WHO IS FREINDLYER

[WPA1RIDE]

WHO DO YOU THINK IS FREINDLYER HAMRADIO OPERATERS OR CBERS? I THINK CBERS IS MORE FREINDLYER BEACUS THEY EXCEPT YOU LIKE YOU ARE AND DONT MAKE NO BIG DEAL OVER WHO HAVE THE BEST RADIO OR WHO TALK THE FURTHEST.

[N3ATS]

Both are friendly. You're only judging hams by what you see on internet message boards.

I've QSO'd with hundreds of hams all over the world and I only had a run in with one on the air that was a total dick.

[KU4MY]

I would have to say hams are friendlier as the CBers I have met over the last 25 years or so just want to sell you refer or crack and see your station so that they have some idea where to break in next to come up with some cash. 31 or 32 years ago, things were a bit different though, this was of course, back in the day when we had licenses on CB but still pretended to have little made up call signs like you Chuck. My special call sign was WJ2903, which of course was used for those special band conditions. Those of you capable of searching that list today will see that yes, I was in fact a temporary Floridiot then.

[nq6v]

I am a truck driver. We all have C.B. radios in out cabs. We are not C.B.rs, nthough.

As a driver, my main concern is a mile or two in front of or behind me.Is that a smokey creeping up in the hammer lane? Is that brake check up ahead ?

Truck drivers are not C.B.rs. C.B.rs are what we run into when we go thru a large town or city. Then the C.B. gets turned off.

I cannot stand C.B.rs. To a fault, they are all brain dead, drug abusing, hostile ****heads who just so happened to spend their welefare check one month on a C.B. radio. None of them are pleasanty to communicate with at all. And to a man, not one of then belive that there are actually more intellegent people oiut there. They belive themselves to be the peak of human evolutionary development, as far as brains go. In reality, all they do is agree that that is so, without it being so, except in their minds.

And damn few even know what amateur radio is. Until now. No code. Waves and waves of these C.B.rs invading our space.
Imagine a dozen skippy's. A hundred. A thousand. And all of them, beliving that they are the smart ones amoung us.

God help amateur radio. They just suspended amateur activities in Iraq. How bad does it have to get, before a fed using the 011 laws decides amateur radio is a public nusance and suspends activities, just long enough for our bandspace to be "Temporarly loaned" to other services? It is a plot, I tell you. A plan to take our bands. Open the gates, let then all in and take over. Then, wham! No more ham bands.

They did that when they wanted to ban assult rifles, remember. They allowed the 1968 GCA to lapse, and new markets opened up. More and more assult rifles started arriving at our shores. Just enough were misused when not enough were before the end of the law.Then they made their grabs. America was almost gunless, at least in law. They just opened the floodgates, let those foreign cheapies in, and people misused them.

Now so with amateur radio.

Bring back the code. Now. Before some fed decides when to suspend our service. Keep the C.B. riffraff out.Period.

And that is all I and Forrest Gump havr to say, on this issue.

[KU4MY]

Robert, why do you hate America and CB so much? 8)

[w3sy]

Hmmmm... "CB'ers" versus "people who use CB." This reminds me of a Chris Rock routine. Anyone wanna guess which one that is?

HAW!!

(Hint: "I take CARE o' my kids!")

[KC8FKS]

I believe they are both friendly and they can both be jerks. I have talked with MANY cb'ers that are wonderful people and some that are complete asses. The same goes for ham radio. It's all in the operator and not the band.

[w2amr]

WHO DO YOU THINK IS FREINDLYER HAMRADIO OPERATERS OR CBERS? I THINK CBERS IS MORE FREINDLYER BEACUS THEY EXCEPT YOU LIKE YOU ARE AND DONT MAKE NO BIG DEAL OVER WHO HAVE THE BEST RADIO OR WHO TALK THE FURTHEST.
Did you fall on your head again?

[w3sy]

I believe they are both friendly and they can both be jerks. I have talked with MANY cb'ers that are wonderful people and some that are complete asses. The same goes for ham radio. It's all in the operator and not the band.

That's funny about the wonderful CB'ers. The few times I tried to use CB (when I was too damn cheap to buy a 2 meter rig), I couldn't HEAR any of those wonderful people because all the rednecks and lids were covering them up. All attempted calls for assistance were a waste of breath, especially if you didn't lower your apparent IQ to just above room temperature.

I do understand that CB'ers in different parts of the country vary slightly. You may have a different class of Chicken Bander out in 8 land. That's possible. I can comment only on the CB'ers I've encountered out this way. And I'm referring to the ones on 11 and 2 meters.

