So is anyone else getting back on the air to help deal with social distancing or isolation? Please share your experiences. :)
On 03-28-20 21:50, Avon wrote to Vk3jed <=-
On 27 Mar 2020 at 07:05p, Vk3jed pondered and said...
So is anyone else getting back on the air to help deal with social distancing or isolation? Please share your experiences. :)
I will be this week. I know our local branch has moved their weekly
branch meetings from the clubrooms to our 690 repeater. I plan to take part this Wednesday night.
I will be this week. I know our local branch has moved their weekly
branch meetings from the clubrooms to our 690 repeater. I plan to take part this Wednesday night.
I will be this week. I know our local branch has moved their weekly branch meetings from the clubrooms to our 690 repeater. I plan to tak part this Wednesday night.
Used to love being part of the nets either locally or on EchoLink. With
my schedule changing week to week...difficult to participate to the
level I used to back ten or so years ago.
On 03-29-20 21:21, Avon wrote to Phoobar <=-
Tonight I joined my Sunday night Club Net and we had 28 on it. It was a good turn out. It's just a pity that it takes a horrid virus to create (for some of us) some more spare time to enjoy a hobby that doesn't
take a face to face effort to communicate. I'm talking about Amateur
Radio here not BBS but the latter works well too IMHO :)
The radio has been very active her eof late too. :) Now you and I are going to have to connect at some stage. Want to make a sked sometime?
On 03-30-20 16:38, Avon wrote to Vk3jed <=-
On 29 Mar 2020 at 10:05p, Vk3jed pondered and said...
The radio has been very active her eof late too. :) Now you and I are going to have to connect at some stage. Want to make a sked sometime?
Yep sounds good.
Tonight I joined my Sunday night Club Net and we had 28 on it. It was a good turn out. It's just a pity that it takes a horrid virus to create
(for some of us) some more spare time to enjoy a hobby that doesn't take
a face to face effort to communicate. I'm talking about Amateur Radio
here not BBS but the latter works well too IMHO :)
On 03-30-20 01:01, Phoobar wrote to Avon <=-
Tonight I joined my Sunday night Club Net and we had 28 on it. It was a good turn out. It's just a pity that it takes a horrid virus to create
That's fantastic! Used to be a member of a club in Twin Falls, ID where there would be 50 there every month at a local restaurant. Great
learning about different things & meeting people. Learned more in that
club than any other time I've had my ticket. Recently...heard the
mormons (big group in the area) took the club over & many don't go anymore. What a shame.
(for some of us) some more spare time to enjoy a hobby that doesn't take
a face to face effort to communicate. I'm talking about Amateur Radio
here not BBS but the latter works well too IMHO :)
Still a great way to talk to people...especially in times like these. Remember when we had analogue TV when I was a kid & got excited to see
how many weak signals I could p/u with a pair of rabbit ears. Even got more a kick when I got the FT-450 to cover the whole spectrum to listen
& would hear some amazing stations with my outside wire antennas.
I'm a sucker for coffee meetups. But on Sunday, in lieu of what would normally be a social coffee gathering at a cafe, they held a "Coffee
Net", where you'd bring your own coffee to the radio and get on the air.
how many weak signals I could p/u with a pair of rabbit ears. Even go more a kick when I got the FT-450 to cover the whole spectrum to list & would hear some amazing stations with my outside wire antennas.Radio is certainly still fun. :)
On 03-31-20 00:48, Phoobar wrote to Vk3jed <=-
I'm a sucker for coffee meetups. But on Sunday, in lieu of what would normally be a social coffee gathering at a cafe, they held a "Coffee
Net", where you'd bring your own coffee to the radio and get on the air.
Used to do one of these on 80M on Sunday mornings all over the Pacific Northwest. Never having an antenna capable of 80 & also going to church
at the time...was never able to do it.
On the other hand...did have a 2M net I used to do on weekday mornings from Boise. Put the FT-1802 in the car & on the way to work...would
check in. It was nice being able to do that & be part of the group from out in the middle of nowhere.
Radio is certainly still fun. :)
It certainly is...especially on the AM band to see how far you could
pick something up. Not talking about the clear channels like WGN & such
in Chicago & other big cities...but some of the others in more rural areas. Don't need a license to do this part of it...but hearing local spots for local businesses is something I enjoyed doing.
I used to like playing with tropo, and you didn't need a licence for
that, because our UHF CB service is also affected by tropospheric propagation, and 5W is more than enough to have fun. :) One night, I
was down on the Victorian coast with a CB handheld accessing a Tasmanian CB repeater 400km away, on the other side of Bass Strait, with all of
0.5W into a rubber duck! ;)
On 03-31-20 20:14, Phoobar wrote to Vk3jed <=-
I used to like playing with tropo, and you didn't need a licence for
that, because our UHF CB service is also affected by tropospheric propagation, and 5W is more than enough to have fun. :) One night, I
was down on the Victorian coast with a CB handheld accessing a Tasmanian CB repeater 400km away, on the other side of Bass Strait, with all of
0.5W into a rubber duck! ;)
That's amazing...since originally...the FCC wanted to use UHF for
CB...but went with 11 M. What's the CD band there?
That's amazing to be able to do that on UHF.
