/M /P on 630m editionOld thread: >>1985623>New to /ham/? Read this shit! http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radiohttps://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service>Your search engine of choice works well too! The FAQ is now back:https://wiki.cybsec.io/index.php/HamFAQ>The wiki is down but is archived: https://archive.is/PjR5s>Idiot's Guide to Coax Cable https://www.pcs-electronics.com/guide_coax.php>Looking for frequencies to monitor near you? http://www.radioreference.com>Basic Rx loop fundamentals https://www.w8ji.com/magnetic_receiving_loops.htm>DIY SWL Mag. Loop http://www.kr1st.com/swlloop.htm>Small Tx Loop http://www.kk5jy.net/magloop/>In Depth Loop articles http://webclass.org/k5ijb/antennas/Small-magnetic-loops.htm>Homebrew RF Circuitshttps://www.qsl.net/va3iul/Homebrew_RF_Circuit_Design_Ideas/Homebrew_RF_Circuit_Design_Ideas.htm>Online Practice Tests: http://aa9pw.com/https://hamstudy.org/https://hamexam.org/> Real-Time Propagation Data http://prop.kc2g.com/>Space Weather https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/radio-communications>WSJT-X 2.1 User Guide https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx-doc/wsjtx-main-2.1.2.html>FT8 operating guide https://www.g4ifb.com/FT8_Hinson_tips_for_HF_DXers.pdf>APRS http://www.aprs.org/>how do I into Morse code in a good way?https://pastebin.com/XwATbRrH
>>1998647Never did myself the favour until summer last year and got me a CB radio for the car. Ham radio vs. CB is like your boomer parents' facebook against /pol/.
>>1998661I’ve heard stuff on 75 meters that’d be just about the same as CB. Usually later at night so you know some alcohol is probably involved.
>>1998842There are exceptions. European hams are pretty stuck up, it's just one or two ham nets every night that seem to really have fun.
I'm getting trained as a SKYWARN spotter. What frequencies does the NWS monitor for reports? Do they have special frequencies or do they use the local ARES repeater?
Radio newb looking for an inexpensive (Under $100) HT. I'm a volunteer firefighter and want a backup radio for personal use; it needs to be able to RX/TX 150-155 mHz for my district. 1.Is there a good resource for technical information? I found this guys website but most reviews are at least 5 years old. https://hamgear.wordpress.com/2015/06/18/review-pofung-baofeng-uv-82hp/2. From my reading, the Baofeng and most chinese radios use a chip for front-end filtering, but some like the Wouxun are superhet radios. Is a superhet HT worth the extra price? Which of the software-front-end (don't know the correct term) HTs are the best?
>>1999164Look for a deal on a Yaesu FT-65, or the FT-4 if you want something small. If you're lucky your department might have access to the programming gear for Motorola radios, they tend to be great and go cheap used on eBay.
>>1999164None of those radios shown are intrinsically safe. You would think a real firefighter would be concerned with that, no?Also do you have approval from the license holder to put a personal radio on their system? How will you register the ID for emergency button and man down?The acceptable choices for public safety radios come from Harris, Motorola, Kenwood, EFJohnson, Tait,etc. Chinkshit will get someone killed.
>>1998968It’s a mixed bag here in the states. Anything from the stuck up legalistic prick to the ota shitposters.
>>1999178We could borrow some of your shitposters. Best you can get here are French freebanders below 80m.
>>1999171I think he wants a backup radio for personal use, as in for completely off-duty things. You make a point, but perhaps missing his.
>>1999219Nah, he is likely just a wacker. Not actually on a FD, or issued a Minitor pager that cant TX. Many such cases.
>>1999251
Am I allowed to host a show about jews and niggers on ham radio? As long as I don't say kike or coon?
Made my first QSO yesterday. Was able to hit a VHF repeater about 11 miles away in the suburbs with my UV-82 and a 42" Abbree antenna. Got to talk for half an hour to a pretty chill guy from one of the local clubs that seemed pretty excited to hear someone new.
>>1999347Unfortunately, broadcasting is illegal on amateur radio.
>>1999167Thanks anon, I will look at those Yaesu models. Our dept issues Motorolas but I don't know if they have programming equipment. Will need to ask the comms guy.>>1999171>>1999251As I posted, I want a backup radio, not a duty radio. I'm in a rural county and want to be able to listen to county traffic and keep a radio in my POV. We also run medical calls, as you're no doubt aware. At no point did I state I'd be using the radio on the fire ground. Mostly I want my own radio to play with, and this is a good excuse. As for approval, I've already asked. I expect this process was much less complicated than it would be in a city department. We do have a few old Minitor pagers kicking around, but most everyone has a Swissphone now. They can't TX either.
