Welcome to the Ham Radio forum. There are a lot of guys here that will help you out as much as we can. Got a problem with a CB? Tell us about it and we'll try and help. we're a helpful and friendly bunch here.

Stereo or computer acting up? Tell us and we'll see what we can do.

A shortwave receiver gathering dust and you want to know how to use it for foreign broadcasts and listening to ham operators? Let us know.

Interested in licensing and getting on the air? We're good at that. It's easy enough. There are a lot of people that are willing to help.

Just about anything electronic and we'll help where we can.

You don't have to have a license or even a faint interest in amateur radio per se. We'll help who we can.


There IS one exception though.

If you are a prepper looking to get ham radio equipment for SHTF or TEOTWAWKI and are either too lazy or too paranoid to get a license than spare us and leave now. This is not the place for you.

We've heard it all.

While amateur radios and equipment is fairly easy to learn to use, you have to have hands on experience for it to do you any good. When TEOTWAWKI comes around it is going to do you no good unless you are familiar with it.
Most HTs have to be programmed to work and the time to do that is not when the wolf is at the door. You have to be familiar with it for it to be of any use unless you want to throw it at someone.

You practice regularly with your ARs and the same even more so hold true for amateur equipment. You have to take it out and use it to stay proficient with it.


Getting a license isn't all that hard. There are a number of 8 year-olds out there with General class licenses. Seriously. 8 year old kids. It really IS that easy.

If you do need the thing to go on the air, what are you going to do for a call sign? You think you can make one up but most of you that try will be outed in an instant. There's a method as to how call signs are issued.Yeah, we've heard it. It's TEOTWAWKI so it won't matter.

Yeah, it will matter. Not too many people are going to pay a lot of attention to a non licensee type babbling away on the air with a Chinese call sign saying he's from Kansas. You'll likely be ignored. You likely won't know procedure and will annoy those that do. You may even interfere with those that are running a legitimate relief net, making yourself a detriment to the rest of us.

You also will have no chance to have a practical knowledge of what your gear can and can't do without actually using it.

Hell, if you don't get on the air, you don't even know if your stuff is set up right...or even works.
If you are trying to get a bunch of ham gear together and are too lazy or paranoid to get a license, please don't waste our time.

If you ARE willing to get a license, stick around. You came to the right place.



ETA. Someone pointed this out to me. No. We will NOT tell you how to make illegal modifications to a radio. We try and play by the rules here.

AMEN!!!

ps

listen buddy, all of the other people in my marital bed know when my stiff is set up right.  


ar-jedi

Fixed.

Think it's worth a tack?

It's got my vote for one.

..   .- --. .-. . .

 

How about a sub forum for CB (Completely Baffled).

Seriously, there are a LOT of people who have no clue about what ham is and isn't, and have a desire for really inexpensive, stupid-simple, medium-range comms for emergencies only.  They want something that can be unwrapped, turned on, and work without any education.  They really aren't aware that such a thing doesn't exist.  The advertizing for cheap Chinese, FRS, and GMRS HTs doesn't help.  People walk away thinking that they can buy a $40 HT and instantly be talking to people "up to" 30 miles away.  They equate ham with long-range capabilities and rightly wonder if ham HTs would give them great range on unlicensed frequencies for almost no money.

I don't believe I've EVER seen an ad that states: "Not legal to use without a license." or, "Not legal to use for FRS, GMRS, or on public safety frequencies."  The great unwashed masses have NO idea what they really need or even how to ask the right questions.  I would love to see a tacked thread that offers these people both an education AND real-life solutions without berating them or being condescending.  Yes, it's irritating to see the same "stupid" questions over and over, but that just means that there's a huge opportunity for hams to raise the level of the discussion.  A thread like "Solutions for your SHTF comm needs" could generate a lot of traffic and maybe even get some new hams.

How do we vote YES?

