My other hobby, since 1968. Ham radio

[sawdust]

This is a pic of my shack. I won't bore you with a detailed description, but 2 radio's, one HF amp (1500 watts), 2 towers, beam's and wire antennas.
dave
k4em

[EL34]

Lots of gear there.

What do you do about language barriers?
Is english the norm in the ham world?

[sawdust]

Yea, English is pretty much the default language. I guess it's similar to International pilots having to speak English due to International standards. But you can tune the bands and hear all the different languages too. Of course using code there all kinds of abbreviations to speed things up. My station is probably a middle of the road setup. There are much more elaborate and expensive setup's than mine. These aren't guitar amps but these guys in Japan build some of the most expensive, biggest HAM amps in the world. If you were to get caught running one of these over here, the FCC would see to it you never saw a radio again. This has been run through the google interpreter. Beautiful work, much more complicated than guitar amps and extremely dangerous with those high voltages.

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.bear-el.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbear-el.com/%26hl%3Den%26pwst%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8

Dave

[Ritchie200]

Dave

Nice Shack you have there!  I could not quite tell by the pic, Yeasu or Kenwood?  A few contest/awards on the wall?  Where do you normally hang out?  I've got a bunch of Ham buddies and they spend most of their time on 2 meter for the most part.  Maybe it's a local thing - or just lazy!  I was in the Ham club at school way back in the dark ages, but could never pull the trigger on pursuing it as I spent all my money on amps and guitars!  Although I did had some slightly illegal CB equipment back in the 70's....  With the code requirements dropped, I may still do it some day.  I've got the theory down.

I have been a SW fan for most of my life. I've got an old Zenith TransOceanic Clipper and two late '40s Hallicrafters.  I bought a used ICOM R9000 a few years ago and still fire up a little Radio Hack/Sangeon portable every now and then.  Did some LowFer stuff a few years ago - a lot of work and no activity.  Nothing like a winter night, a few cups of hot chocolate, your headphones, and a long wire!  As a matter of fact, I just did that tonight!

Jim

[sawdust]

Both rigs are Yaesu; a FT2000 on the left and a FT1000MP on the right. The amp is a Command Technologoes HF-2000. Those are Honor Roll plaques and a 5BDXCC and 5BWAS. I do a lot of listening lately and not much transmitting. I use to chase DX excusevely but now that i have them all I just listen alot. Pickup band countries; I do enjoy PSK31 which is a digital mode using the sound card and some software. I really don't hangout on any one freq. just tune around until I hear an interesting conversation then join in. There are alot of new hams because of the dropping of the code requirement and some good deals on used equip. to get started. My setup is a little on the extreme/advanced side but you don't need near what i have to enjoy the hobby. I use to have a couple of 2m rigs but both had problems and the cost of parts far exceeded there value so i don't use them anymore. I actually sold one to a ham on ebay; he had one that wouldn't receive and mine didn't xmit. So he was going to try and make one good one. I started out building my equipment but don't do that much anymore. Being 12 yrs old I didn;t have much money an old ham down the street helped me out. To this day I am still amzed i can sit down at my rigs and with a flip of a switch listen to regular folks all around the world talking to each other. There is only one thing i haven't done that i want to do and that is go on a DXexpedition to a far off country and operate. I guess the best way to get started is through the local Ham Club, there are alot of folks helping the newcomers out.
Those SWLers send me QSL cards all the time and I send one back. So there are a bunch of people that just listen to shortwave broadcasts, there are alot of SW stations xmitting 24x7.

[supro66]

Hi old man

I am WB3JLA

You can find me here

http://forums.qrz.com/index.php


MY SITE

http://www.geocities.com/insp/SUPRO6420.html

[billcreller]

 My brother Norm Creller, W8MPM has been at it since he was about 15 or 16 years old, in the 50s  I don't know what band etc he hangs out on. He is in southern Mich, near Toledo.

