to people around the world and my dad would often meet up with local radio amateurs while traveling with his job or on vacation. I remember we would visit radio amateurs while on summer vacation. We would drive from Denmark to Spain and meet up with friends he had made. They both had an office dedicated to the hobby full of pictures with meet ups and dinner with fellow radio amateurs. 

My father was rather technical and would build huge antennas in the country where he could get much better signal  and reach countries further away. I remember sitting in the car while he would hook up his radio gear to the antenna and spend hours all excited talking to people in far away countries. They would have a notebook where they used to write date, time, callsign etc, etc. of the people they interacted with.

When my grandfather died my gather had moved back to Spain at that point in time and he took over my grandfather callsign.

When father died almost 7 years ago we gave away all the equipment to a museum in Spain.

Your topic brought up many childhood memories for me. To the level of it bringing a tear of happiness to my eye. Thank you 🥰 I have often thought if this was still a thing. What is your callsign @jazzboypro? And how many years have you practised this hobby? Are there still many people enjoying this hobby?

[jazzboypro]

4 hours ago, SonGoku said:

Both my dad and grandad where amateur radio operators. My grandad's callsign was ea5fu. He got into the amateur side of it after the Spanish civil war. My father would tell me stories of how he would administer beatings to my father and siblings with one hand while morsing at a high speed with the other hand 

My father's callsign was oz1kgo. He got into it after marrying my mother and moving to Denmark in the mid 70's. I remember him always missed Spain while living in Denmark. So he probably got into it because he missed talking to his father and having a connection to other Spaniards. This was way before the Internet and a telephone calls out of country was extremely expensive. I remember having conversations with my grandfather over the radio 😄

They both enjoyed talking to people around the world and my dad would often meet up with local radio amateurs while traveling with his job or on vacation. I remember we would visit radio amateurs while on summer vacation. We would drive from Denmark to Spain and meet up with friends he had made. They both had an office dedicated to the hobby full of pictures with meet ups and dinner with fellow radio amateurs. 

My father was rather technical and would build huge antennas in the country where he could get much better signal  and reach countries further away. I remember sitting in the car while he would hook up his radio gear to the antenna and spend hours all excited talking to people in far away countries. They would have a notebook where they used to write date, time, callsign etc, etc. of the people they interacted with.

When my grandfather died my gather had moved back to Spain at that point in time and he took over my grandfather callsign.

When father died almost 7 years ago we gave away all the equipment to a museum in Spain.

Your topic brought up many childhood memories for me. To the level of it bringing a tear of happiness to my eye. Thank you 🥰 I have often thought if this was still a thing. What is your callsign @jazzboypro? And how many years have you practised this hobby? Are there still many people enjoying this hobby?

I'm glad I reminded you of nice memories 🙂 my call sign is VA2FCS and i got my licence in 1995. It all started with my mother's brother who was a police officer in Montreal and an amateur radio operator. Back then he got me a scanner that allowed me to listen to police/fire/ambulance and all, at this time you could listen to cellular phone conversation and wireless phones...these were the days...He then showed me is amateur radio room and made a demo for me and i got hooked, that<s when I got my licence.

The hobby has evolved since then. You still can make contact around the world the old fashion way but now you have plenty of digital modes available (FT8, D-STAR, DMR, FUSION ETC. You can even make contact with the ISS. It's a nice hobby.

[targa88]

12 hours ago, jazzboypro said:

I'm glad I reminded you of nice memories 🙂 my call sign is VA2FCS and i got my licence in 1995. It all started with my mother's brother who was a police officer in Montreal and an amateur radio operator. Back then he got me a scanner that allowed me to listen to police/fire/ambulance and all, at this time you could listen to cellular phone conversation and wireless phones...these were the days...He then showed me is amateur radio room and made a demo for me and i got hooked, that<s when I got my licence.

The hobby has evolved since then. You still can make contact around the world the old fashion way but now you have plenty of digital modes available (FT8, D-STAR, DMR, FUSION ETC. You can even make contact with the ISS. It's a nice hobby.

Not familiar with the digital stuff.

Mainly used for off-roading  communication. Some emergency prep work along with offroad rallies.

VE6OZZ

[Lamboinee]

I've always been curious.  My uncle was a HAM operator and I remember sitting in his computer room listening to him talk with other cesna pilots about pilot stuff.  Sadly, he passed before I was old enough to be taught anything cool about the hobby.  Other than talking with pilots, what are some of the common things that radio operators do as part of the hobby?  Do people do "shows"? Or are certain channels used for certain topics/themes? Or is it just raw anonymous blind broadcasting to unknown listeners?  I think I'd like it, and and I've been looking for a way to exploit the ambiguities in the POA by-laws using a large, obstructive, non-structural, self-supporting, non-permanent conveyance of free speech.

How many $$$ does it take to even break into the HAM radio beginner scene? estimated?  

[jazzboypro]

22 hours ago, Lamboinee said:

I've always been curious.  My uncle was a HAM operator and I remember sitting in his computer room listening to him talk with other cesna pilots about pilot stuff.  Sadly, he passed before I was old enough to be taught anything cool about the hobby.  Other than talking with pilots, what are some of the common things that radio operators do as part of the hobby?  Do people do "shows"? Or are certain channels used for certain topics/themes? Or is it just raw anonymous blind broadcasting to unknown listeners?  I think I'd like it, and and I've been looking for a way to exploit the ambiguities in the POA by-laws using a large, obstructive, non-structural, self-supporting, non-permanent conveyance of free speech.