>>1998658YSF room when HF net when
>>1998658I need to pass the torch on to some young buck who wants to keep posting our leader in these theads?
>>1999384get a uhf1 vhf apx7000 with fpp -- thats what i have.
>>1999384>I'm in a rural county and want to be able to listen to county traffic and keep a radio in my POVGet a scanner then. Don't think for a moment that someone telling you that it's OK is enough. The moment a higher up (on the PS chain) finds out you've been using a personal radio to Tx, you're done.
>>1999577Why don't you just stop posting your troll image instead.
>>1999730You have no understanding of my situation, or who I have and haven't' spoken with. I do appreciate your concern though.
>>1999164For a hobby that encourages self-directed learning and DIY tinkering, there's a real lack of autism-fueled technical information on these radios. Like what chipset each radio model uses, which firmware versions they run, what the differences in performance are between each, etc.
>>1999577Post the original version at least.
>>1999764>Rules don't apply to me, I'm special!>>1999767It's all the same shit with different paint
>>1999767Pretty much every analog Baofeng uses an RDA1846
>>1999786>>1999787Baofeng indicates there's a difference, even if it's not a different chipset. This guy seems to think there's a difference in performance between the 1st and 2nd gen PCB:https://hamgear.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/review-baofeng-gt-3-mark-ii/Anyway it's quickly becoming clear that I need to look at more expensive radios if I want something good. I'm just surprised there isn't more technical info given the popularity of the Baofengs.
I am a new guy and finally bought a cheap baofeng and usb programming cable. Starting off planning on just listening in and learning how to program it. What has always made me nervous about getting the license is having you address publicly available online. I know you can use a PO BOX, but that is not an option for me. Anything weird ever happen to you guys with your address out there?
>>2000199Are you in witness protection or something? Your "address is out there" already in 100 other public databases. Be shitty to people on the air and maybe you might get a knock on your door from someone. Be a normal human and nothing to worry about. What you DONT want to do is post your call on a place like 4chan. That is just asking for problems. I keep my ham and internet identities completely separate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x07w9xAqCSwNew space weather
>>2000296Save me
Please help me with my silly entry level questions. I live just outside Nashville and all my service went down on Christmas day during the attack. I'm making ham radio a priority now for comms.I am interested in the Yaesu VX-6R. I have some basic questions though- How easy is it to program a lockout for the transmission button, so I don't have to worry about sending illegal transmissions before I've gotten my technician's license - Can I listen to local FM broadcasts if I need to be able to? Some have this feature but I can't figure out if this one does-In case of emergency could I hook the antenna input up to a large rooftop antenna (built for this purpose) for a large boost in receiving capabilities?Thanks for your help
>>2000663Read the manual.https://www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=7039&FileCatID=151&FileName=VX%2D6R%5FE%5FOM%5FUSA%5FEXP%5FEU%5FENG%5FEH021M204%5F20111019.pdfProgram in an "out of band" frequency for TX and the station you want on RX.VX-6R or VX-6R/E? The VX-6R/E manual says it can listen to FM. For the purpose of recieving FM broadcast radio? Sure you can.For amateur radio? Sure you can.Heck, you might even prefer using it that way.Study and do the test.Open the following "magnet link" in a torrent client like "qbittorent" or "transmission":magnet:?xt=urn:btih:ecc3aa75d8add578894bc32a342071701605fba3&dn=ARRL%20Amateur%20Radio%20Technician%20Class%20Training%20Course%20%20H.264.mp4&tr=udp%3a%2f%2ftracker.coppersurfer.tk%3a6969%2fannounce&tr=udp%3a%2f%2f9.rarbg.me%3a2850%2fannounce&tr=udp%3a%2f%2f9.rarbg.to%3a2920%2fannounce&tr=udp%3a%2f%2ftracker.opentrackr.org%3a1337&tr=udp%3a%2f%2ftracker.leechers-paradise.org%3a6969%2fannounceIt will download a video that will get you up to speed on the terminology, how radio waves work, how to operate your radio, making antennas, etc. etc.Best of luck.
