Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


View Poll Results: What license level do you hold?
Extra 43 43.00%
Advanced - (No longer issued but valid) 5 5.00%
General 30 30.00%
Technician 20 20.00%
Novice - (No longer issued but valid) 1 1.00%
GMRS - ONLY 1 1.00%
Voters: 100. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-01-2016, 06:21 PM   #21
Site Team - Lou
 
Herk7769's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Eastern PA
Posts: 23,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldcase View Post
Just passed the Extra exam last Saturday. Usually carry an Icom 51A with external antenna when camping. Also a Dvap for Dstar use. Don't take the HF rig camping, but it is tempting. W4GET in Florida. I like 12 and 17 meters the best. Also Reflectors 1C,30C and 37C on Dstar.
GRATZ! I studied my butt off for that test. Some answers I just had to memorize because I never could figure out what the heck they were talking about. My head was about to explode!


I got my GMRS ticket while I was at it so I could use full power on the walkie talkies. 36 mile range is pretty cool.
__________________
Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk7769 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 06:51 PM   #22
Senior Member
 
mjones12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Lexington, NC
Posts: 2,621
This is interesting. Could someone explain to us non-Hams what it is that draws people to this hobby beyond the obvious joy of communication? And could you explain the basics of it? Might attract some new recruits. Thanks.
__________________
2018 Coachmen Apex 249 RBS
2010 Silverado LT 5.3 V8


The world is a great book, of which those who never stir from home
read only a page. - St. Augustine
mjones12 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 07:06 PM   #23
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Chantilly, VA
Posts: 1,075
WN5FDL since 1969. That is back when a ham license required you to know electronics.
__________________
Lee and Anne

2016 F250 2WD CC SB XLT 6.2 3,295 lb payload cap.
2014 Salem Hemisphere 282RK 8k lbs loaded, Equal-i-zer WDH, TST 507 TPMS
2021: 35 nights already booked so far
Teamfour is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 07:37 PM   #24
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 652
Neat thread. Herk, Congrats on the Extra. That takes some work. I got my Novice license at age 14 in Feb 1967, Passed general in November 1967, and advanced in January 1968. Then I had fun operating and chasing DX for a few years. In Aug, 1974, the wife and I drove to Beaumont Texas where I took the Extra one day, and back the next morning to take the commercial radio test. Passed both. Man, that was a happy day for me. We celebrated at some Italian food restaurant and drove home. The Extra license meant more fun, the commercial license meant more pay.
I used to have a blast working the contests, especially the Sweepstakes, Field day, and the DX contest.
Won the state novice sweepstakes in Texas for 1967. DXCC, WAS, WAC. Loved working CW at the low end of 15, 20, & 40 meters.
Ham Radio is a great hobby, and I have to say that it kept me out of (some) trouble as a teenager. Developed some great friendships along the way also. As the career began to take priority, I became less and less active. After moving from technical side to management, the moves were tough on the Ham hobby. I sold most of my gear, sold the tower, sold the yagi's, and became inactive thinking I would restart after life settled down a little...Ha...silly me. I did keep my old Browns Machine Shop paddle. Man, that thing was smooth to operate. Haven't been active for several years now, but still run the code through my mind from time to time...lol.
Great Hobby.
__________________
2016 Ford F-350 Lariat CC, 4x4 SRW. B&W turnover with extender. 2015 CC Silverback 29RE, fitted with Reese Goose Box. Amateur Extra Class K5TS, 2016 nights camped 16
Davidg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 08:03 PM   #25
Site Team - Lou
 
Herk7769's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Eastern PA
Posts: 23,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teamfour View Post
WN5FDL since 1969. That is back when a ham license required you to know electronics.
This is still required. Only the Morse Code test is no longer required.

Practice tests are here for all the levels:
eHam.net Ham Radio Practice Exams
__________________
Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk7769 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 08:32 PM   #26
Member
 
mike1poles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 78
WA8MRU - 1964. General
Herk, Congrats on the Extra!!

