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Thread: Amateur Radio

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drang View Post
    ARRL is making a big deal about the Amateur Radio Parity Act.
    What they don't tell you is that in order to get it passed they watered it down so that you can put up an antenna IF the HOA says you can, and if the HOA says you're good with a mag mount 440 antenna on your fridge, then that's it.
    Actually, the HOA wasn't an issue at all. As long as the antenna wasn't visible from the street, they didn't care. I had a nice HF 4-band vertical in my backyard with a proper array of ground radials (a bit lopsided due to property lines, but still good) and fed with better coax than I needed for those frequencies (wanted minimal loss for QRP ops). I got out and was heard when I bothered to get on the air. However, being in an "aluminum siding canyon" limited the directions in which I was effective. Also, the layout of my house limited where I could run the feed line without running it up the side of the house and in through a window. Therefore, I either had to be uncomfortable (operating from the basement) or in a noisy environment (in the family room). I did more listening than transmitting and after a few years barely touched the rig at all.


    Quote Originally Posted by Drang View Post
    DSTAR is moribund, to say they least.

    My club was HUGE into DSTAR, and still runs a DSTAR repeater, and net. It helps that ICOM is a half hour or so from here. (well, 45 minutes. On a good day...)

    The issues you cite are common: Lots of folks getting licensed because they want to operate 2m/1.25m/70cm handheld, as part of CERT/S&R, etc. So they get a technician license and don't even think of going further.

    Which is fine, as far as it goes, and some of them will discover contesting, CW, DX, etc. I myself got into amateur radio for EmCom, and that remains my primary interest. I have an HF rig, but have not set it up, and it will probably be a while before I do, to say the least. But after last nights meeting we were discussing the possibility club events besides Field Day, meetings, EmComm, and the occasional Public Service event. Can we run a contest as a club?Or have one of the DXers with a decent shack host a DX party? We're in Western Washington for pete's sake, maybe we could do a club Summits On The Air excursion. (Pacific Northwest Summits On The Air.org)


    Those interested in improving the state of amateur radio in the US may be interested in this site: myARRLvoice
    I got into radio for the tech and science of it (low power, high power, satellite, moon bounce, etc). Then, I discovered QRP and got all hot and bothered about "doing more with less". The idea of having a portable station that could run off available power (battery, solar, AC mains, etc) was fascinating. I have a modified Yaesu FT-817nd and love it. I built a tuner from a kit years ago and have used it to tune all sorts of things in order to get on the air. Summits on the Air sounds interesting. I always found Mountaintopping interesting as well. My club was fairly active with local region service comms, hamfest and field day activities, and group participation in contesting. I just too busy with life and a bit burned out with the constant DSTAR talk.

    But I don't like ragchewing, which means I have limited utility for my radios when I'm not building or experimenting.

    Chris

  2. #12
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    Jul 2015
    Location
    Oklahoma
    Quote Originally Posted by mtnbkr View Post
    Actually, the HOA wasn't an issue at all. As long as the antenna wasn't visible from the street, they didn't care. I had a nice HF 4-band vertical in my backyard with a proper array of ground radials (a bit lopsided due to property lines, but still good) and fed with better coax than I needed for those frequencies (wanted minimal loss for QRP ops). I got out and was heard when I bothered to get on the air. However, being in an "aluminum siding canyon" limited the directions in which I was effective. Also, the layout of my house limited where I could run the feed line without running it up the side of the house and in through a window. Therefore, I either had to be uncomfortable (operating from the basement) or in a noisy environment (in the family room). I did more listening than transmitting and after a few years barely touched the rig at all.




    I got into radio for the tech and science of it (low power, high power, satellite, moon bounce, etc). Then, I discovered QRP and got all hot and bothered about "doing more with less". The idea of having a portable station that could run off available power (battery, solar, AC mains, etc) was fascinating. I have a modified Yaesu FT-817nd and love it. I built a tuner from a kit years ago and have used it to tune all sorts of things in order to get on the air. Summits on the Air sounds interesting. I always found Mountaintopping interesting as well. My club was fairly active with local region service comms, hamfest and field day activities, and group participation in contesting. I just too busy with life and a bit burned out with the constant DSTAR talk.

