WRPC505
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Posts posted by WRPC505
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12 minutes ago, axorlov said:
Can you elaborate on these new rules, give some examples? It is a sincere question, not to start a flamewar or anything. I got my ham callsign in US only in 2015, but had it on another continent before. I clearly missed changes that happened after 9/11, I presume?
Let me rephrase that. What I meant to say is that the ARRL began to change the way they did things at HQ and began to focus a LOT more on emergency comms as opposed to the other things that hams commonly did, more than was necessary. But it began top happen over time. And yes, you missed changes that began to appear after 9/11. I understand it to a point but it got really out of hand. It's not only my opinion, for a large number of hams over the years left ARRL because of that and more. Your mileage may vary, of course.
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20 hours ago, WRTI377 said:
I have been a member for a several years, thinking as others have said here ARRL is a lobby group for ham radio. Well, that used to be the case. May become that again someday. Their lobbying has gone nowhere lately. They spent a TON of money on an antenna law that failed, and in fact they reversed themselves on it. They have not been successful at ANY frequency defense lately. Their new bandplan almost went through with huge allocations to almost-commercial WinLink hogging much of HF. The revised plan only came about after a firestorm of member complaints. FCC is still ignoring it. I am not a member now. I think their primary interest is in ARRL itself. Nearly everything constructive they do is taken for free from their membership. They re-brand it and sell it. The top guy gets paid 240,000 a year. The magazine is half ads, half articles written by members (who get no money for it).
I used to be a member for years myself, even was an EC for the county I lived in at the time. Things got ridiculous as I tried to do the right thing during that time period, but politics and massive egos of some got in the way (along with a DEC and an SEC that ignored what was going on) and I just couldn't handle it anymore. Since then, things have definitely gone south, and it's unfortunate. Seeing the ARRL get into bed with Homeland Security cut out a lot of hams that gave their time and efforts to the ARRL only to get screwed over by new rules and requirements that the Feds requested, which left many hams out in the cold. Trademarking the acronym ARES didn't help matters in my eyes either.
But it's not just that: Even QST has dropped in quality somewhat, with half the mag containing ads and such along with raising annual dues. Now, I find that I get more ham-related material from QRZ and YouTube...stuff that I can actually get my teeth into.
Would I become a member again? I have to say that the answer would be absolutely not under any circumstances. The only thing I have received concerning the ARRL is Logbook of the World; now THAT was one of the best things the organization has ever done.
Now that I've probably rustled some feathers with what I've said, but it wouldn't be helpful to see those who are ARRL supporters and especially field organization placeholders showing up to say basically that I'm wrong about my comments. I've seen it, lived it, and been burned by it all, so it will be my intention to completely ignore the noise. That will be my last word on this, unless someone decides to make it personal where I'm concerned.
Sorry for the rant, but some things had to be said.
Warren, WQ1C / WRPC505
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Finally tried to activate my Pixie this evening after Field Day ended. As I began getting the Pixie and my WRC vertical tuned properly, I encountered one important problem: my pit bull Roxy did not like the sound and pitch of my straight key. She came running off her recliner (it WAS mine but she decided to take it over), put her muzzle on my thigh and started grumbling. So I stopped, began to pet her and got her settled down; Roxy returned to her chair.
I watched her until I figured she returned to her relaxed state, then hit my straight key again. That dog popped her head up and began to growl at me like she was telling me, "Stop it!" I looked at her and just turned off my battery pack and gave up for at least this evening. The Pixie is now a temporary paperweight until perhaps tomorrow for a little bit when I take the dog outside to let her do her thing. But it's supposed to rain from midday on (and it looks like it will rain in a little bit as I write this), so I'm not sure if I'll get to play with it for a little while.
At least the SW-3C from Venus should finally arrive tomorrow afternoon, so MAYBE I can finally play a little CW after I get home from work around midnight. If the dog doesn't mind...
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10 hours ago, marcspaz said:
Last climber I hired was $200 and hour from the second he got out of his truck until he pulled out of the driveway. It doesn't seem too expensive until you get to the point where he is just standing there waiting for you to finish your work between climbs.
A friend of mine has a 300' commercial tower that hosts several cellular carriers, the county police and all of his amateur and GMRS gear. Cost him well over $1M to get it installed. He was charged $60K just to have the land certified that it's not historically significant nor has any specially spiritual/ritual significance for Native Americans.
Just wondering, is your friend making back a decent amount of that cost from the fees being paid by the cell carriers and the county police? Or would recovering that cost take ultimately too long to realize?
