So this is what happened....

[K9CCH]

I jumped off into this head first. Obtained my tech in June, my General in August. I bought a couple of 2m/70cm radios, l programmed a few repeaters, and I listed to a few conversations. I checked in on a few local nets, and basically got my feet wet. But that's where the excitement ended for me.

One of the things that I know I didn't like was that all of the 2m repeaters around here are pretty much segregated and dominated by a "royal few", and those royal few are forever bitching and complaining about the same stuff. One system is pretty much old Texas guys who you can barely understand because they are either swallowing the mic or talking through their tobacco chew, and the other system is pretty much dominated by one person. I mean for the love of grilled cheese, I have no idea how his radios live more than a few days without burning up. I'm fairly certain that his index finger has an indentation of the mic button on it.

But the conversation never changes. At 4am you can listen to all the 'good mornings', 7am is the drive to work, at noon you'll learn what everyone is doing for lunch, a few afternoon snacks and bitch sessions about the traffic, and then everyone "checks in with the wife" around 6pm. And between all of that, you can bet that someone is going to be bitching about the government, gays, and guns. I got tired of listening to the shame shit over and over and over, so I turned off the radio.

I still haven't made it to a local club meeting, they always fall on days/nights that I work.

[W4GPL]

Get on HF. We told you that from the start. :p

[K9CCH]

Yeah, I know.

After we close on the house (hopefully by 11/29), I'll start looking for an HF unit.

[KG4NEL]

HF isn't immune from that, either - the General portion of 75, and a fair chunk of 40, tend to be populated by the same types.

I don't mind the repeater scene around here too much, but between the major college towns and the country folks, there's a pretty wide variety. It's more background noise for whenever I'm on HF.

[K7SGJ]

Yup. HF is the answer, here. You may want to try digital modes on HF. In as much as I do like a good ragchew, most people won't want to spend a lot of time typing their bitching. I don't know why that is, but that's the way uh huh I like it.

[WX7P]

There's so many options, that you need to listen around a little before you decide it's all garbage.

Get a cheap shortwave receiver with a BFO and listen on HF for a while. I did that with Radio Shack DX-160 analog receiver and I learned enough to realize I wanted to do the radio and I also knew the places to avoid.

I've never had much interest in vhf, except when I got to know some people, that were a little .alt like I am. That was a reality in Santa Rosa and the Bay Area, but not here.

[K9CCH]

I think that's the biggest thing Janet... I wouldn't mind tooling around town in the Jeep with a 2m radio in it if there were more people my "speed" out there. I just don't have much to say to these guys. I don't want to discuss hip replacements, rifles, and Obamacare.

[K9CCH]

And I listen to people bitch and complain 40 hours a week at work (police dispatcher)... I damn sure dont want to listen to it in my free time.

[KC2UGV]

I think that's the biggest thing Janet... I wouldn't mind tooling around town in the Jeep with a 2m radio in it if there were more people my "speed" out there. I just don't have much to say to these guys. I don't want to discuss hip replacements, rifles, and Obamacare.

While I find the repeaters in my area have a lot of that nonsense as well, simplex FM and SSB is a bit more balanced, as is UHF. Just some thoughts.

And, of course, packet :) (My little baby that I love doing, for no real reason).

[KJ3N]

HF isn't immune from that, either - the General portion of 75, and a fair chunk of 40, tend to be populated by the same types.

Which is why I tend to avoid the General portions of most HF bands. As someone who prefers DXing and contesting, I find little in the General sections that interests me, especially on 75m. I'd much rather sit in the 75m DX window than bother with anything above 3.800.

On 10m, I tend to concentrate on 28.500 and above. 40m, I tend to stay below 7.200; on 20m, below 14.225. 15m I haven't quite figured out yet. It doesn't seem to suffer a lot of the blah, blah, blah that infests the other bands. 17m and 12m aren't too bad, either.

Just my observations. YMMV

[N8GAV]

I can't add much more then what has been said here. HF is the way to go, VHF/UHF is more like CB to me. Some good nets to check out on 40 (Ones I check into most of the time) Ecars on 7.255, Midcars 7.258, they are on till 1-2 in the afternoon. At night there is the Nightwatch Net at 7.192 then right after they have what they call the brothers net, they are a friendly bunch. This time of the year on 40 you can work some "Gray Line DX", but remember the band will go long fast at night. Jim is right stay away from 75 phone, people are just nuts down there. Let us know when you get something going on HF, I would be happy to work you.

