[HN Gopher] My Experience Getting Licensed in Ham Radio (2020)
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My Experience Getting Licensed in Ham Radio (2020)
Author : nativeit
Score : 84 points
Date : 2024-09-25 01:20 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (beckystern.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (beckystern.com)
| wkat4242 wrote:
| I helped a friend do the novice exam, which is really quite easy
| these days and even permits the use of some HF bands (which I've
| personally never even have used with my full license from the 90s
| - I live in a city apartment and simply don't have the space for
| the required antennas)
|
| I can really recommend doing it. If you have some knowledge about
| electronics and some affinity for it, it's pretty easy. You'll
| need to study some of the regulations and stuff but it's very
| doable.
|
| When I did mine in the 90s the exams were still pretty hard but
| even then I studied for a day and passed. Of course having all my
| existing knowledge of electronics and 5 years of CB experience
| did help a lot. But overall i just coasted through it. People
| worry about it too much I think.
| beng-nl wrote:
| Is a magnetic loop antenna not practical for HF operation? I've
| never tried it myself, but as someone who is also a little
| space constrained, that's what I had my hopes pinned on for HF
| receiving with limited space.
| wkat4242 wrote:
| It's possible but the problem is I'm on the 1st floor of a 5
| story building in a dense European city center, and all the
| buildings around me are of similar height. Meaning that the
| signal will basically be absorbed by the buildings around me
| (best case) and/or the neighbours' electronic equipment
| (worst case :) ). There's just no way to get a decent signal
| out from here. The distance to the next buildings is also way
| shorter than 1 wavelength on HF, the street out front is only
| 1 lane wide with a tiny footpath (European city...). So the
| gap isn't even wide enough. It just won't get out and will
| probably cause a hell of a lot of interference problems.
|
| Since I don't have any HF equipment I didn't deem it wise
| investing in some for this reason. I do have a receiver but
| the inbound signal is also really meh.
|
| With 2m/70cm I have better luck because the repeater is
| nearby on a tall mountain and the wavelength is short enough
| to be able to bounce around and get out.
| bombcar wrote:
| The novice exam (in the USA) should be passable or nearly
| passable to anyone who has basic knowledge of electronics and
| some radio theory.
|
| Studying for a weekend from one of the books was all I needed
| to get ... a step or two up even, since morse code wasn't
| needed.
| zikduruqe wrote:
| > I live in a city apartment and simply don't have the space
| for the required antennas
|
| I used to load the gutters around my apartment as an antenna, I
| once even loaded up the box spring in the bedroom, then I got a
| MFJ isoloop also back in my apartment days. There are ways to
| get on HF. They might not be ideal, but when you do make that
| contact it sure is sweet.
| eldaisfish wrote:
| Please don't do this. Do not send power into a device not
| designed for it, especially one where you cannot always
| control who might come into contact with it. 50 Watts is all
| your need to cause a burn.
| quacksilver wrote:
| I did it in the UK mostly for the hardware / legal transmit
| permissions on some experimental bands for my SDR.
|
| There are repeaters most places, though chatting on them didn't
| really interest me much. Check out echolink (available as a
| smartphone app) after getting your license if that does though -
| there is no special hardware needed and you can speak with people
| on repeaters all over the world if you want to.
| CTOSian wrote:
| cheers for the echolink, I had no idea about it.
| LeoPanthera wrote:
| It's frustrating how a cheap VHF handheld is often recommended as
| a "first radio". What you can do with one is quite limited, and
| for most practical purposes you'll be tethered to a repeater.
|
| I would always recommend a cheap, probably second hand, desktop
| HF radio to start with. You will be forced to learn how to make a
| simple antenna, how to cope with impedance matching, and in the
| process of using it you will learn about HF propagation, and the
| reward is that you get to communicate across the world, not just
| across your town. It's a much better, and much more educational
| place to start.
| augusto-moura wrote:
| Handheld VHFs are much easier to setup, and you can fidget with
| one even before the license, given that you don't actually
| transmit anything, just listen. Not everyone has the space or
| time to setup a desktop and antenna themselves.
| squarefoot wrote:
| In that case, the best experience in my opinion is to DIY one
| of the simplest radio receiver, that is, a super-regenerative
| or similar one that could be built off a single
| transistor/jfet and a high impedance headphone. Or, to make
| things cleaner, a couple transistors where 1st one acts as
| antenna preamplifier (and -very important- to prevent the
| other transistor oscillations to be radiated by the antenna).
| It's a very simple project that can be built on a breadboard
| in an afternoon, encourages experimenting and teaches a lot
| in the process.
