/ham/ - Ham/Amateur radio general

[Anonymous No.1573816]

FAQ: ftp://50.31.112.231/pub/radio_FAQ_Preview8.htm

[Anonymous No.1573823]

Recently passed my intermediate licence. Got my callsign last week, although I haven't used it yet, which means I can now use up to 50w. If I didn't have to open the windows to run my coax through I'd have probably made a few contacts by now.

I've got an FT450D on my desk here which I've made contacts on using my foundation licence running the maximum of 10w.

I was also playing with Fldigi the other day, I was feeding it audio from a WebSDR (http://hackgreensdr.org:8901/).). At first decoding some morse and then last weekend some PSK. Really makes me want to get an audio interface, though it would probably be cheaper to build one.

[Anonymous No.1573852]

>>1573816

Air Force RF Transmission guy here, I used to work right next to the FLR-9 in Misawa. Unfortunately, they started tearing it down in 2014.

[Anonymous No.1573977]

>>1573816
Always admired elephant cages. Tho those are for DFing. Here is one of the sites I worked at.

35°48'29.6"N 139°28'21.2"E
35.808218, 139.472542

10KW HF Rockwell Collins HF-80.

[Anonymous No.1573981]

>>1573852
Bummer. I was out there doing GWIP (Global weather improvement program) boondoggle.
Those are impressive up close.
>>1573977
is at Tokorazawa Japan, the Smoke Signal III site. Now HF Global.

[Anonymous No.1574071]

I bought a yaesu ft227 memorizer, Anyone know how I program my glorious single channel memory?

[Anonymous No.1574092]

Are there any interesting ham devices that can run off PoE? I've been meaning to get my licence, but I'm so busy with other things that it'll probably be another year or two before I do. However, I am planning on running some cables across my property to connect up security cameras so I can stalk thieving junkies. Just wondering if I should stick in some extra cable for future interesting uses or not...

[Anonymous No.1574126]

>>1574092
Funny you should mention that since I just picked up a few Linksys routers to start a mesh network. If you look up “hamnet” on YouTube you can find a ton of info but basically you will need a router, antenna, and PoE adapter (and associated cables) to get started. They cheap route (which is what I did) is to buy a certain kind of router that has a specific amount of RAM and onboard memory plus a programming language in Linux. Then you need and antenna, and while the stock antenna works for very short distances you’ll need a directional one to join a mesh. Put the router in a waterproof enclosure close to the antenna to minimize loss and run a LAN cable to your computer with the PoE adapter hooked in somewhere in between. Another option is to buy an Ubiquity device which is already waterproofed and do the same procedure after getting it close to your antenna. I’m not sure how useful this setup will be without the custom firmware from hamnet but the good news is you won’t need a license at the stock frequency (though I don’t know if that applies to Ubiquity)

[Anonymous No.1574143]

>>1574126
I'm guessing they use openwrt with some sort of ham radio module they've developed? That could be an option, I should probably ask the local radio club if there is anything like a meshnet set up here.

Often we don't have these nice things in Australia except for Sydney and Melbourne, because of our cities' low population density (even lower than America). So anything that relies on high density to be practical (good Internet speeds, public transportation, mesh networks, etc.) either isn't very good or is very expensive.

[Mrcrummy No.1574146]

>>1573816
>>1573852
Why disable a HFDF system? that seems extremely valuable to me.
Is there something better to replace it with?

[Anonymous No.1574260]

>>1574092
cant you just run real electrical wire along with the ethernet cable?

[Anonymous No.1574272]

>>1574260
I could, and I probably will for some sensor lights, but I'm not sure how that would help with what I was asking...

[Anonymous No.1574336]

>>1574272
Now you're not limited to interesting ham devices that can run off PoE, you may also include interesting ham devices that can run off AC.

[Anonymous No.1574619]

>>1573816
I don't like what they've done with stone henge desu.

[Anonymous No.1574647]

>>1574336
Well, the reason why I was thinking of PoE is so I can easily control it from my house.

[Anonymous No.1574678]

>>1574260
>>1574272
You guys know PoE stands for power over Ethernet right? As in you only need one (Ethernet) wire to your router instead of two.
>>1574143
There’s no “module” it’s just modified firmware that makes the router operate on a slightly highe freuency that’s password protected.

[Anonymous No.1574686]

>>1574678
>You guys know PoE stands for power over Ethernet right? As in you only need one (Ethernet) wire to your router instead of two.
Yes, of course I know that...

>There’s no “module” it’s just modified firmware that makes the router operate on a slightly highe freuency that’s password protected.
Well I'd just use openwrt then, if that's all this hamnet firmware does.

[Anonymous No.1574936]

>>1573816
How representative of the technician tests are those I find online?

They all come from the same pool, but is it random or more of a wink wink?

[Anonymous No.1575231]

>>1574936
You can literally download the whole question pool from the fcc newfriend

[Anonymous No.1575324]

>>1574936
Tech is a seriously easy cakewalk. Rote memorization will allow you to pass. However, if you actually want to enjoy the bands, also study for General. If you pass Tech, you can take General for free that day and get 1500 watts and privileges on all the bands.

[Anonymous No.1575790]

>>1574936
>>1575231
>http://www.arrl.org/tech-question-pool

[Anonymous No.1575908]

Hey people, I have recently developed and interest in radio as an alternative to satellite communication in a potential SHTF situation and while many of the books I find are informative they also deal mostly with the theoretical aspects of it, are there any books or manuals that treat radio manufacturing and repair in more practical DIY kind of way?

[Anonymous No.1575920]

>>1575908
Basic electronics repair will get you there; circuitry is circuitry. You may want to find some books on audio electronics repair.

You may want to get:
Energy Choices for the Radio Amateur
ARRL Handbook (2019)
Power Supplies Explained
Portable Operating for Amateur Radio
and
The Radio Amateur's Workshop
from the ARRL store: http://www.arrl.org

Also, snoop about QRZ.com Lots of SHTF people post in their forums.

[Anonymous No.1575940]

typical ham

[Anonymous No.1576279]

>>1575231
Correct, but that's 400+ questions.
Online pulls from those, but in a disporportionate ratio - ie I see the same questions time and time again.
I'm guessing the FCC has picked a core group of questions which these quizs iterate through, then throw in a few random questions so there are alternating versions.
Any ballpark as to what % I should be hitting to be confident I'll pass the actual test? I'm in the 80%s and have a month to go. Maybe I should just switch gears and study the General exam.

[Anonymous No.1576407]

>>1575940
>I'm angry
>I'm so dense, I can't get my ticket
>I'll try to persuade others it's stupid, too
>stupidHAM.jpg
>I showed 'em good!

[Anonymous No.1576659]

>>1574071
engage the 'M' latching switch

[Anonymous No.1576672]

>>1576407

[Anonymous No.1576892]

>>1574146
The idea was that the bad guys just want to leave HF since HF takes more effort. That was a mistake. According to a UFO guy who believe these are UFO technologies, he noticed more cars in the parking lots around these sites than before and concluded mothballing has been reversed.

And once again we see how much leaks thanks to pieces of openly available information.

[ultralight !KGY6s9UEOM No.1577928]

Hi guys, I'm still in the planning stages of a solo transatlantic trip next year, I know most bluewater cruisers use VHF for local comms, what would be some good budget equipment for both VHF communications, and separately, OTOH comms? Taking that further, I see a bunch of radar systems with a max range of 48nm. Are there any affordable OTOH radar systems out there?

[Anonymous No.1578133]

I'm interested in using wifi hardware in amateur radio in the UK. I'm aware of HamWAN in the US and was wondering what parts of US band plan it uses.

[Anonymous No.1578161]

>>1578133
Look for the 13cm and the 6cm bands and compare to common WiFi frequencies.

[Anonymous No.1578397]

>>1574126

The only ubiquiti radios that need licenses are the 3Ghz and 11Ghz radios

The performance with a DD-WRT router is garbage, I've run the setup myself and the ubiquiti hardware will give you solid performance.

I had an 5Ghz AP serving a client over a mile away and the radio had an uptime of over a year. Look for used hardware.

[Anonymous No.1578504]

>Guard freq. is CB for pilots
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYCcaIelB_U
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS8kPPK_rYY

[Anonymous No.1578637]

Is there any point to doing this if you dont want to hear boomers all day?

[Anonymous No.1578815]

>>1578504
what fucking frequency is that?

[Anonymous No.1578930]

>>1578815
121.500MHz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_emergency_frequency

[Anonymous No.1579429]

What are kind of HF antenna are these?

This photo was taken in London.

[Anonymous No.1580483]

>>1579429
Was that an embassy or the British Foreign office? These usually have a lot of long distance HF capabilities.

[Anonymous No.1580764]

>>1575940
This is not inaccurate, but not a bad thing either unless you're a neat freak. it's not like he's surrounded by garbage and piss bottles.

[Anonymous No.1580823]

Hey lads,

I have my technician, going for general in a month. Bought a house recently and there is a ton of RFI that I haven't been able to identify from all the samples out there, wondering if I could post a few samples here to get some opinions on the sources.

[Anonymous No.1580824]

>>1580823
Turn of your breakers one at a time until the noise stops. If it doesn't stop, the problem is outside the house.

[Anonymous No.1580830]

>>1580824
Yeah, that's my plan for tomorrow. This board moves pretty slow though. Just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be a cunt if I posted some .wavs in a few days.

[Anonymous No.1580987]

>>1580830
Sure thing. What you can do when your comment doesn't merit a bump of the thread is to put the word "sage" in the field Options.
For example, I put it in the options field when I posted this because it doesn't really forward the discussion on topic.

Your .wavs are on topic. Should be fairly safe. Polite sage if the .wavs are posted in individual posts instead of all once.

Have a nice day. :)

[Anonymous No.1581037]

If anyone of you is a Chink engineer working at Baofeng Pofung, please create some UV6R sporting:

- digital modes
- APRS, SSTV, morse, etc
- QRP
- Arduino-compatible board inside (let's say an Espressif also doing GPS and Wifi), able to read/write data (serial), morse (digital pin), signals/mic/speaker (analog pins) and status (e.g.: "this digital pin is high if carrier is detected")
- on board keys and graphic display shall be available to the user programs as well
- no need for voice modes because everyone already has a flock of gadgets (including UV5R) to transmit his fuckin voice over fuckin radio
- battery shall be charged at 5V because we're fuckin' sick to use a fuckin' new adapter for every gadget we buy
- battery shall be usable as a power-bank because fuckin' ham radio enthusiasts on the field literally need their fuckin cellphone more than their fuckin radios

It doesn't matter the power. Having 4 watts output and a shitty antenna is useless (UV5R anyone?). Let's have a 1 watt (or 0.5 watts) output and a decent antenna.

Please, Baofung!!
No other radio manufacturer would sell such a thing.
Why the fuck noone of them ever had the "Arduino radio" idea till now?

[Anonymous No.1581130]

>>1580830
get some type of battery so you can power it while turning all the power on/off

[Anonymous No.1582220]

>>1581037
There was a discussion on a future K4 on the Elecraft mailing list along similar lines but that was shot down. I guess they have little choice really, many of the components are reaching end of life, through mounted components are disappearing giving way to surface mounted and much smaller devices. Their DSP lines have ended in the past. And I hope Elecraft is brewing a nice K4 soon. Hopefully with a better DSP choice than in the past. A multi core DSP for baseband, IF and audio/data would be close to what is done in mobile phones the last 10 years. That way the panadapter could be a standard part and fed from the DSP.

[Anonymous No.1583287]

Seen a better shack than this?
http://www.n1ul.com/n1ul_nj.htm

[Anonymous No.1585577]

Any good ham related 1.st April jokes this year?

[Anonymous No.1585815]

>>1585577
I've seen two good ones:

1.The FCC announced this morning that is brining back the coding requirements for all hams even those currently licensed. Technicians and Generals will need to pass a 13 wpm test and Extras a 25 wpm test.

