Ham Radio Operators / Steel Soldiers

[steelandcanvas]

Never had any idea there were so many Hams on SS. I bought a truck, and then a trailer, Now you guys make me want to start studying again for my Ham ticket. This site is expensive! I already have OD Fever, now it's the 2 Meter Fever!

 

[Shieldwolf37]

KC4ALF here. It is a great adjunct to the hobby.
If you love Mil radio learn the code. If it was made before the 60's AM/CW are the choices.
Tune in the Military Radio collectors net at 0500hrs EST on Sat. Mornings. Freq. is 3880-85 +/- AM on 75meters. You'll here the whir of the dynamotor and the vibrator supply. You can check in with civvy rigs and if SSB is the only mode that way to.
My main station is a WW2 ART-13xmtr from a B-17 and reciver is a BC-348Q from a B-24 liberator.
73

 

[OPCOM]

Here are some small signal corps tags that can be superimposed on avatars.

I have an amateur Extra these days, it was not too difficult. I hear the questions will soon be upgraded to encompass more modern concepts (types of digital encoding, etc), so get the highest ticket you can now unless you want to answer some crazy questions!

I've had a FCC General (commerical license) since 1986. No radar endorsement, although if someone asked nicely, I could be persuaded.

 

[ems4ty]

123Mack - Check out Private Jarhead here: http://www.softcom.net/users/djstutz/pvtjarheadld.html

I bought a working RT-524 Rig for my M35. Works great! Just need someone else with a FM Rig that I can talk to. 6m works fine, and here in So. Cal. I can even listen to the California Highway Patrol! Just don't key-up the mic though!

73 - KI6LMI

BTW - I use a Yaseau 8900 mobile rig in my car and have a VX-7R handheld... I dabble with echolink every once and a great while. Cya!

 

[oifvet]

One nice thing about amateur radio for our puposes is; repeater use = range! CB is very limiting and it gets so noisy and chaotic, that it feels good just to turn it off sometimes. Amateur radio has a code of ethics that is enforced. Kind of like the moderators and administrators of a website like SS! It keeps things, "professional." That's what keeps me in it.

There are a lot of brilliant minds here. I encourage everyone to build on that by pursuing the amateur radio hobby. It's a little geeky sometimes, but from my limited experience in it, it draws a good crowd. The prices on radios has DROPPED tremendously! I'm seeing new radios now for less than half what I paid for lesser quality several years ago. You can get a nice hand-held 2-Meter radio for around $100.00, and you're on the air! (Once you have your, "ticket").

Repeater coverage is many miles. They can even be "linked" to cover several states or go cross-country.

Check out the Amateur Radio Relay League website:

http://www.arrl.org/

Play around with those sites I posted earlier and gear-up. See what you think! It's a good, claen hobby. And, it serves a purpose sometimes. Especially with some of the things we are into with MVs.

 

[Fred431]

Ham Radio

If your a green machines owner like most of us on steelsoldiers why not get into green/od radio's to match. I have a AN/GRC106 that I operate on the low bands and have talked to people all over the country with it. I have been a ham since I was 16 years old and had been inactive for 25 years until I got the OD fever. I went to several shows and met several hams who were operating old military equipment and got the bug again. I have no interest in going to the store and buying a Yaseau or Kenwood or the like as there is no challenge. There almost like using a CB set. I own one but its still in the box never put on the air but thats me. Half the fun is getting the old stuff to work just like restoring a old rusted MV. Its a good winter hobby. Cant do much up here with more than three feet of snow on the ground


Fred

 

[oifvet]

RE: Ham Radio

The old military radios are pretty neat. But, they aren't as user friendly. Especially if you are starting from scratch in the radio hobby. The amateur radios that the average consumer can buy are less likely to discourage someone just getting into the hobby, too.

With the practice tests and organizations dedicated to leaning amateur radio, the military radios would be fine, but maybe harder to learn and understand.