[jhadhar65]

Not to hijack, but is that a 3 year old Bill Creller I see there?  Hehe!  You don't still dress like that, do you?  Is that a 6A7 in your shirt pocket?  Cool pic, Bill!

[madison]

Wow, that's a pretty serious shack.
I have been waning to find an Elmer and get into ham forever.
Just a matter of time/finding the time.
Seems everybody here that is 30 and over knows something about ham and/or has a shack.
I believe Japan is #1 in the world for operators?
Guy I used to work with had a set up in his van that he commuted to work in.
When I drive around ,occasionally I see HUGE antennas (transmitters?)  springing out of someone's house.

[sawdust]

Well, the best place to start is your local ham Club, not sure what part of the country your in. I am sure there is one close by. You can also try the ARRL and send them an email asking about clubs in your local area. Also this is an excellent site that might help too; www.qrz.com; click on the Forum.

Dave

[billcreller]

Yes, jhadhar65, that is me in 1934!!  And I don't dress like that anymore ;D   The cool part, is that I still have that stool that I'm sitting on in the photo ;D

 I always wanted a Hammerlund SP600 for listening use.  We had a few hundred of those where I was at in the military. Haven't had the urge to get a ham license, even though I knew Morse quite well years ago.

[Ritchie200]

I do enjoy PSK31 which is a digital mode using the sound card and some software. There is only one thing i haven't done that i want to do and that is go on a DXexpedition to a far off country and operate.

Yeah, I've got an old MFJ Multi-mode that only works with my old computer.  It will decode and display morse code, fax, rtty, and tone burst.  I used to think I was pretty cool years ago when I was downloading satellite weather maps from the military.  It would take 10 minutes for it to scan a full image!  Plus, any QRM and it would lose an entire line!  But I was state of the art back in the 80's! 8)

The only thing that I have been able to do on a self imposed SWexpedition was - I visited WWVH on Kauai.  It is on a military base and was closed to civilians in 1995.  Pretty cool, although my wife was bored to tears and wanted to head back to the beach after the first two minutes!  The science of time constants is quite dry....  Our host was the facility manager and he was really a nice guy although I'm sure he had better things to do than to show my sorry butt around!

Bill, have you scoped out some of the surplus catalogs?  Or even fleabay?  For practical use today, you really need something with a BFO, or you will be missing a lot.  You can get away with spending just a few bucks on a used radio that is still pretty decent!  Plus, if you do find an old Hammerlund, you will just have to do a cap job on it and it will just be like another amp!  Another place to find good used stuff is at a Hamfest.  Usually lots of good deals if you get there early!  I also usually manage to pick up some PT iron and assorted tubes cheap.

Jim

[billcreller]

 
  My brother is bringing me an old DX-160 receiver. I think it's an old Realistic.  It may be OK for listening (?)  He said he re-capped it and aligned it.  He goes to those hamfests and maybe he will let me know when he goes again.

[sawdust]

Cool, I see those Realistic receivers on E bay and at ham fests. I believe there pretty good receivers. Just a long piece of wire and you can hear the world.

[zendragon63]

Nice 'shack' Dave! Reminds me of a past life in the early 70's. Yaseu, Kenwood and, for those fortunate souls, Collins gear. Late nights of CW and endless antenna experiments. Then I heard Richie Blackmore and Jimmy Page and kinda got into the music thing. Fine business and regards.

dennis
WA7TUZ

[Ritchie200]

I am bumping this topic!

I sold my ICOM SW radio several years ago and my Radio Hack/Sangeon from 1988 finally bit the dust.  So I got to looking at new SW radios.  To buy a nice one, I am in the '90's transceiver territory.  Most are rated as excellent in general coverage and are usually 100khz to 30mhz.  So, it got me thinking...dangerous thing...  Why not finally jump in and get my Ham ticket.  No code requirement for my ADD to deal with... AND I can kill two birds with one radio.  I am looking at ICOM 735, 737.  However, I realize there are always issues with "old" radios - even those  that are only 15-20 years old.  I am not stuck on ICOM, but I am a fan.  Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.  Oh, I will be spending my time in the HF bands.

