New Life Games Tech Forums

Hey everyone,  :88-

There appear to be many Amateur Radio operators on NLG and since the subject has come up several times on the site, I thought that I'd start a thread for those who might be interested.

I hold an Extra class ticket, but have not been active for a while as other hobbies have taken up my time and money. I'd like to get back on the air one of these days -- it's on my "to do" list. When I was active, I preferred to work HF, both on SSB and CW. I also enjoyed some QRP now and then and used to have a 1/4 watt crystal CW transmitter for 40 meters which got out quite well with my Inverted-Vee. If I were to get back into the hobby today, I'd probably like to play around with Spread Spectrum.

Okay, so now you all know that there is a hidden meaning to my HAMburger Avatar. :96- :72- :72-

Since privacy is a major concern these days, there is no need to post one's call sign unless one wishes.

Those of you who are active might want to post pictures of your shacks, rigs, etc.  :89- :71-

Enjoy!

StatFreak :31-
:nlg-  Global Moderator

I have been a ham since the late 70's. Although I also have not been active. I hold an Advanced Class License. My first rig was a Heathkit HW-16 with the VFO.  I picked it up at a local Hamfest. 
I worked a lot of 40 meter CW back in the day.  I had a simple 40 Meter dipole and would stay up late gathering my QSL's from around the world. 

Thanks Stat for starting this section...  Advanced class here... never went for the "extra" because they are not issuing advanced anymore so I want to keep mine.....
  Here is a current pic I just posted in another thread and I will post some of the shack tomorrow...(not a pretty site) :60-

  In the meantime I am webmaster and one of the tech group for:

http://www.wb2jpq.com (http://www.wb2jpq.com)

  We have a interlink system throughout the world !

Thor777 - Joe

(notice the hand held radios by all)  :30-

  :205-  Advanced class here  :88-

Ham Radio was a big passion of mine at one time. I was lucky enough to go through 2 great solar cycles
and worked most countries funny thing is I just sold my crank up tower 55ft (month ago) with a Tail twister had a Mosley pro 67b 10-40 meter
with a few other antenna's on it.I have had so many rigs all the top of the line models as of now I still have
Icom 756 pro,
2 YES 2 Kenwood TS2000
Yaesu Quadra amp 6-160 1200 watt soild state no tune amp
and all kinds of vhf/uhf gear but those bands were never my style HF was the thing for me.

Once the  internet came along and they made it easy to get a ticket plus dropping the cw
I felt it ran it's course but I did mess with echolink for a little bit
also did packet when that was hot and new.I might have pictures of the shack in it's Prime  :96-
but that would be on the upstairs PC which now belongs to the wife
important note !!!! I still have a shack in fact the TS2000 is on now listening to the local cops  :89-
but the room has changed that's for sure.

Tim

Extra Class here I used to be active on HF but just have a 2m HT Feidaxin for those who want to know. Like to talk on 2 and 440
Maybe we could get an NLG Ham net going on the nodes or on HF to discuss slots!

Advanced class here, licensed in 1972. Active on 160 thru 2 meters as well as 220,440,927Mhz. I own a few repeaters, IRLP,AllstarLink systems. I collect Motorola radios, have a few Icom,Kenwoods...but dispise Yaesu due to piss-poor design and rotten product support.
Favorite HF rig  Icom 706MKII-G
Favorite Handheld Motorola Astro Saber III on UHF
Favorite Mobile Motorola Spectra (have them on 146/440/927Mhz)

73's! from Las Vegas......


Kirk

Maybe a slot HAM based theme.........like 73's and 88's     CQCQCQ or DX Digger!

 :205-  I was first licensed in 1978 and my parents bought me a Heathkit HW-16 KIT to build. (Anyone else call it the "Hot Water Sixteen"?) It was my first major electronics project. I later upgraded to a Henry Tempo-One (a clone of the Yaesu FT-200). I had a 40 meter Inverted-Vee and also used to do a lot of late night work. Unfortunately, I lost all of my QSL cards some years (decades) ago. :8-


I have to agree with your statements regarding the internet and the dropping of the code requirement. The FCC, ARRL, and W5YI have also made it too easy to study "to the test": there are too many newer hams who have no real electronic or radio knowledge. :58-

On the other hand, there are still lots of hams that are interested in electronics, radio propagation, and experimentation. :50-  It's not too surprising to find that a lot of NLG members are hams, since both hobbies have a strong focus on electronic tinkering. :79-
:98-
I flirted briefly with packet radio when it was new (was that the late 80's or..? CRS again.) but at that time I could already exchange email and access bulletin boards through my CompuServe account. Besides, digital bulletin board style transmissions didn't do it for me.

