Are there any other Hams here?

[kb0nes]

I was curious if there are any other amateur radio operators or people interested in radio electronics that lurk here.

I've long been interested in audio electronics/HiFi and I have been an active Ham for about 20 years now.

 

[rp2813]

A great set-up is a terrible thing to waste

Here's the biggest one I know:

 

 

 

[paulg]

Not a HAM but....

My primary role in this life is indeed radio-electronics. And it is what I do everyday at work.
For some strange reason I never became a HAM. (Interestingly enough we made one today! LOL.) However I do enjoy playing with my Royal 5000-1 Transoceanic on the deck. Using an airplane band I used to be able to listen to the planes as they come in for landings. And although I cannot do this anymore, I used to love firing up my Zenith Roundie and pulling in stations from Indiana and other states.
My father was an appliance engineer but I entered electronics. My work does drift into the appliance unit for the company I work for.
This site provides grand and diverse company to be sure.
My particular penchant: television.

 

[cfz2882]

interested in audio/electronics/HiFi/radio/TV here too-i don't transmit but do listen to shortwave with a variety of vintage recivers.Used to do a lot of distant AM listening too.Like HiFi equipment and listening too-analog all the way for "quality"listening,i do use CDs for background music or other situations where high fidelity is not important.

 

[whirlcool]

When I was in high school I wanted to get my General license. I built one of those Allied Radio Knight kit SW radio receivers. I set up my own wire antenna in the yard and then I plastered by bedroom wall with QSL cards from all over the USA & Europe. Lots of staying up very late on the weekends listening to "skip".

I have a few of those 1950's German table radios that have SW bands. I even went so far as to put up a wire antenna in our attic but haven't dropped the downlink to the radios yet. One of these days.....

But when I got involved with Aviation, all my other activities seems to go by the wayside.

 

[fido]

I'm not a ham but I have got a Pye Vanguard, which was a very early type of mobile phone. This is part of a small collection of radios and other audio equipment dating from the '30s onwards.

 

[limitededition]

avionics tech

employed as avionics tech for over 35 years for DOD.  started as A/C Radio tech but never bit by HAM bite

 

 

[whirlcool]

I used to know a guy that was a HAM. The technology has changed so much over the years. Current set ups use computers to "extend" the signals like you would on a computer network. It's nothing at all like it used to be back in the 50's &60's.

I remember a guy near us that put up one of those HUGE SW antennas on a tower on the top of his house. My mother would say that anything electronic that goes wrong is the result of that antenna being there. I later learned that is not the case if the antenna is installed correctly.

 

[kb0nes]

Interference

Radio frequency interference can indeed be caused by Hams. In the 50's TVI (TV interference) was a common occurrence, poor shielding and fringe reception and analog television made it tough on everybody.

It is possible that improper installation of the transmitting antenna could cause problems, but in far more cases its more a problem with the equipment receiving the interference. Manufacturers are quick to leave out filtering and shielding because it raises the cost of the products they sell. Since the vast majority of devices don't have to contend with near field RF they work fine, till one is installed next to a Ham or a radio station etc... In almost all cases the Ham is blamed even though what he/she is doing is legal and proper!

The new digital TV has almost eliminated TVI as digital signals have high immunity to interference. I had one friend that was having trouble with a neighbors TV and they found that the issue was a poorly designed preamp in the TV antenna that would overload. They put in a passive antenna and all was well!

Ham radio has changed a lot over the years. The requirement of learning the Morse Code is gone now (pity) but it is helping to entice more people into the fold. The use of computers for digital transmission it common now. There are guys communicating from one side of the globe to the other via a bounce path off the Moon with less then 100 watts of transmitter power now! The ability of the computer to discern very small signal levels makes it possible.

Its neat to hear that there are a few others here that have some interest in radio. There is something just mystical about being able to use a piece of wire to pull a signal out of the air that may have originated many thousands of miles away. Pity its lost on many kids today who know the otherside of the planet can be reached via Skype at anytime.

