To ham it up or not and why - a discussion of "fit"

Skyd

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Hey there people of earth. I've had an interest in ham for a long time, since I was maybe 14 or 15 (41 now). I was heavy into 11 meter CB for a while, had a base station and huge 18' antenna on the roof of my dad's house.

I knew a couple people who were also ham operators and I considered going for a license but between the cost of equipment and other interests "mainly a job and steady gf" it all sort of faded. Over the years I've mostly just listened to my scanner off and on and haven't done much transmitting on anything.

I have a somewhat renewed interest in all things RF, in fact I recently got my GMRS license as the off road community is largely going that way and dropping CB radio. One thing that always interested me was talking skip to places that were far out of normal radio range. I just thought that was pretty cool. I also realize that GMRS is very purpose built, great for activities like hiking, off roading, maybe some local communication to facilitate some activities with others.

It's not for seeing how far you can talk, or "experimenting" with things really. This is why I have been considering ham again.

So the reasons I'd like to get my license are somewhat obvious. But there's also things turning me off. Would love to get some thoughts on this.

First - cost. I dont' have large amounts of extra income, but I have some from time to time. I'm always open to used equipment or starting off small, so that's perhaps not a large issue.

Second - The actual test. I've actually gone and taken a few technician class practice tests and passed without any studying. Most of what I got wrong are ham specific things, so I'd want to read up on those. I have decent basic electrical knowledge. However, I'd have to travel to take a test in person which isn't a huge deal or I could do it online. In reviewing the requirements for this I actually laughed at how seriously they take it (don't take this the wrong way). But the testing procedures are seriously locked down. This sort of relates to my final "turn off"

Lastly - Some....not all.....some and perhaps the noisiest of hams really put me off and make me question if I want to get into this and communicate with any of these people. It largely seems like a giant "measuring" contest. Nearly all replies contain "I've been a ham for x number of years". It's all very pretentious. All hobbies have these people and I know there are MANY hams that are not like this but really this is a large reason the hobby may be in danger. I'm not trying to get my PhD in RF and electrical engineering (I actually work in an electrical engineering department for my job but not an engineer personally) and while I would love to learn things I'm not trying to argue about who's right or wrong and be told I dont' know anything because I'm a newb and unless my ancestors operated the amateur radio on the Mayflower I should hit the books harder.

So in closing - maybe I'm not a fit, or maybe ham isn't a fit for me. I'm not sure. I'm a glutton for information and love learning stuff. But for casual use, and "fun" maybe it's just to stuck up and expensive.

**** If you made it this far, you might be thinking - what a jerk, why bother asking this question if he doesn't like hams. That's not at all the case, and in fact this is written in a very devil's advocate sort of way to spark some debate as to what the reasons might be or not be for getting my license and what I can expect if I try and enter this hobby ****

So that all being said - would love to hear some thoughts on this.

OH - PS, I saw some stuff about SOTA and POTA. I think that's the correct acronyms and that is interesting as well so another thing to add to the Pro's list. I live in a very mountain region with many 4000 footers to hike (i'm out of shape though, lol)
 

ladn

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@Skyd--Ham radio is what you make of it and you can devote as much (or little) time/money in it as you like.

As you've said, taking the Technician (and to a similar extent, the General) test isn't that big of a deal. You do need to study, at least, for the ham specific items. While testing is still mostly an in-person experience,, some VE (Volunteer Examiner) groups are offering on line testing.

There are a$$hats in all hobbies. You've probably seen your share in the off roading community and ham radio isn't any different. Deal with it, Illegitimi non carborundum!

I encourage you to get licensed and upgrade to General (most VE's will let you take the General test free in the same session after passing the Technician test). A General license will open a lot more doors for you than the Technician. Which ones you choose to enter are up to you.
 

Skyd

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Northern Grafton County, New Hampshire

Indeed, and I know this to be true in any hobby I've entered. The pretentiousness is strong in ham's that fit this category and it's off putting. It's unfortunate they are so vocal.

If I test, and especially if I test in person - I'll prepare myself for the general. Might as well go for the gusto. I should have no issue passing the Technician class so if I put in some study time I think I'd be ok.

