HAM operators?

PhantomD AKA Zach · July 1st, 2009, 12:11 AM

I guess this fits in this section "making tesla proud"

Anyways, I was recently introduced to HAM and am interested. My friend had a Yaesu 8800R and I am interested in the Yaesu 7900R... looks like it would be incredibly handy 4-wheeling and camping and the like.

who else has their license?

-Zach

CYAN5DE · July 1st, 2009, 06:30 AM

KJ4ITS

I have a yaesu VX-6r RT right now..

been thinking about putting a mobile in the jeep one of these days....

Not too many people on the nets to talk to, but would be a handy wheeling / safety tool if you carried a good field expedient antenna and was in a club that had an auto-patch repeater.

EDIT: also, if you get a yaesu RT, you can do a "freeband" mod, and I can now talk on FRS and GMRS frequencies, which really enhances the whole camping / wheeling thing you were talking about. I can monitor CB, but not transmit on those frequencies.

Dotcom · July 1st, 2009, 07:14 AM

KD0ASM

ham is fun i used mine in the jeep and now it is going into the big truck.

Hayes · July 1st, 2009, 08:24 AM

I'd like to get into it.

PhantomD AKA Zach · July 1st, 2009, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hayes

I'd like to get into it.

for like $300 you can apparently get a Yeasu 7800R and antenna from Ham Radio Outlet. which is located in denver and has good prices...

getting the license is as simple as a 36 question multiple choice test and you only need like 16 correct. there are a lot of tests that happen locally and are run by local clubs here is a link
http://www.arrl.org/exam.html?State=CO

I am still learning and only have been exposed to the HAM radio 3 days ago...

-ZAch

ToyRunner1 · July 2nd, 2009, 07:22 AM

I've had my license for over 10 years. I have a Kenwood TM-G707a dual bander that I can move between the Runner or the XJ, as well as a Yaesu VX-1R HT. I have a couple of old Kenwood 2 meter HTs as well, but don't use them much anymore.

CYAN5DE · July 2nd, 2009, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hayes

I'd like to get into it.

Test is easy. I studied about 1-2 hours a day for a week, aced the "beginner" (Technician) test, and missed the general by 1-2 questions....

All the study materials are available online, search and you will find another HAM thread on here somewhere I posted the links in.

PhantomD AKA Zach · July 6th, 2009, 02:28 AM

I have been studying quite a bit online and wow! it's quite complicated... I would have never wanted to get into it if I had to learn CW. I have been consistently passing the practice exams and there is a test location relatively close to me the first thursday of every month so looks like I will try for that.

-Zach

CYAN5DE · July 6th, 2009, 10:36 AM

Most of the complicated stuff in my opinion was for general and am extra..

most of the tech questions are about general safety and politeness on the radio.

you might need to be able to turn a frequency into a band, like 144Mghz being on 2m, simple stuff like that...

divide by 300.....simple math

maybe some of the filters and stuff, but not too much....

And most of all, Good Luck, and just go do it.....I waited 3 years before I finally bothered to do it... waste of time.

Mudbug63 · July 6th, 2009, 11:00 AM

KC0TPL Here.....

Tech is a breeze...General took me a while....

I have a old Radio Shack 2M rig that's yours when you show me your tech ticket

I think I have a antenna also.

I currently have the following:
Yaesu 857D 70Cm/2M/HF in the truck with a ATAS 120 HF antenna.
Icom V-8000 2M
Icom V-82 2 M Hand Held

I recently sold my Yaesu FT950 base unit....sweet rig...wish I had it back

ToyRunner1 · July 6th, 2009, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudbug63

I have a old Radio Shack 2M rig that's yours when you show me your tech ticket

I think I have a antenna also.

If that is the HTX-202 that is one heck of a radio. I actually wish I'd been able to pick one up before they discontinued them, but I couldn't justify one of those and a dual band HT

PhantomD AKA Zach · July 6th, 2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudbug63

KC0TPL Here.....

