Amateur Radio FAQ

gamer_jim · Jul 24, 2013

E.Shell said:
Passed the Extra exam tonight!!

Thank you for your help and encouragement K-31!

Now to find a decent HF rig and stretch some wire.

Congrats!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

K31 · Jul 24, 2013

Minuteman said:
I missed the July hamfest which was closer for me; but I hope to make this one, if anyone thinks it will be worth the day trip:

If you are going there for testing there may be places closer to you, check the Laurel VEC website listed.

If you are going there for equipment, the consensus I have usually heard is that you can obtain better prices on new equipment on-line, that hamfests today are good places to find accessories such as wire and rope and that you should be there first thing to get any bargains on used equipment.

chale127 · Jul 24, 2013

K31 said:
If you are going there for testing there may be places closer to you, check the Laurel VEC website listed.

If you are going there for equipment, the consensus I have usually heard is that you can obtain better prices on new equipment on-line, that ham fests today are good places to find accessories such as wire and rope and that you should be their first thing to get any bargains on used equipment.

Agreed, deals can be few and far between at times but i did see a Icom v8000 LNIB for $100 at HoCo last Sunday which wasn't bad at all

it is a good opportunity to go look at things and network though

chale127 · Jul 24, 2013

Minuteman said:
I missed the July hamfest which was closer for me; but I hope to make this one, if anyone thinks it will be worth the day trip:

Carroll County Tailgate Fest
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Sponsor: Carroll County Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://qis.net/~k3pzn
Location: Carroll County Agriculture Center
706 Agriculture Center Drive
Westminster, MD 21157
Talk-In: 145.410 (PL 114.8)
Contact: Steve Beckman, N3SB
2145 Bethel Road
Finksburg, MD 21048
Phone: 410-876-1482
Email: n3sb@qis.net

went last year, for the first time in about 7 years, was disappointing simply due to lack of participation, but i did pick up some odds and ends

Pinecone · Jul 24, 2013

chale127 said:
these things, little bit of stripped romex and a panel mount connector you can get at Rat Shack..

http://www.kb6nu.com/21-things-to-do-build-an-antenna/

Yeap, like that is what I was describing.

I built one for a friend and we hit the .135 Columbia repeater from Aberdeen with an HT from holding it above his head.

MDGolom · Jul 24, 2013

K31 said:
If you are going there for testing there may be places closer to you, check the Laurel VEC website listed.

If you are going there for equipment, the consensus I have usually heard is that you can obtain better prices on new equipment on-line, that hamfests today are good places to find accessories such as wire and rope and that you should be there first thing to get any bargains on used equipment.

I was looking for a scanner and found that Ham Radio Outlet was the cheapest on the net including Amazon. If you want to look at the stuff, they have stores in Woodbridge, VA and New Castle, DE. They're both exactly 90 minutes from my house. I decided to go out to the VA store and buy the scanner. Now I'm looking at a mobile radio for use in my condo and I'm going there to look after the Chantilly show this weekend.

I'm going to also start studying for the general test. The problem is I live in a condo and can't really put up antennas for the HF bands. I think I figured out one for 2m/70cm that no one will notice.

MDGolom · Jul 24, 2013

chale127 said:
went last year, for the first time in about 7 years, was disappointing simply due to lack of participation, but i did pick up some odds and ends

I have to agree with you. The last hamfest I went to was at one at the Timonium fair grounds when the place was wall to wall ham stuff. Lots of new equipment. I went to the Howard Country hamfest this past weekend and the only worse that a MD gun show was a MD hamfest. :innocent0

Half-cocked · Jul 24, 2013

When I was a kid, it seemed to me like most hams were into DX'ing CW (i.e. Morse code) on shortwave frequencies, bouncing signals as far across the globe as they could get. Do hams still do this, or is it mostly HF stuff nowadays?

K31 · Jul 24, 2013

MDGolom said:
I was looking for a scanner and found that Ham Radio Outlet was the cheapest on the net including Amazon. If you want to look at the stuff, they have stores in Woodbridge, VA and New Castle, DE. They're both exactly 90 minutes from my house. I decided to go out to the VA store and buy the scanner. Now I'm looking at a mobile radio for use in my condo and I'm going there to look after the Chantilly show this weekend.

I'm going to also start studying for the general test. The problem is I live in a condo and can't really put up antennas for the HF bands. I think I figured out one for 2m/70cm that no one will notice.

I've found HRO is frequently the cheapest and a lot of the big ticket items are free shipping. I haven't seen any transceivers on Amazon that were priced even close to what you could them them for elsewhere except the ChiCom models.

For the condo, if nothing else you can get loaded whip type antennas and clamp them to a balcony rail.

I don't know if you have to be a member to get to this link, but here is more info:

http://www.arrl.org/limited-space-and-indoor-antennas

K31 · Jul 24, 2013

Half-cocked said:
When I was a kid, it seemed to me like most hams were into DX'ing CW (i.e. Morse code) on shortwave frequencies, bouncing signals as far across the globe as they could get. Do hams still do this, or is it mostly HF stuff nowadays?

DXing (meaning to most hams making a contact outside of the country you are in) pretty much implies HF (10M - 100M). Those are the frequencies that best reflect off of the ionosphere and back go beyond line of sight. There are exceptions, and in reality, higher frequencies actually go a bit beyond line of sight ( a test question).

Yes. CW is alive and well. As a matter of fact I'm surprised at how many times I check one of the sites that report contacts and find that the majority of them are CW.