How many $$$ does it take to even break into the HAM radio beginner scene? estimated?  

 

I don't doubt that you uncle was a ham but air frequencies a not part of a band where ham operators can legally transmit. Common activities are what we call "nets", they usually occur on a specific frequency at a specific hour (often during commute hours). Some are just chasing DX stations over the HF bands. Some make contacts via satellites. You can of course have a simple non formal chat with one of a few operators. The hobby has evolved a lot with the advent of digital modes.

How much it will cost you depends a lot on what you want to do. You can spend a few hundreds or a many thousands. The biggest problem most hams are facing is erecting antennas.

[targa88]

14 hours ago, Lamboinee said:

I've always been curious.  My uncle was a HAM operator and I remember sitting in his computer room listening to him talk with other cesna pilots about pilot stuff.  Sadly, he passed before I was old enough to be taught anything cool about the hobby.  Other than talking with pilots, what are some of the common things that radio operators do as part of the hobby?  Do people do "shows"? Or are certain channels used for certain topics/themes? Or is it just raw anonymous blind broadcasting to unknown listeners?  I think I'd like it, and and I've been looking for a way to exploit the ambiguities in the POA by-laws using a large, obstructive, non-structural, self-supporting, non-permanent conveyance of free speech.

How many $$$ does it take to even break into the HAM radio beginner scene? estimated?  

This is one big rabbit hole.....

There are those who belong to groups and associations that have specific use for HAM radio communication:

Off grid

SAR

Off roading

Different types of car, vehicle rallies

Associations that maintain repeater networks..etc

There are also various channels + repeaters for long distance communication.

Then there is the further distinction between UHF/VHF, digital etc.

Certification along with obtaining a call sign is different based on country of origin / location. Level of certification also determines what you can operate.

You might want to look up if there is a local HAM radio association in your neck of the woods for more specific guidance and instructions ( then to pass the exam).

In terms of cost...well:

A basic handheld unit varies between $100-$500

Mobile units (that you can put in your vehicle) start at about $500.

Then the sky is the limit depending on what you want to build (radio control unit + antenna)...

 

[Lamboinee]

2 hours ago, jazzboypro said:

ut air frequencies a not part of a band where ham operators can legally transmit

Dam, that must be why no one ever responded to him. He thought they all crashed.

 

[Greenhorn2]

A guy who lived up on the hillside behind us when I was growing up was into CB/ ham radios. He had a radio, I think it was referred to as linear, that when he hit the mike key, every television within 2 miles would lose reception. He had to get some sort of filter box and put on everyones TV to stop the interference. His son has gotten into it and built a large antenna that he can stand up and let back down with a big electric winch.

[GoodStix]

9 hours ago, jazzboypro said:

The biggest problem most hams are facing is erecting antennas.

I thought it was a young man’s hobby? 😉

[El Presidente]

On 12/9/2023 at 6:56 AM, BrightonCorgi said:

What do I need to know to get started?  My family was big into CB and my uncle had a Ham radio license.

 

.............I still don't know how to use the VHF radio on my boat 🙄

[BrightonCorgi]

12 hours ago, El Presidente said:

.............I still don't know how to use the VHF radio on my boat 🙄

The reassuring....

My dad invented the first digital voice to be used on VHF radios for distress calls in the 1980s.

[jazzboypro]

17 hours ago, Greenhorn2 said:

A guy who lived up on the hillside behind us when I was growing up was into CB/ ham radios. He had a radio, I think it was referred to as linear, that when he hit the mike key, every television within 2 miles would lose reception. He had to get some sort of filter box and put on everyones TV to stop the interference. His son has gotten into it and built a large antenna that he can stand up and let back down with a big electric winch.

The linear is actually an amplifier that is hooked to the radio. The maximum legal power is different depending on the country.

[jv0099]

KJ7NHW     

[Greenhorn2]

5 hours ago, jazzboypro said:

The linear is actually an amplifier that is hooked to the radio. The maximum legal power is different depending on the country.

I don't think he was legal. He could turn a TV screen to snow white every time he keyed the mike.

[jazzboypro]

22 minutes ago, Greenhorn2 said:

I don't think he was legal. He could turn a TV screen to snow white every time he keyed the mike.

This could be due to a few reasons and not only because of too much power. I think in the USA the maximum power for amateur radio is around 2000W PEP. CB is not really regulated and one can do as he pleases they usually don't get a lot of respect from the amateur community in general.

[Greenhorn2]

3 minutes ago, jazzboypro said:

This could be due to a few reasons and not only because of too much power. I think in the USA the maximum power for amateur radio is around 2000W PEP. CB is not really regulated and one can do as he pleases they usually don't get a lot of respect from the amateur community in general.

This guy liked to push the envelope. He wasn't the type that was fond of government regulations. Lol. But he was really sharp and skilled in many trades. He could make/build anything he put his mind to.

[jazzboypro]

A lot of CB/ham operators like to build their own equipment especially antennas. Some build their own radios and amplifiers. I'm not patient enough to do that so I buy my gear loll