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
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On 6/23/2022 at 12:19 PM, WRPC505 said:
Great! I have my SW-3C coming in on Friday, and there is a USDX USDR radio coming to me as a very belated birthday gift coming to me eventually, so I'll have two more little QRP rigs besides the Pixie to play with. I get to choose between QRP and QRPp, which should be a lot of fun.
Well, I THOUGHT my SW-3C would arrive on Friday. But since DHL delivers Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm ONLY, I'm stuck without it until at least Monday. Just as well, with Field Day going on this weekend; probably a blessing in disguise.
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46 minutes ago, deerhunter1972 said:
Have fun with the Pixie. I was going to go that route until I found the (Tr)USDX here https://dl2man.de In my opinion, for budget QRP, this is the best rig out there. I built mine for $83 shipped from Aliexpress. It is truly amazing how good this rig is. I have only had it a month but have worked all over the US on 5W.
Todd, K9TDW/WRFL209
Great! I have my SW-3C coming in on Friday, and there is a USDX USDR radio coming to me as a very belated birthday gift coming to me eventually, so I'll have two more little QRP rigs besides the Pixie to play with. I get to choose between QRP and QRPp, which should be a lot of fun.
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On 6/21/2022 at 11:28 AM, marcspaz said:
Your reply was very pleasant and I appreciate that. I try not to think of it as "correcting" someone... because occasionally there is a negative connotation with the expression. I hope my reply didn't come across coarsely.
I prefer to think of it more as... we have different experiences and we are just sharing our experiences to help each other.
No sir, not at all. I simply look at it like this: If I know I'm right and can show it, OK. But if I'm incorrect, I'll admit it and learn from it. As I have said before, I'm learning and getting the feel for this stuff; I'm learning from those who know what they're saying and/or doing. Thanks again!
- wayoverthere and marcspaz
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On 6/19/2022 at 10:33 AM, marcspaz said:
It is definitely not just FRS radios. Every GMRS radio I have owned or used from Midland, has the call feature and a bunch of call tones. That includes the new MXT500 and MXT575.
Come to think of it, every Motorola GMRS handle I have ever own had a call feature too.
I stand corrected. Thank you!
- wayoverthere and marcspaz
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46 minutes ago, jwilkers said:
Im.thinking, these are frs, not gmrs radios.
Sent from my SM-A125U using Tapatalk
I'm thinking the exact same thing: These are definitely FRS radios.
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There's a small group of hams here in Texas that have had wild discussions on things similar to that on the lower SSB portion of 80 meters. Some of the things I've heard them talk about...OMG.
Thankfully, the number of hams overall that do this is very small - at least what I've heard over the years. At least I did figure out what to do about that sort of thing...move to other frequencies.
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
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I think you just about covered it all.
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
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4 hours ago, Sshannon said:
One thing I have found is that it’s extremely easy to find groups on Facebook (I assume the same about Reddit) that support a particular point of view. They exist solely to support and reinforce that point of view and they can’t be corrected. Anyone who tries becomes a target. A guy I know compares Facebook to the lead pipes of the Romans.
It’s better to just avoid them.
i am a member of a couple of antenna building groups and one for the HF rig I own. We don’t talk about GMRS and so far I haven’t seen any politics or negativity. Of course there’s always the guy who feels obliged to respond to every question with “RTFM”, usually without having read the actual question. Some people (sorry to steal your phrase @OffRoaderX) are just miserable and want to spread their misery. Every group has them.
Anyway, as I’m sure you already know, GMRS can be a very fun hobby. It certainly can be used for much more than talking to friends and family if that’s what you want. And obviously there are GMRS groups to join. If not, start one.
Choosing to take the ham exams is a personal decision that has nothing to do with GMRS. In my case I was interested in ham radio long before GMRS existed but never made the time to study or take the test. I got into GMRS because I wanted a two way handheld to talk to others on the rocket range and GMRS was what they were using. I signed up for an FRN a long long time ago, intending to get “legal” but didn’t like the price and kept hearing rumors (at that time) that the fcc was going to get rid of the license fee for GMRS. I never got around to it until last November . But I was far more interested in the radios and the technology behind them than just communicating on the range. Notarubicon videos fed that interest, which then led me back to ham radio because it covers an even wider range of subjects that interest me. For me, it all works together. I use and enjoy GMRS and learn something on this forum nearly every day. At the same time I continue to expand my technical knowledge and operating experience using ham radio. I don’t see it as needing to choose between them. Each has its enjoyable aspects.
TL;DR @OffRoaderXis responsible for me becoming a ham.
I share a somewhat story. I began in radio when I was 12 years old (I'm 58 now) when I got into the '70s CB radio craze. I took it a lot further though, for I got into scanners as well as SWLing; that taught me a bit about antennas. Eventually I got my ham license (in 1991) as a Tech Plus and slowly worked my way up. I'm an Extra now as well as having received my license earlier this year, but I'll never say that I know everything about radio; if I ever say that I might as well as turn in my licenses and become a hermit.
