/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Fuck baomemes and their users.

>>2712931
breaker 19 you got your ears on big daddy? come on?

>the Chad Repeaters

>>2712947

>>2712945
It was the cheapest way I could get into ham without using some gay internet sdr. I can listen to a repeater 10 miles away with a 3 foot antenna.
Gonna get my license soon

Reminder to not get ripped off by the antenna jews.

>>2713205
Or make your own antennas, a dipole on 20m and up is small and easy to make :
Two cheap fiberglass fishing poles
a PVC tube to link the two fishing pole together
a balun
some wire
some tape

anyone currently studying for their certificate/rating?

>>2713243
why? ham is dead.

>>2713250
Why do you say that?

>>2713243
Yep, working on Extra class. I'm using ham radio prep this time. So far it's been easy enough. I'm worried about all the electronics and circuits parts. Some of that I just can't wrap my head around.

>>2713257
because I have been listening to it for the last several years, AND I listened to it in the 80's.

compared to then? it's a desert of nothing.

little if any SSTV.
hardly anyone talking and when they do it's boring as fuck.
CONTESTS!
CW!
whatever that digital radio is on 40 meters that sounds like a sick tone generator running low on battery power. yes I decoded it BORING!

almost no shortwave radio stations to listen to except the recordings of that old crazy pastor who died years ago.
what stations there are, can only be heard when propagation allows it, but then they are in a language I don't speak.

sure there's harp, the occasional numbers station, and radio fax, but that gets old real fast.

and WWV I mean who can't listen to that forever?

I have no interest in talking to randos on the radio and having to follow rules. you fags are insufferable enough.

OH OH LOOK AT ME I MADE A CONTACT FROM SOMEONE IN CHINA!

big fucking deal. anyone can do that now, and they don't have to get a license and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars to do it.

and no I'm not poor, not in the slightest.

>>2713298
>sour grapes from reddit spacing retard

I set up a dipole antenna yesterday for JS8CALL. I cut it PERFECTLY for a 2.0 SWR on the first try. I shortened it by an inch on both sides and hit a perfect 1.3SWR. :) Life is good!

>>2713357
Nicely done. I think when I get my Extra class I'm going to treat myself to a rig expert aa-230. Probably should get the ARRL antenna book too.

2713298
This is the case with almost any hobby. Moreover, tinkering with electronics is still relatively harmless in terms of spending money and time.
This is the case with almost any hobby. Moreover, tinkering with electronics is still relatively harmless in terms of spending money and time.
Perhaps your time is better go spent watching tiktok.
A hobby doesn't have to be relevant, it's just for fun. Also, it applies to DIY because it's DO IT YOURSELF communications. I don't rely on AT&T for my phone line. I use a couple pringles cans and wifi routers to bring me my line. You are a boring person.

I am not English. Sorry for rough post.

>We need back up! This fire is out-of-control and we need more su-
>CQ CONTEST CQ CONTEST

>>2713347
ad hominem

>>2713365
I know what a hobby is and have many. ham is irrelevant.

>>2713382
By using skill of learning amateur radio I have a good job and moreover it has helped me link the phone from building to building using radio frequency techniques. This is relevant.

>>2712931
I've ran a 50 ft speaker wire along the roof vent, terminating into the attic to a binding post then ran a 50 ft coax to the SDR. Works pretty well, but anything else I can do to pull in more? I've heard different things about an LNA.

Its an RG6 coax btw w some left over (maybe 10-15 feet). Should I trim the access or will that even matter?

>>2713298
What radio equipment do you have?

>>2713441
Nothing. He doesn't have anything. The shills that show up want to herd the goy off open radio onto a platform they control.

>>2713382
This is one of the last places you can find people who understand RF magic, which is becoming increasingly relevant.

I’m just getting into it now, I still don’t understand exactly how antennas work (it’s the closest thing we have to magic, as far as I’m concerned) but I’m getting there.

I think once people realize how much cell phones are used to monitor people, more of us will switch to radio technologies. I find it crazy that cell phones have fairly powerful radios in them, but it is nigh-well impossible to use them for point-to-point communication.

>>2713436
Here was a discussion about some of this earlier.
You could probably use a cheap, wide-band RF amplifier,
Also, apparently most antenna systems are 50 Ω, and you’re using 75 Ω coax, so there’s going to be losses there.
Also, a 50 foot antenna is going to be best at catching the 30 meter band, is that what you want? Is it a dipole or a monopole?

>>2713460
Yeah, I may switch it out to a 50 ohm I have laying around (was too lazy to solder on connections).

Its just one leg. I couldn't do a dipole since I couldn't make a run in the opposite directions so just out the longest longwire I could & as high as I could (HOA). The access coax is there too.

>>2713441
Hallicrafters s-40a
Kenwood R-2000
hackrf one
yaesu ft-23r
Cobra 29 (useless where I live no one on CB)
ray jefferson 635 direction finder
long wire antenna
PA0RDT Mini Whip
25 various tube radios
2 tube stereos
1 tube tuner
4 scanners
several HD radios
2 bose radios
1 cambridge soundworks
KLH 21
Federal sign and signal Ten Ten
zenith royal 500
zenith 780
ge super radio 1
all of the tube radios and the older transistor stuff I refurbished.
4 oscilloscopes
TeleTest DM456
Seco GCT-5
Knight signal tracer
eico 232 vtvm
eico 625
eico 950b
Leader LSG231
HP 5460xa
HP 8003a
HP 8656a
RCA WR-50b
Fluke 45
Fluke 77III
Fluke 27fm
Sansui G-5500
Harman Kardon HK680i
luxman tp-117
Mitsubishi M-F01
Onkyo DX-C390
Pioneer sx-3600
Technics SA-5460
I used to have about 20 more tube radios.
that's just some of the stuff I have.
everything works but not everything is being used at this time.

>>2713453
>I still don’t understand exactly how antennas work
REALLY?!

radio waves induce a current in to the antenna, and as they pass through the radio in their quest for ground, they are amplified and made audible.

transmit, is RF energy is sent through an antenna of the proper length and if tuned correctly a large part of it is radiated out in to the "ether" until it is intercepted by an antenna.

simple as.

>>2712945
Yeah fuck those plebs unlike us Quansheng chads amirite?

>>2713570
> antennas can’t work
The part I don’t understand is how electricity manages to flow into a wire which is not connected to anything! and doesn’t form a circuit!

It’s even harder to believe how radio stations manage to get 10 kW into unconnected wires.

It’s like trying to blow into a bottle. Nothing’s going to happen.

>>2713733
> antennas can’t work
>The part I don’t understand is how electricity manages to flow into a wire which is not connected to anything! and doesn’t form a circuit!
An unconnected antenna is the one pole of a capacitor. Current flows as long as there is capacity to accept it. That's what the oscillator is built for - to reverse the direction of the current in time.
DC current can only flow into a capacitance until it's full (fuck off!). Then its resistance is practically infinite.
For AC current, if the AC period is in resonance with the capacitance, the antenna is a conductor. Then its resistance is near zero, or at something like 50 Ohm (just an example) or anywhere your antenna impedance is at.

>>2713567
With a collection like that I am surprised you don't have boat anchors like R-390A/URR.

>>2713733
>electricity manages to flow into a wire which is not connected to anything
Think of the electric field acting on the electrically charged electrons. No contact is needed, the electron is driven by the field just like a buoy goes up and down with waves in water.

>>2713436
>the Chad SDR

>>2713791
He listed shit that isn't relevant to amateur radio, and you think he's anything but a troll?

