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I have noticed a correlation where the smartest tech people I know are also Ham operators.
I got my Technicians license about a year ago but have struggled to find much to do with it. I check into my local nets every once and a while, but the repeaters are nearly silent otherwise. The CW privileges are ok but hard to use. Seems you need a General to do all the cool stuff. Any other technicians here who have found a great use for the license?
Even with Technician you may be able to do POTA or SOTA successfully on VHF.
I'm sure he's long gone now so I don't mind giving his name: Julian Gannon. His call was K9BCJ which he claimed stood for Better Call Julian.
Thanks, Mr. Gannon! I hope you're working the whole galaxy now.
(Actually, though, ham conversations were excruciatingly boring: how are you receiving me? You're coming through loud & clear here. What equipment are you using?)
I got my Technicians license about a year ago but have struggled to find much to do with it. I check into my local nets every once and a while, but the repeaters are nearly silent otherwise. The CW privileges are ok but hard to use. Seems you need a General to do all the cool stuff. Any other technicians here who have found a great use for the license?
Personal story: on my block growing up there was a blind guy who had an enormous antenna tower in his yard. He was SO nice to me, a teen-aged boy! His equipment all had braille labels on the controls. I'm sure he's long gone now so I don't mind giving his name: Julian Gannon. His call was K9BCJ which he claimed stood for Better Call Julian. Thanks, Mr. Gannon! I hope you're working the whole galaxy now. (Actually, th…
As the internet gets more balkanized, censored, and controlled by a few giant companies, it makes me think that it's time for a different hobby. Something that can be used to subvert censorship (remember the whole "interprets it as damage and routes around it" conceit?) and is more hobbyists and less corporate sounds appealing. Is Ham that hobby? I am genuinely asking. A few days ago a thread here had lots of people…
Ham magazines like QST and 73 published schematics and other how-to articles which amounted to an excellent education in practical electrical engineering. 73 magazine in particular was very technical -- it assumed you had good working knowledge of many common RF and audio circuits. Also, to get a ham license you needed to take a test demonstrating a good level of proficiency. For the lowest rung "novice" license you just had to demonstrate knowledge of Morse code at a slow but reasonable pace. For higher rungs of the achievement ladder like "advanced" or "extra" you needed to pass an exam about electronics as well as receive and send Morse code at a fast clip. The license presented a barrier to entry which didn't exist in CB radio -- which some hams looked down upon as a cesspool of unwashed, technically illiterate bozos.
My exposure to ham radio really started in the 1970s since my dad had been a ham playing with homebuilt radios since he was a kid in the 1930s. In the '70s the hobby was trifurcating. On one hand were the hard-core guys who built their own rigs, sometimes for the challenging high-frequency bands. Some also participated in designing and launching a ham-radio satellite via the ARRL. Early forms of digital encoding over radio were also big. Those guys were the real engineering types, and I admired them. On the other hand, commercial outfits were selling ready-to-use radios ... no engineering skills needed. In the middle were guys assembling and using stuff from Heathkit -- a great way to learn about electronics.
The ham hobby has been fading away for many years. I think the thrill of building a radio and then talking to somebody on a different continent with it has diminished in the face of cheap international calling, cell phones, Skype, etc. The only thing left for hams to do these days involves disaster relief -- and the remaining ham mag QST plays up that theme (or at least did the last time I looked). Meanwhile, the young nerds who used to take up ham radio now occupy themselves with various open-source software projects. I suppose that's natural.
Personal story: on my block growing up there was a blind guy who had an enormous antenna tower in his yard. He was SO nice to me, a teen-aged boy! His equipment all had braille labels on the controls. I'm sure he's long gone now so I don't mind giving his name: Julian Gannon. His call was K9BCJ which he claimed stood for Better Call Julian. Thanks, Mr. Gannon! I hope you're working the whole galaxy now. (Actually, th…
Looks like he passed in 1979, at the ripe old age of 90, we should all be so lucky!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's dangerous about ham radio?
If you're broadcasting at higher powers (to send over longer distances) there are risks from high RF exposure and electrical hazards. The HAM radio license exams focus on these safety issues quite a bit.
Ted Arroway: I don't know, Sparks. But I guess I'd say if it is just us... seems like an awful waste of space.
Personal story: on my block growing up there was a blind guy who had an enormous antenna tower in his yard. He was SO nice to me, a teen-aged boy! His equipment all had braille labels on the controls. I'm sure he's long gone now so I don't mind giving his name: Julian Gannon. His call was K9BCJ which he claimed stood for Better Call Julian. Thanks, Mr. Gannon! I hope you're working the whole galaxy now. (Actually, th…
Just looking up his callsign, I found this: https://www.cardcow.com/215722/k9bcj-ill-seeing-you-farther-...