2.The FCC has announced changes to testing procedures for the amateur radio service. All hams will be required to show competency in digital modes and computer technology by building a computer, installing FT8 , and perform 10 QSO's with their radio.

The amount ass devastated radio autists in the comments section on fagbook was sight to behold

[Anonymous No.1586130]

>>1576279
I'm finding the same thing as this fella.

Basically every technician test I take online or on the app I downloaded I see the same questions again and again and again, almost every test I see the one where component 6 in figure 2 is a capacitor, knife-edge diffraction lets you connect around an obstacle, coaxial cables fail from moisture intrusion, and tower grounding is controlled by local electric codes.

Maybe I'm just bad at assessing randomness?

[Anonymous No.1587205]

Anyone have an opinion on the cheap Chinesium mobiles? The TYTs and whatnot with 25 watt output. I'm just wanting to get a cheapo to use as a base for the local repeaters since I mostly work HF on my TS-590SG but figure I should have some 440/144 ability beyond my handhelds for the sake of emergencies.

[Anonymous No.1587208]

>>1576279
VE here (one of the guys who give the exams)

Dirty little secret: Each ARRL license level has 5 test books, meaning you will get Tech-2018-1 through Tech-2018-5. Only a maximum of 175 questions in the pool are used for tech and general (and in reality, tech and general test books 1-5 reuse 20-25% of the questions in each one where the correct answer is moved around).

The tech pool is easy enough to memorize as it's very basic stuff. General actually has about 10% of the same questions as tech, just reworded slightly.

Extra and its 750 question pool/50 answers was the only difficult one for me. It took me two times to pass.

[Anonymous No.1587755]

time to start studying for General
and figgerin' out a radio to buy
any recommendations for a cheap mobile radio to stick in my truck appreciated
also looking for an antenna that's not a million miles tall so I don't smack it into the top of my garage.

[Anonymous No.1587760]

>>1587755
Grats on your ticket. For a mobile, are you just looking to work the local repeaters on 2 meters/440?

[Anonymous No.1588607]

>tfw the Elephant cage is no more
That thing was big, as a kid I always wondered what it was.

[Anonymous No.1588611]

>>1587208
yeah im working on studying for my general. i mainly have trouble with the math questions, because im awful at math.
>>1587755
great job getting your ticket!
how much are you looking to spend? 2m/440?

[Anonymous No.1588671]

>>1587760
>>1588611
Yep the 2 meter/440 repeater scene. At this point I'm hoping to find a basic radio without tons of frills just to use to get comfortable with ham etiquette and practice. Once I get to general/extra and have expanded frequencies and power to work with I'll revisit and buy something more advanced. Right now I've got my TYT UV8000e handheld and a mag-mount but no whip to use with the mag-mount. I drive a big SUV that barely fits into my garage (door release cord drags across my roof rack) so I don't want to run a big whip on top. I'm not sure if mounting a larger whip down by the side mirrors is the way to go, or something more compact in the center of the roof for the best ground plane.

[Anonymous No.1589202]

Is there any good way to make use of repeaters when on a road trip without owning a modern rig with a GPS receiver that picks what repeaters to scan by comparing your current coordinates to a database of all the repeaters in the country, or maintaining a large book of repeaters and trying to add/delete them from your radio based on which ones you may be able to hit at the time? Are there any other ways to solve the problems of:
>there being too damn many repeaters in the country, to the point where memory could actually be an issue on a longer trip if you don't have a higher end rig
>the low number of those repeaters that are actually active, and you will have no way of knowing which ones in advance
>low scan speeds that makes simply entering all repeater outputs a non option
>there being no standard for how repeater tones are chosen so that even if you did enter all repeater outputs and didn't miss what little activity you may hear due to low scan speed, you can't easily access a repeater without kerchunking it with every tone until it works

[Anonymous No.1589274]

>>1588671
well....your price bracket would help. many such options
as for antennas, you could run one through your am/fm antenna spot. personally ive been partial to diamond antennas, only because ive never had a problem with one.
>and a mag-mount but no whip to use with the mag-mount.
can you post a picture?
>>1589202
not really. unfortunately nothing seems that coordinated

[Anonymous No.1589768]

Help me out with my back up power supply math, guys: If I use a fully charged 12 volt rated for 20Ah and my radio draws 0.5 amps on RX, I'll get roughly 40 hours of RX, correct?

And if I draw 8 amps on TX, that would account for 2.5 total hours of TX time in total (assuming I turn it on and somehow make a 2.5 hour transmission), yes?

Final dumb question: If I want to connect two 20 Ah batteries for a total 40 Ah, is that series or parallel?

[Anonymous No.1589985]

>>1589768
>Final dumb question: If I want to connect two 20 Ah batteries for a total 40 Ah, is that series or parallel?
Connect in parallel. If you do it in series the voltage increases probably beyond what the equipment can handle

[Anonymous No.1590572]

Stupid question but would these worwork for HAM stuff? I have such a boner for military radio handsets and it'd be kind of fun to use for stupid reasons.

[Anonymous No.1590677]

>>1590572
probably, could make a nice little go kit out of one, you just need to find the right connectors.

[Anonymous No.1590711]

Idk if this is the right thread but the prev owners of tge house Im at left an old dtv dish behind. Anything fun or cool i can do with it or is it mostly junk?

[Anonymous No.1591837]

>>1573816
Passed my Tech yesterday with 31/35. Missed General by one. ONE!

[Anonymous No.1592013]

>>1590711
Radio telescope.

[Anonymous No.1592021]

had to laugh as yesterday at the stop light some faggot pulled up in a ford ranger and it had 15 antenna all over it from front to rear I never seen anything as fucking stupid in my life

[Anonymous No.1592140]

>>1592021

[Anonymous No.1592141]

>>1592021

[Anonymous No.1592207]

>>1592141
Jesus, and I feel cringy have a Diamond dual bander on my 2017 Focus.

[Anonymous No.1592297]

>>1592140
>office chair in the van

[Anonymous No.1592304]

>>1590711
You can make your own weather radar.

>>1592013
Also this. The rtl-sdr is used for this, cheap and cheerful.

[Anonymous No.1592327]

>>1592141
Fuck, if you had a porsche, would you dare risk parking it anywhere near a car like that?

[Anonymous No.1592335]

>>1592140
KB9EVB expired 79 days ago. He must have Silent Keyed.

[Anonymous No.1592538]

>>1592327

It looks like an impound lot more than anything.

[Anonymous No.1593359]

>>1592538
Nope, that's an electronics swap meet in MO. Tom Vogel was eccentric and the red porcupine was some sort of 'statement' in his mind. You should have seen it just before he passed, it had even MORE antennas.

[Anonymous No.1593398]

>>1593359
>some sort of 'statement' in his mind
Pic unrelated to the late Mr. Vogel

[Anonymous No.1593402]

>>1593398
and here i am, wondering if my diamond SRH77CA is a bit too long to be walking around with

[Anonymous No.1593405]

>>1593398
Oh, sweet mother of god. And I was worried about putting an open J-pole on my house...

>>1593402
Kind of regretting tossing my rubber duck for a 771 now.

[Anonymous No.1593407]

>>1593405
>And I was worried about putting an open J-pole on my house.
oh, my house is a different story. i think i have 7 or 8 antennas up outside
>>1593405
i do wish the rubber ducks were a bit better. they just dont do enough for me where i am.
i bought a fake 771, it sucks so bad, i really need to get a real one.
perfect size

[Anonymous No.1593414]

>>1593407
>Be me
>More of an HF guy, like to DX
>2/440 Baofeng for repeaters
>Get annoyed I can't get into ONE repeater with ARPS traffic
>Build J-pole
>Get a Yaesu Mobile to use as a base
>Can finally get into APRS Traffic Net
>Never check in

In the years since I did all that, all I have done on 2/440 is check into a single Skywarn Net when we were Green.

[Anonymous No.1593418]

>>1593414
that sucks... ive made a bunch of good friends from my local club and other repeaters.
we are also starting a "antenna erection" team to help people put up their antennas
its nice to find a group of people who arent retarded and get shit done

[Anonymous No.1593421]

>>1593418
It's like the same 7 guys on every repeater in my area. One guy who is always on is what I call "The most boring ham in the world" who can turn a tidbit about a sandwich he once had into an hour long story and there's a real nasally guy who turns everything into obnoxious sexual innuendos.

And then there's a guy who whispers into his mic so close it over attenuates.

I like most of the guys and gals at my club, but because I'm fairly young, I'm constantly asked to do repairs/ladder climbs, et al for the Elmers and it gets annoying.

[Anonymous No.1593429]

>>1593421
maybe i just got lucky. there are a few that are pretty awful, but most are cool and helpful. im the youngest as well, and have had to be up on smaller towers, but we have people in the club that like doing that.

[Anonymous No.1593445]

>>1593359
>and the red porcupine
100% original idea pls do not steal

[Anonymous No.1593534]

>>1586130
http://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/index.html

This site (not free) will teach you the material, or just make you brute-force memorize every question with practice exams. (Study Mode or Test Mode). I passed Tech and General the same day 3 yrs ago using this site, and my Extra last week the same way. In either case I had about 2 weeks of study an hour or so each day.

[Anonymous No.1593813]

>>1593534
You can also just rote memorize the question pools for free on: http://aa9pw.com/amateur-radio-exam-practice/

[Anonymous No.1593841]

>>1592304
>>1590711
You can also use the SDR + Dish to download satellite images of the weather pretty easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLp3My8jUvo

Until SDR, you needed a $10,000 machine to do this. Pretty good resource if you bug-out/off grid yourself.

>>1591837
Grats on your ticket. You have a radio yet?

Also, you'll get your General next time, but DO get it. The band privileges are significantly better. If you need to save up for an HF rig, you can use RemoteHams.com to play around once you have your General.

[Anonymous No.1594392]

>>1573816
where can I find a decent handheld CB radio?
Me and a few people are going on a road trip and I want to stay connected to them. The area we are going through has shit cell service and if something happens or we need to talk I want them to be able to hear me.

I'm not sure where to start. I don't want it to be expensive since it won't be used that often but I also want one that works

[Anonymous No.1594397]

>>1594392
Go to Dicks or Cabela's and get some FRS radios. 2 pack is like $20.

[Anonymous No.1594399]

are FRS better?
I already have a car CB radio and from what I've heard CB can reach further. We might get separated at a turnoff and with FRS i'd never be able to contact them

[Anonymous No.1594402]

I want to upgrade the antenna on my UV-5RTP

What antenna should I get? Size doesn't matter

[Anonymous No.1594404]

>>1594402
>size doesn't matter
I mean I'm ok with getting a 20+ incher as long as it's not longer than me

[Anonymous No.1594412]

>>1594399
FRS are good for car to car. CBs don't work well from inside a car on an HT. Cheaper if you're rarely going to use them for car trips like that.

>>1594402
I have the Nagoya 771 for my 8 U5-RV V2+ radios. They work really well. I can tag most repeaters in my area from my basement with those that I can tag from my base station and Open J-Pole.

Mostly just use those radios for public events and SAR and never had issues.

[Anonymous No.1594415]

>>1594412
>FRS are good for car to car. CBs don't work well from inside a car on an HT. Cheaper if you're rarely going to use them for car trips like that.
alright I'll look into FRS
thanks!

[Anonymous No.1594423]

>>1594412
>Nagoya 771
Perfect
I go on a lot of hikes and It's nice to have a basically a free satellite phone with me. If you need help all you have to do is ping the nearest repeater, no need for an expensive satellite phone plan

[Anonymous No.1594424]

>>1594423
I've experimented with hooking two UV-9R 10 watt radios together to make my own repeater, placing them high up near base camp/rally point and programming all the UV-5Rs to use my homebrew repeater.

Really good for teams in valleys and what not. I'm going to make a solar/LiPo battery pack for the UV-9 setup because the experiment drained their packs pretty fast.

[Anonymous No.1594426]

>>1594423
If a man is dying in the middle of the woods and no one is monitoring local repeaters at the time, does he make a sound?

