Amateur Radio FAQ

POP57 · May 23, 2016

ironpony said:
The previous posts are a breakthrough for me! or my train of thought.

I have been to the Davidsonville "NIKE Missile Site" many times with "MY" pop for Blue Grass festivals (30 yrs ago?)and have seen ham fest's going on at the same time. I think that is where that repeater is. AA County Leo training facility there now as well I believe.

Speaking of hamfests, I see at least 2 coming up in MD. June 19th at Upperco and June 23-25 @ Timonium.

K31 · May 23, 2016

ironpony said:
The previous posts are a breakthrough for me! or my train of thought.

I have been to the Davidsonville "NIKE Missile Site" many times with "MY" pop for Blue Grass festivals (30 yrs ago?)and have seen ham fest's going on at the same time. I think that is where that repeater is. AA County Leo training facility there now as well I believe.

Sort of. The AACo Rec Center is built on the tracking site. That's where the AARC repeater site/club house is. The AACo PD Academy is to the east of it where the launchers were. (The housing was north and kind of abandoned overgrown and still owned by .gov).

The only hamfest I know of of that still goes on at the Rec center is a boat anchor (AKA antique radio) one held at another building.

Hyper-W · May 23, 2016

POP57 said:
Speaking of hamfests, I see at least 2 coming up in MD. June 19th at Upperco and June 23-25 @ Timonium.

One on Sunday in HoCo: http://www.marylandfm.org/Hamfest.htm

POP57 · May 23, 2016

Hyper-W said:
One on Sunday in HoCo: http://www.marylandfm.org/Hamfest.htm

It's sad that these HAM groups don't keep their website's current. The site says they are celebrating 38 years when it fact it's 50 years. I see it a lot up here as well.

K31 · May 23, 2016

POP57 said:
It's sad that these HAM groups don't keep their website's current. The site says they are celebrating 38 years when it fact it's 50 years. I see it a lot up here as well.

Maybe 12 of the years were just so-so and not worth celebrating. You should really not criticize others until you know all the facts.

POP57 · May 23, 2016

K31 said:
Maybe 12 of the years were just so-so and not worth celebrating. You should really not criticize others until you know all the facts.

Wasn't really criticizing, just pointing out something that seems to be a growing theme in AR. Perhaps it has to do with the lack of new hams ....dunno.

E.Shell · May 23, 2016

K31 said:
Maybe 12 of the years were just so-so and not worth celebrating. You should really not criticize others until you know all the facts.

Yeah, that's a strong possibility, I know I'd had a few years here and there not worth celebrating too.

BigCity · May 24, 2016

Survived my first trip to Dayton Hamvention this past weekend. Very interesting there and the Hara Arena is a dump.

Still had a great time!

Baccusboy · May 24, 2016

Sorry, quoted the wrong person, and just edited it out...

Ebay new prices are inflated. If you buy from one of the major ham stores, you pay less, and get rebates, bringing the new price to around $600 on an FT450D:

http://www.gigaparts.com/Product-Lines/HF-6M-Radios/Yaesu-FT-450D.html

Baccusboy · May 24, 2016

MikeTF said:
If that's the case, you were right! Thank you.

I hit the wrong quote button, and quoted K31 instead, by mistake. I tried to clean it up... my post probably looked odd, quoting him instead of you. Apologies.

MikeTF · May 24, 2016

Baccusboy said:
Ebay new prices are inflated. If you buy from one of the major ham stores, you pay less, and get rebates, bringing the new price to around $600 on an FT450D:

http://www.gigaparts.com/Product-Lines/HF-6M-Radios/Yaesu-FT-450D.html

If that's the case, you are right: there is only a $100 difference ($600 new vs. $500 used)!

Baccusboy · May 24, 2016

MikeTF said:
If that's the case, you are right: there is only a $100 difference ($600 new vs. $500 used)!

Yeah, I've had particular interest in that model (and still want one, even though I own two more advanced radios). It was one of the first radios I kind of dreamed about, like a little kid, and cannot shake the desire to get one. I've sat and watched them bought and sold on QRZ for months, watched YouTube videos, etc.

gamer_jim · May 24, 2016

BigCity said:
Survived my first trip to Dayton Hamvention this past weekend. Very interesting there and the Hara Arena is a dump.

Still had a great time!

ICQ Podcast had a discussion about this in their last episode:

http://icqpodcast.com/news/2016/5/15/hara-arena-in-consideration-for-new-fairgrounds

K31 · May 25, 2016

ironpony said:
The previous posts are a breakthrough for me! or my train of thought.

I have been to the Davidsonville "NIKE Missile Site" many times with "MY" pop for Blue Grass festivals (30 yrs ago?)and have seen ham fest's going on at the same time. I think that is where that repeater is. AA County Leo training facility there now as well I believe.

Kind of late notice but the AARC is having an "Open Shack" night tonight. No license needed.

Feel free to join us, this Wednesday (May 25th) from 7 to 9 PM for a session of "Open Shack". We'll be opening the Club's radio shack for anybody to get on the radio. Before the weekly AARC net we may be on 10m, and we'll try to get back on the 10 meter "Novice" phone band afterwards.

