/diy/ - Do It Yourself

lids incoming

>>2516067
you're a lid

>>2516067
>>2516092
>none a dem lids on dem waves when Ah been young

is this any good?

What is a decent power analyzer for the $.
Clearly not MJF.

>>2516153
>Are ARRL good
The lids have arrived.

>>2516153
HELL YEAH BROTHER

>the Chad repeater

>>2516053
I recently watched that movie after hearing about it when I was in grade school in the 70's.

What a stupid fucking pointless shit of a movie.
nothing in it made sense.

>>2516119
post the original.

>>2516176
>post the original.
There you go, my bad.

>>2516184

>>2516053
get niggers off of my /diy/ thanks

So, I currently have a Uniden Bearcat 880 and the screen is starting to go out on it. I'd like to replace it with something a little higher quality but I want it to have access to the weather bands. Leaning towards the President McKinley. A good choice?

Reminder you only need 100 watts and a wire to work DX.

I self-identify as a person with male genitalia transitioning from clown world to a /x/+/pol/ influenced Bill Cooper-centric model of life.
Single rose, rosicrucianism, communism.
How bad is ham radio infiltrated? I don't need a surface level answer, I've been a ham for awhile.
Lots of good guys on the repeaters and at the ham fest, there's no doubt about that.
But there have been more people than not replacing 73 with 'stay safe' on hf over the past few years.
The World Bank has its own call (4U1WB)
The United Nations is its own country?!
Gear seems rather unreasonably inflated which brings another sector into light who are tied to such ideologies ...

>>2516508
Completely and utterly infiltrated, it's probably best for you to stay far away from ham radio

>>2516508
Even in this general we have an Israeli religiously making an appearance >>2516176
Another observation, the ARRL is de facto, the model of communism
>Gain control of the population
>Do nothing organization
>Collect unjustified dues
>Berate them with absurd reminders that even if you have a radio, if you commit crimes it's still illegal
W1AW and the ARRL headquarters are 44 miles from Sandy Hook. I've heard that area of the country is a very infiltrated, Stepford Wives type of atmosphere.
Hiram Percy Maxim is buried in ROSE Hill cemetery.
He's credited with bringing firearm suppressors to the market in the US. Silencing? Sounds like suppression of thought and speech!
He also founded the ARRL.
A. American. Nationalized.
What's that second R stand for?! Relay.
Parroting what is already said. Take the government narrative and rebroadcast it.
L. League.
League of Nations was founded around the time of the ARRL. Doesn't seem like a coincidence now.
According to Black's law dictionary,
>League: A covenant made by nations, groups,
or individuals for promoting common interests or ensuring mutual protection.
Nations. Mutual protection. League of Nations. ARRL. New World Order.
Case closed.

>>2516520
>League of Nations was founded around the time of the ARRL. Doesn't seem like a coincidence now.
You're looking at the rebranded blue helmets.
You've been funding them all along.

>>2516508
>>2516510
>>2516520
>>2516522
shouldn't you be prepping over on /pol/ or /k/?

>>2516508
>infiltrated?
You should have checked the FAQ. It makes clear that cold war laws are still in effect in this field.

>>2516526
Sounds like suppression from a tyrant's mouth.
>>2516527
The Cold War was fake and gay.
I'm halfway teasing, but I saw that Rose Club logo on QRZ this morning and the pieces are starting to fall together however small the facts I can gather on a whim are.
It's an angle I'm going to have to do a lot of 'between the lines' reading on for the foreseeable future.
Maxim also created the American Cinema League in New York. The ACL.
You can't spell ACLU without ACU

>>2516531
>ACLU
The ACL was 4 miles from where the ACLU is. That can't be coincidence.

>>2516535
>That can't be coincidence.
Ze plot! She thickens!

>>2516508
>How bad is ham radio infiltrated
What's this even mean? All anyone talks about are signal reports, prostate exams, and ham radio equipment.

>>2516596
Staying on topic, The Thracian Rose Club Bulgaria, is a radio club.
Their logo, posted above, has a single rose looking to the light, overlaid by the globe.
Three screaming elements of communism/NWO symbolism.
As I said
>Lots of good guys on the repeaters and at the ham fest, there's no doubt about that.
but the overarching structure? Goals? Subtle messaging?
Google has indexed over 80 QRZ profiles of freemasons and now I'm getting a 429 server error. They know I'm on to them.

Light has been used as a powerful spiritual metaphor and enduring symbol for God.
As the single rose is the illumination, it is your god. A global god. One new, world order.
Bow down.

>>>/x/

Is Bioenno all that and a bag of chips or should I go with EcoWorthy for half the price?
I asked /ohm/ and they laughed at me. Said all small lithium batteries are the same Chinese crap.

Are there any p25 portables that are reasonable cost? I can't find anything

>>2516855
No. P.25 is expensive.

Any recommendations for a cheapo chink handheld that will allow me to transmit for an unlimited amount of time and not cut me off?
That is, I could hold the push to talk button for 6 hours straight and it wouldn't cut me off after 5 minutes or whatever, just constantly keep the stream going.

I know it sounds like trolling/shitting up the waves, but it isn't, I promise.

>made my first cw contact today
>made my first 40m contact today
Feels pretty good

>>2516855
Check for EFJ5100 on eBay
Don’t forget to buy a keyloader, KFDShield is pretty goat
>>2516891
Poorfag
>>2516508
Meds, now.

>>2516992
what's your rig ?

>>2517000
>Meds, now.
You first.

>>2517047
Ftdx3000, chv5x. Keeping it about 80w unless they ask for my call more than once.

>>2517059
>Ftdx3000
>$2,000 radio
>first 40m contact
>and it was cw
[X] doubt

just did de exam,
waiting for my cert now.
remember this is your fault /ham/

>>2517099
What? You don't believe the trolls around here?

>>2517099
>$2,000 radio
Check last thread, a dude got a FTDX3000 for an unbelievably low price.

>>2517184
oh yea, dude straight up stole it

>>2517099
What's there to doubt? I got it for $400 and I'm only a tech license so cw is all I have on 40m for the time being. Working on general.

>>2516992
Congrats, I hope you did it without a decoder.

Hello. I'm starting from scratch to learn for winter, I just connected a PAODTR Antenna to a kiwiSDR.

I took a (cheap selectable voltage) wall PSU, selected 12V as requested by the .. (is it bias Tee ?) before the Antenna
Properly grounded antenna.
>Maybe it's some bad wall plug and should test with some other PSU, like Lab PSU?
At the moment, still in pre-test, I put directly the antenna outside, laying horizontal in the gutter of the building.

There is 3-phase cable running just under the gutter, with PLC communication for Smartgrid on it.
Here are what KiwiSDR is displaying. I think it's just garbage.
The antenna is grounded, plugged to the main ground of the building.
>Should I route a totally distinct ground ?

Reading Chinese to english translation it is said to install the antenna vertical on a plastic rod. But my goal is to monitor 50kHz-250kHz bandwidth inside that 3-Phase cable.
Does the zinc gutter makes some sort of shield ?

Rest of the spectrum is not showing anything better as picrel, nothing like what I see on worldwide's stations of kiwiSDR page.

Would be glad to gather your tips. Thank you.

>>2517346
put the antenna away from that gutter, don't ground things, main's ground is horrendous for radio, it collects all the garbage and injects it in your radio system as it is a differential signal.
Maybe it will be a bit better... But don't get high hopes because of that 3 phase cable...

>>2517352
ok I will test. A radio amateur told me he had some horrific signal since smartgrid PLC was in use in his city.

I think I will seal the bottom of the antenna to some plastic stick and silicone glue.. and hang it on the roof.
But I have Starlink dishy just nearby hooks.
Could it produces noise as well ?

>>2517345
Yes, but only because he was willing to drop to ~16wpm

>>2517211
That radio is wasted as a tech. Just absolutely wasted. I'm looking at a corvette with a speed governor set to 45mph. Get your fucking general asap, you don't even really need your extra. Just get your fucking general. What a waste, a tech with a fucking $3,000 top end radio. Can't even tx on most bands unless it's fucking cw.

What the fuck is the point of this shit?
Can it make you money or is it just a good hobby?

>>2517598
It's just a hobby, but you learn a ton about electrical theory, radio theory, and doing shit yourself.

>>2517597
There is nothing wrong with CW.

>>2517597
Jelly, the post

>>2517597
Imagine having this much of a meltdown.

>>2517598
I can communicate instantly with other people with zero infrastructure. Case in point? Recent power outage in North Carolina. One of the hams I was talking to there was a prepper and could talk to others without needing to leave his warm home.

So, what is your best speed when receiving Morse code?
I am rather rusty now but in the past usually worked at 21.

