Ham Radio?

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

  1. pickle

    pickle Member

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    Currently studying for my General, I've got it in my calendar for May 16th. I used K4IA book for my Technician, but for whatever reason I'm struggling with the K4IA book for General, so I've got the Gordon General book arriving Monday.
     
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  2. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Please let me know how you like the Gordon West book. People often ask questions about different study guides, and I like having more than the default ARRL Manual answer.

    The other thing you can do is head over to www.hamstudy.org and make an account. It's free. With an account, the site can keep track of things you miss on practice tests, and drill you on that material more often. If you use HamStudy exclusively, work through the flashcards first, then work practice tests.

    Unlocking General opens up a huge amount of HF on the bands, and conditions continue to improve as we get into the new solar cycle.
     
  3. pickle

    pickle Member

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    I neglected to mention, but should have, I do have a HamStudy account and use the website and the app to study for the General. I used HamStudy for the Technician as well.
     
    Last edited: May 18, 2023
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  4. pickle

    pickle Member

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    Passed General Tuesday night, 34/35. Gordon West book was a help for sure. Now to treat myself to a VHF/UHF mobile. No room at home for a shack sadly.
     
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  5. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Great work!!!
     
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  6. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Outstanding! Congratulations!

    An HF rig doesn't occupy a terrible amount of real estate on the folding tables that are my desk in the hobby room. Something like the Yaesu FT-891 is pretty small -- and portable if you wanted to do something like Parks on the Air or Summits on the Air. And the 891 isn't much more than Yaesu's top of the line UHF/VHF radios.

    And who knows what they'll release or tease at Hamvention. I haven't seen any posts from our club members who are there as of yet.

    I'm running the Chameleon MPAS (original 1.0 version) as a 17 foot whip on the balcony of a 2nd floor townhouse at the moment. I've worked Angola, Kenya, South Cook Islands, South Korea, Western Kiribati and North Macedonia in the past month on CW. So not a giant amount of real estate required, and super portable as well.
     
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  7. ASH

    ASH Member

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    I just found me an Elmer next door. I just found out yesterday that a dude I met racing slot cars about 15 years ago has been living in his daughter's back yard since Thanksgiving. Last I heard he was living in a retirement community in south Florida. He lived near my sister once and his radio would play through her baby monitor.

    His daughter and her husband bought the place next door last year. I didn't realize who she was until yesterday. My gf showed me a FB post with her maiden name and I pieced everything together.

    Last night was the first time I have seen him in around 10 years. He used to manage the track and I hung out a lot learning to build chassis from the old guys.
     
  8. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    Are you talking about the scale slot cars that drag race the side-by-side scale quarter mile? My little brother picked that up as a hobby a couple of years ago and loves it.
     
  9. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    It's time for the annual 13 Colonies special event. July 1 to July 7 2359 Eastern.

    http://www.13colonies.us/

    Objective: Work all 13 of the special 1x1 event callsigns. Bonus stations WM3PEN (Pennsylvania), GB13COL (Britain), TM13COL (France) are bonus and not required for the "clean sweep", but are add-on endorsements on the certificate if you want to send $5 and your contact sheet on the website.

    This is one the first big special events I worked when I got into doing HF. I'm down to New Jersey for the sweep in 4 hours of casual CW chasing. I've never heard the GB13COL in my years of chasing in the event, but the solar flux is a lot higher than in the past.
     
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  10. ASH

    ASH Member

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    1/24 scale commercial tracks. Mostly hill climb type road courses. I remember when drag racing started getting popular, but we didn't have any drag tracks.

    It was a cool hobby, but the local track is 25 miles away. We had races twice a week, but it didn't work out with my schedule. The track was practically in the middle of nowhere, a dozen people was a big crowd. But the facility is nice enough that it has hosted several National Championships, I have a car that one of the sponsored drivers won. He won it as a prize, but gave it to me for helping with the races.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2023
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  11. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    The annual Route 66 On The Air starts in a couple of hours. 20 unique stations (W6A through W6U, with W6O being absent this year). Runs through September 17th 23:59 UTC. Work one, or chase them all.

    It's a fun event for HF operators.
     
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  12. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    Finally got the TM-D710G installed in my pickup. At least mostly. Needs a better mic extension and a plate to mount the radio body on but it'll do for the trip next weekend.

    20231104_160630.jpg
     
  13. pickle

    pickle Member

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    Real estate in the vehicle is always at such a premium sadly.
    Ive MacGyvered a GMRS set up from a handy talkie with a 12v adapter and some SO239 and PL259 connectors and another external antenna to go along with the 70cm/2m already in the car.
     
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  14. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    You might look into the Midland MXT-275. The radio body can be mounted under the seat or dash and the controls are in the mic.
     
  15. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    I need to get a UHF/VHF rig, and get things setup in my work vehicle. Slap a magmount on the roof and be portable. I drive a company vehicle during the week, and there are times (especially moving toward winter) where it might be nice to chat with people about road conditions. My work territory stretches an hour northeast, and just over two hours to the southwest.

    The Hammo Can at Quicksilver Radio would be nice, as it's not a permanent installation in the vehicle.
     
  16. TerryD

    TerryD Member

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    2m is much more active in this area than 440. If it's like that where you are, a 2m only rig like a Icom IC-2100 or 2200, a Yaesu FT-1900R or a Kenwood TM-281a would make a good unit to use in your work vehicle.
     
  17. Kylemeister

    Kylemeister Member

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    2m is more prevalent, but plenty of 440. Some of the repeaters flagged for Skywarn activity are on 440, so dual band becomes a factor. And, my company vehicle is at 244k miles, so it should be up for retirement. Hoping that I can snag one of the Chevy Colorado 4x4 trucks with a topper and slide out deck in the back.
     
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