Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Just got my ham Tech license...

And proceeded to spend some bucks at the local HRO shop.
Picked up a mobile radio, HT (both dual band) some antennas and mounts and a repeater guide. Will try out my home-made dipole next time I am out in the desert. Another expensive hobby to go along with shooting. Wish I just collected rocks...

CaliRN

My wife and I are scheduled to take the Technician and General Class exams next Saturday afternoon. We thought that doing "two for the price of one exam" was a good idea when we scheduled them. Hope we haven't bitten off more than we can chew.

We have been going to our local amateur radio club meeting for the last three months. Everyone has been extremely helpful and welcoming. It seems to be a great hobby group.

What made you decide to get your "ticket"?

73

http://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/study.jsp

This site gives you an online study guide and practice exams for Tech, General and Extra class licences...You can try it for free and see enough to know if you'd be interested. Since they ditched the Morse Code requirement the tests became less daunting and number of Hams has gone up. Over 700000 in the US as of a few Months ago.

congrats. I know your proud.

http://www.dxwatch.com/dxsd1/dxsd1.php?f=1

I think this is really cool... in almost real time this site lets you know which stations from which Countries are transmitting on which frequencies...

The sun is entering an active cycle <a few years late> that has Hams all around the World doing the happy dance.... the buzz is that radio wave propagation conditions have not been this good since back in the 80s and we are not due to hit the peak of this solar cycle activity until 2015.

I bought an all band transceiver (Kenwood TS 2000)a few Months ago had have listened to probably 100 different Countries in that time. When the band conditions are right a Ham operator 5000+ miles away can sound like they are really just parked out in your driveway and just messing with you...

I'm also finding overseas news broadcasting (Google short wave listening for times and frequencies) pretty interesting. Russia is spinning hard on the need to crack down on anti Putin Bloggers as an "urgent public safety issue". That broadcast made the possibility of much more overt actions being taken by Bad Barry and his crew seem very real...

Cool! I might have to get back into it again. Been licensed 40 years. Started at 13 with my novice ticket (WN9HPF), then on to General a few months later. Now NJ9M. Haven't been active since the 90's.

Have been an active ham for years and the wife finally got her Tech Ticket in December 2008 with the call of KE7YWQ and then applied for the vanity call W7JLT as a Tech and then passed her General exam in March of 2009. Both her call W7JLT and my call W7ACT are both vanity calls and are our initials.

Congratulations CaliRN on passing the Tech exam, now go on and get your General Ticket.

2ndwind good luck to you and your wife on your test and after you both get your Tech Tickets go on and at least go on get your General Ticket as it opens up so much more of the HF Bands beyond 10 Meters.

Congratulations. That's a big accomplishment that opens the door to a lot of good things. Hope you enjoy your experience greatly.

About half of all hams have their Tech ticket. Trust me, it is worth the effort to get General and get on the low bands where the long-haul action is.

de W7DB

Congrats I've held a general for about 10 years and it's a lot of fun, and nerdy but who cares.
73

so now you're a terrorist according to the goobermint.

I went with a full feature transceiver as my first purchase because DX <basically talking with operators in other Countries> operation is what seems interesting to me. Tech class operators now have a bit of 10 meter bandwidth that is likely to work for that during the day... but it's just a small taste of what is going on with the HF bands these days...

I don't even have a UHF VHF antenna set up yet... it's on my "to do" list though. I have gotten to know several of the local Hams and they use their 2 Meter rigs mainly to let each other know when an interesting transmission is bouncing off the Ionosphere down into our area.

I just learned last Thursday that one of the long time club members recently passed away. The widow contacted the club president to say that she was following her husbands wish and donating all of his ham equipment to the club. The directions were to sell the first pick of the extensive collection to local hams who would use the gear and then ship the rest off to hamfests to be sold.

The money is then to be used to support the club and promote outreach to new hams... Hams have long been known for their helpfulness and sense of civic duty... providing communication when the phones go out and the cell towers can't keep up with the demand is what lots of Hams have their go bags packed for. Haiti, Katrina, 9/11, earthquakes... Hams will be there helping with emergency communications....

