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Hey Pete can you give these guys a hand? Depending on where you live you could drop in on the Sussex County Amateur Radio Club, Splitrock R.C., or the one I'll probably attend near Matamoras, PA, which is actually at a gun range. If you have a NH or FL carry license you can QSO and carry.

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ARRL Field Day this weekend (6/24-6/25).  Any plans?
I'm a noob General license and haven't been to one.  Thinking I can learn alot if I attend a local event.

Bring TP....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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hey Angelo,

I got a little busy and didn't get to check forums . I was at split rock station for set up Saturday then came back to operate from 11 30 pm till about 3 30 am. WTF is a little south i'm guessing for us, but Cecil would have been able to hit up Matamoris, Sussex, or split rock.maybe next year we can plan a little better for newer guys looking to participate and find a location where some can meet and not feel like a total stranger. hope those that participated had fun

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14 hours ago, tinman22 said:

hey Angelo,

I got a little busy and didn't get to check forums . I was at split rock station for set up Saturday then came back to operate from 11 30 pm till about 3 30 am. WTF is a little south i'm guessing for us, but Cecil would have been able to hit up Matamoris, Sussex, or split rock.maybe next year we can plan a little better for newer guys looking to participate and find a location where some can meet and not feel like a total stranger. hope those that participated had fun

Our daughter and hubby were over so I got a late start on Saturday. So I decided to bite the bullet and attend the field day event held by the dreaded Sussex AR Club, which was just 5 miles away in Lafayette -- instead of driving to Matamoras. It was my first "real" field day. Last year's event in Matamoras was just bring-your-own, unstructured. The Sussex club takes this seriously. They had a huge tent, YUGE generator, about 15 computers networked, 8 or 9 radios (although they were officially 5). Two huge beam antennas.

I helped set up then left shortly after the contest began. I returned at 11:00 pm after everyone here went to bed, and stayed until 3am. It was fun but I decided that contesting is not for me. It's too robotic. Sort of like shaking hands with everyone you see and bragging about how many friends you have. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed BS'ing with the guys and I was there for like 8 hours total, but as far as operating is concerned I had more fun w/ my family at High Point yesterday with my KX3, trying 2m simplex and 20m voice on a crappy long wire. I'm not knocking the contest guys at all but to me the appeal of the hobby is simplicity. 

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I joined a friend do work a  station on generator power in his back yard. It was a 3-man, 2 radio crew. We worked 40m, 20m, 10m, and 6m. At the end of the contest, we got a little over 200 QSOs. We had most of our success on 20m. We got some QSOs in Puerto Rico, California, Ontario, etc. 

It was my first time transmitting on HF; all I have is a cheap VHF/UHF HT and $10 SDR Rx dongle. The experience gave me some motivation to study for my general. 20m in particular was very open. We had the easiest time there.

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8 minutes ago, Cecil Harvey said:

I joined a friend do work a  station on generator power in his back yard. It was a 3-man, 2 radio crew. We worked 40m, 20m, 10m, and 6m. At the end of the contest, we got a little over 200 QSOs. We had most of our success on 20m. We got some QSOs in Puerto Rico, California, Ontario, etc. 

It was my first time transmitting on HF; all I have is a cheap VHF/UHF HT and $10 SDR Rx dongle. The experience gave me some motivation to study for my general. 20m in particular was very open. We had the easiest time there.

Did you hear anything on 6m? I was listening for 2 hours from noon to 2pm on Saturday and all I heard was noise. It was too uniform across the band -- sounded like something was wrong with the radio but nobody was much interested in 6m.

It took me 45 years after I got interested in radio to get my Tech license, and 3 or 4 months more to get my General. I have a strong science background so it was more laziness than difficulty. I have some nice simple HF rigs for sale, two with built in antenna tuners, plus a simple external tuner, if you're interested. You can basically get into HF for less than $500. The HF bands are the real magic of the hobby.

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4 minutes ago, Newtonian said:

Did you hear anything on 6m? I was listening for 2 hours from noon to 2pm on Saturday and all I heard was noise. It was too uniform across the band -- sounded like something was wrong with the radio but nobody was much interested in 6m.

We didn't hear anything on Saturday on 6m, though we checked a few times. My buddy got a dozen or so QSOs on Sunday morning, but I wasn't there for that. 

4 minutes ago, Newtonian said:

It took me 45 years after I got interested in radio to get my Tech license, and 3 or 4 months more to get my General. I have a strong science background so it was more laziness than difficulty. I have some nice simple HF rigs for sale, two with built in antenna tuners, plus a simple external tuner, if you're interested. You can basically get into HF for less than $500. The HF bands are the real magic of the hobby.

Maybe -- what do you have? 

I'm not sure exactly what budget I'm going to have over the next couple months. I think I'm joining Old Bridge Rifle and Pistol Club. That first year initiation fee is quite expensive. 

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17 minutes ago, Cecil Harvey said:

We didn't hear anything on Saturday on 6m, though we checked a few times. My buddy got a dozen or so QSOs on Sunday morning, but I wasn't there for that. 

Maybe -- what do you have? 

I'm not sure exactly what budget I'm going to have over the next couple months. I think I'm joining Old Bridge Rifle and Pistol Club. That first year initiation fee is quite expensive. 