    But I don't like ragchewing, which means I have limited utility for my radios when I'm not building or experimenting.

    Chris
    I got my license a year ago. So far I haven't used it a whole lot but as easy and cheap as it was to obtain, why not?

    Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

  3. #13
    Site Supporter hufnagel's Avatar
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    If anyone bumps into W2OR any time, tell him the former owner's grandson says "HI!"
    Dude apparently met my grandfather WAY back in the day.
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  4. #14
    Got my extra almost 20 years ago. First contact was HTxHT in my office with a co-worker. That was my last phone contact. Since then it's been all qrp CW. Since my wire broke out of the trees a few years ago I haven't been very active. Perhaps it's time to get a new wire up and get back on...
    "Specialization is for insects." -Robert A. Heinlein

  5. #15
    Excerpt from this morning' blogpost (The Cluemeter: In Ham Radio News:
    From the "Be careful What You Wish For" Department, several years ago we entered a period of reduced solar activity. Hams have been kvetching about how reduced solar activity means reduced (or utterly crappy) propagation. So the news of a new solar storm should have them dancing in their shacks, right?

    Not so much. eHam.net reports: Solar Storm Hits Earth: Four Times Size of Earth Disables Radio Technology:

    Solar storm hits Earth - storm FOUR times size of Earth disables radio technology | Science | News | Express.co.uk

    A HUGE solar flare which was released from a hole in the Sun’s atmosphere temporarily left some radio frequencies disabled, scientists have revealed, and the storm is only getting bigger....

    According to the website Space Weather: “During the past 24 hours, sunspot AR2715 has almost quadrupled in size, growing two dark cores larger than Earth.

    “The active region is now crackling with low-level solar flares.

    “A pulse of extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare briefly ionised the top of Earth's atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean, causing a shortwave radio brownout at frequencies below 10 MHz.

    “People who might have noticed the disturbance include mariners and ham radio operators.”
    eHam serves as a news aggregator for Amateur radio-related news items; it also links to this ARRL news release about coming updates to ARES:

    06/21/2018
    As part of upgrades to the ARES® program, ARRL will phase out traditional hard-copy report forms later this year in favor of an online system, ARES® Connect — a new volunteer management, communication, and reporting system. The system, in beta testing since March in four ARRL sections with large ARES organizations, will allow ARES members to log information for ARRL Field Organization handling but does not change how ARES serves partner organizations. ARES training also is due for enhancement.
    Paperless reporting is good, assuming the system works. You know, like in a disaster where the Internet may be down...

    About that "enhanced training..."

    Changes would encompass additional mandatory training to include ARRL Emergency Communications courses and the now-standard FEMA NIMS/ICS courses IS-100, 200, 700, 800, with IS-300 and 400 for higher levels. Other specialty training could include SKYWARN and agency-specific programs.

    Training levels attained would dovetail with three new levels of ARES participation: Level One would be comprised of all entering the program with no training, while progressing through the ARRL emergency communications training and the FEMA Independent Study courses 100, 200, 700, and 800. Level Two would be attained upon successful completion of these courses, and would be considered the “Standard” level for ARES participants. Level Three would be attained upon completion of the advanced FEMA courses IS 300 and 400, which would qualify candidates for ARES leadership positions.

    Level One participants would be able to fulfill most ARES duties, with a target of attaining Level Two in 1 year. Level Two, the standard participant level, would permit participant access to most incident sites and emergency operations centers (EOCs). Level Three would convey full access as granted by the authority having jurisdiction, plus qualification for ARES leadership.
    Okay, fine.

    But.