>>2000686Thank you so much, I'll try to do it before the FCC jacks the license up
>>20006631. I'm sure it's in the menu. Or don't push the button. Nobody is that anal IMO2. Pic related3. Absolutely.Look into Chirp for the programming. It's just a data cable and Excel file.And 90% of your focus should be on the exam - study for the General. You'll get a chance to take it at the same for free
>>2000743*
I started reading the ARRL tech book and it starts off good with the introduction, but then all of a sudden gets extremely complicated and doesn't hold your hand much as expected from the intro.I dropped it, and so far have been working through watching Ham Radio 2.0's 3part 2hr long each Tech classeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wwnOPaF1qIThese are so much better, however being new I still get confused on some things of course and also forget stuff. I seem to have trouble remembering and understanding differences between bands, frequencies, and whats used for what. For example, if?you asked me difference between 2meter 10meter I wouldn't be able to tell you.I understand frequencies and VHF UHF and HF for the most part, bandwidth I'm a little confused on how it plays a role. I am confused on frequencies in correlation to the bands though, like 2meter has these frequencies, 10 has these, etc.Does anyone have any suggestions on learning this stuff? Preferably a video or something easy to understand? Also the other thing being electrical components, I have a basic understanding of electrical components, however when going through a ham practice exam, I don't know questions about how they're made and stuff so I need to learn more. Does anyone have a video on this, but is more aimed towards HAM vs just a video on electrical components in general? So I'm not learning way more than I need.I wanna learn enough to get my exam, start using things and as I go dip my feet into electronics in general more. But not too much right now or I overload my brain lol.
>>2000957Yes.I linked to a video here:>>2000686It answers all of your questions.Also, now you are starting to learn the words to be able to formulate questions! Right on. This is the major hurdle most face. Now you know enough to send yourself down a rabbit hole!Google "difference between 2meter 10meter " and you get all sorts of crappy answers to investigate!Or just watch the video ^_^Take a practice exham and just google every question you get wrong.You will then remember it, and understand why the answer is a certain way.
>>2000987Thanks, is that the full course or only one video out of multiple?If the latter, do you have the full set torrent?Also what online course is this from?
>>2001111Checked! Nice quads.ARRL Amateur Radio Technician Class Training Course.It's all as one video. It's 6.5 hours long.
>>2001173BasedAlso thanks anon
>>2000957>Is mayonnaise an instrument?
>>2000957Freq - band correlation is 300/band = freq30M = 10 mHz.40M = 300/40 or 7mHz.That's just memorization from frequent usage.The differences. Remember AM and FM radio in your car?Their characteristics? AM you can hear a station 60 miles away all day any day, and on a good night, 200 miles away? Whereas an FM station you might lose going under a bridge a few miles away?Well, they're on the far end of each spectrum. AM radio is roughly 1mHz. FM radio is roughly 100mHz aka 160M and 2M.Everything in between gets progressively more like AM or FM based on the freq. Simple as that.
>>2000957And I'll get shit on, but the electronics component is a little dated.It's good to know the theory and what each electronic piece does, but don't expect to get a modern radio and ever work on it.Yes, transistors were a marvelous invention 100 years ago.Impedance is vital to antennas.The pre-amp to mixer to something to something circuitry could be done away with.
>>2001489Clear channel AM stations can be heard much farther than that at night. Those are the ones the FCC allows to crank out 50KW 24/7. Hell, some come pretty close to the 200 mile range during the day. Case in point: I rode across the state of Tennessee last fall and was listening to WSM in Nashville from Knoxville to Memphis.The top-tier FM stations can cover large swaths of land themselves if they’re up on a really high tower and pushing 100KW. Can easily be heard within a 50 mile radius of the transmitter.To anyone curious to learn more about radio propagation, Wikipedia is a good start. There’s so many factors at play that it can’t always be explained in a simple manner.
Hey y'all, I fucked up my rtlsdr dongle. I had them working real well until I changed some sort of configurations in a /diy/ I was trying to do which essentially would scan trunked systems and aircraft transponders at the same time. The problem is that I modified some sort of essential configration to the dongle, and I was barred out so I don't remember what the hell I did so I can change it back. So my question is, does anyone know if it's possible just to wipe the dongle and reinstall the drivers and everything, or is that not really a possibility?
>>2001489Make sure you don't confuse him with millihertz when you mean megahertz
>>2001506Ehh, I was trying to relate to the entry student's current experience.I can hear 200-500mile away AM stations during the day and easily hear halfway across the world at night - but certainly not with my factory car antenna.Thought it was a good, practical example of what to expect at each range of the bands as I took my big, stinky morning shit.
