I'm guessing there are few closet Ham Radio operators amongst the ranks. Who has a ham radio license?
I'm looking to take the test for technician grade license. It looks easy enough, and I figure it's useful at rallies and such. I don't envision it being another hobby, but I figure its something that will come in handy from time to time.
If you happen to have any gear collecting dust that you'd like to turn in to beer, or subaru parts let me know.
Any Ham operators in NEHA.
Any Ham operators in NEHA.
Sachilles
02 Subaru impreza (Donut) #66
02 Subaru impreza (Donut) #66
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walterclark
- Posts: 1442
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Re: Any Ham operators in NEHA.
W1WEC here. Not your typical chew-the-fat-daily Ham. I use mine only at rallys.
Great to hear you are getting your ticket. The tech license is pretty easy compared to the "old" days - all the questions are online at the ARRL practice site and there is no Morse Code requirement. Both STPR and NEFR are always short of operators so your help WILL be valued.
I had a radio in my car when it was set up to rally - still has the hole in the roof where the antenna went - and I worked as a ham and in a bunch of other rally capacities like stage captain, scrutineer, and fast sweep with my radios in the car/truck/van and my pocket to be easier to contact. I Don doesnt get an HT at an event I usually have the mobile in the van tuned to the frequency the club is using (cant transmit though - those are commercial freq and the ham radios are out-of-authorized-band-transmit-blocked).
Hams tend to be hoarders. Its not that easy to find used gear that is not ancient and/or from an estate sale. Despite not using most of my stuff at all and what I DO use,only a couple times a year, I am loath to part with any of it for some reason. I have 3 mobiles and 2 HT, plus antennas, a Tiny-Tracker, and a small pile of accessories so I am a lightweight by ham standards.
Great to hear you are getting your ticket. The tech license is pretty easy compared to the "old" days - all the questions are online at the ARRL practice site and there is no Morse Code requirement. Both STPR and NEFR are always short of operators so your help WILL be valued.
I had a radio in my car when it was set up to rally - still has the hole in the roof where the antenna went - and I worked as a ham and in a bunch of other rally capacities like stage captain, scrutineer, and fast sweep with my radios in the car/truck/van and my pocket to be easier to contact. I Don doesnt get an HT at an event I usually have the mobile in the van tuned to the frequency the club is using (cant transmit though - those are commercial freq and the ham radios are out-of-authorized-band-transmit-blocked).
Hams tend to be hoarders. Its not that easy to find used gear that is not ancient and/or from an estate sale. Despite not using most of my stuff at all and what I DO use,only a couple times a year, I am loath to part with any of it for some reason. I have 3 mobiles and 2 HT, plus antennas, a Tiny-Tracker, and a small pile of accessories so I am a lightweight by ham standards.
The older I get the better I was.
Re: Any Ham operators in NEHA.
Ideally, fast sweep is what I'm hoping to do a little bit of. What little co-driving I've done, I enjoy. I enjoy rally, just don't have the budget for it. I'm hoping a ham license can help me get involved a little more often, especially something that requires a 5 point harness.
Sachilles
02 Subaru impreza (Donut) #66
02 Subaru impreza (Donut) #66
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Rabbit Farmer
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Re: Any Ham operators in NEHA.
Father is ham....
He might have some older equipment around if you're interested.
He might have some older equipment around if you're interested.
Go Fast VW & Audi parts at FastAddiction.com
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walterclark
- Posts: 1442
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Re: Any Ham operators in NEHA.
When we ran fast sweep ("Tracker" at STPR) I found it immensely helpful to have a radio with dual channel operation. This permitted me to keep the sweep team (usually on a specific simplex frequency) and either net control or the stage communication on the other. I could hear both and with a simple tap of a button on the mic talk to either. Of course this isnt a requirement, but it is an example of how some radio features beyond the basic radio are useful to a ham working at a rally.
I have also been able to use the cross-band repeat capability of the radio I use now (a Yaesu FT-8800R) many times. There are times on stages when where you need to be at that moment happens to be located in a radio "hole" and you cant talk to anyone. Often it is just a few dozen yards away from a good spot. In these cases I will set the mobile (in the car) so it operates one of its two channels on the 144MHz channel needed to communicate with the stage or net control, then set the other on 430MHz, put it in X-band repeat mode, leave the car where 144 works well and walk to where I need to be with an HT set to the 430 freq. The mobile receives everything on the 144 freq and transmits it to me on 430, then receives my 430 transmission and transmits it on 144. We actually ran one end of a stage at RNY this way some years ago. The car was set on a hilltop at a church and we were about a mile away at the bottom of a ravine. Net control was some 20 miles away. I did bring my big Optima battery to run the mobile because in this mode the radio spends a lot of time transmitting. I also made a slingshot launched 144 antenna to let me temporarily set an antenna high in a tree for those times when 50-100' of elevation is all that is needed to "get out". Getting it up and then back down takes a little skill and luck. Only had to use that once but it was nice to have and I think part of what made being a ham in rally interesting was figuring out how to overcome communication problems thrown at you by the remote locations and terrain.
I have also been able to use the cross-band repeat capability of the radio I use now (a Yaesu FT-8800R) many times. There are times on stages when where you need to be at that moment happens to be located in a radio "hole" and you cant talk to anyone. Often it is just a few dozen yards away from a good spot. In these cases I will set the mobile (in the car) so it operates one of its two channels on the 144MHz channel needed to communicate with the stage or net control, then set the other on 430MHz, put it in X-band repeat mode, leave the car where 144 works well and walk to where I need to be with an HT set to the 430 freq. The mobile receives everything on the 144 freq and transmits it to me on 430, then receives my 430 transmission and transmits it on 144. We actually ran one end of a stage at RNY this way some years ago. The car was set on a hilltop at a church and we were about a mile away at the bottom of a ravine. Net control was some 20 miles away. I did bring my big Optima battery to run the mobile because in this mode the radio spends a lot of time transmitting. I also made a slingshot launched 144 antenna to let me temporarily set an antenna high in a tree for those times when 50-100' of elevation is all that is needed to "get out". Getting it up and then back down takes a little skill and luck. Only had to use that once but it was nice to have and I think part of what made being a ham in rally interesting was figuring out how to overcome communication problems thrown at you by the remote locations and terrain.
The older I get the better I was.
