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

[KI5EDJ]

Oh, you don't like me because I'm a ham? Now that we've established that fact, I'll sleep just... LOL, just pickin' at ya!
To me, CB, FRS, Marine VHF, etc. are simply other modes or other bands, kinda like 70cm vs 2 meter. That's it. There's no reason to leave those modes out, though I think ham radio is probably the most versatile "mode" you'll find.
As for testing, what you described is nothing compared to the MROP or GROL test. Those are crazy strict. The General and Extra tests I took were in a relaxed setting. I passed Tech and General at the same time, you probably can also. Extra (and GROL) worked me over (and I have yet to pass the GROL). MROP was a little harder than tech, but easier than general.
It's $50 tops to get tested and licensed, and decent used HT's can be had for $150. If you don't get into ham, the HT will still be worth most of what you paid for it.
Keep in mind, too, that learning has only begun when you crack a study guide. All those fancy letter licenses, ham especially, are really licenses to *learn*. It's a journey, not a destination.

 

[WRQS621]

Just get license. it last $10 and you can get it renewed every 10 years for the rest of your life. It like all licenses, you got it if you need it.

 

[jeepsandradios]

Just get license. it last $10 and you can get it renewed every 10 years for the rest of your life. It like all licenses, you got it if you need it.

FCC fee is now $35 for amateur as it is with GMRS.

 

[Skyd]

Just get license. it last $10 and you can get it renewed every 10 years for the rest of your life. It like all licenses, you got it if you need it.

I mean - I passed tech and general in one sitting last night so, ya know. I guess that's that

FCC fee is now $35 for amateur as it is with GMRS.

Jeeps and radios - key ingredients to a fun weekend

 

[K7MEM]

I mean - I passed tech and general in one sitting last night so, ya know. I guess that's that

Well, congratulations. Welcome to Amateur Radio.

I'm sure you learned a lot from studying for the tests, but the real learning starts once you get the license.

IMHO, none of the tests are very difficult, as long as you are well prepared. You can go back later for the Extra test, but if the General suits you needs, just enjoy it.

I had a Novice license for a very long time, before I decided to upgrade to Extra. For me, the Novice gave me all the band access I needed. But when I realized that the licensing structure was about to change (1999), I upgraded. Like you, I took the Tech and General written tests at a single sitting. But I also have a 13 WPM Morse test. Then, two months later I took the Advanced and Extra written tests. Again, at that same sitting, but this time there was a 20 WPM Morse test. I was very well prepared, so I didn't find any of it stressful.

I have been licensed since 1965 and was a electronic design engineer for most of my working career. But I never found that Amateur Radio had much to do with my engineering career. The engineering I did at work was very different then Amateur Radio. Some of the basic stuff applied to Amateur Radio, but much of it did not. So don't take it too seriously because, after all, Amateur Radio is just a hobby.

 

[R0am3r]

I mean - I passed tech and general in one sitting last night so, ya know. I guess that's that

Congrats and welcome to a lifelong hobby.

 

[GROL]

My main interest in Amateur Radio is to remain proficient in operation and technical issues. My skills started in the US Air Force long before I was a licensed Ham. I had three career fields that included a wide spectrum of electronics communication. Ground Radio, Wideband/Satellite and Air Field Systems.

For me, the alure of talking to anyone on a repeater faded fast. I enjoy the challenge of making simplex contacts whether it is HF, VHF, UHF or SHF.

Your interests will change over time as you move through the hobby. There is essentially every aspect of wireless technology available in Amateur Radio. If you get bored with one, you can move onto another.

2 meter and 70cm dual band radios are inexpensive. Good ones starting around $150 handheld and mobile around $300. Mobile antennas for around $50. Base for less than $100. Do yourself a favor and do not buy the weird named Chinese radios. You will be disappointed. Most of them are junk.

HF allows the longest terrestrial point to point communications, and is therefore a good skill to keep for large scale incidents needing long range communications. It does not have to be expensive either. You can get a good 100 watt HF radio for less than $700. You can make a very effective antenna for $100 or less. For very deployable efficient antennas I favor inverted V antennas with full length elements. An inverted V for 20 meters and up is not very large with a fairly small footprint. They are also easily converted to very effective NVIS antennas for very near HF contacts and up to a few hundred miles. NVIS can cover the geographical range skipped over by the usual inverted V with an apex of 90 degrees. Vertical HF antennas are also very portable, but suffer the affects of electromagnetic interfernce.

