HAM Radio Starter Kit - Information for Beginners

[ATCclears]

HF propagation-prediction tool.

<broken link removed>

 

[Hayshaker]

HF propagation-prediction tool.

<broken link removed>

Just go to " propagation.com " and it give you a chart {simple} on what working} You don't have to worry about where your a located. Just my 2/cs

 

[ATCclears]

The Inverted L antenna and NVIS.

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[Oathkeeper1775]

Count down to 5 February...

 

[cigars]

Count down to 5 February...
View attachment 423751

Nice work! Keep taking the practice tests so it all stays fresh in your head. If you miss the test by one or two questions, take it immediately again! You'll have to pay the test fee again but hey, you're there already anyway. But if you're scoring 80-90% you should be fine. The practice questions are taken from the same pool as the test questions.

 

[ATCclears]

Today I attended a "make and take" with a ham-radio club. We all made this Tape Measure Beam Antenna (aka Yagi antenna). It was easy to make.

A club member brought their MFJ antenna analyzer. I found that I had to reduce the two Driven Elements from the planned 1" apart to 1/2" apart, and then trim another 1/4" off the end of each Driven Element to reduce the SWR to below 1.5 at 146 Mhz (that frequency being the approximate center of the 2M band).

I went outside, tested the antenna with a cheap Baofeng UV-3R+, and it worked great!

http://theleggios.net/wb2hol/projects/rdf/tape_bm.htm

Here is a good video too.

 

[AshWilliams]

Yeah, those are great for satellite work as well.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

HF Ticket "in hand".

 

[ATCclears]

An update on the Tape Measure Beam antenna (aka Yagi antenna)...

Last night I paired the antenna with the cheapest handheld transceiver (HT) I own, a Baofeng UV-3R+. I was able to easily hit a couple of distant repeaters that I previously could not even hear with the HT and a typical whip antenna. This homemade antenna is rumored to offer a +7db gain and I believe it.

I'm going to make one or two more. The antenna is easy to fold up and store since the tape-measure elements can be gently folded and the end put into the PVC connectors, and the antenna might be useful in an emergency (even simplex/direct communications between two radios).

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Hamfest

Rickreal Fairgrounds

17 February 2018

I don't have an angle; just passing the word.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Sea-Pac (Ham Convention) registration is open; $10.00 gen admission 1-3 June, 2028 (edit:
2018 is that better?).

I've heard several good things about the flea market (swap meet).

SEA-PAC Registration

I don't have an angle (but, because self "inoculations" are an unfortunate necessity now days ), I'm just passing the info.

 

[IOM]

Sea-Pac (Ham Convention) registration is open; $10.00 gen admission 1-3 June, 2028.

I've heard several good things about the flea market (swap meet).

SEA-PAC Registration

I don't have an angle (but, because self "inoculations" are an unfortunate necessity now days ), I'm just passing the info.

Really, 2028...??? Typo perhaps...???

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Stick my neck out to pass info and I open myself up to the wrath of grammar Bullies...

Yes, 2028 is a typo, the next Sea-Pac Ham Convention is in 2018.

 

[ATCclears]

Listen-only, software-defined radio (SDR) on a USB stick for $20. It requires an antenna and (free?) software on your computer, tablet, or smart phone.
https://www.amazon.com/RTL-SDR-Blog...rd_wg=8jn4d&psc=1&refRID=WHX5QPRPEMCW98BXBHTZ

I do not own this product - just stumbled across it on Amazon.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Dipole went up OK but it wasn't easy. I used a nearby fir tree as a boom to lift the 30' pole to a vertical position.

Then I had to walk (like a drunk GI) to get the pole from the tree over to the mounting site.



Lots of moderately-expensive fun.

Need to match the antenna for a better SWR on 40 meters, but SWR is less than 1.5 on 20 meters.

 

[AshWilliams]

Dipole went up OK but it wasn't easy. I used a nearby fir tree as a boom to lift the 30' pole to a vertical position.

Then I had to walk (like a drunk GI) to get the pole from the tree over to the mounting site.

View attachment 435531 View attachment 435529

Lots of moderately-expensive fun.

Need to match the antenna for a better SWR on 40 meters, but SWR is less than 1.5 on 20 meters.

Hey Oathkeeper1775, good to talk ham with you at the last gathering. Can you use an antenna tuner to get that SWR down? Awesome job on the inverted V dipole!

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Hey Oathkeeper1775, good to talk ham with you at the last gathering. Can you use an antenna tuner to get that SWR down? Awesome job on the inverted V dipole!

