How many hams do we have on the Forum - Revisited?

[Mike1951]

I've heard you several times on Salt Grass and at least once on 145.41.

[KC5AV]

I enjoyed messing around during the ARRL 10 meter contest this morning. I worked stations all over Europe. It's the most DX I've ever experienced on 10.

[JALLEN]

I'm looking forward to getting back on the air soon. I've been refurbishing a shed on the property into a workshop/reloading area/ham shack, slowed by weather and the ravages of old age and decrepitude, but it's getting there. I have antenna restrictions to deal with, so I've been plotting and scheming about that. The original idea to put up a multiband HB vertical has morphed into what is likely to end up an inverted "L." The BigIR will stay in the garage for now as it is mechanically and electrically complex, a lot of moving parts; simple is better for my purpose!

I have a TenTec Omni VI+ and a 706GMKII right now, and I'm thinking about going into the world of SDR with one of the Flex radios. Before I moved I visited a ham in San Diego with all three of the then existing models, and his demonstration was very impressive. I'm not sure how I would handle a radio without knobs. I worry about the "old dog, new tricks" phenomena that afflicts me more and more these days. I had such a hard time with the 706, a button masher's paradise! Many times I wished I had my "C" line back!

[WildBill]

Many years ago, I used to have a ham license. It's been so long I don't even remember my call sign [WN6QYL?]. I had a Heathkit HW-101 and a 40-meter dipole. The HOA gave me a bad time because there was a restriction against TV antennas on the roof. I finally convinced them it wasn't a TV antenna, so I got to keep it. As this point I don't have any desire to get back into it.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I'm looking forward to getting back on the air soon. I've been refurbishing a shed on the property into a workshop/reloading area/ham shack, slowed by weather and the ravages of old age and decrepitude, but it's getting there. I have antenna restrictions to deal with, so I've been plotting and scheming about that. The original idea to put up a multiband HB vertical has morphed into what is likely to end up an inverted "L." The BigIR will stay in the garage for now as it is mechanically and electrically complex, a lot of moving parts; simple is better for my purpose!

I have a TenTec Omni VI+ and a 706GMKII right now, and I'm thinking about going into the world of SDR with one of the Flex radios. Before I moved I visited a ham in San Diego with all three of the then existing models, and his demonstration was very impressive. I'm not sure how I would handle a radio without knobs. I worry about the "old dog, new tricks" phenomena that afflicts me more and more these days. I had such a hard time with the 706, a button masher's paradise! Many times I wished I had my "C" line back!

You may want to look into these HL Magnetic Loop antennas. http://qrz.com/db/K8NDS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; here also - http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Heli ... ons/topics" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; There are a number of nay-sayers on eHam.com and I was skeptical myself until I saw his Youtube videos of contacts. These things are amazing! They are DIY antennas and with the vacuum variable capacitors they use, they aren't cheap to build, but the performance is excellent. Rich designed them for people with HOA problems and their much smaller size compared to traditional magnetic loops (not helically loaded) is a major benefit. They also work better close to the ground, i.e. only one to two loop diameters off the ground. This coupled with their small size helps to blend in in HOA restricted neighborhoods.

I'm going to build two 2-element loops; one for 80-20 meters and one for 10-20 meters. When Rick finishes his 160 double loop design, I'll probably build it also. Our HOA rules don't prohibit antennas, but they are restricted to no more than 10 feet above the peak of the main structure. We have a two story house with the peak at about 27 feet, so I could go up to 37 feet. With the HL Magnetic Loop, I don't have to do that which is good since 1) there are no antennas at all in our neighborhood and mine would stick out like a sore thumb; and 2) my wife if President of our HOA and she'd catch a lot of grief if I put one up.

Chas.