Anyone else notice pileups and attendance in the arrl sweep is low?

>>2713758
> it’s just a capacitor
Ahh. So the other end of the capacitor is just the ground plane in a monopole, or the other pole in a dipole?
Makes sense now, thanks. Most of the information I’ve read on it focused on math with complex numbers, and I think they forgot to point out that it’s just a capacitor, lol.

There’s this crazy xjet video which claims that a helical antenna is best picked up with another helical antenna because it has a helical polarity. I understand the horizontal and vertical polarities but helical…that seems like quantum mechanics. Probably a problem best left for pondering.

>>2713950
>and you think he's anything but a troll?
Sure, I like to think well about my fellow man. This is a comfy general, and that approach works well.

>>2713970
>So the other end of the capacitor is just the ground plane in a monopole, or the other pole in a dipole?
Exactly.

>>2713733
>It’s like trying to blow into a bottle. Nothing’s going to happen.
Blow across the opening of the bottle and it starts to resonate, though.

>>2713791
>With a collection like that I am surprised you don't have boat anchors like R-390A/URR
Everything I got came from thrift stores or ebay.
the yaesu for instance was $3
the S-40a was $40 at a swap meet

>>2713950
>He listed shit that isn't relevant to amateur radio, and you think he's anything but a troll?
someone asked what RADIO equipment I have.
they did not say HAM radio equipment.
in regards to "trolling" you seem to not know where you are.

I merely stated a truth. ham radio is dead and or dying simple as. it's trying to claw its way back to life but....

Look at his ad! look at how fucking exciting it is, those police are after some criminal and you can hear it on your SW radio... oh, no you can't because the police mostly stopped transmitting below 30mhz in the 40's.

Ok but that fucking super sabre now that's some exciting shit you can hear pilots talk to each other while they shoot down commies... no, no you can't do that either the air force is on vhf frequencies in the 50's. SHIT!

OK OK those fucking drug lords, or contras or coffee farmers with grenades in columbia! Fuck yeah some action now! no, no, fucking third world revolutionaries don't have radios at that time. They certainly weren't transmitting play-by-plays of jungle battles, and it would have been in spanish so... FUCK YOU!

well that leaves a fucking ship sinking in the north fucking atlantic! fuck yeah! nope.. while they did use shortwave on boats all you would hear is the SOS calls and maybe some search and rescue. but not anything while the boats SINKING because people on sinking boats are getting off the boat as fast as they can, not chatting with your happy ass.

That kids face kinda says it all... HEY wait a minute! I can't hear any of this shit. I wasted $47.50 ($520 in todays money) on this shitty S-38 radio just to hear some boring ass mother fuckers talking about the weather and signal strength SHEEEEIIIIT!

Maybe someday they will invent a 2 meter radio and I can hear the same boring conversations over repeaters YEAH! that's the ticket!

Here comes page 2 FUCK YEAH SCIENCE BITCHES!

AUSTRALIA, FUCKING OUTERSPACE MAN! I have the weirdest boner right now!

Page 3!
RAM IT IN ME! I CAN HEAR YODELERS IN SWEDEN! WEATHER STATIONS
WWV! OMGZG!!~!1
I just came!

Page 4
STATION LISTINGS FINALLY! I'ma smoke a cig!

>>2713983
I think it’s because even the small police departments, emergency services, and even city government departments like sanitation have all militarized, and they use trunking/encryption pretty much universally now.

I just bought a shortwave receiver, and I picked up some korean stuff, I think some other countries are, like, 20 years behind.

>>2714037
>public servants
>encrypted radio

Should be illegal honestly. Bodycams should be streaming 24/7 too. Fuck the Antichrist.

Anybody here do ARES or Skywarn?

>>2714064
What's that about?

>>2714051
>Fuck the Antichrist.
yes FUCK TRUMP!

>>2714095
Amateur Radio Emergency Services. Basically it's training for communication during bad weather.

Skywarn is a program set up by the National Weather Service or NOAA or whoever to train weather spotters.

>>2714064
Skywarn and MARS, here.

So, I bought this TDIRADIO TD-771 kit on sale for $75. Two 2500 mAh batteries, bluetooth programming with a phone app and a 771 clone whip.

The app is shit, and this programs manually like a Bao, so very easy to sit down for an hour and manually put in your repeaters.

Also did the "Reset" where the locked frequencies are now unlocked for Tx so I could use it on a business band we use at my work as well as GMRS/FRS.

The 771 clone is weak shit. I swapped a Nagoya from a dying UV-5R onto it.

I'll say for the price, it's 7 outta 10. Decent weight, good build, nice mic, and easy to program.

>>2714120
I Actually agree. Boot licking Jew loving faggot.

>>2714064
>ARES
You mean the larpers that cause more problems than solve?

>>2714233
He’s got that look on his face like he set the fire just so he could look like a man on the air.

MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY.
Possible 10-82 in progress,
Scramble fighters, prep air farce 1.

>>2714233
When I get my ARES badge, you will respect my authority.

>>2714182
I guess I'm not familiar with MARS. I was planning on using a mobile for weather spotting, but an HT would be handy too. I have a commercial drone use certification. If I'm flying near an airport I should be monitoring one of those frequencies too. An HT would be handy for that. Any airport I would be flying by won't have air traffic control. Any plane landing or taking off there just uses a common frequency that (at least some) HTs will receive on. I'm kinda snobbish about the cheap Chinese ones. I'll probably get an Icom.

>>2713981

>>2714051
Certain parts of their comms should be encrypted. You probably dont want stuff like your personal info and license plate being transmitted in plaintext like dumbass cops have been doing for 40 years.

>>2712931
I use picrel without a license regularly and there's nothing you can do to stop me. If someone asks for my registration number Imma tell them to eat my shit.

>>2714405
as long as you don't use HAM bands I don't give a fuck

>>2714406
which ones are the HAM bands so I can start?

>>2714405
You think your hot shit? Just wait till me and my 72 year old buddies make a bunch of empty threats directed towards you.

>>2714413
I got a yellow baofeng, so that makes me king of all the radios.

>>2714421
You aint nothing. I spent $250 on a handheld radio and theres nobody to talk to.

>>2714413
The little one is so cool. I give it to my kid when she plays outside. We stick to GMRS, but no license for that either, because fuck the police.

>>2714422
Lol- right?
Never felt like quite as much of a fag as staring at a radio that never breaks squelch.

>>2714423
range is only slightly farther than I can throw a dog turd.

>>2714051
>Should be illegal
this nagger thinks cops give a shit about the law.

>>2714385

>>2714427
Unironically 3 blocks, even with a legit na771
Completely useless.

what is my best option for being a pirate in another country?
Obviously tuning my range is important but should I consider DMR?
or some other way to blend in and make it harder for ham boomers to catch something wrong?

I wish to communicate via radio in a country with strict unlicensed regulations which cannot accommodate my use case, and it would be too difficult to obtain a proper license.

>>2714492
what kind of communication? voice, data, images? how big of an area you want to cover?

>>2714503
voice, ideally with up to 1km non-LOS range between two moving vehicles.
I could easily just use ham band handhelds but I feel the communication and language would make it trivially easy to locate us, so DMR sounds like a better fit but I am not sure if I am over thinking it.

>>2714513
Nobody will notice if you use 5W baofengs on license free bands. Airsoft faggots are technically breaking the rules when use baofengs but nobody cares.