Edited-hs

I literally got my Tech ticket on a bet from a friend with a two days notice to study.  Having some past background in Military Comms running Battalion VHF nets years prior and a little studying I passed no problem.
Even after that I had little interest in getting into Amateur Radio until I stumbled over here.  You won't find a better "wretched hive of scum and villainy."  Now I have the Black Radio Disease and hope to infect as many as possible.
Welcome to the Hobby!!

Yeah, tack it!


...and I've seen an 11 year old get her extra.

I'm not!

I just want him to properly represent!

I teach a group comms class and have programmed literally hundreds of these cheap HT's which come with the class.  

We go over the radio's limited role in an overall plan, and the legality of using it.  

I would contend that an ht programmed correctly for your AO has far better use as a source of information vs its use in two way communication.  

Think of listening to weather spotters live in Kansas in the spring.  

That being said I encourage licensing, and many end up doing just that.  

My goal is to get as many people as possible on the path to make comms more of a priority.  Licensing or not.

Well said Piccolo! This has my vote.

(I would have just left it as "stiff"…)

get the mods on this.

Yes.



I also recommend this: http://sparks31.wordpress.com/the-last-word-on-the-ham-license-debate/



 

Here is a link to a pretty-good Non Ham Radio Communications Forum for those who don't want their licenses:
TSP Comms Forum (non-ham)

I second that, or what ever number I am.

Well said.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Saw this posted elsewhere, thought it would be a good place to store it safely.    Ø.   O

For Moto concentric switches.   Which as a General, we don't discuss here.   But the symbol is for an interesting topic.  Discussion, not usage.

Um. What?

I think he's talking about the secure function on Motorola HTs.

I use Ø every day on a Moto HT in the 410 MHz range

I use that switch on my Motos for TX Disable. Basically does the same thing on the old Sabers when there's no key loaded anyway!

Piccolo,
Could we add another topic that we will not help people with: programming or modifying amateur band radios to transmit on public service frequencies "in case of an emergency"?

On one hand there are legitimate reasons to be able to monitor those bands without purchasing a separate scanner.
And it is possible to be a person would could become authorized to even use those bands for some periods of time.

On the other hand we rarely get those questions from people who are volunteer fire/police/fema/EOC type people.
We seem to get them more often from other people and some that don't even want to get a tech license.

Another consideration on this topic: Is it not true that when modifying a radio, whether HF, VHF or UHF, if not done correctly (and yes sometimes the mod is stupid simple) can cause the radio to transmit poorly.

No, I'm not trying to say that some person in Kansas or California with public service frequencies programmed into their Wouxun is going to bring down the entire country's ability to dispatch ambulances.

I am trying to say that "in case of an emergency" there are better ways for that person to communicate some of which we CAN and WILL help them with.

What's more likely to happen is the radio's don't put out full power. For example. I got my hands on several CAP/MARS modded Icom IC-7000's. Out of curiosity I put them on the R8000 and tested them at 462.700 MHz and 467.700 MHz. Remember, an IC-7000 is rated to 35W out in UHF. I got a whopping 5W at 462.700 and 2.3W at 467.700. In comparison, a 403-470 MHz Motorola mobile will be within 2W of spec (if aligned properly) for the entire operating range.

The PA's simply aren't built to handle going out of band very far.

is this the appropriate forum for a scanner question? not so much a how do i program it, but more how do I organize it to make it the most useful?

Yes, it is - we're mostly not interested in helping people whose goal it is to get a ham radio and use it illegally.  As you can see, we answer electronics questions here, scanner questions will be cool :)

I don't usually post a lot, but I would agree.

It needs a tack.

I got my license way back when, around 1984, a Novice then, went to Tech a year later, then general 6 months after that.

Licensing is easy now, my wife took it on a dare from me, saying I bet she would not pass it.

She missed "1", and I had to do dishes for 6 months.

I have had at least 10 locals come to me asking if I would program their Chinese radios of some make.

I know all of the hams here, (very small area) and they were not among them.

I told them to get licensed and Imwould show them how to do it, but not do it for them.

We have had several off-road and snow machine people show up, "accidently" on our simplex and a couple of repeaters.