>>2516968
Time out timer (ToT) is an option that can be modified or disabled in most handhelds but they are not made for continuous txmit nor the rules allow for it. You will probably bust the ppt button or even burn the txmitter given enough battery or direct power source.
If you want to try on a cheap disposable device anyway I suggest replacing the internal push ppt button with a switch and use a low tx power.
If your intention is that to emit a beacon signal you can make use of the VOX function instead with a direct cable connection to the sound source played in a loop. It will txmit automatically but only when sound is played, leaving the freq free when not.

>>2517715
18 is all I can do at the moment

>>2517689
>>2517602
Okay thanks.
I'm glad I understand a little better now.

>>2517802
>learn about radio frequencies whether ham or commercial or wifi/cell frequencies
>learn about antennas, applicable to ham or OTA TV or building a wifi booster ...
>be able to communicate(voice, sms, email) without a cellphone or internet
>have fun chasing new countries and work them all
>do a contest that makes the weekend blur by

>>2517802
>>2517865
You can also receive weather satellite images, the latest generation is pretty good. And you get it straight from space without relying on functioning network.

>>2517890
APRS is also nice. I'm halfway joking, but it's 1000% better than LifeAlert at practically no cost.
Before becoming a ham, I really wish I had APRS. GPS was still too new and expensive and I was always out hunting in my 20s and getting turned around in the woods.
In a lot of ways, ham isn't a hobby, it's a skillset for a renaissance man.

>>2517597
Lol eat shit

>>2517933
>procedure
The memes are true

>>2517945
kek

I've had my tech for almost a decade and only started using it a few days ago. I've been qrp-ing in my free time with 100watts of output, and not got a single reply. A long time ham set up the radio and antenna I'm using and he heard someone in Texas taking to someone in England.

Tell it to me straight: am I the forever alone of the ham world?

>>2518049
>I've been qrp-ing with 100 watts
Yeah

>>2517945
You expected them not to be?

>>2518049
>qrp is now 100watts instead of 5

>>2518129
>replying to a larping faggot that outed himself

I have a 100km range UAV system using yagi antenna.

can I replace a satellite dish's feedhorn with a 433mhz radio?

would it work? will I gain better range?

>>2518233
The dish will need a diameter 20x the wavelength, and that will give you a longer range, at the expense of a narrower beam, so you need to direct the beam far more carefully.
There is no free lunch here.

just got SDRplay, 30m of coax 25m of wire and some ferrites for balun/unun
what antenna would you build to get 40m best ?
but there is catch, my attic has only 14m

>>2518336

>>2518336
you can put the antenna to a Z shape to make it fit into a smaller space

>>2518363
is the unun required given I intend only to receive rn ?

>>2518368
you mean like coax fed dipole with bent edges opposite directions, picrel ?

>>2518389
>is the unun required given I intend only to receive?
Nope. You don't even need the coax for that matter. I wouldn't bother with a dipole unless you're transmitting.

So I got a question to you Hammers. Ham enthusiasts?
Whatever.
How hard would it be for some post apocalyptic society to get these radios running?
Assuming society isn't so fucked up that they can't find materials, but they may have to do work arounds or use less than modern techniques to assemble the things.

>>2518417

>>2516176
>What a stupid fucking pointless shit of a movie.
It's just a run-of-the-mill sticking-it-to-the-man exploitation flick, what did you expect?

>>2518417
The entire point of ham radio is to experiment, test, and improve. Building radios, amps, antennas, etc. It's a hobby built around doing shit yourself. One of the coolest things you can do is pick up a basic diy radio kit to build and solder yourself. Then find an old lamp or any electrical wiring you have laying around and build a 5ft dipole. Don't worry about a balun, you're just receiving anyway. Run it straight to the radio with some wire and right out your window. 2.5ft on each side, have them hanging against the wall or something it literally does not fucking matter. The antenna could be a 15in long rusty nail from your backyard, fm broadcasts are so strong you'll probably pick shit up.

Look up qrp stations and how well they work with ft8 transmissions. Every satellite in space could be nuked right now, we'd still have world-wide radio wave communications to some degree. Our fundamental understanding of radio waves and data transmissions far exceeds most people's expectations. Building a basic transceiver on any band is something a child can do with an instruction manual and 0 experience.

>>2518489
Also, you don't necessarily need a battery either. A simple wind or hydroelectric generator, even a pathetically small one, could power something like this enough to receive.

>>2518417
this is why I am getting into radio. it is maybe the only moderately viable global communication system post-"apocalypse". get the gear and experience you can now, before you need it. also study permaculture and systems thinking!

>>2518417
>How hard would it be for some post apocalyptic society to get these radios running?
Receivers are easily made from scraps. CW transceivers for Morse code are also simple, pic. related is a such a beast, and costs 3 bucks.

>>2518417
it's made to run on 12V batteries. Look at ho much cars are seating around, you need the battery, the alternator and either the engine or some slave to make it turn.

>>2518507
I'm honestly just studying it for a novel I'm considering writing. The fantasy one might win out to be the main project since it takes a little less research, though.
>>2518489
>>2518523
>>2518521
>>2518491
Thanks for your answers.

>>2518309
I think this is doable. there's a lot of decommissioned large telecom dish I can buy. and I already have an GPS based antenna tracker driven by stepper motors. I can upgrade it and utilize mechanical advantage and lead screws to be able to drive a heavy dish.

>>2518616
>there's a lot of decommissioned large telecom dish I can buy.
Ooooh! How big? If you can get them cheaply and refurbish them you could set up a business on this.
A collapsible dish mounted on a fire engine with a mechanical ladder would be the bomb.

>>2518523
For an apocalyptic scenario, you could have a look at the neighbouring thread on wood gas generators: >>2504527
There are many low tech means for generating sustantial amounts of electrical power.

>>2518853
For an apocalyptic scenario I'll spend all my time getting food and water, not trying to contact 80 yo guys around the world to hear them speak about their rheumatism

>>2517865
>able to communicate(voice, sms, email) without a cellphone or internet

How so?

>>2518892
>Voice
Heaven help you
>Email
Winlink
>Text
APRS
You're one YouTube search away from finding 10 tutorials.

>>2518892
Sending data via radio isn't new. Your cell phone does this at +/- 900MHz. Look up slow scan tv, fast scan tv, repeaters (cell towers basically), etc. Also look up data (ft8, etc) and morse code. Programs can and will automatically decode morse code (cw) at any speed, which translates to text.

They could send morse code since the 1800s.

Just passed my General. Was the only person to show up at the local church running exams. There were about 10 boomers sitting around watching me. Would have been a funny test to fail and waste all their mornings.

>>2519036
Congrats, anon ... unless you stole a $3,000 radio from an old widow.

>>2519038
Not that anon. I've got a ft-891 I got off a local old with an atas120 and car mount for $675. Not as lucky(horrible person) as the other tech-fag.

Anyone old enough to remember the yearly dues of yesteryear? $50 is a little steep for a magazine full of ads

Can someone explain to me difference between Dipole and Doublet ?
Dipole - Needs to be trimmed to exact size by SWR readings, coax fed, no matching needed = SINGLE BAND
Doublet - SIze dont matter much, balanced line fed only, matching needed = MULTIBAND

What causes the multibandness ? Does it have something to do with the feed line ?

>>2519038
>unless you stole a $3,000 radio from an old widow.
>>2519040
>Not as lucky(horrible person) as the other tech-fag.
The nephew sold it to me, not the widow, and he was also a ham radio operator. He wanted the equipment to go to a good home where it wasn't getting flipped or left to collect dust. I'm not a monster.

>>2519097
ARRL is the organisation of yesteryear, and they are still puzzled this hobby is not attracting people in droves. This general is doing more for /ham/ recruitment than they do.

What went wrong with global radio communication?

>>2518417
Honestly, the hardest bit about building radios is conforming to a bunch or rules that make sure you don't piss everybody else off.

You can build a fairly powerful spark-gap morse code transmitter that you can hear all around the world on practically all frequencies form nothing but copper wire, and some iron. Hell you can pick up the transmissions with just some wire, a pencil and a razor.

That's in fact how the first radios communications where realized. The first recover used a vile with some iron shavings as a pseudo-diode.

However, if I where to to that today, everybody ant their grandmothers dog would be backing down my neck for disrupting communications.

It really depends on how much resources you have available.
If you can scramble up any form of transistors, you can build decent transmitters and receivers from shit you find around, with nothing but some math.