I'm sure as more and more CB'ers find their way to the HF ham, whoops -- H.A.M., bands, I'll become more and more acquainted with CB'ers from beyond my immediate area. I'll report back then.

Out.

[KC8FKS]

well Im not in 8 land any more I now live in 4 land. But there were alot of great cbers in 8 land.
Not many use 11 meters here in S.C.

[N3ATS]

well Im not in 8 land any more I now live in 4 land. But there were alot of great cbers in 8 land.
Not many use 11 meters here in S.C.

Really? When I used to be a rabid SSBer on 11, I worked a pile of SC stations.

There are a heckuva lot more CB'ers out there than one might think. I never got into the whole AM keydown, Super Bowl thing, I was a SSB'er 100%. EVERY SSB'er I have ever worked on CB was decent, respectful, and had good operating practices. With the exception of a few hammys who would get in there and harass, I can't really think of any 11 SSB'ers who were sloppy.

[KC8FKS]

When I moved here 9 yrs ago and hooked up the cb I didnt find very many people local to talk to altho I did do alot of dxing.
Got boadr without any locals to chat with on a regular basis so I sold all my radios. I could now kick myself for that.
Oh well got the ham bands to talk on now I guess.

[N3ATS]

Yeah, in my area the local scene is gone. A few guys up in the city but that's about it. It used to be you could sit around for hours on any night of the week and just have a nice chat with some of the older folks. Most of them died, or moved away. There are still a few around but I rarely, if ever talk to them.

I still have a few CB radios here. A President Washington base and a Uniden PC122 that's hosed up on LSB. Oh, and I have a Cobra 142GTL that I have to repair. All the radios are stock and haven't been golden screw-drivered to death. I found that the best SSB radios were the legal ones. Those export rigs drift like a sailboat in a hurricane. Most serious 11 meter SSB DX'ers use ham rigs anyway.

Take your General test dude, and get on PSK31 on 20 meters and 40 meters. Lots of fun and you don't need a big gun station to work the world. 50 watts, a wire antenna, a computer, and a SSB HF rig. :)

Yes, you can still enjoy 11 meters and be a ham too!

[KC8FKS]

Studying for the general test now and will upgrade soon. I also had a 142gtl at one time and I had a 2000 gtl too.
I have had so many radios I have lost count..lol. My favorite was my 2990 and pdl 2 beam up 70ft.
The good ol days.

[N2NKW]

If I hadn't been into CB, I most likely would have never gotten my AR license. I used to belong to a great group of CB enthusiasts back in Upstate/Central NY. We had a club called "Catskill Transmitters" in the late 80's and early 90's. I don't think they are active anymore. We used ch34 and on any night of the week, there were always no less then 10 stations up and running from Charlottesville, NY to Oneonta, Up towards Cooperstown, Cherry Valley, Schenevus, Worcester. I was editor of the club newsletter and net control for the club for a few months. On Wednesday nights, We usually had a minimum of 30 stations check in. That was a lot of fun. There were a few hams in the club that got a lot of us interested in getting our licenses. The local AR club didn't think much of THAT!....lol.

I had an assortment of different CB's and 10m rigs during that time. I think my best rigs I ever had were the Cobra 2000gtl or the Galaxy Saturn. I also had the ole venreable Antron 99 vertical antenna. I worked all over the US and England with that setup. It was on the Saturn that I learned enough CW to get interested in getting my AR license.

I get up that way once in a while in my travels but I never hear any of the locals anymore. It seems that they have all either passed on or are no longer into the CB scene. There were a few locals that used to hang on ch19 but I don't think they even are there anymore the last time I talked to some of my ham friends.

[w3sy]

Dood, I got into hamming via CB too, but that initial CB activity was 1968-1970. It was a WHOLE different CB world back then, man. There were a number of us who followed the laws of the time to the letter -- 5 minutes on, 5 minutes off... Use only channels 9-14 and 23 for "station to station".... call signs.... no profanity.... no skip... 4 watts output... Okay, so we were a little on the edge with what was called "hobby talk" (i.e. ragchewing), and some of the crowd actually got cited for that (not me). But we were a God-fearing (FCC fearing?) bunch by and large.

Some of us "went legal" (that's what we called it) and got our ham tickets and never looked back. That's why it's puzzling when I see so many of today's hams retaining their affection and loyalty to CB. On the other hand, CB to the NCT (VHF) bands is a bit of a step down in many ways. If you're a rockin' CB'er and you get a tech ticket, what are you really gaining? Get on HF, and THEN you're steppin' up! Now that code testing has gone the way of spark gap and Moderate Democrats, there's no excuse for NOT going out and getting a General or Extra. Seriously. (Not that code was ever a big obstacle, IMHO....)