>>2714379
Listening to air traffic has nothing to do with MARS

>>2714405
>regularly
Yet the protective sticker is on and unscathed, hell the buttons still have paint on them

Do you think the boomers know I'm gooning during qsos?

>>2714513
Just set a baofeng to FRS frequencies or equivalent in your country.

>>2714817
They're probably doing the same thing--especially if the QSO is a YL.

>>2714824
>>2714817
>repeater evening
>weekly
>YL enters
>moderator spills all his spaghetti
every single fucking time

How do you cw? It pains me more than you know.

>>2714963
It's literally in the OP

>>2714963

Local nerds made a 10 watt ERP FM classic rock station that blankets the whole valley. No commercials and they give ham news so it's nice.

>>2713436
pic. also just get the RG58 from amazon, it's $20 for 50 ft with terminated ends. also get a manual tuner or build one of those autotuner kits and wind it so it's more sensitive at super low wattages that a VNA or signal generator will trigger.

>>2713567
>Cobra 29 (useless where I live no one on CB)
Eh, they're spread out and it's hard to pick them up even knowing they're out there until you invest in a decent setup. Even a semi-decent setup you might struggle to do 5+ miles in a metro. If you have hills you can find them.

Cobra 29 has so much modding potential. Theres an audio transformer that basically outputs 24+ volts into the final so you can hotrod the shit out of it.

miniwhips or loops are better than mega antennas. you can't really tune an 80m antenna to do 10m.

>>2713205
You're saying I can Radio from my COAX cable my dude?

I've been thinking recently about getting a vanity call sign. Partially just because it would make sending it in cw a little faster and easier. For shits and giggles I tried to see if AD0LF was available. No, it is used by someone in the US named Adolph. I'm thinking about going with a 1x3 then.

>>2715360
>i'm so cool guise

>>2715363
I don't want to be just a bunch of government assigned numbers and letters. I'm a real human bean.

>>2715381
k

>>2714896
It's just happening, as we speak. What a faggot

>>2715476
Did you keep a recording? For science, or course.

>>2715483
It's German, won't help much

>>2714513
1km? Get a walkie talkie from the store. I get that everyone wants to have the inside edge. But a walkie talkie fits exactly what you want to do. It's channelized " hey buddy meet me on channel 2, if that doesn't work 4". Takes common and standard batteries that are easy to find.

Not my channel. Somebody apparently doesn't like POTA.

https://youtu.be/HeuNShZ_nFg?si=9-WdAs6nR3fOme31

>>2715503
kek

>>2715503
Understandable. POTAfags are just as bad as the contestfags.

Jeez. Why are there so many sad hams here?

>>2715526
inb4 you're the repeater spaghetti spiller

Anyone want to chat on an echo link conference?

POTA/SOTA has self-spotting now tho. https://sotamat.com/

>>2715545
>get a license
>just to go on teamspeak

>>2715503
If they are like most POTAcucks who install something like an ATAS on their car so they can drive into the parking lot of a "park" and activate it in their vehicles like the lardasses they are, then yes, I don't like POTA. It's laziness.

>CQ POTA CQ POTA THIS IS W-
>CQ CONTEST CQ CONTEST

I'm on all-star node 55301. Echolink node: vk2bsd-l number 913284. Linked to all star node 587391.

I'm on via RF and not identifying. Pirates and hams alike are welcome. I'm just curious how many learned to actually program their radio? How many let it collect dust? There are literally (and I'm not saying that figuratively) over 9,000 ways to connect if you do amateur or pirate radio.

No rush. I'm standing by waiting for (you).

I got a radio like pic rel and it can do channel 11, 13, and 22 from my dad. any way to incrase its performeace? It has a long 6+ foot anetnna

>>2715581
Pigtail will help. You're welcome.

>>2715582
forgive my ignorance, and grammatical errors, but what do you mean by a pigtail? I googled it, but what came up does not seem to help me.

>>2715584
Because I absolutely screwed up friend. You're going to want to search "rat tail increase radio range". Very simple to build. Very ugly. You'll want a big one.

>>2715584
It is a counterpoise wire for HT's. It can also be called a tiger tail.

>>2715586
>>2715585
Okay, thank you. I will try it and see if I can talk to some truck drivers if i can understand their babble

>>2715570 (me)
Maybe some other time. I'm off to bed. Sleep tight friends.

>>2715570
>>2715574
>>2715592
Sorry anon, I have no idea how to connect to that

>>2713567
I'm the guy who asked what radio's you have.

Very nice. I need to get a signal generator, it's about the only piece of test gear left that I need to get. My radio collection isn't as extensive as yours but I thoroughly enjoy them all.

Kenwood TS690SAT
Yaesu FT847
Icom IC730
Yaesu FT101E (mint!)
Icom IC-W2A
Yaesu FT290R

Icom R71A
Icom R7000 (x2)
Palomar VLF converter
Info-Tech M-6000
Info-Tech M-7000
Pro-2022 scanner
Kantronics KPC-3
Aqua 712 marine LF/AM BCB rdf unit
Rigblaster Advantage
SDR RSP2

IFR-7550
oscilloscope
Racal-Dana 1992 freq counter
Radio Shack 22-306 freq counter
Fluke 179
-----
Most I obtained used at decent prices. The FT101e was given to me! Absolutely mint, meticulously cared for by original owner, boxes, manual, receipt. Original finals (Toshiba greens) still going strong. The only radio I bought new is my Kenwood TS690SAT. I was licenced in 1992 and that was my dream rig. Took me a year to save up for one decked out with filters and the DSP-100 unit. Before that I used a loaner Yaesu FTdx100 for a couple months. I melted, yes melted, the 6JM6A's when I moved off freq slightly and neglected to touch them up. Yikes. A learning experience. Snagged the Icom 730 right after that until I got my Kenwood. The Icom W2A was my first transceiver when I was licensed.

I was in gr. 2 in mid70's when I saw an S40 at a friends house, the 1st SW radio I ever saw. I had a Sears AM FM Air Police Radio Model No. 174 in 1981. Had a Panasonic RF-2200 on longterm loan in late 80s. Lots to listen to back then.

How are those PA0RDT Mini Whips? I thought about getting one for my Palomar vlf converter as I haven't seen an antenna design for between 15 kHz and 100 kHz that I liked.

>>2714402
Happened to me a few times in mid-90s. It's mildly amusing to get pulled over and hear your particulars come back. It gets better when your ham buddies the next town over are monitoring the cop channel and call you over the local repeater and razz ya about it. Or say shit like "good thing you got rid of the 2 kilos of blow before you got pulled over, eh" just as the officer is at your drivers window returning your DL and registration. :^) Those f*ckers. lol

>>2715798
>How are those PA0RDT Mini Whips?
it works pretty good, but compared to my 100' longwire, it only works about half as good. it has to be placed as far from houses and anything that generates interference because of how sensitive it is. and you aren't supposed to mount it on or near a metal pole or tower.

I don't have a license, I studied for a while but the lack of anything interesting on SW, and that I have no interest in talking to randos, never took the test.

40 years ago would have been a different story, but I had no money back then (in high school).

I have a Uniden BC296D ($3 at goodwill), Pro 96 ($10 goodwill), GRE PSR-500 (bought new $500), Uniden BC355N ($4 goodwill) and used to have pro-34, pro-2022 (cellular restored), Pro 95, Uniden SC-150, and several crystal scanners.

I'm glad I did not pay good money for the BC355N, it's a scanner designed for people who will never use a scanner. it can't be programmed, it just has bands that it is generically programmed for. you can store some small amount of "favorite" channels you stumble on, but that's it. garbage.

