HAM Radio

[JoyfulNoise]

Starting off you don't need the latest gadgets.

That’s a lot like the world of 3D printing these days. Just getting started is the hardest part but all you need is a little time, some used equipment, and you’ll figure out quickly what you like and don’t like

 

[Joe_N9OK]

I am taking my HAM test tomorrow. I just started the whole thing on 10/16. When I checked into exams though if I don't take it tomorrow, the next test is like middle of November. I am consistently getting 90%-100% on the practice exams so I think I will pass.

Any HAMs?

Congrats on passing your exam (I saw you passed on a later posting). Joe N9OK here. Avid contester on HF. Depending upon your interest in the hobby, you might consider going beyond Technician (which I think is what you passed) to obtain some HF privileges.

Also, this weekend is the CQ WW DX Phone Contest, one of the largest contests of the year. Starting 7pm central time Friday. Give a listen on HF (find an online SDR receiver if you don't own an HF rig). It'll blow your mind...

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

CQ SSB is a zoo. Agreed. Probably the busiest contest there is. My web sdr is still at my HOA heck house but I will send a pm with the address if you want to use it. I am still fighting local noise, which in suburban Arizona is bad because of all the half fast solar installs. Eventually it will be homed down at the Sonora / Arizona border in a very quiet area, but I have been too busy to do that for the last few weekends. Still I have it just usable now by tweaking, though there is more I want to do before I move the wideband SDR south.

Otherwise: http://kiwisdr.com/public/
of the type I own: SDR Devices

Definitely listen this weekend. Agreed. You will definitely experience the competitive part of HF that way. I might get into that myself in retirement, whenever that may happen! Contests by definition are only in the original HF bands (160m, 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m) not WARC (60m, 30m, 17m and 12m) bands. So you can also listen to non
contest traffic on the WARC bands for a comparison.


Fred W0FMS

 

[dereksanders]

CQ CQ CQ. My second cousin two doors up was a ham enthusiast. We’d often hear him over the television in the late 60s and early 70s.

 

[PoolGate]

CQ SSB is a zoo. Agreed. Probably the busiest contest there is. My web sdr is still at my HOA heck house but I will send a pm with the address if you want to use it. I am still fighting local noise, which in suburban Arizona is bad because of all the half fast solar installs. Eventually it will be homed down at the Sonora / Arizona border in a very quiet area, but I have been too busy to do that for the last few weekends. Still I have it just usable now by tweaking, though there is more I want to do before I move the wideband SDR south.

Otherwise: http://kiwisdr.com/public/
of the type I own: SDR Devices

Definitely listen this weekend. Agreed. You will definitely experience the competitive part of HF that way. I might get into that myself in retirement, whenever that may happen! Contests by definition are only in the original HF bands (160m, 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m and 10m) not WARC (60m, 30m, 17m and 12m) bands. So you can also listen to non
contest traffic on the WARC bands for a comparison.


Fred W0FMS

I am studying for my General now and will take the test in about 3 weeks (next test date). Then I'll be cleared for HF frequencies! Will you and I be able to talk? I am really ignorant on HAM especially HF bands. Do you need repeaters for HF bands to increase range? I plan on having a 100 watt transmitter and around $300 antenna (can't be more specific that's just my price range from my research). I have no equipment other than the cheap Baofengs. I still need my base station. I thought I knew what I wanted (tri band) but have not made any purchases yet.

 

[PoolGate]

Congrats on passing your exam (I saw you passed on a later posting). Joe N9OK here. Avid contester on HF. Depending upon your interest in the hobby, you might consider going beyond Technician (which I think is what you passed) to obtain some HF privileges.

Also, this weekend is the CQ WW DX Phone Contest, one of the largest contests of the year. Starting 7pm central time Friday. Give a listen on HF (find an online SDR receiver if you don't own an HF rig). It'll blow your mind...

Same to you as previous......

