Amateur Radio FAQ

[K31]

Spring General class at the AARC:

The Spring General Class begins Saturday April 23, skips Memorial Day Saturday, May 28th and ends June 4, a week before testing day. Get your General ticket before Field Day!

 

[Baccusboy]

Heck of a great day for longpath signals from Korea. Had a lot of fun using 20m SSB for the first time ever, now that I have my General. Loving the wide bandwidth we're afforded in Korea. Furthest distance to the other side of the globe I've ever had was to ZD7FT in the Atlantic, today. All on 100w and a 40m wire loop antenna at 5 stories high:

 

[K31]

Amateur Extra Class to be Offered:

The Amateur Radio Club of the National Electronics Museum
(ARCNEM) is offering a course for Amateur Extra Class license
starting on Tuesday, February 2nd.

The classes are on Tuesday nights for 12 weeks beginning
February 2nd with an FCC Exams held on the 13th week, April
26th.

For more information, contact Mike Birdseye, K4DUM via e-mail
at: <mike@k4dum.com>

 

[awptickes]

Does anyone local want to buy an Ameritron AL-811 amplifier? I replaced the 811a tubes with 572b tubes a year or so back, because the original seller didn't package it well.

It works fine, output is 600W easily, and I've since purchased the Ameritron box for it. I'm only getting rid of it because I've now moved on to an ANAN-100b and a solid-state amplifier.

 

[gamer_jim]

Is there a list somewhere of local nets?

How would I go about finding nets scheduled for the storm this weekend?

 

[jasonk1229]

http://www.n1yz.com/HFNET_LIST.HTM

ps awesome avatar jim

 

[gamer_jim]

http://www.n1yz.com/HFNET_LIST.HTM

ps awesome avatar jim

Thanks, I think that's my favorite joke of all time. A monkey in a leisure suit telling penguin jokes.

Do you happen to have a 2M/440 list somewhere?

 

[awptickes]

There's the hospital net tonight.

To all MDC Section ECs, AECs and ARES Members:

REMINDER - HF HOSPITAL NET - JAN 20th 1930(L) - 3820 kHz

Please join Prince George's County Maryland ARES Group
(http://pgares.org/) in their regularly scheduled HF Hospital Net.

This net meets on Wednesday following the third Monday of each month.
You do not have to be associated with a hospital to join the net.

In case of a real disaster where HF is all "ya got," we need to
experience the HF bands conditions to remind us of techniques that must
be used to get the message through.

So, dust off your HF rig and stop by to say 'HI' on Wednesday, January
20, 2016, at 1930 Local time on 3820 KHz LSB Phone. This is an
informal net and all are welcome to participate.

We are trying to raise the number of check-Ins and it is a good reason
to use your HF radio. So, come join in the "round-robin."

Thank you very much,

Wanda Montgomery KA3AHI
Assistant Section Manager
MDC Section Hospital EmComm Program
Prince George's County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Assistant
Emergency
Coordinator-Hospital Program
(H) 301.782.7039
(C) 240.427.8767

--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Maryland-DC Section
Section Manager: Martin J Pittinger, KB3MXM
kb3mxm@arrl.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[BigCity]

Taking the General class now at the Electronics Museum. The test is next Tuesday night. Need all the luck I can get!

 

[motorcoachdoug]

HI everyone!!!
I need to know what to do to get my Ham Lic. I built my own shortwave radio from heath-kit when I was 16. I found out that a butter knife makes a great flat blade screwdriver when I was 8. So I was raised with soldering Iron in one hand and a screw driver and ohms meter in the other . Does anyone have an old portable that I can put in my car and or for a base? I live in a apartment here in Burtionsville , MD. I am disabled so my funding is limited as well.
Thanks
Motorcoachdoug

 

[K31]

HI everyone!!!
I need to know what to do to get my Ham Lic.

If only there was a thread somewhere with a post at the beginning where someone could find that kind of information...

 

[K31]

Thanks, I think that's my favorite joke of all time. A monkey in a leisure suit telling penguin jokes.

Do you happen to have a 2M/440 list somewhere?

I thought perhaps the ARRL MDC section might have a consolidated list but I don't see one. The best I can tell you to do is go to the individual club websites near you. They usually have a net list.

 

[E.Shell]

If only there was a thread somewhere with a post at the beginning where someone could find that kind of information...

I thought I saw a thread like that too, so I searched and searched - I think I found it here: http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=120717

Also, along a similar vein, have you heard anything about any licensing classes this spring?

 

[K31]

I thought I saw a thread like that too, so I searched and searched - I think I found it here: http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=120717

Also, along a similar vein, have you heard anything about any licensing classes this spring?

What's a licensing classes?