| discretion22 wrote:
| Just 1 or 2 transistors you say? Link to a circuit diagram
| (or even an ASCII art reply) greatly appreciated - sounds
| like a fun way to spend an afternoon or an evening.
| assimpleaspossi wrote:
| Then I question why they would get a license at all.
| JKCalhoun wrote:
| Becoming a part of ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service)
| might be a valid reason.
| assimpleaspossi wrote:
| It might be but I strongly doubt it. Such a thing
| wouldn't be top of mind for anyone unless they had direct
| experience with it.
| lormayna wrote:
| If you want to start with HF I suggest to buy a USDX/(tr)USDX.
| It's cheap (around 150EUR), portable, cover many bands and easy
| to operate. Some versions had also the integrated SWR meter and
| integrated battery. And with a simple cable you can interface
| with a PC for digital mode.
| RF_Savage wrote:
| The problem with second hand HF rigs is the uncertainty of
| supply and not knowing what rig is good and what is not. And
| even a cheap used rig can be 10 - 30 times the cost of an entry
| level handheld radio.
|
| And then you buy a power supply for the HF rig for another five
| baofengs worth.
|
| And realize that the technicians license only allows voice on
| 10m.
| JKCalhoun wrote:
| I'm not sure that is a bad _first radio_. When I got my
| Technician license, repeaters were more or less what were
| available to me anyway. I got a hand-held and non-hand-held but
| ended up using the hand-held more often as it was always with
| me.
|
| People get into ham radio for different reasons -- not always
| for technical reasons. And then people's interest in a hobby
| can change over time as well -- perhaps they begin to get long-
| distance curious.
| lenerdenator wrote:
| Think of the cheap Baofeng as the little hit that keeps you
| coming back for more.
|
| At least, that's what it was for me. Then I got a used Yaesu
| FT-817 and used that as motivation to get my general.
|
| I now have GMRS as well, which is one of those hidden gems I
| wish more people in the public at large knew about.
| teeray wrote:
| > I now have GMRS as well, which is one of those hidden gems
| I wish more people in the public at large knew about.
|
| Given how many of the GMRS enthusiasts are just itching to
| turn it into the zoo that is CB, I kinda wish the public
| would continue not caring about it.
| kmbfjr wrote:
| A caution about type acceptance. Pretty much anything meeting
| spectral purity and bandwidth requirements can be used in
| amateur radio bands, but that isn't reciprocal for other
| services.
|
| Unsoldering a diode to make it work outside the ham bands
| does not make it legal. Lots of services are now 12.5 kHz
| deviation, so showing up with a "modded" 25kHz deviation
| radio is gonna cause grief.
| tbyehl wrote:
| Why should I be interested in any of what you're going on
| about?
|
| My GMRS and Technician licenses issued on the same day not
| quite two months ago. I'm interested in immediate family
| communications, communicating with people in my area, and
| potentially calling for help from nearby strangers. I only
| decided to get the Amateur license because I realized the
| valley in western NC where we have a home does not have a GMRS
| repeater but there is an Amateur club running VHF/UHF, and
| figured I'd have better luck convincing them to add GMRS by
| joining their club than as an outsider.
|
| A cheap Chinese UHF/VHF/GMRS HT with a knock-off NA-771 reaches
| as far as my family needs.
|
| And FWIW, the top feed on Broadcastify the past few days is
| coming from a VHF repeater on Mount Mitchell (N2GE via W4HTP
| due to lack of Internet).
| rmason wrote:
| Totally different experience than I had as a fourteen year old
| back in the sixties. I learned Morse code and theory on my own.
| Back then the novice license was only available through volunteer
| examiners. Now all licenses are taken with volunteer examiners.
| After passing I built my radio and launched my antenna which was
| a vertical. I was limited solely to code and low power but
| quickly had contact with hams around the world.
|
| Then to upgrade my license I had to have my dad drive me down to
| the FCC office in Detroit where I had an appointment. I still
| remember the glass lined room where I took the code test had a
| bit of an echo which made copying the code a little difficult but
| I passed the first time. My Dad treated me to a corned beef
| sandwich at the legendary Lefkowski's at Eastern market. Then I
| upgraded both my radio and launched a tower and a yagi. Did it
| all before I had a drivers license.
|
| Started a ham club at my high school which a half century later I
| am proud to report is still going strong.
| CalRobert wrote:
| Loved this bit of personal history! And great the the club is
| still going. But... surely a ham sandwich would have suited the
| occasion?
|
| Edit: Just realized it may have been a Jewish deli which would
| clearly have precluded that option!