Thanks for the encouragement
 

AI7PM

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1. The cost of equipment is lower than it's ever been. Caveat, you get what you pay for.
2. "But the testing procedures are seriously locked down. This sort of relates to my final "turn off". It's locked down for everyone's protection. Clowning around, allowing cheating, selling a test and alike would just result in FCC taking back the process and making it MUCH more difficult to find and schedule a test.
3. There's curmudgeons no matter what hobby one chooses. I'd agree ham radio gets more than it's share of (insert expletives here), so, spin the dial and smile. There's plenty of frequencies on every band to just "move along" to when you encounter (insert expletives here).
All of the following ARE real ham radio; AM, FM, CW, SSB, ATV, Fusion, P25, DMR, NXDN, DMR, DSTAR,...... If someone says one or the other isn't, I've found it's usually because they don't understand it, are intimidated by it, lack the skill to master it, or are (insert expletives here).
Find the fun.
 

MUTNAV

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I agree, prices can be pretty reasonable for many things now....

Since you are in the engineering department, but not an engineer, you don't have to worry (I hope) about your hobby being so much like work that it's a turn off, which is a great thing. So a lot of your equipment can be home built if you want, or any aspect of it (antennas seem like a favorite thing to make yourself).

Thanks
Joel
 

N1EXA

FT8 Huntin Mudd Duck on the deep end of the pond !
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You should do this for yourself !
Get your Tech-General or Extra because you wanted to !
Learn because you want to better yourself .
Cracking out a credit card anybody can do that - You dont need a License !
Build or buy used or get hand me downs - Stop thinking Amazon New !

$30 SDR radio - A $30 Cheepo Baofeng A $15 Used scanner and some brass rods and coax and connectors your a Ham Station !

Went on the Local 1.25M 224.8 W1AEC Machine the other day using the $30 Baofeng on the Aux 438.8 input and a $15 Uniden Scanner for
224.8 the ouput !

Pete N1EXA
 

Skyd

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Northern Grafton County, New Hampshire
You all bring up some good points, this is exactly the type of thing I was hoping to spark. I'll admit - I was a little worried I was going to get some negative responses.

In regards to the being like work comment - I don't think even if I was an engineer here it would be "too much" like work. I actually do some light engineering in my position but without a degree, the heavy lifting is left to the smarter higher paid guys. I work in the wire and cable industry.

Concerning the testing procedures - I can see how keeping it tight prevents the "bad eggs" from making everyone guilty by association. I see that enough with Motorcycles and Off Roading. All it takes is someone throwing trash out on a trail and it's shut down, or a group of motorcycles doing wheelies down mainstreet and suddenly new laws are being written.
 

kc8jwt

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I was real active from about 1999 to about 2010. I would talk to a guy every morning on my way to work on the 2M repeater. We became kind of celebrities for the local scanner folks that would listen to us, especially in the winter time because when I would drive to work, people would listen to me and say what the roads were like. After the gentleman passed away, I kind of stopped operating. I did some HF stuff when I got my General class license. I don't have a super duper HF rig. It's an Alinco DX-70TH.

Around 2008 my son was born and in 2010 my daughter. Things got busy with kids and also living in a spot that I couldn't put any antennas up due to the landlord didn't want me to put anything up. I ended up moving closer to my work and my kids are now older. A few years ago, I got interested in DMR and my wife bought me a radio and while I use it, I don't use at much as I probably should.

I am the Assistant Scoutmaster for my sons Boy Scout troop. This summer when we went to summer camp, I took my HF rig with me and we set it up in camp. After a few minutes of getting setup and acclimated to my radio again because I hadn't used it for year. I got back into it and started making contacts. The kids were amazed and I was as well. In my many years of ham radio, it was the first time that I made true foreign DX contacts. Eastern Europe and a lot of other contacts here in the US. In doing that, the bug bit me and I was excited to do that again. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the radio and stuff up and it drew moisture and there is an issue somewhere in the radio.

This coming summer our scouts are planning on going to Gettysburg for camping. My plan is to replace the radio and then while I do that as well, get my antenna situation fixed at my house so I can start doing stuff at home.

Ham radio is what you make of it. If you have a good elmer, they will help you with most of you fundamental questions. I got interested in digital and emergency communication when I first started, but I like to explore other things that I could possibly do.
 

sallen07

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Lastly - Some....not all.....some and perhaps the noisiest of hams really put me off and make me question if I want to get into this and communicate with any of these people. It largely seems like a giant "measuring" contest. Nearly all replies contain "I've been a ham for x number of years". It's all very pretentious. All hobbies have these people and I know there are MANY hams that are not like this but really this is a large reason the hobby may be in danger.

Question about this. Are you talking about forum posts (here or elsewhere), things you've heard on the air (with a scanner or receiver) or real-life interactions?

I've only been a ham for a couple years (am I measuring? :) ) but here are three things I've learned:

1) As others have already stated, jerks are found everywhere, and ham radio is no exception. The flip side, of course, is that GOOD people are found [pretty much] everywhere, too, and ham radio is no exception.

2) YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). Read enough posts here or on other radio-related forums and you'll quickly see that the nature of the ham community varies greatly from place to place in how active it is, what facets of ham radio it focuses on, and how welcoming it is.

Which leads me to the most important point:

3) Don't let the view of ham radio you get from online forums scare you away. Before I got my license I read plenty of posts written by jerks and even more written ABOUT jerks and was very concerned that the local community was going to match all those posts. As a matter of fact, it took me several weeks after I got my license and a radio before I had the guts to hit that PTT and make my first contact. Turns out that my fear was totally unjustified. The first guy I talked to has become a great friend and elmer to me, and the local ham community has been very welcoming. We actually have a number of young people (teenagers and preteens) who have gotten their licenses the past couple years and they have been welcomed with open arms as well.

My disclaimer is point #2 ... I have no idea what the ham community is like in your area but chances are #3 will be true for you too.

If you haven't done so, program some of the local repeaters into a scanner and see what you hear.
 

Skyd

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Question about this. Are you talking about forum posts (here or elsewhere), things you've heard on the air (with a scanner or receiver) or real-life interactions?

So just to answer this question first - mostly online in various forms and while I realize that ALL hobbies have these people (I have many hobbies) this hobby seems to have an abnormally "loud" set of those people. I'm not suggesting there are more of them, just perhaps they spend more time promoting themselves. lol

That being said, I know there's quite a few active hams around here. I do have a few repeaters programmed and listen occasionally, though not that much. It's mostly "how am I coming in with my new XYZ from somewhereville" Which is totally fine.

Anyone I've known IRL that said they have their license has been cool, I have a good friend who has his technicians license but doesn't use it very much.

I like your point #3 also though because it will most likely take me some time to hit the PTT as well. I'm somewhat introverted as it is.
 

GlobalNorth

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Before you buy anything or commit to the hobby [now that the license has a fee], go online and listen to the HF bands on the online SDRs. If you have a scanner, listen to 6 meters, 2 meters, 1.25 meters, and 70 cm.

Your locale dictates a lot: noisy solar panels, high voltage towers, industry, mountains, real estate lot size, city, suburban, or rural, etc.

If D-Star is big in your area, buy Icom. if you like DMR, FT8, CW, or any particular mode - focus on that unless you are wealthy. Amateur radio is expensive and the options for operating modes are far more expansive than they were 40 years ago.

See what you think and know what you want to do before you pull the financial trigger.
 
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Skyd

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Well I found a site called HamStudy, you may have heard of it and I went through the ENTIRE question pool. I like that site because you can read an explanation of the correct answer so you're not just memorizing.

Anyway, after I went through the whole pool and read things on the ones I got wrong I took a practice test and scored 35/35.

I need to look into what I actually want to do if I get my license because I feel like I should just go straight for my general if I do it.
 

ladn

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Well I found a site called HamStudy, you may have heard of it and I went through the ENTIRE question pool. I like that site because you can read an explanation of the correct answer so you're not just memorizing.

Anyway, after I went through the whole pool and read things on the ones I got wrong I took a practice test and scored 35/35.

I need to look into what I actually want to do if I get my license because I feel like I should just go straight for my general if I do it.

Also take a look at Ham Test Online. I like their format.
Remember, you can't "go straight for my general". You have to test and pass Technician, then test for General. Most VE's will let you take upgrade tests free as long as you keep passing. I do think going for Tech and General at the same time is a very good idea!
 

Skyd

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Well - I think the "ham bug" has officially bitten me. While listening to some ham frequencies on my scanner this weekend I not only heard a couple of friendly chaps chatting, but on a 10m frequency....can't recall off the top of my head, 29.600 maybe? anyway I was picking up a CQ from Kansas city reasonably clearly on my little Discone antenna and Radioshack PRO-106.

When I had a CB base station in the last 90's that was my favorite part, talking "cloud skip" to other states

As it sits there are 2 things in particular that are of interest to me. General DX of any type, and SOTA/POTA. I think it only makes sense to get my general license to open up the possibilities for those things.

I also have a small closet in my bedroom that does nothing but collect junk. It's only about 2' x 4' but with the door open it's plenty sufficient as a "dork shack" for ham stuff, scanner stuff, and whatever else.

Anyway just thought I'd share that my interest and excitement level got a boost over the weekend and thanks to all that supplied with encouragement.

Apologies for using any terms incorrectly - I'm a noob :)
 

VA3WEX

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I'm a newish ham (2 years) and a brand new CBer (6 months), so I can compare and contrast a little, from my experience anyway.

