Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

Yes, you should shorten the cable. Coiling it changes the characteristics. For example, on a MFJ HF G5RV wire dipole, you want to make a balun by coiling the cable at the end of the drop to stop RF from going back into the shack on the shield.

 

Thank you!

 

So I ordered a Yaesu FTM-400XDR last night from Gigaparts. Looks like there is going to be a wait for it to arrive. This is my first rig so I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll be mounting the antenna to my Front Runner rack. Anyone have recommendations for a fold over antenna? Doesn't need to be controlled by an electronic motor. Longest I can fit is between 4-5 feet.

 

On VHF, antenna height affects radiation angle. I'm running a 1/4 wave because our repeaters are on top of hills mostly up here and when I'm in a valley, I want the signal to have a higher take off angle. If I were in the plains, a longer antenna would give more of a horizontal pattern which would be ideal out there. Antennas are a complicated science. Probably the most important part of the equation is proper mounting placement. Roof racks are a pretty good spot. Of course the best is in the center of the roof. Mine's off the third brake light and does just fine there.

 

KC2COU, haven't been active but thinking about a Yaesu 857D for the Taco

 

W1FOY/AE checking in. Passed yesterday. Very excited about being able to use all the bandwidth.

 

Congrats!

 

Congrats!

Now I don't want to be the only one left behind on the weekend net haha

 

Yea, that's why I was encouraging you to just keep studying, get it over with. Plus the guy that we will do summer field day with, he's a general, great guy even though he drives a Tundra. Nothing motivates him more than someone else passing a test and him not.

 

Passed my Tech test today. I was told 34/35. After two weeks of studying, it was not a problem. Now, going to spend the next few weeks and do the General.

I've decided and bought the Kenwood TH-D74A as opposed to a mobile until I can find a good way to route it in my vehicle and understand what I'm doing.

I honestly thought for the the last two weeks, while studying, remembering the questions/answers was difficult. Then I came into this thread and realized I don't have a proper clue what the hell I'm doing.

HamStudy was great but Eham, not so much. It would change my answers at the end (after I had written them down).

I went over the last 75 pages of this thread and was wondering, where a good place to start now that the test is over and to actually practice. I'm thinking of joining an amateur radio club or two and going from there.

Any self study material you folks want to pass off on me or possibly what ya'll did to get where you are today?

Thank you,

 

My encouragement would be to think about what you want in a mobile rig. Find out what you want to do (I know that's hard, you passed the test, but you don't know anything. Please don't take offense). Then bounce it off the guys here or in another forum. Hams love to tell other people what they are doing wrong.

The key thing in this hobby is to try to make the mistakes before you spend money. It can get expensive quick.

 

I take no offense, I don't know anything on the subject. I'm pretty ignorant to HAM radio besides the 100 questions on the Tech test. I definitely am open to new ideas, learning from the mistakes from others and hearing opinions on the subject. My father use to tell me, much to my dislike, "God gave you two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you talk".

My step father is a HAM operator and he has helped me in my decision with the handheld. The idea of D-Star was very appealing but is something the people I know who are HAM operators, don't know much about. I really do want to learn morse code and building my own equipment (done the line, of course).

After getting your license, what was your jumping off point to get you started into the hobby?

 

The best thing I did was getting on the air and talking with other hams. I also have a friend from high school that has been big in the hobby for many years. He set me up with a mobile and DMR ht to start off with. I believe I tried the Baofeng once before moving to DMR and haven’t looked back. Within a month I bought a Kenwood d710 and Alinco DJ-MD5. D-Star isn’t really around this area so DMR was the go to for digital here. I’ve learned a lot from the weekly tech net we have here. Hams in this area are really open and welcoming to the new guys.

 

Excellent play on you need to spend a lot “for her sake”. You are a wise man.

Congrats on getting your tickets.

 

Yes determinant on frequency, power, impedance and resonance interactions with your stations three grounds, as you know, and it also can work in your favor especially mobile as you can control for frequency and power easily.

 

All great shacks have cats in my opinion

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu0glPfD59t/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1fchet8e7tv7h

 

I had a friend that was getting heavy into model rockets. He needed a way to track them so he ended up getting his tech ticket. Then he started to see all the cool stuff you can do with it. So, I basically followed a friend into the hobby.

That Kenwood is a nice bit of kit. I'm sure that you'll have it for a long time. You will quickly want to add an antenna to the outside of your truck. K0BG is sort of the go to resource for mobile installs. If you start with a good antenna mounted on your truck that can take you quite a ways before you want to get yourself a proper mobile radio. Plus it give you time to other guys to see what they are running and how it works.

 

KA6NEW here. Got my FTM-3200DR this weekend, ran the power and antenna, just to realize "where the hell am I going to mount my transceiver?!". Toyed with all the obvious options but now teetering between "on the dash" or building a bracket that screws into the center console for secure mounting. Scrolling this thread for ideas! 73

 

Great setup! Alas, I'm in a 2nd gen and my transceiver doesn't have the removable faceplate :/ the cubby under the AC controls would have been so great if my transceiver didn't have a fan in the back. I'll make it work and share the details!