Before I became a ham, I always thought the scenes in the movie "Independence Day" of the military using CW were crap, but in reality if you have a lot of noise then CW is your best bet for being heard.

Check this out, choose the tabs, HF, World, List and go through the 10-80M bands.

http://www.dxmaps.com/spots/map.php

Pinecone · Jul 24, 2013

MDGolom said:
I was looking for a scanner and found that Ham Radio Outlet was the cheapest on the net including Amazon. If you want to look at the stuff, they have stores in Woodbridge, VA and New Castle, DE. They're both exactly 90 minutes from my house. I decided to go out to the VA store and buy the scanner. Now I'm looking at a mobile radio for use in my condo and I'm going there to look after the Chantilly show this weekend.

I'm going to also start studying for the general test. The problem is I live in a condo and can't really put up antennas for the HF bands. I think I figured out one for 2m/70cm that no one will notice.

ARRL has books on stealth antennas.

A friend was in base housing and managed to load up the gutter system as an HF antenna.

Pinecone · Jul 24, 2013

Half-cocked said:
When I was a kid, it seemed to me like most hams were into DX'ing CW (i.e. Morse code) on shortwave frequencies, bouncing signals as far across the globe as they could get. Do hams still do this, or is it mostly HF stuff nowadays?

HF = shortwave

In the long days there was long wave and short wave. AM radio is long wave. HF band is shorter wavelenght, thus shortwave. Of course now, we use very short wave.

Still a lot of people use CW. But also a lot of SSB (voice) work for DX.

I worked All Continents, All 50 States, well over a 100 countries (DXCC), and over 700 prefixes (WPX). All on SSB.

Pinecone · Jul 24, 2013

A lot of noise or very low power.

I have a QSL card from a guy in NJ that is a serious QRP (low power ) freak. He was worked across the Atlantic at power levels like 0.00002 watts.

MDGolom · Jul 25, 2013

Pinecone said:
ARRL has books on stealth antennas.

A friend was in base housing and managed to load up the gutter system as an HF antenna.

Luckily I live on the third floor and not a lot of people walk behind the building so I think I can get away with something. No way can I clamp something to the railing since it can easily be seen. I came across this on YouTube and think it will be my first shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcO5WAiksNI

I'll start by laying it on it's side realizing it should be vertical, but I can put it on the bottom of the balcony right under the railing. Worst case is I stand it up next to the sliding glass door. If this doesn't work, I have a few other antennas in mind.

Anyone have experience with the Yaesu FT-8800R radio and/or Alinco DM-330MVT power supply? Those are my two front runners at this point.

Minuteman · Jul 25, 2013

Cool video, thanks for posting.

I'd be concerned mounting an antenna to a vent pipe, we get some strong winds here. I'd prefer to mount to chimney if possible. Better right?

If you had to be discreet, could you put the antenna inside a piece of rain gutter? Or run along the seam of the siding? Antennas don't generate heat right? Maybe a lightning hazard?

I think we are talked out of driving all that way for the hamfest, for the reasons provided thank you.

K31 · Jul 25, 2013

MDGolom said:
Anyone have experience with the Yaesu FT-8800R radio and/or Alinco DM-330MVT power supply? Those are my two front runners at this point.

I have the Alinco P/S. It is a good one, just remember that the front connections are strictly for low amp loads.

K31 · Jul 25, 2013

MDGolom said:
Luckily I live on the third floor and not a lot of people walk behind the building so I think I can get away with something. No way can I clamp something to the railing since it can easily be seen.

Hang a flag on it. If someone bothers you about it, accuse them of hating our troops.

Half-cocked · Jul 25, 2013

K31 said:
Hang a flag on it. If someone bothers you about it, accuse them of hating our troops.

If they're liberals, they won't care. Put up a "Justice For Trayvon" banner, so you can accuse them of racism, instead.

Half-cocked · Jul 25, 2013

Pinecone said:
A lot of noise or very low power.

I have a QSL card from a guy in NJ that is a serious QRP (low power ) freak. He was worked across the Atlantic at power levels like 0.00002 watts.

I have heard stories of really incredible DX'ing on just 100 milliwatts or so (using CW or PSK31), but transatlantic on 20 microwatts? I'm just a little skeptical....

Pinecone · Jul 25, 2013

Minuteman said:
Cool video, thanks for posting.

I'd be concerned mounting an antenna to a vent pipe, we get some strong winds here. I'd prefer to mount to chimney if possible. Better right?

If you had to be discreet, could you put the antenna inside a piece of rain gutter? Or run along the seam of the siding? Antennas don't generate heat right? Maybe a lightning hazard?

I think we are talked out of driving all that way for the hamfest, for the reasons provided thank you.

Vent pipe is fine, they are pretty sturdy.

I did not watch the video, but there used to be a product called a Ventenna. It looked like a longer vent pipe, but was actually an antenna.

If your gutters and downspouts are plastic, you could put the antenna inside. If they are metal, the can BE the antenna. That is what my friend did. He just hooked a wire to the gutter and used an good antenna tuner for HF.

Yes, you could run a wire antenna along the siding seams.

And one of the "virus" antennas are very hard to see from even 10 feet away, especially with thin wire and flat black paint.

If nothing else, just get one of the extended whip antennas for your HT. I have a Diamond that is about a foot long or so, and it works much better than the shorty duckie that came with my HTs.

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