Technician HF

[oldtymer]

All of these extra and advanced class ops trying to cram into the general portion of 75m is crazy. The FCC is going to have to give away privileges so people will use the real estate below 3800. Use it or lose it.

I agree with you completely. The General portion on 75m is already overcrowded.
Many a night you will hear groups of 4-5 all with 1by2 or 2 by one calls that could move
down & relieve the crowded conditions.
If the Advanced & Extra operators don't want to use it how about giving Generals
3850-3900. I am sure they will use it

 

[BJ radionut]

how about giving Generals
3850-3900. I am sure they will use it

I think you mean 3750-3800...The same holds true for 40m 7150-7175.
This "giveaway" The General Class gives up 50% of his "earned" band space on 75m to the Tech's that did not even test for it. Likewise 40m 60%, but this is not even considered in the process. This giveaway is also about "Digital" access also, where some Joker can get his Email automatically via radio while floating on his Yacht off the keys, so he does not have to pay for internet, and tie up wideband sections of the spectrum in the process. How is this going to be transmitted! It will be encoded so the "world" won't see it!!!! Rules state in the US,(and some countries Worldwide) that transmissions can NOT be encoded(encrypted) or Cypers used that inhibit the proper monitoring of the frequencies.
This I believe will be gone and you will see transmissions encrypted automatically so the "world" will not see these guys doing "business" over the Amateur Radio spectrum. How will this be policed? It won't!
I have also said enough before on this subject of the "Post Toasties" Tech/HF license giveaway!
All the Best
Gary

 

[Big Kahuna]

I think it would be good for a tech to get a taste of HF phone. Most guys in my area get their tech license and go back to CB.

They go buy a dual band rig and find the lids on the local repeaters. They decide ham radio sucks, have no desire to upgrade or spend more money on ham radio. These people don't have a HF rig or receiver. They assume 2m/440 is ham radio and get back on 11m.

You nailed it - this is why some additional HF phone is key to getting new Tech's to commit to the hobby. This isn't about giving away anything for free - it's about making sure the new people get a chance to actually experience radio and move them along to the next steps.

The reason we have testing is to make sure people who are going to be hams have some knowledge before they get on the radio. A lot of learning though happens once you get the radio and start talking and exploring.

I know for all those that jumped through all the hoops and took the tests it seems like they are making it too easy, but without new blood things are going to get real quiet as we loose the pre 1990's generations. When you're on the radio how many people do you talk to under 30? I know people don't shout out their age on the radio but I rarely hear anyone who doesn't sound like they are my age or older.

A long time ago I was part of a organization and one of the motto's was "membership is the lifeblood of the organization". No members, no organization. You need to bring in new people and as times change you have to change as well. I read some crazy stat (I can't recall the percentage) but a huge portion of new techs just let their license expire and don't move on. This is the problem.

 

[fogdog]

Just do away with testing altogether. Fuck it.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I have managed to get myself in a lot of heated aarguments on this subject. As I said way too many these days can memorize the answers and test out without learning a damn thing. I have seen it on the Facebook groups, they say "Hey I just passed my extra! What antenna should I buy?" My answer to them is always you're an extra figure it out. Then I ask how long have you been a ham and inveriently the answer is two weeks. I am all for helping out but come on....

Amen brother. I am REALLY tired of new Extras or in the case up here in Canada Advanced class hams that boast about just passing their top class tickets and asking how long to make a 20m dipole so they can get on the air right away. There is a local 2m repeater up here that was dubbed the 11m Repeater a long time ago, just after they dropped the code requirement and changed the "written" test to multiple choice. All the local 11m idiots that I had left behind years before suddenly started to appear on the repeater practically taking it over with an "I've been doing it like this for 20 years so go fuck yourself. Oh.....before you go can you tell me how to wire up my D104 to my Kenwood 2m radio?" FFS The idiots are still on the air but have switched to a different repeater but the mentality is still the same. Listening to them talk about antennas makes me cringe and I just turn the radio off. They don't know their ass from a hole in the ground and if you even politely try to correct them they reply " Well Curtis said that......". Fuck Curtis.....he is another idiot that has no clue yet he talks like he does and all the other idiots blindly follow him. Those of use that actually have a technical background and have 40 years behind us on the air are ignored because we just do not know as much as Curtis does after all he passed his test by memorizing the answers to the questions better than most and got honours on his test. BFD........so did I with a 100% in technical theory and 98% in regulations and I had to take the old LOOOONG written test and actually draw block diagrams etc. A buddy of mine just returned to the air after more than 20 years of being QRT. He said if this is what HF is like he will be selling his gear and getting out of the hobby. He said that just after having n=met Curtis when he stopped to buy something from him. NOTHING is ever as good as when you have to learn and work for it.

 

[fogdog]

Nobody these days wants to actually learn or have to work for anything. its the everybody gets a trophy crowd. if you want to use HF, then do the work to get there. screw a bunch of techs that want it given to them because they cant pass a simple exam. If they cant pass the exam, then I dont want to hear them on the air. Lets just don't roll over for these bitches, and give them what they want , because their crying about it. Thats why we have such a fucked up generation of losers now.

 

[oldtymer]

I think you mean 3750-3800.

Yeah senior moment. 3750-3800. The DX window runs to 3810 but outside the US
they are restricted no higher than 3800
The only traffic I hear on 3801 to 3809 are Florida & Puerto Rico.

