The HAM Radio Thread
- Thread starter Ben E.
- Start date
Jarred J.
Lifetime VIP Donor
Jarred J.
Lifetime VIP Donor
Jarred J.
Lifetime VIP Donor
wow been awhile since somene has posted on this thread. for all the new guys that are hams i resurrected it.
I have a few more radios since the begining of this thread i have:
220 Ht and Mobile
10m but no antenna for house
Byonics RTG 10 watt APRS
and a few other things.
I just renewed my licensce for the first time. 10 years already
I have a few more radios since the begining of this thread i have:
220 Ht and Mobile
10m but no antenna for house
Byonics RTG 10 watt APRS
and a few other things.
I just renewed my licensce for the first time. 10 years already
RyanZ71
Member
Congrats! I've recently aquired a Kenwood TS-440S from a silent key that was a member of my club. It will be going in my home shack, as soon as I get out of this apartment and get me a house. I also purchased from the estate of that silent key (passed away ham radio member, for those of you who do not know the terminology) 2 Baofeng UV-5XPs, and 1 UV-82. Going to donate the UV5XPs to my club most likely, allow them to be used or issued to new hams, or hams in need. I have a Kenwood TMD-710G that I am in the process of installing into my truck, and a TMV71A that will become my mobile base station. I also have a B-TECH DMR6X2 that I use as my primary portable/HT.
fbueller
Member
Never really made the connection between light bars and ham radio, but I guess I like both so go figure. Been a ham since 1992 and soon after found my first bar at a hamfest. Been out of the ham world for quite a while, but kept my license current. Getting back into vhf/uhf world now. 73's N1LRB
Jarred J.
Lifetime VIP Donor
Hi,
How about old hams new to this site?
W2CK here, ex-WA2KQY.
Began with ham radio in 1969 at age 8. Got my Novice. Failed to upgrade to General within the required year. Oops.
Re-acquired a Novice in the Fall of 76. Went to NYC FCC field office in Spring 77 and took my General written. I was not going to repeat my earlier mistake. By now, I was really into electronics. I also joined the local VFD that summer. Noticed they needed some radio work, which as a ham I wasn't allowed to do.
Back to the FCC field office for a 2nd Class Commercial. Now I can work on VFD radios. Also got into engineering a new County radio system. Graduated High School in 1979 and took a job as a tech at a local radio station. Back to the field office for a 1st Class.
I skipped over Advanced and Extra. When I renewed the 1st Class in 1984, it came back as a GROL. The 1st and 2nd Class went away in 1983 as it turned out. And, we still call the GROL the Super Extra.
I didn't go back for my Extra until 2020. Covid meant no place to take an exam. My wife had a useful meeting space in her business. So, we began testing, in shifts, six at a time, there. Usually from 9 am to 5 pm a couple Saturdays a month. So I saw a need to become a VE and I needed an Extra Class for that.
In 1981 though, I was hired by IBM. Straight into R&D. And, as a Radio Guy, putting radios into portable computers to produce mobile terminals. As such, I use GE Private Radio Systems for my radio module vendor. Come 1994, with IBM downsizing, I joined what was now Ericsson R&D here in North Carolina.
Also note there was an I've Been Moved from NY to NC along the way. But, that turned out to be handy as Ericsson R&D was a mile from IBM in NC.
I was with Ericsson through 2008 and then BlackBerry from 2010 thought 2013. Now I am a consultant. Still working on radios. I have a radio R&D lab here on the farm. And a ham shack, of course.
I am active with all modes from 160m up thru 48 GHz. And my wife is K4PKD and we have multiple bands in all our vehicles. The minimum being hers with 6m, 2m and 440.
My favorite radios are the GE/Ericsson MPA portables. With vehicle converters to make them mobiles. 2m, 220, 440, and 900 MHz versions. Something I worked on back when as we had a request for 2m and 440 ham variants for NASA. They were used with SAREX and, later, on the ISS.