    The "ARRL Emergency Communications courses" as they currently exist are a joke. They are online-only. As are the FEMA ICS classes required, and these are commonly acknowledged to be less than ideal as far as actually inculcating the knowledge. (Online training generally doesn't. Train, I mean, although it is handy for checking a block.)

    As for the ARRL classes, you have to request to access them. (Fine.) Then they assign you a mentor -- and this is, notoriously, where the wheels come off. I have heard so many complaints about mentors being unavailable, unresponsive, or dismissive of attempts by their "mentees"* that I have concluded that, in this case at least, there's enough smoke to indicate that there's a three alarm dumpster fire and I won't bother.


    *Really a word: "Mentee." Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed June 22, 2018. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mentee.
    Recovering Gun Store Commando. My Blog: The Clue Meter
    “It doesn’t matter what the problem is, the solution is always for us to give the government more money and power, while we eat less meat.”
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  6. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Drang View Post
    ARRL is making a big deal about the Amateur Radio Parity Act.
    What they don't tell you is that in order to get it passed they watered it down so that you can put up an antenna IF the HOA says you can, and if the HOA says you're good with a mag mount 440 antenna on your fridge, then that's it.
    This bit of info, which I got from a person running for Section Coordinator, may be less than accurate.

    Text - H.R.555 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2017 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
    (4) Federal Communications Commission regulations have for three decades prohibited the application to stations in the amateur service of State and local regulations that preclude or fail to reasonably accommodate amateur service communications, or that do not constitute the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish a legitimate State or local purpose. Commission policy has been and is to require States and localities to permit erection of a station antenna structure at heights and dimensions sufficient to accommodate amateur service communications.

    (5) The Commission has sought guidance and direction from Congress with respect to the application of the Commission’s limited preemption policy regarding amateur service communications to private land use restrictions, including restrictive covenants.

    (6) There are aesthetic and common property considerations that are uniquely applicable to private land use regulations and the community associations obligated to enforce covenants, conditions, and restrictions in deed-restricted communities. These considerations are dissimilar to those applicable to State law and local ordinances regulating the same residential amateur radio facilities.

    (7) In recognition of these considerations, a separate Federal policy than exists at section 97.15(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, is warranted concerning amateur service communications in deed-restricted communities.

    (8) Community associations should fairly administer private land use regulations in the interest of their communities, while nevertheless permitting the installation and maintenance of effective outdoor amateur radio antennas. There exist antenna designs and installations that can be consistent with the aesthetics and physical characteristics of land and structures in community associations while accommodating communications in the amateur radio services.
    According to congress.Gov, HR555 was amended so that (summarized) it says that
    (Sec. 3) This bill directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to amend station antenna structure regulations to prohibit a private land use restriction from applying to amateur radio stations if the restriction:

    precludes communications in an amateur radio service,
    fails to permit a licensee of amateur radio service to install and maintain an effective outdoor antenna on property under its exclusive use or control, or
    is not the minimum practicable restriction to accomplish the lawful purposes of a community association seeking to enforce the restriction.

    Before installing an outdoor antenna, however, an amateur radio licensee must obtain a community association's prior approval. A community association may: (1) prohibit installations on common property not under the exclusive control of the licensee, and (2) establish installation rules for amateur radio antennas and support structures.
    A detailed reading of the bill suggests that the "installation rules for amateur radio antennas and support structures" must not prohibit outside antennas.
    Last edited by Drang; 06-22-2018 at 04:09 PM. Reason: More info
    Recovering Gun Store Commando. My Blog: The Clue Meter
    “It doesn’t matter what the problem is, the solution is always for us to give the government more money and power, while we eat less meat.”
    Glenn Reynolds

  7. #17

    Field Day Report

    Field Day, of course, falls on the 4th Saturday in June. By coincidence (or design, I don't know) the club meets at the local buffet on the 4th Saturday of the month for breakfast: "Hams and Eggs." As long as I've been with the club - about 10 years now -- we met for breakfast, went to the FD site, set up, logged contacts for a few hours, and then shut down for the BBQ/Potluck, after which, like I mentioned before, it was usually time to start tear-down, since previously we were unable to run 24 hours.