[kb2vxa]

"And I listen to people bitch and complain 40 hours a week at work (police dispatcher)... I damn sure dont want to listen to it in my free time."

Then a scanner isn't your cup of tea either. (;->) When I had antennas I encountered pretty much the same thing on the 2M repeater scene, samol samol radio religion you can set your watch by, same with certain portions of HF especially 75M SSB. For a time the Yay Emmers had a goof on them going, the Piss And Moan Net that WA1HLR on his Radio Timtron Worldwide show on WBCQ simulcast until they ran out of piss except to feed his Slimatron that converts it to pissolene. That BTW is a story in itself, funny as all hell, something described on the AM Fone website as "an unclassified substance somewhere between hazmat and nuclear waste". Also a warning was given; "when the pissolene turns black evacuate the area immediately, the Slimatron is about to explode". That goes back to New Year's Eve 1970-71 and the funniest WA1 Henry Yell Arr broadcash on 3885 ever but I digress.

That brings me around to the AM Gangstas you'll find in the various AM windows and the most popular is on 75M where you'll find the radio version of Misfit Hams, a really nice bunch if I ever heard one. I know a few personally so I can say get on and make yourself heard, you just might find yourself one of the herd. Sure, there is a BIG difference on HF and the closest thing you'll find "upstairs" are the weak signal modes and 70cM repeaters, it's nothing like the 2M CB you've encountered. BTW you'll love it when the bands open, there's plenty of DX to be had AND they don't call 6M the magic band for nothing.

The bottom line is you're a General so take advantage of it, there's more to ham life than 2M CB repeaters. Believe me I know what I'm talking about and can agree with the others completely except for the stay away from 75 phone comment, the poor bear just hasn't seen the other side of the mountain. (Inspired by an obscure old political campaign song.) I've been an SWL since the late '50s and have operated the bands from one end to the other under the watchful eyes of control operators so I speak from personal experience, most of it delightful, the rest had me ROTFLOL questioning their sanity.

One last note, never mind AM on one of those newfangled radios, carrier inserted SSB or DSB isn't real AM and sounds like shit. Get yourself a boat anchor plate modulated transmitter and trick it out or as Timtron would say; de-yellowfy it to get rid of that telephonium audio and put a good mic on it, they appreciate hi-fi. You'll find the Gangstas on the AM Fone web site along with plenty of information on how to build a broadcast station out of boat anchors, Tim(tron) WA1HLR is an engineer and expert on the subject. Remember, you can do it with a scratchy Apache but happiness is a big Johnson.

As I use do say in my CB daze; seventy fleas but don't scratch all of them, save a few for when I see you later. One last thing, take a good look at who the old lady is pointing at and notice the callsign.

[K0RGR]

If you are closing on a mortgage, I understand how your life comes to a total halt until that is done, but I really would make some kind of HF rig a priority.

You've seen my rants about the Technician privileges, I'm sure. I don't think the Tech ticket is worth a bucket of lukewarm urine to most people, due to the exact thing you're saying. You always work the same people. Again and again and again... And frankly, if they are turds or they think you are a turd, you're not going to have a really nice time. You'd probably rather watch paint dry than listen to most of our repeaters these days. In most parts of the country, the repeaters are as quiet as a graveyard nearly all the time. I don't even find much using EchoLink unless I get on one of their nets. I see so many people get their ticket and make a real effort to get on the air, and then within a month or two, they are gone forever.

Some say "well maybe they found out it wasn't for them". That's correct - if it were me, I'd die of boredom so why wouldn't a newbie?

I just finished teaching a class for new Techs. I was afraid I had lost 2/3 of them when I explained what you can and can't do with a Tech ticket. This class was all female - a first for me, though lately my classes have been running almost 50/50. In this class, one of the ladies is planning a long driving trip to Alaska next summer - three months on the road. Another one is planning to buy a seagoing boat and cruise the open seas. I counseled both of them to just plan to keep going and get their General license. The biggest hope I have for them is that the one who is going boating wants to learn the code. She's scared of the General theory, so maybe she will end up as a Tech doing CW. I hope so. I think the one going to Alaska will have her General by summer. The third one just wants to do public service stuff so she'll be set with the Tech, as long as she sticks around. She lives in a town that has no repeater and is in a deep hole. Wow, that sucks.

