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Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Discussion in 'Sports, Hobbies & Interests' started by The Traveler, Jan 29, 2013.

  1. Apr 24, 2016 at 10:45 AM
    #1981
    cheuer

    cheuer Well-Known Member

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    And that fits through the hood hinge bracket without drilling it out? I might opt for the exchange then...

    Makes sense, thanks! I think I might go for the solution above, but good info to store away for the future :)
     
  2. Apr 24, 2016 at 10:50 AM
    #1982
    odomandr

    odomandr Well-Known Member

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    Sure did.
     
  3. Apr 24, 2016 at 10:50 AM
    #1983
    kalieaire

    kalieaire i didn't know they stacked sh*t that high.

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  4. Apr 24, 2016 at 10:59 AM
    #1984
    cheuer

    cheuer Well-Known Member

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    Cool! Guess that's what I get for buying stuff without asking on here first. :) Gonna send those back tomorrow then.
     
  5. Apr 24, 2016 at 11:06 AM
    #1985
    odomandr

    odomandr Well-Known Member

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    I went to hro and had the bracket to take inside and pick the brains to figure out what would work best
     
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  6. Apr 24, 2016 at 1:06 PM
    #1986
    cheuer

    cheuer Well-Known Member

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    Wish I could do that, but there isn't one out here in Utah, nor any comparable stores that I could find.
     
  7. Apr 24, 2016 at 1:14 PM
    #1987
    Chipskip

    Chipskip N7MCS

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    Road trip to Phoenix.
     
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  8. Apr 24, 2016 at 5:48 PM
    #1988
    Lars

    Lars Radio Active

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    Yes.
    Played Radio on the beach. Talked to Puerto Rico, and listened to Great Britain & Japan!
    [​IMG]

    The sign behind the truck reads:

    "Warning, 4 wheel drive vehicles only."
    "Towing Services are EXTREMELY Expensive"
    "Deep Sand and Large Debris Ahead"

    The rest is about cleaning up after yourself.
     
  9. Apr 24, 2016 at 6:06 PM
    #1989
    Crom

    Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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    Maybe use a step bit, or dremmel.
     
  10. Apr 25, 2016 at 1:41 PM
    #1990
    Crom

    Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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    I read up a little more on this and there are a ton of variables based on location, but generally speaking, it seems that more power is probably better for packet / APRS.

    I found this article interesting: http://www.n5fdl.com/davids-blog/2013/12/30/the-heartbreak-of-aprs.html
     
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  11. Apr 25, 2016 at 1:45 PM
    #1991
    Chipskip

    Chipskip N7MCS

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    More power means greater signal strength. It's a simple formula. sometimes having that extra few watts gets you over a hill, through some trees and into an iGate or digipeater. That doesn't mean you can't do it in your area with less. People forget, one of the main principals of Ham radio is doing "it" with the lest amount of power required. Bump it up if you need to bump it down if you can.
     
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  12. Apr 25, 2016 at 1:46 PM
    #1992
    Crom

    Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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    The "Baofeng Tech" reseller on Amazon, raised the price of the BTECH MINI UV-2501+220 triband I was eyeballing by $40 over the weekend. Grrr
     
  13. Apr 25, 2016 at 1:54 PM
    #1993
    Crom

    Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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    Yup! I had to laugh the other day at this older ham... He remarked that life is too short for QRP (basically implying he was full power all the time) ROFL!!!
     
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  14. Apr 25, 2016 at 4:24 PM
    #1994
    gray223

    gray223 Well-Known Member

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    Really should have got a radio after taking the test.... I feel like Iv'e forgotten everything now :confused:. Don't have funds to spend on the radio I want...:frusty:

    Oh and so can you run a HT with a antenna attached to the truck? Then take it off when you want the radio with you? And the ft 270 im looking at you can use yeasu's VoIP....can anyone explain exactly what I can do with that?
     
  15. Apr 25, 2016 at 11:48 PM
    #1995
    kalieaire

    kalieaire i didn't know they stacked sh*t that high.