[Anonymous No.1594432]

>>1594426
There's always someone listening. I'm always scanning all of mine but rarely answer a CQ unless it's an actual emergency (twice).

Hell, I accidentally connected with a repeater in Pori, Finland at 0400 hours their time on Echolink and 5 Finns with terrible English hailed me.

[Anonymous No.1594445]

>>1593841
>Until SDR, you needed a $10,000 machine to do this.
Did that in the 1980s with a TRS80 Color Computer and a cheap shortwave radio. Nowhere near $10k of equipment.

[Anonymous No.1595630]

How is this shitty hobby even /diy/ related anymore? Today it's mostly just full of buyfags and wackers who actively try to discourage anyone who's interested in doing any tinkering and insist that one needs to start with dropping a ton of money on a full power HF radio at home before one gets into any /diy/ aspects more complicated than making your own antenna. Most amateur radio enthusiasts seem completely clueless about their gear as well, leading to ridiculous claims being common such as you being better off using a full power HF rig hooked up to a memenetic loop antenna indoors when you live in an apartment than you would be with anything lower power designed to be portable and hooked up to a dipole at a better location like a park because retards just think about how many watts the radio is putting out and don't consider anything else.

[Anonymous No.1595642]

>>1595630
But then anon... Watt is true power?

[Anonymous No.1595643]

>>1594445
Ha, oddly enough I'm working on a packet radio client for the TRS-80 Model 100 at the moment.

[Anonymous No.1595644]

How do you push really high currents through antennas to achieve high power outputs? Isn't an antenna just an open circuit to the air? How would I push 100A into an open circuit if I wanted to? Surely I can't impedance match it, the impedance is too high and is impossible to calculate accurately and will also vary with air pressure and humidity and that sort of stuff.

[Anonymous No.1595653]

>>1595644
The simple explanation is that an antenna can have an impedance of about 50 to 100 Ω, with most being designed to be 50 Ω.
Thus, you can (roughly) calculate the current as I=V/50.

The more in-depth answer involves dealing with free-space permittivity and working with complex numbers in the frequency domain. At radio frequencies, you can't think of the antenna as just an open wire, because the antenna has inductance and capacitance. As frequencies increase, the capacitive elements start to become electrical shorts and the inductive elements begin to look like open circuits.
I wish I could give a more detailed explanation, but I don't really have enough background to completely understand antenna black magic myself.

[Anonymous No.1595784]

Newhamfag here.
I want to do the fox hunts
From your guys experience are all the clubs filled with boomers or do they have a good number of 20-30 year Olds?

[Anonymous No.1595789]

>>1595784
it really depends. just go to a few of them, if you can to check them out. my club is pretty active, and most of them are very helpful.
pretty easy to build a radio direction finding antenna. pvc, an old tape measure, and a short length of coax with whatever you want to terminate it with.
>>1595630
yeah, the only thing ive really been making is antennas.
i dont know how i would build anything close to the ic7300 or something like that.

[Anonymous No.1595798]

>>1595642
fucking carlos...

[Anonymous No.1595809]

>>1595789
I built a directional antenna and fox hunted with wifi Hotspot before but as you'd imagine wifi isn't very long distance and not hard to track down

[Anonymous No.1596320]

>>1593841
>You have a radio yet?
Just a Baufung. I'm looking around for something else, but I'm not sure where in the house it'd go and I'm cheap.

I do want my general - went by grandpa's yesterday (rip) and saw his 80 meter Hallicrafters which he'd listen to Germany at night, halfway across the world.

[Anonymous No.1596324]

>>1594392
Be a man - get your ham!

[Anonymous No.1596426]

>>1596324
I'm studying for the ham license
But if the people in the other car don't have a license and have no interest then how do we communicate?

[Anonymous No.1596456]

>>1595809
nice. i went to look for my antennas but cant find them....hopefully they are in the clubs locker

project for today is to make a quick 20m dipole, hopefully ill be able to use 6m as well.
band was pretty open this morning.

[Anonymous No.1596457]

>>1596426
just buy 3 baofengs and use them. just keep it on the frs channels
its also illegal

[Anonymous No.1596462]

>>1596457
Is there a way to make the radio low power so it's legal on frs? Or is it illigal no matter what to use baofeng on frs

[Anonymous No.1596483]

>>1596462
Illegal no matter what, since Baofengs are not FRS certified.
But if you turn the power down it should be indistinguishable.

[Anonymous No.1596487]

>>1596462
itll always be illegal. but gotta be safe!
just use low power and dont be a cunt.
if you stop at a few rest stops, some drive thrus use frequencies around there, dont quite remember what ones.

[Anonymous No.1596557]

>>1594397
>>1594399
>>1594412
>>1594415
>>1596457
You guys do know that using any radio with the antenna inside your car is going to greatly limit how far you'll actually be able to communicate, right? A CB radio with a magnet mount antenna would be the propper solution here. Illegally using Baofengs hooked up to magnet mount antennas may run into problems depending on where you're driving, due to the front end overload issues that Baofengs can have when hooked up to better antennas.

[Anonymous No.1596586]

>trying to fix VCR but fail
>notice colorbust crystal
>devide to try to build a simple transciever and try messing around on HF
>listen around 3.579 MHz at various times throughout the day on various web based SDRs across multiple states over a period of about a week
>only CW traffic I hear near that frequency is from W1AW
Fuck everything.

[Anonymous No.1596662]

>>1596557
holy fuck reddit go back, the memefengs with work fine with ducks and driving
>hurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr get a 10' cb whip guise and attach it to a cigar box with wires to shove around in the car

[Anonymous No.1596687]

>>1596662
>the memefengs with work fine with ducks and driving
Only because you've never used anything better. Hopefully that anon and his friends don't end up with a few miles between them.

>>hurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr get a 10' cb whip guise
Do you not know what a magnet mount is?

[Anonymous No.1596700]

>>1596687
>Only because you've never used anything better
jesus. why do you sound like this
fuck off with your faggy cb bullshit

[Anonymous No.1597190]

>>1596586
I built this. works.

[Anonymous No.1598312]

>>1597190
nice

[Anonymous No.1598876]

>>1597190
Interesting. What frequency and how much emitted power?

Also, how about harmonics? I don't see a pi filter here.

[Anonymous No.1599128]

I just got a baofeng and noticed it can revive FM radio.
Is it possible to transmit on lets say 99.9 mhz on ultra low power?

[Anonymous No.1599151]

>>1599128
no

[Anonymous No.1599154]

>>1599128
No, the UV-5XXXXXX radios were designed to receive FM Broadcast so you can listen to emergency broadcasts or entertainment but the chipset can't be altered to transmit below 120 MHz .

[Anonymous No.1599193]

>>1580483
Makes sense. An embassy is the perfect use-case for an HF transmitter. A lot of opportunity for atmospheric skip and EME propagation. Diplomatic immunity spares you the hassles of license and crypto restrictions.

[Anonymous No.1599199]

>>1593534
>>1593813
http://hamstudy.org is free and helps you find/sign up for an exam with a VEC in your area.

The flashcard study mode is very nice. I qualified for all three licenses using that exclusively.

With an account it remembers your progress and syncs across devices. You can buy their offline android app for 4 bucks, but you don't need it.

[Anonymous No.1599207]

>>1599199
C looks good.
Why is it that so many techies do not renew their license?

[Anonymous No.1599239]

>>1599207
10 years is a long time

[Anonymous No.1599364]

>>1599207
>>1599239
You have a two-year grace period to renew, too. The license isn't valid during that time, but you don't have to re-test and your callsign won't drop.

The ARRL automatically renews for members, but it takes more effort and attention to periodically renew ARRL membership than to renew with the FCC. If you want the luxury of forgetting about it ARRL lifetime is $1220. Pretty steep and you can buy some nice kit for that.

My advice is to set your preferences to "paper" in the FCC license manager. Every new license you get they'll send you a printed copy of the long-form license and a card. You can also get PDF on demand, of course. Laminate the card and carry it in your wallet. You'll likely hang on to the shit in your wallet for ten years.
If you don't have an account with the FCC sign up for an FRN here: https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do

[Anonymous No.1599454]

>>1599364
Tnx fer info. Is it still so that your license is only valid in the state you did your exam and your call sign also changes when you move elsewhere?

[Anonymous No.1599515]

>>1599207
>C looks good.
Yes. Conventionally R is +X and L is +Y. 2π is about 6, 18 is about 20, and 120*3.5 is about 400. Since MHz and µF cancel, Point 3 should be right.

[Anonymous No.1599518]

>>1599207
>C looks good.
Yes. Conventionally R is +X and L is +Y. 2π is about 6, 18 is about 20, and 120*3.5 is about 400. Since MHz and µH cancel, Pont 3 should be right.

[Anonymous No.1599670]

>>1599454
No. It's never been like that to my knowledge.

Your U.S. license is good in

>all 50 states
>U.S. territories and territorial waters
>foreign nations with bilateral operating agreements

For this last see: http://www.arrl.org/bilateral-reciprocal-agreements

[Anonymous No.1599673]

>>1599454
>>1599670
I should add that the FCC will -suspend- your license if they send you mail and it's returned to sender because you no longer live there. You're required to keep your address current with them even if you move down the street.

[Anonymous No.1599723]

I just sat on my baofeng call button and it transmitted a tone for like 2 seconds

Am I gonna get foxed?

[Anonymous No.1599725]

>>1599723
run

[Anonymous No.1599736]

>>1599723
No, but it's good etiquette to rekey, say, "This is (callsign), sorry about that last transmission, it was an accident."

[Anonymous No.1599768]

>>1599723
Was it a repeater?
If so tell someone next time you're on. Word will get around.

Everyone does it once.

If not, you're good on simplex freqs. Most people will attribute it to 12y/o's.

If your were listening to public safety or government and accidentally transmitted...

All I can say is prepare your anus for bubba.

[Anonymous No.1599782]

>>1599768
It was just some random amateur radio frequency that I was scanning through.
446.something mhz
440-450 have been quiet all day for me so I doubt it interfered with anyone. I don't know the exact frequency it was but if I hear someone bring it up I'll be sure to notify them that it was me

[Anonymous No.1599854]

>>1599723
>>1599782
lol no one gives a shit whether they heard or not. you have to be really making a nuisance of yourself over a period of days or weeks before anyone cares enough to fox you.

Most people can get away with using simplex freqs unlicensed all day erryday. Your 4W handheld only has a range of like 400 yards. If someone with big ears hears you and doesn't like it the first thing they usually do is TX on that freq and ask you to stop.

Anyway repeaters use CTCS for this very reason.

I just got the ARRL's 2019 repeater directory. Fucking useless no one buy it. Doesn't tell you what the CTCS freqs are if a repeater is using different tones for input & output.

It's funny, when I google "ARRL faggots" for an appropriate reaction image the second hit is this thread.

[Anonymous No.1600536]

>>1598876

~5mW,
It uses the "color burst" crystal (very popular). The crystal can be found in VCRs and TV's.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorburst
The frequency was bit lower than 3.57954MHz
This circuit will work with crystals of other frequencies as well.
It could be heard up to 10KM away.
Long wire antenna run up to a tree.
A pi filter would certainly help clean up the signal and is a good idea.
It was a bit "chirpy" as it was keyed on and off.
Source is sparkbangbuzz dawt com

One benefit of not having the filter is that you can test receivers at harmonics. Up to VHF!

[Anonymous No.1600738]

Received NOAA18 and 15 today, haven't gotten the recording setup right and haven't made a good antenna for it but now at least I know it passes over in 'hearing' distance. Any pointers for a specialised antenna for it? Read that a QFH is supposed to be good for it but if anyone has a better idea, do tell

[Anonymous No.1600741]

>>1600738
Can't say I've had better success than with my 3/8" copper tubing QRF antenna. A Yagi is going to require you to chase the signal manually (PITA) but a Helix's design pulls the signal well while being stationary since it picks up the changes in signal axis as the sat passes by.

[Anonymous No.1601078]

>>1600536
>Source is sparkbangbuzz dawt com
Thanks.