The goal here is to tap into the hams that are Steel Soldiers and promote the hobby a little. It might be easier to organize them on a common (2 Meter?) frequency if we're all getting together somewhere, sometime. With a handy ARRL Repeater Guide and a handheld, we've got a system already in place.

Just reaching out.

 

[bugei]

RE: Ham Radio

might as well fess up.

licensed since i was 13 or so. i have met some great people, and gotten to do some very very cool things because of ham radio. communications liason at numerous air shows, mountain rescue, cave rescue, etc. i have used many facets of ham radio, hf, vhf, uhf, atv, locating, etc. ham radio has always been a great way to meet new people and interact with them.

 

[rboltz]

K3TZJ Here

Also a ham and truck owner. Operate 100% Mil radios. Including the RT-1446 Harris with amp and tuner. The Harris is also used on RTTY with the UGC-74B. Have AN/GRC-142A up and running as well as several AN/GRC-106's. Will put my '142 on my truck as soon as the truck restoration is finished.

Have MANY other mil radios in the collection. Most working well.

 

[doghead]

RE: K3TZJ Here

Maybe there could be a Ham Operators Forum on SS? (Anyone request it yet?)
The only Ham experience I currently have, involves an omelet and cheese.

 

[oifvet]

RE: K3TZJ Here

This forum, "Military Radio and Other Electronics" is probably best. It doesn't get, "exclusive" that way.

I've operated some military radios. I know that if you don't know what you're doing with certain ones, they can cook an omlet! Among other things.

The GMRS radios have really come a long way! They are advertising them as having up to 30 mile range now. Of course, that's over flat terrain and more than likely, water. But they are a good comm device. And DEFINITELY something EVERYONE at a rally or other event could use without much problem.

I purchased a couple 26 mile GMRS radios for camping and they're nice to have. Any GMRS radio with a range of over 18 miles I believe, the owner must register a call sign with the FCC. It's about $50.00 and is good for several, maybe five years. When you buy one of the more powerful radios, the instuctions are with them.

For rallies, all anyone would have to do is agree on what channel / privacy code would be used for an event. Of course, anyone could always set aside their own group channel and privacy code for themselves.

The amateur stuff can use repeaters which really gets the range. It also allows individuals to utilize proper etiquette and protocol, which makes it all more enjoyable.

I'm not at all opposed to CB. I have an amateur license and just prefer it over CB. It's a little quieter and less vulgar. (Not that I can't be. Just not on a radio, or here.)

 

[ida34]

RE: K3TZJ Here

I went with my son and daughter to a one day course for your Tech. We had a study guide and studied beforehand. My son and I passed. I used to be in radios while I was in CAP during the 80's so it was pretty easy to pass for me. My daughter did not pass but studied hard and two weeks later passed the test. She is now in CAP. She is in my old squadron. We are not big into the ham scene but I wanted to get the license to use the green radios. I used them extensively in the Army.

 

[usmc81301]

I am a Ham also so if this gets started I would like to join in.

 

[alphadeltaromeo]

We just had very severe weather here in GA the past few days, as you have probably seen on the news. I've participated faithfully on the skywarn/ARES nets and today we had a report of tennis ball sized hail (apart from the tornado's of course). Being a ham is a fantastic experience, helping the younger ones to greatly increase their communications ability. I am very interested in exploring the military radio's in the very near future. Anyone with some good input for me...do PM me or rather, perhaps the suggestion by oifvet for the ""Military Radio and Other Electronics" would be an excellent move. This way the whole group can glean from the learning to be had.

Andy

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

I am in the process of getting back into the radio ops I picked up a HF digital unit at a Hamfest that operates from 3Mhz to 30Mhz, I am really hoping to be able to tune into some of your frequencies to see if I can DX I would like to tune it in just to listen until the licence comes home. Any times and freqs I can tune in to hear you all on this HF set?

