Amateur Radio

[Herald]

I was a morse intercept operator when I was in the Air Force. It wasn't a glorious job, but I did share a kinship with a famous country singer who had the same job before he took to music: Johnny Cash. When I got out of the Air Force I became a ham radio operator. I had a lot of fun QSOing (talking) with other hams around the world on morse code. Life got in the way and I let my license lapse. I decided to take the hobby up again and I'm taking my exam online this Thursday. Are there are any other amateur radio operators on the PB? Are you active in the hobby? It will be nice to have some brothers and sisters I can make contact with once I get my rig set up.

 

[Edward]

My recollection is that they don't require Morse Code any more for the license. I had a Class III (or is it a Class 3) commerical license decades ago, but Morse always kept me away from Ham.

 

[Username4000]

You don't need Morse anymore for any level of license. I'm not too active (just a technician tag and a handheld transceiver), but there's still plenty of 2m/70cm band traffic around my area.

My recommendations:

• Get the HamStudy app. It has a full set of all the (real!) test questions, along with an explanation of why the correct answer is correct, often with mnemonics to remember it. And it'll keep bringing up the questions you have trouble with.
• It'll be hard to get tested right now due to all the lockdown shenanigans, but they're working on procedures for remote testing. Usually, if you pass your tech, they let you try for your general right then and there and only pay one testing fee.
• Get a Yaesu FT-70D and a Slim Jim antenna and just listen for now. It's a quality handheld and one of the best antennas for the price.

 

[Claudiu]

I would like to get into the hobby and studied for the exam earlier this year. I need to pick that up again and really get into it.

What meters are you looking to be active on?

 

[TheInquirer]

I've got a technician license but have never actually used it.

 

[Edm]

I am a General class and fairly active. My favorite part is HF and more precisely QRP. I am big into backpacking and enjoy taking a HF radio that I can fit in my pocket and making contacts. I’m mostly CW but much slower than you I’m sure. I’m mostly on 40m . Used to be on 10m and 17m a lot when I was in my car. Now I just stay on 40 in the car. 2m is fairly dead here except during the morning hour or so when people went to work. And then nightly nets, which don’t interest me. I did get a Yaesu capable of system fusion ( digital voice linked over the internet) which is kind of neat. Get your ticket and maybe we can have a QSO. I’m always looking for an excuse to get on the air.

 

[Pilgrim]

Not long ago, I read somewhere that the feds are doing something or proposing to do something to undermine Ham operators. But I can't remember where I saw that or what the issue was.

This is somewhat unrelated, but since you can catch Ham broadcasts with Shortwave radio, I'll mention it. I used to listen to Shortwave radio quite a bit as a hobby about 20-25 years ago. That was back when internet was dial-up (hence, no online "broadcasts" or podcasts) and back when you could still pick up the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Voice of Russia and other international broadcasters in North America before most of them cut back following the year 2000. I still have my radio, but now mainly what you get is China, maybe Taiwan, Radio Cuba, Radio Marti and domestic whack job religious and political broadcasts. Alas, I've never had the privilege of catching North Korean broadcasts with their infamous tributes to "Great Leader!" I think there may still be some "numbers" or similar stations here and there.

I also used to listen to Family Radio back before Harold Camping went totally off the deep end. (At the time, I wasn't aware of his failed 1994 prediction.) That was where I first heard the preaching of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

 

[Edward]

still pick up the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Voice of Russia and other international broadcasters

It was a generation earlier, but I remember HCJB "The Voice of the Andes" and Radio Netherlands broadcasting from the relay in Bonaire. Still have my Zenith Trans Oceanic.

 

[Pilgrim]

It was a generation earlier, but I remember HCJB "The Voice of the Andes" and Radio Netherlands broadcasting from the relay in Bonaire. Still have my Zenith Trans Oceanic.

I remember HCJB too. (It stands for Heralding Christ Jesus' Blessings, I think.) It typically came in fairly loud and clear. As I recall it, much of their English broadcast (this was maybe 1999-2002, before that I couldn't have cared less) wasn't that much different than a usual Christian station, and they carried various preaching ministries. I want to say that they carried Alistair Begg. I remember Radio Netherlands too, although I can't recall much about it specifically. I vaguely remember something left wing once. The thing with the BBC was the wide variety of broadcasts aimed at Africa, the Caribbean, and so on. Sometimes there'd be a soccer game. You could pick up VOA too, although by law it wasn't aimed at a domestic audience. Rarely could I pick up the Voice of Russia with any clarity, but I was able to listen to Joe Adamov on a few occasions. Had I lived near the East Coast instead of the middle of the country, I could have picked up more European and maybe also some African and Middle East broadcasts.