73's
Jim

[Jack_Hester]

I am bumping this topic!

I sold my ICOM SW radio several years ago and my Radio Hack/Sangeon from 1988 finally bit the dust.  So I got to looking at new SW radios.  To buy a nice one, I am in the '90's transceiver territory.  Most are rated as excellent in general coverage and are usually 100khz to 30mhz.  So, it got me thinking...dangerous thing...  Why not finally jump in and get my Ham ticket.  No code requirement for my ADD to deal with... AND I can kill two birds with one radio.  I am looking at ICOM 735, 737.  However, I realize there are always issues with "old" radios - even those  that are only 15-20 years old.  I am not stuck on ICOM, but I am a fan.  Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.  Oh, I will be spending my time in the HF bands.

73's
Jim

Jim -

I did not realize how old this thread was, until you 'bumped' it.  I am an inactive Radio Amateur, though my license is still current.  It comes up for renewal this year.  That's free.  Just got to remember to do it.  I got all the way up to Advanced Class, though that is no longer offered.  I think 15 wpm was the requirement for it, at the time.  The best I could do was 10 - 12 wpm.  Just couldn't break the barrier.  Test was easy to pass, though.  Believe it or not, CW is fun.  You can copy code, in the trashiest of signals, when you'll never hear voice. 

My 'shack' doesn't exist anymore, as it was part of my motorcycle shop.  However, I have an ICOM 745 set up in the house, but stopped listening when the transmit stuck to on, all the time.  That was when I tried to respond to a very interesting QSO between a Postman in Montana, and a trucker.  The Postman was walking his route, using a portable 2 meter to repeat through his HF in his car.  I've done that before, out on the farm, and it works really well. 

I've threatened to fire up an old Swan tube transceiver that I have, that I purchased many years ago from a friend.  His Father was a lifelong HAM, and I have his Swan (don't remember the model), and an ICOM 726 (I think), both never used by me. 

Maybe if you can get on the air with HF, I'll be on the other end.  My primary antenna always wound up being the 80 meter half-wave dipole that I have up about 65 feet.  It's got a vine growing almost up to the wire.  That needs to come off. 

Anyway, post your progress, and I'll post mine.  Maybe some other more experienced HAM's will step in.  Like you, I've been mostly a listener, though making slow CW (code) contacts at night was interesting.  I talked to a couple of guys on Perth, early one morning.  By CW, that is.  Crystal clear. 

So, jump in.  There are an amazing number of new HAM's happening.  They just posted a whole list of them in my company newsletter.  The majority of whom started within the past 2 or 3 years.  I didn't realize the interest was still there. 

Jack

[Ritchie200]

Thanks Jack!

I also noticed that this thread is SIX years old!  Wow!  I would be more than happy to take that 745 off your hands.  I spent a lot of time poking around CB's modifying them to do what may have been illegal things back in the 70's.....so I would not be afraid to roll up my sleeves on an ICOM!  That would be an ideal "first" radio!  Yes, we will have to hook up down the road.  I still have a long way to go!  Yeah, I realize the advantages of code.  I tried to learn it back in the 60's with great effort and again several times over the years.  Seems like there was always something getting in the way.  I may still do it - just because!  I do have an Elmer, but he is no help with new equipment.  He is still burning tubes in his 60's Heathkit rig (transmitter, receiver, and linear), but spends most of his time on 2M with a handheld.  I gave him a big rack (that I used to use for my amp rig) for his gear and outboard equipment so he has promised to help me get going (he would have done it for free, but he is determined now!).  I will also be helping him put up a tower in his back yard.  He has the base poured and tower ready to tip up.  We will probably finish up this spring.  I think he has forgotten more about antennas and propagation than I will ever read.  I will pick his brain until he throws me out!  (That vine on your dipole is keeping the radiation angle low! )  He was an F4 pilot in the Air Force and with budget cuts in the 70's he had to transfer to a C4 as a radio guy to stay in and keep up his hours.  Really an interesting guy - kind of like most of the Hams that I have talked to! 

