Ham Radio Is It Worth It?

Status
Not open for further replies.

alcahuete

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jul 24, 2015
Messages
2,474
Location
Antelope Acres, California
At this point I'm thinking the OP is baiting us with stupid BS on purpose just to get a frenzy going. That's the only thing that makes sense here.

There's just no other explanation for any of this. He just keeps continuing to ignore sound advice, and replies with the absolute nonsense he does. Very first post, he started out baiting us with the rules and ID thing. In my almost 30 years as a ham, I have never, not once, wished that anybody failed the exam. I hope he fails the exam. He has no business being a ham with the attitude he has. He needs to stick with CB and call it a day. Plenty of good buddies out there to affirm how well his 18" disc magmount antenna works.



spoon.png

Best. Move. Ever.
 

jonwienke

More Info Coming Soon!
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Messages
13,416
Location
VA
All I’ve said is be a little more open and understanding while also saying hey, I’ve never done that and being inquisitive about something that might and does work.
That's a cool concept. You should try it sometime. Particularly when you have multiple people whose knowledge and experience greatly exceeds yours trying to educate you out of your ignorance.
 

danesgs

Member
Joined
May 21, 2008
Messages
486
Location
Leesburg VA
OK, I have your solution as to whether to take the trip without spending for the ticket (or maybe the license). Get your HAM radio tech license first. Don't buy any radio gear. Go to Echolink.org and sign up with your call sign, download the app for Android to your phone via the play store. Look over the MANY nodes that are both internet only and also repeaters and HF links and talk to those that interest you. You will find some unorthodox folks there like ARUFON. Amateur radio UFO Network and many other conferences that are VOIP and radio linked so you can talk to folks all over the world (with your HAM license being your ticket). That way if are interested in the radio side down the road, you can setup your own internet simplex node and talk to like-minded HAMs, or start your own conference etc.

Also do not be swayed by some HAMs that state "its not radio", that's a load of donkey-doo. You decide whether its worth your time and money without spending a lot of either this way.
 

KevinC

Big Dog...celebrating 10 years of abuse!
Super Moderator
Joined
Jan 7, 2001
Messages
11,341
Location
Home
C'mon guys, obviously the OP knows more about RF and physics than anyone else here.

I'm thinking transmitting 200w on an antenna in the same room only feet away has enlightened him in ways we just don't understand yet. People will look back years from now and say "Wow, that guy was a genius".
 

fxdscon

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7,162
C'mon guys, obviously the OP knows more about RF and physics than anyone else here.
Yep... A true visionary.

I heard through the grapevine that the authorities are going to reach out to the OP to re-write the entire question and answer pool for amateur radio license exams. No sense continuing with the old methods now that the real facts and laws of physics have been revealed to us.

How in the world have we managed up until now?
 

tweiss3

Is it time for Coffee?
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
1,070
Location
Ohio
Wow, this thread has given me a headache. There is a reason CBs rules (ignored or not) limit power to really low levels, to stupid proof from frying themselves.

If you have your HAM ticket, you should KNOW what and RF exposure evaluation is and what the power limits are. On 10M, you are required to maintain an exposure evaluation if you are over 50W (you said you are at 200). You also should know, exempt from exposure evaluation or not, just how far from your transmitting antenna is safe.

200W in an apartment, holy cow. You are lucky your neighbors haven't complained, or have pacemakers. Yes, your TV goes haywire and wifi shuts down, it's overloaded with RF that is harmful to other electronics and yourself.

The reason that your oddball CB magmounts worked is because there are loading coils in the base that did enough to match the coax and get out, but it's a very narrow match. It's not designed for 10m so it won't work on 10m without a really wide band tuner.

Honestly, there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here trying to help you, and explain why it doesn't work, but you seem pretty hostile to their help. I wish you the best, but I really hope you just stop and take a step back.

Let's put it this way, power is not always the answer. If power was the only answer, QRP operations wouldn't exist. How do people get 5000 mile contacts with only 5 watts? With the properly matched resonant antenna. It's amazing what the correct antenna designed to resonate on the desired band can do. Or could be a quarter wave whip with the correctly sized ground plane, a dipole, an end fed half wave, or another design.

By the way, if you look at some of the multi and verticals, anyone that has one working well has an insane ground plane system, I'm talking 32+ ground radials burried around the antenna.

Please take a step back before you hurt yourself or a neighbor.

BTW, I get pretty good 10m action on my 5W 817ND with a telescoping vertical only after I strong out the correct counterpoise wire.
 

WB9YBM

Active Member
Joined
May 6, 2019
Messages
1,390
THe needs to stick with CB and call it a day. Plenty of good buddies out there to affirm how well his 18" disc magmount antenna works.

although (to be fare) there are good CB ops out there (especially when considering/comparing to some of the BS on 20M that even needed FCC "attention")--no need to get elitist! (I've been active in both ham & CB radio since the mid-1970s and have seen the good and the bad in both services).:)
 

R0am3r

Salt Water Conch
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 13, 2014
Messages
724
Location
Oneida County, NY
My CB and KL 203 P only put put 11 AMPS total.

