Posted: 6/6/2026 4:10:59 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Emoto][Edited]
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The barber who cuts my hair just recently got his Technician license. I forget what he said got him interested, but I know I've told him about chasing DX in the past. Anyhow, all he has so far is some flavor of Baofeng that I think he has added some sort of aftermarket antenna to (can't recall the name). He has used software to load up info from Repeaterbook and has also learned how to manually program the radio. He doesn't hear much traffic and has not made a QSO yet. This is in southeast Massachusetts (Plymouth County). I urged him to go for his General so he could get on HF. What would you guys tell him, in terms of ways he can have fun on UHF/VHF with a Technician license? I have not done anything other than HF, so I don't have anything to tell him. |
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10M is working pretty well on digital modes, and that's permitted for technicians. It could be a good gateway to HF and provide incentive to upgrade. At its easiest just getting on the air with a 10M WSPR beacon will show him how far his signals will go, and a 1/4W 10M antenna is not large not hard to build. Sticking to VHF+, I thought hearing satellites was cool AF when I first got my license, and the new birds are a lot more accessible than they were that long ago. |
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I would make fun of him and call him a nerd, etc for getting into Ham Radio. Then, I would find out what he is interested in and try to support him in that direction. EMCOMM? ARES/RACES? CERT? Younger/newer folks to the hobby often do not like the DX/contesting portion and need to be shown other parts of the hobby to stay interested. Learning about 2 way radio in general? I train a new crop of LMR techs every year and have condensed a "new LMR tech kit" into just a few items: -Chinese dualband DMR radio with promiscous mode (Anytone D878?) -Chinese large screen VNA (SAA2N or SV4401) -Chinese small digital wattmeter (RD106P) -Cheap USB SDR (NOOELEC NESDR) -misc tools, cables, crimpers, voltmeter, spare connectors, adapters etc The point being, if they are interested in the technical/troubleshooting portion, the hobby can go super deep. TT |
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Originally Posted By darg508: Summer is coming and with that 6m is opening up. Ok, it’s mainly ft8 but it’s a beginning. 10m is a small portion open for techs but there is a lot going. Actually I worked several stations from my mobile on SSB on 50.125 last Wednesday. And I heard many more on adjacent frequency's. |
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Originally Posted By Mach: There are several nets on the local repeater one town west of you that starts with a W. he could check into a net or to and use his radio. Cool! I see that the nearby club lists some nets on its web site. |
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Have him build a 2M (or 2M/440) J-pole antenna for his attic or chimney. It will increase the range of the HT a lot and get him into homebrewing. Here's some plans: LINK Here's a super-easy 2M ground plane: https://www.klofas.com/blog/2022/quarter-wave-ground-plane-antenna/ There's not much difference in gain between a GP and a J-pole. |
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https://www.qrz.com/jumpstart/account-required Discount on an HT that will be better than the baofeng hes using and should last way longer. Tell him to get a bnc adapter, a signal stick antenna, build/buy an external antenna to run to a window, and get it as high in a tree or on the apex of his house. If he's interested in digital tell him about digirig/mobilink and get him started with aprs and winkink, maybe a BBS if there's one local. |
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I wish him well. I got my Technician and was immediately overwhelmed by jargon, acronyms, and the closed-set attitude of the supposedly oh so friendly local ham club who I turned to for help. I well remember I had one shining afternoon where sitting in my truck I talked to some guy in Blackpool, England, but after that got discouraged, gave it up and did not renew. I gave a big box of radios, cables, chargers, and manuals to the Salvation Army. |
Never ask a man if he is from Virginia. If he is, he'll tell you. If he isn't, you don't want to embarrass him.
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Tech has CW privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10. It's not as hard as most make it out to be, but it does require discipline and determination to learn it. My wife did it in 6-8 weeks. The rewards are great; basic equipment and a simple antenna put the world at your fingertips. And there's POTA and SOTA. |
"...Capitalism...shares its blessings unequally; ...Socialism...shares its miseries equally."
