Who Ham? You Ham?

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packnrat

Well-known member
hurry bought a place...but sad sold the tower a bit back.
now to find a way to put a stick or wire up. got a 1/3 of a acre to work with, with couple trees.
surrounded by hills so need to work out a way to transmit out.
 
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EastBayDave

EastBayDave

- Kawasaki Fanatic -
sorry haven't been on much guys; medical issues are just getting too daunting. I'm really really sick. Worst thing is the eyes, can't see sh_t capitan. ...:cry

Wish I could get that tower working again, right now antenna (http://www.mosley-electronics.com/pages/amateur/pro57b40.htm) is on the ground, & haven't got a replacement rotator yet ($$$ !!!) The price for a new rotator is $1,369. Ouch. Also need thrust bearing/bunch of nuts & bolts, & a bunch of young/strong fellas to put it up....(sigh)...

Someday, maybe....
 
EastBayDave

EastBayDave

- Kawasaki Fanatic -
packnrat said:
hurry bought a place...but sad sold the tower a bit back.
now to find a way to put a stick or wire up. got a 1/3 of a acre to work with, with couple trees.
surrounded by hills so need to work out a way to transmit out.
Click to expand...

Here's a site showing how to install/raise the same tower I have. It's not that big of a deal; rented a Bobcat & took a few days of light work...

http://drumon.com/ham_tower4.html

This is the way to go man; a "Tilt-Over" tower so you can tilt it over to work on antenna's & such. Easy peasy...
 
Cincinnatus

Cincinnatus

Not-quite retired Army
dmaxAl said:
I was thinking about the whole internet call look up thing today and came up with a BRILLIANT idea...

Old tech was ham radio. Because it gave the individual the capability to use a public resource (spectrum) in order to broadcast an opinion, it comes with our tickets and heavy penalties for misuse. Hence public station identifiers.

New tech is teh internet. Completely unregulated and a total swamp...
What if the FCC required an internet callsign? With all the same lack of anonymity we have as hams!

THink how quickly teh sink would clean up :rofl:rofl
Click to expand...

Taking this post seriously.... :loco

Ham (IIRC) can go pretty much world-wide using repeaters, etc. and has an effectively unlimited range, if you can contact a repeater.

Kinda hard to compare teh intarwebs, since ham has no keyboard/screen, and doesn't require modem/DSL/cable/satellite.

Like I said, :loco :laughing
 
Cincinnatus

Cincinnatus

Not-quite retired Army
Anyway, back on topic, kinda...

Picked up an almost-new Yaesu FT-60R HT on CL, guy in SSJ was in the process of getting rid of a metric shit-ton of ham radio equipment. Got the HT for $140, with charger, Ni-MH battery pack, AA-battery pack clip, etc., and the guy threw in two Icom UHF IC-U82 radios, with one charger & one battery pack.

FT-60 was loaded with memories & such, but I'm still such a n00b with ham that I don't know what I don't know. I haven't gotten my FCC license or callsign yet, so I can't "legally" use the HT, but I've gotta learn how to use this thang. :teeth

Any ham vets want to get together & kibitz about what we could accomplish on teh BARFs? Any mods want to sit in? Any BARF mods already into ham? :thumbup

We've all got motos, right? And the will to use them? Maybe meet at some undetermined location for noms & such?
 
EastBayDave

EastBayDave

- Kawasaki Fanatic -
Cincinnatus said:
Taking this post seriously.... :loco
Ham (IIRC) can go pretty much world-wide using repeaters, etc. and has an effectively unlimited range, if you can contact a repeater.
Kinda hard to compare teh intarwebs, since ham has no keyboard/screen, and doesn't require modem/DSL/cable/satellite.
Like I said, :loco :laughing
Click to expand...
There's actually more modes/types of operation than I can put here. Go to ARRL.ORG to see more.

Some of the stuff I've enjoyed:
Around the world RF via CW (Morse Code), the first type of data transmission. It's a blast & typically goes much farther than voice on the same frequency (tone transmission travels farther.)

