B.a.r.s.

[jcpd9720]

Are there any B.A.R.S. members that regularly play on here?

I ask, because I am taking the Technician test at the Red Cross on the 18th, and am very interested in joining B.A.R.S. when (notice I didn't say if!) I get my ticket. I wanted to know how well everyone got along, and if it was worth it to join.

 

[KR4BD]

I've been a BARS member for over 25 years and will probably be one of the examiners when you take your test next week. Other than the VE testing and hamfest each August, I am not very active in the club. The membership is a mix of older (experienced) and newer hams with monthly meetings at the Red Cross. The club supports two 2-meter repeaters in Lexington (147.165 and 146.76) and is involved in various public service activities. As a member, you can get involved as much, or little, as you like. The dues are $20 per year. The newsletter is published on-line. If it works, here is a link to the July issue:

https://commcenter.insightbb.com/at...d_unicode&uid=253&number=2&filename=10Jul.pdf

Welcome to Ham Radio!

Tom, KR4BD

 

[wx4svr]

I've been a BARS member for over 25 years and will probably be one of the examiners when you take your test next week. Other than the VE testing and hamfest each August, I am not very active in the club. The membership is a mix of older (experienced) and newer hams with monthly meetings at the Red Cross. The club supports two 2-meter repeaters in Lexington (147.165 and 146.76) and is involved in various public service activities. As a member, you can get involved as much, or little, as you like. The dues are $20 per year. The newsletter is published on-line. If it works, here is a link to the July issue:

https://commcenter.insightbb.com/at...d_unicode&uid=253&number=2&filename=10Jul.pdf

Welcome to Ham Radio!

Tom, KR4BD

You may have been one of my examiners back in 05 or 06... I'll have to see if I still have that examiner sheet with the examiner calls on it. I'll try to hunt it down today.

 

[jcpd9720]

I've been a BARS member for over 25 years and will probably be one of the examiners when you take your test next week. Other than the VE testing and hamfest each August, I am not very active in the club. The membership is a mix of older (experienced) and newer hams with monthly meetings at the Red Cross. The club supports two 2-meter repeaters in Lexington (147.165 and 146.76) and is involved in various public service activities. As a member, you can get involved as much, or little, as you like. The dues are $20 per year. The newsletter is published on-line. If it works, here is a link to the July issue:

https://commcenter.insightbb.com/at...d_unicode&uid=253&number=2&filename=10Jul.pdf

Welcome to Ham Radio!

Tom, KR4BD

Tom, were you there today? I was that big guy in the fire department t-shirt.

How long does the process usually take to get a callsign? I am anxiously awaiting it!

 

[KR4BD]

Lee

I WAS there grading tests with 3 other VEs. I don't think you were at the same session that I was involved with. We had two men and two women taking tests today at the Lexington Red Cross. Neither of the men taking tests were from Okolona. One was from Nicholasville and the other from Waynesburg, KY. So, perhaps you were testing at another" test site? I think there is another group in the area also doing ham tests. Our VE group today was WCARS accredited and most of us are affiliated with the B.A.R.S. (Bluegrass Amateur Radio Society).

Regarding your question about getting your license...

Depending on how the VEs file your paperwork (via snail mail or on-line), it generally takes anywhere from 1 to about 15 days for your license info to appear on the FCC database. Once it does, and you find your callsign, you are "legal" to go with the privileges of the license you just earned.

Tom, KR4BD

 

[jcpd9720]

I didn't know there was a Bluegrass Amateur Radio Society, I was originally referring to the Bullitt Amateur Radio Society... they have a test on the 3rd sunday of the month at the American Red Cross here in Louisville. That's the one I was at.

Thanks for the info on the time line, I am hoping it's pretty fast. I am anxious!

 

[KR4BD]

A good friend of my is a VE in the Louisville area. His name is John and callsign is K4AT. He may have been one of your examiners today. You might look on your CSCE to see if he was one of the signers....

Tom, KR4BD

 

[jcpd9720]

He wasn't one of the signers, but there was a 4th gentleman there that it could have been. After all the testing was finished we all sat around for a little bit shooting the breeze. They were all pretty nice, and when they found out where I make my living the conversation really started!