Get on the radio with no pressure in a supporting, beginner environment. We're here to answer you questions too.

At 8 PM we'll check in to the weekly AARC net.

Come join us, no radio and no license needed ("Control operators" are standing by...)

http://www.w3vpr.org

ironpony · May 25, 2016

K31 said:
Kind of late notice but the AARC is having an "Open Shack" night tonight. No license needed.

http://www.w3vpr.org

Thanks. I'll check back this evening time permitting. We used to be able to get their by dirt bike ... back in the day!

ironpony · May 26, 2016

Well, I made it out there last night and I was able to join a "net"? of about 10 people and make my first "broadcasts"? and I have no idea how people remember every ones names and call signs etc. much less the conversation, but everyone said I did well!
I got to see there equipment, antennas etc. learned of upcoming tests and events. No lack of help at all, very informative group. I could have used a zener diode between my ears! ?
I'm learning there is a lot more use of computers in ham than I thought. Learned a little about the possibilities of the old linksys router capabilities I think there was a name for that type of system .... "mesh" maybe? About 5 people there, radios steady talking, a lot to take in and when I mentioned I heard of the evening meet here on MDS ... lol that is the only time of the night it got quiet, not a bad thing, just no one had heard of MDS.
Thanks K31, I'll keep studying, love a challenge.

K31 · May 26, 2016

ironpony said:
Well, I made it out there last night and I was able to join a "net"? of about 10 people and make my first "broadcasts"?

Transmissions, QSOs, contacts... Broadcast means sending to no one in particular which is legal on amateur radio only for "bulletins".

and I have no idea how people remember every ones names and call signs etc. much less the conversation, but everyone said I did well!
I got to see there equipment, antennas etc. learned of upcoming tests and events. No lack of help at all, very informative group. I could have used a zener diode between my ears! ?
I'm learning there is a lot more use of computers in ham than I thought. Learned a little about the possibilities of the old linksys router capabilities I think there was a name for that type of system .... "mesh" maybe?

Broadband Mesh Network.

See: http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/

Although Linksys routers are still supported they were almost abandoned by the project so if you are truly interested you might want to look at Ubiquity. Be aware of the limitations of this before you spend a lot of money.

About 5 people there, radios steady talking, a lot to take in and when I mentioned I heard of the evening meet here on MDS ... lol that is the only time of the night it got quiet, not a bad thing, just no one had heard of MDS.

Surprising, since I've spoken to a lot of hams who are also firearms owners.

km04 · May 26, 2016

K31 said:
That is, IMO, a very abbreviated and aggressive schedule. I'm not knocking it, but I would personally like to to stretch out the drinking from the firehose of mostly technical topics like that.

I'd recommend that you buy a manual now and begin reading as much as you can before the class (even though they say they provide all materials).

Alrighty then, I have looked at the Barnes&Noble site and these are the 4 books that stood out to me.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ham...study-guide-team/1121084138?ean=9781941759219

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the...l-burnette-af7kb/1120614916?ean=2940046216110

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-amateur-radio-dictionary-don-keith/1122285457?ean=9781514810040

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ham-radio-for-dummies-h-ward-silver/1100321749?ean=9781118592113

If you have a recommendation for a better/different book, just let me know.

K31 · May 26, 2016

km04 said:
Alrighty then, I have looked at the Barnes&Noble site and these are the 4 books that stood out to me.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ham...study-guide-team/1121084138?ean=9781941759219

I can't really comment on this one except to say covering all 3 classes of license in one book with the test pools changing every 4 years is a tall order.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the...l-burnette-af7kb/1120614916?ean=2940046216110

Just looking at the sample they provide, it looks like some good info upfront about the process of getting licensed but otherwise looks like a "teach the test" book.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-amateur-radio-dictionary-don-keith/1122285457?ean=9781514810040

I'm not sure this is going to help any more than a manual with a good glossary.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ham-radio-for-dummies-h-ward-silver/1100321749?ean=9781118592113

This is a good reference/overview but not really a license manual.

If you have a recommendation for a better/different book, just let me know.

Like I said in the FAQ, I like the ARRL manual (which is usually what formal training teaches from) or the Gordon West license manual (and I lean towards the Gordon West manuals).

http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/1625950136

http://www.amazon.com/Technician-2014-18-Element-License-Preparation/dp/0945053797

Double check you are getting the manual for the current pool whatever way you go.

POP57 · May 26, 2016

I've always used the ARRL pubs. Best to go right to the source for me. One of these days I'll crack a book and study for my Extra.

Amateur Radio FAQ

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

Ultimate Member

"Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

"Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"

Ultimate Member

Ultimate Member

retired undertaker

Teecha, teecha

Teecha, teecha

Ultimate Member

Teecha, teecha

Podcaster

"Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"

Member

Member

"Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"

Get crackin you muggs!!!!

"Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"

Ultimate Member

Users who are viewing this thread

Log in

Forum statistics