Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

awesome. info.
one of these days I will upgrade and learn more about this shit. I didn't even know this was a thing.

 

Checked in to one of our local nets last night, randomly. Found out a piece of traffic had been holding for me for like 5 days. Whoops! I'm really starting to see how life encompassing this hobby can become.

 

After updating to the Kenwood D710G and Mobilinkd for APRS, I ran into some crazy RFI gremlins. Originally I thought it was my aftermarket JOYING head unit, but that turned out to not be the case. Ultimately I figured out what it was and got it fixed though!

Read the story: Mod wars - USB charger RFI vs. Ham Radio




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Nice little write up. RFI in those little buggers is the reason that I went with a traditional cig lighter for the rear seat install. That way I can get the charger from a brand I trust. Though, Blue Sea does make good shit.

 

Subbed.

All I have is a

$63 Baofeng BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174MHz VHF & 400-520MHz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery

Baofeng BF-F8HP with a Nagoya antenna upgrade. Plan to take the tech class when scheduling allows it. Dicked around with CB back in high school, have had a scanner most of my life, but barely have a clue what I'm doing.

 

Congrats.

I fought the same battle a few years ago. Details are back in this thread. Same story, shitty DC-DC Converters. The world is contaminated with them everywhere. I found a brand that uses quality components with proper shielding and filtering and never looked back.

 

Yeah, that's why I went with Blue Sea - good reputation. Frankly, I'd still go with them due to the great customer service I got in this situation.

I'll have to go back an take a look - I'm always looking for reliable brands. And, nice build - as you may have noticed, I modeled my own (in title anyway) after yours!

 

Just gave SMSGTE a try. All I can say is WOW.
Can reconfirm if message was received (by both ends). Can sms a link to a map of your current coordinates.

If bouncing off the ISS,you don't even need to be anywhere near a digi or igate. Although getting a reply to your message might be a stretch.

 

How do you bounce off the ISS? That sounds awesome!

 

There's actually three APRS satellites atm. Slated to be more. It's a little tricky on vhf. But it's actually pretty simple. The frequency and gate (ARISS) settings are different than ground APRS. And you'll need a satellite tracking app, I use the paid version off ISS Detector $2.99. Can download and keep satellite projected orbital data for 10 days when without cell service. I've personally used it 9 days after the estimated path was projected and it was spot on.

 

my APRS reports inside Death Valley last weekend with a faulty antenna, we'll see how much improves this upcoming weekend





edit:

 

It's official! Just showed up online today. KI7RRY checking in! Let the shopping commence (or continue)....

 

Congrats on the license! Now go get some new gear!

 

Same here! Just checked a few minutes ago. KM6OFE for me. Thinking about picking up a little Baofeng and a better antenna setup for home and auto use before I move to a real mobile setup.

 

I did the same. Bought a Baofeng pair from Amazon but only received 1. Called Amazon up, shipped them the 1 back and I received 2 sets of 2 - I now have 4! Lol. One has a Nagoya 771 antenna but man it's long on an HT. I need to work out the HOA part of my setup for the real antenna. Been reading about clever ways to stealth it. Ideally I'd sink a flagpole in the yard like the guy in a nearby neighborhood, but that comes with more effort. I'm planning on using a mobile for a base until I go balls deep on this. I'm already getting the rolled eyes look from my wife as she watches fun money get smoked on yet another thing of mine...

 

Why do you have to stealth it? I don't have any knowledge of real antenna setups since my currently living arrangement doesn't allow for it. Zoning laws, etc or just HOA being picky? Was thinking about the same antenna as you. It's gonna have a few extra parts for when I go out to hike to keep the rain off the actual radio, but it'll be the same setup. How's the range on it?

Also if anyone's got any ideas on a more permanent way of mounting an antenna on the taco besides a magnet. I was thinking a hood mount because I don't want to do any drilling right now.

 

The more radios you get the easier it becomes to say "no, I've had that one for a while"

 

HF antennas area big, they could be made of just wire, but mine is 102' long end to end. Lots of HOA's don't approve of crap that makes the neighborhood look bad, the other half is the wife. I'm not on an HOA, but if I didn't have a couple of acres of woods to hide an antenna in, I would be searching for stealth options as well.

 

Ha ya, like her shoes right?
Me: Are these new shoes?
Her: No I've had those.
Me: Well the receipt shoved in them says you bought them two weeks ago. Is that what you mean?
Her: Ya well I was gonna return them. You wanna talk about your Amazon boxes that are delivered daily?
Me: So did you have a good day?

Well, my HOA is in a new development, and is run by the two builders and the management company until we're built out. I can appreciate the HOA and what they stand for - no boats docked in the front yard, no Poncharello Firebirds decaying away, no cherry pickers and creepers ditched on the sides of garages. So I'm OK playing by the rules.

 

I’m going to try and set aside time to get my Technician license around Christmas, how long does it take to study for the test? I’d ideally like to look over the study book so I at least understand what the hell I am doing, but I know memorizing the Q/As is a thing too.