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Find out WHY. I know you said you didn't know... but, ask. If he's a techy / computer / networking type guy, introduce him to APRS and the deeper functions therein. Digital modes. Maybe he has a drone and wanted higher power radio link options. If he's a "outdoors" type, he may find other aspects interesting. |
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Originally Posted By Frank_B: Tech has CW privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10. It's not as hard as most make it out to be, but it does require discipline and determination to learn it. My wife did it in 6-8 weeks. The rewards are great; basic equipment and a simple antenna put the world at your fingertips. And there's POTA and SOTA. You have a recommended method to learn it in 6-8weeks ? |
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@smeeg You have a recommended method to learn it in 6-8 weeks ? Yes, I'm old school, so there may be better ways, It really depends upon your learning style. Especially, in the beginning, I've found 15 minutes a day in the morning and 15 minutes later gives my brain a rest in between practice sessions. IOW, twice a day for a limited time, my brain got tired after 15 min. Learning the code in 5 letter groups eg. E, I, S, H , 5, 4 for starters. For the licensed ham, once you get to 5 words per minute it's recommend to get on the air and make contacts. Don't worry about mistakes, every body goes through this stage. The point is, making CW contacts becomes fun and your operating speed will go up as you make contacts. I'd recommend taking up a mode of eastern meditation, this helps the operator be in the frame of mind to begin copying and not worrying about the character missed. If you worry about missing a character, 6 more will go by, let em drop and pick up the next letter. What happens is we learn some letters more quickly, others will require more practice. 73, Rob |
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Originally Posted By smeeg: You have a recommended method to learn it in 6-8weeks ? The Internet wasn't available back in the '80s, but there were courses on tapes and books. I made her a code practice oscillator and she used my J-38 key to practice sending. Today it's much easier as there are several online courses, and instead of having to base her schedule on W1AW transmissions, MP-3 files are available online. LINK I would also recored the W1AW transmissions on my cassette recorder and she'd play them in the car on the way to work. We would limit the practice sessions to 15-20 minutes once or twice a day to prevent burnout. We'd occasionally skip a day if she was very busy. Regardless of the method, the common factor is discipline and determination, i.e., practice, practice, practice. I would also send to her and she would send to me. When she passed her Novice exam, the guys who tested her complimented her on her fist. She grew up on a farm in Maine that didn't get electricity until she was a teenager, so discipline and determination were in her wheelhouse. ETA: The book I used was "Radio Code Manual" by Arthur Nilson, written in 1942 for training WW2 radio operators. Also, as she was driving she'd mentally "think" the code for passing signs and license plates. ETA2: Ever made love using Morse instead of words?  Didididit didit.
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"...Capitalism...shares its blessings unequally; ...Socialism...shares its miseries equally."
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Originally Posted By robmkivseries70: @smeeg ...For the licensed ham, once you get to 5 words per minute it's recommend to get on the air and make contacts. Don't worry about mistakes, every body goes through this stage. The point is, making CW contacts becomes fun and your operating speed will go up as you make contacts. I'd recommend taking up a mode of eastern meditation, this helps the operator be in the frame of mind to begin copying and not worrying about the character missed. If you worry about missing a character, 6 more will go by, let em drop and pick up the next letter. What happens is we learn some letters more quickly, others will require more practice. 73, Rob  For on-air practice, try the SKCC operating frequencies. LINK Most of us are more than happy to adjust our speed to what you are comfortable with. Heck, why not sign up and get a number? It's free. We have several monthly "sprints" that are excellent practice, and also fun. As for missed characters, draw a dash. This was taught in WW2 because of the nature of the Enigma machines used by the Nazis. The decoding algorithm changed with each letter, so missing a keystroke would ruin the decryption of all following letters. Beside, drawing the dash completes the ear-to-hand mental process and resets the brain for the next letter. |
"...Capitalism...shares its blessings unequally; ...Socialism...shares its miseries equally."