Anyway, when you get some funds, get an HF rig that you can at least listen with. Even an FT817 will do that quite well, and there are lots of older HF rigs out there for cheap. I recommend flexibility so that you can explore whatever you want. Hopefully, your new house will not have antenna restrictions, but if it does, you can learn all about stealth antennas, or mobile operation. FT817+computer+21 foot wire out a window (and a small tuner) will make PSK and JT65 contacts all over the country, and some DX too.

[KJ3N]

Nets and AM. I avoid them like the plague. :hand:

I find most nets to be some of the most mind-numbing stuff out there. Most of them have outlived their usefulness, especially the "no traffic" traffic nets. ECARS and the MMSN are just 2 that fall into the useless category, IMHO. I'm also not a big fan of the many WAS nets, having done some time on them when I was a young and naive General. I've since learned that I don't need a crutch to work stations on the air.

The only AM I've ever listened to sounded like it was a 3-martini-minimum crowd. If not martinis, then it was more like a sixpack-of-beer-minimum crowd. Now, to be fair, most of 75m phone sounds like that to me, but the AM guys seem to have egos the size of a Gates transmitter. They're in love with the sound of their own voice, too. AM also reminds be too much of my days spent on CB and I have no desire to listen to the mode again.

If I'm not DXing, or contesting, I'm not on the air much, if at all. Talking about the same shit, with the same 5 guys, 7 days a week, doesn't float my boat.

JMO, YMMV.

[N8YX]

While I find the repeaters in my area have a lot of that nonsense as well, simplex FM and SSB is a bit more balanced, as is UHF. Just some thoughts.

And, of course, packet :) (My little baby that I love doing, for no real reason).
My experiences and recommendations mirror Corey's. I gave up on the VHF/UHF repeater scene many years ago for the same good ol' boy reasons and prefer to spend my time above 50MHz engaged in weak-signal, digital or satellite work. There are a few sane (and some not so sane) VHF simplex nets in the area and I'll gravitate to the more receptive of the bunch long before breaking the squelch on any of the local repeaters.

[KJ3N]

I don't think the Tech ticket is worth a bucket of lukewarm urine to most people, due to the exact thing you're saying. You always work the same people. Again and again and again... And frankly, if they are turds or they think you are a turd, you're not going to have a really nice time. You'd probably rather watch paint dry than listen to most of our repeaters these days.

As someone who was a Tech (Tech+) for 10 years, it took me about 7 years before I abandoned repeaters completely for other things. Part of what kept me on those repeaters where the people. They were very welcoming and (for the most part) quite an interesting bunch.

Unfortunately, as time progressed, what I call the "unwashed masses" started showing up and "infesting" the repeaters. These people had no clue and no apparent desire to get one. The mind-numbing banality became too much. I found myself just staring at my VHF/UHF radio in disbelief that people could be that clueless and uninteresting.

Fortunately, I had an HF radio to keep me sane. While I was (like so many Techs) limited to 10m, the early 90s were full of packet activity which grabbed my attention first on 2m, then on 10m. I had a really good time on 10m packet. I also had some good times on 10m SSB. All this kept me busy from 1991 through about 1994 until 10m propagation started to drop out.

During 1993, with an Icom 745 and an old Hallicrafters HA-6, I discovered the joys of 6m SSB. Had some great Es openings during that year and the next 3 years. Then things kind of fell off as the bottom of the cycle hit.

In 1999, armed with a new Icom 746 that had HF, 6m, and 2m multimode, I rediscovered 6m SSB along with the new thrill of 2m SSB. I became almost exclusively a VHF weak signal for the next 3 years, using nothing more than a 5-element 6m beam and an 8-element 2m beam. Caught some really great Es and F2 openings on those 2 bands, including EU and AK on 6m and Kansas City, MO on 2m. Thanks to a double peak on that cycle, I could work into EU nearly every morning during the summer for 2 years.

So, what's the point of all this? Simply this: the Tech ticket is more than adequate as it is. If you can't stay interested in the hobby as a Tech, it's because you don't have the drive to constantly challenge yourself to do things other than FM repeaters.