Seems a lot of transmitters are lacking proper filtering. Also the Pixie leaves a lot to be desired. I was thinking of making a PCB with inductor traces to overcome this problem.

[Anonymous No.1601558]

>>1601078
they sell filters for goes
https://www.nooelec.com/store/sawbird-plus-goes.html

[Anonymous No.1601813]

>>1600738
135 - 152 MHz
higher gain at lower elevation

[Anonymous No.1601859]

>>1601558
Yes, SAW filters for GHz band. I was more thinking of the HF band.

[Anonymous No.1602338]

>>1601859
i need to be building more ham stuff. i opened up a balun box from DX engineering and they dont seem like much. seen a bunch of homebrew hf filters on field and they looked pretty easy to construct as well.

[Anonymous No.1604073]

>>1601078
How important is it to avoid coupling between the inductors in a filter?

[Anonymous No.1604091]

>>1604073
Especially in inductively coupled filters.

[Anonymous No.1604222]

Anybody going to dayton (xenia)?

[Anonymous No.1605411]

>>1573816
Mobile question - I want to swap out the OEM AM/FM antenna(bottom) with a 2m antenna (top).

I've located the antenna cable inside the cab. Would all I need is to find the threads and get a male-to-male conversion bolt? Is it possible or a good idea? I don't use the radio and would prefer a stealthier look.

[Anonymous No.1605429]

>>1605411
Looks like it'd be best to replace the whole antenna gear with an L shaped NMO bracket. Now to find out if they exist.

[Anonymous No.1606721]

Sorry for my ignorance about this subject. Alas, I was the kind of crummy teenager that might have enjoyed "trolling" or "griefing" ham boomers, if I had had access to someone's radio. Who would have stopped such a youthful rapscallion, assuming that his usage pattern was irregular enough to frustrate triangulation? (See also: >>1606160) Does the FCC roam the country in party vans scanning for rogue operators? Or would the local boomers have gathered for a witchhunt at the VFW hall with their torches, hunting rifles, tallboys, and Harbor Freight gas generators to power a mobile minutemen triangulation squad? Is ham trolling a problem, or is it limited by the relative rarity of radios, compared to the ubiquity and "bang for the buck" of Internet trolling?

Legal notice: This extremely valuable meme image was adapted from the following original photograph under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License. Note that the adaptation for memetical purposes did not include the caption, "Breaker Breaker 1-Niner, Describe Bobs and Vageen", which would have been quite tasteless.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VU3LWD.jpg

[Anonymous No.1606733]

>>1606721
Every club in my area has at least one psuedo-Doppler radio triangulation unit. The second you start QRM/illegal broadcasting on a repeater, they will call the guy with the PDTU and in as much time as it takes for him to turn it on, they will have your location in 5 to 20 feet.

Since the clubs do this for the local police when they get QRMers, the cops are happy to knock on the door of a QRMer on amateur bands in return for the favor.

Had two Arabs singing the Prayer Before Battle to each other on a local repeater one night, our PDTU located them, we forwarded the info to the local cops and FBI office and never heard them again.

[Anonymous No.1606746]

>>1606733
Thanks for answering. Interesting; did not know that such units existed to make triagulation so quick & accurate. Also, for those who (like me) did not know, "QRM" is apparently jargon for "human-caused interference", according to Internets. (And presumably in the cited case, their use of the repeater was actually illegal, and they were not reported for simply speaking "foreign" in a town without a falafel joint.) So is the dude with the "PDTU" like the Chad of the ham club?

[Anonymous No.1606753]

>>1606733
That's really interesting, is there any further reading you can recommend on this pseudo Doppler triangulation with regard to the hardware or software involved?

[Anonymous No.1606910]

>>1606753
>>1606733
Bump for interest

[Anonymous No.1606920]

http://byonics.com/tdoa/
I built one of these. However, I used a 555 timer instead of the PIC.
It let's you direction find to within a few degrees. If you had two rotating in different parts of a city, you could biangulate a signal easily.

Perhaps track signal strength/ audio strength/ rotation angle with your favorite flavor of electronics.

[Anonymous No.1606922]

>>1606920

Thank goodness for the waybackmachine!

https://web.archive.org/web/20180212065727/theleggios.net/wb2hol/projects/rdf/tdoa2.htm

This is what I built and it works well for manually tracking down frequent sources of interference (cheaply).

[Anonymous No.1607114]

>>1606922
My club has one of these, but never looked into how it worked, cool stuff! Explains why I need to find the null tone

[Anonymous No.1607264]

https://www.he360.com/
Is this the end? This company is putting up a constellation of SIGINT satellites equipped with SDRs capable of receiving on frequencies from somewhere in the VHF range or possibly lower (receiving CB activity is mentioned in a couple articles) all the way up to the Ku band and locating transmitters within 1 km or better, and they are going to sell those capabilities to any company that wants them. The idea that you aren't safe from companies tracking you even if you're out in the middle of nowhere using frequencies that won't normally go over the horizon is ridiculous. How low of an ERP would be necessary to avoid stuff like this, assuming you aren't taking advantage of others using the same frequency at higher transmit power levels nearby or other methods of masking your signal? I know that amateur satellites such as SO-50 get by using 250 mW into a 1/4 wave antenna on the 70 cm band, so I figure these SIGINT satellites could detect you if you were transmitting at a similar power into a similar antenna.

[Anonymous No.1607268]

>>1595630
>How is this hobby diy anymore. Some people gave advice I don't agree with.

[Anonymous No.1607336]

>>1607264
The US has done this for years; it is mentioned in the FAQ. HF is safer, less leaks out past the ionosphere.

[Anonymous No.1607361]

>>1606922
Works best under carefully staged conditions, unusable in a multipath environment like a city.

[Anonymous No.1607384]

>>1607264
>any company that wants them
All four major cellphone companies have just been hit with a class-action lawsuit over allegations that they sold their customers’ private location data.

[Anonymous No.1607400]

>>1607336
>The US has done this for years
Do you not understand the difference between the US government having a capability and every company willing to pay having that capability? The average person is significantly more likely to have various companies spy on them and actually use data collected on them than they are the US government.

>HF is safer, less leaks out past the ionosphere.
Sure. You just need to make sure to go really low for best results considering current solar conditions.

>>1607384
...and? It's been known about for years that cell service providers will sell your location data. This company's satellites massively expand that capability to usage of other frequencies that don't have infrastructure for devices operating on those frequencies everywhere.

Also, those cell service providers are just being sued because they got too specific with the data they were selling by not poorly "anonymizing" it and requiring the company on the other end to due the work to deanonymize it. Only reason they're being sued is because they got greedy and tried to get away with selling the capability to directly look up someone's location by their name.

[Anonymous No.1607480]

>>1607264
I love tkmiz.

[Anonymous No.1607599]

>>1607264
How will they find out that you are you in the middle of nowhere, can they remote-scan your DNA like the TSA does to spot the hybrids?

[Anonymous No.1607612]

>>1607599
Cross refrencing with other data, the same way companies manage to attribute all of the other data they collect that didn't come with personal information attached to specific people. Data points can also be correlated to each other because people tend to have routines that they follow.

[Anonymous No.1607643]

Can anyone advice on the purpose of this antenna?

Sorry for terrible quality, my phone has dust in the lens

[Anonymous No.1608345]

>>1607264
>capable of receiving on frequencies from somewhere in the VHF range or possibly lower (receiving CB activity is mentioned in a couple articles) all the way up to the Ku band
On some further research, the coverage is supposedly from 100 MHz to 15 GHz. The satellites use 3 AD9361 transceivers that are capable of tuning from 70 MHz (which makes me wonder if the minimum frequency may be lower) to 6 GHz and can each tune to a separate 56 MHz chunk, combined with a series of antennas with downconverters that each transceiver can switch between. I suppose everything under 100 MHz is safe for now, although Europeans could need to worry about being monitored on the 4 meter band if the coverage does end up actually extending down to 70 MHz. I guess at least I don't have to worry for the time being and have time to prepare for the inevitable upgrades these satellites will receive further down the line. Time to start messing with FM satellites so I can possibly get a better idea of how much power you'd need to be running to be detected by these SIGINT satellites.

A rather detailed article I found on it:
https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/h/hawkeye

Here's a presentation that goes over some of the capabilities as well. The second link is the slides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlXi2UyOLLE
https://www.gnuradio.org/grcon/grcon18/presentations/gnu_radio_and_rfnoc_in_space_how_hawkeye_360_uses_gnu_radio_on_small-satellites/11-EJ-GNURadio_in_Space.pdf

[Anonymous No.1608543]

>>1607643
That's a dish and either a HF verticle/whip or j-antenna.

[Anonymous No.1608549]

>>1592141
Codename Porcupine.
>>1592207
I've got a 20 meter whip and I take it off when I park so fewer people break into my car, and to not look too duschy

[Anonymous No.1608567]

>>1606733
HT can get away with a lot more, right?

[Anonymous No.1609151]

>Good morning Mr. Phelps
>Lately the ham radio technology has become stagnant. Very little has happened on the analogue front end beyond what we knew with R-390A/URR. At the same time DSP technology is a mainstay of mobile telephone technology. Short of some modest developments on digital modes, very little DSP innovations can be seen in radios. The Secretary has decided this cannot continue.
>Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to construct the R-400/ORQ.
>As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This ka-baomfeng will self-destruct in ten seconds.

OK, what do?

[Anonymous No.1609160]

>>1609151
stop green babble

[Anonymous No.1609459]

>>1609160
>I am uncultured.
Please. And do you have any contributions? There was a discussion about K4 on the Elecraft mailing list and it was a major exercise in vagueness.

[Anonymous No.1609565]

>>1609151
get an Airspy HF+ and fully embrace the SDR gods

[Anonymous No.1609776]

>>1609565
Does it have good filters on the input? not entirely clear from the descriptions.

[Anonymous No.1610033]

>>1609776
If not good enough, add a preselector.
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/tag/airspy-hf/

[Anonymous No.1610146]

>>1610033
Details are a bit sparse but this is more disturbing:
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/our-review-of-the-airspy-hf-compared-against-colibrinano-airspy-mini-rsp2-rtl-sdr/
Seems the design is not as good as it appears. The importance of the analogues front end should never be underestimated.

[Anonymous No.1610424]

>>1607264
>>1608345
http://www.satmagazine.com/story.php?number=2060893990
>HawkEye 360’s station-keeping requirements throughout the planned, three-year smallsat design lifespan
>three-year smallsat design lifespan
>these satellites are going to get upgraded every 3 years
RIP. With the clock already ticking down for the first upgrades, simply using a frequency lower than what the SDR on these can receive is only guaranteed as a very short term solution. It's really time to mess around with amateur satellites to see how low of power is necessary if one doesn't want to resort to radios on the 80 meter band or lower in order to not be tracked by these satellites.

Does anyone know how much lower than the threshold for understandable speech one can go signal strength wise and still be DFable via TDOA or FDOA?

[Anonymous No.1610435]

>>1610424
No one will pay to find out what you do with your Feng.

[Anonymous No.1610488]

>>1609565
>This kills the curmudgeons who think their 1980s boat anchors are still an (((investment)))

[Anonymous No.1610501]

I'm ignorant about ham stuff
what is OP's pic?

[Anonymous No.1610580]

>>1610488
I never heard Boatanchors described as investments. They are now for fun. The analogue RF front end tends to be good.

>>1610501
No ham would ever afford such an antenna. It is the legendary Wullenweber, and the 300 meter diameter earned it the nickname "Elephant cage".

[Anonymous No.1610589]

>>1610488
Do you plan on transmitting with that? Boat anchor Tx for the win.

[Anonymous No.1611024]

Why it is so important to protect your antenna: https://youtu.be/cZkAP-CQlhA

[Anonymous No.1611062]

>>1611024
Mysterious periodic DGPS range loss.

[Anonymous No.1611718]

>>1608543
You were definitely right with the HF verticle, found out the other day he has his general license. Thanks for the info!

