It surprised me to learn years ago, that radio folks have their own "patron saint":
Any Ham/ shortwave radio enthusiasts here?
- Thread starter CaptHowdy
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Acorn
Buckeye
I used to listen in high school a good bit. Radio Nederland, Deutche Wella, Moscow, Havana and HCJB in Quito. For some reason my favorite to pick up was Radio South Africa.
I remember going to send for a QSL from Havana and my Dad freaked. Thought I was going to turn commie.
I have no idea what's available now.
I bought a Baofeng UV5R due to it having a clean signal, but never tested.
One of these days.
I remember going to send for a QSL from Havana and my Dad freaked. Thought I was going to turn commie.
I have no idea what's available now.
I bought a Baofeng UV5R due to it having a clean signal, but never tested.
One of these days.
Where does a person go to learn all this?
We recently replaced our 6 year old laptop.
New one is almost instant on. The old one booted up so slowly I could go make coffee then return as it was ready.
Also sometimes at night I could pick up
(Skip signal?) RADIO FREE EUROPE on my receiver.
For you younger members when you get a minute look up RADIO FREE EUROPE.
Scary times back then with Russia flexing it's muscles.
That sounds familiar doesn't it.
kshaw
Bearcat
I have had my technician's license for a few years now. It is a very easy test and we had a number of high school students around 12 years old that passed the test. I have played around with D-Star which is a digital communications system that has a network of relay stations. Imagine being able to use a 5 watt handheld radio and communicating with others hundreds of miles away. I also played around with APPRS which was developed by a Naval Academy instructor. APPRS allows you to send email messages and text messages with a cheap radio and an android tablet without the internet.
In addition to waiting for the tubes to warm up, I remember the smell. I think it was from the tubes heating up the dust on them inside the chassis. And I always enjoyed that nice warm orange glow you could see through the ventilation holes in radios, even the AM clock radio.
My mom always liked to tell this story about my dad's radio hobby. He was the sole breadwinner and was making $35/week which had to cover everything. One evening he came home with a bag and she asked what was in it.
Dad: Oh, I bought a transistor (yup, ONE transistor).
Mom: How much did that cost?
Dad: Um... fifteen dollars...
Mom: WHAT??? @#%$&*^!!! That was our grocery money!!!
So pop was in the doghouse for a while over that one. He mounted that one transistor on a tube base so that he could plug and unplug it, moving it from one experimental circuit to the next.
I remember hearing Radio Free Europe as well. I also remember hearing some Slavic language and asked him where that was coming from, and he said it must be from behind the Iron Curtain. I had never heard that phrase before, so my mind created some funky imagery of a literal iron curtain.
My mom always liked to tell this story about my dad's radio hobby. He was the sole breadwinner and was making $35/week which had to cover everything. One evening he came home with a bag and she asked what was in it.
Dad: Oh, I bought a transistor (yup, ONE transistor).
Mom: How much did that cost?
Dad: Um... fifteen dollars...
Mom: WHAT??? @#%$&*^!!! That was our grocery money!!!
So pop was in the doghouse for a while over that one. He mounted that one transistor on a tube base so that he could plug and unplug it, moving it from one experimental circuit to the next.
I remember hearing Radio Free Europe as well. I also remember hearing some Slavic language and asked him where that was coming from, and he said it must be from behind the Iron Curtain. I had never heard that phrase before, so my mind created some funky imagery of a literal iron curtain.
My wife is from Bulgaria. Her dad, my father in law, grew up in Burgas. It's on the Black Sea. He's told me at night he would tune the radio in to listen to Western Music like the Beatles. Of course that was not legal at all.
He was probably listening to Radio Free Europe.
I still have my Tech License instead of General because I didn't have the ear for code, and where I was headed at the time I didn't need code. Mexico.. South of the boarder they don't have all the classes like here in the US. You are either a HAM or not. Just show up with your US Tech and get an XE license... And my marine radio on the boat was opened up to all freqs so I could talk to anyone. One do-all radio. I gotta admit I no longer even play with ham and only have a hh multi band with a dead battery.... somewhere??
OP
CaptHowdy
Bearcat
You can look up your ZIP code here to find local courses, as well as remote classes.
Find an Amateur Radio License Class in Your Area
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.
The one I took was $15 for an 8 week course, just one night per week.
Awesome! Thanks.You can look up your ZIP code here to find local courses, as well as remote classes.
Find an Amateur Radio License Class in Your Area
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.www.arrl.org
The one I took was $15 for an 8 week course, just one night per week.
dadstillsurfs
Bearcat
@Jeepnik Why would the repeaters be "going away"? I would be outa luck at home or our cabin without them
I've heard rumors. But many repeaters are privately owned by clubs and individuals. So even if government repeaters were shutdown private ones would continue.
I still have and use radios with vacuum tubes…. I also miss the days of SW listening. Yes there are still stations on the air, but not like it used to be, and I was listening in the 90s. I still get out and play on mountain tops with CW. 2 weeks ago. 3 watts and a wire antenna.
