Amateur Radio FAQ

[MigraineMan]

I passed the Technician and General exams this morning!

I didn't take the Extra exam. My son wants to get his Technician license so I'm going to wait until he's ready and then take the Extra when he takes the Technician exam.

Excellent! Congrats!

 

[K31]

I passed the Technician and General exams this morning!

I didn't take the Extra exam. My son wants to get his Technician license so I'm going to wait until he's ready and then take the Extra when he takes the Technician exam.

Congratulations!

 

[gamer_jim]

I passed the Technician and General exams this morning!

I didn't take the Extra exam. My son wants to get his Technician license so I'm going to wait until he's ready and then take the Extra when he takes the Technician exam.

Gratz!

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

 

[Arcamm]

Good job!

 

[MJD438]

I passed the Technician and General exams this morning!

I didn't take the Extra exam. My son wants to get his Technician license so I'm going to wait until he's ready and then take the Extra when he takes the Technician exam.

Congratulations!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Winged Pig]

Congratulations!

 

[NY Transplant]

Congratulations!

 

[CrazySanMan]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Keystone70]

Congrats

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[ToolAA]

I've gotten some NiTinol antennas for HTs and like them.



https://signalstuff.com/antennas/



I was looking for a mobile version and couldn't seem to find one for the consumer market but did find a company that makes one for public service.

I wanted to thank you again for the recommendation on the SignalStuff NiTinol HT antenna. I finally had some time today to cut the hole in my roof and install the NMO mount.

With my home made NMO mount for the wip it does exactly what I needed. Makes a heck of a lot of clanging noises when I pull into and out of the garage but bounces right back.

I think it’s really discrete too.

I took it for a quick test run and I was getting 1.12/1.22 SWR readings at VHF/UHF frequencies. Thats a little about .3 better than a no-name magnetic one I have.

If you want me to print you out a connector cone cover just let me know.

 

[MigraineMan]

Slick.

Just received my nifty Tram 1410 discone and set it up on the patio with my cheap Chinese mobile. Seems to work pretty damned well. I'm receiving NOAA weather stations on four 162 frequencies, the Frederick ARC repeater on 146.640, and most FM stations in the area. Not bad for less than a C-note.

 

[ToolAA]

Slick.



Just received my nifty Tram 1410 discone and set it up on the patio with my cheap Chinese mobile. Seems to work pretty damned well. I'm receiving NOAA weather stations on four 162 frequencies, the Frederick ARC repeater on 146.640, and most FM stations in the area. Not bad for less that a C-note.

It’s a good antenna for $35. It seems very well made too.

I’m not exactly sure how the metal table could influence your reception.

You have some tall trees back there IIRC. Maybe rig up a little pulley system and get it as high as you can. The transceiver you are using might not have as much signal fidelity so getting as much gain as you can from height will be beneficial.

 

[MigraineMan]

I'm not going to go "up" until I have a good lightning arrestor in place . A nearby strike already took out my solar controller in the shed, and that has a good ground rod on it. Tonight I'm just messin' around.

Picked up NOAA from Sterling VA and central PA (WWG52). I am pleased.

This rig is going to go with us into the central PA forest when we are up there next month. There is no cell service at the cabin, and it's a 30 minute drive to "anything."

 

[ToolAA]

I got one of these little UNUN transformers from Amazon
NooElec Balun One Nine - Tiny Low-...p/B00R09WHT6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_49sKDb3DVSV4C.

I connected a 60ft pc of wire to one side and a 5ft to the other terminal and hung it from my deck, but I wasn’t picking up really anything. I moved it up into my attic tested it out and started picking up some weak signals and SW stations. That was pretty cool to hear radio stations from China and Vietnam and southern Canada. However not really any activity on the HAM bands.

I thought I was getting a lot of interference because I kept seeing this unusual pattern every few dozen Hz.

I suspected it was coming from an attic ventilation fan. After I unplugged it this specific pattern disappeared.

Without as much of this noise I could see and hear what sounds like CW or some other digital mode, I’m not really sure, but there is still a lot of noise.

I was curious what other devices were causing possible noise and decided to run my laptop from battery and cut power to the entire house. WAM. I’m getting strong signals all over the spectrum.

I then went back and turned off each individual breaker one at a time to see if perhaps the problem was coming from my wifi router or some other wireless signal or a major appliance. So the main HVAC unit and the Upstairs Unit both seemed to raise the noise floor slightly. Perhaps 5db combined. Turning off the wifi network didn’t seem to have any effect. Then I shut the breaker for the power to my workroom which is where the antenna cables come in through the conduit linked to the attic. The noise floor drops almost to as low as when I had the entire house off. So once I turned it back on, I went around to see if there was some specific device plugged in making a crap load of noise. Two LED ceiling lights were causing about 1/2 of the noise, but i couldn’t isolate any other sources.