I need to get my tests out of the way.  I've just ordered the study guides from MFJ.  I have trolled fleabay for radios but the prices seem high with "I'm listing this for a friend and it lights up, no guarantee.." or "Estate sale, looks good no idea if it works, no guarantee..."  I would rather buy from a ham, preferably local.  Eham has a classified section too that I have been keeping an eye on.  The next hamfest close to me is still a few months off.  That will give me time to take the tests.  I used to know every nuance of ham radio back in the 60's.  I do remember the Advanced Class!  It seems this is a whole new world now and I feel like a total beginner.  Really makes me feel old....  That and how many of the grand old manufacturers are now long gone. 

I've seen a few VERY hot discussions online about how dropping the code has turned Ham into a glorified CB hangout.  From what I have read, the numbers were WAY down until they dropped the code.  If this has caused a resurgence, that is good for manufacturers and operators alike.  New, better equipment, economy of scale keeping the price of antennas and outboard gear cheap - I see positives here.  It seems the airwaves are pretty well policed so hopefully the riffraff will be kept in check.  Of course I am speaking as a newbie looking at this as an opportunity to finally delve into a hobby that was put on hold because of the code requirement.  Someone who has spent hours slaving over a bug and a homemade practice oscillator, probably has a different view - and rightfully so.  That was a pretty exclusive club with well earned decorations.  I look at it like this...  Back in the 60's I learned how to use a slide rule when I was about 10.  Man, I thought I was going to be so far ahead of everyone else, engineering schools would be begging me to attend!  Then that darn calculator came along and ruined everything....

Jim

[Jack_Hester]

Jim -

Dropping the code is probably the reason that the interest level is up.  I believe that the Novice Class went away.  A shame, as it was one of the most interesting.  My Advanced Class did too, but I'm allowed to keep it.  Even though I had Advanced privileges, I practiced my code on those bands/frequencies.  And stayed there, for the most part.  At the slow pace, I could sit back and copy, just like having a normal conversation (though it may have taken an hour to get maybe 15 minutes worth said). 

I never chased Extra Class, again, when the code went away.  No challenge, and I had more bands to talk on than I could possibly ever use.

Sorry, I can't let go of the 745.  It was my first HF, sold to me by a long time HAM.  He wants it, if I ever decide to let it go.  He is a County Hunter, and bought it at a 'fest up in the Pacific Northwest, while on one of his many road trips chasing counties.  He's made contact with every county in the U.S., several times over, and has been in all but the ones in Hawaii.  I rode with him one time on a day trip, here in N.Carolina, and I don't know how he survives.  Riding, talking in CW with the key on the seat, and making a verbal record in a small cassette recorder.  Ran off the road several times, but would not let me drive.  Didn't go with him on those, anymore. 

When you at least get your Technician ticket, there may be some HF opened up to that class now.  If so, that may be a chance to do some QRP on one of those bands/frequencies.  I'll make myself bone-up on my code, just for the occasion.  A straight key is fine, but a paddle keyer is much easier.  You can actually send faster than you can copy.  Be careful.  The guy/gal on the other end may respond just as fast. 

Anyway, I took the day off to take the wife for a doctor visit.  When I get home, I'll start digging through gear and pull something to drop in place of the 745.  And, I'll start looking at the Swan.  Maybe even plan to bring it up on the lamp limiter, to see if it has life.  Same for the SS gear that I decide to use. 

Talking about 2-meter, I've got a bunch of 'vintage' SS 2-meter gear.  Great big station-sized stuff, that I know works.  Just for nostalgia, I may put it in place of the small, modern 2-meter radios that took it's place.  I went through the same spells of wanting new to replace old, even when the old worked just fine.  Now, the old has character. 

I'll stick a shortcut to this thread on my desktop.  Have a good one.