Nobody told me to do these things. I didn't have an Elmer to guide me. I didn't become a General until 2001 and I had plenty to keep me busy until then. In fact, my HF operations didn't really start in any significant way until we moved to the current QTH in 2003.

As always, JMO and YMMV.

[KG4NEL]

DO ALL THE NETS

http://www.survivingcollege.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Do-All-The-Things-Meme-Blank.png

[KG4NEL]

As someone who was a Tech (Tech+) for 10 years, it took me about 7 years before I abandoned repeaters completely for other things. Part of what kept me on those repeaters where the people. They were very welcoming and (for the most part) quite an interesting bunch.

Unfortunately, as time progressed, what I call the "unwashed masses" started showing up and "infesting" the repeaters. These people had no clue and no apparent desire to get one. The mind-numbing banality became too much. I found myself just staring at my VHF/UHF radio in disbelief that people could be that clueless and uninteresting.

Fortunately, I had an HF radio to keep me sane. While I was (like so many Techs) limited to 10m, the early 90s were full of packet activity which grabbed my attention first on 2m, then on 10m. I had a really good time on 10m packet. I also had some good times on 10m SSB. All this kept me busy from 1991 through about 1994 until 10m propagation started to drop out.

During 1993, with an Icom 745 and an old Hallicrafters HA-6, I discovered the joys of 6m SSB. Had some great Es openings during that year and the next 3 years. Then things kind of fell off as the bottom of the cycle hit.

In 1999, armed with a new Icom 746 that had HF, 6m, and 2m multimode, I rediscovered 6m SSB along with the new thrill of 2m SSB. I became almost exclusively a VHF weak signal for the next 3 years, using nothing more than a 5-element 6m beam and an 8-element 2m beam. Caught some really great Es and F2 openings on those 2 bands, including EU and AK on 6m and Kansas City, MO on 2m. Thanks to a double peak on that cycle, I could work into EU nearly every morning during the summer for 2 years.

So, what's the point of all this? Simply this: the Tech ticket is more than adequate as it is. If you can't stay interested in the hobby as a Tech, it's because you don't have the drive to constantly challenge yourself to do things other than FM repeaters.

Nobody told me to do these things. I didn't have an Elmer to guide me. I didn't become a General until 2001 and I had plenty to keep me busy until then. In fact, my HF operations didn't really start in any significant way until we moved to the current QTH in 2003.

As always, JMO and YMMV.

Very similar story, although I had a later start.

I started out in 2001, so Techs were banished to 50MHz and above by then. My first radio was an HT, but since I was an SWL anyway I quickly bought an HF rig and a 6m transverter so I could find out what this 6 meter SSB thing was about. This was in the winter of '01 - needless to say, hearing Greenland, the Cayman Islands and the UK on supposedly "local" frequencies set the hook. There also was a fairly laid-back group that yakked nightly from VA to SC on 50.200.

I was in undergrad from 2004-2009, so I was basically off the air for most of that time and didn't miss not getting HF privileges until '07.

JMHO, but if I open someone's QRZ page, the first thing I want to see are pictures of what else they like other than ham radio. Nothing is more boring to me on a QSL card than seeing a shack or antenna picture. Show me a picture from a hike you did. Or a guitar you play. Or the fish you caught. Something that we can make a connection with as human beings. Now that I think about it, I think I have an FD antenna pic on mine...d'oh...

I'd say the repeater culture around here is 85% cool to talk with - the rest are either terminal DX brags or reflective-vest types. No, hearing you recite the roll call of the UN for the stations you worked in the past week is not interesting, nor do I particularly care that you'll save the world from a Powerpole shortage. But I guess I'm lucky in that the local club draws from a large and diverse-enough area (20 minutes from both Duke and UNC, but you have to drive through cow country to get there) that chances are there's somebody doing something worth listening to.

[suddenseer]

I think that's the biggest thing Janet... I wouldn't mind tooling around town in the Jeep with a 2m radio in it if there were more people my "speed" out there. I just don't have much to say to these guys. I don't want to discuss hip replacements, rifles, and Obamacare.You forgot enlarged prostate.

[KG4NEL]

Although ever since I started running, I can discuss gimp knees with the best of 'em...