It's worth pointing out that the only CB'ers I have ever razzed have been the nitwit ones. I have also razzed nitwit hams. If I seem to have a dim view of CB in general, it's because of the couple of times in the 1980's when I tried to use mobile CB just to have some kind of raydiddio in the car. (As I said, I was too cheap to buy a 2 meter rig then.) The CB rig was ok for the occasional Smokey Report, but was otherwise useless. Several times I attempted to get directions or help for a stranded motorist, but was "stepped on," cussed out, or ignored.

So threes an' eights and all them cotton pickin' good numbers at ya fer shurr, by golly. Mercy... this be the Unit 246 outta the cotton pickin' state of Maryland, the WEAKEST STATION IN THE NATION WITH NOOOOO MODYATATION, we goin' back quiet. BWEEEEEE BOOOP

[KC8FKS]

Talking to you about this is a waste of time. You like alot of other hams have your mind made up.
Hams are great and cbers suck. I no longer even own a cb but had a great time when I did.
Im not saying anything bad about hams either. I enjoy being a ham as much as I did having a cb.
My point is you can hear the same redneck, rodger beepen, foul mouths on hf. Let me guess, it's because they dropped the code
and the cbers are now on hf. No it was that way long before that happened. Anyway eveyone is intitled to thier opinion and that is mine.
You have good people and jerks on 10 and 11.

[KU4MY]

You have good people and jerks on 10 and 11.

Gospel ........and it has always been that way. I have become quite the trap laying lid on 10 meters lately. After the recent great band openings on 10, I have been listening there a lot again. Our local rag chew frequency in the upstate is 28.390. My fellow a**holes will enjoy this tale, all others please stop reading now. I listened to a guy show up on the frequency (after listening for almost 2 hours of piddling in the shack and playing on the PC), make a call after NOT asking if the frequency was in use (no big deal), about 2 minutes later, another station shows up, asks if the frequency was in use, station XX#XXX says it is, the guys says sorry and moves on, another two or three minutes pass, another station asks if the frequency was in use, same deal. Yours truly immediately keys up and says "XX#XXX, the frequency is NOT in use. I have been here for over two hours now, you made one call about five minutes ago, with no reply and are now running people off as if you have laid claim to this frequency. Do you intend to make another call, or are you just going to shut up and move on? This is Kilo Uniform Four Mike Yankee, any questions, Old Man?" Ssssssssssssssss, *crackle*, ssssssssssssssssss. "Yeah, that's what I thought, this is KU4MY listening." The second guy that asked if the frequency was in use calls me, we have a great chat for about 15 minutes. Man, life is good!

It feels so good to be a curmudgeon. 8)

[w3sy]

Talking to you about this is a waste of time. You like alot of other hams have your mind made up.
Hams are great and cbers suck. I no longer even own a cb but had a great time when I did.
Im not saying anything bad about hams either. I enjoy being a ham as much as I did having a cb.
My point is you can hear the same redneck, rodger beepen, foul mouths on hf. Let me guess, it's because they dropped the code
and the cbers are now on hf. No it was that way long before that happened. Anyway eveyone is intitled to thier opinion and that is mine.
You have good people and jerks on 10 and 11.

Dougmeister... touchy, touchy! Are you even READING my posts? I'm trying to be even-handed here. I don't think you're paying attention, dood.

As for the jerks you hear on 10, might want to check to see if they are hams or CB'ers. Apparently, quite a few CB'ers think they can use "The Cotton Pickin' Ten Meters HAM Channel" because it is so close to the Class D Chicken Band. And unfortunately, one often hears more outta band Chicken Banders on 10 meters than actual hams.

As for redneck doofus hams, most are on 2 meters. Draw thine own conclusions. Haw!!

Out.

As for redneck doofus hams, most are on 2 meters. Draw thine own conclusions. Haw!!

On the 3-4, 10-4 mosheen!

[w3sy]

I probably should have commented on the remark: "Let me guess, it's because they dropped the code
and the cbers are now on hf. "

Not really. The CB'ers started to pile in when they gave us that 5 wpm multiple-guess test. HAW!!!

Funny story about that -- When I was on a VE team, I used to give the code tests because I can hack that cotton pickin' BEEP DEE BEEP CODE. I'd always encourage the lads and lasses taking the test to try to copy the text on paper, but not get hung up if they miss a character. That way, they'd have something to refer to when filling in the multi-guess test. One clown obviously didn't know his di-dah di-di-dit di-di-dit from his elbow, because he wrote NOTHING while the code was being sent. He then (obviously!) tried to guess his way through the test.

