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how to-ham

C W Morse said:
You'd be surprised how little "power" matters on the amateur bands if only because of the lack of chaos compared to the disorganized havoc on CB. Yes, there are what are called "pileups" where rare stations are operating and stations "compete" to get an acknowledgement from him. A 100 watt station is usually adequate for most work on most all bands. :thumbup:

CWM
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CWM is correctamundo. A point to made regarding the Tech license. You will have HF privileges on 10m from 28.300-28.500 with a 200w limit on power. Of course 10m is just as dead as 11m is right now. Hopefully things will pick up some in the next year or so.

73

Wayne C.
 
EDUK8TR said:
CWM is correctamundo. A point to made regarding the Tech license. You will have HF privileges on 10m from 28.300-28.500 with a 200w limit on power. Of course 10m is just as dead as 11m is right now. Hopefully things will pick up some in the next year or so.

73

Wayne C.
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With a Tech license, he will also have HF privileges on 80, 40 and 15 meters. The catch there is that these band segments are for CW only. However, if you're sufficiently motivated, you DO have more HF privileges than a lot of Techs realize.
 
Beetle, those band segments are not CW only. They are RTTY/Data. It is just that the tech operator is authorized there for CW only (CW is allowed anywhere you are authorized to operate though).

I break down the test difficulties and comprehension requirments as follows:

Tech -- Elementary school graduate
General -- Grade school graduate
Extra -- High school graduate

What that means is that if you are still in High school, you should be able to easily master (comprehend) the General test, but may find the Extra test difficult. 8 year old kids should be about ready to pass the Tech test.
 
C2 said:
Beetle, those band segments are not CW only. They are RTTY/Data. It is just that the tech operator is authorized there for CW only (CW is allowed anywhere you are authorized to operate though).

I break down the test difficulties and comprehension requirments as follows:

Tech -- Elementary school graduate
General -- Grade school graduate
Extra -- High school graduate

What that means is that if you are still in High school, you should be able to easily master (comprehend) the General test, but may find the Extra test difficult. 8 year old kids should be about ready to pass the Tech test.
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If you are technically inclined.....

General isn't so easy if one isn't naturally curious about electronics or radio in general. I considered it pretty simple, but I understand when people have issues studying for it, particularly with no previous basic circuit or electronics background.

I tested right through to General in one shot with just a few weeks poking around at the material. Extra I haven't managed to pass yet.

Memorizing the material might be one thing, but I've been trying to understand the material to actually formulate the answer to the questions and it's been trickier than I expected for extra.
 
C2 said:
Beetle, those band segments are not CW only. They are RTTY/Data. It is just that the tech operator is authorized there for CW only (CW is allowed anywhere you are authorized to operate though)./quote]

The 80 meter (3525-3600 KHz), 40 meter (7025-7125 KHz) and 15 meter (21025-21200 KHz) Novice and Technician allocations are clearly marked "CW ONLY" on the US Frequency Allocation Chart available at the ARRL website. http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/bands.html. There's also a 200 watt power limitation.

You're correct in that the bottom of most bands is no longer exclusively CW, but it's been sort of a gentlemen's agreement that RTTY and digital/data modes keep to the top end (like above 14.050 on 20M).
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is 10 meter a popular band overseas ? the reason i ask is my wife will probly take the test also and with the 10 year skip cycle coming the noise level,s gonna be pretty unbearable soon on 11 meter .at least with the tech it should be alot quiter and easier to talk 10 meter in just a 2 way conversation..
 
I would recommend two things first. Check out the arrl web site and find a ham radio club near you and use the QRZ tests, I used those studying for my Extra and Aced the exam.

As far as running power, you really don't need it. The Key is your antenna. If you have a good antenna you can work the world with very little power. I've had people walk away shaking their heads at talking to other hams a hundred miles away on 2 Meters with an Icom mobile mounted on the dash of a semi. Ham Radio is nothing like CB. You really don't need the power.
 
Splash1 said:
is 10 meter a popular band overseas ? the reason i ask is my wife will probly take the test also and with the 10 year skip cycle coming the noise level,s gonna be pretty unbearable soon on 11 meter .at least with the tech it should be alot quiter and easier to talk 10 meter in just a 2 way conversation..
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At the right time of day, at the right point in the sunspot cycle and between the right points on Planet Earth, 10M is unbeatable. 'WAY back, around 1978, I was working in Tacoma, commuting there from Bremerton. I had a TS-520 and Hustler antenna with various resonators.

One afternoon one of my co-workers asked if I could drop him off near his house in Bremerton so he could pick up his truck from getting serviced - and so he could see my "fancy radio".

So, I got it all set up: 10M resonator on the antenna, and the 520 sitting on the transmission hump with the front legs resting on the edge of the seat of the '74 Impala. I let the tubes warm up a couple minutes and started calling CQ as we were pulling out of the parking lot. Immediately a JA1 answered from Yokohama! Then for the whole drive from Tacoma, we were talking with one JA after another. My friend Carl wrote down the call signs, times, reports and such so I could get the logs caught up. Carl's still around - pushing 90 by now - and every time I see him he asks about "that damn radio".

I think he was impressed. Actually, so was I. I hadn't done that much mobiling before, and I knew it could be done. I just never thought it'd happen to me!
 
Splash1,
'Fraid there's not much difference between 10 and 11 meters as far as propagation goes. It's certainly probably going to be quieter on 10 than on 11 meters because of two things, smaller numbers are using 10 meters, and it's larger than 11 meters. The 'Tech's portion of 10 meters isn't going to be very large considering the rest of the band. Good reason to look at the General license, not to mention all those other bands a Tech can't use. The only limits as far as licensing goes are the ones -you- put on yourself. It doesn't take an 'Einstein' for any of them, it just takes a little studying (ol'Albert would have to study too, so big deal).
- 'Doc
 
while browsing the web i found novice class.is this combined with tech ? i sent for the manual on tech.wouldnt novice be the place to begin ?
 
Whelp,i got the book a few days ago ''the arrl manual'' . very nice.has the question pool in back of the book..i read all the preface stuff and looked at the pool.most of the stuff dealing with actual radio seems like i can handle well.i started out very well till i got to the chapter on electronics and learned very quickly this is gonna take some time.kinda like that old starr trek show when bones says to jim,,''dam it jim,im a doctor not a brick layer''..in my case it would be ''dam it elmer,im a brick layer not a electrican''..so any ways i just keep reading the same thing over n over an by the next day i start seeing things that i didnt see the day befor..kinda like doing a crossword puzzle..the whole thing does seem like alot of overkill though.kinda like having to become a auto mechcanic befor you can get a drivers liecence.so untill, if or when i hit a brick wall i,ll keep on..if worse comes to worse i can always go back to bein splash the pirate radio operater,Rrrrrrrrrrrr..
 
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Don't let it bother you very much, it really isn't that hard to learn. I think you'll see that the majority of the questions on any of the tests have more to do with rules, operating practices and safety, rather than electronics as such. Sure, there'll be a few, but they won't be that difficult. Even them bricklayers need a bit of math, right?
- 'Doc
 
wl5z..did me some more studgeatin and then went over some sample tests on the net..at first i was in the 60 to 70 percent range..the last test i tried i got a 85% so im making some progress anyway.im onlt a 1/4 way through the manual but by the time im finished i might have a chance..i,d like to take the test befor the end of the year..the manual said there will be a whole new set of questions in 2009..
 

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