How Many Amateur Radio Operators Here?

[T.L.R.]

N9AOZ here. Advanced class.

First Novice license in 1977.

Not active now on the Ham bands, but I do Shortwave listening on a Kenwood R1000 receiver.

My Wife is a Tech., not active now either.

Cell phones and the Internet Texting really cut into the Ham Bands activity around here.


T.L.R.

 

[rcnixon]

Just to point out, it's not the mode, it's the frequency that determines line-of-sight. VHF (f > ~50 Mhz) and UHF (f > ~250 Mhz) are line-of-sight.

As someone correctly noted, aircraft VHF (118.000 Mhz - 136.00 Mhz) is AM to avoid the "capture effect" that FM demonstrates.

HF (1.800 Mhz - 30.000 Mhz) has many interesting propagation modes that enable it to be used for over-the-horizon, world-wide communications.

Russ

 

[Stubborn Dutchman]

I've considered it a couple times. I never went thru with it primarily because I'm not much of a talker, a pretty boring kind of a guy. What do you find interesting to talk about, other than where you are at, etc.?

 

[Jaysq]

I got my General Ticket in the 70's. My dad and brother were also hams and lived in different cities. We stayed close by talking on Ham Radio. I was a member of the Hon Yocks on 7.260 Just zero beat Radio Moscow's carrier and you were on frequency. Lots of good memories

 

[Doug627]

Got my call sign: KD8YMA. I live in Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

 

[RobertJ.]

I can understand the emergency preparedness aspect of it, but beyond that, what's the attraction? Okay, you can speak to someone on the other side of the globe, so what? Maybe someone can explain this to me.

 

[Doug627]

I have always liked talking to people from other places whether a different state or a different country. I like the idea that if communications are cut off and the power is gone, I just hook a car battery to my rig and I am in contact with the world. If something is going on in a different part of the country, I do not have to rely upon the news to stay informed, I find some one who is there and ask them. It is kind of like sitting around the cracker barrel in an old gerneral store and talking, only the general store is as big as the world.

 

[MK]

Congrats on the new ticket. Got mine in 77 when I was 20.
And was into SWL and such before then. I haven't been getting
on the radio that much from the house lately..
But I still use it at night when I'm at the dirt patch up in OK.
Not much to do at night but watch movies on the laptop or yak
on the radio.
I've been using this Icom for several years.. Been a good rig.
Bought it new in about 2001 or so..
In this video I've got it sitting on my stone bench, and am running
off the car battery. I string up a 80/40 set of dipoles in the oak tree
above me. I run through most of the bands..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfJRlc3WRLg

 

[Qball]

My father was into 27Mhz in the late -60 early -70
Had a bag of QSL cards from all over the world, unfortunatly i had to
throw them away when we moved.
Still got the radio though, but no antenna.

I remember talking to a gentleman in SouthAfrica
Really big for a 10 year old kid.

 

[Plottman Pops]

Welcome...I got my extra ticket in '09

73
aj4on

 

[old tanker]

WD4SCZ

Yep, a boatanchor guy. Love my old tube rigs and a straight key. A little AM phone once in a while is fun too. Slopbucket and transistors are passing fad, like tactical Tupperware.

 

[Murphy's Law]

I was originally K8VHB when I was very young (13) thanks to my dad W8QVO and later became K4XZ (now silent key). Joined the Navy and and after 22 years became N6AO which I still hold today but no longer active. Was mostly a CW operator in the Navy. Was also VK6FO for 8 years . I miss the hobby but will continue to keep my license current. Although most will not believe, many in a selected group could copy 60, 70 and yes even 80 whom without computers but did use KB Meyers for sending. I remember talking to W2YS for years at very high speeds. Most of the old timers are silent keys but what an era in life we had back then. QRU my friends.

 

[MK]

The fastest I ever got was near 60 wpm. I was clocked by a puter
sending at 58 wpm one time. That was back in the later 80's.
I couldn't go much faster than that because I used an electronic
keyer and bencher paddle to send, and not a keyboard like some did.
60 wpm was about as fast as I could send with that rig. Any faster,
and I'd get too sloppy. So around 60 wpm ended up being my brick
wall. Due to a lack of operating, I'm getting a little slower every year.
I'd probably be lucky to do 25 wpm now..
Those old boatanchors in the pix above bring back some memories..
I hadn't seen that model Heathkit rcvr in a long time. I ran some pretty
old stuff when I started. At one time I ran an old Hammarlund HQ110
and a Viking Valiant, but they have been long swapped off.
I do still have some old Drake gear. I have a 2C and 2CQ, and also a
4 line twins. I have an R4 and R4C, and a T4XB transmitter.
Also still have a TS-830 and VFO-230. But I use that little Icom more
than anything these days.. :/ It does it all in one dinky box.

I actually built my first CW transmitter for 40m when I was in the
8th grade around 1972 or so. But I got lazy and put off getting the
ticket until later.
I built it from a design in the 1949 ARRL handbook.. Used an old
Navy chassis. Used a 6V6. Note the advanced scotch tape coil form
design. lol..
The receiver was that portable, and I used the white AM radio behind
it as the BFO.. I used that for a while after I did get my novice
with the HQ 110 as the rcvr.
I remember I had two xtals.. 7106 and 7119..

 

[Dillinger-63]

Amateur Extra Class - N4WSH

 

[AR_Black]

Got mine about 15 years ago. Later took the Morse Code test. I'm General Class.

Talked 2M every day to/from work for about 5 years..... same guys, same time, same conversation.

Pretty much dropped out, only use my rig for a scanner now.

And if I turn on the local 2M, I hear the SAME guys talking the SAME topics they did 10 years ago. Guess I didn't miss anything.

Thought about getting setup on HF, but got full-time into Guns, and no time for hobbies now.

I did keep up my license in case I get a renewed interest again.

 

[derek45auto]

Licensed since 1993 as a tech-plus
upgraded to advanced 1994
got my extra a few years ago.

worked the ISS space station a few years ago, driving to the rifle range.

worked K1N Navassa Island today driving home from work.

 

[ArcticFox]

Yup, General in February '14. Learning CW now, I'm up to 33 characters and will be QSO'ing by the end of March. I figure that with CW I can have an affordable shack plus morse code really appeals to me. KG7XXX