The Ham Radio Thread

[HamRover]

I've decided on the KENWOOD TH-F6A. I wish there were a local place I could buy one, I'd pick one up today and use it on my trip this weekend.

I know someone locally who was selling one of these a while back:

http://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/th-d72a/

I can check and see if he still has it if you want to change your mind on APRS....

 

[sixstringsteve]

Yeah, ping him and let me know what he wants for it. Thanks.

 

[HamRover]

Yeah, ping him and let me know what he wants for it. Thanks.

I have texted, emailed, and slacked him.... Waiting.

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[nnnnnate]

I'm not sure when you are leaving but if you ordered that radio today from Ham Radio Outlet out of Denver there is a good chance you could have it by Friday. If you called the store and asked them to get it out pronto I'd bet they'd do anything they could to speed things up and it might even be able to get to you by Thursday...

 

[sixstringsteve]

We're leaving tonight.

I should have planned better, but I only recently learned that my Baofeng is only 2W output. No wonder people are hearing static when I TX. Plus I'm up in Alpine, tucked behind some hills which make it tough to get out.

I'll survive this trip without a new radio, but if I found one local, I'd snag it today. I just hope I can hit the repeaters so I can chat on the Sinbad system while we're up in the mountains.

 

[TurboMinivan]

I just hope I can hit the repeaters so I can chat on the Sinbad system while we're up in the mountains.

When do you think you might be monitoring? What times of which days? I can spend time monitoring the Sinbad system this week (as my schedule permits) to see if we can make contact.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Evenings, probably around 7pm.

 

[HamRover]

We're leaving tonight. .

Guess he sold it already, sorry for the false alarm.

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[clfrnacwby]

Saw this today and thought it was pretty cool.

Monroe man helps in Uintah County emergency through ham radio

 

[TurboMinivan]

Over the last couple weeks, one of my neighbors has begun expressing interest in ham radio. First is was just one or two questions here or there, then it was five or six more, and then we began having entire conversations... until just a couple days ago, when he mentioned he was ready to begin studying for his Technician test. Great!

Yesterday, he expressed his intention to go take the test at BYU this Wednesday. But then he dropped a bombshell on me: not only does he plan to take the Technician test, he wants to follow it up with the General test... and after that, he fully intends to take (and pass!) the Amateur Extra test as well. All three at once? "Yeah, I've been studying the last few days and I'm confident I can pass them all."

Well, gee. Not to be entirely outdone, I've decided this is my motivation to upgrade to General myself--I told him we would carpool to the test session and I'd be right there alongside him. I don't think my schedule will give me enough time to study for the Extra test by then, but I am determined to pass the General.

Time to start studying!!!

 

[HamRover]

I don't think my schedule will give me enough time to study for the Extra test by then, but I am determined to pass the General.

Good luck on the exam!

I would like to study for Extra soon. I plan to take quite a bit of time with it, the same way I did with General. I studied the questions, but rather than rote memorization I studied the theory behind each question until I was satisfied enough that I could derive the answer even if the question and answers were altered, but covered the same subject.

I will not be ready by the time they rotate the pool this summer, but that shouldn't matter much by the way I intend to study.

If you, or anybody else is interested in a study group of some kind, where we could meet and rotate studying and sharing topics in a sort of presentation that have been pre-studied (not just going through questions and answers), I would be very interested.

 

[Unimog]

Well, gee. Not to be entirely outdone, I've decided this is my motivation to upgrade to General myself--I told him we would carpool to the test session and I'd be right there alongside him. I don't think my schedule will give me enough time to study for the Extra test by then, but I am determined to pass the General.

Time to start studying!!!

Dempsey, you have me inspired to step up and learn a little more. I passed my tech license 11 years ago. I went on last night and can still pass a practice test (barely), so with a little study and practice, I should be able to move up, too. Let us know how it goes!

 

[HamRover]

I've had many people trip over my suffix, constantly juxtaposing the letters. Because of that, I've wanted a call sign which might be easier to remember and perhaps even involve an element of humor. The idea for my submission just hit me Sunday morning, and the more I thought about it through the day, the more I liked it... so I submitted it that night.

Going to watch the ULS tonight with some popcorn, @TurboMinivan? (or better yet, pizza? )

 

[TurboMinivan]

Dempsey, you have me inspired to step up and learn a little more.

I am honored to hear that.

Let us know how it goes!

I scored 33/35, passing my General by a wide margin. Naturally, the VE coaxed me into trying the Amateur Extra test "since I had nothing to lose" by taking it. I only scored 24/50 which means I didn't pass, though I did far better than most who go into it blind (he said typical results for taking it cold are 12-15 questions correct at best). So now I'm considering studying that material and passing the test in June.

Going to watch the ULS tonight with some popcorn, @TurboMinivan? (or better yet, pizza? )

It says my app is still pending.

 

[HamRover]

I scored 33/35, passing my General by a wide margin.... So now I'm considering studying that material and passing the test in June.

It says my app is still pending.

Congrats on general!

They post the batch vanity results beginning at midnight going until 2 AM on the 17th day after your application is received.


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[sixstringsteve]

Congrats!

 

[Unimog]

Wow! Nice!

 

[sixstringsteve]

It looks like those larsen antennas are sold out nationwide. Darn, I should have grabbed one sooner.

I pulled the trigger on a kenwood HT today - a F6A. I like the small size, and while APRS would be cool, the HTs with APRS are HUGE and I'd never end up taking them with me.

I wish Kenwood made a mobile unit that could do HF, UHF, and VHF. HF sounds fun.

 

[TurboMinivan]

I scored 33/35, passing my General by a wide margin. Naturally, the VE coaxed me into trying the Amateur Extra test "since I had nothing to lose" by taking it. I only scored 24/50 which means I didn't pass, though I did far better than most who go into it blind (he said typical results for taking it cold are 12-15 questions correct at best). So now I'm considering studying that material and passing the test in June.

Last week, I decided to study for my Extra test. The question pool changes at the end of this month, which means if I begin studying then I am committed to passing the test now. Otherwise, this will all be wasted time. And thus I dove right in.

Last night I returned to BYU to take the test. My random list of 50 questions included a few that I didn't remember studying at all, plus a few tricky ones that I was unsure of the answer. But even with these guesses, I still managed to get 44 questions correct, granting me a passing grade by a comfortable margin. I'll take it!


And that's how I became RME's newest Amateur Extra operator.

 

[Unimog]

Wow! Congrats on the Extra!