Capacitors can be build from aluminum foil and baking sheets, resistors are still just really thin copper wire around a ceramic core. Semiconductors get a little tricky to diy. Pure semiconductor grade shit isn't found in everyday life.
Diodes can be improvised from pencil leads and oxidized iron. GI-s used to build foxhole radios using razors and copper wire. The wire would serve as a tuning coil, while the razor-pencil combo worked well enough as a diode to pick up AM broadcasts.

Given enough time, resources and motivation I'm reasonably convinced some autist could DIY workable vacuum tubes from relatively common items. After that you're pretty much working with near enough modern electronics

>>2519316
On second though, now that i've started thinking about the subject, I do remember seeing people building pseudo-triodes using a burner and bits and pieces of metal to improvise an anode-cathode and grid. A sort of pseudo-vacuum tube. I'm not sure as to how effective such a device would be a for a transmitter, but admittedly limited receivers have been build around these things. With some impedance matching transformers and a lot of tinkering, maybe a transmitter could be build like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNl0sFViaxs&ab_channel=nylesteiner

this is probably a dumb question but why are people apparently so hateful of people who operate radios without a license

does it interfere with others? just considered bad taste? it seems like the point of wanting to learn to do some of this stuff is not to have a asterisk next to your name in some list.

>>2519347
Think of it similarly to gun ownerships.
Why do most gun owners hate retards that walk around Walmart with the AR-15 causing a scene?
Simple. Acting retarded provokes a reaction, that reaction catalyzes in to further restrictions on people who want to do stuff legally.

Some retard shitposting on repeaters doesn't effect me 9/10. I genuinely don't care. However, the institution that finances those repeaters being up gets fussy then they get called gay retards repeatedly. They then shit down said repeaters.
The retard causing the scene moves on to running somethin else, and people who do things 'by the book' are left suffering the consequences.

>>2519350
That's why I stay on HF simplex, cw or phone or data, it doesn't matter. At least I know the retards by know and they're well known as retards (kc4tvz for example). Repeater warriors are far too stupid to hang up a dipole or end-fed and fuck with me on 40m.

>>2519355
i didnt understand any of this but i wish i did

is it possible to use house-mounted equipment to talk to someone from across the atlantic from georgia (usa)?

>>2519355
Same desu.
Recently pretty much left HF SSB and moved to CW exclusively. Chatty boomers are too eager to talk about their prostate these days. But they cant be assed to learn morse lmao

>>2519356
See what I mean? Too stupid. Jokes aside I don't want to gatekeep ham. I used a 36" cut cb radio whip to talk to Japan from my truck in a Nevada McDonald's parking lot. Look up grey line propagation. I have a 60w mobile and 100w base setup and I've worked Japan, Brazil, Portugal, Australia, random islands in-between, etc. My first contact on 10m radio was with a russian speaking station who told me to stand-by while they finished a qso with someone from Poland. The band deteriorated in minutes and I was left with my pants around my ankles and no callsign.

>>2519360
Don't be so sure.
>>2517933

>>2519361
wow! it's probably not possible to do georgia to japan though right

>>2519361
Lmao.
Russies are insane. I head a dude allegedly working off 5kW from some frozen fishing shack in Siberia absolute madlad.

>>2519356
>>2519356
Yes.
Take a class, get a license.

I've had a contact from Europe to both the US as well as South Africa and New Zeland in just the last week. Im working my way up to reaching Antarctica.

A few guys from the local club have had contacts with pretty much every country around the world excluding North Korea with just 100w and a dipole. Hell there's a dude that operates exclusively QRP(low power sub 5w) that's done the same.

For reference you can buy a qrp rig for 50$ and fit it in your pocket. Good antennas get a little trickily since you'll need bit of space

My current home setup is just 25w, but my antenna is autism grade so I can squeezy a lot out of the setup.

>>2519368
I can put cubical quad setups up at your house that you could run 1500w through. You WILL talk to China, Australia, Russia, and any other country that's on the air in as little as month. Your signal will shit all over everyone and you'll be the most hated/envied person of every pileup.

But seriously look up a trapped dipole or multi band vertical antenna like the Hustler 4btv. You absolute can get on the air and make great long distance contacts (dx) with limited power and a single multi-band antenna.

>>2519371
Neat. Should learn to do this. Will come in handy during power substation apocalypse.

Called that one like 10 years ago.

Fixed my 3d printer and swapped out my ft891 power source.
Petty, but a bit smaller, now universal, and free.

>>2519368
Here's my little antenna before I tuned it.

>>2519376
It's also reversible.
Gonna try and short the Mars location and do a reboot next

>>2519377
I live right in the shadow of a mountain. Thinking about that . Not a huge mountain though.

>>2519375
Sure anon, now would you like me to tell you about the 29A 24V power supply needed to run my rig at full output power?

>>2519380
solar.

>>2519382
Sure anon :)
I'm sure the radio grade inverter will give you a silky smooth QRM hum across all bands while you sizzle the mosfets

>>2519382
Also, interesting tidbit of info, the frequencies that offer the propagation needed for worldwide DX-ing are pretty much exclusively nighttime bands

>>2519206
I agree and that hate has rightfully gone back to at least the 1990s with wayve green and 73 magazine.
I'm chasing a DXCC Challenge and need to be a member to bend over and pay out the rear for a useless plaque.

>>2519385
i'm not sure why you think common electronic equipment can't connect to my solar battery

people who don't understand solar are tiresome

>>2519395
>i'm not sure why you think common electronic equipment can't connect to my solar battery


Well two reasons mainly...The 13.8V standard of most HAM radio equipment, and an assumption on my part that you intent to keep your station in working order

Kek. You don't have to solder. Just short and restart.

>>2519445
pic related

>>2519445
>>2519448
If you want your modifications to persist through future factory resets then it makes sense to solder them.

can we please retitle this general to /HAM/ature? Ffs you oldhats wonder why you sit in silence on your radios every night.

>>2519451
Agreed, but tossing an allen wrench on them and pressing 3 buttons was easier.
And going forward, it'd be easier to undo if I'm selling the radio or go completely deranged and become a pirate and have to hide my evil ways before the FCC knock down the door.

>>2519454
>retitle this general to /HAM/ature?
>to /HAM/ature
>ature
no

>>2519461
zoomers will never ride your lame ass waves then

>>2519462
I pray you're right

>>2519462
Not him >>2519464, but what he says >>2519464

>>2519464
>>2519467
taking your lame ass crystal waves to the grave, rather than adapt and overcome to pass it to the next generation?
Boring. I'd bet a dollar your grandparents hated you as much as you hate zoomers.

>>2519470
Says the guy who spells it
>armature

>>2519478
>/HAM/ature
HAMature
AMature
>armature (?????)
says the fucking idiot with cheaters that can't read.

>>2519168
Doublet is fed with ladder line

>>2518417
I'm getting so sick of these writefags too lazy to spend some time getting familiar with a topic instead of asking people to fucking spoonfeed them some shit. kys.

>>2519376
>>2519378
jezus christ that is awesome

>he's seething again

>>2519479
Does the concept of spelling it
>amateur
seem within your reach?

>>2519598
You can buy them for $10 if you don't have a printer
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5577798

>>2519379
It doesn't matter, you could live in a valley surrounded by mountains and still make contacts. Obviously the better you can throw a signal towards the horizon, the more long distance contacts you'll make.

>>2519377
I love rotatable dipoles, they've always been my favorite antennas. Look up the mfj 1789. 2m-40m.

BOOM BABA BOOM BABA BOOM BABA

Get up and move, lardasses. And stop eating so much.

>>2519338
>I do remember seeing people building pseudo-triodes using a burner and bits and pieces of metal to improvise an anode-cathode and grid.
Plenty of home made triode designs here:
https://simplifier.neocities.org/

>>2519347 >>2519356
The FAQ already answers these questions.

>>2519356
Yes a friend does a lot of mobile and portable and when the conditions are right, he can do QSO with people all over the globe, from Europe, he did Brazil and Canada easily.

>>2520239
Learn how to spell "amateur", dilettante.

>>2519338
>I do remember seeing people building pseudo-triodes using a burner and bits and pieces of metal to improvise an anode-cathode and grid
http://www.sparkbangbuzz.com/
Especially the flame triode
http://www.sparkbangbuzz.com/flame-amp/flameamp.htm

I tried using ChatGPT for RF and radio questions and it literally just makes up random shit. I'm dying

>>2520300
you just invented quora

>>2520285
>Learn how to spell "amateur", dilettante.

>>2520354
>>2519454
>to /HAM/ature?
>>2519479
>AMature
>armature (?????)

>>2517346
If you are in a city don't use a PAODTR active antenna, use a magloop, even better if it's tuned.

the whip antennas only really work away from RF noise of cities.

If you only want to RX a magloop is cheap to build

>>2519445
>>2519376
I'm liking this radio

>>2520412
I'd like to have that as my car radio.