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Something has to be done. I bet the FCC can get more money selling the bandwidth to the telecomm giants and the ARRL won't be in charge of anything. They will do anything to continue to exist.... And besides, the CB guys already have the HF gear converted to 11m.

 

[543_Dallas]

I don't think they should be given the entire spectrum. Give them a slice and limit them to 200 watts. If HF is of any interest to them they will upgrade.

Make the extra exam harder. I'll retake the test if they let me use 1kw input to the final like they did back in the old days. General and tech can keep the pep crap.

 

[fogdog]

I don't think they should be given the entire spectrum. Give them a slice and limit them to 200 watts. If HF is of any interest to them they will upgrade.

Make the extra exam harder. I'll retake the test if they let me use 1kw input to the final like they did back in the old days. General and tech can keep the pep crap.

Some say that the last Extra exam was the hardest yet, and was written so you wouldn't pass it 1st go Round. I concur. I passed it it the 1st time, but Damm.
Now I guess they took out something like 200 questions. Sounds like they are making it easier to me.
I remember being pissed when I was a tech, and not being able to get on HF. I did the 2 meter stuff, and made contacts on 10m, but it was either dead, or nobody wanted to BS. CB was dead also. I had never been or really heard any HF except when I used to use the shipboard radios in THE USCG. But day after day of silence promted me to study harder for my General. When I passed and bought my Icom 7300 the world changed. I do HF every day, and don't get tired of it. It's also cool, that there is always something going on.

 

[543_Dallas]

Some say that the last Extra exam was the hardest yet, and was written so you wouldn't pass it 1st go Round. I concur. I passed it it the 1st time, but Damm.
Now I guess they took out something like 200 questions. Sounds like they are making it easier to me.
I remember being pissed when I was a tech, and not being able to get on HF. I did the 2 meter stuff, and made contacts on 10m, but it was either dead, or nobody wanted to BS. CB was dead also. I had never been or really heard any HF except when I used to use the shipboard radios in THE USCG. But day after day of silence promted me to study harder for my General. When I passed and bought my Icom 7300 the world changed. I do HF every day, and don't get tired of it. It's also cool, that there is always something going on.

I passed the extra in 2015. I missed 5 questions. I couldn't care less abour the sstv crap but that was part of it. I read the whole Gordon West book a few days prior so there was no excuse for not getting a perfect score.

 

[w9cll]

The reason we have testing is to make sure people who are going to be hams have some knowledge before they get on the radio. A lot of learning though happens once you get the radio and start talking and exploring.

I agree with this except what is happening is they are memorizing the questions and answers and not learning a damn thing

 

[Road Squawker]

Bottom line this is nothing except the previous weak arrl ideas that were not passed into the cfr...... and the real reason in to give the Winstink people a section of every band, that only they can use?...remember the no one owns a frequency regulations.... this proposal from the arrl does exactly that... it designates freqs for only acds station.
....the tech frequiency enhancement is just a smokescreen to hide the real reason.... just look at the responses in this thread...many people jumped right on the frequency giveaway, and nevered even bothered to read and understand the entire week petion.

 

[Rwb]

They would learn code and still not know what radio or coax to buy. How about a minimum IQ requirement and a physical fitness test. That would keep out the dumb and lazy folk.

maybe give em a pee test too. Im tech but i know coax, radios n other things but some are uhh well never sdudyed what questions are on tedt just answers. Years back i passed when it was code required then let license expire.tested last year missed 1 on purpose. I kinda want to know HOW to keep my stuff working not just remember answers with no meaning

 

[Rwb]

Amen brother. I am REALLY tired of new Extras or in the case up here in Canada Advanced class hams that boast about just passing their top class tickets and asking how long to make a 20m dipole so they can get on the air right away. There is a local 2m repeater up here that was dubbed the 11m Repeater a long time ago, just after they dropped the code requirement and changed the "written" test to multiple choice. All the local 11m idiots that I had left behind years before suddenly started to appear on the repeater practically taking it over with an "I've been doing it like this for 20 years so go fuck yourself. Oh.....before you go can you tell me how to wire up my D104 to my Kenwood 2m radio?" FFS The idiots are still on the air but have switched to a different repeater but the mentality is still the same. Listening to them talk about antennas makes me cringe and I just turn the radio off. They don't know their ass from a hole in the ground and if you even politely try to correct them they reply " Well Curtis said that......". Fuck Curtis.....he is another idiot that has no clue yet he talks like he does and all the other idiots blindly follow him. Those of use that actually have a technical background and have 40 years behind us on the air are ignored because we just do not know as much as Curtis does after all he passed his test by memorizing the answers to the questions better than most and got honours on his test. BFD........so did I with a 100% in technical theory and 98% in regulations and I had to take the old LOOOONG written test and actually draw block diagrams etc. A buddy of mine just returned to the air after more than 20 years of being QRT. He said if this is what HF is like he will be selling his gear and getting out of the hobby. He said that just after having n=met Curtis when he stopped to buy something from him. NOTHING is ever as good as when you have to learn and work for it.

or this 1,back off your mic its hot,turn it down. Never happens.
We got a local guy that has 2 mics.last week he asked which 1 sounds best .3 if us told him 1 sounded crisp clear just right,other 1 too loud n raspy sounding.so what he do keep using the raspy sounding mic.
Few of us get on simplex n mind our buisness speaker volume set n he comes in blasting us. We change spots or sign off. You cant argue with a jackass head is too thick to listen