I have a full sized Kenwood (100w), a very nice Icom 703 mobile (10W) that I used last year as a base, and an LNR 5-bander, also I believe 10W. All in very nice shape. I'd take whatever they're selling them for. I'll dig up the full descriptions and post them here.

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I need another expensive hobby like I need a hole in my head.

Three days ago, I took the tech practice exam twice and scored mid to high 60's, then for fun took the general practice exam and scored in the low 50's.  I didn't expect to pass either one, I did it to establish a baseline, and to see what kinds of questions they focus on.

After two more days of researching radio equipment, reading comments on articles and some ham forum posts, I retook the tech exam and passed in the high 70's to low 80's.  Just from two days worth of casual reading.

The straight forward technical questions were easy, the answers to technical questions that involved unfamiliar equipment or concepts could often be extrapolated with a little logical thinking, but the regulatory questions were something else.  I managed to answer about 60% of the regulatory questions right just by going with the most restrictive answer.

There will be an exam 1-26-19 at the American Red Cross in Tinton Falls administered by GSARA.  I'm gonna take it, and god help my bank account when I pass.

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19 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

There will be an exam 1-26-19 at the American Red Cross in Tinton Falls administered by GSARA.  I'm gonna take it, and god help my bank account when I pass.

Good luck on the retake. I drained my bank account more than once after I got my Extra way back when. The good news is most of the equipment I bought back then is still usable. Just had to update 2m/440 to provide the tone locks that most repeaters use these days.

One good thing about ham radio transmissions: although other people can listen to your conversations over the air, the NSA can't reliably intercept and record everything you say. Just ask Nellie Ohr.

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16 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

I need another expensive hobby like I need a hole in my head.

Interesting that you recycled this thread. I've been thinking about doing the same thing. Actually bought a couple of Baofeng portables to play with and learn about HAM, but haven't really done anything yet. I've played around with CB (yeah, I know, don't say it), FRS GMRS, all types of police scanners, VHF, racing communications, etc. but never moved up to HAM gear.

That would probably be a good resolution to make for 2019, before the next melt-down hits . And yes, I can see that it will get expensive too.....

22 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Three days ago, I took the tech practice exam twice and scored mid to high 60's, then for fun took the general practice exam and scored in the low 50's.  I didn't expect to pass either one, I did it to establish a baseline, and to see what kinds of questions they focus on.

What's your experience with two way radios in general? Did that tech information seem difficult?

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FYI guys. All the exam questions for any class license come from a limited number of multiple question pools which are public. You could literally memorize all the answers if you had a mind to.

Personally of course having the basic technical knowledge of your equipment and how it works is just as valuable as knowing basic medical trauma procedures. You need to fix something if it breaks.

The Technician Class test is pretty basic and there are lots of books out there to help you along that are either free or inexpensive. The rules and regs aren't that hard either.

Don't overlook the ARRL as a source of information.

As for ham radio in general, it's another piece in the master plan puzzle.

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3 minutes ago, 45Doll said:

Good luck on the retake.

This will be my first time taking it officially.  Previous tests were web based practice exams.  Anyone thinking about getting their tech should use them.  just google "ham practice test" and several sites will show up.

5 minutes ago, Sniper said:

What's your experience with two way radios in general? Did that tech information seem difficult?

I kinda have a background in electronics and radios.  I could read a schematic when I was 10 and built my first electronic gizmo around that time, had a CB in the 70s, had a CB with SSB in the 80's, worked at Bell Labs for a while, went to a tech school '99-'00 where I learned a lot more about electronics and other neat stuff. Had a couple jobs where we used business class 2way and I had to program them, just becuz I was the nerd.

Having a background in electronics and radio helps, but is not necessary.  I'd say anyone of average intelligence could pass the test with 6 to 8 weeks of study and active engagement with others in the hobby.

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13 minutes ago, 45Doll said:

having the basic technical knowledge of your equipment and how it works is just as valuable as knowing basic medical trauma procedures. You need to fix something if it breaks

I found a 160m-10m rig on CL that sold for over $1,000.00 not too long ago brand new, and is being offered for $275 because it's prone to a very easily fixed manufacturing defect.  In spite of the ease of repair, the cost to have it fixed is too high for most folks, but if you know what you are doing, you can save a lot of dough.

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I could go on for an hour about ham radio...if you're somewhat technically oriented, its a LOT of fun, and it's as expensive as you want to make it.  Actually costwise, its a lot like shotgun shooting.  You can start with a Beretta or a Browning and move-up to a hand-made Grulla, or you can also be very happy for years and years with a second-hand Mossberg Maverick.   

My club - the South Jersey Radio Association - is planning a Ham Radio Conference on Sunday March 24th down here in South Jersey...somewhere in the Mt Laurel area.  Its slant is for new hams wondering..."I've got the license...now what?" with talks and demonstrations and more.   All are welcome; there will be a charge at the door to cover the venue AND lunch...I'll post more info as we get closer.

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Sunday, March 24, 2019

SJRA’S 2019 Radio Conference

Location: Hotel ML 915 Route 73 Mt. Laurel, NJ  (on route 73 between the turnpike and route 295)

 VE Session

 Seminars

 Vendor displays 

 Lunch included

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