Tech is a breeze...General took me a while....

I have a old Radio Shack 2M rig that's yours when you show me your tech ticket

I think I have a antenna also.

WOW! that would be AWESOME! I was planning on taking the test on the 6th of august but that is too far away. I might try for the 11th or the 15th of july.

I know from owning a CB that tuning the antenna is crucial to a good reliable radio but I cant seem to get much info about that for HAM frequencies. all I can find are expensive watt meters. what is a reliable cheap method to tune a 2m antenna?

-Zach

CYAN5DE · July 6th, 2009, 02:15 PM

you really need a meter AFAIK....

and they can be spendy. you can use pre-tuned antenna's, but that also is kind of a myth.

I am waiting, have to bite the bullet on a meter soon because I build my own antenna's.

I have read in quite a few places you can take a CB SWR meter, wire it in normal, place load, and then wire it in backwards and it will be accurate. I am not so sure I believe that one, but it is all over the internet as a cheap bypass to a solid multi-band meter.

EDIT: that is also supposed to work only on 2m, and I need one to do 63/70cm as well.....

Mudbug63 · July 6th, 2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhantomD AKA Zach

WOW! that would be AWESOME! I was planning on taking the test on the 6th of august but that is too far away. I might try for the 11th or the 15th of july.

I know from owning a CB that tuning the antenna is crucial to a good reliable radio but I cant seem to get much info about that for HAM frequencies. all I can find are expensive watt meters. what is a reliable cheap method to tune a 2m antenna?

-Zach

I have a 2M SWR meter that we can use if needed. I am pretty sure you will need to buy a NMO style mount and coax for the antenna however. The tuning process is the same regardless of what freq range you are working with.

Mudbug63 · July 6th, 2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CYAN5DE

you really need a meter AFAIK....

I am waiting, have to bite the bullet on a meter soon because I build my own antenna's.

I

Go ahead and pick up a true antenna analyzer like a MFJ 259B(?) I think that's the right model. Makes the tuning of any antenna a breeze and can be used to pre-tune your antenna tuner so you are in the ball park when you power it up with your rig....

They are a bit pricey but if your building your own HF wire antennas or tuning a pre-built they make life so much easier. They will not only tell you the SWR but will tell the Freq the antenna is now resonate at so you know which way and how far you need to go. The will also test Coax so you know if you have a bad piece and will even give you the distance to the short so you can splice it. The also measure inductance and resistance so you can properly match a tuner to a antenna.

Mudbug63 · July 6th, 2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToyRunner1

If that is the HTX-202 that is one heck of a radio. I actually wish I'd been able to pick one up before they discontinued them, but I couldn't justify one of those and a dual band HT

I cant remember if its a 242 or a 212 but yes they are pretty tough radios....The only thing that is kinda cheesy is the mic. The 202 was a HT.

I even found the manual for it the other day when I was cleaning the garage.

ToyRunner1 · July 6th, 2009, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudbug63

The 202 was a HT.

Yep, and a fairly bullet proof HT at that. I always wanted to pick one up for hiking, but got the VX-1R instead.

Is the one that you have a mobile? I wasn't familiar with the Radio Shack mobiles at all. I've been looking at getting either an 8800 or an 8900. Not sure if I want to change the antenna and go tri-band with the 89, but I would like dual VFO. The TM-G707a is dual band single VFO.

Wildland · July 6th, 2009, 05:17 PM

KD0EHB here

Had the Technician Lic. for about a year now, I agree with others Tech. was a breeze, studying for General now much harder.

I have a Yeasu VX-5 HT, and a Yeasu FT8900 in the Jeep.

ni0h · July 6th, 2009, 05:32 PM

That's a lot of rig for what you're talking about doing. A dual-band rig might be more to your liking(and easier on your wallet). Though - if this cycle ever turns around - or more likely, next cycle - it's a lot of fun to go world-wide on FM.

