[flagged]
The rich history of ham radio culture
71–80 of 153 posts
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#72Kind of wish they had kept the Morse code requirement for the radio license. Felt like more of a connection to the old ham requirements and history
It'd also be nice if car mechanics were trained to shoe horses and fix wagon wheels so I can feel some connection to the old West.
without them we wouldn't be here. one day you'll appreciate that
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#73Related recent discussion yesterday: Taking a Radio Camping https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41084061 And not as recently (4 months ago): UV-K5 is the most hackable handheld ham radio yet (including via WebUSB) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39850972 $30 https://amzn.com/dp/B0C9TVSYYM + $10 cable https://amzn.com/dp/B0B9S7N2LQ
The UV-K5 radio is kinda crap and sprays spurious emissions everywhere, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone intending to transmit.
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#74Kind of wish they had kept the Morse code requirement for the radio license. Felt like more of a connection to the old ham requirements and history
I feel the opposite. Morse code was a major barrier into HF for many different people. Folks who are musically challenged would fail to copy. People with hand disabilities faced major hurdles. Hearing disabilities made it impractical, even though there are plenty of visual-only modes (sstv, digital tty modes, etc). Removal of morse has allowed far more people to reach more technical levels of ham radio. And, in my an…
Wouldn't it be easy to apportion small sections of the HF bands to those who are so afflicted? Those who've CW wouldn't be so restricted.
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#75It's interesting how I read so often of people calling this HAM. Such as, "Is Ham that hobby?" below.
I first got started in amateur radio with my novice license in 1966. We always called it "ham radio" or "amateur radio" or said I was a ham radio operator but no one ever called it HAM or spelled it in all caps. On HN, at least, I see it every time the subject is brought up. And it seems to be a fairly recent event.
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#76It's interesting how I read so often of people calling this HAM. Such as, "Is Ham that hobby?" below. I first got started in amateur radio with my novice license in 1966. We always called it "ham radio" or "amateur radio" or said I was a ham radio operator but no one ever called it HAM or spelled it in all caps. On HN, at least, I see it every time the subject is brought up. And it seems to be a fairly recent event.
There's a persistent belief among non-hams that it is an acronym or something. I don't get it either.
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#77As 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…
It's mostly old guys erecting large antennas to connect their boat anchor tube radios to, from what I read online. It's a great hobby if you are in it for the actual tech itself. Check out e.g. https://pysdr.org/ for a nice introduction. There is https://www.rtl-sdr.com/ to get you started and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Radio for more advanced stuff. You don't need a license to listen! Also, people are doing s…
"It's mostly old guys erecting large antennas to connect their boat anchor tube radios to, from what I read online"
I disagree, it's much more that, far too much to discuss here. A starting point would be to check the ARRL and RSGB handbooks which provide a reasonably comprehensive overview of AR. (Google each for more info.)
There are many more specialist books if you want even more in-depth information.
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Morse code is flourishing even without it being a requirement. People are discovering what a fun mode it is -- the low power portable people love the reach you can get on 5W, others enjoy the mental challenge, and it's prevalent in contesting. You can be as connected to the past as you want in this hobby. It's at the point where we have people getting remote islands on the air by driving a boat onto shore that has a…
it's also hypnotic and therapeutic.
-•-• --•-
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#79I have noticed a correlation where the smartest tech people I know are also Ham operators.
Technical hobbyists also have a genuine interest in technical work. Contrast this with the flood of new college graduates who have minimal interest in engineering, yet want the high salaries that tech was famous for (until recently).
I really wish I was more passionate about tech, but I'm not. I open IDE in my private time about once per year. Computers just aren't that fun to me anymore, they became the symbol of the absurdity of modern society. I greatly prefer to have a walk outside.
This is sad and I'd love to have my hobby back, but I don't see a way I could change this.
Re: The rich history of ham radio culture
#80As 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…
It depends. I think the ham crowd skews older so there is a lot of misogynistic humor (which I enjoy) and a bunch of racist humor (which I don’t enjoy). Overall it’s definitely not boring, especially if you enjoy a slower paced, in depth discussion of topics.
"…a bunch of racist humor"
Huh, perhaps where you are but I've never heard any of note. AR is pretty clean in that respect, self-policing works very well.