CQ CQ CQ Calling all Hams
Let us discuss communications technologies and radio activities. We can communicate around the world with our stations, a car battery, and a home-brew antenna. I've been learning morse code and I'm working at about 20 words per minute with my iambic meter and dual paddles.
What's good, hams? Btu de an0n
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DXed Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Venezuela, Suriname, and Aruba on 20 Meters so far today with 100 watts bareback and a G5RV. 5-9 reports minimum.
Questions about amateur radio licensing, operating, electronics, voice/digital/cw (morse) are also welcomed.
fine business OM.
I've got an older icom that I run 100W barefoot as well, into a magnetic loop antenna I built out of copper piping. I've been mostly doing morse lately; I applied for logbook of the world certification so I can keep track of my contacts.
Do you use logging software? I use DXLabSuite; it kicks ass. I can control my rig via a serial CI-V interface and spot dx using clusters so basically I just click on a callsign that pops up and my radio is there to see if I can work them.
I got Denmark and some piraste claiming to be on an arctic island (he's probably just a Russian) today. Now I'm trying to fix up my piece of shit 60s yaesu tube rig. Goddamn these hand drawn schematic.
Look at this shit. It's pretty, but very hard to follow. My RX frequency does not match my TX frequency on the old rig.theres supposed to be a trimmer pot somewhere in the mess of twine and wiring but I'll be damned if I can't find it.
Yeah, I use LBotW and DXLab. Running a TS-590SG I got for $200 when it was six months old. Panadapter is an RSP-1 to and old Windows 7 machine dedicated to operations.
Here's a protip: Get an Avantone Mix Cube for your monitor. Holy fuck it is crisp and clear. These are the monitors they use in professional music studios.
Your TS590sg looks so much like my Icon IC-737 that it's almost industrial design theft eh?
Eh, my number pad is on the other side. If you need a Poland contact, try SP8K on 14.263. He's been contesting since 1000 EDT.
Thanks, but I got Poland on 30m last weekend. I might radio later in the day, but for now I'm trying to figure this goddamn vfo bias circuit out.
What mode on 30? I haven't really played with the Data frequencies yet. Only had my ticket since December.
Ausham signing in. MUF is low af because it's that time of year. Just the usual old timers talking about their prostates and Vietnamese pirates on 40m.
I mostly do CW on 30m. Sometimes I like to go with Olivia but morse has been my main focus for a while, and I find it's great for DX in the late-afternoon before 40m comes online.
I wish I could reach Australia but I think I need a beam.
Whats all this citizen-slave communication. you should stop this right now
20 Meters is pretty good in the North Hemi right now for the DX window, shit for ground wave or single bounces (not hearing locations I normally hear one bounce away). 40 is good for single bounces right now as is 80.
Yeah, I want to get up to 20 WPM on CW before I get my Extra ticket. Trying figure out what type of key I want to go with.
Tune into Liberty Net at 0200 UCT/GMT on 3.995 tonight.
Isn't your max Tx power in the KW range in Canada? We are only allowed 400W max Tx power even on advanced license. I could copy you on 40 or even 20m in Summer even on a tuned dipole but definitely not now.
73s Canada user.
>implying we won't just shut it down
I bought a basic MFJ copy of the bencher iambic key. It's fine for now. My radio has a built in keyer, and I suspect yours does as well. How far along are you in your training? I used a phone application that generates random strings of CW. I set the speed to 20wpm and set the inter-character spacing to 3x standard and worked up from there. Now I'm practicing without paper, just sounding out the words in my head as the characters come. It's coming along, but the main thing is that I can chat with people now at reasonable speeds (anything over 15wpm is probably fine for that) so now practicing is fun. Cw is by far my favourite mode presently.
Yes, but I don't have antennas that can handle that. I use a homemade automatic tuning magnetic loop, and I just have a big junkbox air variable cap to tune it; it can't handle more than 3.5kV so about 100W continuous is my max for now.
MUF here is ~2MHz at this time of morning. I can reach VK3 with 2m tropo ducting or a few kms with 80m ground wave and that's it. Pretty sad state of affairs for DX.
You can't stop the signal, Mal.
I'm just studying with the Koch method with my ARC. No built-in keyer but the SG does have a decoder built in that can handle 30 WPM, so I will listen to the DXers on 160 with that.
Ouch.
It's pretty hard to shut down something so distributed, at least forever. There are hundreds of pirate radio stations that just move around every few weeks and never get busted, and they're running continuously.
And 20 Meters just dropped out completely on me.
Life is suffering, OMs
Your paper caps probably need to be replaced. Probably part of your RIT/XIT problem.
The probable cause is that the voltage regulation onto the VFO isn't consistent between RX/TX. I can align them using the RIT pot...im trying to locate a specific pot that's supposed to only be in circuit during TX so that I can match the voltage but goddamn!
As for the caps, I'll get to them. It's the electrolytics that really cause issues in this thing. I get a shock if I touch the chassis and I'm damp.
When I was a child, the most basic ham license required knowing morse code and questions about theory, implementation, and regulations from a secret question bank. Now there is no code requirements and the question banks are public. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Good thing for the most part, as well as the Chinesium Radios making it easier and affordable to get into the hobby.
Once people decide they like the hobby they will learn code on their own or at least get into the HF radio comms.
we will get you eventually
Probably a bad thing, but honestly, I wouldn't have gotten my license when I was an autistic 13 year old in corn country if I had to learn morse. As it is, I got my license, and the studying waa so interesting to me that it set me on a path to become the mediocre autistic electrical engineer I am today. I love morse and learned it of my own accord. I think more people know morse now than ever before.
The main thing with the knowledge of schematics is that it's one thing to be able to draw out a tube oscillator or whatever, but a modern rig is too complex for basically anyone to just "know" on a technical level. Even the designers work on subsections.
WE. WILL. SHUT. YOU. DOWN.
3950.net
Molon labe.
SHUT DOWN THAT ILLEGAL BROADCAST NOW
If you're a ham, what's your age? All I've seen are fat old men and a dying hobby.
inb4 muh FT8 and emcomm faggotry
I'm 32. A lot of computer geeks are getting into it these days. We even have a few 20-22 year old women in our club.
I fucking hate ft8.
I'm 28. I pretty well do my own thing though, I don't like clubs and I just like working on antennas and long distance contacts.
Comm illiterate here. Where are some good places to start that will reach me how to become a long wave h4x0r but explained like if I was a retarded 3 y.o?
QRZ.com
Arrl.org
Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles
Federación Digital EA
YouTube: just type "Amateur radio basics" in.
ARRL
Explained like you're Spanish:
You need a license to be an amateur radio operator or nobody will talk to you and you could face massivr legal fines.
It is not hard to get the license; it's basically some semi technical questions and questions on the rules governing frequency allocations and such.
Depending on your license you're allowed to use certain frequency ranges, called bands. Different bands have different distance properties. For long distance you want High frequency or HF bands, basically shortwave radio. 7000kHz-14kHz is huge for distance
My advice is to look up an amateur radio club in your town and visit a meeting. They'd probably be very happy to help you on your way.