Radio Amateurs

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Hi,

I get the impression that there are a number of people on here who are fellow radio amateurs

No need to give callsigns, but I'd be interested in where you are, favourite bands / modes and equipment you run...

I'm mainly into Olivia on 60m - main HF radio is the FT-2000D (Which most of the time runs at 5-10W), FT847, 897, 857 for portable ops, 817, Anytone 4m radio and an FT8900 in the car. Really interested in Near Vertical Incident Skywave (Giving me full coverage of the UK on 5Mhz with 10W Olivia) and I hate contests with a passion

Mainly run Ubuntu for digimodes and have my 2000 and use Fldigi which I've configured to send me email if there is traffic on then 60m "unofficial" but frequently used calling frequency. In the UK it's normally 5368kHz but I'm trying to get it changed to share the beacon channel.....

If anyone wants to set up a sked, PM me!

73 de Snar

I'm mainly just a DXer, played around with worldband in my 20s but So Cal has about the worst reception for an off-the-shelf Grundig from Rat Shack. I still kick it around from time to time but I spend more time on the web and BBC stopped firing signal over this way besides, but I always wanted to build a pirate station

[Moved from Random Discussion to Computers, Math, Science, and Technology]

i've long been partial to 6 meter. i like the idea of using the MUF for extended propagation. but mostly i love dx-ing am/fm broadcasts, used to love picking up distant analog vhf NTSC as well, 'till the FCC screwed up and replaced it with the very un-robust ATSC, which is a LOT harder to dx.

Conditions in Europe on 6m have been quite good recently - worked a number of stations in France, Spain and Italy yesterday. I do quite like 6m although I'm not massively active on the band. The big problem seems to be that most DX contacts tend to be callsign, locator, signal report (invariably 59) and 73. I like Olivia on 60m because you tend to have quite long QSO's. Because of the data redundancy, it's quite a slow mode so once you've typed your message and terminated it ready to RX, you can put the kettle on, take a comfort break or go outside for a cigarette etc. It's a really relaxed mode.

I've managed to work Canada and the US on 6m a few times - maybe I should make more of an effort - I've got a 3 element beam up for the band.

73 de Snar

out of curiosity, are you high-elevation or do you have a high mast for your beam? do you manage to contact the interior of north america or only on the opposite coast closest to you? i am not a ham [too maths-challenged] but have long been interested in it. do you ever do video on 6m? i ask that because the first tv broadcasts were at 45 MHz.

I am not a licensed amateur yet, though have intended to try and get my foundation license over the last year but due to various setbacks that could not happen, in the mean time, I generally do DXing on 11 meters (aka CB radio), though that idea went out the window last week after the antenna I was using came down, so I am now restricted to PMR446 and a PMR446 gateway that I run from home on the Free Radio Network. I plan to work on getting my CB going again in the next few months with a loft-mount inverted V antenna.

Hopefully once I get over the hurdles such as my CB and getting a car, I can then progress to the Amateur license and have more bands, and the local Echolink and IRLP enabled 2m repeater which I listen to on occasion, to work with, which I quite look forward to

In my younger days I could read Morse Code at 40 wpm. Those days are gone forever.

ruveyn

I used to love listening to skip on CB. I rarely talked but I loved to mess with the internals. Made money "peaking" radio's for people.

I miss my Anttron-99, I miss my Sedelta echo master pro... I miss turning all of lake Ontario into my own personal ground plane..... I miss kit bashing Kw linear boots. I miss my 8' stainless whip that made my little car look like an RC racer. I don't miss the FCC.....

I was a bad egg in my younger years.... In my older more mature years I have thought about going legit and going HAM.... Just never got around to it.

Now we have internet. Now I mess around with wireless, making extreme active cantenna using a USB wifi dongle, a large tomato juice can and a Bell Xpressvu dish, I've been able to shoot a signal 12k. Throughput was terrible... I know, not nearly as social as radio...