Why is advocating something mean that they do it? he could just appreciate the service Ham Radio operators do in a time of stressed communications.

I advocate flying your own airplane, but never completed my license.
I advocate having acreage and a small house with a big porch and have neither.

So, advocating something and being that something are not necessarily going together.

 

Well for all those nay sayers of GB at least most of us here know that he speaks the truth.
If the feces really has a nasty encounter with the fan we know the hams will be the only line of communication.

Bottom line: Go out and become a Ham.........................

 

I'm kind of different. If I advocate something, then it is something I am doing myself or currently pursuing. It seems very incongruent to advocate that people should be debt free or pursuing it while I go deeper and deeper into it.

Thats just me.....

 

I am an Extra. My wife is a tech. My two girls WILL be taking the test in February.

 

Yep - there are a lot of hams that frequent this forum.

I'm Advanced Class

 

Angie, advanced? You are the old school. Does that not fall between general and extra? If so, why not finish it out? Then again, my wife as a tech...that is all she wants to do is 2 meter and 440.

 

Old school. Test with code in front of the FCC for General and for Advanced.
San Francsico - General; I think Detroit for Advanced. about 1972.
The reason I don't go from Advanced is just what this thread shows - it's recognized that I did it the harder than now way. Old school. A bit of pride in the accomplishment of sending and receiving 13 WPM, and the techinal test.

My Dad's an Extra of the old school variety - since the inception of that license. He was a Ham since I was 2 months old.
My hubby was a ham, he went extra, old style also. But he is dead since 2007.

So, I've been surrounded by Ham radio since I was 2 months old.
I guess I'm real old school.

I did get Tech at first to use for communications in the same manner we use cell phones now.
Lordy - it use to take then-hubby and I three days to wire a car for low band and high band; amplifier; dual batteries, etc when we'd change cars.
Or putting up antennas in cold, damp, drizzly, weather with Dad. pretty day antennas are not as effective for some reason.

Blowing out a paper capacitor with my voice as I'd not turned the gain down on the microphone when in the car.
Or going aeronautical 2m mobile in 1982 - wonderful stuff.

Getting in touch with family here in Huntsville Area from Michigan when the 1972 or 3 night of tornados went through and took 3 of their 4 buildings. Fortunately the house was barely damaged, but I did not hear from them for 3 days and ham radio came through.

Or the ASRAN's with 2 m when weather was coming and the ham weather spotters would be reporting.

And slow scan tv from MARS in 1980 or 1981 with our house equipment.

Just a few of the things I remember about old school ham radio.

PS: My novice was send and receive code at 5 wpm. with a non-relative higher licensed ham. Then tech the written in front of a higher licensed ham.

 

I'm a General and my wifie has her Tech.....all 4 young'uns are Techs as well.

 

Well maybe that fella is sitting in a room full of receivers, trying to be a SWL (short wave listener).... Or he could be a 'Bootlegger'? Could it be, he has a license under a different name???

Another old school 'Advanced Class' Licensee here also, and I've been a ham for over 33+ years now. I have and still work lots of CW (morse code) on the HF bands. Talked to the Space Shuttle, helped a friend with 440 MHz E.M.E. (Earth-Moon-Earth signal bounce), done umpteen 'Field Day' sites, done rare VHF/ UHF Grid Square Expeditions, I work HF mobile from my pickup trucks, and can't remember how many times I worked HF portable/ VHF-UHF mountain topping from out in the boonies with a battery powered QRP rig.

Started off as a 'Novice", then General (took the test at the FCC in Detroit), went to Advanced (took that test in L.A. when one still had to test morse code and written theory in front of the FCC - no Volunteer Examineers). I never needed to upgrade to an Extra Class like my Uncle was, in order to get that extra 25 KHz on the HF (80, 40, 20, and 15 meters) CW and Phone band allocations.