[mgood]

Former. KD5DKC "No-Code" Technician.
License expired in 2008. (Hey, it too me 11 years to renew my CHL, and that's something I'm seriously interested in.)
I was driving a truck and using CB radio every day. I wanted to know more about it. Most of what I heard from CB techs sounded more like voodoo than science. (I have just enough basic electronics experience to tell when someone's talking about something they know little about. There seem to be a lot of them working in CB shops.)
So I started reading about amateur radio to get a better idea of what was going on. Mostly read the Gordon West books from Radio Shack. By the time I read a bunch of this stuff I decided I might as well go take the test. So I got my license, but I've never once been on the air. I listened on the 2m band occasionally on my scanner.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Yes-ish...I passed my tech this past saturday, just waiting on a call sign now. Been on the CB since I could stand in the seat and reach the mic.
Founded the Key City Patriots almost a year ago - and comms has been a recent topic...so a bunch of us just said why not..and went and got licenses.
Now I have 3 weeks before the next test session - lots to study for general.

Congratulations! What study material are you using for your General? I don't begin the remember the name of the books I used back in the 1970's for General and Advanced, but I used Gordon West's book and computer testing software to upgrade to Extra about a year ago. I was very pleased with Gordo's material.

Chas.

[RKirkwood]

Tech KE5HLZ

Mainly use it for the MS150 and MS150 supported rides. Have an IC2720 mounted on my motorcycle.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Okay, the old Ham thread is gone and all posts are now in this new thread. The poll does not have a closing date, but the downside is everyone will have to vote again. I changed the wording of my initial post to include a notice that you can revote if your status changes or you change your mind.

Chas.

[n5wd]

I've heard you several times on Salt Grass and at least once on 145.41.

The Salt Grass Link System is a pretty good semi-statewide network. I can link into it through IRLP up here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but the closest node we have that's on RF is the Corsicana link, and it's a mite too far for me to hit from northwest Fort Worth. Used to be on all the time when I was making regular trips down to Houston to MDAnderson.

[jimlongley]

K5NRA - first licensed in 1955, let that one expire, licensed again in 1964 as a Tech, let that one expire, licensed again in 1971 and have been continuously since then. Finally decided to upgrade to Extra when I found out it was going no code, just so I could be one of the last of the dinosaurs.

[Charles L. Cotton]

K5NRA - first licensed in 1955, let that one expire, licensed again in 1964 as a Tech, let that one expire, licensed again in 1971 and have been continuously since then. Finally decided to upgrade to Extra when I found out it was going no code, just so I could be one of the last of the dinosaurs.

I'm impressed. 20 WPM is what kept me at Advanced until very recently!

Chas.

[Beiruty]

Internet plus Voice over IP and Video Conference killed the ham radio hobby.

[JALLEN]

Internet plus Voice over IP and Video Conference killed the ham radio hobby.

Really. I hadn't noticed. There are more licensees than ever, more gear out there, more experimenters, more tinkerers, and to hear the pile ups these days, you sure wouldn't realize the hobby was killed.

When I was licensed in 1959, there wasn't nearly the breadth of activity one could get involved in, no satellites, almost no VHF, no repeaters, going mobile was a real challenge and expensive. There were no transistors, synthesized radios, handheld walkie-talkies or anything else, electronic keyers, almost no antenna restrictions, and much more.

I remember hauling probably 100 lbs of radio gear, about what I weighed then, up to the National Guard Armory to string up an antenna and get on the air to pass health and welfare traffic during one of the hurricanes when people fled away from the coast up this direction. I needed the Armory's electricity, too. Now you could do it with the radios in your pocket, no electricity from the Armory needed, no antennas!

What could you do back then? Well there was getting on the air on shortwave, build your own gear, experiment with antenna configurations, explore the new world of VHF/UHF, not very popular around here since there was nobody to talk to in range. There were traffic nets to pass National Traffic System traffic, DXers, of course and ragchewers. A few devoted all their on the air time to complaining about the new-fangled SSB mode ruining the airwaves.

Yes, you can talk to anyone in the world now for a few cents or dollars. Either the idea of sitting there in your house making direct contact all over the world by radio grabs you, or it doesn't.