>>2001632Fair enough. And I guess that I was further expounding upon what you had posted. I’m just super autistic don’t mind me.But seriously, to anyone who’s really interested, Wikipedia can explain this shit way better than anyone can on a Mongolian throat-singing board.
>>2001684Forgot linkhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_propagation
What are some easy projects I can use with a raspberry pi 3?
>>2001911I use a Pi 4 to run Fldigi as well as rig control. Basically, it’s my station’s computer. Set up a VNC server on it and remote into it from anywhere in the house. It’s great, I don’t know why more hams don’t do this.
>>2001920Can I make an am radio with it
>>2001927If you get an SDR dongle, a suitable antenna, and put some SDR software on it yes.
>>2001684You're not wrongt.dude who takes stinky shitsI found this to be a great primer>https://www.hamuniverse.com/hfbands.html
>>2001944Will an SDR dongle work on a micro SD card?
>>2002073Not sure what you mean. I myself haven’t set up an SDR on a Pi but I know others have.
>>2000686That video breaks around 12min for a min or soGot a better copy?
Whats the next step up from a uv5r?Both in handheld and desktop+antenna?Preferably under $200 (factoring in price for antenna for desktop)
Can you guys get SiriusXM?
>>2002122>Both in handheld and desktop+antenna?$200 each?I wouldn't mess with a ht. If there's a hamfest, you can pick up a name brand mobile tx. Otherwise take your pick of QYT or TYT or Anytone
>>2002120It fixes at about 15 if I remember correctly. Rest of the video works fine.It's the best copy floating around on the net
Don't want to get my ham radio license anymore. Can I still enjoy the hobby of just listening?
>>2002851If you stopped, perhaps you'd hear a signal or two over your whining.
>>2002851Yes. But other than the cost, why wouldn’t you wanna put your own signals on the air?
does anybody hang out on CB anymore or is it all just truckers
>>2002890>>2002851Building transmitters can be cheap and cheerful.http://www.sparkbangbuzz.com/easy-ten/easy-ten.htmLook at how simple that is too build?I bet if you put a LDR in series or parallel with the 1K or parallel with crystal, or parallel with antenna capacitor, you could transmit signals with morse code controlled by your computer:https://morsecode.world/international/translator.html
>>2002906So there's still a hobby out there for building and listening? I don't want my license because I don't want my address and name in the FCC database openly
>>2002910Sure. Check this out:https://anarchy.translocal.jp/radio/micro/howtosimplestTX.htmlI highly recommend an RTL-SDR or similar for tuning (figure out what frequency it's on). Although it can be built and tested with a FM receiver.Without an antenna it transmits just to the room. With a meter of wire on the ground plane, and a meter of wire on the positive, it reaches 3 blocks with just a 2n3904 as the transistor!People still do Short Wave Listening.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortwave_listening
>>2002851Check out websdr.org
I just found a numbers station in spanish at 45.420 wtfit went "pshaaaah" ~three times every ten seconds, read 5 numbers in spanish, repeated, then went "eeeeeeeeeee" then "pshaaaaah" ~two more timesthen I found a time station at 18.800 but that's not the same. I need a better antenna fuck
>>2002906>Look at how simple that is too build?And what are the harmonics like?
>>2003020To be honest, the harmonics are somewhat high with that one.I'll see about digging up a better crystal oscillator. Some don't need filtering.
>>2002905It’s still hanging on in the south. There’s usually at least one local group out there.>>2002910Your name and address is not private information.
>>2003022I think also transmitters using a DDS are free from harmonics, at least within the HF band. Using a 120 MHz sampling rate would mean very high harmonics which would be unlikely to be effectively radiated from a HF antenna.