I picked up a Yaesu FTC-1123 at a goodwill for not much. one of the most non intuitive, hard to program radios I have ever seen. it has a keypad and you would think you select a channel hit program, and then enter a frequency, but no it doesn't work like that, and the instructions are too long to post. I think these were used by fire departments and police.

>>2715798
>My radio collection isn't as extensive as yours but I thoroughly enjoy them all.
My collection mostly started out with scanners as stated here >>2715862

in 2012 I was laid off and got the brilliant idea to go to thrift stores, buy things for cheap, and sell on ebay (why has no one thought of this). Turns out EVERYONE was doing this.

I got a lot of stuff. sold a lot of stuff, my 2 biggest finds where a Sansui 7070 ($24 sold for $279), and a Supro 6606 guitar amp ($12 sold for $174). I wish I had kept the Sansui, sweet sounding stereo. I keep records of most of the things I bought and sold, and where I got it from. over a period of about 8 years I bought more than 190 items from Goodwill and other thrift stores, and sold most of them one way or another. I really like equipment made in the 70's the last time you could buy quality stereos that weren't black plastic crap.

Older ham equipment looks cool, and all but really compared to an SDR they are a pain to use. when I would scan 40 meters with my S-40a or the Kenwood, I was lucky to pick anything up, because most ham guys either talk your ears off, or more commonly talk hardly at all. When I got an SDR I was shocked at how much I was missing because some guy would say a sentence, then there would be a long pause while the guy on the other end (who I could not hear) would talk his ear off. with the old equipment it took too much time to tune in the sidebands when people don't talk enough.

With SDR I can see all the things I was missing. but I still have no interest in talking to people.

I have more interest in receive and/or decode unusual signals, but when it's hard to identify them it gets annoying. I did find software to decode motorola pagers, and that was interesting to watch during covid. I was surprised how many hospitals and IT companies still used them. Hospitals to dispatch nurses and orderlies, and IT to report warnings, and errors on servers.

What the fuck

recommendations for a Christmas present SDR kit, for a kid who programs in python for fun?

>>2716466
Eg: the one I’m looking at now is pic related
>1 Nooelec stick
>3 different antennas you can screw on. Does that sound right for a beginner kid?

>>2716472
Get the rtl-sdr blogV4. It handles HF way better and the drivers are easy. The antenna kits are kinda lame, but the one that comes bundled with the rtlsdr has good instructions on orientation and how many segments you need extended to resonate at whatever signal so its a good start on antenna theory. If you were super cool you'd mount a discone on the roof and run some lmr400 down.

Thinking of picking up (BAOFENG UV-5R 2 pack) off Amazon for $30. I used to own a few scanners back in the day; ham tech test looks extremely easy. You guys recommend them as entry?

Does anyone have the image with the two android devices and two Baofeng HTs?

>>2716659
The Baofang is the most popular handheld because they are cheap. The problem is that you are going to use it a few times and realize the 2m and 70cm repeaters are dead. That is to say, nobody really talks on them. It's kind of a self fulfilling prophesy. That being said, there are a couple of other things you can do with 2m and 70cm. You can become a weather spotter or try to contact satellites or the international space station.
It's probably best to bump up to General asap after Technician. Forget the cheap ass junk handhelds and save up for a HF rig. That's where the action is at. That's where the variety is at.

>>2716466
> python
Get the kid a book on something worthwhile. Picrel.

>>2716668
> dipole with exposed conductors
Does any body know what kind of voltage is on those wires typically?
I was shocked to find out my audio amp can put out 60 volts to the speakers.

>>2716466
this : >>2716473
and tell the kiddo he can do things with GNU radio (that will handle the rtl-sdr blog v4) but I am not sure if he would be able to do easy things or not.

>>2716927
Depends on the wattage and at what point of the dipole you measure.

>>2716927
for antennas it can be in the hundred of volts, thousands if you push 1kW in a magnetic loop. Plus it's HF burn, so you might get a shock but also internal burns.

>>2716946
>Plus it's HF burn, so you might get a shock but also internal burns.
HF burns are on the surface. I have painful experience in this.

Hi there,
I'm looking for studies to some active antenna dedicated to 0-150kHz band, and even one dedicated to 0-1kHz or 0-2kHz.. Can you maybe recommend me some professional and lab certified reference ? "quite expensive" is not a limitation.
best regards

>>2717272
> rf burns on the outside
That gives new meaning to the “skin effect” eh?

Hello anons, I figure I would give this board a try in hopes of not having to ask r*ddit. I watched a show where one of the main characters was good with radio frequencies and the math around it. It sparked my desire to learn about low frequency radio transmission again, the circuitry behind it and such. My interests lie more in underwater communications, long distance communications sans repeaters, and data transmission like sending pictures. I have no desire to learn about HAM or participate in HAMFaggotry/Repeaters. I already gave that a shot with a baofeng and SDR - it bored me to death and I hated the concept of dealing with repeaters owned by boomers.
>inb4 read the sticky
>inb4 spoonfeeding
tl;dr asking for someone to point me in the direction on how to get back into this so I can be a signal wizard like those in this thread. I am not sure where to start because it seems like there is a broad spectrum of topics which all interact with each other e.g. radio frequency theory, designing and building stuff, air and ocean conditions, and whatever else I might be forgetting. Where should I start? Any resources you'd be willing to share?

I do appreciate the responses. Thanks

>>2717332
>underwater communications, long distance communications sans repeaters, and data transmission like sending pictures
ELF will have you enjoy the fun of
>putting high energy in for little output
>finding room for miles of antenna
>narrowband signals because antenna
>slow data rates
But you will get through a few yards of water that way. Not suited for transmitting dank memes though.

>>2717342
>mfw ELF transmitters for underwater communication are literally miles long
Well that sucks. I guess I need to think smaller on that front. Do you have any information on underwater RF communication devices for divers?

>>2717293
Lots of good links here
Have fun running miles of wire and even more miles of grounding mesh for what isn't even a 1/8 wavelength.
https://nuke.fas.org/guide/usa/c3i/vlf.htm
299792.458 Meters is the wavelength of 1khz
That's only 186282.4 miles. You got this anon.

>>2717360
Backpacking off my previous post, where would be a good place to start? Am I too refined in my interests that it will inhibit my growth? Am I supposed to put up with HAM radio until I have the basics of antenna design and theory under my belt? Im talking more than I am listening, so I am already off on the wrong foot...

>>2717372
186 kilo miles?
How does the US navy communicate with subs then? Accoustcs?

Radars have piqued my interest. How do I create one?

>>2717418

Anon >>2717342 mentioned ELF. I just did some research on it and the US has miles of wire dedicated to one way communications with submarines. There is also VLF, which cannot penetrate as deep, which is operational today. AFAIK, the ELF station in the USA was decommissioned long ago. Its a good read nonetheless.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_with_submarines#Extremely_low_frequency

They also use an Acoustic communication protocol named JANUS. Lots of interesting stuff.

>>2717420
> wavelength too long to be practical
Just Do It!

>>2717418
Imagine having access to Elon Musk Boring(tm) machines capable or building thousands of miles of DUMBs, unlimited money, and underground antennas like pic related.
https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/underground-buried-earth-antennas.455869/

>>2715862
>>2715875
Good to know about the active antenna. I suspect i'll be going out of town to do my VLF/LF listening. Too much noise in this urban environment.