My biggest issue with Amateur Radio HF, is there are very few operators interested in anything related to developing skills making challenging contacts using varying methods or techniques. It is usually conversations about other than technical or radio skills. There is way too much chasing contacts that last just long enough to get a signal report. Way too much contesting. Too much complaining about your signal if it does not meet their 5 by 9 criteria. Too many with no patience establishing communications under difficult circumstances. It is as though they expect it as clear as solid repeater traffic. In fact I have experienced the same thing with marginal repeater contacts. No patience.

If you are interested, jump in. Start with the simple and expand your knowledge and skills. You will not usually get bored; and if so, plenty else to try out.

 

[paulears]

The most rewarding thing I'm doing is teaching one of my customers (boat radios) about HF. He is a lone yachtsman - so he's having trouble with working HF marine comms - not the operating practice with callsigns and stuff, the running of SSB and understanding how different bands work in relation to distance and propagation. He's very keen, and I know bugger all about marine matters, bar selling VHF radios, so I'm learning about sailing, just for info, and he's learning about the radios, the antennas, the ATUs and how it all goes together. It's really ham radio, outside of the ham bands, but close to them. I think he is mad - sailing from the UK to the Carribean on your own, in a quite small boat - where you can sleep for 30 mins at most before waking and checking your location and the radio aids.

 

[AC9BX]

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)

If you have an affinity for the radio arts and wish to transmit legally with more than a few Watts amateur radio is for you. If you just want someone to talk to, while amateur radio is a place to find that, there's any number of other choices.
Amateur radio has some ugliness. There's no shortage of hams doing exactly what they're encouraged not to do. Just don't participate.

There's lots of bandwidth out there. And of course the radio has an 'off' position.
Security for testing is really about cheating. Don't cheat. The government takes radio licensing seriously. Since amateurs test themselves they by extension take it seriously.
Now, if you do have that affinity for the radio arts the sky is the limit. The reason amateur radio is such a great hobby is you get what you expect. If you want to go out and do emergency comms you can, or not. If you want to collect radios (no license needed for that) you can, or not. Want to get on the air and gab? You can, or not. Want to build your gear, radios, antennas, cables, power supplies? You can, or not. Want to build a record-setting contest station? You can, or not. Contests can be great fun but they're not required. Get on the air as much as you like, or not. Join a club, or not. Send code by longwave with milliwatts, or 1kW to the moon and back on 76Ghz, ... or not. Travel to far off places to make contacts back home ... or not.
It can be very expensive. But it doesn't have to be. So maybe, like me, you'll have to resign yourself to not being able to compete favorably in contests with stations running 20kW ERP on 400 foot towers. There's no shame in that. You know what's fun? Contacting somebody 2000 miles away on a quiet day during solar minima using SSB running 4Watts into a simple wire. At least I find that fun. It's not for everyone. You can't do that unless you're ready to learn some stuff about how radio and modulation works.

 

[Skyd]

If you just want someone to talk to, while amateur radio is a place to find that, there's any number of other choices.

I actually prefer not to talk to other people. HAHA. I kid, I kid....well sorta. I won't be chewing any rags. Anyway thanks for the reply - I have my general as of yesterday. KC1SMT

Gonna probably cut my teeth on some sattelite work because I can do that with a couple of *cough* baofeng's and a homebrew 2m/70cm yagi.

 

[VA3WEX]

... I have my general as of yesterday. ...

Congrats!

 

[dkcorlfla]

I actually prefer not to talk to other people. HAHA. I kid, I kid....well sorta. I won't be chewing any rags. Anyway thanks for the reply - I have my general as of yesterday. KC1SMT

Gonna probably cut my teeth on some sattelite work because I can do that with a couple of *cough* baofeng's and a homebrew 2m/70cm yagi.

Maybe hold off on the satellites for now as they can be a real change with short time they will be in range and the crazy doppler shift. Perhaps with the help of a laptop and auto doppler correction but it is still going to be a full on contest like contact (very short and fast)

It might be better to start with the local repeaters on VHF and UHF. Make sure to check out the East Coast Reflector, great group with lots of linked repeaters. The tech net on Tue night 8:00 PM is a great place to simple listen and learn.