73's
Mike
__________________
Mike and Judy
Wherever we are parked is our home
2009 - 36RD5S
2007 - Dodge 3500 6.7 Cummins
May God bless
WA8MRU
mike1poles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 08:38 PM   #27
Site Team - Lou
 
Herk7769's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Eastern PA
Posts: 23,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjones12 View Post
This is interesting. Could someone explain to us non-Hams what it is that draws people to this hobby beyond the obvious joy of communication? And could you explain the basics of it? Might attract some new recruits. Thanks.
Community Service and a desire to keep my 65 year old brain fresh.

Being able to deploy to shelters in the event of natural or man-made disasters to provide communications for emergency responders is a real plus for me.

When Sandy hit and the cell towers were either knocked out or their generators ran out of fuel, Ambulance, Police, and Fire EMS found their primary systems (cell phones) out of action. HAM operators rode along or set up shop at command centers and shelters to keep the emergency supplies and services going to where they were needed.

Being able to communicate hundreds of miles (in some cases thousands of miles) in an emergency makes it worthwhile for me.

For more information on Public Service:

ARES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milita...y_Radio_System

Air Force MARS * * * * * * * Phone Patch Net: Providing RadioTelephone Service To US Military Aircraft Worldwide

The Canadians are not left out either!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadi...e_Radio_System
__________________
Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk7769 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 08:57 PM   #28
Moderator Emeritus
 
Kaadk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,173
Quote:
Originally Posted by B and B View Post
In Canada we needed code at 30 wpm to get a Novice Licence. I was working on this with my Father when he suddenly passed away. Never went back. Do not need that any longer now and can get a technician licence.
Now I run kilowatts of power being a broadcast engineer as as often as last night had my hands in a FM transmitter to fix it and get the station back on the air.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pipeman View Post
B&B I only had to learn CW at 10 wpm to get the basic and then 15 wpm to get advanced. I did CW about 99% of the time and could take 37 to 41 wpm. Not now as I've gotten away from the HF.
When I passed mine in the early 90's there was no WPM component for either the Basic or Advanced. This is going back some years, but I believe at the time it was something like:

a) Basic - Demonstrate knowledge of the rules, regs and educate. Allows you to operate equipment in any frequency higher than 6M (50 MHz), at a capped power (5W?, 10W?).
b) Advanced - Demonstrate a knowledge of the electronics behind the radio, antenna, wave patterns, etc... Allows you to boost your your power to a ridiculously high number (2500W?). Does not provide transmitting rights by itself, still requires Basic to transmit.
c) 5 WPM - Demonstrate the ability to transmit/received morse code at 5 WPM. Opened up the 160M and 80M bands. Does not provide transmitting rights by itself, still required a Basic. Power was restricted as per Basic/Advanced license held. I.e. a person with Basic and 5 WPM could only use 5W, though in the 80M band.
d) 12 WPM - Demonstrate the ability to transmit/receive morse code at 12 WPM. Opened up all the amateur bands. Does not provide transmitting rights by itself, still required a Basic. Power restricted as per Basic/Advanced.

Under those regs, I got my Basic and Advanced. Back then you had to renew your license every year or so, and the year I thought about letting it lapse (2000) they changed the regs and you now kept your license for life. So officially, my license is still good, but I haven't powered a rig in 10 years or so.

I do still have mine around here. A Yaesu 8900R Quad band (10M, 6M, 2M and 70cm), but it's not been hooked up in years. Don't even have a place to easily mount the antenna at this house. But I do have hopes of one day getting back into it. Especially now that I hear the regs have changed and I can (supposedly) now leverage that 10M band the radio was capable of, without needing to go get the 12 WPM first.
__________________
There's no use crying over spilt milk... unless it's on your keyboard.
Kaadk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 09:19 PM   #29
Senior Member
 
coupevillefish's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Coupeville, WA
Posts: 476
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjones12 View Post
This is interesting. Could someone explain to us non-Hams what it is that draws people to this hobby beyond the obvious joy of communication? And could you explain the basics of it? Might attract some new recruits. Thanks.
Congrats Herk. I passed my tech 2 years ago and general last year. They offered me the extra, so I took it, might as well try. They graded the first page and sent me home. A bit more study required.