| CapitalistCartr wrote:
| I think he means Lefkofsky's, and if so, yeah, Jewish deli.
| They got bought out about 20 years ago.
| rmason wrote:
| You are correct, a Google search failed me sadly. I have
| had corned beef sandwiches around the world but LefKofsky's
| is still the best I ever experienced.
|
| Eastern Market was amazing in those days, you heard fifty
| different languages being spoken, the aisles were so
| crowded and it was Detroit at its peak of prosperity.
| thenobsta wrote:
| Amazing! Thanks for sharing the your story.
|
| In the early 2000's my dad drove me a few hours up to St. Louis
| for my technician test. I had been listening to the hams on
| some tube receivers that my dad had and was studying the ARRL
| books. When I realized that I had grokked the content. I
| thought why not go for the test. We drove to the city. I took
| the technician exam and passed. After the test, I promptly went
| home to make a j-pole that we put on top of our tv antenna
| tower and connected to a handheld 2m radio my dad had. I was
| able to hit local repeaters and chat with local hams, but sadly
| never committed to Morse code and never got advanced licenses.
| So my communications stayed local.
|
| My grandpa was really delighted that I got my license -- he was
| thrilled about having 3 generations of hams in the family.
| Unfortunately, at the time, he was pretty old and had taken
| down his station so we didn't get to talk over the waves.
|
| These days I bring my baofeng out and my 7yo daughter and I
| will listen in on some conversations. She'll ask about where
| they're from and how we can hear them. I really delight in the
| questions.
| lormayna wrote:
| In Italy, if you have a degree in Telecommunication or
| electronical engineer you just need to pass a reduced version of
| the exam covering only transmitting rules and not electronic/RF
| topics. I did that online few years ago, it was very easy.
| jwrallie wrote:
| I got my license from US, the questions are randomly selected
| from a pool of public questions, so with enough time and Anki,
| you can easily pass the test. It might feel like cheating for
| some, but I found out I can remember a lot of information from
| learning this way, but I am an EE so your mileage may vary.
|
| The trick is to only learn the question and correct answer, do
| not look at the wrong options when memorizing.
|
| The article mention you can use a calculator, you can but the
| math does not really require it most of the time. I don't
| remember using it.
| DrAwdeOccarim wrote:
| I have fallen in love with ham radio the past few years. I got my
| technician license about 15 years ago and didn't really do much.
| I went to a local ham meetup and honestly, they were all kind of
| abrasive and lame. Most were old and came off as gatekeeping. I
| putzed around local repeaters and took my 2m/70cm handheld around
| with me when I went on vacation and hit local repeaters on my
| trips. Met some nicer people, but it was all very different to
| me. I grew up with online chatrooms and AIM and so the idea of
| speaking with strangers, like with my voice, made me feel kind of
| uncomfortable (and still does!).
|
| Anyway, fast forward to the pandemic and I found myself thinking
| about radios again. I decided to study for my General because I
| started learning about over-horizon radio and how you could use
| HF to bounce off the ionosphere. I had some extra time so I
| studied the pool with an app and in a few weeks took the test.
| Once I passed, I took to the internet and read about HF and what
| I needed to get started. Purchased an Icom IC-7300, an Alinco
| 330MVT power supply, and an hfkits EFHW build-your-own
| 80/40/20/(15)/10 wire antenna with 49:1 unun. I also eventually
| purchased an LDG Z-100A-DXE antenna tuner, a RigExpert
| AA-230-ZOOM, and a Moonraker AV-600 inline meter. Building my own
| unun and antenna made me feel like a Jedi building their own
| light-saber as part of the experience! lol
|
| This is when I got hooked. Tuning into 40m at night and hearing
| from Boston all across the eastern seaboard, into Europe, the
| Caribbean, and Latin/South America was wild. Then I tuned into
| 20m and made SSB contacts in Europe. What an electric feeling to
| call out to someone and having them respond from thousands of
| miles away! Then I re-purposed a raspberry pi 4 and imaged
| DragonOS to a card and, omg, digital modes through my radio is
| where I spend 90% of my ham time now.
|
| FT-8 is so much fun. I've made contacts all over. I've hit Japan,
| Nepal, Asiatic Russia, Brazil, Suriname, Ghana, basically every
| European country, basically every US state, Canada, the list goes
| on. I've started building new antennas basically monthly. Copper
| pipe J-pole was the most fun for 2m. Testing the new antennas
| with WSPR is a really easy way to see how it performs. There are
| listening stations in Antarctica and Australia and New Zealand
| that I can regularly hit at 1 Watt (wtf!?). So cool.
