Hello everyone, I just got my tech license. ...
LG Palanca
KD9LEL
Congratulations on your license. Consider a used 2m handheld for starters.
de N9ZYE
Hello everyone, I just got my tech license. ...
LG Palanca
KD9LEL
Hello everyone, I just got my tech license. I haven't been on the air for decades and wanted to get back on the saddle. Can anyone suggest a starter rig that I can set up? There are so many out there. I just wanted to look at suggestions. And since I have the tech license now, would it be wise to go for the general license when I havent even gotten my feet wet with my current license. Any advice is well appreciated
LG Palanca
KD9LEL
Hello everyone, I just got my tech license. I haven't been on the air for decades and wanted to get back on the saddle. Can anyone suggest a starter rig that I can set up? There are so many out there. I just wanted to look at suggestions. And since I have the tech license now, would it be wise to go for the general license when I havent even gotten my feet wet with my current license. Any advice is well appreciated
LG Palanca
KD9LEL
My first rig was a 2m mobile (TM-261 then but I'd get a TM-281 today). $140. 50 watts out. Power supply is another $60. Build yourself a copper J pole for $20. Some rg-8x and you're done. 2m is almost always more busy than 440 and once you're comfortable you can upgrade. You'll lose $30 on the radio selling it to the next new guy and you can re use your power supply for a dual band radio. Might get lucky and find someone in a local ham club selling their old gear for cheap. I've used the QRZ forums to buy radios, it's basically Armslist level of trust. You will get screwed eventually there so I can't recommend it over a local guy you meet F2F.
And go for your general sooner than later. You're motivated now and in the studying mood. HF opens a ton of opportunity to talk to the world that YSF, DMR, or D* just don't compare to.
WO9G
Hello everyone, I just got my tech license. I haven't been on the air for decades and wanted to get back on the saddle. Can anyone suggest a starter rig that I can set up? There are so many out there. I just wanted to look at suggestions. And since I have the tech license now, would it be wise to go for the general license when I havent even gotten my feet wet with my current license. Any advice is well appreciated
LG Palanca
KD9LEL
This weekend is the ARRL Field Day. 2pm Sat to 2pm Sun....no better way to shake down your portable gear than field day.
Have fun.
i didn’t specifically work field day, but I did do a POTA activation during this time so I gave my class exchange to field day ops I worked.
I tried to set up Friday night to do a late-shift activation, but I learned I can’t set up near my camper, it’s a noisy mess with the power converters, AC motors, etc. So Saturday I set up for a few minutes on the other side of the park away from the campground.
-rvb
yes it is! I’m really enjoying POTA. Between starting at a new company, kids, etc I only have 4 activations in so far. but I got a radio (7300) and some gear specifically for it so hope to start getting out more.
This time I was at K1953 Grand Lake Saint Mary’s in Ohio. Just the way it worked out with my late-shift failure and weather, I only had 15 minutes of air time. But I got 14 contacts in.
for the new guys POTA = parksontheair.com
-rvb
That's excellent...we went up to K-4183 (Atterbury Fish and Game) and activated there a while back. It's really a blast activating parks AND hunting them when stuck at home or in the office.
There are about 13 or 14 sites near Lake Monroe....a ham could spend a week in southern Indiana lighting them up.
yes, hunting is a lot of fun also. I just hit 300 unique parks hunted today.
It took awhile, but I finally took my tech test. I have been studying material, and doing practice sessions on Hamstudy.org. I passed 5 practice tests in a row, the worst I did was 3 wrong. So I went to test Saturday.
I started reading the test questions, and about a third of them might as well had been Klingon. My mind went completely blank. So I made my best guess at the ones I couldn't remember, and managed to squeak out a passing score.
I don't know who I'm going to talk to, but I've already started studying for General.
As a side note, there were 7 people testing, and at 58 I might have been the oldest. There were a couple close to my age, and 4 way younger. It was good to see guys getting involved who were not near retirement age.
It took awhile, but I finally took my tech test. I have been studying material, and doing practice sessions on Hamstudy.org. I passed 5 practice tests in a row, the worst I did was 3 wrong. So I went to test Saturday.
I started reading the test questions, and about a third of them might as well had been Klingon. My mind went completely blank. So I made my best guess at the ones I couldn't remember, and managed to squeak out a passing score.
I don't know who I'm going to talk to, but I've already started studying for General.
As a side note, there were 7 people testing, and at 58 I might have been the oldest. There were a couple close to my age, and 4 way younger. It was good to see guys getting involved who were not near retirement age.