>>2520412
What is the rest of your setup? Antenna, tuner, power, etc. I'm building out my 891 for portable activations and I'm interested in how other peoples setups look.

Anybody have any opinions on the new btech 6x2 pro radio? Been thinking of making it my first step into a digital handheld. For ~$350 with a new antenna+ mic it seems like a pretty good deal

>>2520497
I posted a bit in the end of the other thread.
The anon advising me was correct, there's too much there. It's too heavy. I want to do POTA/SOTA but don't want to sacrifice personal safety and radio protection.
The radio is nice, my base is a ic-7300. I swapped out the power connection and did the MARs mod in about an hour. Hell of a radio for $600 during the black friday sale.
>>2520453
1000%. If I still drove, I'd use the separation kit and be off to the races.

>>2516053
my technician exam is today :))))))))))

>>2520543
you'll crush it. The general is practically the same material - do yourself a favor and study for that tomorrow. The General is the best bang for your buck.

>>2520548
>you'll crush it.
thanks, i'm pretty confident. i've been taking a couple practice tests every day and ace them pretty much every time.

>The general is practically the same material - do yourself a favor and study for that tomorrow.
damn, really? shit, i wish i had known that, i think the place im taking my exam at lets you schedule both in a row. i was under the impression it was a lot more difficult and that it was something i should only look in to once i had gotten a little deeper into the hobby.

>>2520554
>the place im taking my exam at lets you schedule both in a row
That's typical, but don't waste their time unless you're scoring 80%.
The advice I received here was to study for both. It's basically the same material with different answers. A little more detailed, but worth the hassle.
Focus on the tech tonight, then focus for the next 2 weeks on the general while you're in the groove.
HF is so much more fun and freeing than VHF/UHF

>>2520556
well thanks, appreciate the advice. i was planning on going for my general eventually, but i'll start working on it after today. skimming through the general question pool right now and yeah, a lot of these questions seem pretty familiar.

>>2520562
Same mental requirements, just different answers to memorize.
I waited 2 years to take the Extra.
As a tech you do have the ability to change your callsign to a vanity call if that's something that interests you.
You can see what's available here
https://www.ae7q.com/query/
Might be of interest to you if you're looking to pick up a relatives old callsign or something memorable.

>>2520567
>As a tech you do have the ability to change your callsign to a vanity call if that's something that interests you.
thanks for the link. i was actually a little worried about that, is it possible to end up getting assigned a callsign like "KN4FAG" or something like that

>>2520580
>KN4FAG
you jinxed yourself.
You should get something in your region. From my class I saw they were all similar, akin to vehicle license plates
>AAA 001
>AAA 002
I was able to shave off one letter and make it much more phonetically nice which is certainly nice if you're going to say your callsign tens of thousands of times. You want something that rolls of your ears and is music to the person hearing it.

W1GGR is available, I was tempted recently, but I couldn't pull it off.

>CQ CONTEST CQ CONTEST

>>2520543
aced it lads, should be getting my callsign in a couple days. gonna get to work on my general ASAP

>>2520837
congrats, anon !

You guys like my new yagi?

>>2520837
Congratulations, now do General. I took my time and just took practice tests occasionally while learning off what I could do in Tech privileges and got it a month later.

>>2520837
>gonna get to work on my general ASAP
Congrats, and godspeed, anon. Do Extra next.

>>2520849
That indeed is a fine antenna, quite superior I dare say.

>>2520837
Awesome! What were your motivations to get a license?

>>2520947
Spur of the moment, spontaneous decision.

>>2521065
Certainly doesn't hurt anything and the licensing is cheap enough.
Ham radio is a collection of hobbies. If one looks fun, we're here to tease you
>nfarl.org/100Things.html

>>2520849
Planning EME?

>>2520844
>>2520929
>>2520931
thank you kindly. i'm gonna just autism grind the general material this week and see if i can get it by next monday
>Do Extra next.
how hard is it relative to tech/general?

>>2520947
i live in florida and we got nuked by ian a couple months back. my area wasn't hit too bad, but we got lucky and the hurricane's path moved south last second. figured it was about damn time to pick up a radio (i got a baofeng, please no bully) and i had so much fun figuring out how to use it and listening in on different bands that i decided to get my license. plus i needed a new hobby, i've started getting bored with dicking around with computers, and radio is a whole new world of interesting electronics to fiddle with.

>>2521088
>Ham radio is a collection of hobbies. If one looks fun, we're here to tease you
this got me interested, too. i used to think ham radio consisted entirely of just talking to people (and i thought it was all HF too, i didn't even know using HT's with FM repeaters was a thing), i didn't realize the depth of it and how much cool shit there is to do. it's almost a bit overwhelming

>>2521210
>i thought it was all HF too
Yea, that's the first thing that came to my mind. That's the carrot of the General license
There are weekend contests and an online log to track and confirm who many of the 340 'countries' you've worked.
>HT's with FM repeaters
Depending on your location, that's a beautiful network of helpful old men which is a very untapped resource when it comes to day to day help. Need directions? New in town and want restaurant recommendations? Car broke down and you don't have a cell phone?
Then there are technical hobbies with learning and building antennas or assembling kits or tracking balloons with APRS.
You can send text messages and emails too now without a cellphone or internet. It's so empowering and most if not all of the services are free.
>i didn't realize the depth of it
It's very deep and also disjointed. If you're in the Ohio/Indiana/Kentucky area, there's a podcast called AB4WS that gives a weekly update on what's coming up.

>>2521217
>Depending on your location, that's a beautiful network of helpful old men which is a very untapped resource when it comes to day to day help.
yeah, thankfully, as far as i can tell, the ham community here seems pretty active (probably due to the frequency of natural disasters), and they all seem very friendly and passionate about the hobby. that was another thing that put me off from the hobby for a long time, people make it sound like it's nothing but mean old fuckers who gatekeep, but so far my impression has been the opposite.

>Then there are technical hobbies with learning and building antennas or assembling kits or tracking balloons with APRS.
>You can send text messages and emails too now without a cellphone or internet. It's so empowering and most if not all of the services are free.
yeah, this is the shit i'm really interested in. i want to figure out how to use AMPRNet, echolink, IRLP, all that stuff. AREDN looks neat too.

>>2520372
Thank you I will dig a howto craft it.

if this is how my 15wmp sending is, how much longer until I'll be ready to get on the air?

>>2521256
>15wmp sending
How is your 15wpm receiving?

>>2521257
ugh. They really are 2 separate skills.
I've been listening to cw news podcasts at 20wpm and am picking up every second or fourth letter due to my slow recall.
They offer a 15wpm feed, but I'm afraid I'll start counting instead of 'hearing' the letter.
That's the details behind my 'i don't know' answer

>>2521256
You can literally get on the air right now.
Call a nice and slow CQ, at the speed you're comfortable receiving at.. Bunch of beginners will be hogging to talk to anyone and everyone.
If somebody contacts you that's too fast ask for QRS PSE.
Just send out 599 for a few days.
Then learn full boomer QSO-s. Even if you cant get the full QSO just catch the callsign and RST. Nothing else really matters.

>>2521284
>ugh. They really are 2 separate skills.
That is the painful truth.
Beginner mistake 1: fire off a message at best speed, then get a reply at same speed, which turns out to be way too fast, ending up begging with a QRS.

Beginner mistake 2: optimistically fire off a QRQ and forgetting to specify speed, discover the other party is capable of speeds in excess of what was thought humanely possible, and once again having to submit a QRS.

>>2521284
>They offer a 15wpm feed, but I'm afraid I'll start counting instead of 'hearing' the letter.
You should be fine at 15, but don't go slower.
Keep 15/20/25 wpm files running on your commute and enjoy the moments where you pick out whole words. Do that often and regularly.

how is the DR-1801UV baoshitter for starting radio stuff compared to the usual UV-5R? apparently the DM-1801 which has custom firmware available is not purchasable anymore, thought I'd get a digital radio right away to start off.

>>2521582
eh, I might as well dish out for the MD-UV380 right away since I do like the idea of installing custom firmware on it.

>>2521634
Why? Is this the whackers beginning?

>>2521678
you're going to have to elaborate for my tiny pea brain to understand anon

>>2521696
>>2521678
Googled around and if it's the urban dictionary-definition of a whacker I guess not really, mostly it's just me being autistic and interested about wireless data transmission and open source shit in general. I have old GSM phones that I fuck around with using osmocom and jailbreak KaiOS phones, so this is just a logical continuum I guess. Acting like a cop is the last thing I'd want to do

>radiofag got BTFO from /biz/ and now makes generals in /diy/

>>2521923
This general dates back a while. What biz thread are you referring to?