Congrats and enjoy, Dale

 

[GROL]

I actually prefer not to talk to other people. HAHA. I kid, I kid....well sorta. I won't be chewing any rags. Anyway thanks for the reply - I have my general as of yesterday. KC1SMT

Gonna probably cut my teeth on some sattelite work because I can do that with a couple of *cough* baofeng's and a homebrew 2m/70cm yagi.

Congrats on the General ticket! The Extra is about the same amount of studying and maybe less depending on how much knowledge you retain studying for General. I did them within a few weeks of each other. Much of the information is the same.

 

[sigxbill]

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.

1. Cost: All hobbies require some investment, and in the grand scheme of things, ham radio as a hobby is relatively inexpensive. So if you can't afford ham radio, you probably can't afford to have a hobby.

2. The Test: Just memorize the answers by going over them many times - you will know them well enough to pass before you know it. It's really not that hard.

3. "Measuring Contest": Ham radio is a hobby and thus entertainment. There is no hierarchal levels that 'require' obedience and militaristic respect in ham radio. The guys who try to promote that they are somehow important just because they have had their license x # of years are usually socially inept, insecure, and forgot that ham radio is supposed to be fun and entertaining. They are usually the 'ham police', worship the FCC, pretend the 1st Amendment doesn't exist, and primarily talk about the weather and radios. And yes - I agree with you that these are the guys that are killing ham radio!!! No one talks like them in real life - except for maybe church people - when at church! They sound ridiculous! When you come across any of those, just move on or change the channel - just like TV!

There is one caveat to this: some repeaters have a culture with existing relationships where everyone knows each other. For these places, you can't just expect to be 'part of the gang' immediately. You have to respect any hierarchal culture that exists there, introduce yourself, bring something to the table, become known, and earn respect. There is no way around this. It is just like normal life.

** Most important **: You have to remember ham radio is a social media. You have to have thick skin on any social media. If you don't have thick skin, you have to decide to grow a pair and jump in, AND don't take it too seriously. This is entirely up to you. If you don't want to grow a pair, then maybe it's not for you. OR - there are many places in ham radio - too many places IMHO - where the culture is all 'pairless', so not too hard to fit in there ... Again - if you don't like what you hear, change the channel - just like TV!

I hope this helps

 

[paulears]

Ham radio, certainly in the UK has always had snobbery, and us Brits are really good at it. Class - is built into our social system, so when a licence has classes, exams, tests and other differences, of course a hobby falls into the same system naturally. The thing with ham radio was that it was all about self-development, perhaps even competition. A hobby will so many facets. Go back to WW2. They needed people with the skills to build, maintain bit above all, operate radio equipment. All those code breaking movies depended on the ham operators feeing in at the bottom, the mind-numbing data to win wars for your own country. After the war, from talking to the long dead hams alive when I started in late 78 - I discovered the groups where they still didn't tell people what they did. For many, because they'd been told not to. As newer hams came in, they were the under-class, war or no war service. When I joined the ranks properly in 1980, I was the newbie. I clearly knew nothing, needed to fit in and I tried hard. I tried a bit to alter things, but it was a slow push. We had a British Telecom research centre in the area and the scientific community who developed crazy things there tended to be hams. Very different hams to the war time brigade. I learned different things from them. Things I was more interested in. We had a surge in ham radio emergency service support but maybe 15% of the hams wanted that, it was a bit of a joke. I rather liked it. Some of the locals just were happy to chat, and chat and say very little. Others didn't appear much, but were developing ham TV - sending pictures to and from Holland. I liked that. Others worked in precise location equipment development - North Sea Oil and Gas. Other locals never came on to chat buy were doing microwave stuff way above my understanding. Others only did Morse - no voice at all. Others were into contests. The local club was really social, just a nice bunch with broadly common interests, but really there were 4 or 5 separate clusters in a small area. I drifted away when business changed and the group have morphed quite a bit. They came to my office to buy some bits and pieces when they discovered me and didn't even know I'd even been a ham or a club member. That's how the hobby changes. Now it seems that the busiest area is simply operating. I shouldn't be making up antenna cables for some of their members, but they lack any practical skills. That doesn't mean they're useless, but they know how to interface a Raspberry Pi to make a local DMR node. I don't. One of them has a fully computer controlled satellite installation and is very active on the higher bands totally unknown to the other hams in the area.

