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SteveShannon reacted to FishinGary in Well.... I did it.... passed my Tech a month ago
Congrats! I went from unlicensed to Amateur Extra this past Thursday (had lots of time to study). Paid my fee Friday night. Still waiting on that call sign.... (hopefully coming by Monday). I'm going to learn CW next.
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SteveShannon got a reaction from RayDiddio in Well.... I did it.... passed my Tech a month ago
Another really good training method (I really enjoyed it) is HamStudy.org. All of the questions are presented along with lots of reference material that unwind the concepts or reasoning behind the answer. It works really well for those who want to learn the material. You can choose how you want to be presented the questions, a section at a time or randomly. You can take practice tests as often as you want. It’s all free online or for a very low price you can purchase the app and take it on your phone or tablet even when you’re offline. It tracks which questions you get wrong and goes back to them more frequently to help concentrate your studying.
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SteveShannon got a reaction from FishinGary in Could FM CB supplant FRS?
It wasn’t a stupid question.
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SteveShannon reacted to WRUU653 in Clubs
sign into the repeater/map page, not the forum and click on control panel and then subscriptions...
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SteveShannon got a reaction from WSGL775 in Calling all AR-152 owners...
Although GMRS is in the name of the site, the site also caters to ham radio interests. Radio is radio. If you’re so up-tight that the inclusion of helpful information about a radio triggers you, then you probably aren’t getting much enjoyment out of anything. Learn to ignore posts about non-GMRS radios.
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SteveShannon got a reaction from WRUU653 in Clubs
You have to be a Premium member of myGMRS, then you can create your own club by scrolling down on the Clubs page and clicking on “Start a Club”:
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SteveShannon reacted to nokones in LOUISIANA NEEDS GMRS/HAM users.. comms sucks here!
If you're thinking about marrying two Wouxuns together, forget about it. They have a desense problem because of the lack of shielding. I've seen maxon radios work somewhat decent and I have heard that people have married two Motorola MCS2000 with decent results. I haven't heard if anyone has tried a couple of XTLs.
It would be best just getting a real repeater that has the correct duty cycle.
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SteveShannon reacted to LeeBo in TYT TH-9800 clicking noise on 2m transmit
If you’re going to get a lot of “I told you so”, the they don’t sound like “buddies” to me.
I bought my 9800 knowing it was a cheap Chineseium radio that may or may not last long and that I knew I would upgrade in the future.
But I bought it to “get my feet wet” in the world of mobile amateur radio.
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SteveShannon got a reaction from WSCA512 in Antenna Calculator
That’s what most people do, but it depends on the Q factor of the antenna.
If it’s a high Q antenna (meaning a very narrow low SWR) I would tune to the transmit frequency most often used.
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SteveShannon got a reaction from WSCA512 in Clubs
You have to be a Premium member of myGMRS, then you can create your own club by scrolling down on the Clubs page and clicking on “Start a Club”:
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SteveShannon got a reaction from BoxCar in LOUISIANA NEEDS GMRS/HAM users.. comms sucks here!
1. They frequently don’t work well unless they’re designed for the job.
2. Then you need a much larger duplexer. The portable repeaters have one built in.
3. Power output is vastly overrated. Range is usually limited by other factors for UHF, not power.
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SteveShannon reacted to Radioguy7268 in Stick on glass antennas
Glass mount antennas suck for UHF. They are marginally better than using a portable inside a vehicle, and I do mean marginally. 800 & 900 MHz work better, but still not ideal.
I'd tell you to look for other options before spending money on a glass mount. A 6" UHF hatpin can be mounted in plenty of locations where it's barely noticed. Shark fin antennas made by Stico & others mimic factory FM antennas for the entertainment radio.
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SteveShannon got a reaction from WRUU653 in Antenna Questions
If nothing else it should make a helluva ground plane! 😁
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SteveShannon reacted to WRUU653 in Well.... I did it.... passed my Tech a month ago
I also aced my Technician test and I had not studied for the General so when they offered to let me take it I kind of wanted to go out on the high of having done perfect so I didn't take it. Now I just haven't been consistant in putting the time in due to outside distractions. I won't say I wished I had because who knows and I did enjoy the drive home that day. I'll get there. I don't think it's a hobby where you'll ever know it all, at least I don't think I will. I kind of like that. always something to learn.