|
| DragonOS also does ADS-B tracking and monitoring, which I'm just
| getting into having purchased a Tram 1410 and stuck it in my
| attic.
|
| Anyway, the world of radio is just incredible. I highly recommend
| it for any technologist as the fun and crazy shit you can build
| now for cheap is remarkable. We are truly in the golden age of
| wireless tinkering!
|
| 73
| cschneid wrote:
| I just wish my QTH was quieter. I have so much interference
| here it's not worth doing anything other than FT8 / JS8Call
| here.
|
| On the other hand, the Icom7300 is totally fine used semi-
| portably out at a campsite. It runs on battery, and putting up
| a wire antenna is easy enough with a fiberglass pole. I even
| have a raspberry pi that hosts digital stuff (and an ipad
| running vnc to control it)
| dtagames wrote:
| I joined this hobby recently and found that most of the activity
| has moved to digital radios that use a hotspot.
|
| OpenSpot[0] is a high-end version but there are cheaper ones,
| too. These products create a tiny digital network in your house
| and act as a router/repeater for global ham networks. The digital
| radio + hotspot solution gets around the short range of handheld
| radios and lets you talk or listen with a global audience.
|
| [0] https://www.sharkrf.com/products/openspot4/
| crote wrote:
| Wait, so, what's the point?
|
| If you're reducing the whole HAM part to nothing more than a
| fancy Bluetooth handset, why not just jump into a regular
| Discord / Teamspeak / Ventrilo / Mumble voice server? Why
| bother going through all the trouble of getting a license and
| learning about radio when you're not actually going to do any
| of the radio stuff?
|
| I thought the hobby was all about building experimental radios
| and trying to communicate with people as far away as possible -
| with a bunch of emergency comms LARPing on the side.
| dtagames wrote:
| That's definitely an argument within the community. Radio
| underlies a lot of modern tech like satellites, Bluetooth,
| and cellphones which are all just implementations of the same
| stuff you learn getting your ham license.
|
| The primary goal of folks learning radio tech (via ham) today
| cannot be just talking to folks far away because, as you
| said, that's a solved problem. When you do get on these
| digital channels you find most of the conversation is about
| how you did it -- or ensuring that it worked. In other words,
| folks are using these technologies for exactly what you said
| -- learning about the radio side of it.
|
| Just FYI, the hotspots use digital radio to communicate with
| your digital radio and Wi-Fi to communicate with internet
| servers, so they are radio devices, too.
| chillingeffect wrote:
| I get this argument from some ppl and here's my response: ham
| people are those who have the patience and taken the time to
| learn and follow a set of rules and physics. They are
| generally more responsible then internet randos. To an
| extent, ham radio is like early internet which required will
| and effort to piece together. It had a value and a meaning so
| you didn't squandor it.
| plowjockey wrote:
| Much different than the self study route I chose back in the
| early '80s. 41 years ago next month I worked up enough courage to
| call one of the local radio amateurs and scheduling the Novice
| license exam with him which he was glad to do. Of course, I had
| some trepidation as I didn't want to inconvenience him but I
| quickly got over that as most hams are more than willing to
| assist the newcomer.
|
| The way new hams enter and interact with the rest of the amateur
| radio world has changed dramatically over that time span. It
| saddens me a bit each time I read that someone received the "get
| off my lawn" impression from their first contacts in the hobby.
| Hopefully such instances are rare and the result of
| miscommunication/misunderstanding rather than ill intent from
| either party.
| pseudolus wrote:
| If you're feeling particularly ambitious you can write all three
| exams (Technician, General, Extra) in one sitting, an additional
| benefit being that you only have to pay one application/exam fee.
| It's not a particularly arduous undertaking, especially if you've
| taken some previous courses in electronics.
| giraffe_lady wrote:
| General is only a little additional material on top of
| technician so getting both is an easy newcomer goal. Extra is
| quite a lot more though, at least if you're truly new to it.
| Yeah if you have an electronics background it's probably fine
| but even on HN most people don't.
| jhallenworld wrote:
| I did this back in 2005 or so: code was still required, and I
| just barely passed it- by one punctuation mark they said. Then
| I took all the written tests. The technical parts are easy if
| you're an EE. It felt weird having an extra class with no
| operating experience.
| jhallenworld wrote:
| You should think about also getting a GMRS license (no test-
| except navigating the FCC website). This allows you to use 22 UHF
| FM talk channels, up to 50W. The license extends to all of your
| family members, so it's good for things like hiking in the
| wilderness. You can buy a self-contained repeater for it.
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