User Panel
Posted: 2/4/2021 4:44:54 PM EDT
I've been thinking about this for awhile.
I'm tired of HAM radio clubs that only talk about the weather, their medical conditions, their radio, band conditions, or their antenna. How about a group that actually uses their radios, does fox hunts, builds things (Antennas, shacks, mobile QRP rigs)? Does real-world field daying (Camping with HAM radios and beer). ? Makes a frequency plan for their AOR? Anyone in the DFW area interested? I wouldn't be able to play for awhile (Rice rabies, and the wife's cancer battle that she's winning). Just seeing if there's any interest. |
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Quoted: Has it been more then 2 years from when it expired? If it’s less then 2 you can just renew it and your 10 years will start again. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Count me in, used to be a Tech but it lapsed. Has it been more then 2 years from when it expired? If it’s less then 2 you can just renew it and your 10 years will start again. Yeah, too long. I swear I never got a reminder to renew after 10 years. |
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Erwin park has overnight camping. I’m not sure about other possible locations close where we could camp. Unless someone has property where a few of us could set up.
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I don’t know shat about HAM but would be interested in learning.
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Quoted: I don’t know shat about HAM but would be interested in learning. View Quote https://hamstudy.org/ Study for your tech then general if you want access to some real HF bands. Morse code is no longer required to get your license. You can get a cheap baofeng radio for $25 from Amazon to start out. Just don’t transmit on it I until you get your tech license. |
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In. General but don't have any hf gear yet.
Every local club I visited was either interested only in contesting or on the verge of total wackerdom trying to convince local first responders to let them be their comm guys. |
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Quoted: In. General but don't have any hf gear yet. Every local club I visited was either interested only in contesting or on the verge of total wackerdom trying to convince local first responders to let them be their comm guys. View Quote That's what I have run in to. In Virginia and here. It seems they all have this wet dream fantasy of driving up to a natural disaster, seeing bewildered law enforcement, and being their S-6. Luckily, I found a club in VA that was more personable, and had good conversations on my long morning commutes. I'd like to set up something* that would be a group that would have a topic, and all could gather to puzzle it out. - How to build a directional antenna for fox hunting. (Then go do it.) - Good frequencies to have for a given area. (Then go over programming.) - Power solutions for SOTA (Then go do it, or use it for field day.) - Digital modes for HF. (Then set it up.) - Receive vs transmit antennas (Then set up a beverage, and see what we can hear.) Attached File |
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I have a icom 703 that hasn't come out of the ammo can for about 2 years now. I still have the QRP antenna hanging in the yard. I go back and forth on selling it.
If I use anything, I use my VHF stuff. I'm rigged for 60 watts at the house and I have a 25watt vhf/uhf in my wife's jeep. |
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I'm only slightly interested in all the other stuff, but I'm VERY interested in getting my little BaoFeng handhelds programmed with some local freqs for like minded individuals. I know there's an arf freq list, but I'm sure there are local freqs that would be useful, too.
I'm currently uninterested in radio as a hobby, but right now I know almost nothing. If I have to get licensed to use this stuff, so be it. Oh, and when you say fox hunting, you're not talking about the small predator with the soft fur? |
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Quoted: I'm only slightly interested in all the other stuff, but I'm VERY interested in getting my little BaoFeng handhelds programmed with some local freqs for like minded individuals. I know there's an arf freq list, but I'm sure there are local freqs that would be useful, too. I'm currently uninterested in radio as a hobby, but right now I know almost nothing. If I have to get licensed to use this stuff, so be it. Oh, and when you say fox hunting, you're not talking about the small predator with the soft fur? View Quote Fix hunting is using radios to find the position of someone transmitting. I used hamtestonline to study for my tech license. I need to get back to it and get my general. |
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Quoted: I'm currently uninterested in radio as a hobby, but right now I know almost nothing. If I have to get licensed to use this stuff, so be it. View Quote You may not be interested in it as a hobby but without have some knowledge on radios they are somewhat useless and you can cause issues for others that you don’t realize your causing. Example... At the speedway now there are people out there listing to the radio MRN broadcast on their cheap baofengs but also start talking to each other. All that does is broadcast their voices to others in the stands and interrupts other people’s ability to enjoy the race. They most likely have no idea how much a pain in the ass they are being. Also if you don’t know how to program it and use repeaters or what frequencies to use they will almost be useless in an emergency unless you just happen to find the correct frequency by accident. Getting your tech is quick easy and cheap. |
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Not living in the area, yet at least but interested here. Have Hf mobile as well
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Quoted: You may not be interested in it as a hobby but without have some knowledge on radios they are somewhat useless and you can cause issues for others that you don’t realize your causing. View Quote Yeah, I've been using radios professionally my entire adult life, but the radios are just handed to me, pre-programmed on frequencies not (supposed to be) used by anyone else nearby. I'm going to get my tech at a minimum, but I was trying to provide a context for my interest in this type of group. I'd like to show up to an even there and there, but I'm not interested in fox hunting or the other things that radio hobbyists might be interested in. I'm interested in learning the nitty gritty bare minimum so that these radios are useful to me for basic communications. |
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Quoted: Yeah, I've been using radios professionally my entire adult life, but the radios are just handed to me, pre-programmed on frequencies not (supposed to be) used by anyone else nearby. I'm going to get my tech at a minimum, but I was trying to provide a context for my interest in this type of group. I'd like to show up to an even there and there, but I'm not interested in fox hunting or the other things that radio hobbyists might be interested in. I'm interested in learning the nitty gritty bare minimum so that these radios are useful to me for basic communications. View Quote You could get yourself a nicer GMRS radio and learn how basic repeaters / programming works by watching YouTube videos. There is no test for the license. You just pay the fee and your whole family is covered even those that don’t live with you. This way you don’t step on something you shouldn’t while your learn. |
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Not in the DFW area but I'd be willing to travel for some ARF fun. Can't seem to find an interest in my area :( (Temple / Belton)
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I'm down on the coast but I'll make a jaunt for some stuff. I like camping and POTA.