Mjones, I got into ham primarily for emergency services., but it is intriguing. The main thing over CB or FRS radios is power. You can cover much wider distance, on lower frequencies around the world. There are also a range of other things you can do like email type messages, pictures, video, and auto GPS location or tracking.

As far as carrying a radio in the MH, I almost always take my 2 meter or my handheld. I have not installed HF in the MH yet but probably will after I finish getting set up at home.

73
KG7JCA
coupevillefish is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2016, 09:24 PM   #30
Who Dares, Wins
 
doc73's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Chester County, PA
Posts: 7,063
Have my technician class since 1998 I think. Have not been on the air in prob 10 years. Where I am now has no local repeaters or clubs.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
__________________

Pat, Jen, Heather & Sapphire, the head mouser.
2015 Chevy HD D-Max
2022 Impression 315MB
doc73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 07:58 AM   #31
Site Team - Lou
 
Herk7769's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Eastern PA
Posts: 23,268
Oh, FYI

They are changing the Extra lesson plans 1 July 2016.

The new question bank will be heavily slanted towards computers and digital signal processing. That part of the current test was some of the hardest material to learn. I looked at the pre-release questions and was concerned enough to get off my butt and get my ticket now rather than wait for the next round of material.

Word to the wise...
__________________
Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk7769 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 08:02 AM   #32
Senior Member
 
Ham Camper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: KY and FL
Posts: 184
As of today I have not taken any radio equipment along for camping excursions. But it is in the plans. I am a know code licensee tested by the FCC and licensed since 1964. CW is still my favorite mode of operation. I have worked over 250 different countries all around the world.
__________________


Larry W8PO & Lori N8IHJ and Louie the wonder dog
2014 Surveyor Cadet 265RLDS
2015 GMC Denali HD
Ham Camper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 10:57 AM   #33
rvb
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: IN
Posts: 97
Quote:
Originally Posted by Herk7769 View Post
Since I passed the exam for Amateur Extra last night I was wondering how many HAMs are forum members and what frequencies you hang out on.

Do you take your rigs on the road?

I have a Yaesu FT-857D and use a Super Antenna Super Antenna for quick stops and an Eagle One Eagle One vertical antenna if we plan on staying a while.

I also try to carry a Baofeng BF-F8HP for "walking around"
I've had my tech for ~7 yrs now. Keep thinking I need to test up. I keep a 2m/440 (kenwood tm-v71a) in the truck when I'm on the road and I'm thinking about picking up an inexpensive 2m for the new camper.

-rvb
rvb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 12:56 PM   #34
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Southern Oregon Coast
Posts: 65
My original interest in ham radio was to prepare for that 10.0 earthquake they expect to hit the Oregon Coast area I live in. While I love our trailer(251rks) for camping it will come in real handy when disaster strikes. I plan on taking my radio camping to make sure it work when needed. When I can afford a better radio my alinco dx sr8t will become My RV rig. I haven't decided on a portable antenna but the eagle1 looks good. I look forward to camping this year with a new trailer, the general license I just got last year and no job to slow me down.Good times. 73.
__________________
2016 Surveyor 251RKS
2007 F150 Lariet screw cab
Ham Call Sign K6VHG
Themeads46 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 09:42 PM   #35
Senior Member
 
Indymule's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 644
Well I am on my second round with a ham license. I let me original license expire in 2003, recently started wanting to get back in so I went down and passed my tech. New call is KD9FPQ, will need to start studying for my General.
I plan on setting some gear up when we go on long trips, for now, have a quad band (70cm, 2m,6m and 10m) in the truck.




Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums
__________________
Jay & Maria - Camp Dog Joplin
2018 Cedar Creek Champagne 38EL
Fulltimers since May 2018!
2017 Ford F350 Crewcab Dually Diesel
Officially homeless and loving it.
Ham Callsign K9NDY
Indymule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2016, 10:04 AM   #36
Member
 
joy-rick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Suburban Detroit
Posts: 67
Herk, kudos on your extra class upgrade. Ham radio is a wonderful hobby. It's interesting to note that the ARRL letter this month says that the number of licenses is increasing. It's great fun to be part of a hobby that continues to adapt no matter how fast technology advances.