PhantomD AKA Zach · July 7th, 2009, 01:11 AM

well looks like I cant make the saturday test and the one on the 15th would require me to change a shift at work... the next available test is the 6th of august! I will look into switching my shifts...

I have been acing the practice exams and have yet to see a question that really surprises me.

-Zach

CYAN5DE · July 7th, 2009, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhantomD AKA Zach

well looks like I cant make the saturday test and the one on the 15th would require me to change a shift at work... the next available test is the 6th of august! I will look into switching my shifts...

I have been acing the practice exams and have yet to see a question that really surprises me.

-Zach

good deal Zach......

if you have to wait till august 6th, I would recommend studying for your general while you are at it....

Not sure about if it is every club, but where I took my test, if you passed tech, you could take the general for free.. I ended up missing it by 2-3 questions. wish I had studied for it first.

Mudbug63 · July 7th, 2009, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToyRunner1

Yep, and a fairly bullet proof HT at that. I always wanted to pick one up for hiking, but got the VX-1R instead.

Is the one that you have a mobile? I wasn't familiar with the Radio Shack mobiles at all. I've been looking at getting either an 8800 or an 8900. Not sure if I want to change the antenna and go tri-band with the 89, but I would like dual VFO. The TM-G707a is dual band single VFO.

Yep they are small 10W/45W mobiles....great for repeater/simplex use...Wont work with digi modes....

The 212 and 242 are basically the same unit...they moved a couple of button is all I can tell. http://www.rigpix.com/rs-realistic/r...ack_htx212.htm

Mudbug63 · July 7th, 2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CYAN5DE

good deal Zach......

Not sure about if it is every club, but where I took my test, if you passed tech, you could take the general for free.. I ended up missing it by 2-3 questions. wish I had studied for it first.

Every time I have sat for a test it has been test till you fail for one price....Most are not out to make money just cover expenses.

ni0h · July 8th, 2009, 01:33 PM

If there're a couple who want to take the test on any given weekend, I can probably round up a couple more VEs.

Rough Ranger · July 14th, 2009, 08:24 PM

That will be cool when you get your Tech or General license.

You'll have to check out my VX-6R next time you're over.

PhantomD AKA Zach · July 14th, 2009, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rough Ranger

That will be cool when you get your Tech or General license.

You'll have to check out my VX-6R next time you're over.

well I will be over there on thursday! I am taking my test on the 6th so we will see... I am going to study the general questions since I already know all the tech questions... I will study them all before the test though!

-Zach

mud rat jr · July 25th, 2009, 03:55 PM

well I took my technician and general test today in bailey,passed the technician, the general not so much.
I did this in part because of this thread,looking forward to getting a radio,I'll add my call sign when they issue it.good luck to those who take the tests!

CYAN5DE · July 25th, 2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rough Ranger

You'll have to check out my VX-6R next time you're over.

pretty good little radio. I love mine.... wired it into some better home made antenna's and I can push good... still works great on the rubber duck when I am camping or mobile.

Have you free-banded it?

I need to get a base station or something though, maybe a mobile that I can run in the house as well....

Good radio's don't come cheap though...

Mudbug63 · July 27th, 2009, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mud rat jr

well I took my technician and general test today in bailey,passed the technician, the general not so much.
I did this in part because of this thread,looking forward to getting a radio,I'll add my call sign when they issue it.good luck to those who take the tests!

Congrats on getting your ticket...They did tell you to check the FCC website for your call didn't they? You don't have to have paper in hand to start using it.

Mudbug63 · July 27th, 2009, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhantomD AKA Zach

well I will be over there on thursday! I am taking my test on the 6th so we will see... I am going to study the general questions since I already know all the tech questions... I will study them all before the test though!

-Zach

Zach that radio offer is still on the table.....