The primary attraction that ham radio held for me was the excitement of talking to people live across the globe using nothing but my own equipment and the air waves. It's not the same when one uses some third-party company infrastructure (phone, internet, or whatever)! Back when I was younger, I also enjoyed building electronic projects from QST magazine (and others) and playing around with my newly built "gadgets".


That would be COOL.  :wa
I would not be able to participate, unfortunately, because I currently have no gear :8- :8- :8-,  but it would be great to see others here take up the "cause". :71- :71-

I got a ham license in 1980, but I never really got into using it. I was only interested in the technical aspects. I had made a 2 meter rig with a PLL frequency synthesizer and got tired of being receive-only. I got into RTTL for a while, with a noisy 50 baud teletype. But computers were far more interesting and once I discovered modems, I lost interest in the radio.

  I was the same but then got involved with a group (not a club) that has a bunch of repeaters in my area and have them all interlinked to other "nodes" all over the world...  The computer can also be used through Echolink to talk to other Hams all over.   We are also experimenting in the 900 Mhz area and now have 7 900Mhz  repeaters up and running and are reprogramming abandoned Fire, Police and Business radios for these frequencies.  :71-

   Don't forget the 807's (beers)  :72- :97-

This is one I use for the 902-928Mhz band.....
Motorola MTX-9250 built from scratch

Kirk

These two are my favorites for use on the 440Mhz HAM band (and other places)

Motorola Astro Saber 406-512Mhz
Motorola PRO-7150 (in a HT1250 case) 403-520Mhz
The PRO-7150 is an interesting find. It seems the PRO-7150 was destined for the "South America" market and *NOT* type accepted in the North America area.It was purchased by a radio rental company,Engraved (damn near THRU the case) then sidelined as they legally could not use it.I purchased it for $200 with new battery,new rapid charger and FACTORY RSS software! The case was UGLY where they butchered it with numbers/name so I swapped it into a HT-1250 case.The only real differance is the nametag on the top and the rubber keys are slightly differant. For HAM use..it's fine :)

I use this old Clunker on the 2 meter band....
A *OLD* (Circa 1989) Motorola "Saber" high power (6 watts)
These radios are simply "Bulletproof" They hear and talk well.
Nothing small/cute or foofy here,just a killer radio...
People on the other end can't beleive it's a handheld.

Here is a shot of my mobile setup...

Using a Kenwood TM-V7 dual band 140 and 440 Mhz along with a Motorola MCS 2000 for 900 MHz

I wanted to get back into the hobby last year and had looked at buying a dual band VHF/UHF hand-held and an HF+6m rig, but I have too many hobbies and not enough :56-.  :37-
I had been looking at purchasing a used ICOM IC-756 Pro III and hadn't made up my mind about a hand-held. I would most likely have bought a 2m + 70cm.

Thanks for posting the pictures. K+ guys. :3-

Well..it's HERE..the G2E show in Vegas opens today...

For all the HAM radio fans lets call "446.000Mhz" simplex the unofficial "Calling Freq" for the show. If your here and have a UHF handheld this would be a good channel to use. There is also a UHF repeater on the strip. The frequency for it is 448.500mhz with a MINUS offset and a PL tone of 100.0Hz.

See you all at the show!


Kirk

never had a "ticket" but I used to run the bands in the 1970's cb craze..... above and below with footwarmers and everything.... then I learned better!!!!!!!!! but it sure was fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dx across the country, now that was fun....

Yeah, back then people didnt have "Echo" mikes, noisemakers and other garbage. Now the problem is when the "Freebanders" are going into the bottom end of the 10 meter band (28.000-29.7Mhz) with their "CB" style activities...

