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The rich history of ham radio culture

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Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#81

Post by JKCalhoun »

mordae wrote: post #58
CalRobert wrote: post #12

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…

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...

Old guys? Tube radios? You got my attention.

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#82

Post by sbrorson »

pclmulqdq wrote: post #47
AlbertCory wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Further details: > 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 General license (which I got) required 13 wpm. I think I read somewhere that they still broadcast Morse code practice every night. The Extra was 20 wpm. I don't remember "Advanced."

By the time I got a HAM license that I only used for digital transmissions, several people taking the test with me were "old-timers" who were lamenting that you didn't need to know CW to get a license. There is apparently still a thriving CW community, and some of them use auto-keying now, so you don't need the manual dexterity any more.

I'll add one more piece of ham lore to this thread. The gigantic electronic component distributor DigiKey got its start when the founder designed and marketed a Morse code key to the ham radio audience. DigiKey was originally a mail-order business selling to hams.

The point is that the ham radio hobby is very intertwined with the electrical engineering profession. It's very technical ... not just a bunch of guys talking to each other over the radio (although it's that too).

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#83

Post by lightlyused »

mordae wrote: post #58
CalRobert wrote: post #12

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…

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…

Erecting large antennas is not cheap. Up to $20k+ for a small tower (28m) properly done.

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#84

Post by EvanAnderson »

ronsor wrote: post #55
h00dinberry wrote: post #53

[dead]

You don't need a license to listen to anything.

But there are things that are illegal to listen to, depending on your locality.

I knew somebody who demonstrated a POCSAG decoder using an SDR in a classroom instructor setting. A law enforcement agent taking the class pulled him aside after the class and let him know that it was illegal to decide POCSAG in the that locality.

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#85

Post by crims0n »

stolenmerch wrote: post #30

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?

If you have a decent view of the horizon, definitely look at satellite work. Bouncing an APRS packet off of the ISS would be a great place to start.

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#86

Post by pclmulqdq »

howard941 wrote: post #61
9659 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you still have an Advanced class license? I think that Advanced class is the only license that is currently around (and able to be renewed) that required a code test. The Novice test was something else. 20 questions. 5 WPM code. I was thrilled when it came in the mail. 40 Meter CW, look out.

No I have an extra. I thought they did away with the advanced when the privileges were realigned couple or 10 years back. I haven't kept up with the class privileges.

They did away with advanced more than 10 years ago.

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#87

Post by fortran77 »

I had a great time on ham (not HAM) radio today, talking to people participating in a "Summit on the Air" event from Mount Umunhum. Then I spent some time building a "Class D" PWM AM radio transmitter using a circuit a guy from Bulgaria posted to a forum a few months ago.

I take a little portable "truSDX" with me in my travels, and enjoy making contacts on FT8 and CW with it using a wire I hang out of my hotel window. In the past year, I've done this from Tokyo to Tel Aviv.

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#88

Post by fortran77 »

floren wrote: post #76
assimpleaspossi wrote: post #75

It'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.

It infuriates me to see people spell it as "HAM". (Extra since 1977, also First Class Radiotelephone with Radar Endorsement, and First Class Radiotelegraph.)

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#89

Post by dyauspitr »

hilbert42 wrote: post #80
dyauspitr wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yes your experience is heavily location dependent.

Re: The rich history of ham radio culture

#90

Post by tkuraku »

bitfilped wrote: post #67
tkuraku wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone can use ham radio. Encryption is illegal on those bands though.

Anyone can listen on a ham radio, you need a license to broadcast. FRS, CB and MURS are the unlicensed options in the US to my knowledge.

That's true, but anyone can get a license.
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