>>2521683
>Life threatening emergency?
>Just key up on HF don't heckin bother the public servants!
Fuck whoever wrote this shit.

>>2521683
Most gmrs dudes use a baofeng, no surprise that nobody actually cares. If I'm in an emergency and for some reason my phone is broken, I'll transmit on any fucking frequency I want. I'll tx to air traffic control I don't give a shit.

>>2521683
Fucking retarded

>>2521923
>he thinks this is thread about HAM (hamster) crypto

>>2520412
>>2520534
I got out today. Freezing, wet, and windy, but stretched my legs about 2 miles.

>>2522458
Comfy.

I'm getting my tech license with some of my friends soon. What do y'all think of us getting an ftm-400xdr (as a mobile and basic base station) and handheld ft5dr combo from yaseu? We figure that it should cover all of the bases that we need. We can reach repeaters for fusion and they have the same c4fm digital standard. Any recommendations for additional quality of life gear?

>>2516168
the same but on aliexpress

>>2523020
>We figure that it should cover all of the bases that we need.
We can't recommend solution without knowing the void you want to fill.
Distance? What will be discussed, etc.
Why do you and your friends want radios and what are the scenarios they'll be used in?

>>2523097
For use on road trips, going out into the wild, public safety usage without p25, talking between ourselves from home 5w and below, and occasionally reaching out to people really far away via repeater chains/wires. Handheld might end up on a chest rig here and there.

>>2523112
>Handheld might end up on a chest rig here and there.
I'll suspend the larp comments since we went from a broad 'recommendations for additional gear' to innawoods with friends to now you envision you're innawoods with a chest rig.
If you're going to include ear protection, a set of Honeywell Howard Leight's or equivalent that have a audio input, along with a body mic, was a huge upgrade. I'm annoyed I spent 25 years shooting at ranges and nobody has introduced that idea.
Or if you're going to blow $800 on 2 radios, maybe you can afford some ComTacs.
The FT5DR looks to have an optional bluetooth attachment, but I can't comment on that.
>use on road trips
your choices are fine. Might consider an external antenna. I have a car with an antenna and no radio (crime). I take a portable with me and plug the radio into the antenna coax that's hidden under the seat.
>public safety usage without p25
kinda broad, but ham doesn't allow encryption.
>talking between ourselves from home 5w and below
Basically any handheld - the main 'Pass/Fail' of that is distance
>occasionally reaching out to people really far away via repeater chains/wires.
far away is subjective, but with digital repeaters, hitting the repeater is all that matters
>We can reach repeaters for fusion
As long as you're in an area with fusion

>>2516053
Made contact with East Africa this morning! 9950 miles, new record!

waiting for QRP pixie 1W CW transmitter
will I be able to put out anything reasonable with my diy attic dipole ?

>>2523151
>pixie + attic antenna
It'll be a exercise in frustration for you.

>>2523123
Im trying to approach this with a buy once cry once philosophy without going past what I actually need. I don't foresee myself needing the $2000 base station for a long time and I need the flexibility, equivalent to the use case of a commerical logger just outside of normal comms range. I end up in weird places a lot and I don't wanna get caught with my pants down. I'm more asking in terms of useful accessories or issues you might have encountered/heard of. For example good brands of speaker mics, ptt attachments, cross compatible items that are good value, etc. Side note I heard earmor are decent comtacs.
As for the chest rig yeah it would be for larperator stuff but I still want to build out my kit and if I have to use it nobody is gonna be coming after me for encrypting my comms. But as I mentioned there's other stuff I use it for. Public safety would be used in a personal capacity for the various things we do for our town and county but we aren't issued radios because it's volunteer/emergency services work with low budget. There's some stuff I do that I'd really like to leave my phone in the car and just use a radio because I'd rather lose a $400 radio vs a $1000 phone.

>Technician licensees have limited privileges below 30 MHz.

See, this is why I stay unlicensed, I don't want to have my privileges limited

>>2523211
>buy once cry once
I respect that, I'm kind of the other type. Buy a cheap baofeng, learn its capabilities, and what's around you, then splurge when you know the basics.
> I end up in weird places a lot and I don't wanna get caught with my pants down.
100% agree and it's foolish for anyone not to be a ham for this sole reason. It's a 10 year cell phone contract for $2/yr
> yeah it would be for larperator
I won't bust you for that/ I have a kevlar helmet with ear pro connected to a radio. Maybe I'll take a pic one of these days
>without going past what I actually need
this is where I bust new anons' balls.
>I'm going to get a license and maybe these 2 radios ... what else should I get for my needs
Y'all don't express your needs but ask for more products and others will come along and sell their setup to you which could be night and day.
You're in the ballpark. Ham radio and individual advice requires lots of detail.
>town and county
Case in point. Pic related - if you go too far out you may be pissing in the wind. Depending on terrain, that handheld may only reach 2 miles.
I'd hate for you to burn money on unreasonable expectations.

Damn it's this easy?

>>2523258
Fucking rookie numbers

>>2523249
>>2523211
Here's the speaker jack.
Take an external mic with a speaker, split them, insert the speaker jack here.
$50 v $500 Comtac.
Some version should exist on every range. Screaming at people with ear plugs holding guns is retarded.
Imagine the difference it'd make for a range officer at a large outdoor range saying cease fire.

>>2523249
I figured that the hand held wouldn't be enough which is why I'd go for the 50w output of the ftm 400 and I would use it in a base station form and mobile form. If thats not enough with the best positioning and antenna I could get, my phone is also shot, and I'm alone I'd be fucked anyway. I would have had to make so many mistakes leading up to that point I'm clinically retarded. I don't expect to be anywhere actually so remote that I can't at least reach a repeater and if I am I'll get better equipment/licenses for the capability.
>>2523336
Yeah it's a good idea, would work great with a bunch of gmrs radios that can be plugged into ear pro. 1w would be enough for a range officer to get everyone. Would only need one $35 license now that they halved the price.

>>2523365
>handheld + mobile + phone fails = fuck me
I love your
>one is none, two is one, three is two mentality but don't discount getting your General and having sizeable HF capabilities. No repeater or digital headaches. At an $800 jumping in point, that wouldn't be difficult.
>>2523365
>1w would be enough for a range officer
You really know your shit. I've been pestering you because of application.
A range officer (eye roll) "legally" would need to use the business band.
The GMRS license extends to "family" which includes grandparents and grandkids and nobody fucking cares.
FRS shares the some of the frequencies as GMRS and is free. Nobody knows if you're using 0.5 watts or 5 watts.
Further, nobody can prove what you did, especially if you're moving.
So to go back to your initial post, if the intent is 'inna woods', range stuff, naughty bro stuff, etc., I'd bypass the ham license, hang out on FRS (or slightly off freq) and fain ignorance.
If that's the case, you have to evaluate if the radios you chose are able to transmit on those frequencies.
I monitor the local GMRS/FRS frequencies and there are plenty of people of a certain ethnicity who don't speak english who are employed by a lawn company running their mouth on those channels.
Food for thought. I'm a cranky old ham who has seen the amazing benefits, but also been hit by the realities of the limitations.

>>2523383
I already have a gmrs license I'm just growing my skills and expanding my capabilities in a legal sense. I want my license so I can get better privacy (another benefit of digital I believe) and have more channel options so I don't have to share with the lawn company during the day. I plan on buying these radios mars modded already so I can broadcast on as much as possible in a "legal" capacity. I would use murs for vhf but I can't use a 50 w on that for sure since it's a 2 w max and I don't know how many businesses in range use that so I don't wanna fuck them up. Maybe I'll study up and just get a general license first go and then reevaluate my radio needs. If I go much farther I'll need to buy more specialized radio equipment anyway. $1000 is a new minimum to start a hobby with decent shit nowadays. My unlocked gt-5r has done it's duty and will sit as a back up or a hand off to the clumsy/unprepared friend.

>>2516291
I have both.
It's a good choice. I like the auto squelch.

>>2523448
>Better privacy
Can't encode/encrypt with ham. It's a free for all.
>Maybe I'll study up and just get a general license and reevaluate my radio needs
If you mean business, do this. Tech doesn't do much more than GMRS. That $400 handheld is a glorified MURS radio with GPS.
With hf, I can work the world and reliably check email from hundreds of miles away.
Mix in existing 'friends' who don't follow through with getting licenses or your group sharing callsigns while doing naughty stuff and you're far better off staying on GMRS/FRS.

>>2523383
>T. Racist boomer radio fag

>>2523679
>Mix in existing 'friends' who don't follow through with getting licenses or your group sharing callsigns while doing naughty stuff and you're far better off staying on GMRS/FRS
This is correct.