From 1982-1984 I had a shop teacher who had a bunch of sw radios in the classroom. I used to spend my lunch hours there. When I moved out at 18 I was fortunate to have a roommate who had a Bearcat 100 scanner that he never used. So it was my toy for a few years and I focussed on VHF/UHF. Irc they were expensive back then especially for wage slaves like I was.

I periodically check the thrift stores here for potential goodies but nothing shows up. And they all check ebay to see what is going for what and set their prices accordingly so no "thrift" pricing. The Salvation Army thrift stores send all their good stuff to a special store where they sell items of value at much higher prices. An old ham buddy back home (now SK) once found a Yaesu FRG7700 for $5 in a thrift store.

While the SDR's are intriguing I prefer knobs and buttons. I used Spectran for ELF and Lowfer monitoring and can appreciate waterfall displays for revealing brief transmissions. I obtained an RSP2 to experiment with and I can't set the definitions in SDR Console for some reason. The attached picture is what I get. SDRuno, drivers are all installed/updated. Even swapped a couple of cords just in case. Dunno???

>>2717272
Kek. That's how I found out I had rf floating around. I was talking into an metal desk mic when it arc'd over onto my bottom lip. Had a small scab there for a long time. An oldtimer told me when he was in the merchant marines he was doing some antenna work on his ship when he got a nasty burn. Puzzled him because he disconnected the radio and there was still high voltage present. He happened to look up and then saw they were passing the huge million watt VOA station and its curtain arrays a few miles away on shore in Spain.

>>2717360
wireless diver communication systems use transducers in the ultrasound range

>>2717512
>VLF/LF listening
as far as I know that mini whip is not meant for VLF/ELF. my mini ship is on a 3 foot length of PVC attached to a 10 foot metal pool on my shed. it doesn't need to be out in the middle of nowhere, just as far as you can get it from interference.

>I periodically check the thrift stores here for potential goodies but nothing shows up.
my finds were the results of going to 5 to 7 goodwills every couple of days, in 2 separate parts of town.

>>2717516
I'm going to have to fire up my ft101 again.
I miss those static shocks

>>2717684
based vintage rig enjoyer

>>2717465
Fund the project and my ass will be out laying cable dawn to dusk rain or shine o7

>>2717696
> vintage
Probably better in cases where the new ones are doing automatic software updates for an hour or three every time you want to use it.

I'm struggling to understand where coax | ladder line | an antenna start and end.
How is ladder line not an antenna?
Does the shielding of a coax not that significant?
Can I print these and create a hf yagi?

>>2718139
>How is ladder line not an antenna?
Because it's two conductors in opposite phase.

>>2718165
>two conductors in opposite phase.
all it takes is to run them inline?

>>2718192
I've no practical experience with ladder lines, I think length vs. wavelength are also to be considered.
This movie from the Signal Corps explains it best
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHSPRcRgmOw

Hi /ham/! Just dropping by from >>>/pol/450143424 to say hi. Has anyone here played with ION2G Automatic Link Establishment using HF bands?

Also, any DMR guys in this thread?

>>2718216
>ALE
Some hams use it, but what for?
>DMR
Where's that going to work in your doomsday scenario?

>>2718236
Well, ALE is very useful because it allows you to link up with known nets and stations with the push of a button. You don't have to scan through every single band to see which has the best propagation at that particular time of day. I find it very effective for communicating from vehicles and POTA-esque stations where your distance and antenna conditions may be sub-optimal.

DMR on the other hand is great for local operation. If I understand your question correctly, it will work anywhere I have my repeaters set up at. Using DMRGateway and XLXD as a "reflector":

https://n5amd.com/digital-radio-how-tos/mmdvm-dmr-gateway-explained/
https://n5amd.com/digital-radio-how-tos/create-xlx-xrf-d-star-reflector/

I have 3 sites linked together in a simulcast configuration. There's only some small areas where the sites struggle to vote for the best receiving station, but I have a lot of mountains in my area, so for the most part it's a clean simulcast where you don't need to change frequencies as you travel.

>>2718139
>I'm struggling to understand where coax | ladder line | an antenna start and end.
The coax ends in the balun that connects the unbalanced coax with the balanced ladder line.

>>2718244
>I find it very effective for communicating from vehicles and POTA-esque stations where your distance and antenna conditions may be sub-optimal.
meanwhile...

>>2718262
Yeah, but even if you have a CW signal like 50Hz wide, you can't overcome impassable band conditions. ALE lets you use the entire 80m-10m range.

>>2718264
>capable of recovering the 8FSK signal at a negative decibel signal-to-noise ratio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_link_establishment
Your ALE can't either, I can hear your CW at -17dB.

>>2718273
OK, so you move to a band that has proper propagation then and don't try to use a band with piss poor propagation to your other station.

>>2718274
competent ops finding reliable pathways weren't a thing before ALE?

>>2718278
Compentent ops aren't needed when software can do it faster and more reliably.

>>2718273
> HRM-9000
Looks like they’re not going to bother obeying they spectrum allocations of the country they’re invading.
How does that work, exactly? Do they basically just do whatever they want, frequency wise?

>>2718339
I'm sure militaries probably have their own spectrum management policies and standards for spectrum management.

>>2716926
oh, haw haw. but if he goes the embedded route that will probably happen on its own
>>2716473
thanks
>>2716659
go for it. great way to get your toes wet for cheap. Plus since you get two you can use them as regular walkie-talkies. they also pick up FM broadcast stations, if you don’t mind some hissing

>>2718216
>ghostnet
People are still falling for that? The point was to make an example for groups on how to structure a net to share info.

>DMR
Just now getting into it. Looking into getting a business license so I can legally use encryption (though I already use it with family.)

>>2718216
>Ghost Net
Imagine falling for this obvious honeypot.

>>2718654
A honeypot implies you are doxxing yourself or otherwise incriminating yourself somehow. Ghostnet does none of that, you're just a sad ham scared to do anything other than ragchew.

>>2718906
keep your conspiracy shit discussions on /pol/

>>2718916
I didn't bring it up, he did. Fuck off and do radio shit. Also, guy who originally posted in thread one, this thread kiiiiind of sucks. Bunch of fudds.

>>2718906
>A honeypot implies you are doxxing yourself
No one tell him about callsigns and QRZ.

>participate in JS8call ghostnet, including putting in the @group
>@ghostnet snr?
>see callsigns which come up
>look up info in FCC database
>know names and addresses of ham radio operators who are "fighting in the shade" and maybe potential problems in the future

>>2718945
>using FCC callsigns
you failed the IQ test

I know my 240€ anytone is far superior but I like the advantages of firmware mods on my new 15€ 5r plus quan and its more likely I'd carry it everywhere unconcerned.
Why keep the anyone? I don't use DMR and dont reach the analog aprs repeater anyway.
Fuck, there is a fucking spectrometer in the quan by now and they improved the speaker in the 5r while the anytone crash if I press two wrong keys by accident.

>>2718952
Why not play with setting up an MMDVM-based DMR repeater? Would be a fun project.

What's the simplest functioning radio receiver I can build for cheap?

>>2718962
A crystal recever.

>>2718946
>you failed the IQ test
Says the larper who fell for three letter agency honeypots.

>>2718984
OK, so unless the feds are going to HF DF every single participant in GhostNet to pinpoint them before black bagging everyone at 3am raids, you're just being disingenuous. Fudds gonna fudd I guess.

>>2718988
>the feds are going to HF DF
You have not considered boomers with time at their disposal. They'll do it for the federales, and they'll do it for free

>>2718990
Because sad hams totally have modern, accurate HF DF-ing kit. That's something they all invest in just to have. Not to mention travelling to every region to pinpoint the station before typing their report out to their favorite FCC agent.