[Anonymous No.1612015]

http://www.m0nka.co.uk/?page_id=740
what's the difficulty level on this kit, it looks fairly hard, and my skills are scrub level, I want to buy the version with the smd components already on, still has anyone done it?

[Anonymous No.1612032]

>>1612015
>difficulty level
It is worth pointing out that the kit requires some advanced soldering skills and knowledge in electronics as mods might be required. Also extensive tuning and calibration might be needed, or sometimes debugging of problems. It is not recommended as first kit or if you expect to be on the air after few M3 bolts tightening.
http://www.m0nka.co.uk/?page_id=2

[Anonymous No.1612089]

>>1609160
K4 is now officially announced after the leak.

[Anonymous No.1612167]

>>1612089
*yawn*, fanboys..
"expect first deliveries to begin in November"
called k4 because you have to deposit 4k

[Anonymous No.1612233]

>>1594445
True, but I think we can all agree it's never been more accessable.

[Anonymous No.1612363]

>>1612032
>>1612015
I am looking for commentary from someone who has built it,

[Anonymous No.1612366]

>>1609565

I ordered an R2 mini today for a project I'm working on.

[Anonymous No.1612372]

>>1610424
Well, I was able to get some brief quieting when trying to pick up SO-50 using a Baofeng with a 2 3/4" long rubber duck antenna off an old FRS radio. I also tried calculating the path loss (142.6 dB assuming 40 degree elevation and 600 km altitude) and subtracting it from the noise floor figures that AO-91 and AO-92 report in their telemetry (ranges between -120dBm and -130dBm) and realized that those SIGINT satellites will be able to detect some really weak signals, as in 18.2 mW to 182 mW EIRP around the 70cm band. I guess the next question is how much coverage one can even get on land while using low enough power to maintain less than x% chance of being DFed by those satellites, considering even FRS radios would likely put off too strong of a signal.

[Anonymous No.1612552]

>>1612015
A group is making an open source version of this, how far have they gotten?

[Anonymous No.1612814]

>>1612372
Maybe you should stick to carrier pigeon.

[Anonymous No.1612930]

>>1612814
Short range carrier pigeons? Smoke signals or a wistle might be better for shorter ranges.

In all seriousness 70cm or higher at very low powers is still usable for some purposes, but performance seems to drop off for lower frequencies that will still make it past the ionosphere with how much you need to reduce the power to deal with the lower path loss. On the 70 cm band, 10 mW (what LPD433 radios in the EU will do) is safe for everything except > 70 degree elevation passes with a -130 dBm noise floor so long as you aren't using a 1/2 wave dipole, and 100 mW (like what some 70cm HTs can be turned down to) into a rubber duck will be the same down to a -125 dBm noise floor. I wish I could get some more detailed information about the noise floor in space that wasn't from a satellite that only monitors the frequency that people are trying to transmit to the satellite on.

[Anonymous No.1613101]

>>1612814
tried and trusted

[Anonymous No.1613607]

>>1612552
>A group is making an open source version of this
Can you post a link to them, i'm interested.

[Anonymous No.1613615]

>>1612930
>I wish I could get some more detailed information about the noise floor in space that wasn't from a satellite that only monitors the frequency that people are trying to transmit to the satellite on.
Well, I just found a paper on the data I was looking for and apparently the noise floor in space is really fucking low, to the point where the capabilities of the receiver setup that the satellite is using seem to be the real limit in many cases. I guess I can't really go much further with this without knowing about the specifications of the recievers and LNAs they're using on those satellites, as they could perform better than the satellites I was looking at the telemetry data on the noise floor from.

>but performance seems to drop off for lower frequencies that will still make it past the ionosphere
On reading more and running the numbers, this is the opposite if the satellites can actually reach down to the noise floor, and lower frequencies will work better for getting good coverage while not being above the noise floor by the time they get to the satellite. Otherwise it just depends on the receiver capabilities on the satellite.

[Anonymous No.1613632]

>>1573816
Serious question.

Why the fuck is anyone interested in this?
This was a cool thing in the 80's. It's current year.
You can pull out your cell phone and call people.
You can talk to people on social media.
You can talk to people on 4chan.
You can talk to people on Discord.
You can talk to people on forums.
You can talk to people on IRC.
You have so many fucking options I can't list them all?

What is the fascination with HAM radio?

[Anonymous No.1613647]

>>1613632
>What is the fascination with HAM radio?
The groups of people getting into it today mostly fall into one of these groups:
>people who just enjoy messing with technology that people like you take for granted because of how much they use it
>people who enjoy being able to do even a small portion of any of that stuff that you listed without being dependent on billions to trillions of dollars worth of infrastructure that's beyond their control
>people who are interested for practical reasons, such as communicating in areas where there is no cell phone coverage or need a party line push to talk system (such as storm chasers)
>wackers

[Anonymous No.1613677]

>>1613647
Are preppers group 2 or 4

[Anonymous No.1613684]

>>1613677
I think most preppers land more in group 3 or maybe 4 depending on their attitude, since they're really just into it for the sake of using the gear. Group 1 and 2 are people who are actually interested in the hobby beyond just using the gear and sit on a sliding scale of how practically minded people are, ie people who don't like FT8 and other digimodes that serve no practical purpose beyond contesting would lean toward group 2.

[Anonymous No.1613933]

>>1613632
some people REALLY like listening to old people bitch that young people aren't interested in their hobby.

[Anonymous No.1614137]

>>1613632
> It's current year
And it's still a cool thing. Being able to communicate with no infrastructure necessary has always fascinated me.

[Anonymous No.1614176]

>>1613647
I want to be able to control a fleet of drones over a very long distance

[Anonymous No.1614296]

>>1613632
Just because it's fucking cool you can hear or be heard around the world with 100W of power or less. Receiving satellite images is amazing. Being able get communicate easily when you're driving in a caravan
or out in the middle of the woods with no cell reception. Tracking airplanes. Getting a signal to bounce of the moon and back to earth. Tracking an animal that has a low power transmitter. All those things you list need existing infrastructure. I can climb a tree, hang a wire for antenna, hook my transceiver to the solar panel trailer I built and communicate when SHTF. HAM radio is a big community of people doing research (in some form or another) to keep people connected, even when disaster happens and everyone is panicking that they can't get on the internet. It's a hobby like any other. Can ask the same thing about people's fascination watching sports (that have mostly been the same for ages) if you can play them yourselves.
>>1613647
I fall pretty much under each group.

[Anonymous No.1615107]

>>1613607
>Can you post a link to them
Sure:
https://www.amateurfunk-sulingen.de/ovi40-sdr-en/#start

Also see the software and information repository:
https://github.com/df8oe/UHSDR/wiki

[Anonymous No.1615123]

>>1615107
Nice, thank you!

[Anonymous No.1615708]

>>1573816
Bump

[Anonymous No.1615967]

>>1573816
I think my shitty knockoff rtl sdr is dead. It doesn't seem to make a usb connection most of the time. When it does manage to connect it only works for a few seconds then disconnects. It was doing the same thing a few months ago and I found that cooling the thing down helped a lot and it would work indefinitely, but it seems to have degraded further and now not even cooling keeps it alive.
Any ideas? I'd like to rescue it if possible.

[Anonymous No.1616034]

>>1615107
I hope this project has enough ambitions to do something that K4 cannot do. I must admit when I first saw the new K4 I thought it was a photoshop of an Icom model.

If the new project could do 3 coherent channels it could do direction finding with resolved ambiguity, or polarisation determination.

There is still a lot of room for innovations.

[Anonymous No.1616317]

>>1609565
The new "Airspy HF+ Discovery is just announced.
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/airspy-hf-discovery-now-available-for-preorder-brief-initial-review/

[Anonymous No.1617451]

7 to go

[Anonymous No.1617858]

>>1613632
>You can talk to people on social media.
>You can talk to people on 4chan.
>You can talk to people on Discord.
>You can talk to people on forums.
>You can talk to people on IRC.

Friendly reminder: all these things demand a working internet connection and reasonable speed. You don't always have decent coverage or decent speed.

Ham radio is not just about wireless talking. I've got my license 14 years ago and I never wasted a single minute talking.

Currently experimenting with QRP. I wish more people were into QRP.

Pic obviously unrelated.

[Anonymous No.1617888]

Some interesting ham news for those wanting to explore the upper frequency reaches:
>TI unveils the fastest 12bit ADC ever
https://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/products/analogue-linear-mixed-signal-ics/ti-unveils-fastest-12bit-adc-ever-2019-05/
>Texas Instruments has revealed the fastest 12bit ADC – the ADC12DJ5200RF – that can sample two channels at 5.2Gsample/s, that can be interleaved into a single 10.4Gsample/s channel.

We are getting closer to daylight all the time.

[Anonymous No.1617914]

now it's 4

[Anonymous No.1617933]

>>1617858
>Currently experimenting with QRP. I wish more people were into QRP.
Blame the gatekeeping fucktards who insist that your first HF station has to be a full power base station and actively try to turn away beginners who try to start any other way. I've seen a lot of people who were interested in getting into the hobby but didn't have the money or space for a full power base station get told that they shouldn't even try getting into the hobby by others. Meanwhile it seems wackers, preppers, and others who are just interested in using the equipment are more readily welcomed into the hobby.

[Anonymous No.1618073]

>>1617858
IRC and 4chan dont require decent speed. Dialup modem is plenty

[Anonymous No.1618303]

>>1613632
Basically a free cell phone and ad-free, quality content radio. I probably asked that question 2 months ago, then 'why is this shit so stupid expensive', then 'this is fun. I get it.'
>HF
I sat in my car last night and listened to some dude from across the country talk about flying jets in 'Nam. I've heard good tax advise and great life advice. Hell of a lot better than hearing the same jewelry commercial on repeat.
Podcasts are nice, but you can't push pause, and that's something to cherish.
>VHF
Locals shooting the shit. Amature news reporters and historians and failed comedians, but a band of brothers.

[Anonymous No.1618304]

>>1611718

[Anonymous No.1618412]

>>1618303
>I probably asked that question 2 months ago, then 'why is this shit so stupid expensive', then 'this is fun. I get it.'
You know you can get a working HF QRP transceiver for about 4 dollars? Pi. related.

[Anonymous No.1618426]

>>1618412
Only problem with the Pixie is that the normal frequency that it transmits on is separate from where CW is normally used on the 80 meter band and is smack in the middle of the digimode portion of the band where there is basically no CW activity. The 40 meter versions like you posted also are normally in the Extra section of the band.

[Anonymous No.1618489]

>>1618412
Now I gotta learn cw

[Anonymous No.1618555]

>>1617933
That is the exact opposite of what I've been told from my 'mentor'. What he suggested will be the following:
1. Get a $50-200 UV capable portable, learn its theories and operations, as well as customs of ham, etc. Don't be too expensive cause you're guaranteed to fuck up during this stage.
2. Build parts that are suitable for your portable, such as dummy load or amps or whatever, to gain experience and workmanship.
3. Do whatever you want, be it buying or building.l

[Anonymous No.1618794]

>>1617933
This is said to the beginners that aren't putting much work into a decent antenna and are expecting to have conversations on SSB. Beams aside, it's still challenging to make contacts on SSB while running QRP. Competing with the other idiots that are running with a kW amp during good conditions also gets frustrating. Which reminds me, fuck the assholes that are running 100w into FT8 or other similar modes.

[Anonymous No.1618825]

>>1618794
>This is said to the beginners that aren't putting much work into a decent antenna and are expecting to have conversations on SSB
No, it's said to pretty much all beginners. Also, most of the beginners who immediately consider QRP aren't looking at using SSB, or at least they weren't back when I was looking into getting into the hobby. When I was researching amateur radio in the mid-late 2000s online I was told and I regularly saw others told that if you tried to start on HF with anything other than a full power power base station, then all the time and money you spent to get into the hobby would just be a waste as you'd get nowhere and would just drop the hobby. I was a kid at the time who was interested in the hobby, had tons of free time to study and learn, had a large supply of old electronics to salvage parts from, and lived in a rural area where I'd be able to get a 1/2 wave dipole a good distance off the ground just by running it between trees in the yard. Rather than entering the hobby during what would have been the best time in my life so far, I decided to listen to their advice and put it off until I had enough money to buy a full power base station. I still don't own a full power base station, or any HF gear for that matter, because I continued to learn over the years and eventually realized that if those are the fucktards who are going to be on the air then actually getting on the air isn't worth my time or effort.