[N7YA]

I would encourage any new ham to forget 2m even exists. Human beings ruined that, the spectrum and rigs are fine, its the dolts with diseased brains that ruin it. I only do HF, with that said, i mostly do CW and never try to break into the dickhead nets on 75 or 40....30 years in the hobby, i still love it and look at it with childlike facination because i avoid the dickhead gathering places outright. I never even entertain listening for a few minutes. This is why radio is still fresh and fun for me. I chase DX, theres enough dickheadery there in the piles for a new one to hold me over.

[suddenseer]

I would encourage any new ham to forget 2m even exists. Human beings ruined that, the spectrum and rigs are fine, its the dolts with diseased brains that ruin it. I only do HF, with that said, i mostly do CW and never try to break into the dickhead nets on 75 or 40....30 years in the hobby, i still love it and look at it with childlike facination because i avoid the dickhead gathering places outright. I never even entertain listening for a few minutes. This is why radio is still fresh and fun for me. I chase DX, theres enough dickheadery there in the piles for a new one to hold me over.I have never had, or heard "dickheadery" on cw. Maybe a dx pile up might ruffle some feathers, just wait your turn dammit. I enjoy that mode. I always chat with nice folks from all walks of life. I run QRP on 40/10/6 meter bands when I do operate. I need 12 more states on 6M. When I was 14 in the basement, turning on the rig, and headphones and getting the key going I would sometimes pretend I was a spy sending secret messages to other spies. Here comes Sgt. Schultz!!!!

[K7SGJ]

I would encourage any new ham to forget 2m even exists. Human beings ruined that, the spectrum and rigs are fine, its the dolts with diseased brains that ruin it. I only do HF, with that said, i mostly do CW and never try to break into the dickhead nets on 75 or 40....30 years in the hobby, i still love it and look at it with childlike facination because i avoid the dickhead gathering places outright. I never even entertain listening for a few minutes. This is why radio is still fresh and fun for me. I chase DX, theres enough dickheadery there in the piles for a new one to hold me over.


You are so right, Mr Bassman. Years ago, a bunch of us that worked in town doing service work would chat on VHF/UHF to pass the time in traffic. But those days are long gone. The only time I use 2 meters anymore, is when I'm traveling. On repeaters that support it, I get weather data for where I'm headed. I also use 52 simplex, and have had some nice QSOs while headed down the highway. But mostly when I'm driving long distances, I use the HF side of the 857D. Which reminds me, the pack rats ate through my coax that goes to the hitch mount for the HF antenna, and I need to replace it. Bastids

[K0RGR]

I would encourage any new ham to forget 2m even exists. Human beings ruined that, the spectrum and rigs are fine, its the dolts with diseased brains that ruin it. I only do HF, with that said, i mostly do CW and never try to break into the dickhead nets on 75 or 40....30 years in the hobby, i still love it and look at it with childlike facination because i avoid the dickhead gathering places outright. I never even entertain listening for a few minutes. This is why radio is still fresh and fun for me. I chase DX, theres enough dickheadery there in the piles for a new one to hold me over.

I agree to a point. There are a very few places in the western half of the country where I would be entertained with a VHF/UHF radio alone, but I'd need to find a local IRLP node or something similar in order to increase the variety. Back in ancient times, two meter AM was the hot thing, and it seemed everyone had a 2 meter AM rig and used it. But AM is really a weak signal mode - we would work other AMers at sometimes amazing distances - with signals that we'd never try to copy on FM. So it at least seemed that we were working new people all the time.

I like listening to the nets on 40 meters, but I usually give 75 a wide berth, along with the high end of 20. When out mobiling the vastness of the west, those 40 meter daytime nets are a nice way to keep connected to the world, particularly when the only thing on broadcast radio is Focus on the Family or Limbaugh.

But as for how good the Tech license is - yes it's great for some people, but simply not for most people who are interested in radio for radio. Those who want to get the license so they can do SKYWARN, public service, etc., are well served by the Tech, and I don't think that's a bad thing. But forcing everyone into that mold is plain wrong, and so is selling people on the Tech when they live in the 90% of the country where they won't find anyone to talk to unless they are doing meteor scatter or moonbounce. I'd be happier if we just gave Techs digital privileges where they now have CW - that would be a major improvement. But I'd rather see a new entry level that's more balanced - some HF, some VHF, low power, a variety of modes. The exam should be at least as hard as the current Tech, but more balanced between HF and VHF. Keep the Tech around for those who think they want full VHF privileges.