Just admit you're a sad ham too.

>>2718992
You underestimate the zest and ingenuity of boomer jannies.

>>2718988
They don't have to: they already have antenna arrays that can do this passively. Look at the peasant commerical version: the KrakenRF (though it only goes down to 100MHz.) Besides, old fuckers do it for free and can do it using their techniques including using websdrs. Ghostnet is just a simple way for the gather callsigns/people to put on a list.

The government is already 10 steps ahead of you larpers. Just wait until you find out they're controlling your OSInt as well.

>>2718999
>big passive antenna arrays
>local DFing in your region
So which is it? One gives you a ROUGH bearing of the originating signal, the other can get down to a 5 mile radius of the transmitter. Just admit you're throwing out every excuse possible to either gatekeep people out of using radios, or being a sad ham and sucking the FCC cock.

>>2719002
>gatekeep people out of using radios
Quite the opposite. I tell people how easy it is to get a ham license. It's literally memorize a bunch of questions and their answers. There's zero gatekeeping involved--especially when you can take the tests online now.

>being a sad ham and sucking the FCC cock.
Sounds like a larper is mad he fell for the honeypot.

>>2719010
>force people to take a government test
>not gatekeeping
pick one and only one

>>2719011
>force people to take a government test
>tell people how easy it is to get a ham license
>these are the same things
/pol/ is a lost board.

>>2719011
>I don't know about MURS, FRS, and CB
>doesn't realize the FCC is the one who requires the testing, but leaves it up to the VECs
>the VECs will literallt accomodate the tester including blind people and children at low reading levels
Old boomers sure are gatekeeping you from using radio! Just to let you know: 5 year olds have passed the test.

>>2719015
And you're a fudd. You're literally the one saying Ghostnet is a honeypot because some people may use their actual FCC callsigns, while SIMULTANEOUSLY saying people should trust the FCC and challenge their license test.

You're cognitively dissonant and beyond help.

>>2719020
MURS, FRS, and CB are not HF and cannot NVIS propagate. Stop being disingenuous.

>>2719021
>CB are not HF
HF is between 3MHz to 30MHz. CB is in the 11 meter band channelized between 26.965 MHz and 27.405 MHz. This band is wide open during this part of the solar cycle. You can use an NVIS configuration quite easily. You are proving why it shoulf be gatekept as you just failed the basics.

>>2719024
>constraining yourself to a single band that is only usable during intermittent solar cycles
So basically the most useless HF band there is. Got it.

>>2719030
>being this angry over falling for a honeypot
Got it.

>>2719033
I know you're just trolling to make me angry. I hope you can overcome whatever is going on in your life that makes you so bitter.

I've logically proven it cannot possibly be a honeypot evident by a lack of doxxing metadata and the difficulty of direction finding. I will let others make of that what they will.

Ohhh yeah.
Rollin, Rollin, Rollin
screwballs get The Boot
It's all about what's most convenient for the technician
It's all about how clean you can make it
Safety First!
Back to the bench

>>2717696
>>2717684
I've stockpiled a bunch of 6JS6C's and 12BY7's for my 101E. I should do the same for my YO-100.

>>2719288
You need to put them in a metal cage to prevent the emp from taking them out. Good call on the tubes though, they’re already resilient.

https://www.qrz.com/db/W5DX
>Public Relations and Outreach Manager for ARRL

>>2719968
>DX as callsign suffix
They're the cyclists of ham radio.

G3 CEM incoming, peak at 7 UTC, maybe propagation will get better, maybe we will see beautiful auroras

>>2719968
>look up old callsign
>Paul Jr.
I bet Paul Sr. is so proud

Any funny youtube videos?

>>2720269
yeah there's this one with a squirrel water-skiing

>>2720264
So her grandfather held the call as well? Very cool.

>>2720295
suck cocks

>>2720264
The west coast choppers guy that tack welded shit during the day and had the welding pros come in at night to do all the actual welding? I loved that show.

>>2719968
>another fat ham
Why are so many hams so fucking fat? Get out of the shack and hike with your portable equipment for an hour. Shit is not hard and you lose a shit ton of weight.

>>2719207
Get the FCC to shut down mud duck radio

https://www.change.org/p/make-fcc-shut-down-mud-duck-radio


FCC Chairperson
Jessica.Rosenworcel@fcc.gov

>>2720342
>fat
You are looking at the US, where everyone is fat.

>>2720473
>CB
Good thing everyone has been switching to GMRS including truckers for traveling.

>>2720479
They were driven off CB by goofs like him.

>>2720491
Good. Let it be the shithole.

I will be the mud duck of GMRS

>>2720479
GMRS can’t go nearly as far as CB.

What benefits come with getting my license rather than just transmitting freely? It's just there in the air

>>2720684
The FAQ covers it. Among many things it tells you how to stay safe, after all this can involve thousands of volts. There are also things like harmonics that must be understood so that the rest of the bands are not jammed down. It may seem useless and bureaucratic at first but there is a need.

>>2720473
nypa

>>2720684
You can, on several bands, like 11 meter (CB) FRS/GMRS, 900 MHz, 2.45 GHz, and other bands like FM as long as it’s really low power. I think some of the VLF is open, too.

As long as you don’t modify the antenna and it’s FCC certified, you should be fine.

CB, according to some, is empty, might as well use it.
As far as I can tell, there’s no limit to how “sensitive” you can make receiving, do with good quality filters, yagi-uda or dish antennas you can probably get pretty far receving.

I don’t think it’s worth the doxing that comes with the license, most people are voyeuristic scanners only anyway.

>>2717696
What does the HEATER rocker switch do?
Make it run hotter so you can use it as a footrest?

>>2720930
>What does the HEATER rocker switch do?
The final is a tube, so it switches on the heater filament of the tube, you need to get it to temp about ten minutes before using it
>Make it run hotter so you can use it as a footrest?
Absolutely, see above.

>>2720930
>>2720934
Also, it saves power when you only use it for receiving, as for this you don't need the tubes. It's a hybrid, all transistorised with only output tube driver and finals.
The generation after came with the first digital readout displays, and then all-transistorised rigs came to market that could bear more than QRP.

>>2720930
>Make it run hotter so you can use it as a footrest?
Tube radios, especially of the boat anchor class, keep the shack nice and warm.

>>2720342
Go obsess about weight on /fit/ or, in your case, /lgbt/ since you see a fat woman.

Finna install a 2m/70cm base antenna on my roof.

What's this signal?

I'm just messing around with hackRF one. don't really know what i am doing, but trying to learn to identify signals

>>2721380
>trying to learn to identify signals
good luck : https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Signal_Identification_Guide
maybe that : https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/PLUTO_II_OTH_Radar

>>2721382
>https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/PLUTO_II_OTH_Radar

Thanks.

Also, just came to realize, as I am running a random shitty indoors tv antenna and have no idea where the signals are coming from. Having just scanned for FT8 signals on various bands, it makes sense all the FT8 signals I've been getting, form a sort of a circle around my location and cyprus falls right within that area, where i've been getting a lot of FT8 on 10m, which this one is pretty close to.

>>2721100
>t.

>>2721402
post the original

>>2721379
Good. I hope you get some use out of it. I've considered getting a 2m yagi and pointing towards the nearest metro area. We don't have much for repeaters in my neck of the woods.

>>2721411
I did

>>2721428
Post mcdonlds nearest you.