Jack

[Ritchie200]

Jack, you are WAY ahead of me at this point!  I dont expect to be emitting any RF until early summer.

Is there a SUPER QRS section on any of the bands?

Jim

[Jack_Hester]

Jack, you are WAY ahead of me at this point!  I dont expect to be emitting any RF until early summer.

Is there a SUPER QRS section on any of the bands?

Jim

Yes.  Anywhere that you find me.  I stayed slow, regardless of where I eventually reached (the barrier). 

Maybe that's why I didn't pursue Extra Class.  I was having all the enjoyment that I needed, in the Novice and Tech portions of the bands. 

This is my heads-up to go look and my gear (been quite a while).  I'll slip out to the shop later, to look at the Swan.  No idea of what I have there. 

And, I'm looking at the latest US Amateur Radio Bands:

http://www.arrl.org/band-plan

Get your Technician ticket, and you can operate on some HF frequencies.  10 Meters, for voice.  15, 40, and 80 Meters, for CW.  Pretty much like the old Novice ticket would allow.  I would have to re-learn propagation all over again.  CW, the same.  I think that I've got voice down, fairly well, if you can understand 'Southern drawl'. 

Voice (phone) would be a challenge on 10 Meters, most of the time.  But, it does clear up. 

And no, I'm not way ahead of you.  I just happen to have the license and the gear.  I'd have to get something up and running, and then get me up and running on something.  You keep at it, and I'll make the same effort.  More to come.  Have a good one.

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Well, I'm at an age where self-doubt is the norm.  Went out to the shop to look for the IC-726.  It ain't to be found.  I'm wondering now if I ever had one.  At least, I put my hands on the 725.  But, in looking for the 726, I took a closer look at the Swan.  I'm thinking that I want to warm this one up on the lamp limiter, with dummy load attached to the output, to key up the transmitter and see what happens. 

If all seems normal with it, I'll begin the process of installing it where the 745 is now resting.  And, see how it tunes up on the dipole.  But mostly, to listen to what I've been missing.  Hope it's a good one.  It was an active radio, before the owner died. 

I did find some neat old SS FM transceivers (all ICOM, too).  A couple 251A's, and another couple that I did not take the time to record their model numbers.  But, very cool looking, for old SS.  I'll take a closer look this evening, and write the numbers down.

Jack

[Ritchie200]

Your wife's not going to call me and cuss me out, is she?  Or will she call and thank me for getting you out of her hair!

Wow, sounds like you have the ICOM motherload there!  Stand back from the Swan!  Eh, what could be the worst?  New filter caps?  Ok, maybe a few electrolytics?  Ok, maybe a LOT of electrolytics!

Jim

[Jack_Hester]

Your wife's not going to call me and cuss me out, is she?  Or will she call and thank me for getting you out of her hair!

Wow, sounds like you have the ICOM motherload there!  Stand back from the Swan!  Eh, what could be the worst?  New filter caps?  Ok, maybe a few electrolytics?  Ok, maybe a LOT of electrolytics!

Jim

Never thought about it, but all were dirt cheap before ebay drove the price out of the ceiling.  And, I never think about what I've collected, until someone wakes me up.

I'll treat the Swan like an old amp, and bring it back easy, fixing as I go (if need be).  The old SS, the same way. 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Got the Swan out yesterday, after work.  So, it's sitting on a tabletop in the shop.  Found the camera, so sometime in the morning, I'll snap a couple pics.  Then, on the lamp limiter for a little soak time.  Sure hope it's ok.  I'm going to get the IC-725 out, too, and put it on the limiter.  I've never fired either up, so tomorrow may be a busy day. 

They're calling for 50% chance of precip/snow tomorrow, but the temps are supposed to be in the 40's at some point.  I should be able to get at least one of them up and running.  There's another similar thread going on over on 'The Amp Garage', and one of the guys is encouraging some or all to get on the air.  Seems like there are quite a few of us inactive HAM's about.  When I am able to get on the air, I'll let you know the time and frequency, so that you can tune in. 