Radio communications has allowed me to experience things and meet interesting people that might not have happened otherwise. For me it's been a hobby but it has also been an expansion into lessons learned in life. Thanks to a life-long friend that now lives in the Houston, TX area (well, 46 years anyway), the enjoyment of radio has been a godsend for me personally. But as you basically said, it's a hobby for some and for others it's more than that. There's really no wrong answer to the question "Is radio a hobby?" Nor should there be.
GMRS is an extension of the radio hobby for me, and I'm glad I got into it since I have definitely learned a few things thanks to all of you here.
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
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On 6/14/2022 at 3:24 PM, tweiss3 said:
Sounds like it might be fun, if I could ever get the hang of CW and truly learn it. I know quite a few people that do really well QRP CW.
The Pixie arrived today, but I'm still waiting for a 9800 mAh battery I ordered; it should be delivered by Friday. I'm itching to get started...
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6 hours ago, WRTF739 said:
And I guess seeing it from that perspective seems lil different. we had radio and nets in what like boot camp? So to get 60yo or 70yo grown men talking like well a baby on radio just makes me like to see more vets working to show that they can have a better way.
That's mostly why I upgraded to General and then Extra so I could partake in everything ham radio has to offer. If someone new asks questions about anything ham radio related, I always try to help or point him/her in the right direction. You'll never see me scream and cry like some that yell things like, "Back in the day..." or "Real hams..." that kind of stuff is BS. The only way that ends is if they begin to die off; sorry, but it's true.
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On 3/25/2022 at 10:25 PM, WRPQ991 said:
Just got my license, ordered a Midland radio, will see what kind of trouble I can get into. Sitting here between Waco and Austin, kinda between repeaters, will have to wait & see. Can't say I understand all the posts here, but as I learn it should become clear. Coming from the CB side it's' channels but from the Ham side it's frequencies. It'll take some time for me to visualize them all.
A little late here, but welcome from Kempner, Texas (just west of Fort Hood)!
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
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On 6/13/2022 at 12:57 PM, WRTF739 said:
Checking in.... would like to get the whole Veteran Crew in on this a lot of Veterans are kind of put off by the recent moron tirades and the structure of ham radio today. I think the would be a great alternative and cure some of the boredom and help network shut-ins and give some alternative to networking with the crew. And then there is the testing of the tech lic well it really didn't hold any interest for me to read up on be honest kinda some boring reading.
Welcome to GMRS; I think you'll like what it will do for you. I'm a long-time ham myself and I've seen what you've seen; I simply decided to ignore it all and just did what I wanted to do.
Anyway, you'll find some good people here that will be happy to help you out if you have any questions. I'm still somewhat new myself, and I always defer to those who definitely have more experience.
Looking forward to seeing you on the threads!
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
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1 minute ago, tweiss3 said:
Sounds like it might be fun, if I could ever get the hang of CW and truly learn it. I know quite a few people that do really well QRP CW.
I do as well, and they inspired me to give it a shot and see if I liked it or not. Well, due to space constraints I decided to go the minimalistic route and bought the Xiegu G90; actually, it was two of them but both crapped out on me...didn't want to try a third time. Liked the QRP way of life, so now I'm REALLY digging into QRP and QRPp, which is definitely the Pixie. Once the SW-3C arrives I can begin to have some fun. Antennas are the Wolf River Coils SB 1000 Mega TIA with the 213" whip and an EFHW at about 35' in length but will probably lengthen.
And yes, my wife approves!
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On 6/4/2022 at 1:44 PM, WROA675 said:
Yes sir, thanks for the info, and I went with the Yaesu 891. Loving it, great for POTA and SOTA. Since I'm in a condo with hoa restrictions my antenna setup is limited, however considering the Yaesu 991A or ICOM 7300, in the future, for a base unit. Would be nice to have a HF rig in my truck, but again, antenna considerations may keep me from doing that. Meanwhile, enjoying my DB-20 mobile and the TYT 9800 base.
73 de W6KCO/WROA675
I think you made a pretty good choice.
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On 6/13/2022 at 9:02 AM, WROZ250 said:
Naw! QRP (especially with CW) can go quite the distance with a decent antenna, even a modest one, depending on conditions. Power isn't everything and, personally, I find snagging some DX with a couple of watts a lot more rewarding than doing it with 100+.
The challenge with the Pixie is that it is an extremely rudimentary transceiver, especially the receiver portion. It is definitely not for a beginner to use as it would indeed become frustrating.I agree. Like I said before though, it's only to experiment and play with until my SW-3C arrives and then I'll seriously get after it. But I will play with the Pixie from time to time and see what I can do with it (or not); it may even tag along (along with the SW-3C) with me to a local park for a couple of hours.