I'm not as active on HF as I once was, but I have 2 mtrs in th truck. Maybe this season I'll try some CW from the picnic table.

Rick - K8RWG - Extra Class since 2002
__________________
Rick (K8RWG), Joy, and Daffy (the spoiled Calico cat)

2014 Rockwood 8315BSS
2016 F250 SC LWB 4x4 6.2 3.73
Reese Dual Cam
Honda EU2000i
joy-rick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2016, 10:37 AM   #37
Site Team - Lou
 
Herk7769's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Eastern PA
Posts: 23,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by joy-rick View Post
Herk, kudos on your extra class upgrade. Ham radio is a wonderful hobby. It's interesting to note that the ARRL letter this month says that the number of licenses is increasing. It's great fun to be part of a hobby that continues to adapt no matter how fast technology advances.

I'm not as active on HF as I once was, but I have 2 mtrs in th truck. Maybe this season I'll try some CW from the picnic table.

Rick - K8RWG - Extra Class since 2002
Thank you so much. Seems the direction forward is the marrying of Computers and Amateur radio in ways that allows sending and receiving of messages all over the world (similar to email but without using the internet).

Software Defined Radio (SDR) is also pretty neat. I bought a "dongle" (about the size if a USB stick) HF SDR radio for less than 30 bucks that can receive HF broadcasts from all over the world using just an antenna.
__________________
Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk7769 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2016, 02:10 PM   #38
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Blessing, TX
Posts: 32
Congrats on the Extra ticket, Herk! I always take my KX3 with me camping. Here's a couple of pics of a kit I put together so I can take a complete working radio with me wherever I go. The radio will operate on AA batteries, but I usually take a power supply if I'm on a trip. I have several other portable antennas that I use on occasion. I usually work the 20 and 40 meter bands!

73's

Mark
W3ZZT
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	Hamkit1.jpg
Views:	135
Size:	564.3 KB
ID:	102010   Click image for larger version

Name:	Hamkit2.jpg
Views:	144
Size:	409.1 KB
ID:	102011  
__________________
Mark
2015 Ford F-250 Powerstroke
2014 Rockwood 8312SS
TexasT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-15-2016, 10:15 PM   #39
Site Team - Lou
 
Herk7769's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Eastern PA
Posts: 23,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasT View Post
Congrats on the Extra ticket, Herk! I always take my KX3 with me camping. Here's a couple of pics of a kit I put together so I can take a complete working radio with me wherever I go. The radio will operate on AA batteries, but I usually take a power supply if I'm on a trip. I have several other portable antennas that I use on occasion. I usually work the 20 and 40 meter bands!

73's

Mark
W3ZZT
Thanks Mark, That is a cool kit!

I am building a backpack frame for my Yaesu FT-857D, LDG YT-100 and SuperAntenna so the entire rig will be man portable. It has 28 AH of battery power and a solar charger.

I will post some photos when done. I will upload the build specs when I get it finished.
__________________
Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk7769 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2016, 03:12 PM   #40
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 265
I couldn't vote.


We did, however, use our FRS handhelds quite a bit this week camping. It was nice to have the girls (10 and 12) let us know when they made it to the trampoline, when they were headed back, etc.


We could have used phones, but if they had their phones with them they wouldn't have gone outside...


Also used the FRS when DW was spotting during backup and stuff.


I got my HAM tech no-code ticket many years ago, but let it expire. Had a dual-band HT I never used.


The FRS radios are cheap and simple and handy.
__________________
Family of six, camping in a Grey Wolf 26DBH LTD pushing a 2010 Armada via 10k/1k HaulMaster WDH stopped by a Prodigy P2 brake controller

Tug: 2010 2wd Nissan Armada Titanium with tow package.
Specs: Max Trailer Weight 9,100, Tongue Load: 910, GCWR: 15,100, GVWR: 7,150, Payload: 1,592
DadOfTwo is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
radio

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:09 AM.