Yeah it was a good event. Don't forget to email me your callsign, maybe we can do a periodic NWFA net call on 2 meters...?

I have an MFJ-615 balun on the feed line and an MFJ-902b Tuner attached to the radio, and still trying to learn how to use it. Lol

The 40 meter sections of the antenna are @ a 6' long extension on each end of the 20M legs. I gotta get out there and experiment with the length to see what it will do.

SWR on 40m was @ 2.5 tonight.

Lots to learn.

 

[ATCclears]

from a weekly ARRL email:

ARRL has asked the FCC to expand HF privileges for Technician licensees to include limited phone privileges on 75, 40, and 15 meters, plus RTTY and digital mode privileges on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters. The FCC has not yet invited public comment on the proposals, which stem from recommendations put forth by the ARRL Board of Directors' Entry-Level License Committee, which explored various initiatives and gauged member opinions in 2016 and 2017.

"This action will enhance the available license operating privileges in what has become the principal entry-level license class in the Amateur Service," ARRL said in its Petition. "It will attract more newcomers to Amateur Radio, it will result in increased retention of licensees who hold Technician Class licenses, and it will provide an improved incentive for entry-level licensees to increase technical self-training and pursue higher license class achievement and development of communications skills."

Specifically, ARRL proposes to provide Technician licensees, present and future, with phone privileges at 3.900 to 4.000 MHz, 7.225 to 7.300 MHz, and 21.350 to 21.450 MHz, plus RTTY and digital privileges in current Technician allocations on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters. The ARRL petition points out the explosion in popularity of various digital modes over the past 2 decades. Under the ARRL plan, the maximum HF power level for Technician operators would remain at 200 W PEP. The few remaining Novice licensees would gain no new privileges under the League's proposal.

ARRL said its proposal is critical to developing improved operating skills, increasing emergency communication participation, improving technical self-training, and boosting overall growth in the Amateur Service, which has remained nearly inert at about 1% per year.

ARRL's petition points to the need for compelling incentives not only to become a radio amateur in the first place, but then to upgrade and further develop skills. Demographic and technological changes call for a "periodic rebalancing" between those two objectives, the League maintains.

"There has not been such a rebalancing in many years," ARRL said in its petition. "It is time to do that now." The FCC has not assessed entry-level operating privileges since 2005.

The Entry-Level License Committee offered very specific data- and survey-supported findings about growth in Amateur Radio and its place in the advanced technological demographic that includes individuals younger than 30. It received significant input from ARRL members via more than 8,000 survey responses.

"The Committee's analysis noted that today, Amateur Radio exists among many more modes of communication than it did half a century ago, or even 20 years ago," ARRL said in its petition.


Overall net growth in the Amateur Service has remained sluggish at about 1% per year over the past few years.

Now numbering some 378,000, Technician licensees comprise more than one-half of the US Amateur Radio population. ARRL said that after 17 years' experience with the current Technician license as the gateway to Amateur Radio, it's urgent to make it more attractive to newcomers, in part to improve upon science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education "that inescapably accompanies a healthy, growing Amateur Radio Service," ARRL asserted.

ARRL said its proposal is critical to developing improved operating skills, increasing emergency communication participation, improving technical self-training, and boosting overall growth in the Amateur Service, which has remained nearly inert at about 1% per year.

The Entry-Level License Committee determined that the current Technician class question pool already covers far more material than necessary for an entry-level exam to validate expanded privileges. ARRL told the FCC that it would continue to refine examination preparation and training materials aimed at STEM topics, increase outreach and recruitment, work with Amateur Radio clubs, and encourage educational institutions to utilize Amateur Radio in STEM and other experiential learning programs.

"ARRL requests that the Commission become a partner in this effort to promote Amateur Radio as a public benefit by making the very nominal changes proposed herein in the Technician Class license operating privileges," the petition concluded.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

I worked 20 meters today; hit stations in WI, MN, IL, VA, & one in Newberg (lol).

It only takes a few days to pick up on the jargon...I called an overseas contest station and he straightened me out...

Now I know the difference between cq and cq/dx...lol

 

[ATCclears]

For those interested in low-power operations (aka QRP), Yaesu is about to release the FT-818. This is an updated version of their FT-817ND radio.
Welcome to Yaesu.com

Personally, I was hoping for a tad more with the next generation of the FT-817ND. I may lean toward the Elecraft KX2 or KX3.
Elecraft® Hands-On Ham Radio™