Ham Radio?

Discussion in 'Overlanding / Off-Road' started by Kylemeister, Sep 24, 2016.

  1. BobbyRatTail

    BobbyRatTail Member

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    Daaang, 10,000 miles!? That's bad ass! I think the wallpaper aspect of it sounds pretty cool. I'll prob give that a whirl. Being able to receive from space is super intense. Sounds like you've been doing this a while! I'll be picking your brain, good sir!
     
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  2. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    I got my ticket in 2016. I'm still pretty new to the hobby, but I'll do my best to answer questions.

    The main thing is to just have fun. There's lots of different cliques -- not just at the club level, but with radio as a whole. Don't let a bad experience with an abrasive turd ruin the hobby for you. I got lucky and found a couple of guys that I get along with really well. They're both CW guys, which is nice because I want to be a better CW operator. Funny thing is, the Morse requirement is what kept me from pursuing a license back in the late 80's.

    There's lots of different things you can do. Explore as much, or as little, as you want to.
     
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  3. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    I really enjoy the digital modes but WORKING a pileup during our state QSO party each year is a blast!

    Early on I made friends with a contester. He mainly works RTTY but he taught me the ropes of it pretty quickly.

    I need to operate more than I do but my wires are on the ground right now. I just haven't had the motivation recently to be active.

    I did help start a net on Echolink for Overland Bound. We're about half way through our second year on the air. That's pretty cool too, running a net. Especially where folks can and do check in from all over the world. One of our net controllers is even from Tasmania.
     
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  4. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Pileups can be a lot of fun -- especially if you're the one everybody wants instead of being trapped in the pile.

    I've never done RTTY. I've got a couple of contacts on PSK31.

    Contests can be a lot of fun. I'm not a big BIC (Butt In Chair) contest guy. I like to have fun and try to work new states & DX usually. Every fall, I do ARRL CW Sweepstakes with my Elmers. I cook breakfast, and sometimes try to check for spots for sections we don't have. We've tried to get a clean sweep but missed it the past two years.

    If you are chasing specific things, HamAlert.org is an awesome tool. You build a "trigger", which you can turn off when you're not around the radio. Band, mode, state, etc. If you have more than a handful of things, it can be overly annoying during a contest. But it's a great tool for chasing down specific things.
     
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  5. Justin Bohnett

    Justin Bohnett Member

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    Just passed my Technician exam. Going back up for my General in two weeks.
    20200911_192648.jpg
     
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  6. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    Congrats de KT4OZ
     
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  7. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Congrats de NQ5M!
     
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  8. Justin Bohnett

    Justin Bohnett Member

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    Thank you! Should be getting my call sign tomorrow hopefully. Time to start programming some channels into memory!
     
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  9. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Laurel is much faster at getting calls processed than ARRL. My club was an ARRL VE club, but we switched to Laurel last year. It's a good process they have worked out.
     
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  10. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Since you're in the habit of studying, I strongly recommend that you continue on to General. The question pool is similar in size to Technician, same number of multiple choice questions. It's a little more in-depth but I didn't find it to be over the top.

    General opens up the majority of space on HF, which really opens up the world. I worked CU2DX earlier tonight on 30 meters, almost exactly 3,900 miles using a 17 foot vertical on an apartment balcony.
     
  11. Wisdom

    Wisdom Member

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    Congratulations!
     
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  12. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Congratulations!!
     
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  13. Justin Bohnett

    Justin Bohnett Member

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    Thank you! Call sign KE8PKL!
     
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  14. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Are any of you guys chasing (or operating) for Route 66 on the air?
     
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  15. Justin Bohnett

    Justin Bohnett Member

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    No, sir! That sounds super cool tho! Are you?
     
  16. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    I need to get my radio room finished. I could be operating right now but the wife works nights.
     
  17. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Yes! I am one of the guys who helps with the W6K call for Oklahoma City. There are 21 different 1x1 calls (W6A thru W6U) for the event. Oklahoma has 2 other calls: W6J in Stroud, and W6L in Tulsa.If it's not too muddy, we're planning to operate tomorrow from one of the original bridges along Route 66 on the west side of OKC.

    https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/lake_overholser_bridge_oklahoma_city.html


    I'd been in many pileups trying to work a DX station or a special event station. This was my first experience being the guy the pile was chasing.

    The 13 Colonies event around July 4th is another of my favorites.
     
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  18. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Operate CW with headphones, or play with digital modes like FT8 ;)
     
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  19. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    Got my APRS Digipeater/I-Gate up and running the other day.

    After spending 8hr editing the wrong .conf file, I finally figured out WTH I was doing.

    Now to get it set up in the garage and running to test my coverage around town on 10W.

    I've got to figure out the remote desktop thing on Linux too so I don't have to have a separate monitor and keyboard in the garage for it. Fun fun....
     
  20. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    A guy from a local club shared this on Facebook. This is a great tool for HF operators:
    http://analyzer.adventureradio.de/

    Feed it an ADIF formatted log, set your grid square so the map is centered, and upload. It creates a map (centered on that grid square you entered), and has lines for each QSO in your file. Filter by band, by mode.
     
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