>>2721380
If AI were real, it could identify them automatically. But it’s not, so you have to learn. Get it in phase to recognize the pattern. Try different transforms. Listen to it, use FM and AM. Etc.

Hey guys, apologize for the spoonfeeding request. I just stumbled into getting a decent President HR2510 for cheap. Totally new to radio, but I've done a bit of light reading on it. I'm only really looking to listen to shortwave, might work towards a license and hamming.
Do I need any extra equipment to make this thing work? Or can I just feed it 12v, throw a coax wire into a tree as an antenna, and expect to be able to receive and/or broadcast decently enough to start exploring?
>>2720342
Kek, the guy I got this radio from was was a gigantic 300lbs lardass ham. I guess cause it's a more sedentary hobby.

>>2721667
>I'm only really looking to listen to shortwave
the President HR2510 is a CB, it receives 26MHz to 30MHz at most, there are no broadcast there and it isn't shortwave, sorry anon, it is useless for you

>>2721688
Oh cool. Like I said, no idea what I'm doing and now that I pulled up the spec sheet, I see that. Was looking to stick a CB in my car anyways, so that's where it's going, kek. I got it for almost nothing, so not too concerned about it.
Is it a decent unit for listening into Ham bands then?

>>2721695
>Is it a decent unit for listening into Ham bands then?
for the 10m band (28MHz to 29.7MHz) yes, but that's the only ham band you'll get access to.

>>2721698
Alright, neat. Thanks anon. I've got a lot more reading to do.

>>2721701
you can see the ham bands (green portions of the spectrum) and broadcast bands (pink ones) here
http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/
along with the frequencies (white numbers) to get an idea of what receiver you need, a ham transceiver will typically receive 100KHz to 30 MHz

>>2721667
The knobs on that are gross. Take them off, along with the faceplate and put them in the dishwasher on “double sanitary” mode.

… someone else’s dishwasher.

>>2721754
>gross
I am surprised how many rigs for sale look like they have been pulled though the toilet. Strangely often they say they are "smoke free" but the what looks like pubic hair all over the radio is just too gross.

>>2721903
>smoke free
it's the boomer electronics equivalent of 'ice cold AC' when looking at used cars

wtf?

>>2722078
>at ARRL HQ
'Git on yer knees'
'Yer know what to do, and it's not plugging that coax in'

>>2722079
>this W1AW brick isn't going to suck itself!

>>2722081
kek

>hurt my knee running coax
>come inside to see this
yeah life's a simulation

>>2722222
holy include me in the screencap

>>2722222
holy checked
>while supplies last

>>2722222
>22222
It's a sign, Anon.

>>2722079 >>2722081
I am surprised nobody (yet?) posted yet an ad for ham brick lube.

>>2722554

>>2722608
>keep your w1aw investment safe and warm

>>2722608
kek

>>2722608
Brilliant. I hope this will be in the next OP image.

>>2722742
>>2722739
I had a little more time

>>2722763

>>2722766
checked and saved
>We like to think this special sale is for our great members
>who like to get fucked.
>Like with January 6
This is comedy gold desu

>>2720964
when did using cycles changes into Hz in the US?
Ham books well into the 60s seem to use cycles.

I asked in /ohm/ but I figure you guys would have insight as well
for shits and giggles I'm designing a completely discrete superheterodyne RX radio
I'm familiar with impedance matching and understand it academically/on paper, but when it comes to actually applying it I'm lost. I don't know *where* to impedance match.

In this picture, let's say the 100k oscillator is the """"RF"""" source/signal/antenna out. I know that IRL it'll be coming from some kind of antenna. I know I need to impedance match the antenna to that transformer somehow. That's obvious. But, to what impedance? I know the standard is 50 ohms, but neither that antenna nor the transformer are intrinsically 50 ohms.
Then, what about at the transformer center tap leading into the IF filter? Or, after the IF filter leading into those gain stages? What about matching between each of those gain stages? What about the common emitter stage? That's supposed to be a buffer so I don't know how it's supposed to have both high input impedance and an impedance of 50 ohms. At *what* frequency am I supposed to make it see 50 ohms? What if I want to tune across the entire Broacast FM band? A single impedance match won't cut it.

this points to a misunderstanding/lack of understanding on my part but I don't know how to go about learning what I need to know, considering I don't even know what I need to know

>>2722830
>What about the common emitter stage?
common collector gomenasorry

>>2722823
Not that guy but I think in the 1970's when japanese radios started making their appearance. It seems like most, if not all radios in that era were in Hz.

>>2722830
impedence matching is mostly for long transmission lines (anything longer than 1/16th of the wavelength) and high power stages, so you can ignore it for the mixer's output and the CE amplifier stages.
>At *what* frequency am I supposed to make it see 50 ohms?
your center frequency
>What if I want to tune across the entire Broacast FM band? A single impedance match won't cut it.
correct. but impedence matches can be broadband or narrowband.
generally speaking (in my experience), big L/small C = narrow, small L/big C = broad.

>>2723707
when calculating the length, so I use the speed of light “c” or do I use the transmission speed (belden says it’s .92)

>>2723844
0.66c is the speed of light in coax. so 200,000,000 m/s

>>2723707
>mostly for long transmission lines
I thought filters also needed careful impedance matching, at least I have seen some with transformers at the input and the output.

>>2724161
filters ARE the impedance matching

>>2719002
They don't have just one big passive antenna arrays, they've got just enough arrays around the country where they can pinpoint your general location with goniometry and then send out actual field agents with more precise equipment on trucks to track you down..
https://youtu.be/FcKCMfVJohI?si=5eNnwS490rf5uGnT
https://www.mdarc.org/regulations/fcc-monitoring-stations

>>2713205
>not using the eavestrough/rainwater drainage as an antenna

>>2724164
They do that too. Yet some have impedance matching transformer at in- and output, so there is a bit more to it than that.

any boat anchor collector anons know what I should sell my hp606a rf frequency gen for? It's all complete I just have no purpose for it. Probably gonna list it on my local ham classifieds, would prefer it went to someone that appreciated it not just a tube harvester.

My dad wants a handheld police scanner for christmas. Is there any affordable shit or do I have to spend $500 on some uniden

>>2724413
Maybe the Icom IC-R6 will be cheaper, or the Alinco DJ-X7E. There are all kind of prices for Uniden but they aren't general coverage, so you need to know what band your father wants to listen to

>>2724413
>police scanner
more and more departments are encrypted so pretty useless these days

>>2724413
>do I have to spend $500 on some uniden
Pretty much unless the police and other departments you want to monitor don't use some kind of trunked system. You'll have to search your area on radio reference to find out.

>contesters doing phone contacts on the FT8 frequency
Contesters deserve the rope.

>>2724507
OHNOES I CAN'T listen to dah poleese1

you are now aware there is more to listen to than the police.

>>2724507
How many use TETRA?
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/encryption-on-the-tetra-protocol-has-been-broken/

I drove 2 hrs to a testing session. I failed the Extra twice. Now I have a whole month to study for next time at a place only an hour from me. The electronics parts are just Greek to me.

>>2724686
>Now I have a whole month to study for next time at a place only an hour from me
it's ok, one hour per day should be enough
>The electronics parts are just Greek to me
That can be a problem if you don't understand the logic to get the formulas, or if you have a good memory you learn everything by heart

>>2724686
The testing and certification made a lot more sense to me after some anon explained that antennas could have over a hundred or even 1000 volts on them. Unlicensed-use equipment usually comes with the caveat that the antenna be (1) Permanently fixed to the device, and (2) You’re not allowed to tamper with it. So, if they’re going to let you make antennas and stuff, the don’t want the city to be forced to remove your charred remains from some hard-to-access spot.

