SteveShannon

I have an FT-4x and I like it. I like the FT-65r even better. But to repeat @OffRoaderX, there’s no need for unlocking. The exact same frequencies can be received whether the radio is locked or unlocked and reception is all that’s necessary for RDF. That very wide receive range is typical of nearly all modern radios.

I don’t participate in the contests. Perhaps the majority of us don’t. I have no problem ignoring the contests. On summer Field Day our club provides comms for a bicycle race.

Apparently you missed a few of the details. The OP didn’t take it. The people who found the coax loaded it and took it to a place where the rightful owners should find it.

In my post above, my radio was opened up. I use it strictly as a ham radio (no GMRS), but it still doesn’t allow changing the power using the Fun button and the 0/Pow button sequence. Pressing the Fun button puts it into Fun mode. Pressing the 0/Pow button takes it right back out.

It might not even be a problem. It may be that the repeater is identifying itself, possibly with Morse code even, and that it’s programmed to do so without CTCSS. If you remove the CTCSS (or DCS) Code on your end you might be able to hear what it is.

It might just be a mistake, like two tests stuck together.

Call your VEC.

I did that (switched from memory to VFO) too. No difference. I guess you could take the computer outside.

I had to go try it on mine. It doesn’t work for me either.

I don’t. I will sometimes listen to ham radio though.

What’s the backup plan for people in Seattle, Detroit, etc?

For anyone who wishes to know what questions are on the technician tests, there are 35 questions drawn from a pool of slightly more than 400 questions. Each category has a certain number of questions on the test. The current pool is valid through 2026. Here is a link to the pool: http://ncvec.org/downloads/Technician Pool and Syllabus 2022-2026 Public Release Errata March 7 2022.pdf I did almost all my studying using the following free website (and an app they make which I gladly paid $5 for): Http://www.hamstudy.org

@nokones Im pretty sure I can help you get through the Technician test and I think I can probably teach you a little bit of algebra along the way. Let my offer percolate. If you change your mind and just want to go over some things I’m happy to try. My daughter and her family live in Phoenix; sometime when we are there I can probably pry myself apart from the grandkids to give you some in-person help, if you want, but absolutely no pressure. Everyone learns differently and math and electronics is a stumbling block for many. Regardless, best wishes!

Ideally you can look it up and ask permission in the database associated with these forums. Or, If the repeater identifies itself you can find contact information for the operator and contact them for permission to use it. Finally, some radios have a function incorporated that allows you to scan for tones. Most repeaters (but not all) use the same tone for both receive and transmit. If the repeater doesn’t use the same tone on its input then you would have to listen on the input frequency and scan for tones there.

I see eager high schoolers and college students designing and building surface mount altimeters with gps and gyroscopes that track the location and control the recovery of high power rockets. They have adjusted just fine. That’s not holding them back.

Here's the page from the manual.

Don’t frequencies appear on the display while receiving a signal? Unfortunately the manual I found on the internet doesn’t mention the DIY channels at all. It simply says there are 30 channels plus NOAA weather channels.

The names SO-239 and PL-259 came from the US Army Signal Corps.

One nice thing about the PL-259 and SO-239. There’s only one of each. A PL-259 will fit into an SO-239 every time. With other connectors you have to specify gender (N-male and N-female) and sometimes, such as with the SMA, that can take multiple forms: male, female, RP male, and RP female.

Yes. SO-239 is the SOcket. PL-259 is the PLug. I have no idea why the number is different.

GMRS has 30 “channels” which are 30 defined frequencies that you can transmit on. The top 8 are in the 467 MHz range and are primarily used to transmit to repeaters. Because there are only 8 and because different repeaters use CTCSS codes to reduce interruptions DIY channels allow you to program additional combinations of channels and CTCSS (or DCS). So, your repeater uses channel 29. It probably uses a CTCSS tone as well. A hundred miles away another repeater might use channel 29 also with a different CTCSS tone. Having DIY channels allows you to program all of the different repeaters that you want, instead of constantly changing the tone. Yes, if you have two radios set to talk through the repeater, separate them by some distance and you take one and a family member using your call sign takes another and you can try to talk through the repeater. Or you could just use one and ask for a repeater check.

Most of us hobbyists will only run across four main connectors for mainstream UHF: SMA for handhelds, PL259/SO239, N, and BNC. And sometimes the F connector.

@nokones Although it wouldn’t be a great substitute for in-person tutoring, I would be happy to try and answer any of your questions about the electrical questions. I would like to do that in a separate thread so others could chime in with their questions and explanations. Do you think that would be helpful?

I don’t know how you’re studying, but I really enjoyed using HamStudy. The website is free and there’s a cheap app you can get for your phone. It’s like flash cards with explanations and links so you can dig deeper.

Affiliate link below… I agree that his videos probably have been responsible for encouraging young people of all ages to pick up a radio and try it. And even though he’s not one to exactly encourage people to take up ham radio, his videos make people believe they can learn radio. Whether he knows it or not, his videos (and others) led me to finally study for my ham radio license after 55 years of not getting around to it.