Thankfully my club isn't too wackerific and the old contester and rag chewers are cool. There's a few tho. |
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Short answer - yes.
Longer answer - I will take my tech exam later this month, I own zero equipment so far, and exploring options to put up a 2M/70cm/23cm antenna(s) at the house in an HOA. |
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Quoted: Short answer - yes. Longer answer - I will take my tech exam later this month, I own zero equipment so far, and exploring options to put up a 2M/70cm/23cm antenna(s) at the house in an HOA. View Quote Search YouTube for HOA antenna. You can put something in your attic, use your rain gutters, hide a wire in a tree, use a flag pole or even modify a direct tv dish. |
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What I've ended up doing with our HOA is using a wind sock pole from Jackite. No one said anything anyway but I have a 24' mast that I put one of their $13 wind socks on. But it works great for my inverted v.
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Quoted: The whole underside of my roof decking is coated in radiant barrier. The gutter / wire type antennas I gather are for HF. Was looking at UHF / VHF / 1.2GHz for an Icom IC-9700 to start with. Newer neighborhood, so no trees of any substantial height yet. There was a dish on the roof originally, but it blew over, broke off, came down in a storm last year. y. View Quote What does the HOA say about items in The backyard that can’t be seen from the front? If they dont care about the backside just use something like this https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/mfj-1754 |
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Tag... I have my ticket and a few Yaesu HT, but far from an Elmer.
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Can usually get into Texas, if enough of you guys have Hf gear. Hopefully we will escape enemy territory this year
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Look at an Ed Fong J-Pole. (Should be the 1st project after buying an HT.)
The original Ed Fong Dual Band VHF/UHF 70cm/2m J-Pole PVC Pipe Antenna : Eye-On-Stuff Zip tie it onto the vertical tube of a DirecTV dish mount. |
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Quoted: Tag... I have my ticket and a few Yaesu HT, but far from an Elmer. View Quote I'm no Elmer either, but I can read and search the internet like nobody's business. (Sometimes, I search for HAM radio stuff too!) I think a group that's focus is building/test it and see if it works/go use it , would be a lot of fun. I'm going to visit the local library, and se if they are even letting groups in to use the rooms. Might have to set this up on Discord. Would be cool if we could put something together for Field Day 2021.... |
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I'm in and interested in multiple modes of communications. Also looking to test GoTennas.
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Quoted: Look at an Ed Fong J-Pole. (Should be the 1st project after buying an HT.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtLEj1f773c Zip tie it onto the vertical tube of a DirecTV dish mount. View Quote My Ed Fong is attached to the top of my back porch, so it's hard to see from the street. I've easily hit a repeater 22 miles away. |
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I'm going to try to set up something in the Flower Mound area for March or April. Meet & Greet,... build an Ed Fong, talk about some sort of real-world activity that doesn't involve fantasizing about being EMCOMM for the PD.
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Quoted: How about trying to work the ISS as a meetup? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I'm going to try to set up something in the Flower Mound area for March or April. Meet & Greet,... build an Ed Fong, talk about some sort of real-world activity that doesn't involve fantasizing about being EMCOMM for the PD. How about trying to work the ISS as a meetup? I'm down with that! Attached File Looks like it gets above 45° every so often. I say we build an antenna with some gain, and try to light it up one AM! |
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I'm in the Houston area sort of but I'm contemplating regional comms with other Texans. If anyone in y'all's group has an HF rig I'd like to hear what they are doing to communicate within say 300 miles. I think I'm going to build a 40m inverted V for NVIS and see if that does the trick.
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Quoted: I'm in the Houston area sort of but I'm contemplating regional comms with other Texans. If anyone in y'all's group has an HF rig I'd like to hear what they are doing to communicate within say 300 miles. I think I'm going to build a 40m inverted V for NVIS and see if that does the trick. View Quote |
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Quoted: Well, we're waiting... Interested to hear what you use antenna wise. I'm trying to get away without an antenna tuner. View Quote Portable is a Yaesu 891 and I have a 30' Honolulu EARC EFHW with a 9:1. I need to make a smidge longer to work on 40. But it works like a champ on 20 and up. Also use a WRC. I haven't tried it locally yet. Need to do so though. The first one is supposedly tunerless. But I still use one. The plans are available on the web. I use a tuner with the others as well. It isn't that big of deal to hook up my LDG and I have an FC50 permanently mated to my 891. |
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After recent events, I’d suggest a battery box build party of some sort.
Everyone shows up with their choice of battery, box, receptacles, switches, etc and gets going. Good way to (possibly) introduce ham to folks who may not otherwise be exposed. Yes - not specifically ham related but, hams often build such things for themselves anyway. |
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