I have an FT-5DR and it's a good buy once radio. Yes you can get by with a Chinese radio or something cheaper or simpler, but I don't give a fuck about money or owning 16 hts. It does aprs, it works with my mmdvm pistar, it dual recieves, it sounds good, has a nice touch screen, is submersible, is small and just works. The 400xdr is probably nice too, seems like a 50w 3dr mobile.

>>2523681
>T. pathetic zoomer with no calluses who has never been on air

>>2523679
>Tech doesn't do much more than GMRS
What the fuck are you talking about?
>10-80m cw
>10m world wide dx phone and ft8
>meteor scatter with msk144 on 6m
>ssb regional with 6m
>rtty and other data modes
>still can do retarded local repeater warrior shit if you desperately need to

>>2523448
Don't listen to him. Tech licenses can do amazing shit. I have worked all 6 continents from Africa to Europe to Asia/Russia/Uruguay from my fucking truck on lunch breaks. Look up grey line propagation. Tech is amazing. I've heard many retarded gmrs repeater warriors say Tech only opens up their baofengs, not knowing the true greatness of the licenses. Meanwhile I've heard people say general has even less to offer despite worldwide phone band dx on all hf frequencies. Can literally hang a wire and transmit to Nicaragua.

Took my Novice exam today at LU4BB, supposedly everybody passed. Had a great time and there was a barbecue after. I'll get my callsign in a few weeks-months depending on how much the Argentine government twiddles its dingleberries. Meanwhile I have a couple old CB handies and a feng.

>>2523780

>>2523780
Congratulations anon, great job !

>>2523780
Congrats, anon.
Argentina was my first ever transatlantic DX.

Anyone wanna share 3d printer projects?

>>2523746
>Tech doesn't do much more than GMRS
>Unless you want to learn cw
>can't work 60 meters
>can't work 30 meters
>can't work 17 meters
>can't work 12 meters
Broadly speaking, for 99% of people technician class opens up access to VHF/UHF
>you fucking idiot! We get a tiny piece of 10 meters and that's HF!!
>ALL HE HAS TO DO IS LEARN CW!
Ahh, you're the $400 thief who can't pass his general.

For once, I 100% agree with the angry boomer. Keep BTFO the idiot.

>>2523151
>waiting for QRP pixie 1W CW transmitter
I hope you checked the FAQ - it has specific advice regarding the Pixie.
>will I be able to put out anything reasonable with my diy attic dipole ?
Sure. A good antenna is perhaps the most important part.

>>2520837
just aced my general, too. thanks to everybody that recommended i do it right after the tech, that was good advice. i'm on a warpath, i think i might just go straight for the extra next

>>2520588
>KN4FAG
>you jinxed yourself.
i very nearly did, i actually came uncomfortably close to getting this as my callsign lmao

I'm totally ignorant on radio equipment and theory but i know how to electronics. I want to build a small EFHW tuner that can communicate on the 15m all the way trough 80m if possible. I can settle for 40m tho. I just want a better mini tuner than the QRPGuys one and not just for CW.

>>2523975
>Broadly speaking, for 99% of people technician class opens up access to VHF/UHF
10m is a huge bonus and an extremely active band this time of year. You also get data on 10m. I'm not saying don't get your general, I'm saying tech had a ton to offer beyond playing repeater warrior with a baofeng. If you were actually a ham you'd know this. 10m is a huge deal.
>60m
5 channels
>30m
Data/cw only for all classes which you can do on 10m all day right now
>17m
>complaining about a sliver of bandwidth on 10m
>doesn't mention 20m the goat band
Lmfao non-ham detected.

I agree that you absolutely should get your general, 20/40m phone is enough to make it worthwhile. 75/80m is okay if you want it, it's a really good band but I've had trouble breaking into conversations.
>$400 thief
Need a quick rundown.

Can someone redpill me on qrp?

I love that the ft 818 does every fucking band, but the 6w output is a deal breaker for me for the time being

>>2524002
Good job anon

>>2524007
135ft of wire w/ 17ft counterpoise on a 9:1 unun.

>>2524028
There isn't any reason unless you like the challenge, doing SOTA activations with minimumal equipment, or you are someone who is a prepper.

>>2523865
>>2523947
Thanks :3 They gave us an aggregate result, we all passed

>>2524028
QRP is for weird, limp-wristed dudes who are cucks or like their junk tied up under lock and key.

>>2524028
>Can someone redpill me on qrp?
It's useful for portable operation, you can cut down on the battery and that's the heaviest shit you'll have to carry.
QRP in CW is very efficient, in SSB, it's a misery.
If you want to do flora fauna, SOTA, portable, you'll explore the QRP domain and tune it to your taste and goals, otherwise, it's not good.

>>2524028
>qrp
Fun way to make contacts while mobile if working cw or data. Kind of nice to make contact from Kentucky to Russia with under 10 watts of power.

>>2524326
>I can't make or tune an antenna to save my life
Not all of us need to pump 500 watts through the latest YouTube approved antenna system that has an 80 watt ERP when all said and done.

>>2524393
>80w
5w is QRP

>>2524507
The other guy is not running qrp, genius. He's pumping 100w into a spaghetti noodle and thinking he's getting 100w out.

>>2516526
It is the jews tho, how are you this retarded?

>>2519347
It’s like 3rd world sub humans pouring into your country shitting up everything, lower standards across the board, wasting everyone’s time with their 79IQ noises and problems. Pick up your average big city newspaper and 80% of the problems being reported on are related to or directly caused by brown sub human 77IQ monkey problems. Now image all those glorified orangutans were given radio licenses along with all the other government handouts for being as retarded and weak and pathetic as they are. Imagine the airwaves filled with Juanitas and Shaquilles squawking unintelligible about god knows what 75IQ retards complain about.

>>2524023
Thanks for the info. I talked to a couple others and they agree, technician privileges are way better than people make them out to be. GMRS doesn't seem to extend beyond a baofeng.

>>2524870
I mean if his antenna is bad enough, maybe he is doing QRP

>>2524007
the idea of a EFHW is that it is resonant, you only need to transform the impedance of the feed point. you don't need a tuner.
A random wire antenna is what you have in mind, it needs a tuner to be resonant.
You can use a manual tuner, but it takes longer to tune than a automatic one. For a good manual one up to ~15W look up the Emtech ZM-2.

>>2524028
if you run narrow bandwidth data(or CW) modes 5-6 W with a good full size resonant antenna you will be able to make a lot of contacts.
If you only want data modes buy a QDX from QRP-labs. Much cheaper than a FT-818/Ft-817

>>2516176
that guy really does like planes

>>2520277
Both links seem dead.

Breakerbros..
I'm finally home.

Breakerbros..
I'm finally home.

>>2525857
Is there an actual use for that ? Bought one, never used it.

>>2525883
What kind of dumbass question is that?

>>2525899
I am legitimately interested in the answer, I have no fucking idea, it's a very short range CB, it seems nobody uses that anymore because I never heard anybody, but maybe there's some kind of use case I didn't thought about

>>2525901
Have you tried a better antenna?
Using an amp?
Paying attention to the weather?

>>2525904
Even when there's propagation up to 10m HAM band, there's nobody on the CB, maybe it's dead where I am. So i didn't invest in anything for this band. Some HAM friends are hoarding SSB CB transceiver but there are not using them.

>>2525857
got similar, immediately changed standard from EUcuck (40 chan FM) to German (80 chan AM/FM)
was able hear even some oldfags from US when on high ground (one way ofc)
pity that CB is quite dead in east europe, but I keep mine just in case

>>2525912
I am in western europe and it seems to be deader, unfortunately

>>2525906
Well, when you're only using it on the ground with the rubber duck antenna, you certainly won't be getting spectacular reception.
As a handheld, It makes for a great walkie-talkie however.
If you actually want to get on the air, as with all shortwave equipment you're going to need an optimized setup.

>>2525912
>>2525915
CB is still kicking around my home in southeastern US. Apart from channel 6 being perpetually occupied by blacks, I occasionally hear younger voices making chatter too.

Was sent here from /ohm.

I have kinda stupid question. How can I start to learn everything about radio? Frequencies, power, bandwidth, antennas, dsp etc. Not for a student who needs theory, but just as a practical thing. At the end I want to be able to make a radio communication station to communicate with my rc plane using my homemade tx/rx modules and antennas. Maybe you got some really cool youtube channels for me?
I'll get a license if needed, dont worry.

>>2525857
albrecht ae 2990 afs is the only worthwile handheld CB as its the only one that has SSB. also it has 10 and 12m so the freq range is from 24.890 to 29.690mhz

>>2526098
I scored a couple of those radios minus antennas. Suggestions on /diy/ bnc mount antennas to make.