[NQ6U]

You folks are all committing the cardinal sin of extrapolating your local 2m scene to the entire country. Be aware that it's not the same everywhere. For instance, my local 2m repeaters are quiet most of the time but even when they are active, I seldom hear anyone talking politics. It's mostly just friendly, if banal, rag chewing.

[N2CHX]

I def need to build the two QRP HF rigs I have sitting in baggies on the shelf here in my studio. I bought them, got them weeks ago and just haven't felt the radio bug biting me as of late.

[N7YA]

Damn, Kel...im dying over here. My rig, an old FT757 i bought secondhand back in the 90's, finally took a shit. It will take some bench gear and elbow grease to get it back up and running, but for the time being, that DX bug is chewing my legs off! My wife told me to hold out and save the money for a nice new one...i may dig down deep for that kind of willpower. It may be worth it.

[KG4NEL]

Damn, Kel...im dying over here. My rig, an old FT757 i bought secondhand back in the 90's, finally took a shit. It will take some bench gear and elbow grease to get it back up and running, but for the time being, that DX bug is chewing my legs off! My wife told me to hold out and save the money for a nice new one...i may dig down deep for that kind of willpower. It may be worth it.

If it says anything...I've been looking at new HF rigs, and may end up with an FT-1000MP :lol: I'm just not that impressed with what's out there...

[K7SGJ]

I def need to build the two QRP HF rigs I have sitting in baggies on the shelf here in my studio. I bought them, got them weeks ago and just haven't felt the radio bug biting me as of late.

I imagine that had those baggies contained something other than parts, and of an organic nature, the baggies would not be sitting on the shelf.

[kb2vxa]

"I would encourage any new ham to forget 2m even exists."
There's more to 2M than repeaters, even more than FM simplex, a LOT more. When it comes to the world above 30MHz weak signal work is where it's at, people are civilized and DX can be anything from armchair copy to a challenge. Then there are challenging propagation modes, all in all there's more than will fit in a forum post.

"I bought them, got them weeks ago and just haven't felt the radio bug biting me as of late."
You can hook up a Vibroplex to a boat anchor with cathode keying or lacking a few hundred volts you can sit on it as it slowly gnaws at you. So why does it have to bite recently when one bite and you're infected for life? (Or at least I have been since the late 1950s.)

[N7YA]

You are right. I take that back. I will modify my statement to telling new hams to steer clear of repeaters unless they know the owner. I wasnt taking into account all the other things like meteor scatter, t-storm scatter, sats, weak sig, etc...my bad.

[K7SGJ]

You are right. I take that back. I will modify my statement to telling new hams to steer clear of repeaters unless they know the owner. I wasnt taking into account all the other things like meteor scatter, t-storm scatter, sats, weak sig, etc...my bad.

Go to your room.

[N2CHX]

I imagine that had those baggies contained something other than parts, and of an organic nature, the baggies would not be sitting on the shelf.

Hehe, you know me too well :p

[W3WN]

You folks are all committing the cardinal sin of extrapolating your local 2m scene to the entire country. Be aware that it's not the same everywhere. For instance, my local 2m repeaters are quiet most of the time but even when they are active, I seldom hear anyone talking politics. It's mostly just friendly, if banal, rag chewing.Well, you know, it's a funny thing.

I've seen a lot of the same kind of things being talked about happening here as well. Some of the old turkeys on the wide coverage .09 repeater, it's enough to drive anyone away.

But...

We'd seen a lot of drop-off on the club's .955 repeater. Until we found it a new home and moved it back to the South Hills a few weeks back. Users have been returning. And not just local ones; the other evening, I heard one gentleman in Beaver County (NW of the machine) having a long chat with two friends, both newer hams, one in Washington County (S) and one out in Westmoreland County (E & SE). A group from the club has started running a weekly Wednesday night digital net, primarily using FLDigi. A couple of former members who drifted away are active on the repeater again, and I know at least one has rejoined the club.

Will it last? Who knows? Point is though, it appears that good operators & good operating attract more good operators & good operating.