Right now, what brings me here, is I picked up a Federal Signal AeroDynic model 25 RWL I2 for my old F350 truck. That's my 'go box' with radios in the cab as well as the back and portable masts and antennas and such. One use is commercial Radio Direction Finding. What we call fox hunting. Mostly on the 806 MHz band, but I did have one recently tracking down a pirate FM radio station.
Anyway, sometimes I need to pull off to the side of the road and get a bearing while I am stationary. And I want a bit more visibility than the 4-way flashers. And I don't want one of these new LED things every other truck on the road sports, always flashing no matter what. Even when thy pull into McDonald's for lunch.
I remember lots of old bars all the way to 1994 but then I stopped working on such things. So, I went with what I know, so to speak.
Anyway, howdy to all the hams here!
Oh, and I will be administering exams at the Dayton Hamvention again this year. All day, both Friday and Saturday. I'll get to the Hamvention itself on Sunday. I have enough stuff around here as it is.
73
Stan - w2ck
How about old hams new to this site?
W2CK here, ex-WA2KQY.
Began with ham radio in 1969 at age 8. Got my Novice. Failed to upgrade to General within the required year. Oops.
Re-acquired a Novice in the Fall of 76. Went to NYC FCC field office in Spring 77 and took my General written. I was not going to repeat my earlier mistake. By now, I was really into electronics. I also joined the local VFD that summer. Noticed they needed some radio work, which as a ham I wasn't allowed to do.
Back to the FCC field office for a 2nd Class Commercial. Now I can work on VFD radios. Also got into engineering a new County radio system. Graduated High School in 1979 and took a job as a tech at a local radio station. Back to the field office for a 1st Class.
I skipped over Advanced and Extra. When I renewed the 1st Class in 1984, it came back as a GROL. The 1st and 2nd Class went away in 1983 as it turned out. And, we still call the GROL the Super Extra.
I didn't go back for my Extra until 2020. Covid meant no place to take an exam. My wife had a useful meeting space in her business. So, we began testing, in shifts, six at a time, there. Usually from 9 am to 5 pm a couple Saturdays a month. So I saw a need to become a VE and I needed an Extra Class for that.
In 1981 though, I was hired by IBM. Straight into R&D. And, as a Radio Guy, putting radios into portable computers to produce mobile terminals. As such, I use GE Private Radio Systems for my radio module vendor. Come 1994, with IBM downsizing, I joined what was now Ericsson R&D here in North Carolina.
Also note there was an I've Been Moved from NY to NC along the way. But, that turned out to be handy as Ericsson R&D was a mile from IBM in NC.
I was with Ericsson through 2008 and then BlackBerry from 2010 thought 2013. Now I am a consultant. Still working on radios. I have a radio R&D lab here on the farm. And a ham shack, of course.
I am active with all modes from 160m up thru 48 GHz. And my wife is K4PKD and we have multiple bands in all our vehicles. The minimum being hers with 6m, 2m and 440.
My favorite radios are the GE/Ericsson MPA portables. With vehicle converters to make them mobiles. 2m, 220, 440, and 900 MHz versions. Something I worked on back when as we had a request for 2m and 440 ham variants for NASA. They were used with SAREX and, later, on the ISS.
Right now, what brings me here, is I picked up a Federal Signal AeroDynic model 25 RWL I2 for my old F350 truck. That's my 'go box' with radios in the cab as well as the back and portable masts and antennas and such. One use is commercial Radio Direction Finding. What we call fox hunting. Mostly on the 806 MHz band, but I did have one recently tracking down a pirate FM radio station.
Anyway, sometimes I need to pull off to the side of the road and get a bearing while I am stationary. And I want a bit more visibility than the 4-way flashers. And I don't want one of these new LED things every other truck on the road sports, always flashing no matter what. Even when thy pull into McDonald's for lunch.
I remember lots of old bars all the way to 1994 but then I stopped working on such things. So, I went with what I know, so to speak.
Anyway, howdy to all the hams here!
Oh, and I will be administering exams at the Dayton Hamvention again this year. All day, both Friday and Saturday. I'll get to the Hamvention itself on Sunday. I have enough stuff around here as it is.
73
Stan - w2ck
Jarred J.
Lifetime VIP Donor