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I think I'm going up to Gloucester to attempt the test tomorrow.
I think I'm going up to Gloucester to attempt the test tomorrow.
Passed the technician test today.
Time to go shopping.
Passed the technician test today.
Time to go shopping.
Congratulations!
That is GREAT! Do you know what you are going to get for your first radio?
I don't know yet. Mostly because I still don't fully understand amateur radio. I have no experience with radio. Reading the book helps me to understand the rules and regs, and basic concepts, but I'm still basically clueless.
I don't have the first hint of what I should be looking to buy or what I need. I'm going to have to do a lot more reading and perhaps shadow a club or two.
So, what was your approach to prepping for the test? Did you blitz the question pool, or did you study the material, or both?
Jumping on board this thread a little late but here it goes.
KE1AK Swansea, MA HF/2m/440/902 used to own a repeater in Fall River, MA on 442.200 until the ARRL and US Air Force decided I was interfering with Pave Paws on the Cape. Had to come down over 20dB on signal, so just pulled the plug. Really put a downer on the hobby for me. Now I've been hanging up on 902Mhz using converted Motorola commercial gear. There will be probably a big influx of repeaters on the 33cm band in the near future in the area, due to a friend of mine and others buying a bunch of repeaters (MTS5000) that can be converted to 902 Mhz from New Jersey Gas for about $100 bucks a pop. Just had to go down and pick them up. The catch was they weight nearly 300 lbs. a piece.
Thunderbolt
For the life of me I don't see why USAF has a hair up its ass
about 440. I know they're the primary user of the band (NTIA
alloc, etc) but PAVE PAWS has been running for years and they
never bitched about it, so why now?
There was a great repeater on Mt. Wachusett, that was off the
air for a couple years at least, (448.625, W1OJ's machine) I think
it is back on but the signal is definitely weaker- and I'd place a fair
wager that he was forced to neuter the thing. It's unfortunate
because that repeater got virtually everywhere, and it was even
usable with an HT over a lot of MA.
33cm sounds interesting but the only downer is it's one of those
things where you need yet another radio in the vehicle.
What about 1.2 ghz? Or is the problem there that the line loss
on coax/hardline starts to get absurd even with short distances...?
-Mike
We should start a ham radio section. I'm freaking lost. I'm so far over my head I don't know where to begin. I have the tech license and I'm going to take the general license as soon as there is a test near me. However, I have no idea what to buy, where to buy it, or what I do with it after it's purchased.
What a complicated hobby. I guess I felt the same way when I started reloading, only that was a thousand times simpler.
I think a 2m/440 dual band rig is worth the small extra cost. I'd suggest a 2m/440 handheld with 5W output and a LiIon battery. Examples are the ICOM T90 or IC-91, Kenwood TH-F6A, Yaesu VX-6 or VX-7.
The T90 and VX-6 are single receive, the IC-91, TH-F6A and VX-7 are dual receive. What this means is, with the single receive models, you can only monitor one frequency at a time. With the dual receive ones, you can monitor two. This isn't a critical feature as they all have a scanning feature, but it will catch transmissions sooner.
Accessories I'd want are a magnetic mount antenna to use in the car, a spare battery, a fast charger, and an antenna to use at home. You can build the home antenna for about $3 worth of materials, or you can buy one.
I don't commute, really. I may put a rig in my truck at some point, but I don't spend much time in it. I've owned it 9 months and have 4300 miles on it.
So my best bet would be to pick up a 2m rig for now, then upgrade later if I decide to?
I plan on getting my General license later this month. Does that change your suggestion?
The kicker seems to be in the gear. There is so much out there that do so many different things at so many price points it's overwhelming.
I start digging through some forums and they talk about buying radios, power supplies, tuners, meters, building antennae, 30 foot towers, etc.