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Author Topic: Anyone here a HAM?  (Read 6550 times)

bill

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Anyone here a HAM?
« on: March 03, 2016, 04:04:20 AM »
Several people in my circles have been suggesting I get my HAM radio licence. Particularly in Japan where we're moments away from having our entire communications infrastructure destroyed by an earthquake, it didn't sound like a bad idea. I'm just wondering how much prep it takes to pass those licencing tests. I'd have to travel several hours to another city to take the test so it would take a bit of effort in addition to the study.
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littleman

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2016, 06:34:43 AM »
My dad is a big HAM guy.  He's really old school and does Morse code.  He was talking to people half way around the world in the 80s. I remember him complaining about the new, easy to get license which he said was diminishing the quality of the user base.
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bill

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2016, 07:08:22 AM »
Yeah. They removed the Morse code requirement a while back. That's good for me because that sounds like a nightmare to remember. I have a hard enough time remembering the phonetic alphabet that they use...

If your dad has any old equipment I've heard that's real valuable now. All the hipster HAMs must be buying up the vacuum tubes to use in their hi-fi setups.  ;)
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Brad

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2016, 11:20:40 AM »
I know nothing about HAM, but a neighbor was a HAM and he had an iPhone app that let him, somehow, monitor HAM communications.  That might be a way to lurk and see if it is something you like.

He also said the local HAM group practiced disaster drills regularly with generators, mobile antenna towers etc.
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bill

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2016, 01:35:21 PM »
If you have a license you can get a mobile app that will let you use your phone to connect. I doubt I'd go whole hog and get all the massive antennas and whatnot, but it sounds like an interesting thing to have just in case the SHTF.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2016, 01:38:05 PM by bill »
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littleman

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2018, 03:40:13 AM »
This is making me want to get into HAM:
http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/
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martinibuster

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2018, 06:32:36 AM »
For some reason, I believe Ash knows something about this.
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bill

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2018, 11:34:27 AM »
Well, to follow up I did get my license and a bunch of gear. It's a very cool way to communicate that just works when all else goes down. I spend a lot more time playing with digital modes rather than your normal analog talking modes.  Studying for the test taught me a lot about radio waves and their propagation that has helped me out in other aspects of my work so it's been really worthwhile for me on several levels.
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ukgimp

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2018, 12:34:54 PM »
I used to do CB on the various bands a good few years back.

Was fun.
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grnidone

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2018, 03:59:58 PM »
Little:  How did you not get into HAM when your dad was into it!  I've always thought HAM was neat and wanted to get into it but didn't know where/ how to get started.
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bill

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2018, 07:34:11 PM »
Quote from: grnidone on July 23, 2018, 03:59:58 PM
Little:  How did you not get into HAM when your dad was into it!
Yeah. One thing I've learned along the way is that a lot of that old equipment still holds value today depending what shape it's in. A lot of these radios don't depreciate much and some even sell for more than when they were purchased.
Quote from: grnidone on July 23, 2018, 03:59:58 PM
I've always thought HAM was neat and wanted to get into it but didn't know where/ how to get started.
It's not too difficult to get licensed. The FCC publishes all of the test questions and answers. You could just memorize them and pass the test. I used an online test training site to drill myself on the questions and was able to pass the Technician class and General class tests in one sitting. I need to study a bit more to get the top class Extra so I could do everything, but the General class license lets me do quite a bit. I could get you more info if you're really interested.
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bill

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #11 on: July 23, 2018, 07:40:24 PM »
Quote from: ukgimp on July 23, 2018, 12:34:54 PM
I used to do CB on the various bands a good few years back.

Was fun.
My dad had a CB radio in the car that I had a lot of fun with as a kid. He always used to complain about the guys who had huge amplifiers and antennas who would use ham equipment to push the acceptable limits of the CB bands and power output limits. Up until very recently you weren't supposed to use CB to 'work the skip' and communicate long distance. You really need a ham license to work the bands that will bounce around the world.
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littleman

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Re: Anyone here a HAM?
« Reply #12 on: July 23, 2018, 09:33:08 PM »
>How did you not get into HAM when your dad was into it!

My parents divorced when I was a young child, I didn't grow up with the equipment around me.
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