Pretty much this is how ham radio has always been. Old skills forgotten and unused, new ones integrated. I like the comment that it is social media of the technical clever sort, so all the negatives make sense. The good thing is that it is a two way hobby, not one way like YouTube and TikTok etc. If you are abrasive, nobody talks back, and you don't know they even listened or not. You hear idiots and just don't answer. They sometimes go a bit strange and behave badly, but they usually get bored and go away. Repeaters in busy cities attract the idiots, so 'normal' people just don't use them and leave the hobby, or migrate to a nicer area of it.

While Governments allocate licences by ability in numeric order, then snobbery is always going to be a part. Despite denying it, there was kudos when I changed my G8 into a G4 when I managed to pass a CW exam. I was immediately better than my G8 friends. Silly really. Next allocation was G6 when G8 ran out and that gave the G8's a bit of kudos over them, and eventually when the entire series of G had run out, the new M and number series tagged these people as lower class, as we all know and believe, every exam we personally took in anything was harder than the current ones.

Ham radio is no different to being in a Yacht club. I've discovered the boating fraternity since I have been selling Marine radios, and they're even worse than hams. The Government made me take an exam to have my testing and demo licence, and all they wanted to know was what kind of boat I had. Telling them I didn't have one tagged me as a moron - an amateur at the bottom of an amateur pyramid compared to the professional mariners.

I'm told that Martial Arts is very similar - Different ones all claiming superiority and then the belt progressions.

It's a hobby and if you fit, it's something to spend your money on!

 

[285M]

I was in the OPs position about a month ago. Almost exactly the same situation. My advice is get your license. It costs almost nothing. I think all in it cost me $50 or something that included a year’s membership in my local club as well. I just bit the bullet a month ago got my tech and general. Yea it’s hard to break into these clubs most of these people have known each other for a long time. I feel like I should have done this 30 years ago. The other thing I’ve experienced is I think most new hams get there license because their buddy was a ham and got them interested. Coming into the hobby knowing no one is certainly difficult in my limited experience. I’m having fun so far a lot of frustrations as well but that’s how we learn. There are lots of YouTube videos and online practice tests so studying is not only free but easy. It took me about 2 weeks to study for both the tech and general tests, that was just watching a 20 minute video after dinner or taking 10 minutes to take a practice test. You could certainly do it much quicker if you have some uninterrupted time. The test is easy it’s multiple choice and there is no longer any CW (Morse code) requirement.

 

[bill4long]

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)

I don't see a question in that post, but gawd speed in your radio career.

 

[hp8920]

Since you're on RR and doing monitoring, you can be the scanner snob at your local club. I'd bet you already know more than 95% of them.

 

[ElroyJetson]

I'm an Extra Class amateur in my fourth license term. (10 years each, that means I'm old, or at least, not young anymore.)

Amateur radio is a pretty broad hobby. It has a lot of different speciality sub-hobbies within it. And it tends to be very clique-ish, too.

HF, VHF, UHF, microwave, satcom, DX, contester, ragchewers, packet, digital modes, portable operations, mobile operations, QRP, SSTV, ATV, EME/moonbounce, experimental....the list can be subdivided any way you can think of. There are those who will only run true vintage tube gear, and those who only run today's latest products, people who only run CW, and people who don't own a key. People who work HF CW and TTY modes but use software and specialized gear to do all the work for them so they're just reading the deciphered code on the computer screen. People who won't have any more conversation with you than required to get your call sign, location, and signal report because they're only after contest points or another DX award. (Worked all licensed amateurs in Tonga on 20 meters via greyline propagation while drunk, whatever...LOL, there are a lot of awards you can chase if that's your thing!)

It can be a very casual hobby or it can consume your entire life and all your time and resources. Some people are so into it, it isn't much of a stretch to say it hits them as hard as an addiction.

Being more than average in technical ability can lead to some interesting and frustrating interactions with many other hams, who often think they know a lot more than they actually do. But then again you'll encounter some who truly have something to teach, too.

It's a great hobby but it's not without its flaws.