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We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

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Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#51

Post by p0d »

jimnotgym wrote: post #20

I would like to have a go at building a receiver for listening to CW with my kids. I don't want anything on the computer, just something I can solder that will work. Is there a kit that has a good success rate? I'm in the UK if that matters.

You just need a long piece of wire, diode, ferrite coil wth wire wrapped around, variable resistor and old style ear piece to pick up am radio. No batteries required. I can remember my son’s lack of interest while we made the venerable crystal radio and then his little fascinated face when we picked up some signals

Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#53

Post by cronix »

httpz wrote: post #30

I have a license because my high school teacher made us do it but I never quite understood what hobbyists do with it. I see how it can be a useful skill to have for people in a certain profession but as a hobbyist what do you do? Do people just talk to random people on the radio? I'm genuinely curious.

> Do people just talk to random people on the radio?

Some do, just like the internet. You're random to me, and we're conversing. Remember "chat rooms" and similar (IRC)? Mostly anonymous people talking to each other. Yes you might have some people you "know" in there, but there are strangers as well.

Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#54

Post by setquk »

resters wrote: post #18
gergles wrote: post #4

The title of this piece is "HF Ham Radio on a Budget: QRP Labs, QRPGuys, CW Academy" and probably should at least just be the first part. The article doesn't really talk about being it a golden age for amateurs except for the existence of SOTA. It's actually a pretty bad time for HF right now because of low solar activity; in fact, it's probably one of the worst times in recent memory to try doing HF beyond SOTA.

> pretty bad time for HF right now Not true, the lower HF bands (80m through 20m) are excellent and there is worldwide communication happening all the time. It's only bad if you recall periods of high sunspot activity with superb 10m and 15m conditions. Certainly something to look forward to in the next few years but not a show stopper in the least. Also, there is now significantly more weak signal activity than in p…

Definitely. 17000km QSO the other day with CW on 6 watts out.

FT8 bores the crap out of me unfortunately.

Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#55

Post by setquk »

jimhefferon wrote: post #52

The problem is that many on the bands are miserable people. It can be discouraging. The radio is a lot of fun. (I love Morse.) But a sizable percentage of the radio-ers make you want to do something else.

This is a big problem. I find CW to be populated with less annoying people.

Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#56

Post by plugger »

sahil-kang wrote: post #48
Waterluvian wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a story here you need to write down for us somehwere. :)

Yes, please do: what did being “the radio guy” entail? Was it more software or hardware? I write software for a living so that’s what I’m more interested in; don’t know about parent comment, though.

I can comment on this as I'm kinda that guy at my rocket club as well. Basically many RDF or GPS Trackers in the hobby rocketry community operate over 70cm and require a license for legal operation. Add to that many people buy trackers and yet don't fully familarise themselves with their operation. So you'll have someone with a GPS tracker that has no idea how to get coordinates "out" of the system or what to do with them when they have them. And GPS is the easier system to use as RDFing a tracker (foxhunting) is more readily described as a skill or even an art. It definitely takes practice to become proficient at these types of things. Add to that the fact that many GPS systems are different from an operating perspective and you have a bit of a steep learning curve.

Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#57

Post by jimhefferon »

setquk wrote: post #55
jimhefferon wrote: post #52

The problem is that many on the bands are miserable people. It can be discouraging. The radio is a lot of fun. (I love Morse.) But a sizable percentage of the radio-ers make you want to do something else.

This is a big problem. I find CW to be populated with less annoying people.

Sked? I'm just 15 wpm but if you need a VT ...

Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#58

Post by resters »

setquk wrote: post #55
jimhefferon wrote: post #52

The problem is that many on the bands are miserable people. It can be discouraging. The radio is a lot of fun. (I love Morse.) But a sizable percentage of the radio-ers make you want to do something else.

This is a big problem. I find CW to be populated with less annoying people.

That’s a broad and inaccurate generalization. You just need to find a niche that is more socially appealing to you if you want to use it to socialize. Sounds like common sense but it’s easy to be weirded out by the “pig farmers” or by listening to a chat where one of the parties expresses conservative views.

But overall hams embody the best aspects of science and engineering culture and DIY/maker culture.

Most of the subgroups bave active online communities and are more focused in their on the air activities, and a bit less inclined to shoot the breeze about Fox News talking points.

CW tends to be nice and some of the “rag chewing” (casual conversation) is remarkably thoughtful and there are some really interesting people. Doing conversation well on Morse is a bit of an art form.

Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#59

Post by aidenn0 »

jimmcslim wrote: post #29

I'm interested in amateur radio but always feel that I can't get anything done without a big honking antenna?

HF (which is what this article talks about) works best with a big honking antenna, but if you build your own you can get pretty creative; my dad did 20m from a townhouse.

As far as VHF/UHF, there are compact handhelds[1] with an antenna less than 12 inches long.

1: For example https://www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=12831&FileCatI...

Re: We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

#60

Post by nopacience »

themodelplumber wrote: post #42
httpz wrote: post #30

I have a license because my high school teacher made us do it but I never quite understood what hobbyists do with it. I see how it can be a useful skill to have for people in a certain profession but as a hobbyist what do you do? Do people just talk to random people on the radio? I'm genuinely curious.

It's an incredibly broad hobby. I just got my first award by downloading digital images (SSTV) from the ISS using a $35 handheld radio, and that didn't require any talking at all. There are tons of things you can do, so many that it's hard to sum up. It also combines well with other hobbies. Or it can be a symbol or inspiration of its own kind, an objective reminder that more science in your life is a good thing. One…

care to explain how to download from ISS via radio ?
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