>>2526098
>not available new anywhere
>300 euros used
I fucking hate that world

>>2526098
These are fun to screw around with, but they go through batteries very quickly.

>>2525927
I often head old timers chatting for hours, US, Italy, German, French...
They gotta transmit higher power because I never managed to get QSO.

>>2524393
>500w
Rookie numbers.
2kW or you'll never make it past the euro wall.

>>2526025
Pretty difficult.
There's ALOT of stuff to learn, and it can be overwhelming. hell I've been doing it for years and I'm coming to terms I'll never understand microwaves.

That said it all depends on your prior knowledge.
If you can do some basic electronics, you should understand power and frequency. Bandwidth is well the width of the frequency band. Bandwidth also dictates how much data you can theoretically feed though a connection. Antennas rely on complex impedance. Since they aren't a straight forward conductor, rather a strange hybrid between resistor, capacitor and inductor. Well this amalgam of all three can be fed a certain amount of power at a given frequency, and depending on the complex impedance measurements the antenna will either radiate most, some or none of that energy in to the either. There's is a lot to antenna theory but this is a very plastic explanation.

Building a transmitter you'll need to get a handle on modulation and demodulation. That basically involves embedding a signal in to another signal, then having the original signal extracted at the receiving side.

Now the tricky bit with what you've described is that most RC stuff runs at ultra high frequencies. At these frequencies it gets kind of tricky to DIY modules, as the tolerances get ever tighter.

You'll want to look in to FSK modulation that is used to control most RC stuff.

You don't per say need a license if you're transmitting low power (sub 5w) , and you cant really transmit RC signals in bands designated for HAM radio.

Secondly equipment needed to diy around high frequencies gets exponentially more expensive. With 300$ you can be set for life as far as HF lab equipment goes. For UHF that wont even get you a good enough multimeter,

My suggestion is to give the Arduino RF modules a try for RC. They are cheap, and DIY enough for most people. Or get ready to a heavy investment of time and money

>>2526025
>Was sent here from /ohm.
Welcome!
Start with the FAQ, and go through the library this general has aggregated over the years.

>>2526693
With a proper antenna and good conditions anything goes with less power.
I had an SSB QSO on 40m with a Colorado ham who was running 7 Watts. Central Yuropooristan here.

Is there a way to 'cheat' and get cw contacts? I just want a Triple Play award but can't hear cw very well.

>>2527057
Just get Fldigi or any ham software to control your rig and hack away on the keyboard.
Remember a few things though, as in CW, hams prefer things a bit differently.
Do not use abbreviations, long words are appreciated as a sign of skill. Only inexperienced ops shorten everything with abbreviations.
For example, BACK TO YOU
You can use Q-signals, but use them eloquently, like
My QTH location is
Very deep QSB fading here dear OM
I'll do a QRT now
Best 73's

>>2527069
Thanks for the laugh. I know TU and BK and there is no s in 73.
I also played for far too long with Fldigi and am still traumatized at how poorly it performs

>>2527074
You're welcome. Don't cheat. CW can be fun, look at the bottom of the OP for getting into it.
>still traumatized at how poorly it performs
A funky fist can destroy any computer decoder. There's a commercial/military software though to be had for a few k$ that's said to perform well.

>>2527080
You're right although I see digital modes as computerized cw and a part of me wants to go the 'stolen valor' route and unlock a digital cw mode.
I guess people have been trying and failing for years

>>2527134
I want that Telereader for RTTY tho

>>2527057
>>2527069
>>2527074
I wish fldigi worked at well as wsjt-x. Ft8 is better for it anyway, the only reason to use cw is if you're actually keying. All these guys running 30wpm programs for contests are likely tech licensed. There's no reason not to key. You can tell if they won't respond if you key at a different wpm.

>>2527231
>WSJT-X
>Fldigi
You can't compare a digital mode that was made with low signal-to-noise ratios in mind with a digital mode that was originally meant to be read from paper by people who had no problem with SNR except lightning striking their landline.
Also, experienced CW ops with good ears can do amazing jobs at low SNRs, where computer decoders produce nothing but gibberish.

>>2526098
Thabk you. Well I went through the FAQ and to be completely honest, it is bad. No offense.

>>2526699
Thank you for the detailed answer. It seems the road will not be easy, but I have no choice. I wanted to make an rc plane which can't be jammed by common jammers that russia uses (2.4 ghz and 5 ghz). Anyways, do you guys have your favorite YouTube channels for visual learners?

>>2527287
>Thabk you. Well I went through the FAQ and to be completely honest, it is bad. No offense.
OK, we can work with this. What, specifically is bad? With the right input the FAQ will be updated. It is not set in stone.

>>2527040
>good conditions
See that's where they get you. With FT-8 sure you can even get VK or NZ... given good conditions.
A beefy linear and a beam manifests good conditions on demand

>>2527287
>Cant be jammed.

Sorry to say it buddy, but that's not happening. Unless you secretly work for ol' lock-martin, but then again you wouldn't be asking these kinds of questions if you did.

As stated, higher frequencies demand more expensive test equipment and precision. When you get in to microwaves, the very shape of the traces on your PCB starts to effect your signal. It's just not something you can put together in your garage.

Secondly the kind of protocol needed to avoid even simple transmission interferences let alone jamming, and trust me on this Russia has some pretty fucking powerful hamming equipment, isn't something people leave sitting around for others to implement.

And that's before getting in to the equipment costs that would set you back a family home.

Try building an Arduino based RF toy using nRF24L01 modules. you'll get a feeling for just how tricky that shit is to get reliably working even 10ft away, it's a small miracle drones stay in the sky

>>2527376
First of all two links are dead, just an archive of version 10 is still there while the last version is 13. Most importantly though for all my questions from my first post I still had to search the internet. Maybe for a beginner who just wants to listen the surrounding it is a good FAQ, not for me though because buying an SDR for me is not enough.

>>2527406
>As stated, higher frequencies demand more expensive test equipment and precision. When you get in to microwaves, the very shape of the traces on your PCB starts to effect your signal. It's just not something you can put together in your garage.
I understand it and understand how stupid I might sound ("hi guys i want to build a 2k hp muscle car in my appartment"), but that's my end goal not something I must deliver my boss this week. I've already started lurking around. It happens when it happens.

>and trust me on this Russia has some pretty fucking powerful hamming equipment, isn't something people leave sitting around for others to implement
They do have powerful jammers but they don't use them in fields or combat zones, I know that for sure. They use simple and low power jammers for 2.4 ghz, 5.8 ghz and maybe 900 mhz similar to img. So for me and my guys to avoid jamming will be enough to avoid these frequencies. Without this requirement there's no need for me to use a DIY solutions, I could take a working transmitter and make a cool antenna.

>get my license and a Baofeng several years back
>never transmit find an occasion to transmit on it, just use it for receiving
>never much to pick up in my area
>new repeater gets put up that's linked to a multi state network
>months pass
>there's now even less local activity in my area
>due to the repeater network being accessible with pretty much every digi mode and internet linking, I can hear people from coast to coast and even from other countries on occasion coming on the repeater over an afternoon
>TFW the reality sets in that I may as well be idling in an amateur radio themed Discord channel

How they gonna catch me transmitting 5W 2,4Ghz?

Trannies are delusional. You need to realize that YWNBAW. You have no womb, you have no ovaries, you have no eggs. You are a homosexual man twisted by drugs and surgery into a crude mockery of nature's perfection.

All the "validation" you get is two-faced and half-hearted. Behind your back people mock you. Your parents are disgusted and ashamed of you, your "friends" laugh at your ghoulish appearance behind closed doors.

Men are utterly repulsed by you. Thousands of years of evolution have allowed men to sniff out frauds with incredible efficiency. Even trannies who "pass" look uncanny and unnatural to a man. Your bone structure is a dead giveaway. And even if you manage to get a drunk guy home with you, he'll turn tail and bolt the second he gets a whiff of your diseased, infected axe wound.

You will never be happy. You wrench out a fake smile every single morning and tell yourself it's going to be ok, but deep inside you feel the depression creeping up like a weed, ready to crush you under the unbearable weight.

Eventually it'll be too much to bear--you'll buy a rope, tie a noose, put it around your neck, and plunge into the cold abyss. Your parents will find you, heartbroken but relieved that they no longer have to live with the unbearable shame and disappointment. They'll bury you with a headstone marked with your birth name, and every passerby for the rest of eternity will know a man is buried there. Your body will decay and go back to the dust, and all that will remain of your legacy is a skeleton that is unmistakably male.

This is your fate. This is what you chose. There is no turning back.

