Lon,
Hello everyone!
First, welcome to the hobby. Second, sorry for such a long message...but
two things ham radio operators love to do are talk (as noted by this reply); and eat (as referenced by my QWK Mail Tagline (hi hi)).
Back in the late 80's and early 90's I always would browse through the amateur radio echo but never had enough in the budget for radio gear in addition to my computing gear as a kid. But now I do :).
Most hams are frugal cheapskates (hi hi). But, for those like myself who
are on a fixed income, and have medical issues (I'm a heart patient), I
have to avoid RF gear, and operate "internet only".
Now, while the ham radio "purists" shudder at that thought, many long
time hams have encountered situations, through no fault of their own,
where they have to go into an assisted living center, medical facility,
etc., where RF gear is forbidden, due to the interference it could cause
with medical devices. Loneliness in these places (i.e. no family comes
to visit due to Covid-19 restrictions, or having no one really to talk
to) can cause a person to "lose the will to live".
Operating via a laptop computer, a headset mic, and a personal Wi-Fi
device (such as the Verizon Mi-Fi, but that bill can be expensive),
allows one to operate several ham radio internet applications, such as:
1) Outpost to a "packet via telnet" BBS (the BBS likely also offers RF
access).
2) Echolink (a computer and smartphone app are available).
3) D-Rats.
4) D-Star, DMR, and Fusion via the BlueDV program from PA7LIM, and a
DV Megastick from Gigaparts. The DV MegaStick 30 is around $160, and
I've noted the least expensive D-Star HT can be over $400...the Icom
ID-52 is around $700.
5) Winlink via the RMS Express program. It's shareware, but worth the registration cost.
These are what I use, in running on average, 5 nets per week...and it
means that "my license isn't just a sheet of paper". It's hard enough
to find net control operators for nets, although you'll find plenty of
"net hoppers" (what I refer to as "Hi, Bye, and QSY" stations)...who
try to see how many nets they can check into in a day or evening, as if
there's some prize, bonus, award, certificate, etc. for doing such (there isn't).
I got so burned out on the "mad rush" on many nets that I'm only on
the air for the nets I run, and for rare sked requests. I have health
and other issues that demand more time than my hobbies...including the
BBS, ham radio, and square dancing (I work behind the scenes in my state
square dance organization).
A few months ago I passed my technician test and have enjoyed exploring
a new area of technology (for me) along with the portions of the
spectrum I'm permitted to use. I'm hoping to move up to a General
license this winter.
When I first got licensed in 1991, I got in under the No-Code Technician license. Being a 2 time lightning strike survivor (I carry no electrical charge, and can be handled safely (hi hi)), I have nervous system damage,
and have great difficulty copying CW. I did try a 5 WPM CW test before the
FCC dropped that requirement...had I filled in the blanks, I might have
passed it, but that's a moot point now.
The funniest experience I heard with Morse Code (CW) was where 4 OM's
were sitting around a restaurant table in Annapolis, Maryland...telling
each other dirty jokes in CW. This drop dead, gorgeous, curvaceous YL
walked up to them, and sternly admonished "You boys need to watch your language. I teach CW at the Naval Academy across the street!!", and
walked out. They were as red as tomatoes!! (hi hi).
I got in the hobby with the local Skywarn Severe weather operations...
but after 28 years doing that, I got burned out, and nearly quit the hobby
in 2019. I changed the emphasis to trains/railroads, as my late uncle, the only other ham radio operator in my family (now a silent key) was the
youngest engineer hired on by the Penn Central Railroad.
The alternate callsign phonetics for me, WX4QZ, are "Whistled Crossings
For Quiet Zones". Some railroads use W for the "whistle post" to warn the engineer that a highway grade crossing is just ahead...and some use X for "crossing". The term QZ stands for "quiet zone", where the locomotive horn isn't sounded, unless a train is meeting another one on a parallel track,
or if someone tries to beat the train across the crossing, or for people
on the track...either trespassers (very dangerous, and illegal), or for maintenance of way (MOW) workers.
Three months after my wife died in late April, 2007...2 months after
the FCC dropped the CW requirement, I signed up with HamTestOnline;
for grins to try and upgrade. I studied 2 hours a day for 2 weeks, and
went from Technician to General in 14 days, and General to Extra 13
days later. It was the best money I ever spent in ham radio. They offer
a money back guarantee if you fail the exam (hamradiolicenseexam.com).
My late wife was studying for her license at the time of her death;
but she, like a lot of new hams, had "mic fright". With the digital
modes (packet, CW, APRS, PSK31, etc.), your computer does all the work
for you, and you don't have to say a word on the air. This is especially helpful if you have temporarily lost your voice, or are just "shy".
I then became a Volunteer Examiner with ARRL/VEC, and have done 214
sessions in the last 15 years. Only a husband and wife VE team in
Arkansas have more sessions than I do. I am the VE Team Liaison for
the University Of Arkansas At Little Rock Ham Radio Club, and we do
4 sessions a year (March, May, July, and October). It has been the most rewarding thing I've ever done in amateur radio.
I have to remind prospective candidates to study the current pool, as
they change every 4 years. More than once, I've run into candidates, who
were studying an outdated pool, and that was the reason they failed
the exam. I tell folks that there's no disgrace in failing...the guy
or girl who graduates dead last in medical school, is still A DOCTOR.
But, I might not want them doing a prostate check or a pelvic exam
(hi hi).