Mudbug63 · July 27th, 2009, 02:53 PM

Speaking of radios I have to say I am very impressed with the Yaesu FT857D and the ATAS 120 antenna combo I installed in the truck. I have the main unit mounted behind the back seat of the crew cab and the remote control head mounted on a RAM mount just below the factory AM/FM radio

We took a road trip the other day to OKC and back and I checked into the 20 meters County Hunter Net with net control K2JG on the coast of North Carolina (1500 miles+/-). I was in contact with him for the next 3 days as I ran the counties we crossed for the net. I worked stations all over the US on the trip with good signal reports on 100 watts from the mobile.

I am very impressed with the way radio and antenna worked together with the auto-tune feature. It was able to tune flat SWR across 20 and 40 meters. While the antenna would not auto-tune 80 meters reliably I was able to do so manually though with a very narrow bandwidth for SWR. Same is true for 12 and 17 even though it’s not supposed to be capable of those bands.

For a HF/2M/70cm all mode mobile setup, or a home rig for that matter, I think you could do a lot worse. Fully digital capable and works with all of the popular computer control software packages. I had this unit setup at home prior to installing it in the truck and it netted me several of JA’s running PSK-31 and RTTY via a Dipole at 35ft and about 40 watts.

If you can’t afford a big antenna or can’t run an amp I strongly encourage you to look into digital modes like RTTY and PSK-31….You simply can’t get more distance for the watt save perhaps CW.

Of course this is a teaser, a motivator if you will, for those of you that don’t yet have HF privileges. Keep studying and testing, IMHO the real fun starts below 50 Mhz.

County Hunter Net info it makes the WAS (Worked all States) award look like child's play http://www.countyhunter.com/index.htm

CYAN5DE · July 27th, 2009, 04:31 PM

If I had 800 to drop on a transceiver, I might give it a shot...

since I don't I am still playing on e-bay and CL looking for a good mobile that I can use mobile and base...

Building a radio set-up right now for a few radio's I own....need a HAM to put in it. and a general class license to run it.

PhantomD AKA Zach · July 27th, 2009, 08:16 PM

mudbug I plan on taking you up on that radio once I get my ticket...

I dont know if I will ever get the need to get on HF but it looks appealing!

-Zach

mud rat jr · July 31st, 2009, 09:47 PM

got my call today,KD0IMI and my first rig a yaesu 7900 now what?

BallTurretGunner · July 31st, 2009, 10:30 PM

X2 on the 857D and ATAS120 combo, I have one set up in my Dodge and it tunes very well on the fly. Much more fun than a Z11pro and whip. I keep a 2 meter mobile in the jeep and have used it with great success while wheeling. Saved my a$$ when I broke down while scouting for hunting season. BTG

CYAN5DE · July 31st, 2009, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mud rat jr

got my call today,KD0IMI and my first rig a yaesu 7900 now what?

find a local net, and listen to them a few nights until you feel comfortable calling into the the net operator.

then it just grows.

EDIT: oh, and congrats... KJ4ITS here....non-local

Rough Ranger · August 1st, 2009, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CYAN5DE

pretty good little radio. I love mine.... wired it into some better home made antenna's and I can push good... still works great on the rubber duck when I am camping or mobile.

Have you free-banded it?

I need to get a base station or something though, maybe a mobile that I can run in the house as well....

Good radio's don't come cheap though...

Haven't free-banded it. Just programmed in local repeaters. Nice radio though. It compliments the 8800 in my truck well.

CYAN5DE · August 1st, 2009, 11:05 AM

right on..

took me a minute and 15 trips through the manual to figure out the programming, and I still can't get it to work quite how I want....

Freeband was a nice deal, because most of my friends just use little two ways and stuff, and now I can talk (shhhh....) on GMRS and FRS

PhantomD AKA Zach · August 2nd, 2009, 07:57 PM

My test is on the 6th! I have been trying to study for the general test like a madman... hopefully I can squeak by... I will brush up on the technician questions before I test though!

-Zach

Mudbug63 · August 3rd, 2009, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhantomD AKA Zach

My test is on the 6th! I have been trying to study for the general test like a madman... hopefully I can squeak by... I will brush up on the technician questions before I test though!

-Zach

Good luck!