Some of the satellite modes are wild. I gotta bud who does that, just requires a couple small antennas & a transceiver.

Contacting the ISS (International Space Station.) Virtually all the astronauts on the ISS are Ham's. There's a couple antenna's on the outside of ISS & a transceiver inside. When they get bored they get on it & talk to 1/3 of the world at a time. Wowzers.

Dozens of ham radio satellites circling the globe. Most are on tight schedules & can be tracked on free software. Again gives you 1/3 of the world.

The one I really liked: "Moonbounce." A station built for this can be totally wild w/1/3 to 1/2 of the world available. The first time I heard my voice echoing back from the moon was one of the most exciting things I've ever done. :wow

All the repeater stuff? Ah it's ok, & useful during emergencies. During Loma Prieta I was the ONLY one talking to anyone outside of Candlestick Park, & that was rather re-assuring. (long story I'll tell sometime.)

But I've always liked the "randomness" of throwing a signal out, & you never know who's going to hear you. Ex: CQ CQ de K6JOX (me). K6JOX de T32OCC. Met my first island friend Steve in French Polynesia. Running a radio w/the natives riding a bicycle charger to a battery (w/natives frantically riding as fast as they can), to a wire between the palm trees. No power on that island, & only a monthly supply ship for essentials.

Since then Steve & I talk every Sunday night, so I can process his cards, & tell him news/info as all they have is that radio for world comm. They live on the sea on only the barest of essentials. It's such a trip to talk to someone in such a totally different life...

Like that; that's why I've always loved the hobby, you never know who you are going to meet on the bands. It's a trip...
 
rodr

rodr

Well-known member
I'm not much of a ham-head but do also have a FT-60 and a license. Would be interested in finding a good way to use it while riding, and participating in related rides or gatherings.
 
Hoho

Hoho

Ride to Eat
rodr said:
I'm not much of a ham-head but do also have a FT-60 and a license. Would be interested in finding a good way to use it while riding, and participating in related rides or gatherings.
Click to expand...

You will want one of these:
Sena SR10-10

Then the corresponding cable to connect your HT to the Sena. That will put your HT on a Bluetooth connection that you can connect to your Bluetooth headset on your helmet.
 
EastBayDave

EastBayDave

- Kawasaki Fanatic -
rodr said:
I'm not much of a ham-head but do also have a FT-60 and a license. Would be interested in finding a good way to use it while riding, and participating in related rides or gatherings.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't recommend the FT-60 because of it's high current draw (like, up to 20amps to get 100 watts out?) That would run your bike battery dead in no time. If you've made improvements to your bikes charging system yes, if not, no way.

Now an HT can be done simple as a cell-phone. Check the maximum current draw & make sure your charging system can handle it. In both cases find a place to mount a good antenna. (grab-bar or similar.)
 
Cincinnatus

Cincinnatus

Not-quite retired Army
Does the Sena allow you to change channels on the HT? I'd think that would be difficult, to say the least.
 
rodr

rodr

Well-known member
EastBayDave said:
I wouldn't recommend the FT-60 because of it's high current draw (like, up to 20amps to get 100 watts out?) That would run your bike battery dead in no time. If you've made improvements to your bikes charging system yes, if not, no way.
Click to expand...

This little thing?? I think it's 5 watts.

22364262680_ca20361413_c.jpg


Now an HT can be done simple as a cell-phone. Check the maximum current draw & make sure your charging system can handle it. In both cases find a place to mount a good antenna. (grab-bar or similar.)
Click to expand...

Probably need a no-ground-plane antenna. Any suggestions? I have a top case and don't mind mounting on that either.
 
Cincinnatus

Cincinnatus

Not-quite retired Army
Finally got my FCC callsign - KK6YGH :party

FCC couldn't read printed characters and mis-spelled my last name. :rolleyes :mad

And since ARRL uses the FCC database to cross-check their registration, I can't get a membership in ARRL until the FCC corrects their error. :x

Email has been sent to the FCC, any bets on how long it'll take to fix? Over two months?? :teeth
 
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