    Ironically, this year, our first for a planned 24 hour operation, hardly anyone showed up for Hams and Eggs, and when We Few made it to the site, set up was already well underway. These eager beaver newbies...
    "It's almost 11, we should be on the air!"
    "Well, you might want to relocate your antenna a little farther from the power lines there, high sped."
    "It's safe!"
    "QRM is not your friend."
    He learned... I think.

    We logged a whole 240+/- contacts, which, for a 2A station in the extreme northleft section of the country, is not bad. We worked all of Sections 6 and 7 (not surprising, although our antennas were not oriented to take best advantage of Alaska or Hawaii), all of Section 9 somehow -- but none of 8 -- and parts of 3, 4, and 5. (In 5 we worked Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and all of Texas; missed Louisiana and Mississippi.) We worked most or all of Section 0. ("Hey, we logged both hams in North Dakota!")
    We also logged all of Canada west of Manitoba.
    (ARRL Field Day Section List and Abbreviations)

    We logged a couple of clubs running 10 stations, and at least one 20A!

    The bands pretty much shut down at about 0300; after that, the only people we heard and that could hear us, we had already logged. That sad condition continued after sunup, and consensus agreed to call it a Field Day and break down.
    Last edited by Drang; 06-25-2018 at 07:35 PM.
    Recovering Gun Store Commando. My Blog: The Clue Meter
    “It doesn’t matter what the problem is, the solution is always for us to give the government more money and power, while we eat less meat.”
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  8. #18
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    Jan 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by Drang View Post
    "Hams and Eggs."
    Did you hear me groan reading that? It was a loud one.

    I dropped by our local Field Day around 3:PM. They were struggling to hit OK to close out section 5 bingo.
    I guess OK is too close for HF? Apparently it's a dilemma every year.

    One guy had a man-portable satellite antenna and had successfully hit a satellite repeater... not sure which.
    I bailed by 3:30 and was back in the pool by 3:45... Too hot to be Hammy this weekend.
    "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

  9. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by RoyGBiv View Post
    Did you hear me groan reading that? It was a loud one. .
    I admit to doing a double take when they told me what it was called...

    Quote Originally Posted by RoyGBiv View Post
    I dropped by our local Field Day around 3:PM. They were struggling to hit OK to close out section 5 bingo.
    I guess OK is too close for HF? Apparently it's a dilemma every year..
    It probably is with a standard antenna. If they haven't, they should try an NVIS antenna.

    Quote Originally Posted by RoyGBiv View Post
    One guy had a man-portable satellite antenna and had successfully hit a satellite repeater... not sure which.
    I bailed by 3:30 and was back in the pool by 3:45... Too hot to be Hammy this weekend.
    It was pretty warm for Western Washington. Turned into "June-uary" Sunday, though.

    Lot of fresh blood in the club, and increased interest in club activities. I hope to see more from them. I'm debating dropping a total of $500 or so and putting together a "pedestrian mobile" HF rig...
    Recovering Gun Store Commando. My Blog: The Clue Meter
    “It doesn’t matter what the problem is, the solution is always for us to give the government more money and power, while we eat less meat.”
    Glenn Reynolds

  10. #20
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by Drang View Post
    I admit to doing a double take when they told me what it was called...
    Such jokes are unfortunately commonplace in Amateur Radio.


    Quote Originally Posted by Drang View Post
    It probably is with a standard antenna. If they haven't, they should try an NVIS antenna.
    NVIS is a good idea. Wouldn't take much.


    Quote Originally Posted by Drang View Post
    I'm debating dropping a total of $500 or so and putting together a "pedestrian mobile" HF rig...
    What are you thinking of using? Most of the commercial HF rigs that would be pedestrian-mobile-capable are well over $500 unless you go with one of the Chinese imports (some of which seem to be pretty decent).

    Chris

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