Another cool part of Ham culture is networks or "nets"... people with a common interest will tune to a frequency at the same time for round table discussions. If there are enough Campfire members who are Hams we could do a Hunters Campfire radio net... no Typing required...

Below are the specs for the Kenwood radio I bought new for $1400. I didn't get it with the 1.2 GHz (optional UT-20). I could have it installed <about $400> if I get to the point where I don't want to have to depend on the Ionosphere offering the proper conditions for long range radio wave propagation.

There are computer programs that track all the "birds" in low earth orbit available to Ham operators... these programs tell you when and where to point your beam antenna...

There are several radio programs that will let you transmit and receive email from pretty much any place on the planet... often with just a small hand held unit. I could picture that replacing a very expensive satellite phone in a remote drop camp for emergency communications...

CaliRN please post about how you are doing making your first contacts with your new rigs... IIRC, Tech Hams can start using Echolink for long distance contacts using the Internet. If the testing goes well for my wife and I Saturday we should have our call signs before the end of next week.... maybe we could be the start of a Campfire radio net



TS-2000/B2000/2000X
HF/All-Mode Transceivers

General Features

The all new Kenwood TS-2000 series transceiver offers today's demanding Amateur operator high performance standards without the compromising limitations found in other similar multi-band, multi-mode transceiver. The TS-2000 offers users three distinct operation platforms, the traditional transceiver with full function front panel, or the high-tech looking "silver box" version that allows mobile operation with the new RC-2000 compact control head, or the ARCP-2000 computer control program making the TS-B2000 functional from your personal computer. The new TS-2000 offers 100 watts on HF, 6 meters and 2 meters, 50 watts on 70cm, and when you install the optional UT-20 1.2 GHz module at 10 watts, you will have assembled the most complete dual receiver multi-mode transceiver ever produced. The TS-2000 is transverter frequency display function ready to work with the latest satellite frequencies available.

General Features
� High performance true IF/stage DSP on main band. AF stage DSP on sub-band.
� Digital filtering. (No more expensive options to buy)
� Satellite ready, with transverter frequency display.
� Wide band receive.
� Dual receive, (HF & 2m or 70cm) (2m & 2m) (70cm & 70cm)
� Cross band repeat.
� 100 watts output on HF, 6 and 2 meters. 50 watts output on 70cm, 10 watts output on 1.2 GHz (optional UT-20)
� Built-in a Auto Tuner HF through 6 meters
� Built-in TNC for KSS/DX PACKET CLUSTER TUNE
� Built-in RS-232 for computer control
� Built-in TCXO (.5PPM)
� CTCSS & DCS encode/decode
� Electronic memory keyer World
� 5+1 Antenna ports. (2 for HF & 6m, 1 for 2m, 1 for 70cm, 1 for 1.2 GHz option & 1 for and HF receive antenna)

When 10 meters is working, it's a blast.

Years ago when I worked for Heathkit, we took some equipment to Taiwan and operated from there. 10 was open then, and we connected with a bunch of Tech licensees that might not ordinarily have a chance to make that kind of DX contact. We came up just a couple of states short of WAS from there.

We also got special permission, and put up the first ever packet operation from Taiwan.

I was younger then, and had hair, too.

denton, sounds like you have a great Ham background... I am not a technical person. I can use all the "Elmers" I can get... is it Okay if I send you a PM now and again when I'm scratching my <also bald> head?

Here is a link to the radio email program the local Hams are talking about... they seem to view it as the latest greatest...

http://www.winlink.org/webfm_send/184

Passing the Tech exam should be a slam dunk for both my wife and I .... the General Licence practice tests still throw enough curve balls that it could go either way.... overall I'm optimistic though...

The cost to test here is $14.00... you can take all 3 test at once if you are feeling brave....same price...

Plan B is that there is no waiting period to retest if you need to... you just pay you $14.00 again without getting up from your chair and try again...