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    You can do anything you want. A lot of folks run HTs on their motorcycles with big 2m antennas. A radio with a BNC connector, or adapter, is probably to your benefit instead of screwing sma connectors off and on continuously. I would consider just getting a Baofeng or other cheapie just so you can hop onto the local repeaters in your area. The FT 270r is a nice radio, but I am less interested in System Fusion than I am in other digital modes like PSK or anything that I can run on my cell phone.

    Digital modes I can run off my cell phone using AFSK (psk31, aprs, etc) are a lot more versatile because it means they're available to everyone.

    System fusion is cool, but SSB or USB on 2m is probably even cooler because it uses less bandwidth. Digital modes like D*Star or System Fusion were made to get around Japan's Band crowding issues. VOIP isn't as cool, in my opinion, because you're just hopping onto someone else's repeater network like Winsystem or something through WIRES/echolink/IRLP. Not exactly rocket science and also quite useless if the internet goes down. I'd save my money for an HF setup.
     
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  16. Apr 26, 2016 at 7:09 AM
    #1996
    kalieaire

    kalieaire i didn't know they stacked sh*t that high.

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    Yeah, I'd seen this a while back. Part of my consideration for APRS was how much power I would need for transmit to get a decent signal out. The FT8900R seems more useful now because I can transmit on 6M or 10M (with a general license) which are less used bands in general. But the big challenge with the 8900R is that it can't dedicate one side to beaconing like the TM-D710GA or TM-V71A.
     
  17. Apr 26, 2016 at 11:09 AM
    #1997
    Chipskip

    Chipskip N7MCS

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    I am one of those folks with a 2m antenna and HT mounted to my motorcycle. BNC fTW. But I don't run a cheap baofeng radio, they don't hold up to motorcycles that well. Most guys that I know that run them on a MC have three of them at all times, they fail that often. I use a d72a for the APRS feature. Although you can do it on phones, and it's a good starter setup, it isn't great and you have lots of components that you have to carry around with you.

    I agree, the digital voice systems aren't great, but they are coming around. Maybe one day, right after rainbows fly out my ass, all the companies will agree on one protocol and all radios will be able to talk to each other in digital mode.

    VOIP is a decent feature, apparently you have never really played with it. There is a "Down Under" net every morning that connects Aussies around the world to one net. I know five locals that use one repeater connected to that net. Thursday nights there is a 4x4 net that you connect some repeaters to to listen to the net. My parents live in La Paz, Mx there is an echo link 2m repeater in there area, I connect a local repeater and talk to them. Yes, if the internet goes down, so does VOIP, and riots will be in every street, governments will fall.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2016
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  18. Apr 26, 2016 at 12:38 PM
    #1998
    Crom

    Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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    Yeah Kenwood got it right, how they partition the radios.

    I only have one small niggle with my TM-V71A and I am working with their support people, to convince them to convince their 'sales division' to commence a new release of firmware to rectify it. Man... Anytime marketing/sales is in charge of tech implementation can be a real problem...

    The Yaesu SystemFushion has made some big inroads in my area since I last looked a few years ago. I really liked their ftm-100dr right up to the point I found out it wasn't a true dual band radio, only one tuner.

    If I could cast a prediction, it's that there will never be a universally accepted digital mode for amateur 2M/220/440 FM operation. I think that the big 3 will just continue to divide the market.
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2016
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  19. Apr 26, 2016 at 12:52 PM
    #1999
    Crom

    Crom Super-Deluxe Member

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    @Chipskip I forgot to ask, do you ever hop on the White Tanks repeater 146.94? It's ARA, and can be user linked to Smith Peak to become part of CalZona link. From SD, I've talked to mobiles in Downtown PHX before with it. lol I'm not entirely sure, but I think the user link is RF, I know it's a 195 mile UHF long-haul link from Smith Peak to Monument Peak in Cali.

    Also, you ever take road trips / 4-wheel down into baja?
     
  20. Apr 26, 2016 at 1:42 PM
    #2000
    Chipskip

    Chipskip N7MCS

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    I get on that repeater once and a while. It is mainly a west Phoenix repeater and I drive East for work.

    I haven't done a trip down the Baja...yet. I have it planned. My parents keep their boat in La Paz and they have done the trip a few times. Waiting for my kids to get a little older.
     
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