As for the General, it has a lot of the stuff that the Technician
exam has, but it's in more detail. As a side note, the current General
Class Question Pool and exams CHANGE on July 1, 2023...so it'd be in
your best interest to upgrade before the pool changes. As for how much
will change, we won't know that until the National Council Of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) releases the proposed new pool in early
2023. The Amateur Extra Pool will change again on July 1, 2024...then,
there'll be a break in 2025...then the Technician Class Question Pool
(which just changed this past July) will change again on July 1, 2026.
There are also only 5 reasons to upgrade from General to Amateur
Extra:
1) Full amateur radio privileges, although you have to stay at least 3 kilohertz away from the band edges on HF, to avoid going "out of band".
There is 500 kilohertz of spectrum for the General class licensees, and
250 kilohertz of spectrul for the Advanced Class licensees, that are
"off limits"...you'd have to be Amateur Extra to get them.
2) Access to a 1x2 or 2x1 callsign (i.e. N5EL or AF5M (both those hams
are silent keys)), if you're lucky enough to get one.
3) Going overseas, with CEPT privileges, it's the same as an Extra
Class license.
4) As a Volunteer Examiner, you can give and grade ALL the exams
(Technician, General, and Amateur Extra). General Class VE's can
only give the Technician exam, while Advanced Class VE's can give
the Technician and General exam, but not the Amateur Extra exam.
5) Snob appeal (hi hi).
While I'm an Extra Class licensee (I had to be, to become a VE Team
Leader), when I'm on the air, I operate in the Technician bands
exclusively, as I enjoy them. But, if you're happy with your license
class, whatever it is, you are under no obligation to upgrade. Plus,
for those hams operating HF, the majority of them hold the General
Class license...as you have more than enough with those privileges.
I also tell examinees that "if you never let your license expire or
lapse, you NEVER have to take the exam again". In recent years, the
FCC made it where if you previously held a General, Advanced, or an
Amateur Extra Class license, which had lapsed (expired more than 2
years), you could get back into the hobby by passing the Technician
exam (Morse Code is no longer required, but one can learn and use it).
With proof of their lapsed license, they'll then get a Certificate Of Successful Completion Of Examination (CSCE) for either a General Class
license (former Advanced Class licenses are downgraded to General,
since the FCC quit issuing Novice and Advanced licenses on April 15,
2000; but holders of these can renew them at the appropriate time),
or an Extra Class license. They'll get a new callsign, but if their
old one is still available under the Vanity Callsign system, they
have to pay $35 to the FCC for it (an application for a new or renewed
amateur radio license requires that fee, which is a bargain compared
to other countries), but there's no charge for a license upgrade,
aside from the exam fee, if the exam team charges one.
I picked up a Yaesu 991a for my base station with an Anytone 878
UVIIPlus & 7 watt Baofeng for HTs. Have had success so far with the ISS both phone and packet and looking to do a lot more with packet this winter.
The NS2B BBS in Penfield, New York, is where I do my packet stuff. They
also have a weekly "net" on Monday at 8pm Eastern Time...I'm the scribe,
and alternate Net Control with Bob, NS2B, who's the Sysop.
Hoping to meet some of you here and on the air!
If you go to my bio on QRZ, and click on the hyperlink, you'll find
Excel Spreadsheets of over 200 D-Star, Echolink, and D-Rats Nets, in
the 4 US time zones (Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific), plus PDF
files related to ham radio...including The PCL Net, noted above.
Lastly, here's a brief list of the nets I do each week, all times US
Eastern -- I have a backup in case I can't make it (weather, etc.):
Sunday Afternoon: Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA) Digital Net, 5pm, QuadNet Array (
https://openquad.net) via D-Star, DMR, WIRES-X, and Fusion.
Monday Evening, I have 2 nets:
1) The PCL Packet Net, 8pm, NS2B BBS. The net doesn't meet during the weeks
of the US holidays of Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.
2) HotSpot, Raspberry Pi, SBC (single board computer), and ZumSpot
Net, 10pm, QuadNet Array (
https://openquad.net) via D-Star, DMR, WIRES-X,
and Fusion.
Tuesday Evening: Arklatex D-Star Net, 8:30pm, Reflector 48 B (backup
reflector 73 B).
Friday Morning: QCWA CQ100 Net, 11am, 14.347 (VoIP only, no RF) - more
info at
https://www.qsonet.com
Friday Evening: Trains And Railroads Net, 8pm, QuadNet Array (
https://openquad.net) via D-Star, DMR, WIRES-X, and Fusion.
Third Saturday Afternoon: Food Net, 4pm, QuadNet Array (
https://openquad.net) via D-Star, DMR, WIRES-X, and Fusion. (meets monthly only, due to scheduling issues).
As for the QCWA, the only requirements for membership is that one was
first licensed as an amateur radio operator anytime in 1997 or earlier
(that becomes 1998 or earlier, as of Jan. 1, 2023), and one is also
currently licensed. The license term doesn't have to be continuous, and membership in QCWA is NOT required for any of our nets.
Except for the QCWA CQ100 Net and The PCL Net noted above, I use the Netlogger program, available at
https://www.netlogger.org -- one can
follow along where I am during the net with the program, and enter messages
to me during the net via the Almost Instant Messenger (AIM) Chat Window.
73,
Daryl, WX4QZ
... H.A.M. Radio Operator: H)ave A)nother M)eal.
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* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33)