My callsign will be KS4VS (kilo sierra 4 victor sierra). 

Jack

[Jack_Hester]

Ok.  The Swan has begun it's journey back to the living (I hope).  It's on the lamp limiter for awhile.  I'll tend to some other amp projects, in the meantime, and swap from the 25 watt to a 40 watt, in a little while.  More to come.

Jack

[Ritchie200]

Wow, too cool!  I love the old radios.  What is that green toggle switch?  What do you have stored away for an antenna?

Jim

[Jack_Hester]

Wow, too cool!  I love the old radios.  What is that green toggle switch?  What do you have stored away for an antenna?

Jim

The green toggle switch and the pot with the small knob, just to it's right, are mods that the original owner added (or had it done).  All the literature is with the manual.  I haven't studied any of it yet.  A bit intimidated by a tube radio.  A quick scan of the setup gave plenty of warnings as to the damage that could be done to certain tubes, if procedures are not adhered to. 

But, I'm going to give it a try.  My concern is solely based on my not wanting to damage some vintage equipment. 

I have antenna's already in place, though my 80 meter dipole is the one that I always used.  Tunes up quick, though the orientation (North/South, end to end) gives me the strongest signals.  I can get into Europe easily.  South America and Canada comes in quite strong at times.  My others are little homemade antennas that work very well for QRP.  I bought a rather large beam from a friend, that needed a major rebuild.  Never got to it.  The dipole is so convenient. 

Sometime this week, the IC-725 goes on the limiter.  I'll post a picture of it, as well.  More to come.  Have a good one.

Jack

[Ritchie200]

Ok, it has taken me a year but I gave myself a Christmas present.  I had been looking for an Icom 765 or 761 as I love the old bricks and these were the best of the old beasts.  Problem was, the ones I found were either junk or the owners were wanting to retire on the sale...  Soooo, I happened to run across a Icom 736.  I had never considered it as they are super performers, rare as hens teeth, and are highly coveted - and VERY $$$$$.  This one came from a silent key and was sold as parts due to the automatic tuner will not tune - everything else is fine with with full output 160 to 6 meter.  General coverage 300 to 60.  Looking at the common problems from ICOM, there are some caps and possibly some diodes that toast if you accidentally try to tune....nothing...  Sure enough, toasted caps.  Looks like I will have a fully functional radio for pennies on the dollar for this rare gem.


Bought a Radio Works, Carolina Windom 160.  It is 265ft long and I paced off what I thought were two perfect huge trees before I ordered it.  Unrolled it and found I need another 15 ft.....darn....  Soooo, instead of a flat top or slight V, I am going to have a living room drape!!!! (W)    We will see how this works...  Used a slingshot, a big socket wrench socket (perfect size and weight), and kit string to pull the antenna cord and pulley up in the trees.  Almost a youtoob moment when I tried my first tree shot.  The kite string got caught in the slingshot rubber band at the pouch and the socket came back at my face at what seemed like 500ft/sec.  It took every fiber of my old man reaction time to get out of the way.  I can...almost...laugh about it now....


Performance:  I have 3 fence chargers for the horse pastures.  The antenna runs directly over one, is about 60ft from another, and is about 100ft from the third.  The noise floor on this radio is un-fricken-believable.  Not a single click, pop, or whistle.  I have picked up Hams from all over world and some SW stations I've never heard on my old SW radio so the antenna appears to be working on the receive side.  I have the radio apart now to do the cap replacement.  I will have my ELMER stop by to fire it up so we be legal as I don't have a dummy load.  Test at the local club in a few weeks so I should be talking with a call sign before the end of this month or the next.  I am using the MFJ answer study books but I know pretty much all of it.  I will keep taking the tests and see how high I get.  The Extra test is pretty...extra special!  Wish me luck!  I will post pics when it finds a permanent home (in my daughter's bedroom when she goes back to college!).