Now, we just need to perma-link 442.55 to 146.955, and then I can monitor the system from work!

[W3WN]

"I would encourage any new ham to forget 2m even exists."
There's more to 2M than repeaters, even more than FM simplex, a LOT more. When it comes to the world above 30MHz weak signal work is where it's at, people are civilized and DX can be anything from armchair copy to a challenge. Then there are challenging propagation modes, all in all there's more than will fit in a forum post.

"I bought them, got them weeks ago and just haven't felt the radio bug biting me as of late."
You can hook up a Vibroplex to a boat anchor with cathode keying or lacking a few hundred volts you can sit on it as it slowly gnaws at you. So why does it have to bite recently when one bite and you're infected for life? (Or at least I have been since the late 1950s.)That photo reminds me of an old episode of The Outer Limits. (Of course, they didn't use resistors to build their creatures' legs.)

[W3WN]

I def need to build the two QRP HF rigs I have sitting in baggies on the shelf here in my studio. I bought them, got them weeks ago and just haven't felt the radio bug biting me as of late.I'll tell you what. I have a 40 meter Tuna Tin II sitting on the shelf collecting dust. All it should need is crystals (there's one with it) & a power source. I haven't done a damn thing with it (except move it on the shelf) since I got the Argonaut 505. Interested?

[K0RGR]

As I said, there are places where a Tech license would be all I would need much of the time, particularly since I do CW.

I did weak signal stuff on VHF and UHF back here for a long time, and it was OK - certainly more interesting than FM. On SSB, it's not hard to work the whole state of Minnesota, and all the neighboring states and Canadian provinces. From here in SE MN, you can work a radius of 2-300 miles with a yagi and 100 watts, very consistently.

6 meter SSB is always fun during Eskip season.

But most newbs don't start out that way. They get immediate sticker shock when they see the price of an SSB rig for VHF. The only real positive thing is the inclusion of 6 and sometimes 2 and 3/4 meters on some common HF gear these days. But no matter how much you try to convince them otherwise, they are usually tempted to buy something cheap "just to get my feet wet". Every time I hear that, I start to freak out. It almost always means they will be buying an HT, and in a few weeks, they will be gone.

I travel in the western states quite a bit, and the activity level is all over the place on VHF/UHF FM. I don't have trouble finding people to listen to/talk to along the Front Range of the Rockies. The linked repeaters in many of the western states are awesome, particularly when the repeaters are high level mountaintop machines. Yet, even with this massive connectivity, activity is very hit or miss. In the rest of the west, it's much more miss than hit, particularly if you are looking for more than a 5 second exchange for a contest or award.

It's time for another big snowbird trip. I need to get my VHF/UHF SSB mobile up and running so I can see how that is out west these days.

[N7YA]

Go to your room.

But...im already in here. Should i go to the kitchen? Because i will happily do that.

[kb2vxa]

"That photo reminds me of an old episode of The Outer Limits."

Uh yeah, The Zanti Misfits. Does this look like anyone you know?

[N7YA]

I imagine that had those baggies contained something other than parts, and of an organic nature, the baggies would not be sitting on the shelf.


Gross. I dont think you're supposed to keep those. Those need to be disposed of in the cylinders with the picture of the dog on the side. They are all over the park, not hard to find.

[N7YA]

"That photo reminds me of an old episode of The Outer Limits."

Uh yeah, The Zanti Misfits. Does this look like anyone you know?


There it is!! For many years, ive been trying to remember what these things were from! I remember seeing this as a kid and lost it to time. I only remember one scene where a screaming lady locked herself in her car and these ants with faces were walking up and looking at her. It freaked me out back then, but now i would probably laugh and shake my head.

Odd i see this today. Just last night i found out another movie name i thought had been lost to time. I only remember one scene, an airline passenger seeing a ghost in the window. It had Ernest Borgnine and Kim Basinger and was based on a true story of an L-1011 that crashed in the Everglades, the parts were used on other aircraft and that energy transferred to the new planes. It was called "The Ghost of Flight 401".

