Anyone else on here interested in the hobby of Amateur Radio?
Amateur Radio (or 'ham' radio) | Forum
Moderator billyHill
Jul 13 '16
a long long, long time ago I was, Leezy. There may be others here on the site that still are.
I've been amazed at what used to be a base station with a massive heater can now fit in your hand and in a glove box.
I've been amazed at what used to be a base station with a massive heater can now fit in your hand and in a glove box.
Moderator
Leezy
Jul 13 '16
a long long, long time ago I was, Leezy. There may be others here on the site that still are.
I've been amazed at what used to be a base station with a massive heater can now fit in your hand and in a glove box.
Thanks for the reply Billy.
Yes I agree it's really hard to believe how small & cheap some of these new radios are now (and probably even cover more frequencies too!)
I also think that the rise in popularity of the internet has had a major negative impact on the hobby as most people can now communicate instantly with anybody else they want to from a handheld device out in the middle of nowhere whenever they feel like it without having to worry about gaining any licence, building/buying any radio equipment or erecting antennae etc.
Moderator billyHill
Jul 14 '16
I gotta admit that is pretty logical thinking Leezy. I completely forgot about the FCC licensing. I know at least some of the portable units now can operate on antennas the size of a CB antenna. I've even seen them with built in ones.
Digital tuners have now replaced crystals and variable capacitors, so there are many more channels to be had... however what good does building a highway do if there are no people to use it???
I'm sure the Feds have stats on the current licensing, and that won't come near the actual figure if you include all of the outlaw users. It may be interesting to look it up one day just to see if the #'s have risen or declined with the internet age now upon us......
Digital tuners have now replaced crystals and variable capacitors, so there are many more channels to be had... however what good does building a highway do if there are no people to use it???
I'm sure the Feds have stats on the current licensing, and that won't come near the actual figure if you include all of the outlaw users. It may be interesting to look it up one day just to see if the #'s have risen or declined with the internet age now upon us......
Leezy
Jul 15 '16
Yes, it's amazing to think that it's only just over 1 generaration ago that nobody had even heard of communicating instantly without some kind of physical connection (or 'wire' if you like) and look at the world today, where you can talk relatively cheaply to anyone on the otherside of the world even while you sit on a beach or in the middle of a park somewhere!
I'm quite sure you'll find that there aren't the number of 'hams' in the world today compared to twenty or thirty years ago, but I could be wrong. I guess it is a lot easier to get into the hobby these days (especially with no requirement to learn Morse anymore) and equipment is so much cheaper too.
I'm quite sure you'll find that there aren't the number of 'hams' in the world today compared to twenty or thirty years ago, but I could be wrong. I guess it is a lot easier to get into the hobby these days (especially with no requirement to learn Morse anymore) and equipment is so much cheaper too.
Anthony101
May 10 '19
This looks like a forgotten topic. The gear (radios) have gotten a lot smaller, and with the exception of Icom, Kenwood, and Alinco, most are coming out of China. Which isn't a bad thing so far as the Quality Control is good. A lot of amateurs are getting excited over Digital modes, with quite a few repeaters going multi mode (analog, DMR, P25, Dstar, Fusion). Makes for some great channel congestion, lol
1tomealso
May 13 '19
(Sigh) I guess I won't be putting my LARGE 40 channel cb back in the Jeep anytime soon. She's a good one too when I run her with a 102 whip. For now a little Cobra and a K 40 mag mount that I use to talk a cross the corn field with will have to do.
BlackPine
Dec 17 '19
Licensed since 1985 as KB6LWN...
Lost all my gear in a California Wildland Forest Fire.
So many Boat-Anchors, so many Collectables... <sigh>
Have a couple VHF/UHF rigs now, but off grid so don't have the amperage to run any older rigs, BA's, or HF equipment. Stranded on the local repeaters, occasionally (rarely) get on EchoLink or IRLP.
LOOKING FOR: A Standard C50-D Transceiver or TenTec 6N2 6m/2m rig.
Also would like to get a Commander 328 Communication Scanner.
If anyone would have such available...
73 - Bruce
Lost all my gear in a California Wildland Forest Fire.
So many Boat-Anchors, so many Collectables... <sigh>
Have a couple VHF/UHF rigs now, but off grid so don't have the amperage to run any older rigs, BA's, or HF equipment. Stranded on the local repeaters, occasionally (rarely) get on EchoLink or IRLP.
LOOKING FOR: A Standard C50-D Transceiver or TenTec 6N2 6m/2m rig.
Also would like to get a Commander 328 Communication Scanner.
If anyone would have such available...
73 - Bruce
