HAM Radios and Licenses

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Ara,
When you get in touch with the club, ask them for advice. Many times club members have used equipment around that they will let go for cheap to a new ham to help get them started. There is a lot of new equipment on the market for slightly above your budget but it runs about the same price range as computers. Don't forget you need an antenna. Wire dipoles work fairly well if you have the room and can be built for minimal dollars. Verticals are a goo alternative on small lots but need some ground wire (radials) for best operation. The local club should be able to help there as well. Good luck and ask questions here when they come up.
Al
de WB9UVJ
Whiskey Bravo Nine Uniform Victor Juliet

[N7UJJ]

Most people, when they first get thier Technician license, usually buy a 2 meter handheld. With the 5 watts, you can do an awful lot of stuff: Talk to others dierctly, 10-50 miles away via a repeater, or to other states and countries via the IRLP. New handhelds are $100-$300.

A 2 meter mobile (100 watts) can be installed in a car or run it from home with a 20 amp 12 volt power supply or car battery. They are $150-$400. You can buy an antenna ($30-$80) or make your own (almost free)

One thing to remember, in this hobby, there really are no expenses to using it. Photography, fishing, bowling, etc have the equipment costs, but then it costs money when you use it. After the initial equipment costs, amateur radio is cheap!

Once again, it would be wise to find someone in your neighborhood that is a ham. It's always good to get local advice. A lot of young people have received thier first equipment from a ham that just gives them thier old handheld or transceiver.

A national chain that sells amateur radioequipment is Ham Radio Outlet:
http://www.hamradio.com/ They will send you a catalog.

There are deals on ebay too.
http://electronics.listings.ebay.com...tingItemLi st

Most parts of the country also have "hamfests" -- swapmeets for radio equipment. Lots of deals possible.

While you are exploring all of this, find out about "field day" in June.

Keep us informed about your progress!

Allan

[Al Skierkiewicz]

This just in, the FCC is dropping the Morse Code requirement for amateur licensing on Feb 27,2007. See this article for more info... http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/01/24/100/?nc=1

[Kaizer007]

Everyone already said everything I could say.
My call sign is KC7TKB.

I got it a while ago in 1996. I was seven, so don't worry about the test. Just study hard.

I'm a Technician. I used to be a Techincian Plus ten years ago. I should test to become a higher class.

[Arkorobotics]

WOHOOO!!! I finally got my license!!! KI6KGY!!! It took me long enough! It's almost impossible to find people these days who are giving the test.

Callsign: KI6KGY

thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions a while back!

[KTorak]

I want to get into HAM radios, but I haven't looked into local clubs. I'm most interested in getting my license and then joining a skywarn group.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Arkorobotics

WOHOOO!!! I finally got my license!!! KI6KGY!!! It took me long enough! It's almost impossible to find people these days who are giving the test.

Callsign: KI6KGY

thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions a while back!

Congratulations! Nice call too! I usually listen for what a call sign would sound like in CW. -.- .. -.... -.- --. -.--

FB 73

[Covey41]

Originally Posted by Arkorobotics

WOHOOO!!! I finally got my license!!! KI6KGY!!! It took me long enough! It's almost impossible to find people these days who are giving the test.

Callsign: KI6KGY

thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions a while back!

Congratulations.... Welcome to the brotherhood!

WA1MOW

[EHaskins]

Originally Posted by Arkorobotics

WOHOOO!!! I finally got my license!!! KI6KGY!!! It took me long enough! It's almost impossible to find people these days who are giving the test.

Callsign: KI6KGY

thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions a while back!

Congratulations! I didn't have any problem finder a VE when I was looking to take a test. Did you contact a local HAM club to find a VE, or did you find one another way? I can't believe it would be that hard to find one.

73,
KC9JVH

[Arkorobotics]

Originally Posted by EHaskins

Congratulations! I didn't have any problem finder a VE when I was looking to take a test. Did you contact a local HAM club to find a VE, or did you find one another way? I can't believe it would be that hard to find one.

73,
KC9JVH

I got it through my friends dad. He found some guy in L.A. and it all worked out. I didn't want to go far, but the L.A. location was the closest to my town.
Till now I still don't understand why people don't tell their frequencies that mostly use along with their callsign. Giving the callsign and asking someone to find that person would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

[DonRotolo]

Well, I might tell a friend that I'm usually monitoring the 145.19 repeater, or that i hang out around 14.070 on PSK31. There are groups of friends that chat on the same frequency every, say, Sunday at 18.00 UTC. But, most hams aren't tied down to a frequency.

That's actually the greatest advantage of an Amateur Radio license. Unlike anyone else, we can switch frequencies at a whim.

Aside from monitoring a local repeater, or some 'usual' band and mode you like to operate, only when you are scheduling a specific contact would you bother to give out details - for example, If I want my friend DF9IC to meet me on 7.150 MHz at 23.00 UTC.

It's not like a cell phone, it's more like meeting someone in person. They might find you at home, at school, at the mall - so if someone was looking for you, unless you set up a schedule, they might never find you.

By the way: If you want it to be more like a cell phone, try the D-STAR system. Interconnected digital voice repeaters know where you can be found, and route calls to you automagically. Google it.

Oh yes - Congratulations.

73,
Don N2IRZ

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Ara,
I should have mentioned that if you would have a radio and would like to set up a time to practice your on air skills (an HF radio not VHF/UHF) we could do that. I know I had a hard time getting on the air the first time. The sunspot cycle is really low now so it's still pretty hard to set stuff up but we could give it a try. 20 meters is open some days and even 18 meters does a nice job since it isn't very crowded yet. When the sun cooperates, 10 and 15 both are great bands from my QTH to California.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

For those of you that would like to see what being a ham is like and what it is like to be contacting people around the world, check here...http://www.hamsphere.com/
This is a virtual Ham environment without the need to have a licencse. There is no radio emmission but you can get an idea of what it means to be a radio operator. The sunspot cycle is starting to climb and things will get very busy soon. Now is the time to get your licencse and radio and throw up an antenna.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I thought I would add an interesting update here rather than start a new thread. I was tuning around on 20 meters today and the band opened for some interesting work. I put two Italy stations in the log book today, Florence and Milan and heard both Spain and the Canary Islands. Then while tuning around after dinner I heard this really strong station signing aeronautical mobile. I was patient and ended up working Dave, an Air Force systems specialist on a mission over the coast of south Florida. Although he had to be vague for military reasons he was able to tell people that it was somewhere above 25,000 ft. He reported working from a 707-300 effectively using a screwdriver antenna that extends out the trailing edge of the wing. I received a solid copy from him at S9+ on 14.185MHz.


Also for those interested, a series of special event stations are commerating the "Mother Road", I believe there are eight all together with two being mobile. I heard W6R tonight on 40 meters. The stations are operating SSB and CW...
SSB: 3.866, 7.266, 14.266 (17M and up probably useless)

CW: 3.533, 7.033, 10.110, 14.033 (ditto on 17M and up)
73

[Katy]

It is wonderful to see an interest in ham radio on these forums! Can somebody get a repeater going at championships? I think that would be fantastic!

-AB1JD