[Anonymous No.1618881]

>>1618426
Is getting a different frequency that hard?

[Anonymous No.1618981]

>>1618881
You could either buy another crystal on a different frequency, or in the case of the 80 meter one add a second crystal on the same frequency parallel with the first and a variable capacitor for a super VXO and you should be able to pull the frequency down into where there normally is CW activity.

[Anonymous No.1619061]

>>1618981
Ceramic resonators are cheap and well tunable:
http://www.cqcenturion.org/wp-content/uploads/Experiments-with-a-Ceramic-Resonator-VXO.pdf
Such resonators are also available for the 40m band. See https://www.minikits.com.au/CSTLS-3M58

[Anonymous No.1619173]

>>1618426
One solution might be to replace the crystal with a frequency generator chip such as AD9850.

>>1618489
Always a good idea. Or you can do decoding on an attached mobile phone. You can also hear voice on the output but the input is, so far, CW only.

[Anonymous No.1619544]

more absurdity

[Anonymous No.1619650]

Not 100% HAM related, but i'v heard people say "If you broadcast/use/interfere with X frequency the FCC and Police will kick you're door down", is that true?

Do the frequency police actually exist?

[Anonymous No.1619668]

>>1619650
Mostly fear porn. Know what you're doing and beware of snitches.

[Anonymous No.1619673]

>>1619650
This guy is an idiot: >>1619668
If you're causing interference on frequencies that companies are paying for, that police/fire/ambulances are using, or that amateur radio enthusiats are trying to use for any purpose then yes people will come looking for you and direction finding equipment these days is quite good. How long it takes for whoever you're interfering with to notice your interference can vary, but in general you should avoid doing it.

[Anonymous No.1619908]

>>1573823
run it through the house, plug it up with cork and silicone. Don't run that shit through a window like a pleb

[Anonymous No.1619910]

>>1594402
J-pole 2m or 70cm whichever you plan to use most, mount it high outside, you will get very far with it on a HT radio.

[Anonymous No.1619922]

>>1594402
Forgot to add, Nagoya NA-771 are good if you want something mobile.

[Anonymous No.1619941]

>>1575940
kino

[Anonymous No.1620025]

Newfag here, got a cheap chink RTLSDR off the bay just for kicks, any ideas on projects or what to do w/ it?

[Anonymous No.1620176]

>>1619673
This is why I never got into HAM, it's so complicated and a mistake means the FCC kicks down you're door.
I'm the kind of person that wants to push every button and try everything and I know that kind of mentality would get me into trouble with this kinda stuff.

:(

[Anonymous No.1620238]

>>1620176
You can do pure listening, direction finding (DF), passive radars and more without emitting anything. Of course, were you to reliable DF stealth aircrafts the military intelligence will kick down your door.

>>1620025
Just listening, learning Morse code, and more. If you are ambitious you can make a passive weather radar.

[Anonymous No.1620290]

>>1618825
>I still don't own a full power base station, or any HF gear for that matter
> I continued to learn over the years and eventually realized . . . getting on the air isn't worth my time or effort
Strong opinions from someone who has no experience.

[Anonymous No.1620299]

>>1620176
More likely:
>too lazy to look over material
>too lazy to take test
>too lazy to put any effort in learning in general
>blame rules for laziness
>justify laziness by acting like child with ADD
Immaturity confirmed by anime posting with emoticons

[Anonymous No.1620390]

>>1620238
If you could reliably DF stealth aircraft with amateur level equipment, they would probably knock the door nicely and ask you to join them instead.

[Anonymous No.1620421]

I have a question regarding advanced digital modes and bleeding edge ham tech. Just what is the state of the art in advanced ham communication techniques and digital modes? I have a specific reason I'm looking in to this, and to be honest, I am not even certain of the correct terminology. Most ham stuff is either code, simplex voice, or occasionally full duplex voice, either with SSB and offset frequencies, or some digital technique (I think DMR tier 2 can do this on one frequency by using TDMA?). The limit here is that 2 people max can communicate simultaneously, although others can listen in. Commercial and mostly proprietary tech allows much more. So, what I'm interested in might be called "multiplexed" voice… the ability for more than 2 people to simultaneously chat on the same "channel"… presumably on a single frequency or some spread spectrum technique. Every member of the group can speak and listen and hear everyone else, and be heard by everyone else. I know there are bluetooth modes that allow this, and proprietary longer-range tech, like the Cardo PackTalk for (primarily) motorcyclists. Does amateur radio have any modes that compare? What advice does /hamradio/ have for a guy with an extra class ticket and a fondness for traveling on 2 wheels?

[Anonymous No.1620422]

>>1620390
Not really. F-35 is enormously expensive and sold in as unbeatable stealth. If an amateur were to track it reliably there will be a major fallout. Military careers are made through expensive acquisition projects. Correspondingly were the project to be seen as a turkey a lot of careers will be heading for the toilet, military as well as political, as a lot of countries are handing over billions of dollars to get this fighter.

Of course, reading the fine print it is stated that F-35 is stealthy - when directly facing a monostatic radar operating in the X-band. Making a multistatic radar in the VHF band is perfectly within the capacity of ham technology these days and my guess is that F-35 has such an Achilles heel.

[Anonymous No.1620432]

>>1620421
There is a huge disconnect between the ham world and that of mobile telecom systems, noted in >>1609151 .

You could use spread spectrum for multiple access, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), but the world of ham tends to prefer frequency division.

It would be interesting to make a new digital mode that used sounding and listening to discover the available net around it, and permit relaying. That could be very useful in emergency communications.

There is a lot of tech that are available such as relaying, diversity, MIMO, beamforming, channel characterisation, constellation tuning etc, all tried and tested in the world of mobile phone tech, but as yet not used in the ham world.

[Anonymous No.1620479]

>>1620432
>It would be interesting to make a new digital mode that used sounding and listening to discover the available net around it, and permit relaying. That could be very useful in emergency communications.
I'm really interested in trying this. I didn't need another expensive and time consuming hobby, but it looks like I just got one. I'm guessing a good starting point would be familiarize myself with SDR, that seems the sane way to try out new digital schemes.

[Anonymous No.1620492]

>>1578637
Underrated

[Anonymous No.1620514]

>>1620492
>>1578637
If you and your friends did it, you would hear each other all day. In other words, you are engaging in millennial thinking.
>everything is bad, it must be someone else's fault
Instead of the thinking that got boomers and alleged boomers somewhere in life
>I want a thing, so I will go out and work towards my goal
When you get there, one day, probably some kid on an interplanetary 3D virtual shitposting board will have his 3D penis avatar call you a boomer.

[Anonymous No.1620537]

>>1620422
What's it like in 2005

The F-35 is optimized for forward facing A2A radar with ground based fire control radars (not search or VHF meme radars with worse-than-SCR-268-tier resolution) coming a close second. It's also the same price as a new Superbug.

[Anonymous No.1620597]

>>1620290
I don't need experience working the hardware to have interacted with the community. I also don't need hardware to learn about the various RF related things that interest me.

[Anonymous No.1620606]

I got my license forever ago but never did anything with it. I find it hard to find people.

How do you guys find people to talk to with so many channels to search through? I've only got a handheld rn, UV-5R, so range is limited.

Also, are there any jobs that involve radios? Maybe ship communications or something. I got to college for EE rn, but probably switching to CS. I always thought it'd be cool to do communications stuff though.

[Anonymous No.1620615]

>>1620537
He was so wrong I couldn't bring myself to correct him

He talked about cost so much I think hes conflating it with the f22.

[Anonymous No.1620622]

>>1620597
>I have no hands on experience, but I talked to someone who knew a ham once.
Level: Expert bullshitter
>I don't need a vehicle to learn how to drive, I'll just watch some anime, then win the Formula One World Championship.
Level: Retard bullshitter

[Anonymous No.1620643]

>>1620606
>How do you guys find people to talk to with so many channels to search through? I've only got a handheld rn, UV-5R, so range is limited.
Check your area for ham groups, there might be a website that lists the local repeaters.
I'm in the same boat, got my license a lifetime ago but haven't used it much since.

[Anonymous No.1620646]

>>1620537
>The F-35 is optimized for forward facing A2A radar with ground based fire control radars
That does not contradict what I wrote. Why you bring up a WWII grade monostatic radar is not clear.

>>1620615
>He was so wrong I couldn't bring myself to correct him
Lacking facts, more like it.
>He talked about cost so much I think hes conflating it with the f22.
Here in Europe, where we are paying for this without ever having bought F-22, we find it is expensive and also getting more expensive. Seems the MOD was not fully informed about the communications systems and now see they have to buy more stuff such as a new radio relay in order not to compromise the F-35 stealth properties.

[Anonymous No.1621542]

>>1620479
OK, some ideas in random order
- do something more than present digital modes
- for instance avoid global sounders
- eliminate "need" for Internet reporting nodes
- provide reliable relaying
- add cognitive radio features

- start by A calling CQ
- B responds, with signal strength report and report on adjacent occupied frequencies that B can hear
- A reports back the frequencies that A can hear
- if A or B has had an earlier QSO with someone nearby the other, reuse earlier sounding data
- A does a quick sounding at different strengths on all frequencies that are unoccupied as far as A and B both can hear, within a limited scope (we don't want to fill all bands with junk)
- B does a quick sounding back
- having characterised this section of the band, agree on best frequency for this QSO
- from the above chose a constellation, bandwidth, data rate and forward error coding
- offer relay-QSO for previous QSO for A and for B
- A and B exchange sounding and contact data for earlier QSOs, so that propagation data is exchanged over the air rather the Internet
- if either has an L5-capable GPS receiver, report ionospheric delay (see if this correlates with contact data)

[Anonymous No.1621607]

>>1621542
How much meth have you ingested in the last 72 hours?

[Anonymous No.1621679]

>>1621607
Yes.

[Anonymous No.1621705]

>>1621679
Sounds about right

[Anonymous No.1621749]

>>1574260
You generally dont want to run power cables next to ethernet cables. And if you do you should be using SFTP cabling.

>inb4 some tard says it works fine for me
there is a reason why SFTP exists and why lots of people buy it. you dont have a spectrum analyzer, and you dont even have a switch capable of monitoring error rates.

[Anonymous No.1621899]

>>1621607
None. I have not even been drunk ever. I just used to do DSP assembly software for non-ham RF system, hardly euphoria-inducing stuff. Having a ham license and a background in DSP makes me wonder why people have not tried this before. It seems the ham world is a world apart from telecom tech industry where I also have done some work in the past. Sure there are digital modes but by the standards of the mobile phone state of the art these are laughable.

The other thing is that the sounders are rather annoying. When they sweep past your frequency there is a sharp report and then the AGC freaks out and sulks for a few seconds before coming back. And reporting sounders over the Internet defeats the distributed nature of radios, much better then to use actual traffic to generate distributed sounding data.

[Anonymous No.1621975]

>>1621749
>there is a reason why SFTP exists and why lots of people buy it
IT guy here.
UTP will do just fine. SFTP is when you have some serious interference which can't be canceled out by the twisting inside the cable.
The kind of interference one might see in a factory with heavy machinery
Either that or CAT 7 cables, which are SFTP by design.

[Anonymous No.1622475]

>>1573816
Anyone have the Carolina question Bank for General?

[Anonymous No.1623303]

>>1573816
What's a good resource for DIY antenna building? I've found a few plans but none of them provide formulae for calculating dimensions based on frequency. Also, where to buy parts for said antenna building? Noob, obviously.

[Anonymous No.1623319]

>>1623303
What bands are you looking for?

[Anonymous No.1623481]

>>1622475
Is there any point to go to Extra?
I've got 4 chances this week to make General my bitch.

