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Got my ticket in '07, KC5MK here (Extra). Got into the hobby for local weather watching and I am now into some emergency management. Do the field day thing every year. About the only contesting I do.

Unfortunately, not enough local interest, so I am hoping there will be at least some weather watching this year. We disbanded our two local HAM orgs due to lack of participation and interest.

Maybe things will pick back up soon.

73's

Beiruty wrote:I would be interested in geting my HAM radio licenses. Not sure where to start. I guess as an IEEE member and Computer and Communication Engineer, I should know best.Silly me, I am bit lazy.

Well, the obvious place to start would be with the entry-level license (you can take more than one license-level exam at a test session, assuming you keep passing the tests) called the Technician license. It requires a written test that is based on the ham regulations (FCC Part 97) and electronics theory. To help you learn the material for the test there are several resources available (look for the currently running other thread about ham radio) including the Gordon West WB6NOA books (available from Amazon or W5YI.com) or the ARRL Technician class license book (arrl.org). There's also a lot of free material on the net. Just Google "technician ham license".

I'd also suggest that you find your local ham club(s) and see what they have to offer. Sometimes you won't have to purchase anything, the club will have books/materials for you use.

Then all ya gotta do is figure out what part of ham radio interests you; talking locally or worldwide, chasing rare foreign stations, experimenting with digital modes, building your own equipment, public service and stormchaser work, or really driving yourself crazy by trying to do it all!

Hope that helps a bit.

73 Wayne N5WD

Me. I have traced my ancestry to Jerome Ham who emigrated to Virginia from Bristol England in the early 17th century.

Oh, you mean radios. Nevermind.

KF5CKB here. I haven't been as active as I'd like, but my plan is to get more active after we move into a new house, hopefully later this year.

Dad's been a ham since the 50's, grew up around them but it took me 40-some years to get my tech in 2011 despite being able to copy code well enough for a General when I was 10 or 11... Picked up my General ticket last year. Need to get an HF antenna in the air and pick up code again. Thinking about attending the Skywarn school in Garland next weekend. I've listened to Skywarn nets off and on all my life, just been to busy to be a cloud cowboy.

Technician class here. Haven't been real active for the past couple of years.

73

William Hughes
KE5KAP

First licensed in 1965, Extra Class, WA5MUM. Past Asst. EC and EC for ARES for Travis Co., Asst State Radio Officer for RACES, past President of Austin ARC and UT ARC, W5YI volunteer examiner, Skywarn spotter, did lots of emergency work with the State and Austin EOC, and was active Army MARS member many years ago. Not very active anymore. Have 400' of tower on the ground that needs to be pointed up.

RiverRat wrote: was active Army MARS member many years ago. Not very active anymore.

Well, a very belated THANK YOU and to all the Mars folks that provided the only link with the "world" in RVN. It may seem no brainer nowadays, but being able to hear your loved ones voices every few months back then was a great, great thing.

Just got my ticket Tuesday - KF5TTV. Don't really know what I am doing, but still having fun with it.

AlaskanInTexas wrote:Just got my ticket Tuesday - KF5TTV. Don't really know what I am doing, but still having fun with it.

Congratulations and welcome aboard.

Chas.

N5XBL here. First licensed in 1991 but I have been inactive in recent years. Found the motivation to renew this past week while going through my storage unit and finding a ton of radio gear.

And since we are talking ham radio and guns, here is a nutcase for you http://www.ksat.com/news/Man-accused-of ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I had been thinking about it for years but never gotten around to it. A guy at a CERT training class I was doing this last weekend was a HAM and He and I were chatting about it a bit. At the end of the day he handed me a flyer for a Technician Class the first weekend in March in Wylie, only $44 for the class/book/test. I might take him up on it. Its my birthday weekend though so I think my wife has other plans for me.

Mostly because I was curious, I've studied and I'm ready to go take the Technician exam. I've always kind of wondered how this "stuff" worked and I'll probably study for the General Exam too (already bought the book from ARRL). Paying $15 for a 10 year license to execute my 1st amendment right seems reasonable (unlike some other fee I recently paid to be able to exercise my 2nd amendment right) so I'll probably go take the test and get the license.

However, I have no radio, I'm not an electrical engineer, and I'm having a hard time figuring out what I would use one for unless some natural disaster hits Dallas. The "contest" part of it doesn't seem all that appealing. I don't have family or friends that are licensed (that I know of). Can't use it for business purposes. Is this something that was far more useful before email, cell phones and Internet showed up?

Any guidance as to how you use it would be appreciated. I find it interesting but I'm just finding it hard to spend the money (even though it's not that much money) for a radio that might not get turned on. Help me out please!

It probably was more useful before internet and cell phones for sure(when repeaters had an autopatch(make a phone call via your radio, via a repeater that was plugged into a phone line-very cool back then). These were typically simplex(or semi-simplex) similar to any regular radio traffic when only one person can talk at a time and the other had to listen(taking turns communicating). Think old school a.m. walkie talkies from radio shack when you were a kid.

You might possibly help out when there's an emergency situation and the cell towers are either off the air or are overwhelmed with traffic. And/or communicate information to emergency agencies either via VHF/UHF frequencies, provided radio towers or tall buildings where repeaters are typically located are still available. Otherwise, you can just rag-chew with others as you travel to work(if you wish) or listen to others rag-chew(if you wish, too).
You can pick up a Chinese-made VHF/UHF handy talky cheap-$50 and just see what's happening. I listen to local emergency traffic(Police/EMS) mostly on mine-like a scanner.

my 2..good luck with it if you pursue it.