 

[KR4BD]

Yes....despite what many think and say on these boards about ham radio operators, MOST of us are nice guys who really want to expose the hobby to others. We all have varied interests in radio and that is why ham radio is so great.... We all pursue our own goals in the hobby be it DXing, Public Service, Experimenting, Teaching, Giving Tests, etc.

Yesterday I helped the VEC group in Madison County (Richmond) with their testing. We had two men there who both failed the test by only a question or two. We (the VEs there) felt so bad for these guys, we spent over an hour with them afterwards trying to help them get prepared for their next attempts at the test. One guy, missed most of his questions in one or two particular subject areas. We told him what to study. We really wanted to encourage them NOT to give up! They were "that close" to passing!

Well, guess what?

One of them returned today to our test session in Lexington and passed with "flying colors" to earn his Technician License. I told him, he could be a General Class operator next month if he really wanted it badly enough!

He was "pumped"!

I really think he will be back soon to try it!

Tom, KR4BD

 

[jcpd9720]

I haven't met anyone that is a ham that isn't really pumped when you ask them for help... I think it's what got them into it in the first place. I have always wanted to get my ticket, mainly for the krs on scanners, but once I started studying I really got pumped! I figured I would study up for General too since I was no longer getting it just for the law!

 

[ofd8001]

I'm too lazy to look up the differences between General and Technician. I know code used to be a requirement, but something is telling me that's no longer required.

 

[jcpd9720]

From the FCC Website:
Technician
The privileges of a Technician Class operator license include operating an amateur station that may transmit on channels in any of 17 frequency bands above 50 MHz with up to 1,500 watts of power. To pass the Technician Class examination, at least 26 questions from a 35 question written examination must be answered correctly. Technician Class licensees also have privileges in four amateur service bands in the HF range (3-30 MHz) (Refer to Section 97.301(e)).
General
The General Class operator license authorizes privileges in all 27 amateur service bands. Upon accreditation by a Volunteer-Examiner Coordinator (VEC), an individual can help administer certain examinations. In addition to the above written examination, the requirement for a General Class operator license includes a 35 question written examination for which 26 correctly answered questions is the minimum passing score.

There are a few places to find an excellent listing of channel authorizations, the best being a chart from ARRL.

 

[wx4svr]

You mean this chart?
HAM Band Chart - ARRL

 

[jcpd9720]

You mean this chart?
HAM Band Chart - ARRL

Cody, I wanted to make the chief find it! LOL

 

[KR4BD]

Congratulations!

Lee:

Congrats! I see your General Class License was issued on Wednesday, July 21. Those who tested with us here in Lexington last Sunday afternoon, also had their licenses posted on Wednesday. The FCC is pretty fast these days. Back in the dark ages (mid-70's) we had to typically wait 90 days or more to know....and you could not operate until you had the license IN HAND. And the worst part of it all was the FCC would not tell you if you passed or failed at their test sessions... You had to wait for the news to come in the mail.....90 days or more later!

Tom, KR4BD

 

[jcpd9720]

Lee:

Congrats! I see your General Class License was issued on Wednesday, July 21. Those who tested with us here in Lexington last Sunday afternoon, also had their licenses posted on Wednesday. The FCC is pretty fast these days. Back in the dark ages (mid-70's) we had to typically wait 90 days or more to know....and you could not operate until you had the license IN HAND. And the worst part of it all was the FCC would not tell you if you passed or failed at their test sessions... You had to wait for the news to come in the mail.....90 days or more later!

Tom, KR4BD

Thankya thankya sir! I couldn't imagine "The Dark Ages", waiting months for the license! I was a hawk watching the ULS! When I got home, I set up my Kenwood tk-730g, reprogrammed with some select frequencies, such as BARS repeater and a few others of theirs, and ARTS. I turned the scanner to the recieve freq of BARS, and did a test in the way that they prefer... I didn't hear my transmission, but someone answered me! I got my first contact without even being able to hear him through the radio, it was through the scanner. I checked all of the settings, and did a few tests with some of my fire department's simplex channels (154+ mhz). those all worked, so I have narrowed it down to the Kenwood not liking ham frequencies. I will now have to get a 2 meter rig just to play!

 

[LouisvilleScanMan]

You should also check out the Louisville club, A.R.T.S.

The Amateur Radio Transmitting Society meets on the second Friday of the month at the McMahan FD. You can learn more at Amateur Radio Transmitting Society W4CN