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| Start working POTA after learning the letters and prosigns. Much Much easier than a "normal" conversation. You know what is going to be said, you know what you are going to say. It is an extremely short exchange, and you get over the FEAR of making contacts quickly. When you have finished, a few seconds later, YOU have made a successful contact. It helps get over the FEAR and the FEAR is the number one reason people don't succeed in learning Morse and making contacts. Plus you have a tracking mechanism when you join the POTA org. and you can work towards goals. Lots of awards along the way also. They are just stupid pretty certificates you can print out and put in a binder if you want, but there it will be a certificate with you name and callsign on it. It can be a motivation for some. Get started hunting POTA and you can learn a lot. |
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I urged him to go for his General so he could get on HF. Most certainly!!! And do this while still in study mode. After a test session where 7 or 8 new hams had just tested and passed the Tech I passed out the test sheets for General. They protested that they hadn't studied for the General even though I had advised they do so just a month before. They took the General and two passed, the rest failed by only 2-4 questions. I asked, if you had at least read over and looked at the answers a few times do you feel you could have done a few questions better? They all said "yes". Then they all would have been Generals. At this point they really don't know what their interests will be until they are exposed to it. Having the General license will allow them to find out. |
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people really need elmers like I had.. so many cringe experiences during FD. find out what prompted him to get started and cultivate that, and/or find a club I rarely hear any traffic on 2m/70cm around here, but I work off-shift. Maybe all the traffic is on all the digital talkgroups out there? |
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Originally Posted By RED_5: Maybe all the traffic is on all the digital talkgroups out there? Sort of. Those provide greater opportunity for access. It's not that they're any more busy than a local repeater - it's that they effectively simulate a repeater with a coverage area of the entire world. And anyone with an extra $50 can stand up their own "linked repeater" in the form of a hotspot. Yeasu TexasNexus or the DMR cross-linked channel is one where you can usually hear someone talking. I'm not keen on the whole hotspot thing myself. But... many hams enjoy them. And unless you live in an area with enough hams to keep a repeater at least sort of busy, it's the only way to actually talk to someone over your radio. Even if the signal is only going a few feet at either end. |
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Originally Posted By TinLeg: Sort of. Those provide greater opportunity for access. It's not that they're any more busy than a local repeater - it's that they effectively simulate a repeater with a coverage area of the entire world. And anyone with an extra $50 can stand up their own "linked repeater" in the form of a hotspot. Yeasu TexasNexus or the DMR cross-linked channel is one where you can usually hear someone talking. I'm not keen on the whole hotspot thing myself. But... many hams enjoy them. And unless you live in an area with enough hams to keep a repeater at least sort of busy, it's the only way to actually talk to someone over your radio. Even if the signal is only going a few feet at either end. Originally Posted By TinLeg: Originally Posted By RED_5: Maybe all the traffic is on all the digital talkgroups out there? Sort of. Those provide greater opportunity for access. It's not that they're any more busy than a local repeater - it's that they effectively simulate a repeater with a coverage area of the entire world. And anyone with an extra $50 can stand up their own "linked repeater" in the form of a hotspot. Yeasu TexasNexus or the DMR cross-linked channel is one where you can usually hear someone talking. I'm not keen on the whole hotspot thing myself. But... many hams enjoy them. And unless you live in an area with enough hams to keep a repeater at least sort of busy, it's the only way to actually talk to someone over your radio. Even if the signal is only going a few feet at either end. Can someone please point me to something decent I can read that will clue me in on how to get involved with these digital groups? |
Don't confuse where I live with where I'm from.
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I tell new hams that they should get their general ASAP if HF interests them. Past that do not start with an HT as your first radio. Performance is abysmal at best. Roughly $200 will get you a budget v/u base or mobile setup, even cheaper if you hamfest shop. The performance boost is spectacular in comparison. Big issue is 'who do you want to talk to' and 'where do you spend time relaxing'. If youre at your desk every evening goofing on your pc, then setup a station there. It'll get used more than going outside to try your HT and giving up after a few minutes of no result. |
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we should stop telling people that there are 3 ham radio licenses. we should tell them there is one ham radio license and you take 3 tests to get it. If you don't pass them all, you get partial band/mode privileges to use until you retake the tests at next months meeting. .- .- ....- --.- |