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SteveShannon reacted to AdmiralCochrane in TYT TH-9800 clicking noise on 2m transmit
It's a dud. That is the way these fail. Knowing this I actually bought an extended warranty on mine.
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SteveShannon reacted to LeoG in OK, I have this problem...
Ok I actually saw something. So far I've only seen it at 1.15 and 2.08, nothing in between. The other day as the temperature kept rising I saw my SWR at 1.43, 28º and then later at 1.52, 30º. Later when the temp got to 36 it was at 2.08 once again.
When it's getting colder there doesn't seem to be a fall, just a sudden change over.
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SteveShannon reacted to WRYZ926 in Multiple Repeaters on what channel?
Yes you can program extra channels on the MXT500.
I forget if the MXT labels the repeater channels as Ch 23- Ch 30 or RPT 15 - RPT 22.
Say you have two repeaters in your area that use the repeater channel 19 which is 467.650 (RX on 462.650). You can set the tones for the first repeater on the pre programmed RPT 19 ( channel 27) with the correct tones. Then add a custom channel in any memory slot above RPT 22/Ch 30 using the same TX/RX frequencies (467.650/462.650) and then put the tones for the second repeater in. Doing that will keep you from having one channel where you have to constantly try to change the tomes to use the different repeaters.
I have two repeaters in my area that use the RPT15/Ch 23. I programmed the first repeater in the channel memory slot 31 and the second in channel memory slot 32. I also set my radios to display names instead of channel numbers which helps keep different repeater on the same channels separated and easy to find.
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SteveShannon reacted to WRYZ926 in Well.... I did it.... passed my Tech a month ago
I'm another one that wished I would have taken the general test on the same day after passing the technician test.
I started studying for the Extra but got distracted by too many squirrels to chase - digital modes, Winlink, AllStar, CW, etc.......
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SteveShannon reacted to AdmiralCochrane in TYT TH-9800 clicking noise on 2m transmit
That is my plan. Might do ferrets at the same time. I have read other Mopar owners reporting the same condition.
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SteveShannon reacted to AdmiralCochrane in Antenna Questions
Possibly, but doubtful
In Washington DC at the entrance to the Naval Observatory, you can reliably hit the Davidsonville UHF repeater at the old NIKE base property. There are places closer to the Davidsonville side of DC where you can't make the same contact. You definitely do not have line of sight at street level. Must be the buildings there working like a funnel to channel the rf back and forth.
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SteveShannon reacted to WSGZ768 in LOUISIANA NEEDS GMRS/HAM users.. comms sucks here!
Hmmm.... I follow ya. I just ordered my HT today. (Wouxun Q10G) Maybe by luck, there are some hidden repeaters here already and I can figure out their I/O frequencies and respected tones. If not, I'll cross that bridge with a build later. Thank you for all of your input Steve! I really appreciate it.
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SteveShannon got a reaction from WSGZ768 in LOUISIANA NEEDS GMRS/HAM users.. comms sucks here!
1. They frequently don’t work well unless they’re designed for the job.
2. Then you need a much larger duplexer. The portable repeaters have one built in.
3. Power output is vastly overrated. Range is usually limited by other factors for UHF, not power.
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SteveShannon reacted to SvenMarbles in Linking is over,.. But,..
This is the entirety of what I can do radio stuff with…
The good news is that it allows for short coax runs (I run them outside through the dryer vent cutout in the wall) and my mast pole setup is right there..
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SteveShannon reacted to SvenMarbles in Linking is over,.. But,..
I'd do something like that if I had a bit better of a space circumstance. My radio desk situation is relegated to the downstairs laundry room lol. When the real estate/mortgage rate situation improves we'll definitely be getting a bigger house and maybe I can have a proper room office and have the ability of set up auxilary computers and stuff like that to host online SDRs.
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SteveShannon reacted to LeoG in Antenna Questions
Maybe just ground conduction and propagation of the waveform.