 

[OPCOM]

Re: Ham Radio

If your a green machines owner like most of us on steelsoldiers why not get into green/od radio's to match. I have a AN/GRC106 that I operate on the low bands and have talked to people all over the country with it. I have been a ham since I was 16 years old and had been inactive for 25 years until I got the OD fever. I went to several shows and met several hams who were operating old military equipment and got the bug again. I have no interest in going to the store and buying a Yaseau or Kenwood or the like as there is no challenge. There almost like using a CB set. I own one but its still in the box never put on the air but thats me. Half the fun is getting the old stuff to work just like restoring a old rusted MV. Its a good winter hobby. Cant do much up here with more than three feet of snow on the ground


Fred

Those are real good points! I love the GRC-106, except the darn external fan sounds like a vacuum cleaner. I wonder if it would be reasonable to do a mod to adjust its speed based on internal temperature. I also got one of the USB/LSB filter kits that the Japanese fellow was making, sorry I do not have his name, but the owner at Fair Radio knows him. It's not installed yet, one of many projects. I like AM mode as well and it should permit true DSB AM TX and RX-without-BFO with an additional mod, but unknown yet. The radio is spec for 3KHz wide I think, but the original filter's response goes to nearly 4KHz according to the network analyzer at work IIRC. These are fine radios and worth every bit of $ and aggravating repairs necessary to bring a parts unit back to life. That's how I got two of mine -no one in the biz. of selling the things could fix them. The design is very elegant and beautiful, from the standpoint of repairing them. These sets represent the zenith of pre-IC synthesized autotune design. I don't know the history of their development, but they'd have made Art Collins proud. They lack only two things - good PA screen grid protection system and a noise blanker! Otherwise, I have picked signals out of noise and hash that "modern" radios could not receive.

Also, do you have a source for cheap finals? I have successfully used both the 7035/4X150D and 7204/4CX250F. As long as they have the proper 26.5V heater voltage rating, they are fine if not abused. These are often overlooked by hams, especially the 4X150D, because the perception is that it's only a 150W tube when it is really a 250W.

About the modern rigs ("riceboxes" as they are impolitically correctly but lovingly called) are good for quick portable work in the field where you have a licensed user but no Old Buzzards.

 

[OPCOM]

Re: RE: K3TZJ Here

Maybe there could be a Ham Operators Forum on SS? (Anyone request it yet?)
The only Ham experience I currently have, involves an omelet and cheese.

Hello Doghead,

Please join us ham radio operators! The Technician license is the easiest one to get, it is -very- easy! You can then use the PRC-25, 77, RT-524. 256, and other radios that work above 30MHz.

Like the next post said, it's not an exclusove thing at all, it's very inclusive (sorry to use the word "inclusive") and everyone is welcome. Even blind and deaf peope get into the hobby in various ways and fully participate. ham radio is something that anyone can do if they want, even po'folks, because someone will give or loan them a used radio if they have a license but no $! That's how friendly ham radio is.

Just to help you decide.. If you get a ham license within the next 60 days, I will ship you a slightly used radio shack 2-meter 25 watt VHF tranceiver for free! It's not much (and I am not implying in any way that you're poor, I just want to offer an incentive), but if you have 12 volts DC vailable, you can get right on the air with it, and it's worth it to me to give it away to someone in order to encourage someone to join the hobby. The only thing I ask is that if you decide later that ham radio is not what you want to do, or if the radio is at some point surplus to your needs, pass it on to another new ham.

 

[OPCOM]

RE: Re: RE: K3TZJ Here

So does anyone like or dislike the idea of using the signal corps banner as an indication of radio operators?

 

[cranetruck]

RE: Re: RE: K3TZJ Here

Good idea Patrick. It may lead the way to other identifiers a medic, perhaps...
The size and placement should be determined in the profile section, another little job for Mike.

 

[doghead]

RE: Re: RE: K3TZJ Here

Wow, Thanks for the tempting and generous offer Patrick! I found an online practice test and I scored 51% correct. I currently have 0 experience with Ham, I only know a couple people that are into it. I am slightly interested but really know nothing. Do you or others here have any advise as to where I can better educate myself (via Internet)? Is there a "Ham Operators book for dummies"?(yellow books)