Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

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randy
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by randy »

You'll always be able to hear from a wider frequency range than you can effectively transmit on.

Good luck with the Route 66 contacts.

Have you tried the 10-10 nets yet? You might also give the OMISS net a shot.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by SoupOrMan »

I finally got an HF contact! I got out to Lehigh County, PA on 20m. Apparently it was part of a contest, so I'm sure I upset someone somewhere. Doesn't matter, though, since I got a contact.

Apparently my dipole works, and I can get a good distance on 20 watts. This is what I needed to know.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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randy
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by randy »

FB OM! (Fine Business Old Man!) Only 49 more to get your Worked All States! :mrgreen:

What mode were you using?

You shouldn't upset anyone by making a contact during a contest. That's what they are for!

If is polite however to make sure you submit a log confirming your contact to whomever is collecting them for that contest to ensure the other OP gets their points for contacting you. (Which is why I usually don't work contests, I don't want to do the paperwork but also don't want to screw over my contacts). If you're not sure, look up the other OP in QRZ.com and send them an e-mail asking where to send the confirmation.

20M seems to be pretty open the past week or so. I've good luck into Europe the past few days. Also lots of activity on 15.

73
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

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20m SSB to be more precise. I submitted via QRZ and LOTW, so hopefully something will get out there to him.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

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Well, my 20m dipole seems to be working just fine. I'm getting signals from all over the country. I found a maritime net on 14.300 where most of the net controllers can hear me on 25 watts or less. I suppose my next step is to get an external tuner and see if I can get onto some other bands with the dipole. And to try out CW. And RTTY. And various other packet radio systems besides APRS. And so on...
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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randy
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

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Cool! Yeah, the guys on the Maritime Mobile Net are pretty good. When I'm on the road in the afternoon I usually check in with them to see how my rig/antenna on the truck is doing.

The nice thing about amateur radio is that there are so many aspects that you can pretty much always find something that interests you. And there's always something else to go after when you get good at one thing.

I really like the LDG autotuners. I gave the goal of getting a new one as the one I have is not rated for full power on digital mode duty cycles, hence being limited to 40W. It is rated for 100W on SSB and CW, and I was not thinking of digital modes (most hadn't even been developed yet) when I bought this 10+ years ago.

The one I would buy today is the LDG AT-200ProII. That would support 75W on digital modes, and would interface seamlessly with your IC-7100. With the interface cable you would just hit the TUNER/CALL button on your radio and the tuner would kick in automatically.

Even before you get an external tuner, you can do lots with what you have; work on your WAS on SSB, or get into digital such as FT8. I'm approaching 100 DX on 20with FT8 using a sloper at 40W and my Hexbeam at 60W. If you get into Winlink, there are a lot of 20M RMS nodes in the US. The band is pretty open much of the day and into evening hours.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by SoupOrMan »

Winlink looks like a gridless EmComm system worth learning. Email over amateur bands when the internet is nowhere to be found is... well, I dig the idea.

I like that tuner as well. I'd thought of going with a manual, but then remembered that I'm running an Icom, not a Heathkit.

More stuff to save for now, I guess...
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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randy
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by randy »

I check into several Winlink nets a week just to keep in practice. I also play around with connecting to different RMS nodes on VHF and HF just to be sure they are still there and operating.

Here's a document that I put together based on training I provided to a couple of local ARES nets

You can also look at the weekly EmComm Training Organization website for training videos and their Winlink Thursday net.
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by SoupOrMan »

This stuff is definitely going on a dedicated laptop for the shack.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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SoupOrMan
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Re: Taking the plunge into Ham Radio

Post by SoupOrMan »

The LDG tuners were out of stock everywhere, so I went with the MFJ-993B.

It seems to work well, but I think it's time for a better antenna.
Remember, folks, you can't spell "douche" without "Che."

“PET PARENTS?” You’re not a “pet parent.” You’re a pet owner. Unless you’ve committed an unnatural act that succeeded in spite of biology. - Glenn Reynolds
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