Shocker: He flunked.

But he had the BIG BRASS BALLS to ask me how many he got right, and got a perturbed look on his face when I declined to tell him. Wotta dipstick. Way to be subtle about trying to "work the system."

At the end of the day, it does not make a lot of difference if there's a code test or not. It's what you do AFTER you get the license that really matters. I just have no use for anyone who won't even TRY to meet the current requirement, whatever it might be.

But I do have to chuckle at the Nate Newbies who quickly assume that all us Uppity Extree Classes have a major bug up our butts about code this and code that. These cats come through the door with chip already resting squarely on shoulder. It really is kinda funny to see.

Nobody denies that fact that the HF ham bands had lids, misfits, dummies, ne'er do wells and dirtbags even back in the day when you had to copy 50 WPM for two hours SOLID before God Almighty Himself, and design and build an entire working 50,000 watt broadcast station from scratch just to get an entry level license. But a quick listen on most 2 meter FM repeaters in recent years reveals that the supply channel of yo-yo's has been fully packed as of late.

Why? Again, draw yer own conclusions! Haw!!

Out.

How old are you, Steve?

[KU4MY]

A dollar to a doughnut sez 48 to 52......... he speaks entirely too much the way I think. ;)

Well, I looked him up on the Zed. Yeah, he is ~50 like me.

Sometimes he sounds like a pretty old timer. But I have only been licensed for 31 years.

[KU4MY]

Well, I looked him up on the Zed. Yeah, he is ~50 like me.

Sometimes he sounds like a pretty old timer. But I have only been licensed for 31 years.

Sheesh..... n00B!










10 years here :oops:
*edit* I got tainted early

[kf0rt]

"Ham radio? People still do THAT?" :P

It really pissed me off that they dumped the code test, but I think we'll be okay. Was looking at the stats the other day and after three months of no code, the swarms have yet to materialize. Even the upgrades are less than I would have expected.

51/37 here. And yeah, I did take advantage of the "easy extra" about a year and a half ago. Easiest ham test I've ever taken.

"Ham radio? People still do THAT?" :P

It really p***** me off that they dumped the code test, but I think we'll be okay. Was looking at the stats the other day and after three months of no code, the swarms have yet to materialize. Even the upgrades are less than I would have expected.

51/37 here. And yeah, I did take advantage of the "easy extra" about a year and a half ago. Easiest ham test I've ever taken.

Taking the QRZ tests, I found that the General was more difficult to me than the Extra. I missed more on the sample test for the General.

[w3sy]

Well, I looked him up on the Zed. Yeah, he is ~50 like me.

Sometimes he sounds like a pretty old timer. But I have only been licensed for 31 years.

Haw!! Coming up on 37 years. I was a 13 year old squirt when I got my Novice. Was still 13 when I got the Advanced. I was an Olde Phart of 20 when I got the Extra.

Hey, I remember what it was like to be a newcomer. I'm respectful of that. I just don't recall busting the balls of people who might have been able to TEACH me something.

Tain foar?

I was 18 at novice and 3 years later I got the Xtree.

I went down to the FCC office for the Xtree in the first 2 weeks of January, 1979. I had been reading the test booklet inside and out and felt confident. When I got there, they told me that they were doing a new test at that time, and everything had changed. Whoa. Changed. Yeah, they were looking for all kinds of bandwidth limits and beamwidth stuff I had hardly looked at. I think I missed 11 or 12 on that test of 50 Q's. I was right on the cusp.

But I got me my license and went promptly down and bought me a Hammarlund HQ-215 receiver. I matched that up with my Big Johnson (Viking Ranger).

That is the nicest analog receiver I had ever seen.

http://www.qsl.net/kb7rgg/radio/hq-215/images/hq215-front.jpg

Beauty, eh?

Well Steve. You got me beat. You old man.

[w3sy]

Dood... Almost had a Hammarlund HQ-140X as my first receiver. Guy decided not to sell it. Dang....

Yeah, I'll be 50 this year. Don't really look it, IMHO. DEFINITELY don't act it!

But some of my ideas about hamming were formed in the early 1970's and have not changed much. Yeah, I know the code is a hard sell these days, etc etc etc. In fact, all of hamming is a hard sell now that you can ragchew around the world with a computer. I'm just not sure that the answer to keeping hamming alive is to make it easier and easier to get a license, and to recruit from the 2-digit-IQ population. Break broke?