Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

I have both of those radios. Both excellent pieces of kit. I use the 7100 in the house and the 5100 mobile.

What is your intended use for the radio and what kind of antenna do you plan on using?

 

Sweet I will do that. Got started early so should have plenty of time to learn both. Nex test local to me is April 14

 

Just curious why do you want general so bad? That much better?

 

I see, can get into the HF channels. Interesting.

 

HF bands allow long distance communication. With a Technicial License you are basically limed to 2 Meter VHF (144-148 Mhz) and UHF (70 cM or 440 Mhz) bands which operate line-of-sight. With repeaters your reach is more than line-of-sight obviously.

By getting your General or Extra Class license you can work the lower freqiencies 160M to 6M. These signals reflect (bounce off) the various layers of the atmosphere and allow long range communication with low power when the conditions are right.

I am Technician now and would like to step up to General. I need to know more about the study guides, etc. I bought a good book for this but lots of info. Probably should get the guide with questions listed.....

 

You heard of there are any plans for the 5100a type screen in the 7100 ? To me that is the desired unit combo

 

As a tech you get 10m 28.3-28.5 all 6m - 23cm
General you get all 10m and 80%+ of all HF bands + what tech has
Extra no worries just band edges... Dont let the older hams get to you about being a No Code general, we are the new generation of Hams

 

Besides, you never know... I found myself getting interested in QRP/SOTA, so I ended up learning code anyway.

 

Thanks fellas. Radio cost is going to be a big factor on what I can and can't do. In practice, but might as well get the general anyways while I'm at it

 

I really want to buy a HF radio for base station, and may get one that has HF plus VHF/UHF. That new Yaesu FT-991 looks like a pretty good rig for all bands. I actually wish it was bigger, but the rest of the world wants compact... An all band base radio would allow me to put my Kenwood V-71 (currently on a power supply and base antenna at home) in the Tacoma and talk back to home on 2M (which was my reason for getting into HAM in the first place).

Working on the wife to get her Tech license....
KG7DDR out.

 

Get out and join a local Ham group. You may never know, some one may loan or give you a radio they dont care for anymore. Granted it may be out dated, but they may be easier to work on as a ham.

 

Out of curiosity. What happens if you are not a licensed Ham operator? Potential fines? or is it an actual programming thing? Or using bands you are not supposed to use?

 

Fcc fines can be huge

 

The 7100 has the same screen as the 5100. They operate very similarly.

 

On non ham using transmitting on ham bands:
Licensed hams will not reply to someone who does not transmit their call sign as required. BUT in a true emergency you communicate however you need to do.

 

Any recommended HF antennas ?

 

If mobile, you only have three options. Hamsticks, whip with antenna tuner, or screwdriver antenna (Lil tarheel, or equivalent).

 

I saw a guy with a thin black antenna about thick as a quarter. About a foot or more in length. On the top of it there was a super thin whip about 2'-3' tall. As he tuned to various bands and frequencies. The antenna automatically adjusted. Got taller and shorter using an internal motor I assume.

 

That's a screwdriver style antenna. Maybe it was a yaesu atas-120.

 

Fines for individual offenses start around $10k/per, but they sometimes get reduced based on ability-to-pay or when there's multiple offenses. Example in link below. I remember seeing one a year or so ago where an offender's fines were all cut in half -- 4 of them -- so the total was still $20k. FCC doesn't drop the hammer often, but you don't want to be anywhere nearby when they do.

http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-fines-former-radio-amateur-for-unlicensed-operation-on-20-meters