 

I am a little confused on what the requirements are for getting your ham license, I think there is more to it than just paying for it and getting a booklet that you keep in your tackle box, like a fishing license. It is possible that Beck may get a ham license some time in the future. He has alot of irons in the fire now between his radio show (5days a week 4 hours a day), his TV show (5 days a week), book writing and book tours, stage shows alone and with Bill Oriely, special projects like 8-28 and the new one for the town out in the midwest that has had the huge job losses, and he does much more if you include his familly time and church. I bet this man gets almost no sleep. If he has expressed intrest in hams, sooner or later he will find the time to get a license. Especially if it means he can get his message out when the bad days come.

 

I'm a General and my wifie has her Tech.....all 4 young'uns are Techs as well.

Congratulations on your Hamily. When my girls were born, I had pink QSL style cards printed and put the particulars of the new Harmonic on them and sent out to the friends and family.

 

hey radiofish - the last house I lived in married, we had a 100 ft skyneedle with directional antenna for 40M and I think 75M with heavy duty rotor on it.

I really liked the slow scan tv. Watching the Mars rover without a network news station on, in that funky greenish- yellowish color and seeing the video line trace on the monitor.

did you ever get a Golden Eagle D104? I have one around here somewhere packed away (I'm not active ham at this time).

 

I am a little confused on what the requirements are for getting your ham license, I think there is more to it than just paying for it and getting a booklet that you keep in your tackle box, like a fishing license. It is possible that Beck may get a ham license some time in the future. He has alot of irons in the fire now between his radio show (5days a week 4 hours a day), his TV show (5 days a week), book writing and book tours, stage shows alone and with Bill Oriely, special projects like 8-28 and the new one for the town out in the midwest that has had the huge job losses, and he does much more if you include his familly time and church. I bet this man gets almost no sleep. If he has expressed intrest in hams, sooner or later he will find the time to get a license. Especially if it means he can get his message out when the bad days come.

http://www.hello-radio.org/becomeaham.html

If you can find a ham radio club near you - find out when they meet. Let them know you are interested and you'll have lots that want to help you. Your mentor is called an "Elmer", they can help drill you on the technical aspects and when ready lead to to a testing time, usually Ham Fests will have tests given (or they use to). There are books that have virtually all the test questions that can help you focus what you learn to past the test - THEN your real education and fun starts. It was probably more fun when more built their radio equipment.

And it's as expensive as you want it to be, or can be not too expensive depending on what you want to do.

and here's some more ham info
http://www.arrl.org/qst

Angie

 

I'm wondering what would be the consequences if a person bought a ham rig, and never got licensed... and if/when the shtf for good, and the grid were down, then they started to use it.

If there were no govt., who'd come 'knocking' asking for a license? Would the handful of survivors across the globe, who happened to have ham radio, not want to talk with someone without a license?

Would they not be able to, in this PAW (post apocalyptic world) 'fake' a license, if the handful were only talking amongst the licensed?

Any fears by current ham operators, that in a PAW, that someone could triangulate on their position while they broadcasted? OPSEC?

I've priced the one I'd like, and I'd love to get it... I just spent 10K this week, and needless to say, that's a good chunk of my disposable income. (Sawmill and accessories, new digital camera for work).

 

During WWII ham radios were seized from licensed hams to prevent 5th column activities. I believe they were returned after the crisis passed.

Might be best to be unlicensed if you should want to keep them for when you need them; however, you might be viewed as a spy.

 

Advanced class here. Haven't gone Extra because I like the way it shows I got mine. Get your license and learn how to use the equipment. Or buy a gun and reloading stuff, put it in the closet and forget about it, when SHTF pull it out and start learning how to reload with Zombies coming across the front yard.LOL

 

Glenn Beck advocates canning too, but I don't think he has learned,yet. I never knew one had to get a Liscense to be a Ham Operator.

 

texican - most legal hams do not appreciate and respond well to 'boot leggers". That is one reason why ham is not as CB became.

An unlicensed Ham is a CB'er with different equipment.