 

[Joe_N9OK]

I am studying for my General now and will take the test in about 3 weeks (next test date). Then I'll be cleared for HF frequencies! Will you and I be able to talk? I am really ignorant on HAM especially HF bands. Do you need repeaters for HF bands to increase range? I plan on having a 100 watt transmitter and around $300 antenna (can't be more specific that's just my price range from my research). I have no equipment other than the cheap Baofengs. I still need my base station. I thought I knew what I wanted (tri band) but have not made any purchases yet.

Antennas are more important than equipment. Most recent equipment has pretty darn good performance, you can get something more than adequate new for ~1K or used for less. Join a local general interest ham club, they may have a rig / tuner / other equipment for you to borrow to try out. Wire or other inexpensive antennas can perform just fine, especially with the decent sunspot cycle right now. You do NOT need a repeater for HF (nor are there any AFAIK) but later you can consider an amplifier, but as I said better to improve your antenna first. Feel free to contact me offline so we don't tie up the TFP forum with ham chatter. Go to QRZ.com, get a (free) account, and look me up if you want to discuss this further.
73 Joe N9OK

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

The only place on HF where repeaters are even legal is the upper portion of 10 meters in what is informally known as the "10 FM" band. Listen to around 29.6 MHz in narrow band FM if you are interested in that. I often hear a repeater in the Toronto area here in Arizona with people linking from as far away as Europe.

My little web radio SDR toy currently is listening to the FT8 digital mode on all bands from 80m to 10m and with no repeaters, in a week, it has heard 148 countries including Antarctica. This is on a small active loop with way too much local noise. HF is world wide, the ionosphere refracts the signals back down to the earth and the land and sea will reflect the signals back up for multiple hops. Right now we are on the very top of solar cycle 25 so the propagation is as good as it gets.

It's a fun and educational hobby. You might be able to talk to me some day... Right now I really am only set up to do it at the weekend house, but I am trying to change that.

Fred W0FMS

 

[JamesW]

I am installing a 987 Yottawatt Transmitter and Antenna that should be good to transmit out to aliens about 1 billion light years away.

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

Contest is on! Here is the 20m (14.0 to 14.35 MHz) band from SE Tucson.... Each one of the lines in the "waterfall" is an ongoing contact. Fun stuff. The clear part of the band is the CW and Digital portion. The pool is part of my ground plane, right? So it counts?

I will cease and desist unless there are further questions. My pool is recovering nicely and is almost back to normal from me getting deathly I'll and letting it turn into a lily pad... . Next spring I will have a lot of questions myself when I drain refill and fix the swcg...

Fred

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Contest is on! Here is the 20m (14.0 to 14.35 MHz) band from SE Tucson.... Each one of the lines in the "waterfall" is an ongoing contact. Fun stuff. The clear part of the band is the CW and Digital portion. The pool is part of my ground plane, right? So it counts?

I will cease and desist unless there are further questions. My pool is recovering nicely and is almost back to normal from me getting deathly I'll and letting it turn into a lily pad... . Next spring I will have a lot of questions myself when I drain refill and fix the swcg...

Fred

Looking at the waterfall image makes me feel like Agent Smith is going to show up suddenly and say “Hello Mr Anderson…”

 

[PoolGate]

Can anyone suggest an HF antenna? I envision something I can mount outside of a window and run the cable inside to the radio. I'd like to cover all of the HF bands but at least 10M to 40M. Also need a separate antenna for VHF/UHF 6M to 70cm would be great! Not looking to break the bank hopefully keep this under $200.

 

[JamesW]

Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower.

Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas | DX Engineering

Free Shipping - Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas with qualifying orders of $99. Shop HF Vertical Antennas and Packages at DX Engineering.