[Anonymous No.1623494]

How does a dipole antenna work if it's split in the middle, are both sidea connected to the power wire through the balun? But if that's the case, what's connected to the coax shielding? And either way if the antenna is connected to the shielding then why doesn't the shielding also get a current in it?

[Anonymous No.1623504]

>>1623494
To elaborate, I have two conflicting models in mind, neither of which makes sense to me:

1. Both sides of the dipole antenna (each a quarter-wavelength) are connected to the same power cord through a balun. I don't know what the shielding is connected to.
2. One side is connected to the power and the other side to the shielding. I don't know what the balun is for and I don't know how the unpowered side gets a wave in it. I also don't know how the shielding stays a shield when it's hooked up to an antenna with current in it.

[Anonymous No.1623543]

>>1623319
Whatever really. I'm mainly into metal but classic rock has its place.

[Anonymous No.1623560]

>>1623494
electric voltage is a difference in electric potential, you need a difference in electric potential across the antenna to radiate signal.
one side is connected to the coax conductor, one side to the shield.

the necessity of the balun is because the antenna and cable must be impedance matched to minimize transmission losses; the core of the coax and the shield are different and so a mirrored dipole can't be impedance matched to both core and shield, hence the balun.

[Anonymous No.1623597]

>>1623319
>What bands?
2m and 70cm

[Anonymous No.1623632]

SDR plebfaggot here,

How do I see APRS shit? I'm looking through SDRsharp in the 2M band and I don't see anything that looks like APRS. How can I find APRS near me so I can try to capture?

[Anonymous No.1623773]

>>1623560
Ok but if only one half is connected to the core, then how does the other half get a current (or a potential) in it? Is it "resonating" with the waves emitted by the first half? And why doesn't this then conduct a current (or potential difference) down into the shield?

[Anonymous No.1623864]

>>1623494
>>1623504
>>1623560
>>1623773
You might want to keep in mind that the word "balun" is a contraction of balanced and unbalanced. Thus it is more than an impedance transformer. If you don't convert correctly you risk the coax shield starting to radiate.

[Anonymous No.1623872]

>>1623864
This doesn't address my misunderstanding. Isn't the point of coaxial shielding that no current goes through it? Why bother connecting it to the antenna at all?

[Anonymous No.1623889]

>>1623872
Here's a drawing of two ways I think you could attach a coaxial cable to an antenna, plus a vague "option 3" which I expect is closer to the truth. I'm asking because all the explanations I can find online give a picture like "option 2", which seems crazy to me because there isn't supposed to be an RF current in the shielding.

[Anonymous No.1623910]

>>1623889
Here's a typical drawing of "option 2" from the internet. It's supposed to be crappy and illustrate the need for a balun, but that aside, how is this shit going to work at all if the shielding isn't hooked up to the power source? Does the "shield" half of antenna just resonate sympathetically with the powered "core" half? But if that's the case why doesn't the shield wire turn into a giant antenna? Sorry if these are dumb questions desu, I'm new here ._.

[Anonymous No.1623918]

>>1623543
Check out some Opeth, then.

[Anonymous No.1623921]

>>1623597
http://www.csgnetwork.com/antennagenericfreqlencalc.html
--
http://www.hamuniverse.com/jpole.html
--
http://vk2zoi.com/articles/half-wave-flower-pot/
--
Here's a couple of online calculators and designs for the "flower pot antenna," which doesn't have to be hidden.

[Anonymous No.1623933]

>>1623889
Unbalanced feed leads to current flowing on the outer side of the shield and the coax radiates. Balun prevents that.

[Anonymous No.1623937]

>>1623933
>current on the inner and outer surface of the shield
I was under the impression the shield always had zero current because it is grounded. I'm not sure you understood my question, but in any case I think your answer has pointed me towards what I need to be looking into.

[Anonymous No.1623951]

>>1623937
Every generator (transmitter) has 2 poles and every load (antenna) has 2 poles. Every current needs a loop. There is no 1 pole light bulb and there is no 1 pole antenna. Misconceptions there are many, e.g. the 'monopole' antenna which only exists as a meme.

[Anonymous No.1624084]

>>1623921
Thanks. I found this link as well, and am reading it now:
http://www.hamuniverse.com/n4jaantennabook.html

Something I don't yet understand is the pros/cons of different antenna designs. e.g., why use a half-wave dipole instead of j-pole, or a slim-jim instead of a j-pole, or a moxon instead of a yagi, etc.

[Anonymous No.1624093]

>>1624084
Space considerations, efficiency, ease of construction, ease of deployment, (directional/omni-directional) radiation pattern. Antenna gain ratings are based off a free space dipole. J-pole (end fed zepp) will give you some gain, but work best with nothing around it (like on top of your house). A ground plane would give you the same efficiency of a dipole, and is one of the easiest VHF/UHF antennas to build (with good, repeatable results). Here's another resource to browse: https://www.w8ji.com/antennas.htm

[Anonymous No.1624171]

Just cleaned my ol' dad's basement for him and found a bunch of cool shit. Check out this beauty. Swear to Santa I'm going to be 10 WPM by Yule.

My grandpa was doing 110 wpm as a railroad telegraph operator back in 1920. FCC be damned: I have no excuse not to be proficient in code.

[Anonymous No.1624388]

>>1624171
110? How? Can't even hear clearly after 50.

[Anonymous No.1624408]

>>1624388
Probably means 110 symbols per minute or similar. The record in contest settings is around 70wpm. 110wpm is rain-man tier, though probably all our grandfathers were on the Spectrum if we're posting here

[Anonymous No.1624461]

>>1623951
>There is no 1 pole light bulb and there is no 1 pole antenna.
So what if I attach the core of the coax to a length of wire, and leave the shielding diconnected? What if I just connect the shielding to the dirt, or to some kind of "dummy load"?

[Anonymous No.1624462]

>>1624388
A lot of people can hear clearly well after 50.

>>1624408
>110wpm is rain-man tier, though probably all our grandfathers were on the Spectrum if we're posting here
I heard it said that a good signal service operator should be on the spectrum. I naver heard that said about McElroy though. At 110 it sounds more like far frying in a pan than dots and dashes.

[Anonymous No.1624475]

>>1624408
Yeah. Probably symbols. I was just told this by relatives. CPM is probably what they heard, but not being skilled in the art, retold it using the typing unit they were used to.

My grandfather couldn't have been autistic, though. He married the most desirable girl in town, his bosses found him entertaining enough to regularly invite onto their private car, and he was master of his masonic lodge for decades.

But then, maybe before mass media, our on-the-spectrum ancestors developed social skills. For example, imagine an aspie who memorizes jokes instead of anime lore.

[Anonymous No.1624476]

According to the ARRL license numbers, Guam has a disproportionate Extra to General ratio. What gives?
In before phone poster.
>At work and they've taken away email and file sharing for "safety" (efficiency).

[Anonymous No.1624487]

>>1624461
How can you have voltage without current they are inseparable

[Anonymous No.1624488]

>>1624476
Tiny island thousands of miles from a major population center. Hams out there can probably make more DX contacts than local. More interest in HF propagation means more incentive for the extra.

1:0.8-9 ratio in other states seems high though. The VEC I used administers around 120 exams a month. There are people at every session taking the General, but when I took the Extra it threw them off; like they hadn't seen anyone take it in a long time.

Can you dump the CSV of that spreadsheet into pastebin or something? I'd like to see the stats for the other 20 states.

>>1624487
What is happening in a capacitor in a DC circuit?

[Anonymous No.1624494]

>>1623951
>There is no 1 pole light bulb


"The carbon button lamp is a single-electrode incandescent lamp invented by Nikola Tesla. A carbon button lamp contains a small carbon sphere positioned in the center of an evacuated glass bulb. This type of lamp must be driven by high-frequency alternating current, and depends on an electric arc or perhaps a vacuum arc to produce high current around the carbon electrode. The carbon electrode is then heated to incandescence by collisions by ions which constitute the electric current. Tesla found that these lamps could be used as powerful sources of ionizing radiation."

[Anonymous No.1624495]

>>1624488
I kinda see the Guam reasoning.
It's a straight copy and paste from the table at ARRL.org/fcc-license-counts.
When I do a call lookup, I'd say it's about 50:50 whether they're general or extra

[Anonymous No.1624496]

>>1624487
The "current" in this illustration >>1623910 doesn't "flow" anywhere. Those are two different wires, not attached to each other. They each have their own current which stays in their own half of the antenna. So what's wrong with getting rid of one? Is there something I'm fundamentally misunderstanding here --- like are the two tips of the antenna connected to each other through the air or something crazy like that?

[Anonymous No.1624608]

What is just bad HAM etiquette and what is actually illegal?
Like, you can’t tell someone to “get off” ham bands as that is illegal.

[Anonymous No.1624613]

>>1624608
FCC Part 97.113 - or to a larger extent all of Part 97.

97.113 Prohibited transmissions.

(a)Noamateur stationshall transmit:

(1)Communications specifically prohibited elsewhere in this part;

(2)Communications for hire or for material compensation, direct or indirect, paid or promised, except as otherwise provided in these rules;

(3)Communications in which the station licensee orcontrol operatorhas a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer, with the following exceptions

(4)Music using aphoneemission except as specifically provided elsewhere in this section; communications intended to facilitate a criminal act; messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning, except as otherwise provided herein; obscene or indecent words or language; or false or deceptive messages, signals or identification.

(5)Communications, on a regular basis, which could reasonably be furnished alternatively through other radio services.

[Anonymous No.1624616]

>>1624613.

(b)Anamateur stationshall not engage in any form ofbroadcasting, nor may anamateur stationtransmit one-way communications except as specifically provided in these rules; nor shall anamateur stationengage in any activity related to program production or news gathering forbroadcastingpurposes, except that communications directly related to the immediate safety of human life or the protection of property may be provided byamateur stationsto broadcasters for dissemination to the public where no other means of communication is reasonably available before or at the time of the event.

(c)No station shall retransmit programs or signals emanating from any type of radio station other than anamateur station, except propagation and weather forecast information intended for use by the general public and originated from UnitedStatesGovernment stations, and communications, including incidental music, originating on UnitedStatesGovernment frequencies between a mannedspacecraftand its associated Earth stations. Prior approval for mannedspacecraftcommunications retransmissions must be obtained from theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration. Such retransmissions must be for the exclusive use of amateur radio operators. Propagation, weather forecasts, and mannedspacecraftcommunications retransmissions may not be conducted on a regular basis, but only occasionally, as an incident of normal amateur radio communications.

(d)Noamateur station, except an auxiliary,repeater, orspace station, may automatically retransmit the radio signals of otheramateur station.

[Anonymous No.1624619]

>>1624613
>(5)Communications, on a regular basis, which could reasonably be furnished alternatively through other radio services.
What is the fucking point of HAM if you can’t talk to someone from around the globe on a regular basis?

[Anonymous No.1624649]

>>1624619
That's actually a clause I helped write and get passed in 1992.
At the time, we we're afraid women might co-opt the hobby and spend the day with an open mic blabbering about boyfriend between half hour pauses to shit and yell at their moms.

[Anonymous No.1624666]

>>1624649
I doubt Amateur radio would ever be a hobby for women

[Anonymous No.1624681]

>>1624613
>>1624616
So in other words dick picks are ok as long as the dick is your own and of no commercial value

[Anonymous No.1624763]

>>1624649
This is exactly how the very few women in ham do use it: stream of consciousness blather about their feelings.

In the gap between your reg and the widespread adoption of cellular telephone, my mom became a ham and spent hours a day hogging a local repeater to keep tabs on my dad during his commute. I hated her for it and avoided the hobby while she was making a public nuisance of herself.

You did God's work, and if anything you didn't go far enough.

[Anonymous No.1624821]

>>1624666
Settle down, satan. This was pre-internet and cell phones. We were worried!

[Anonymous No.1625227]

>>1624619
In that context, all nets should be rounded up and shot.