Need some help troubleshooting/wrapping my head around a base-loaded magnetic-mount CB antenna. I've been trying to look up info online, but all I'm getting is either shopping results, or non-related shit due to keywords.I'm trying to put together a mobile cb setup, out of the leftovers from my father's stash of parts. I've got this old as fuck base-loaded antenna on a magnetic-mount that's in poor shape and needed repair (coax mostly detached from plug, Coil detached from pl socket, threads for socket on base fucking trashed)). I fixed it up, but I'm not sure if I actually -fixed- it, due to not understanding how this type of antenna works; Like how the antenna coil appears to be meant to connect to the shield of it's pl-259 connector, creating a "short" across the antenna and ground connections. After repairing and reassembling the antenna, I did a continuity test with my DMM, and sure enough, there was a clean, zero-resistance reading from the tip of the center pin on the coax' pl-259, and it's shield. I could put my test leads anywhere on the antenna and get a connection.Yesterday I set everything up in my van, went down to the beach so I'd have plenty of open space, hooked up one of the old SWR meters I found, and began calibrating. After I got the SWR in usable shape (1.4 on CH01 and CH40), I started listening and transmitting. Heard plenty of traffic, and made contact with some guy a few miles out, said my copy was good and clear.After that I turned the van on, and got a fuckload of engine/electrical interference, but that I can square away later.I guess what I'm asking is: In retard terms, what are the basics of a base-loaded magnetic-mount antenna? What are indicators of "it fucking works, retard", or "it's fucking busted, retard"? The internet seems to go from "buy here!" to "here's every antenna design known to man" to "intricate discussion on advanced antenna design and signal propagation for NASA".Plz halp.
>>2003328Your antenna is fine. Don't try to "fix" it beyond what you have done (unless you're replacing the coax or a connector). If it were busted your swr would be above 10 and no one would hear you.
>>2003328You have a capacitative coupling to your car roof which acts as a counterpoise. Would you shortcircuit the base with the roof, the roof would add to the antenna capacity.I did experiments with a mag-mount, trying to make it double as a home antenna to take my CB inside. Took me a while and it's still "it fucking works" - but I added a contact to the whip's base (above the baseplate) and ran a wire to a tin can on which the magnetic base sat. When the wire was about the length of the whip and ran ca. 135° away from the antenna it started acting as a counterpoise and I got the SWR down to 1.5.I could make contacts from home using the CB. For car mount, I just remove the tin can and cable again.I just read this on qrz.com before:https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/dr-ulrich-rohde-electrically-short-antennas.740851/
>>2003338>Don't try to "fix" it beyond what you have done (unless you're replacing the coax or a connector)Gotcha. This thing's in pretty rough shape, physically speaking, and the cable could stand to be shortened, so there may be some more work in the future, but otherwise it'll stay as-is.>>2003339>text about adapting mag-mount for home useFunny enough, I did something similar before loading the whole thing into the van. I had the CB and antenna in a second-floor bedroom, hooked up to an old desktop CB/ham power supply. I didn't dare transmit, because I didn't have the jumper cable needed to tie the SWR meter in for calibration, so I just listened. I had the antenna sitting on some metal window screen, as a redneck ground plain, and was able to receive a fair bit, even indoors.On the subject of engine/alternator/blower fan interference, I've read that wrapping the power cables around some ferrite cores (toroid choke?) can help filter unwanted noise, anybody here have any experience with that?
My new baofeng just arrived in the mail. What do I do now?
>>2003498Program. You did get a programming cable didn’t you anon?
>>2003540I did remember to buy that. Will watch ham radio crash course. He will tell me what to do.
>>2003585It’s not too hard if you use CHIRP. Good luck.
Are window mount antennas cb antennas garbage? I would get a magnet for the roof as everything I’ve read tells me to put it centered on the roof, but I put ladders on the backrack and they would hit the antenna even if it was one of the shorter models.
>>2003814you want a nmo mountdrill a hole in your roof. HAM is more important than having a weatherproof car.
>>2003820Thanks. Personal truck got a roof hole the other weekend. This is the work truck. Even though I'm the only driver and take it home and handle all maintenance and paperwork the title is in thier name. I don’t want to answer any questions from the bean counting peanut gallery the few times a year I see them.
Did anyone actualy install ham radio or station in their car's single dim slot instead of car radio? How did it go and did you get any interference regarding electricity in car?
>>2003847You need to remember to allow a little space for cooling.
>>2003904that sounds a lot like a no to me
Former radio installer here.>>2003814I wouldn't touch a window mount antenna, But having an antenna is better than no antenna.Because good CB antennas are so long, I would recommend ordering an antenna mount for your truck. The fit inside the lip of the fender.Unbolt the side panel, pull it away from the vehicle, tighten it up while pulling. You can get _Just_ enough space to fit the coax in there. You don't want it pinched.Run the coax through the firewall.>>2003847We did those from time to time. Although it was with radios with remote heads. Some of the newer trucks computers broadcast in the 2m band. There is nothing you can do. It's just so noisy that the antenna picks it up.Sometimes a vehicle has noisy power. Good power conditioners are getting harder and harder to get. It's fixed with an inductor and two capacitors.