Amateur Radio at its core is about experimentation; that is definitely what I will be doing. If I don't make a contact, I'm not going to fuss over it. If I do, it's what I would call a "plus day."
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13 hours ago, WRKC935 said:
OK, so part 15 and not 97..... I am good with that.
To the statement about radio programming, I know at least one local city that has a law on the books that no one can have a radio programmed for their system. It doesn't limit ownership, just the programming in the radio.
And I doubt they are the only place that's got that sort of law.
Would that city be located in Virginia? That state has some of the most restrictive monitoring laws I've ever seen.
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
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13 hours ago, WROZ250 said:
While I agree with most of what you said in reference to the interference/jammers, what is your beef with Amateur Radio?
Hams (the vast majority anyway) do not think they can talk on any channel they want. Where you getting that from???
Indeed, one can find such imbeciles (who think they can transmit anywhere, anytime) pretty much in any radio service/hobby.
Such stupidity by a couple of miscreants isn't exclusive to people who also happen to have a 'Ham' license.
In any event, if there is one thing in this forum that gets to me from time to time, it is this constant ideology by a few that 'Hams' are somehow 'bad people', idiots, 'snobs', whatever (take your pick). I would also point out that there is a large percentage of GMRS users on this forum who are also 'hams'.
I guess I just don't understand this constant condemning of that segment of the radio hobby?
Count me as a GMRS user that also happens to be a ham (31 years).
There are "less than ideal" people in every segment of radio communications - from those who "know it all so bow before me underling" to those who have not a clue in how to operate or behave no matter the mode/frequency they are operating. But as far as ham radio is concerned, even though we have those that fit those characterizations (and I have dealt with those) I know that the good helpful operators are in the majority. The same goes for GMRS.
As for me, I like to offer help if it's needed and if I know a bit about a particular subject matter. But also I like to learn more about certain aspects of ham radio as well as about GMRS. I know I'm a newbie here, so that's why I am following those who give sound and sage advice; it's appreciated more than you'll ever know.
As far as the miscreants and those like them are concerned, I prefer to flip the switch on their crap and move along. I don't need the agitation.
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
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13 hours ago, WROZ250 said:
The Pixie is OK, but you really need to be a seasoned operator to have any success with it. It is what it is (not intended as a disparaging remark) and can be a lot of fun.
I think the biggest problem the Pixie has is that too many beginners get one (for the price) thinking they're going to be working DX and find they can't even work the neighborhood!
I have a couple of them I built years ago, laying around the shack (somewhere) LOL!
You're definitely right on that. I'm not expecting to do very much with it; I would be happy if I made a contact with a neighboring state! (I'm in central Texas.) It's simply something to play with and that's all. Over the last couple of years I've began digging into QRP and QRPp; I've had a few QSOs from 5 watts all the way down to 650 mW (accidentally, I wasn't paying attention to my power output until the QSO was almost finished) and I had fun with it.
Let's just say that I got curious about the Pixie and as previously mentioned I just wanted to try it for fun, nothing serious. I have just ordered the SW-3C CW transceiver that covers 20-30-40 meters, and I will eventually order the QRP Labs QCX-mini for 17 afterwards. I am getting more into CW along with doing more QRP/QRPp instead of anything over those levels. In short, my 100-watt days are long past.
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I just ordered a 40m Pixie 1-watt CW radio (already assembled) with rockbound frequency of 7.023 MHz; I should get it within 2 weeks. Yes I know not to expect very much considering the peashooter signal and such, but I wanted to play with it especially since I have gotten heavy into QRP (and even QRPp) thanks to a very good ham friend of mine from Houston. Oh and it was cheap, too. Have any of you guys used the Pixie and what did you think of it?
Warren, WQ1C / WRPC505
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9 hours ago, WRQC290 said:
I wonder, what makes a particular jurisdiction choose to involve the FCC for enforcement instead of just arresting the offender, toss them in jail for a year and fine them a few grand?
IMHO, when it comes to communications interference like in this case - I'm not sure that a federal agency (like the US Forest Service in this case) has jurisdiction over something like that. That would definitely be something for the FCC to handle.
Warren, WRPC505 / WQ1C
GMRS Coded Talk
in General Discussion
Posted
When I earned my Tech Plus license (this was 1991), my first time on a local repeater I had accidentally said 10-4 - even though I was using plain language the entire conversation - and boy did I catch it. Now it's 2023 and I'm still gluing pieces of my back side to where they belong. In some parts of the country, people are a little more tolerant, while in other parts not so much...