Once again Ham is a vastly different beast.

Ok, to start... Maybe you should spend a little time learning the basics before you post. Saying things like my CB puts out 11 AMPs is wrong. Transmitter output is measured in watts, not amps. Second... Ham is NOT a vastly different beast. The only difference is the frequency you are operating on. I recommend that you spend a little time learning about amateur radio before you go off and take a memorized test. Get yourself a few books and educate yourself about amateur radio. Take a look at the ARRL web site (among others) for ideas. ARRL :: Beginners & New Hams

You need to figure out how to get an antenna outside your apartment building. Transmitting high power at 27MHz is dangerous for humans in the same physical space. If an outside antenna isn't possible, consider setting up a mobile system with the appropriate radio and antenna. Additionally, you should look around the web for some of the software defined radios (SDRs) and tune them to the amateur bands. Give a listen to the 20 meter band during the day and maybe 40 meters at night. You will be surprised how much you will learn about amateur radio. After you get licensed, figure out how you will get on the air. Maybe you can use one of the remote systems (depending on your class of license) until you get your own system up and running. Learn the hobby first and it will be there for your entire life.
 

N4GEX

Member
Joined
May 7, 2018
Messages
47
Location
Graham, NC
If I feed my cookie sheet with coaxial cable then I need a balun, but if I feed my pizza pan with ladder line then I need a tuner. Either way, I'll hear myself talking over the toaster because the wavelength of the modulation produces a higher SWR. Have I got that right?
 

Dwitherspoon

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2020
Messages
64
What is even funnier is how long it is taking for folks to realize they are being trolled by this guy.....:whistle:

Not trolling, but it isn’t my first rodeo. You guys left to your own designs are why we have conspiracy theories regarding JFK and AREA 51. My cute mag mount tech harkens back to ww2. It worked then and it works now. Just not with high amps/wattage draw. 11 amps is a vastly different creature than 25 amps, especially as a ground plane is concerned. You guys know this, but don’t like my style. I’m always fast and loose, but always in control. You guys would be much better served in indulging my time tested, 70 year old tactics, other than dismissing it or calling it lies. My cute tactics have worked and will continue to work on CB. Not Ham. It requires a bigger ground plane and it doesn’t help having a built in amplifier that draws 25 amps in my dx 94hp.

My entire cb setup draws 11 amps with a 200 watt ssb and 100 watt am MAX transmitter line booster via the kl 203.

The ham screws up my tv, WiFi. Not the CB with boosted output. After keying up my ham twice, I shut it down. Why? Because it shut down my apartment.

Love you guys, but be honest.

My setups have worked, will continue to work and will also work in the future. Ham is a different beast.

I’m learning.
 

jonwienke

More Info Coming Soon!
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Messages
13,416
Location
VA
Power has nothing to do with the minimum size of a ground plane needed for an antenna to operate efficiently at a given frequency. Adding power just makes the shortcomings and inadequacies of an antenna setup harder to ignore. Your ignorance is a lot more pervasive than you realize, and if you are indeed learning anything, it's a glacially slow process.
 

RockyBennett

Newby
Joined
Jun 27, 2020
Messages
68
Location
Valencia County, New Mexico
Not trolling, but it isn’t my first rodeo. You guys left to your own designs are why we have conspiracy theories regarding JFK and AREA 51. My cute mag mount tech harkens back to ww2. It worked then and it works now. Just not with high amps/wattage draw. 11 amps is a vastly different creature than 25 amps, especially as a ground plane is concerned. You guys know this, but don’t like my style. I’m always fast and loose, but always in control. You guys would be much better served in indulging my time tested, 70 year old tactics, other than dismissing it or calling it lies. My cute tactics have worked and will continue to work on CB. Not Ham. It requires a bigger ground plane and it doesn’t help having a built in amplifier that draws 25 amps in my dx 94hp.

My entire cb setup draws 11 amps with a 200 watt ssb and 100 watt am MAX transmitter line booster via the kl 203.

The ham screws up my tv, WiFi. Not the CB with boosted output. After keying up my ham twice, I shut it down. Why? Because it shut down my apartment.

Love you guys, but be honest.

My setups have worked, will continue to work and will also work in the future. Ham is a different beast.

I’m learning.


Everything you said in this post is against Ohm's law. You need to do a little bit of studying before you take your test.
 

merlin

Active Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2003
Messages
2,388
Location
DN32su
Well, I certainly think it is worth it or wouldn't have stayed with it for over 5 decades.
When I started, there was no technician class. just novice. By the 70s, I was extra class with a 1X2 call.
Radio, in whole is a lifelong hobby for me along with electronics,astronomy and invertebrate zoology(arachnology)
I did do time on 11 meter CB stemming from truck driving days, but now, lost interest.
I see a lot of technician class at the ham swap meets and field days and most have no clue what makes their tiny radio work. Might be a good option for you for the bands you would be restricted to, small antennas, lower power. with merits of repeater systems talking regionally or even globally with a small walkey talky.
There are amateur classes, even testing, offered online, but your first stop should be ARRL, they sort of run the show.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top