[Anonymous No.1625252]

>>1624666
You probably do not know much about this world. First of all a lot of hams are former merchant navy sparks or military sparks, many of which were women.

Also: https://youtu.be/0DQyLMkSk5I

[Anonymous No.1625441]

>>1625227
Hey, I like my traffic nets.

[Anonymous No.1625652]

>>1625252
>muh stronk wymyn
No doubt many wartime telegraph operators were women. Equally uncontroversial is that the vast majority of hams today are men.

[Anonymous No.1625683]

>>1623481
Bragging rights. Because you can. I did it because after I got my general with only one question missed and said no thanks to extra exam, the instructor said "what? are you a chicken?". I only passed extra by one question... but again, the instructor said "you passed and that's what counts".

[Anonymous No.1625713]

>>1623494
>>1623910
>>1623889
>>1624461
I think I understand your question and I think the short answer is that you've misunderstood how a coaxial cable works and, to a certain extent, what the transmitter is doing. The balun is a minor detail to work out later.
1. Conceptually, the transmitter sits "in the middle" of a long wire and induces an alternating current into the middle. The two directions of wire can each be used for an antenna.
2. You could just ground one of them if you wanted, but that would waste half your power.
3. The coaxial cable actually carries a voltage in BOTH the core and the shielding. In fact these are where the TX's two outputs get hooked up.
4. This second current explains how the cable 'shields' --- the two conductors BOTH emit radio waves, which then exactly cancel each other out.
5. When people say the coax shielding is supposed to be "at ground potential" they're talking about the outward-facing side of the shielding. The gist of it is that only the inner-facing surface of the shielding gets a current; the RF current is unable to penetrate more than a couple millimeters of copper due to the so-called "skin effect". Of course it is the inner, powered part of the shielding that you attach to the antenna.

[Anonymous No.1625803]

>>1625652
>>muh stronk wymyn
Did you even watch the video? She was about 10.
>No doubt many wartime telegraph operators were women.
Correct. And after the war many women were also in the merchant navy. Also many were military sparks, at least where I served.
>Equally uncontroversial is that the vast majority of hams today are men.
Probably. That ,however, is moving the goal posts, the original point was to refute
>I doubt Amateur radio would ever be a hobby for women
And I did.

[Anonymous No.1625831]

I'm being retarded here, but how the fuck do I mute digital signals on a dual analog/digital repeater? There's one fairly important repeater in my area that is analog and fusion and at certain times of day, some guys carry on a fucking 2 hour QSO in Fusion and I am sick of hearing it when my radio scans passed the signal.

Googling just gives me adds for fucking DMR, D-Star, and Fusion radios.

[Anonymous No.1625839]

>>1591837
Redeemed myself today. 33/35 and the first one finished out of 9.

[Anonymous No.1625851]

>>1625803
I doubt shopping will ever be a hobby for men
>that's outrageous plenty of men get dragged along by their wife
>also have you looked in a lumber store lately? ALL MEN
>besides, some men are faggots, so they actually like shopping

[Anonymous No.1625903]

Hey /diy/. New to radios but have owned a Baofeng for about a year, and looking to buy a nicer HT in the wagecuck price range -- under 200 if possible. However it's hard to google for model recommendations since most online reviews are some combination of a) astroturf advertising, b) old reviews of discontinued items, c) autistic without the redeeming qualities. As a result I have very little idea what models are even in production, much less which ones are good, bad or meme tier. Pic is just one of many.

[Anonymous No.1625958]

>>1625803
>>1625252
This is the stupidest assertion in this thread.

>>1623951
This is the second stupidest.

[Anonymous No.1625974]

>>1625903
I would personally recommend against Yaesu. Lot of design flaws in that brand. My next transceiver will be Icom, probably.

Really all the differences in handhelds come down to how easy they are to program, how much memory they have, if they also TX on the 6m band, and if they support a digital mode or two. It's really down to what you care about. For me it's channel memory at the top and digital at the bottom. Research the product lines, decide which models you'd settle for, and shop for used on ebay and swap/sale nets.

Honestly, if you want to spend your cuckbux on an upgrade I'd suggest getting a mic and better antenna for what you've already got. Maybe buy the UV5R-HP before all the non-plus models are gone.

I'm really pleased with this cheap J-pole right now:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DELUXE-MODEL-ROLL-UP-2M-70CM-ROLL-UP-J-POLE-SLIM-JIM-ANTENNA-WITH-10FT-COAX/190898779511?hash=item2c72743577

[Anonymous No.1626074]

>>1625974
>I'm really pleased with this cheap J-pole
Fat stubby fingers
>I would personally recommend against Yaesu
Yeah, Vertex Standard/Yaesu has no clue what they are doing. Stupid idiots have no business making radios.

[Anonymous No.1626085]

>>1626074
I have two hand-me-down VX-7Rs and they BOTH have burned out narrowband filters. The spec sheet for the filter says you need a capacitor on the output pin. Yeasu couldn't be fucked to include them. Since the HT is true dual-band I have to do this for four of these little fuckers.

I don't mind soldering small components but this never should have happened. But maybe I shouldn't complain. This isn't a bad price for free transceivers.

[Anonymous No.1626100]

>>1625252
That's a beautiful key you posted. Best keep it away from that hapa child you're masturbating to. She'll destroy it within a week.

[Anonymous No.1626218]

>>1625974
>>1626085
>yaesu quality problems
Interesting, hadn't heard that.
>j pole for vhf and uhf with a HT
Is there a big advantage over a whip antenna? I figured these frequencies are line-of-sight anyway...

Also, any further recommendations/tips for HT shopping? Anything nice that won't break the bank? Or should I just stick with chinkshit for the second radio?

[Anonymous No.1626220]

>>1625903
Stick with the Baofag and get a ic-706 in your car if you want to stay mobile.

[Anonymous No.1626260]

>>1625958
Do you even have a point?

[Anonymous No.1626266]

>>1625903
>>1626218
It's basically a nightmare for beginners, you basically have to random model numbers and navigate a bunch of shit reviews by autistic geezers who've never soldered a joint in their life and have totally bought into some meme or another, until finally you find out the radio you're looking at was last made in 1994. What there SHOULD be is a very simple, well-maintained little table clearly laying the VERY basics.
>model number
>manufacturer
>whether HT or mobile or base
>bands for transmission and reception
>year introduced
>year discontinued, if discontinued
>typical price
Not gonna make it though, lol. You're on your own faggot.

[Anonymous No.1626278]

>>1626100
>That's a beautiful key you posted.
Yes, I found that picture years ago and kept it since. Not sure it is manufactured anymore but the need is probably still there. It is sturdy and indubitably stable. It might be jadeite. I have some samples here that might be olivine which also would be nice.

>Best keep it away from that hapa child
She is cute and can handle a Morse key. What else is necessary?

>you're masturbating to.
You are getting carried away by your own imagination.

>She'll destroy it within a week.
Unlikely, that takes a lot of effort. Back in the day when I started as a mil spark I was handed a Morse key. It was remarkably ugly and I wondered why it had to be made of such thick metal. That was until I saw how some even experienced operators brutalised the key. I doubt a 10 year old would be able to destroy a key. In any case other videos suggest she is into things like skating rather than heavy weight lifting.

[Anonymous No.1626348]

>>1626278
>It might be jadeite. I have some samples here that might be olivine which also would be nice.
Looks like green marble to me.

>>1626278
>I doubt a 10 year old would be able to destroy a key.
Maybe you aren't beating off to children after all. You obviously haven't watched the video you posted.

>>1626278
>In any case other videos suggest she is into things like skating rather than heavy weight lifting.
I take it back.

[Anonymous No.1626352]

>>1625252
>>1626348
Nigga look like a damn curling stone

[Anonymous No.1626355]

>>1626218
>>yaesu quality problems
>Interesting, hadn't heard that.
It's not so much quality. Yaesu construction is solid and they make their equipment out of good materials and components. The issue is design flaws.

>>j pole for vhf and uhf with a HT
>Is there a big advantage over a whip antenna?
Antenna length is always important. Your whip is probably half-wave at 2m. A good j pole should be full wave.

> I figured these frequencies are line-of-sight anyway..
True, but there is some beneficial penetration and reflection in an urban environment. With the j pole I posted I can pick up GMRS HT transmissions through about eight concrete walls at a distance of 0.8 km.

It's also a "pull up" antenna, which means you can dangle it from your ceiling or a tree. That improves your line of sight.

[Anonymous No.1626359]

>>1626355
>Your whip is probably half-wave at 2m
Er, quarter wave.

[Anonymous No.1626421]

>>1626355
>A good j pole should be full wave
The Zepp, or J-pole, antenna is actually 3/4 wave long, with the counterpoise folded back alongside the radiating element.
>Your whip is probably half-wave at 2m
Whips are generally 1/4 wave

If you don't know what you're talking about, stop giving out advice. You clearly don't know your ass from a hole in the wall.

[Anonymous No.1626523]

>>1626421
I corrected myself vis a vis quarter wave whips. Which you'd have seen if you didn't flip out the moment you see an error.

I accept and thank you for your correction about j poles being 3/4 wave.

Please explain how I'm wrong about the larger point I was making: that antenna length is important and longer fractions of a wavelength mean more gain. Not even being facetious. If there's something I'm missing I'd like to know.

[Anonymous No.1626574]

43 KB JPG
>>1626523 #
>Please explain how I'm wrong about the larger point I was making: that antenna length is important and longer fractions of a wavelength mean more gain.
Why yes, I do use a 5/8 whip, how could you tell?

[Anonymous No.1626679]

>>1626574
Yeah the divided by factors of two was implied, chadwick.

[Anonymous No.1626816]

>>1625713
Thanks anon, that does indeed target my misconceptions directly and I think I more-or-less get it now. Next questions, if I may:
>if a coax has TWO currents in it, how does it hook up to a whip or "end-fed wire" antenna? Is one of them just grounded, and if so does this waste power?
>what precisely do people mean when they say a whip or groundplane antenna has a 'mirror image' on the other side of the plane? Or is this just kinda-sorta a way of saying "it works well experimentally"?
>ditto for the groundplane radials: are we able to understand WHY there are a certain number at a certain number of degrees to get a given impedance?

[Anonymous No.1626939]

>>1625903
Hey anon, I'm in the same position, looking for an upgrade to my UV-5R. Here are some radios I'm considering. Keep in mind I don't own any of them, this is just what I've found in my research.
In my case I need something that can RX/TX on commercial VHF (154-155MHz) so most amateur handhelds are out.
If you don't care about that and only want to TX on ham frequencies, the Yaesu FT-60 is very popular. The only downside I see with that model is the outdated Ni-MH battery; I haven't checked to see if there's a li-ion available.

The GT-3 Mk.II and GT-3TP are supposed to be Baofeng's best offerings in terms of receiver quality: they have much better filtering than the UV-5R and UV-82 models.

The TYT UV8000E is supposed to be pretty good for a china radio. Reviews show it puts out a consistent 8-9 watts on high and about 3 watts on low.

The Wouxun KG-UVD1P and Quansheng TG-UV2 have lots of positive reviews and supposedly they both have superheterodyne receivers. This puts their receiver quality a noticeable step above the Baofengs and others that use software for filtering. Both of these radios are a little more expensive, but still affordable compared to any of the Japanese brands.

Check out these links for more info:
https://www.eham.net/reviews/products/49

https://hamgear.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/review-baofeng-gt-3-mark-ii/

https://hamgear.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/whats-the-best-chinese-dual-band-ht/

That should get you started anyway. I agree that many reviews are unhelpfully autistic, and it takes lots of digging to get anything useful. Good luck with your search.

[Anonymous No.1626979]

>>1626939
There is a STL file that you an download to 3D print and fit two 18650 in FT60. Made one, pretty comfy, still looking to upgrade the capacity by having serval flat Li-ion battery stacked together.

[Anonymous No.1627039]

>>1626574
>not using a stacked collinear

[Anonymous No.1627060]

New thread: >>1627058
New thread: >>1627058
New thread: >>1627058