Jim

[Jack_Hester]

Test at the local club in a few weeks so I should be talking with a call sign before the end of this month or the next.  I am using the MFJ answer study books but I know pretty much all of it.  I will keep taking the tests and see how high I get.  The Extra test is pretty...extra special!  Wish me luck!  I will post pics when it finds a permanent home (in my daughter's bedroom when she goes back to college!).

Jim -

That's what I did.  I took the Novice and Technician class test at a HAMfest in Shelby, NC.  That got me on the air.  Took the General and Advanced class a month or so later.  So, I went from a Technician class to an Advanced class in two sittings. 

Never could break the code barrier for the Extra.  I could copy 15 WPM, but not the 20 required for the Extra.  Now, no code is required at all.  And, the Advanced class no longer exists, but for those that hold it.  Decided to keep my Advanced license, and not go for the Extra.  Just something about holding a ticket that's no longer offered. 

Anyway, good luck with the tests.  You won't have any trouble getting them all. 

Jack

[Ritchie200]

Passed my Technician and General exams tonight - Wooohooo!   Only missed three total for both.  They were trying to get me to take the Extra, but I have not studied that material and I didn't want to upset the fabric of my good fortune juju!  My pops would be proud.

Jim

[Willabe]

Passed my Technician and General exams tonight - Wooohooo!   Only missed three total for both.

   

[sluckey]

Feels good, don't it!   

Good job.

[Jack_Hester]

Fine business!  It can get you into as much trouble as tubes amps can.  But, that's never stopped us, before.

Jack

[Ritchie200]

Thank you guys! Yes it does feel good.  However....  I took the test at a local club member's house.  He is in his 80's and has been a Ham since he was a teen.  One corner of his shack has a wall unit that is dedicated to his "bug" collection.  He has over 200 and is an avid CW guy.  I feel guilty because ever since I was a kid I wanted to get my license, but as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I could never do it - because of the CW requirements.  Now in one fell swoop I have almost as much access as he does, and I'm SURE he has spent hours and hours, if not years, pounding brass to get those ratings.  I have the ultimate respect for those guys.

However, my selfish side is going, this is too cool!

Jim 

[billcreller]

Nice goin' !!

[supro66]

I am getting out
I have a Yaesu 401B
a Yaesu 101E
I got  Ameritron Al-80 amplafier


 

[Ritchie200]

I knew I was gonna piss your wife off!!!  Now who am I gonna talk to?!?!?!


Seriously, what gives?  I would love to have the linear, but my antenna cant handle 1K and the price I'm sure you will want, my wallet cant handle either!


I hope all is well,
Jim 

[zendragon63]

I am always a little late to the party but congratulations Jim. The amateur radio fraternity is a pretty great bunch of folks and they do much good in the community that often gets by the radar--until there is an emergency. Enjoy. Regards

dennis

[Ritchie200]

Thank you Dennis!  Yes, without a doubt it is an extremely friendly group of enthusiasts - similar to this board!  And, like everything else, the old timers are a wealth of information with stories to last a lifetime.  Well spent time together with these folks.    It is definitely an "older" crew that seems to be rapidly dwindling to silent keys.  Its too easy for kids to pick up a phone, text, or email to the other side of the world - why do it the hard way!  I hope to get my kids interested.


Jim
KE0CXH (always wanted to say "xray" and "hotel"! )

[supro66]

I am getting out
I have a Yaesu 401B
a Yaesu 101E
I got  Ameritron Al-811 amplafier


 

Ok I lied I got the radios out of the basement cleaned them up put up the antenna on a 20 ft ladder
Tuned it up
THEN I MADE ONE BIG MISTAKE
I keyed the mic and started talking all over the world again
I got the bug again
this is a Ham radio amp 1.8K volts in them tubes 800 watts output

[Ritchie200]

   Kind of like amp building, eh?


Jim

[Jack_Hester]

This topic has been kinda dormant.  I hope it doesn't die. 