 

[petek]

My uncle Norm was right into HAM radio when we were growing up and they lived next door.. The big ass antenna, all the cards on the wall. It was kind of exciting when you were sitting there listening to someone from halfway round the world. I think his call was XM442196 but that was over 30 years ago, funny I still remember it. We had a morse key set wired between our house and theirs.. I never learned it but my dad and uncle Norm would tap away,,, they'd both been in the RAF.

 

[cadman]

No antenna tower here, I'm afraid, but just this last week I got my Model 32 teletype online and receiving "ITTY", the internet version of RTTY.

There's still an active community of TTY die-hards, and most are Hams. In fact, the AARL just finished up their RTTY contest yesterday.

RTTY Roundup

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.

www.arrl.org

 

[rinso]

Not an HF Ham, but have helped install and maintain 2 Meter cross-band and interconnected equipment as a favor for my buddies who were. Of course this was back in my 2-way radio days.

 

[ptcruiser51]

Kay-Two Union Baker Victor

Was my father's call sign. K2UBV. He did this for only a few short years, had a setup in our dining room with a Gonset tuner and a Hallicrafters unit as well. He kept a lot of memorabilia. Including the log book from when my sister was born (9/20/57). He used to transmit only late at night after TV had signed-off (remember this was the 1950s) so as not to sh*t up everyone's TV picture in the 'hood. This was primarily when my mother was PG with my sister and couldn't sleep. I can still hear them down the hall, "CQ, CQ, calling CQ..." We lived in a rented tenement, but our landlady was kind and let him install a "halo" aerial on the roof. He positioned it carefully so it couldn't really be seen by the neighbors. Young as I was, I can still remember the QSO cards arriving and just a few of the terms: "XYL"=wife (ex-young-lady).

My sister and I were charmed after our parents died in 2010 to clean out their safe deposit box, and discovered that our father had kept his Amateur Radio License valid all those years.

 

[whirlcool]

Wow, they dropped the Morse code requirement. That's really something. The FCC was always so hard nosed about that.

 

[kb0nes]

Morse Code

Well it wasn't fully up to the FCC, although they were a bit slow to act.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) required that all nations licensing amateur radio operators to operate on shortwave frequencies under 30Mhz test for "proficiency" in the International Morse Code. The FCC's hands were somewhat tied. Many other nations did relax the standards earlier then the FCC chose to do. They chose slower speed requirements or required proficiency only for upper class licenses etc.

It was quite a battle here in the US, there were many people on both sides of the issue. Perhaps it was good because a few more people joined the fold. The sky hasn't fallen yet. Still there are many that feel the hobby is being "dumbed down" and if the requirements are relaxed too far then people won't respect the privileges given to them.

Its a great time to become a Ham though, easy to get licensed and the gear is much less expensive today then about any time in the past too!

 

[tolivac]

I don't do or have an amatuer radio license-I have done Medium wave,Short Wave broadcast transmitter work.Also have worked on FM and broadcast TV transmitters(analog)Haven't worked on digital ones-but the transmitting is the same,nonethless.Currently work in a gov't owned short wave broadcast facility.It broadcasts to Cuba,South America,and Africa.We get DX reports from all over the world-even though we don't broadcast in those directions.The plant runs anywhere from 100Kw-500 Kw transmitter power.Since I do radio for a living-don't have much interest in "Ham" radio.However many of the other guys that work here are avid Hams.This site also has MANY Hmam radio books in its library.I have MANY copies of the Amateur Radio Handbook.Used to get one every year at Radio Shack when they were sold there.Now the "sport" is just too computers for me---I want RADIO---not computers or data-and esp radio and transmitters that glow in the dark!!!TUBES!!!Those glowing tubes just does it for me.And for Hi-Fi-don't listen to music that much anymore.Now use the system for listening to BluRay and DVD soundtracks.By the way-do to regulations I cannot give out the frequencies we use-but-----You can look them up in any issue of the World Radio-TV Handbook-available in bookstores and libraries.I am with VOA-Voice Of America.You could then try listening to the place where I work-and its the ONLY one left in the US still operating!Most programs are in Spanish.

 

[alr2903]

Ham operators were a precious commodity, following Katrina. I am grateful folks still have this skill.   alr