So how many more fires are you all starting by interfering with emergency communications this winter storm in Amerilard Land?

>>2527476
>First of all two links are dead, just an archive of version 10 is still there while the last version is 13. Most importantly though for all my questions from my first post I still had to search the internet. Maybe for a beginner who just wants to listen the surrounding it is a good FAQ, not for me though because buying an SDR for me is not enough.
Is >>2526025 your first question? I could make the updates later, since I am travelling just now. The purpose of the FAQ is to be useful, not to stroke my ego, so all inputs and criticism is welcome.

As for the version, I think the latest is version 14, but OP has not updated the paste for a long time now. The Cybsec site is gone but the archive remains.

t.FAQ editor

>>2527476
>So for me and my guys to avoid jamming will be enough to avoid these frequencies

See there is a rhyme and reason for using certain frequencies. Mostly it's laws and regulations, but for something like your imagining there's a whole new perspective to it.

See using 2.4Ghz, and 5Ghz to control your drone hides you in the civilian background noise... Sure that 2.4Ghz spike could be a drone operator but it could also be a phone or router in a hospital, basement, coffee shop, orphanage.
Best not shell it unless you're sure.

On the other hand, see this here spike on air traffic control frequencies there, this one right here? No where near an airport. Yeah Ivan fire op the Maлюткa, it's been sitting in storage since WW2, might as well have some fireworks.

>I could take a working transmitter and make a cool antenna

Trouble with this is that, much like everything else on higher frequencies antennas are things of precision and math. At best you kind of eye ball it, and blow up your transmitter. Secondly, most working transmitters you find are going to be designed with these frequencies in mid, and not designed with military grade transmission, recovery and integrity protocols. Hell even hill grade drones where until recently brought down by signal spoofing.

What you're describing isn't impossible, but it's not a project to be taken on by somebody who doesn't know what bandwidth is. I wouldn't trust my life on anything you DIY-ed in an active warzone, and if you do i'm looking forward to seeing your corpse posted on /k/

Just bought a FT-817 with blown finals for $150. Transmits fine on vhf/uhf. Seems like a $50 fix for parts.

>>2527919
It's not even too hard to open and disassemble the 817. I'm sure it's also one of the best-documented portables on the web, godspeed.
I love my FT817.

>>2527788
It's two days already, I've obviously learned basics like bandwidth. I've ordered nrf24l01 as well to see how signal is modulated for rc models.

Why should I not take an existing schematics for 23 cm band transceiver and play with it? Maybe I could implement the same modulation on these frequencies?

>>2527944
It's modulates as Gaussian frequency-shift keying (GFSK).

And my god anon you've fond my next project.

EME CW HERE WE FUCKIGN GO.
GOD SPEED YOU INSANE RETARD

>>2527134
>Telereader
Whoa. Now that takes me back! when I was 19 and met up with a random anon from a BBS i used to share scanner frequencies with. He had one of these and it introduced me to RTTY. I seem to recall it had a small built-in printer on the top of the unit? I wanted one of those badly for a long time but they had just gone out of production a couple years earlier. I ended up buying an InfoTech M6000 off another guy who was upgrading to a newer model. Telereaders are classic, I wouldn't mind seeing one in person again.

Does the FCC even pay attention to anything that happens on AM/SSB?
I'm rereading the rules and they seem like total bullshit based on what I've experienced.

>>2528169
Nobody bothers until it starts to piss off commercial users or the military.
Hams shitting on other hams is not their problem.

>>2528314
Also government bands like air traffic bands will be protected.
And any radio traffic that sounds like clandestine traffic involving foreig intelligence agencies will be followed, closely.

>>2528169
Someone has to complain 100% of the time, the fcc doesn't regularly monitor ham bands if that's what you're wondering. Using your callsign out of band is clearly going to get you in trouble. Keying up a baofeng on some boomer's repeater won't do shit. Vhf/ uhf is also rarely monitored because it has much less range and is extremely limited by line of sight.

Like the other anon said though, key up on air traffic, ems, police, or government frequencies will quickly get you caught even in a vehicle. After I saw the system McCarran airport uses to triangulate signals, I'm positive they could lock you down even in heavy city traffic.

>>2527919
is it a ND model?

>>2528381
Non ND. Upon reading more into it, it seems like the ND version didn't have the blown finals issue and opened up 60m. I have a FT-891, so this was more an opportunity grab, but I will certainly be trying ssb and learning cw for qrp outings.

>>2528416
Yeah, the issue with the non-nd models is if the internal battery was left in the radio and allowed to die, it would cause the finals to self oscillate and cause self destruction. This was fixed in the ND models and the replacement finals board. However, you could just disconnect the batteries before storing to prevent this on rigs that haven't blown themselves up yet.

The other thing with the non-nd models is the front panel board has been revised and cannot be replaced, unless from a donor radio, due to some component that is no longer being manufactured as a result of the flood that happened in Japan some years back. So, don't break it.

For all you anons with kids tonight
>cqsanta.com

>>2516526
how are you so willingly thick? other than, you know, being a cohen

>>2528652
Are you lost?
>>>/pol?

I am about to build an attic folded dipole according to this tutorial http://www.m0pzt.com/40m-linear-loaded-dipole
Will it work or I'm wasting my time ?

>>2528767
Attic dipoles work if you take care of leading cables 90° away or to pass under perpendicular and have little metal up there.
t. had one and worked Yurop-Japan

How feasible is it to run a radio repair shop out of a truck stop? I want to put a 20' storage container office in the back corner of a nearby Love's and do repairs but I wonder how I would go about getting permission for the space and what rent would be. I'm also not sure how many truckers I would get locally so I was thinking I could also do ham and public safety repairs as well but that may take up a lot of space in that little office

>>2527476
Did you have any inputs to the FAQ? This general is out of bumpage, so it would be nice with some updates, also to the OP pasta.

What hf band is the most popular?

I've only bothered with 2m until this point

>>2529142
Listen and find out.

>>2529171
so you don't know either, k

>>2529142
10 meters.

>>2529178
Band conditions change, so what is popular changes.

>>2529178
Nah, I'm just not going to spoon feed a baomemefag

>>2529179
I agree. 10m comes and goes, but if graduating from 2m it's the tits. Plus, unless you want to pull out big dollars, once the thread renews I'll be posting my guide to 10m on the cheap, as in on or under 1k.

Hint - it will involve an AnyTone AT-5555N II, or a President Lincoln II Plus, combined with a tuner, antenna analyzer and either 9:1 un-un endfed antenna or trimmed CB antenna. The Tuner and Analyzer will be tools you can use forever. The cheaper radios you can put in a vehicle later.

My main rig is Yaesu FT-DX10 I run remotely by LAN. I love using my cheap radios with a cut CB antenna to get good results as well.

>>2529142
In what fucking world? 10 meter is shit and shouldn't be regarded as a shortwave band, but more a sporadic band like 6m. For shortwave it is just not open often enough. Also 26-30MHz is usually a shitshow of QRM.

the 20 meter band is the most popular. Always open somewhere and antennas that are not terribly huge, plenty bandwidth

>>2529470
The assumption if someone is wanting to try something other than 2m is that he/she is technician class. Last I checked not a huge chunk of bandwidth allowed to techs on 20m.
10m is sporadic, yes. Still, I've spoken across the Atlantic far more times on 10m than any other band. 20m is full of nets (10m is also to be fair) - and also, if budget is an issue for a beginner, not a lot of inexpensive dedicated 20m rigs out there. Finally, even on "bad" days, local comms on 10m still work fine, and that is something a person stepping up from 2m Baofeng world is used to anyway.

>>2528842
any advantage of folding them 90deg instead of having them paralel ?

>>2529691
Not what I meant, I was rather talking about any cabling up there, also the coax - anything should be perpendicular to your dipole's elements.

What software can you recommend for modelling antenna performance where the antenna has multiple taps and filters?

>>2529708
coax will be perpendicular at least for a 1.5m (that's the height of antenna) then it needs to run parallel for a bit
is that a problem ?
in general I am bit worried about interference as the coax will be near HDMI cables as SMPSes

>>2529743
>at least for a 1.5m
I probably had the same setup back then.
You'll not be deaf and dumb, but it could be better of course.

Do some clubs set up repeaters to vary how often they ID based on how often they're used? I got out my old scanner to start listening again and it seems like some of the repeaters that aren't getting activity are IDing much less often than they used to, going from once an hour like they used to to about once a day.

QSY >>2529822
SWITCH CHANNELS >>2529822
CHANGE FREQUENCY >>2529822

>>2529804
Repeaters should respond any time they are kerchunked, at least with a beep.

>SFI: 0
RIP