Two recurring scenes from childhood...resolved! :yes:

[kb2vxa]

Oh yeah, that YL at a hamfest with overweight ants smelling of formic acid (THEM!) with faces, bristling with HTs walking up and looking at her. I immediately recognized several Zantis on our aptly named Misfit island and one Misfit of all Misfits, the dog faced one wearing headphones. I don't know about the ghost of a flight engineer but there's one of a broadcast engineer from Buffalo wearing rabbit ears that shows up once in a while. Then there's Vegas and that pawn shop that reminds me of our beloved Island; "...you never know what's going to walk in that door."

[N7YA]

....the only thing walking in that pawn shop door are camera crews, actors and the dick heads that own the place.

[N2CHX]

Damn, Kel...im dying over here. My rig, an old FT757 i bought secondhand back in the 90's, finally took a shit. It will take some bench gear and elbow grease to get it back up and running, but for the time being, that DX bug is chewing my legs off! My wife told me to hold out and save the money for a nice new one...i may dig down deep for that kind of willpower. It may be worth it.

Hahaha! Yes, it will if you get a really nice radio. Sorry about your FT757. Not fixable?

[N2CHX]

"I would encourage any new ham to forget 2m even exists."
There's more to 2M than repeaters, even more than FM simplex, a LOT more. When it comes to the world above 30MHz weak signal work is where it's at, people are civilized and DX can be anything from armchair copy to a challenge. Then there are challenging propagation modes, all in all there's more than will fit in a forum post.

"I bought them, got them weeks ago and just haven't felt the radio bug biting me as of late."
You can hook up a Vibroplex to a boat anchor with cathode keying or lacking a few hundred volts you can sit on it as it slowly gnaws at you. So why does it have to bite recently when one bite and you're infected for life? (Or at least I have been since the late 1950s.)

I have a 2m radio but I rarely ever use it. I don't think it's transmitted in a few years now. I used to hang with a group of locals on an odd simplex channel here in B-lo when I had the Icom and 50 watts at my disposal, but that's about as much as I've cared about 2m in a long time. Mostly dead around here.

And lol as far as the HF radios go, it's not really needing the bug to bite me I guess, cuz yeah that ship sailed a long time ago, but more like I just have a bunch of other projects I need to get done around this house and I have two major software/computer projects I need to finish for my business.

[N2CHX]

I'll tell you what. I have a 40 meter Tuna Tin II sitting on the shelf collecting dust. All it should need is crystals (there's one with it) & a power source. I haven't done a damn thing with it (except move it on the shelf) since I got the Argonaut 505. Interested?

I really appreciate the offer. I really just need to get what I have up and running. Thank you though. :)

[N7YA]

Hahaha! Yes, it will if you get a really nice radio. Sorry about your FT757. Not fixable?

It likely is, but the fix will have to be done at a place with a proper tech with the proper bench gear. Then, considering the cost of repair, the radio is likely not worth it. I may still get it done as it appears to be a relay issue and will likely cost less than a new K3...but i actually want a new rig. First world problems, i know.

I have all this old gear sitting around from when i used to be all Pat-ish about nostalgia and would collect anything people were throwing out. I had to come to the conclusion that im just not excited by repairing gear. So if anyone wants any of it....

[N2ADV]

Satellites.
Weak signal VHF/UHF
6 meters (need I say more)

The best part is you can build really good antennas for all that stuff with very little material :)

[kb2vxa]

Kel, you reminded me of "the good old days" being the mid '90s when I was first licensed.

"I have a 2m radio but I rarely ever use it. ... Mostly dead around here."

I quickly learned about repeaters being hangouts for cliques and got bored, then I rarely used them for their original purpose, extending range. Meanwhile I discovered a fine group using simplex on the "experimental" sub band but it wasn't long before the packet boom took over and everybody and his idiot brother just HAD to have an internet gateway, all the QRM put an end to finding a clear frequency. That only lasted long enough to do damage before all the duplication shut them down but we had moved on leaving a vast wasteland. Then when I got my IC706Mk2G I discovered the real world above 30MHz and SSB is where it's at. Considering the normal range of modes other than FM and what happens when the bands open there is no such thing as "around here".

"And lol as far as the HF radios go... I have two major software/computer projects I need to finish for my business."

Business before pleasure but when you get some spare time you'll feel the itch where the bug bit and you'll just HAVE to scratch it or it'll drive you crazy. Well, crazier than your usual state of mind you lovable Misfit you!

"Satellites."

Yeah, then you can retire your microwave oven.