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AV-18HTJR, HY-TOWER JR, 10/15/20/40/80M, 39FT, 1/4 WAVE, VERT

Hy-Gain HyTower-JrStands 39 feet tall . . . Full 1/4 Wave on 40, 20, 15, 10 Meters . . . Cage loading on 80 Meters . . .Worlds Second Best Vertical Antenna . . .Standing a tall 39 feet with full-size elements and rated at 5 KW, the AV-18JR Hygain HyTower-Jr is the worlds second best* performing...

mfjenterprises.com

 

[JamesW]

Brand:
Hy-Gain
Manufacturer's Part Number:
AV-18HT
Part Type:
HF Vertical Antennas and Packages
Product Line:
Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas
DXE Part Number:
HGN-AV-18HT
HF Vertical Antenna Type:
Multi-band, resonant
Vertical Antenna Height:
53.00 ft.
Antenna Wind Survival:
75 mph
Antenna Power Rating:
2,000 W PEP
Vertical Antenna Mount Type:
Insulated hinged base
Antenna Mount Operation:
Multi operator walk-up
HF Vertical Antenna Mount Material:
Galvanized steel
Vertical Antenna Mount Included:
Yes
Mounting Clamps Included:
Yes
Radial Plate Included:
No
Radial Wire Included:
No
UNUN Included:
No
Antenna Tuner Required:
No
Antenna Tuner Included:
No
Antenna Feedline Connection Type:
UHF female, SO-239
Antenna Weight:
75.00 lbs.
Quantity:
Sold individually.
Notes:
Although Hy Gain advertising indicates 1.5 kW max power, their manual (revision 3) rates the antenna 1 kW AM and 2 kW PEP. This antenna requires a concrete base.
HF Vertical Antenna Mounting Position:
Ground
Requires Radials to Function Properly:
Yes
Additional Information

HF Vertical Antenna Band
80 meters
40 meters
20 meters
15 meters
10 meters

Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas

Hy-Gain AV-18HT antennas feature automatic band selection achieved through a unique stub decoupling system. This system effectively isolates various sections of the antennas so that an electrical 1/4 wavelength (or odd multiple of a 1/4 wavelength) exists on all bands.

Hy-Gain AV-18HT antennas have approximately 250 kHz bandwidth at 2:1 VVSWR on 80 meters. With the available add-on kit, they also provide exceptional 160 meter performance without losing any other bands.

The AV-18HT antennas include all stainless steel hardware and a tilt-over base. They offer a unity gain on 20, 40, and 80 meters and 2 dB on 10/15 meters.

https://static.dxengineering.com/global/images/instructions/hgn-av-18ht.pdf

Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas | DX Engineering

Free Shipping - Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas with qualifying orders of $99. Shop HF Vertical Antennas and Packages at DX Engineering.

www.dxengineering.com

 

[JamesW]

Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas | DX Engineering

Free Shipping - Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas with qualifying orders of $99. Shop HF Vertical Antennas and Packages at DX Engineering.

www.dxengineering.com

 

[JamesW]

Hy-Gain AV-18HT Hy-Tower HF Vertical Antennas

Antenna, Vertical, HF, Hy-Tower, Resonant, 2,000 W, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 meters, 53.0 ft. Height.

 

[ajw22]

Can anyone suggest an HF antenna? I envision something I can mount outside of a window and run the cable inside to the radio. I'd like to cover all of the HF bands but at least 10M to 40M. Also need a separate antenna for VHF/UHF 6M to 70cm would be great! Not looking to break the bank hopefully keep this under $200.

HF for receive only or transmit and receive?

HF antennas can be constructed with some wire cut to the right length and coax. If you want to transmit, you need an antenna tuner or BALUN.

Antennas need to be tuned for the band if you want good performance at low transmit power.

Antennas need to be matched with the transmitters' antenna tuning ability.

What rigs will you be using?

ARRL Antenna Book

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

 

[ajw22]

How visible do you want your antennas to be?

If you want something discreet then look at mobile antennas out your window...

Diamond NR770HRKS Dual band Mobile Antenna

Check out this Diamond Antenna NR770HRKS at www.WalcottRadio.com

www.walcottradio.com

MFJ has many good antennas...

Antenna

MFJ Enterprises Inc , Ameritron , Hy-Gain , Hygain,Cushcraft , Vectronics , Mirage , MFJ, MFJ Enterprises , Antenna,Radio , Ham Radio , Amateur Radio , Tuner,Analyzer, Starkville,Amplifier, Xiegu, Loop Antenna ,

mfjenterprises.com

 

[ajw22]

 

[ajw22]