Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017) • Hacker News Board

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#71

Post by Tunecrew » Fri, Mar 09, 2018, 10:37 PM UTC

vitaflo wrote: post #64

dpeck wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its one of the things that has kept me away from amateur radion. I'm interested in decentralized/emergency communications and have a good understanding of RF, I've even picked up a couple of Baofeng handheld units to listen in on things and get more familiar with that part of the spectrum but the other people involved in the hobby aren't exactly the kind of folks I want to hang around enough to learn from.

I'm a ham and I agree with you but you're missing the fact that the people you may hear locally aren't indicative of the broader hobby. Yes there are a lot of grumpy old elitists chatting up the airwaves every day, but there are also people who rarely if ever talk but still do things with the hobby (like myself). There are so many sub-genres in the hobby that someone can always find something they enjoy. If anything…

I like it for the electronics and hacking - like I said I've got an Amateur Extra class license and a 2x1 call sign, and I have literally NEVER keyed up - not even once.

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#72

Post by jlgaddis » Fri, Mar 09, 2018, 11:05 PM UTC

mehrdadn wrote: post #13

giancarlostoro wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After an article about the judge who did the case for Oracle vs Google and how he was a ham I got more and more interested in ham radios. The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment, but if you can reach a main city there's usually repeaters up on those buildings from what I've been told. There's so much to learn I feel and I don't know where to start truly, I've just watched a couple of videos and read a…

> The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment What about the fact that everyone in the world who can receive your signal will hear and understand what you're saying?

feature, !bug

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#73

Post by mehrdadn » Fri, Mar 09, 2018, 11:13 PM UTC

jlgaddis wrote: post #72

mehrdadn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment What about the fact that everyone in the world who can receive your signal will hear and understand what you're saying?

feature, !bug

The fact that it's by design makes it an upside?

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#74

Post by mehrdadn » Fri, Mar 09, 2018, 11:14 PM UTC

TallGuyShort wrote: post #18

mehrdadn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment What about the fact that everyone in the world who can receive your signal will hear and understand what you're saying?

That's pretty much the way an awful lot of communication happens on the Internet, too.

...no? I can't read your HTTP communication merely by being with propagation distance. I have to actually have control over the communication channel. Which I don't.

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#75

Post by mehrdadn » Fri, Mar 09, 2018, 11:14 PM UTC

wyager wrote: post #19

mehrdadn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment What about the fact that everyone in the world who can receive your signal will hear and understand what you're saying?

Ham radio is explicitly designed to be a publicly open broadcast system, not a private communication system. You’re not even allowed to use encryption in the US, although authentication is fine (iirc).

I'm well aware it's by design, I'm not sure how that implies it can't be a downside.

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#76

Post by mehrdadn » Fri, Mar 09, 2018, 11:15 PM UTC

Filligree wrote: post #14

mehrdadn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment What about the fact that everyone in the world who can receive your signal will hear and understand what you're saying?

That's the desired outcome, not a downside.

Desired by... the same people as the ones communicating? In the majority of cases or in the minority?

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#77

Post by pryelluw » Fri, Mar 09, 2018, 11:30 PM UTC

kawfey wrote: post #30

godelski wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suggest taking a bunch of these tests. You might be able to schedule one test and get both technician and general. I did two tests in one day (and missed like 2 or 3 from getting my general). But the technician is fairly easy, but there is some memorization that you need to do. http://aa9pw.com/radio/

I recommend https://hamstudy.org/

Thanks for the link. I was in Puerto Rico when Maria passed and having a ham radio would have made things so much better. I felt a really deep remorse for never taking the exam. I'll study and get certified now.

Can anyone recommend equipment choices for a noob?

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#78

Post by Stratoscope » Sat, Mar 10, 2018, 12:07 AM UTC

mehrdadn wrote: post #13

giancarlostoro wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After an article about the judge who did the case for Oracle vs Google and how he was a ham I got more and more interested in ham radios. The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment, but if you can reach a main city there's usually repeaters up on those buildings from what I've been told. There's so much to learn I feel and I don't know where to start truly, I've just watched a couple of videos and read a…

> The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment What about the fact that everyone in the world who can receive your signal will hear and understand what you're saying?

I just saw your latest replies in this thread. Can I offer you another way to look at this?

Amateur radio is what it is. It has certain freedoms and certain restrictions. The restrictions include no commercial use and no encrypted communication, along with licensing tests, frequency and power limits, etc.

But the freedoms can be pretty great. You can help in emergencies. You can have a backup radio in case you get in trouble outside cellular coverage. You can explore electronics and antenna design. (I just saw a job listing for an RF/antenna design specialist to work on self-flying cameras.) You can build your own transmitter from scratch. You can talk to astronauts on the ISS or bounce a signal off the moon!

And that's just a tiny fraction of the things you can do. If any of them are interesting, then you just have to ask yourself, "Does it matter to me if anyone is listening in?"

If it matters to you, no harm, no foul, you just find something else to do instead.

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#79

Post by mehrdadn » Sat, Mar 10, 2018, 12:16 AM UTC

Stratoscope wrote: post #78

mehrdadn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only downside is the cost of some of the equipment What about the fact that everyone in the world who can receive your signal will hear and understand what you're saying?

I just saw your latest replies in this thread. Can I offer you another way to look at this? Amateur radio is what it is. It has certain freedoms and certain restrictions. The restrictions include no commercial use and no encrypted communication, along with licensing tests, frequency and power limits, etc. But the freedoms can be pretty great. You can help in emergencies. You can have a backup radio in case you get in…

I agree with you on all counts—I feel like you guys are massively misunderstanding my comment and somehow taking it as an attack on the notion of ham radio, as if somehow I feel like it's some kind of evil. I don't. I never did. It can be a great, useful, awesome thing. Where did I deny this? All I was saying was that "no downsides except the equipment cost" is emphatically not an accurate picture—and I feel accurate pictures are important regardless of how awesome something is. In this case it matters because I don't want some poor soul to read this, go buy the equipment, and then discover (hopefully not the hard way) that his (say) encrypted communication is illegal, and everything he says must be public to the whole world. I don't get why everyone here is so quick to extrapolate from "X isn't perfect, it has tradeoffs Y/Z" to "X utterly sucks, I hate it, and it needs to stop existing". It isn't helpful; it's a real turn-off that just sucks the energy out of what could be a more meaningful/nuanced/informative discussion.

Re: Ham radio operators are saving Puerto Rico (2017)

#80

Post by floren » Sat, Mar 10, 2018, 12:36 AM UTC

jpmattia wrote: post #63

tomswartz07 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adjusted for inflation, that $700 in 1978 is $2,661.15 in 2018 money. The latest-and-greatest KENWOOD TS-990S is going for ~$7,979.95 (according to HRO)[1] I'd say you got a deal back in the day. :) [1] https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-011672

:) The TS-990S looks to be a smidgen better than my old Kenwood. It took me a few minutes to remember: Mine was the TS 520, which listed at $600 according to eham. So even more of a bargain than I remember. (not like I paid for it. Thanks Dad. (But then again, it sent me down the giant rabbit hole of analog circuits and devices. Thanks for nothing Dad.) :) https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/5430 https://www.ebay.com…

I've got a TS-520 sitting on the desk next to me. It sounds great on receive but things get intimidating when it comes time to TX... so far I've only TX'd on my TS-570S.