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We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio

ke6mt.us

101–110 of 213 posts

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

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, as a radio operator, even just a listener-operator, you quickly find that A) you are expected to keep a log, and in many situations _must_ keep a log (contests are a good example), and B) a log easily runs circles around your memory. As it turns out, logs also provide a helpful context for bridging the gap between the subjective and objective lenses, both of which are helpful and needed for solving problems, re…

Just to chime in, I saw an old-timer keep a daily work log in a text file, and that appealed to me so I started it too. This was in 1998, and to this day I still keep writing new entries to that same text file pretty much every business day. Old test account credentials, notes on what got done, ticket numbers, ideas, unfinished todos, the works. It also helps with time sheets at the end of the month :-)

Rather like back in the day people like Jefferson would keep a daily journal. Hand-written in a paper notebook of course, and still available 250 years later, without worrying about hardware and data conversion issues.

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

#102
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.

Although I found it interesting, I never planned on getting a license until recently... I was looking at POV racing drones and one particular model required a HAM license for the video transmitter.

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

#103

Great read! Thanks for the website info! Taking my General Test on Tueday. I have picked out a Yaesu 818 as my first HF radio. Look forward to QRP and SOTA.

awesome! i need to get my butt up some of the summits around me and do some SOTA work myself. I've got all the stuff, just need to do it!

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

#104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Start with APRS --- a lot of people aren't even aware that there are packet radio networks that exist on VHF outside of 144.390M, but no matter where you are in the US, you probably will be able to get something going on APRS. There are all sorts of ways that you can go with packet radio. Here are a couple ideas: 1. Start monitoring APRS traffic in your area. I have a blog post that I wrote about repurposing a $5 sca…

> Hams are allowed to run standard 2.4GHz Wi-Fi equipment at higher power than normal people, provided that we stick to the FCC requirements (station identification in the form of our SSID, no encryption, etc.) Are you sure about that? It doesn't sound right to me, since 2.4GHz is not a ham band. But I would be happy to be corrected!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_frequency_alloca...

notably: 13 centimeters – 2300–2310 MHz (lower segment), 2390–2450 MHz (upper segment)

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

#105
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One caveat: at least in some locales, a license is required to own (or perhaps carry) a police scanner.

Scanners are legal in all 50 states. In some states its illegal to use a scanner while breaking the law ( this I find funny for some reason ) https://www.zipscanners.com/resources/are-police-scanners-le...

Recursive law-breaking. Using the scanner while breaking the law is breaking the law, so by breaking the law while using the scanner, you're also breaking the law...while using the scanner.

Kinda like using a gun in the commission of a felony...is a felony.

Or being arrested and the only charge is resisting arrest.

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

#106
post #55

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.

part of why i'm a fan of digital modes, short message ones like FT8 in particular. plus i've been getting lots of dx too! i really need to learn CW.

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

#107
I've always been curious about this hobby but never jumped in. The technology is an interesting curiosity to me but speaking bluntly what would probably give me the impetus to really spend time on it would be tapping into any kind of underground content or social experience that exists. For instance I read that Art Bell got started by broadcasting his show over shortwave bands, what a fascinating experience it would have been to be hanging out with those guys and listening to their conversations through amateur radio.

What is the easiest way for me to start listening in and discovering what's out there on the airwaves? Do I have to buy hardware or are there purely software/online options? Also I live in Thailand so most of the local chatter would probably be in Thai which is hard for me to follow.

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

#108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One caveat: at least in some locales, a license is required to own (or perhaps carry) a police scanner.

pretty sure public service bands don't overlap with ham bands so a ham license wouldn't help even _if_ a license was required for this

It’s a state code question not a technical one.

See Indiana’s law: https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-35-criminal-law-and-proce...

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

#109

I've always been curious about this hobby but never jumped in. The technology is an interesting curiosity to me but speaking bluntly what would probably give me the impetus to really spend time on it would be tapping into any kind of underground content or social experience that exists. For instance I read that Art Bell got started by broadcasting his show over shortwave bands, what a fascinating experience it would…

You could always use websdr to listen

http://www.websdr.org

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

#110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The license is only needed if you want to transmit. If you are not interested in talking to random people, there is a lot of fun to be had from just picking up signals and listening. There are hobbyists who enjoy picking up distant AM radio stations, listening to all kinds of voice or machine traffic on shortwave, tracking aircraft by their beacon signals, or just listening to local police on scanners. As a listener…

One caveat: at least in some locales, a license is required to own (or perhaps carry) a police scanner.

Kentucky is one of those states -- if it's in your vehicle -- but, it's a "Secondary offense," and I've been told that they haven't cited anyone for that for 10+ years.
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