They get tracked down and told what to do or go away.

We teach the classes here and all are welcome, but as Piccolo said, " they will get noticed".

I tell everyone, take the classes, get the license and we will teach you the right way to do things.

Lot to be said here.

The BIGGEST excuse it the "I want to stay under the radar" bullshit.

I always ask them how they go through life without a driver's license or car registration or how do they manage to skip out on taxes. It leaves them agape.

Then I tell them that sometimes the best place to hide is in the middle of the mob and getting licensed would put them there instead of outside of the licensed group where they show up like a sore thumb.

"I want to stay under the radar"= too lazy and/or stupid to get licensed.

a reminder

I occasionally run into an unknowing member of the special ops "Baofeng Brigade" mall-ninja team at local ranges. The majority of them are simply intimidated by having to take a test to get a license, where after discussing with them how easy it truly is & how comically incompetent they currently are in actually using their pretentious vanity accessory walkie talkie (which is really only serving as the world's shittiest police scanner radio), they're often interested in getting their license, a legit HT, a police scanner, & appear to be sincerely appreciative for the reality check most times.

The rare few folks who give stupid & illogical excuses of wanting to stay off the map, not having time to study, or some other BS excuse for having a China comm radio mounted on their air-soft quality LARP'ing costume, even after showing them how utterly clueless they are & how easy it is to get licensed, are the types of innately incompetent / delusional folks who I try desperately to avoid in life, would rather they not get a license, & certainly do not want hear them on the local repeaters...

Me personally, I don't hold disdain for ill-informed SHTF preppers who watched a youtube video about Baofeng UV-5R's being awesome for backup emergency comms. This has actually gotten a lot of folks exposed to & interested in amateur radio recently, where a lot of them have gotten licensed & interested in the hobby itself. Most folks, especially my generation, needs perceived utility & tangible benefit in order to take on a new hobby or interest, especially if there's a learning curve & cost for entry. While not listed as the primary purpose for amateur radio, SHTF prepping & amateur radio go hand in hand as a way to keep things alive & relevant in our Brave New World ;)

Test. The board is acting up and I can't post but maybe I can.

Nope, you can't.

This is a biggie for me.

I remember when hams lost the 11M band, and I remember what it became, and still is.

No thanks.

Where do I IM a link to my license page to add my name to the Collection of Names?

Can't decide if I want the flair or not.

@Him
IM it to Paul.

Thank you.

Not many seem to jump at the flair.

First licensed in 1960 or 1961 as a tech, then General in 1967 and Advanced in 1976. I took both General and Advanced from FCC examiners back before they got out of that part of the business.

Had a ball on 6 meters, then played on HF as a General. Picked up DXCC, but never got real serious about it.

Then on to 2 meters and repeaters, and finally walking away for about 15 years.

I came back after rummaging around in QRZ looking for old ham friends, and seeing how many were no longer there.

I decided that I'd better get back and talk to the ones who are left while I still can, so I'm back on our local repeaters with all the new guys, and a sprinkling of guys I know.

If I had to leave a single thought, it would be "Once you get your ticket, do not ever let it expire, even though you may lose interest for a while." Odds are you will never get it back.

-- . / - --- --- //

So how do us hams get the coveted arfcom ham antennae insignia like @SmilingBandit has? I wants one badly.

I thought it was Paul who got a license copy back in the day.  Not sure who has the lead now.

So is it permissible to post technical product reviews as individual threads or should there be a tacked thread created for all reviews?

This sub-forum is not heavily moderated, AFAICT. Please go ahead and start a new thread and share your review with us. It can always be tacked later.

I say it is welcome to start a thread and share your experience.  PERSONALLY i’d rather see individual threads than have to wade through stuff to find what I am looking for.

I posed a non tech thread based on human experiences on the air once and it was locked for about ten minutes before you thugs raised hell and it got unlocked.

From what I could figure out this forum is open to ALL aspects of ham radio.

Go for it.