Oh, wait, here's something:



Licensing Class
02/27/2016 | Davidsonville MD 21035

Start/End Dates: 02/27/2016 - 04/09/2016
Times: Saturday's 8:30 AM - 12 Noon
# of Sessions: 6
Class level: Technician
Instructor: AE3D
Contact: Keith Miller AE3D
Email: ae3d@w3vpr.net
Location: Davidsonville Family Recreation Center
3789 Queen Anne Bridge Road
Davidsonville, MD 21035
Additional Information: The Anne Arundel Radio club class is FREE. Tests following the final class are also FREE. ARRL License Manual includes chapters on every aspect of the licensing exam and includes the entire pool of test questions. http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual-3rd-Edition/ YOU can be an amateur radio operator! No electronics background required. No Morse Code requirement!!! See www.w3vpr.org/ for details

Licensing Class
04/02/2016 | Rockville MD 20850

Start/End Dates: 04/02/2016 - 05/07/2016
Times: 9 AM to 12 Noon
# of Sessions: 6
Class level: Technician
Instructor: W2LNX
Contact: David Bern W2LNX
Email: education@marcclub.org
Location: Science Center building
Montgomery College
51 Mannakee Street
Rockville, MD 20850
Additional Information: http://www.marcclub.org/mweb/education/classes/index.html Please register by email. VE exam session: Saturday, May 14, 2016, 9 AM to 12 Noon Science Center building Montgomery College, 51 Mannakee Street, Rockville, MD.

Licensing Class
04/23/2016 | Davidsonville MD 21035

Start/End Dates: 04/23/2016 - 06/04/2016
Times: 8:30am - 12:00pm
# of Sessions: 6
Class level: General
Instructor: AE3D
Contact: Keith Miller AE3D
Email: ae3d@w3vpr.net
Location: Davidsonville Family Recreation Center
3789 Queen Anne Bridge Road
Davidsonville, MD 21035
Additional Information: The Anne Arundel Radio club class is FREE. Tests following the final class are also FREE. ARRL License Manual includes chapters on every aspect of the licensing exam and includes the entire pool of test questions. http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual-3rd-Edition/ YOU can be an amateur radio operator! No electronics background required. No Morse Code requirement!!! See www.w3vpr.org/ for details

David Bern? Wasn't he with the Talking Heads?

 

[E.Shell]

....David Bern? Wasn't he with the Talking Heads?

I think the Talking Heads were with him. As VE, maybe he's just looking to spice things up a little, you know, break up the routine.

 

[JamesH]

Doug, there are free exams at the Laurel Women's Club the third Saturday of every month at 9am. www.larcmd.org/vec/

 

[gamer_jim]

On my goal list for 2016 is to upgrade my ticket to General.

I priced together a starter HF rig on DxEngineering.com. $1,100 for Icom 718, antenna, tuner, power supply and Signal Link USB.

Is there a cheaper way to get into digital mode HF? Should I be looking at used? I haven't asked around the local ham clubs or gone to any shows yet. I probably won't sit for the test until November.

 

[Minuteman]

I charged my hand helds a last night, just in case. I'll print out and retest local freqs and repeaters I can hear.

I regret procrastinating and not yet getting my license, because I can legally only listen. Is there some way to know that in an emergency if I had to transmit that someone could hear me?

 

[K31]

I charged my hand helds a last night, just in case. I'll print out and retest local freqs and repeaters I can hear.

I regret procrastinating and not yet getting my license, because I can legally only listen. Is there some way to know that in an emergency if I had to transmit that someone could hear me?

Excuses are like a... never mind.

Legally, the answer is: ask an amateur to check your radio. There are ways to do it without radiating, but you probably don't have an o-scope or other instrument that goes to 140-some Mhz and that will tell if you're transmitting, and even then, not if anything useful is going out.

When you are a ham, you'll find that when you transmit into a dummy load, even though the goal is not to radiate, another radio in close proximity can usually pick up the signal. Sometimes for a block or two. Assuming it has some power behind it to begin with.

There is a winter field day event coming up next weekend. Not a lot of clubs participate but if one near you does, you could drop by and ask them to test it. Or they may even offer to be the control operator for you to test it or operate some of their equipment.

 

[K31]

On my goal list for 2016 is to upgrade my ticket to General.

I priced together a starter HF rig on DxEngineering.com. $1,100 for Icom 718, antenna, tuner, power supply and Signal Link USB.

Is there a cheaper way to get into digital mode HF? Should I be looking at used? I haven't asked around the local ham clubs or gone to any shows yet. I probably won't sit for the test until November.

It's possible to do digital, such as PSK31, with just a good sound card although it's recommended to use a dedicated device like the Signal Link.

You can also get away without the tuner if you get a Buckmaster off-center-fed antenna. It has good SWR on portions of many bands and they even recommend not using a tuner. The down side is it's noisier than a dedicated single band antenna.

I've bought all my HF rigs used but it's definitely a risk and could end up costing more in the long run. Best thing to do is do research about the particular pitfalls of the rigs you are looking for and ask the seller about them. Of course if the seller is local you can ask to check it out before you buy. On line you need to follow the usual precautions.