After the meltdown - it may be different. But in non-complete collapse situations, you probably will not get too many legal hams to talk to you.

 

why does Beck need a ham radio? He's got every other airwave in the nation blasting his voice everywhere. I doubt if he has much extra time right now anyway.

 

Angie - I don't have a "Golden Eagle D-104" microphone, just several of the plane Jane chrome Astatic D-104 and 10-D hi-impediance microphones for my rigs. That and a bunch of the Shure 444 desk microphones, that I use with my R.L. Drake, Collins, and Heathkit rigs.

Texican, one can operate portable or mobile, to keep those looking to triangulate or using transmitter hunting techniques to keep them guessing as to your location (QTH). Who needs a 10K dollar radio?? You can get started in ham radio for just a few hundred dollars, or the sky is the limit if you have the disposable income to buy one of them new fangled computer controlled push button golly gee radios.

Spotting a 'Boot Legger' on Ham Radio is much easier than one would think, upon hearing poor operating practices. Plus I never encounter one on HF CW using morse code, since it seems all that they want to do is pick up a microphone and start talking using voice transmissions.

Palani - you should really research your facts before making wide sweeping statements. The FCC did not do any wide spread confiscations of any ham radios during WWII. The FCC did prohibit any transmissions by American ham radio operators, yet receivers were allowed to be used the general public. Yes some hams did donate their equipment to be used by the military. Where do you think many of the hams in the US at the start of the war (December 7th, 1941) went during WWII? Most of them including my maternal grandfather went into the Armed Forces, to operate/ repair equipment, and to train additional radio operators.

 

http://www.hello-radio.org/becomeaham.html

If you can find a ham radio club near you - find out when they meet. Let them know you are interested and you'll have lots that want to help you. Your mentor is called an "Elmer", they can help drill you on the technical aspects and when ready lead to to a testing time, usually Ham Fests will have tests given (or they use to). There are books that have virtually all the test questions that can help you focus what you learn to past the test - THEN your real education and fun starts. It was probably more fun when more built their radio equipment.

And it's as expensive as you want it to be, or can be not too expensive depending on what you want to do.

and here's some more ham info
http://www.arrl.org/qst

Angie

Thanks Angie for all the great info!

 

Palani - you should really research your facts before making wide sweeping statements. The FCC did not do any wide spread confiscations of any ham radios during WWII.

If I am wrong I stand corrected.


http://www.radioclubs.net/northlincsraynet/articles.php?articles_id=459

During WWII all ham radio equipment was confiscated, in order to lessen the threat of espionage. The wartime government were however very generous to many hams, providing them with brand new stare-of-the-art equipment. The downside of this was that said equipment would be attached to the inside of a Blenheim bomber, Sherman tank or destroyer!

 

I'm wondering what would be the consequences if a person bought a ham rig, and never got licensed... and if/when the shtf for good, and the grid were down, then they started to use it.

Nothing illegal about buying a ham radio, Nothing ilegal about listening to ham radio. as for transmitting when the SHTF, buts it depends on what SHTF menas to you. IF there is no government/FCC then who's going to stop you but who you going to talk to?

Buying a radio and stock piling it without knowing how to use it is a poor options, kind of like buying a gun for TEOTWAWKI and never firing it. YOu hope it works but if you dont practice with it and make sure its still working how will you know.

 

Hubby and I got our Tech license's a few weeks ago. We don't have a radio yet though. We also have Garmin Rino's and a GMRS license for those. Our goal this year was to beef up our Comm preps since we were really lacking in that area. The last thing on the list is to become more proficient in sign language.

KN0NBS

 

During WWII all ham radio equipment was confiscated, in order to lessen the threat of espionage. The wartime government were however very generous to many hams, providing them with brand new stare-of-the-art equipment. The downside of this was that said equipment would be attached to the inside of a Blenheim bomber, Sherman tank or destroyer!

Yup Palani, they did that in England as per your link. Wrong side of the Atlantic.