So with the light off I’m getting decent signals.

So I’m wondering what I can do to somehow isolate the noise somehow? I really want to figure out how to decode some of these digital signals using my AirSPY. Any suggestions.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[fightinbluhen51]

I passed the Technician and General exams this morning!

I didn't take the Extra exam. My son wants to get his Technician license so I'm going to wait until he's ready and then take the Extra when he takes the Technician exam.

Congrats!

 

[K31]

I got one of these little UNUN transformers from Amazon
NooElec Balun One Nine - Tiny Low-...p/B00R09WHT6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_49sKDb3DVSV4C.

I connected a 60ft pc of wire to one side and a 5ft to the other terminal and hung it from my deck, but I wasn’t picking up really anything. I moved it up into my attic tested it out and started picking up some weak signals and SW stations. That was pretty cool to hear radio stations from China and Vietnam and southern Canada. However not really any activity on the HAM bands.

I thought I was getting a lot of interference because I kept seeing this unusual pattern every few dozen Hz.

I suspected it was coming from an attic ventilation fan. After I unplugged it this specific pattern disappeared.

Without as much of this noise I could see and hear what sounds like CW or some other digital mode, I’m not really sure, but there is still a lot of noise.

I was curious what other devices were causing possible noise and decided to run my laptop from battery and cut power to the entire house. WAM. I’m getting strong signals all over the spectrum.

I then went back and turned off each individual breaker one at a time to see if perhaps the problem was coming from my wifi router or some other wireless signal or a major appliance. So the main HVAC unit and the Upstairs Unit both seemed to raise the noise floor slightly. Perhaps 5db combined. Turning off the wifi network didn’t seem to have any effect. Then I shut the breaker for the power to my workroom which is where the antenna cables come in through the conduit linked to the attic. The noise floor drops almost to as low as when I had the entire house off. So once I turned it back on, I went around to see if there was some specific device plugged in making a crap load of noise. Two LED ceiling lights were causing about 1/2 of the noise, but i couldn’t isolate any other sources.

So with the light off I’m getting decent signals.

So I’m wondering what I can do to somehow isolate the noise somehow? I really want to figure out how to decode some of these digital signals using my AirSPY. Any suggestions.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You could try replacing the LEDs with CFLs or maybe even another brand of LED. I had one LED that was painfully noisy so I had to just stop using it. Others don't seem to be nearly as bad. The President said something about signing legislation removing the ban on incandescent a short while ago. I don't know if any have shown up for sale though.

 

[Winged Pig]

Here is a link that might help out.

https://www.rfiservices.com

The owner of the company is local and I'm sure he can help you out. There is some information on his page that might point you in the right direction. He gave a talk at the Calvert Radio club and it was very impressive.

Hope that helps.

 

[E.Shell]

CARA Hamfest this Sunday at the HoCo Fairgrounds:

October 06
West Friendship (near Columbia), MD - Columbia Amateur Radio Association (CARA) CARAFest
Howard County Fairgrounds, 2210 Fairgrounds Rd, West Friendship, Maryland (I-70/US-40 Exit 80 to Rt. 32 south to Rt. 144/Frederick Rd. west)
Columbia Amateur Radio Association, PO Box 911, Columbia, MD 21044-0911
Contact: David Parkison, KB3VDY, PO Box 911, Columbia, MD 21044-0911
410-977-1249
Talk-In: 147.390+ (PL 156.7)
GPS: N 39° 18.367 W 076° 57.928
Email: [email protected]
http://www.carafest.org (CARA: http://www.columbiaara.org)
Cost: $7 (kids U12 free); Tailgate $20; Indoors: $30 ($22 ea for 2-5, $20 ea 6+), includes 1 admission
Vendors/Commercial Tailgaters set up Saturday after noon (David Parkison, KB3VDY, [email protected])
Opens: 8 am to 4 pm; Vendors 6 am
VE Testing*: Free! Starts 9 am in the 4H building. Pre-registration not required.
QSL Card Checking
Includes admission to the Maryland Suburban Home Show

https://www.qsl.net/w2vtm/hamfest.html

 

[K31]

Final bump.

Technician class at Anne Arundel Radio Club Starting October 5, 2019:

https://www.w3vpr.org/sites/default/files/ClassFlyers/2019/Fall2019techclass.pdf

Note: the flyer states you must "own the Kindle equipment" to read Kindle files in reference to buying a Kindle version of the ARRL manual vs. a paper copy (either is fine). This is not true. If you have an Amazon account (which you are going to need to buy Kindle books in the first place) you can read them in several browsers without downloading anything. You can also download a Kindle app to your Android device.

 

[CrazySanMan]

Has anyone here used an Elercraft KX2? I'm thinking of getting one with the 100 watt amp to use as both a portable QRP rig and a base station in my shack.