I don't like tests in general and I REALLY don't like tests with math problems... my plan is to have "packets" of $14.00 paper clipped together in my pocket... if I have a test panic attack... just keep handing over the packets in exchange for a new general exam...

If all goes well next weekend it looks like there will be 7 Campfire Hams posting in this thread already. Any interest in starting a campfire net? I dislike typing only slightly less than taking tests

What does a decent ham radio setup run these days and where's the best place for purchase?

Thanks

byc, here is a link to the radio first suggested to me as a nice entry level radio:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/1897.html

it is smaller than the Kenwood TS-2000 which would make it a better choice if you thought you might want to run it from your car at some point.... cost about $400.00 less than the rig I bought too.

My local Elmer <Ham radio speak for a mentor for a new Ham> talked me into going with a full sized radio because the adjustments are mostly buttons vs menus that you need to scroll through on the smaller rig.

Universal Radio has a better web site but I ended up buying my radio from Ham Radio Outlet for $80.00 less.

I would have probably bought a used rig since I hooked up with a local "Elmer" to help me check them out, but when my wife started to show real interest in amateur radio after our first local club meeting I decided to spend the money to buy new because it wasn't going to be just "my radio".

There are several women in the local club... after the first meeting one of them asked if she was studying for the test too and Jayne answered with a very sincere "Yes"! She had been kind of lukewarm to the idea prior to this.

I strongly suggest anyone thinking about this do a Google search for a Ham radio club in your area... the one in my very rural area had a phone number listed for a contact person... after an 10 minute phone call I had an invitation to come over to check out his "shack" <ham term for where your equipment is set up> he had me on the air as third party traffic talking to hams 100s of miles away that afternoon.

With a good "Elmer" to help you shop used equipment... getting a "shack" set up that would allow you to speak with folks around the world would probably be doable for $600.00.

I suggest picking up the Technician Class FCC Element 2 Amateur Radio Licence Preparation book by Gordon West. Check to see that it is the 7/1/10 through 6/30/15 edition. I got mine from Amazon and it comes with a CD that gives an over view and lets you hear recordings of what you can find on the air.

You Tube is also FULL of videos about Ham Radio. Hams LOVE to show off their latest gear... look for a Ham club balloon launch... they transmitted live video from a weather balloon that went just crazy high <looked like dark space> before it burst and the came down on a parachute...

73 <Ham speak for "Best Regards" and how most end their transmissions>

Hi All,
I have always been interested in Ham radio, and recently the hospital I work at asked if there was anyone interested in becoming a Ham and helping out with disaster communication so a buddy of mine and I took the tests. I plan to go back and test for General some time in the future. Had I known that you could test for both I would have studied. The online test sites (practice) are a great help in getting over test fever.

My first radio is a mobile Yaesu dual band that can be used as a base also, and the second is a HT Yaesu dual band also. I have not spoken to anyone as I am reading the book that came with the radios and learning about programming them. I bought my gear
at HRO in Anaheim and actually ran into Gordon West (who lives nearby the store). These guys were exceptionally helpful in answering my questions and giving me suggestions. I explained that I was a newbie, and they really helped me out. Good folks.

CaliRN

Very cool that you met Gordon West. That man is the poster guy for enthusiasm about ham radio. He published his own phone number in one of his study guides and wrote something to the effect of, "If you just get stuck on any of this stuff give me a call and we will work through it...". Since I'm pretty sure his books are being read in every time zone in the World now the timing of some of those calls might be challenging...

Ham Radio Nation is a good resource:

http://hamradionation.com/browse_vidfeeders.php

This link is to their videos which have been broadcast online... "Gordo" is featured in many of them. He is a character

Congratulations on the new ham license! There are so many facets and opportunities of exploration with this hobby. I am not as active now as I was in college, but it is a hobby that I will always keep.

Hi TN Griller, a belated welcome to the Campfire... I just noticed that you are a Ham living in Signal Mountain TN.... hey, what are the chances of that one