Operating Environment.--CB, being constrained to 40 channels, tends to be cacophonous. For DX "skipshooting" on sideband, which is what I like to do, the best analogy is that it's like being in a noisy and crowded restaurant and trying to have a conversation with someone a couple of tables over, when there are lots of other conversations going on. Possible, but challenging. Ham has the luxury of multiple bands, and essentially infinite frequencies; so overlapping on the same frequency as someone else is rude when you have the luxury of moving over a couple of kHz to your own frequency. So, the only time you get the same kind of cacophony on ham is in pileups for a contest, for a rare DX, or for POTA/SOTA hunters. I suppose doing a lot of CB DX would be good "training" for ham pileups!

Jerks-on-the-air.--CB has a bad reputation for this, and you will find people playing music, singing, or making farting noises and generally being jerks on the air. Note, YOU WILL GET THIS WITH HAM RADIO TOO. Perhaps slightly less, but then it's hard to say: with multiple bands and essentially infinite frequencies, they are not so noticeable. Basically, CB is not THAT bad; ham is not THAT good.

Ability to do DXing.--From Ontario, my 6 Watt ham radio (FT-818) has contacted Belarus; it's my longest contact, and was done with a 40/20 trapped dipole up about 40 feet. Most of my contacts have been continental US. My President McKinley CB, barefoot at 4 Watts, with a Sirio 5000 magmount on my car, has gotten me to Florida and Louisiana. I have an end-fed antenna and a tuner, so I want to put them "head to head" so to speak on the same antenna this summer and see which one can get out farther. I suspect it's going to be about the same. So if you want distance and and distance alone, it'd be a toss up between CB and QRP ham; but both decent enough to be satisfying.

Other Operators.--If you find the local hams in your area are snobs, then just don't bother joining a local club. It's not mandatory; just operate the way you want to. Sounds like POTA or SOTA might be right up your alley, particularly as you are in a mountainous area. Most of my own hamming is POTA; I love hiking into a park to find a spot and making new and interesting antenna setups. The POTA exchanges are short and business-like, so you don't have to get bogged down ragchewing with people with whom you don't particularly click. There are no CB clubs in my area, so I can't compare. CB DX interactions seem to be even more brief and businesslike than POTA exchanges; there are so many other operators talking at the same time, you're lucky to just hear someone saying your number and "waving hello". But I find it makes a CB DX contact all that more satisfying for the challenge.

Price.--CB radios are generally less expensive than ham radios, unless you're just wanting a very cheap 2m handheld as your ham radio. It might be good as a starter, but I suspect it may become unsatisfying quickly; at least around here there are a few local 2m nets, but the repeaters are generally quiet and hardly anyone monitors 146.52. In my area, there is no action of any significance on 70 cm and 1.25m is absolutely dead. So, I fear that if all you have is a 2m radio, you'll likely be stuck with no one to talk to. But just to confirm, monitor near you with some SDR or something, just to make sure. Ham radio HF is far more popular than 2m, but the radios are correspondingly more expensive. On the other hand, there seems to be quite a bit of CB DX traffic. CB antennas are generally pretty affordable, being simple monobanders. Of course you can make your own antennas, for either CB or ham, so you can cut the cost of that down quite a bit. Overall, though, if you are on a tight budget, CB might get you more bang-for-buck.

Voice and alternatives.--All I've ever done ham-wise has been voice. But there are also a gazillion digital modes, all of which seems far to complicated for me. If you can figure it out, though, that would open up possibilities for a whole lot more contacts, as digital is huge, huge, huge in ham radio. Morse Code is quite popular on ham, too, particularly for the SOTA operators as it is a very efficient low-power mode and there are a number of CW-only radios that are small and light and easy to carry up a mountain. I'd love to learn morse code, but it's pretty challenging. CB is 99.9% voice (I have heard both CW and digital on CB, but I think it is likely hams with modded radios sneaking into the 11m band: no commercial CB radio comes equipped to do either CW or digital).
 

Falcon9h

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Nope-not for me.. too many nastyhams, ham cops, FCC cult worship for me. I have no desire to get a license or get castigated if I use a Baofeng or God forbid, break or question some BS rule. And clubs are completely out. I'd rather be sentenced to Rura Penthe in Star Trek. I've seen some sad hams have a stroke if God forbid you use a detachable antenna on a radio with FRS frequencies. I'll pass on such pettiness.
If I was gonna do something like off-roading I'd use MURS or GMRS and have done.
 
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