Please, someone post the QSO party basedjack!

>>2724686
Get this app: take each section repeatedly over and over until you pass it three times without missing a question. Then move onto the next. After you have done this for every section, do it again but just once. Once you accomplish this, take random quizzes until test day, ensuring you are missing no more than 3 questions. This is how I got all three of my tickets.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.delasystems.hamradioexamextra&hl=en_US&gl=US

I used Ham Radio Prep study guide online. It worked well enough, but the answers didn't stick in my head. I'm going to sit here and study DC circuits until I actually understand them. Then next month I will earn my Extra for real. If I would have just barely passed it today, I would have been cheating myself.

On a side note, I got this book recently and I find it absolutely fascinating.

>>2724893
>learning Morse code in a digital world
Morse code is literally digital in more ways than one

So, what is the fastest you can receive Morse code at? Fo rmy part I was usually working at 19 speed, but that was years ago and I am a bit rusty now.

>>2724893
>On a side note, I got this book recently and I find it absolutely fascinating.
I've seen the book, there's nothing novel in it except his artificial difficulty trying to find a new way to spell out Morse characters.
Just do it, it's all at the bottom of the OP.

>>2724899
I can keep a QSO at 25, but sometimes I catch enough at 30 wpm

Dear Americans, are online zoom call tests cringe? Do I have to hold conversations with volunteers? Will they allow me to take the test outside, sitting on the tailgate of my truck in complete silence? What's it like? Can you recommend a VE group?

What is a good cheap airband (118.000 to 136.975) capable radio? I've been looking and I can find plenty of cheap receivers and expensive transmitters. I'm just hoping for a btech cheap radio to keep in my flight bag. Some of the planes I fly are older than the average poster.

>>2714405
Why didn't you get the UV-5X3 so you can shit up three bands instead of just two?

>>2725011
>are online zoom call tests cringe
Not really. I did all three of mine online.

>Do I have to hold conversations with volunteers?
Probably not but they'll probably want to talk while others are still testing. If you got your tech, they may ask what you plan on doing. If gen or extra, same thing or what you have been doing.

>Will they allow me to take the test outside, sitting on the tailgate of my truck in complete silence?
Don't know. Why don't you e-mail them and see?

>What's it like?
Boring, but it beats having to wait a month like the group around here who only meets and tests once per month.

>Can you recommend a VE group?
Aurora Amateur Radio Group is who I went through, and can recommend them. They can do workarounds for issues and are patient.

>>2725061
>cheap
UV-K5
>good
something like a used Kenwood TH-F7, Wouxun KG-UV9K

Does anyone here have experience with HackRF One and GNU Radio 3.10?

None of the tutorials work anymore because all the WX blocks have been removed.

>>2725011
>are online zoom call tests cringe
A bit, but so is showing up to alleged testing events and nobody shows and the doors are locked
>Will they allow me to take the test outside, sitting on the tailgate of my truck in complete silence?
Is your autism that off the charts?

>>2725135
>Kenwood TH-F7
I got that one and its great
I like how you can disable the audio filter use it for fast data modes

>>2712980
I like how my stupid abomination made it into basically every follow up thread.

I bet this is how being a proud dad feels like.

>>2725382
>be dad
>see mugshots of your offspring posted everywhere
>yep, that's my son

>>2725388
Kek.
I was looking at it more from a

> be dad
> see son being aknoledged and shared everywhere
> be proud of him makimg an impact

perspective.

not sure if its related to the thread at all, but has anyone here tried those radio wave receivers that attach to the back of the computer? I wouldn't be able to transmit anything but it would be cool to listen in on random things

>>2725323
> WX blocks
What’s a WX block?
I assume, since it’s open source, you could get an older version, or add them back in yourself and recompile. That’s the point of open source.

>>2725323
The functional blocks are still the same, all the WX stuff is just for the GUI.
There are 1:1 replacements for all the blocks. Just use the QT alternative.

>>2725382
>>2725405
I like your version simply because you experimented, made it work, and even added a feature. The original, if I can remember from the video, hardly functioned and the guy was having issues with it. It's based and it goes back to the root of the hobby. Ignore the angry boomer.

>>2724899
Morse Code at 140 WPM, does it require autism?
https://www.arrl.org/news/morse-code-at-140-wpm

>>2725580
>autism?
I think so. Gotta go faster, faster, faster with Sonic X.

>>2725833
You can always try sandbagging. Start a QSO at normal speed, a little shaky on the fist. After a minute, try a QRQ without stating the speed. This is bait, but a lot of people will fall for it, and reply at their max speed, expecting you to climb down. Usually that will be a lot faster than they are able to receive.
And that is where you hit them at the same speed. After you have tenderized them for a minute, they will issue the QRS. Feelsgood.

>>2725580
>>2725833
>morse code books on tape
>specifically mentions War Of The Worlds converted into morse
Well that's interesting

>>2725908
I wonder how that would be experienced. Morse reading is wired differently from plain listening or normal reading, perhaps closer to the subconcious.

>>2725956
From the link here >>2725833
>“At higher speeds, it is my belief that you are as close as you can get to what I call the ‘Vulcan Mind Meld.’ You hear/see words in your mind instantly that came from another human mind miles away without consciously hearing the sounds from the speaker. When we talk to people we don’t think about the sounds, but the ideas being given.”

>>2725972
>>2725956
Interesting, reminds me of zoning out while driving. Easier to process a lot of information coming in by relegating it partially to the subconscious.

>>2725956
>>2725972
Added for dramatic effect, no more.
At some point in the text he's admitting it; at highest speeds it's a rather lossy form of comms like speed reading a book. No magic.

Could anyone recommend me good lectures on those giant 100.000W antennas [and/or also lectures about] the question of Coupling RF spills into ground.

>>2725981
>Added for dramatic effect, no more.
There are plenty of stories how Morse code slips into the mind on a subconscious level, also at low speed. One guy I knoew was reading a book and strange words "appeared" that on re-reading were not there. It turned out he was playing music in the background that had some Morse code that he picked up.

>>2726065
That's picking up Morse in the background the same way you by chance pick up some of the classifieds next to the article you're reading.

>>2726068
>the same way you by chance pick up some of the classifieds next to the article you're reading
Is that a thing? I never knew or noticed.

>>2725890
Heh! I like it.
Reminds me of something I read in a book about the Kettle Valley Railway. A young, wet-behind-the-ears telegrapher was learning the ropes under the watchful eye of a much senior telegrapher. All was well except Junior feared the operator at the station east of him. That operator sent high-speed code and would never reduce speed when requested. And he knew there was a new junior op.

One evening that operator transmitted a long train order at his usual high speed. Junior struggled to copy and requested a re-send. Operator sends it again at his usual high speed. Most operators would send a bit slower on a re-send, but not this guy.. he was a dick. Once again Junior couldn't copy 100% so he sheepishly requested another re-send. Now the operator to the east was losing his patience and sent the long train order again, maybe even a bit faster. The whole time the senior operator had been listening and had perfect copy first time. As was normal in the railway biz you repeat back what was sent to you. The senior operator took the key and fired back the train order in perfect code at a MUCH greater speed. Operator to the east stayed silent.

Boomer die-off, come quick >>2726330
New thread >>2726330
Close key and switch operators >>2726330