I was out in the yard this morning, trimming on the old pecan tree that fell.  I'm leaving one half alone, as it was still alive.  The other half is mostly limbed up.  Tightened up the wife's clothes lines a couple days ago, as the living half stretched them a bit.  That's when I started looking at my antenna pole.  It's 65' above ground, with a half-wave 80 meter dipole at the top.  One side of this dipole had fallen awhile back, and was wrapped in vines.  So, I spent maybe a couple hours getting this half down, de-vined, and back up in the trees.  I now have a functional dipole in the air.  This stopped all yard work for the day.

I removed the old Icom IC-745 and slipped the IC-725 in its place.  Man, have I got to refresh my memory on how this stuff works.  Even though I don't remember my CW, I got the key working for tune-up.  I have an MFJ Versa Tuner V (Model MFJ-989C) in series with the antenna selector and the radio.  Typically, I will tune up or down away from the frequency that I want to operate, until no voice or CW is heard.  Then, I switch to CW and key at low power, adjusting the tuner for max forward power and min reflected.  When I'm there, then I tune back to the frequency and start my CQ call. 

This radio has 26 pre-set channels that had some frequencies already in there.  I listened to 40 meters, 7.28 MHz for a bit, as they had a net up until 15:00 hrs. EST.  I'm now listening to 7.136 MHz, a net going on up in NY state.  Didn't realize how much I missed listening.  There were calls coming in from quite a few places all over N.Americal.  There's a French speaking fellow on there right now, but I can't tell if he's from Canada or France.  I haven't caught his callsign. 

Just tuned to 7.114 MHz CW.  Nice and slow.  I'll understand it, again, someday.  Got a few bits and pieces out of it.  I caught his calling CQ ( -.-.  --.- ). 

Anyway, very productive day.  Not much done.  But, more than I expected.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[sluckey]

It's nice to hear that someone else has clothes lines.

[Jack_Hester]

Yep.  If the sun is out, the dryer don't run.  Even on freezing cold days, the clothes dry just fine. 

Jack

[sluckey]

Hey, we got drying racks for cloudy days!  We mostly only use the dryer to fluff them up a bit. I bought my Whirlpool dryer new in '74. Replaced a few parts thru the years. Surprisingly, parts are still available! Still running strong.

[Ritchie200]

Jack,

I've been kind of dormant!  After fiddle farting around with my Icom 736 and getting nowhere, I finally sent it off to Tim Moes (Midwest Technical Services) in South Dakota this week.  He is an Icom wizard.  If you remember I bought it knowing that it had a problem, but it turns out the issue is not what the seller told me...  I have a chunk of frequencies that are gone on receive or will come in and fizzle out after a few minutes.  It also has some dodgy readout segments.  I'll just have him go through it, repair and align it.  He should have it done before Christmas, so that will be my present to me!   I also raised the center feed to about 65ft on my Carolina Windom, so hopefully that will give me even better performance.

I've been talking on my Baofungus  , but there is just not much activity around here - even on the local repeater.

Jim

[Jack_Hester]

Just received an adapter cable and driver(s) to connect my Icom to the computer.  There's any number of pieces of software out there, to control the radio from my Windows machine.  But, I'm hoping that I will be able to find a nice one to operate from my Fedora Linux drive.  I built my computer with docking stations, so that I can swap out drives.  When I installed Windows 8 (big mistake), I installed a docking station for laptop (2.5") drives.  I upgraded to Windows 10 (some better than 8, but not by much), and also created another Fedora drive.  The nice thing about laptop hard drives is that they are shirt pocket size.  Put it in an anti-static bag, and slip it in your pocket. 

Anyway, maybe I can try out the radio with one or both operating systems, this afternoon.  Looking forward to breaking the ice, and becoming active on the radio.  I've been listening out for some QSO's on topic interests related to that of the members here.  More to come.  Have a good one. 

Jack

[boots]

Hi guys,

I have been licensed as WA7VHW since 1973.  I have a modest station set up now and would love to have on-the -air contacts with some other amp builders.  I can get on 40, 20, and 15 meters.

Don (aka Boots)