We have 2 CB bands. The good old 27 MHz, which uses exactly the same specs as the USA and UHF, which has 80 channels (75 available for voice use) from 476.4250 to 477.4125 MHz at 12.5 kHz spacings. Originally, there were 40 channels at 25 kHz spacings, but the specs were upgraded
in 2011. UHF CB has been here since CB was legalised in the 1970s.
amateur band here at the time). 27 MHz was originally 18 channels on a unique bandplan, but the specs were quickly changed to the US 40
channels.
On 04-01-20 19:26, Phoobar wrote to Vk3jed <=-
Sounds almost like what out 60M here is. Great way for rag
chews...until they allowed data modes on it. For all I know...they may have opened it up here.
Here...they didn't do bandplans...just let people buy whatever radio
they wanted. For a while...the original 23 channels were popular since they weren't being built anymore & being replaced by the 40 channel models.
When I moved out here...found my Midland 40 channel...with the
cigarette lighter attachment to run it from. Tried to use it 10 years
when I moved...but it was my old trusty FT-1802 2M at 50W which really surprised me by the coverage out in the Nevada desert of around 100
miles on 146.520. Never had that happen since.
Sounds almost like what out 60M here is. Great way for ragYeah, I can't see 60m being opened up here anytime soon. HF is much more heavily utilised by commercial and public safety users, and there's too many to move/disrupt for a bunch of hams. :/
they weren't being built anymore & being replaced by the 40 channel models.I think hee they just threw in the towel and went with the US spec, because of the sheer number of 40 channel radios around. ;)
surprised me by the coverage out in the Nevada desert of around 100 miles on 146.520. Never had that happen since.Decent coverage, you on a hill?
On 04-02-20 20:29, Phoobar wrote to Vk3jed <=-
Sounds almost like what out 60M here is. Great way for ragYeah, I can't see 60m being opened up here anytime soon. HF is much more heavily utilised by commercial and public safety users, and there's too many to move/disrupt for a bunch of hams. :/
What a shame! They were talking about opening a section...without the channels which have been used for a while. Not sure if it has happened yet.
If they have the same issue as here...they have always had a problem
with some folks not smart enough to pass even the tech exam...so they
soup up their rigs past 4W & go illegal.
surprised me by the coverage out in the Nevada desert of around 100 miles on 146.520. Never had that happen since.Decent coverage, you on a hill?
Actually no. Was in a valley for much of the journey...with the city I
was talking to on the other side of the mountains. Was in the middle of the day using FM...so just not sure what was happening. Out there in
the middle of nowhere...wasn't a repeater anywhere for miles.
What a shame! They were talking about opening a section...without the channels which have been used for a while. Not sure if it has happene yet.The problem of being in a large country with few people - HF is a vital resource.
That's one hell of a distance for a "nothing special" location.
Repeaters on towers in our flat areas don't get anywhere near that
range. Even many of our well sited ones on mountains struggle to get
that far.
On 04-03-20 23:33, Phoobar wrote to Vk3jed <=-
Very true. One thing has been bothering me for years about HF is
shortwave broadcasting. In the past...that was the only radio some had
& now...most are not there. When SHTF & the Internet is gone...gonna be
in a bind that we may never get out of.
The only explanation I would have is the conditions were right to do that...just like me using a manual screwdriver at 20M on PSK31 in Idaho
& having a rag chew with someone in Alice Springs. More amazing that
that antenna was in my room...rather than outside.
The only explanation I would have is the conditions were right to do that...just like me using a manual screwdriver at 20M on PSK31 in Ida & having a rag chew with someone in Alice Springs. More amazing that that antenna was in my room...rather than outside.
& now...most are not there. When SHTF & the Internet is gone...gonna in a bind that we may never get out of.Indeed, shortwave broadcasting is still vital, IMHO. It was a sad day when Radio Australia shut down for good years ago. And now the Chinese have taken over their old frequencies. One can hardly blame the Chinese taking over known vacant frequencies. :/
If that distance was a one off, then tropo would explain it, I have done simplex over much greater distances, like 600+km in one instance. :)
Cobwebb multiband home-buit for less than 50$, around 40W HF, PSK31 from Spain to the great lakes, around 7000 Km
Can you build this to be used indoors & hung on a wall or suspended from the ceiling of an apartment?
Probably not... I had mine on the corner of a terrace, it'a a cheap and easy build, but a large bugger (6x6 feet, more or less, IIRC)
On 04-04-20 14:09, volker wrote to Vk3jed <=-
The only explanation I would have is the conditions were right to do that...just like me using a manual screwdriver at 20M on PSK31 in Ida & having a rag chew with someone in Alice Springs. More amazing that that antenna was in my room...rather than outside.
Cobwebb multiband home-buit for less than 50$, around 40W HF, PSK31
from Spain to the great lakes, around 7000 Km
On 04-04-20 07:46, Phoobar wrote to Vk3jed <=-
Tropo was it in the middle of the afternoon. Being all I've ever lived
at were apartments...couldn't put up an outside wire to really let me
get out.
Tropo was it in the middle of the afternoon. Being all I've ever liveInterestig, here, afternoon is usually the least likely time for tropo, normally it's active in the evening to early-mid morning, before the inversion breaks.
On 04-06-20 20:26, Phoobar wrote to Vk3jed <=-
Was studying for my AE exam & had this happen around the same time. As
far as I was concerned...it could've happened because of voodoo. ;)
far as I was concerned...it could've happened because of voodoo. ;)Could have been voodoo. ;)
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