I used to do a little of that with my Palomar Model 200 providing the input to my SB200... :79- >:D

Kept it below 28.000, though, didn't need Riley paying me a visit.

cobra 2000 into a 1000 watt phantom, 6 additional banks of channels, 20k slider and man would it mess up TV in the neighborhood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

all gone now, but east coast skip was fun!!!!!!!!!!!! I really didn't know it was not "appropriate"

didn't mean to hijack the thread

I had a Digiscan, no "banks".  :71-

I started out calling "CQ DX, CQ DX" back then too and decided if I really wanted to do this, at least be legal.  I was satisfied with my General ticket for many years until the internet made it easier to upgrade to Extra.  One point I'd like to make here that I think is being overlooked.  The cell phone has definitely reduced the interest in ham radio but attrition through age is the biggest factor in reducing our population.  I became active in the Tucson Sabbar Shrine Radops and served as President in '89.  I have a roster from that time with 60 members, all Shriners and all Hams.  Today, there only a half dozen of us left.  I am trustee of the 2-meter repeater which is silent most of the time.  Most of my equipment has come from silent Keys.  Yes, it's much easier to get a "ticket" than it was back whe CB was the craze and most of those that take advantage of it will not be the experimenting/research hams of times past.  But without them, the future of ham radio will be history much sooner.  Jim

Hi. I have just recently joined this site and lo and behold, i see a section for ham operators. I was licenced back in Zimbabwe (Southern Africa) back in 1981 and had a full licence there (Callsign Z21BV). I moved to South Africa in 1989 and was licenced in the then controversial "indepedent homeland" of Boputhatswana and had the call H5AA. Once Bophuthatswana was re-incorporated into South Africa I was given a South African ZS6 call. Not too active on HF these days as I have a limited space problem for antennae. Occasionally you will find me on Echolink. Work of a Casino in the NW province of South Africa as their Technical Manager. Due to retire in three years time!! - Best wishes and 73 from Evan (ZS6EVD)

Hello Evan,

Welcome to NLG..... I know that I worked you back in the late 80's under H5AA for sure
might have the QSL card all that stuff is tucked away as I have gave up on HF
but boy were the bands hot in the late 80's for dx.I do have some HF rigs still
along with vhf/uhf gear sold my crank up tower last year and my amps,I did try echolink for awhile
but also burned out on that,nice to see another Ham here I was very surprised at how many people here are Hams.

Tim

Hi Tim - nice to catch up with you again. Yes I was very active in the late 80's and of course, H5AA was one of VERY few H5's in existence so of course I found I was rare DX!! All I used in those days is a dipole and an old Yaesu FT501 (quite a powerful rig). I now have a Hygain 14AVQ vertical and feed that with my TS130S. The vertical is faulty and I am too lazy to pull it aparat to look at it. Yes, there do seem to be many hams in the slot machine repair business - quite amazing really. I have just realised that (assuming you are in the States) it is very early in the morning there - it is presently almost 2pm Monday here. 73, de Evan

Evan,

The reason I know I worked you is that H5AA was a rare call back then in fact
I remember when you needed to find or hunt rare dx was to find out where the splatter
was coming from on any given band back then you found that stuff on your own it wasn't posted on the net like today.
Wow you still have some older rigs,I started out with many tube type Kenwoods,and Yaesu 101 series
back in the early 70's when I was a kid there was nothing like that old FT101 warming up the room late at night
when I was suppose to be sleeping for school the next day.
I will look for that QSL as I am interested in the year and band we worked on.
BTW: I am located in Niagara Falls,New York

73...Tim

HAM operator here as well :D

still hold just a Tech license but I'm going for the General in a few months.
My gear:

Yaesu 857D (HF/VHF/UHF)
Yaesu VX-6R
Puxing PX-777
Motorola Saber II (VHF)
Motorola Maxtrac (800 MHz - Public Safety)
2 - MFJ 949E Tuners
Astron 35 AMP Power Supply

Fiberglass vertical for 10M and a VHF/UHF J-Pole for local machines and simplex work.

The Saber is bullet-poof...They were originally sold to the Military in the 1980's and Police/Fire/EMS started using them in my area around 1988-1989.

 

Any HAMS still on NLG? Now hold a General and I've been working 40/80 meters with G5RV in the back yard but also work 20, 10, etc.

73

Mike

Yes.......
WB6EGR
Too many to count, the latest one is a Motorola XPR6550 Mototrbo handheld
Will post picture of radios.....

Kirk

More radios......
After all....I can't collect slot machines any more!!!!

No..it's NOT a "Police car" !!!
ALL Motorola equipment
High power Spectra's and Syntors on
146Mhz
445Mhz
927mhz
29&52Mhz
Police here are impressed, it's nicer than what they have :)

NICE! Any HF equipment at your station?  

I have a Motorola Briefcase Repeater that was retired from the Secret Service, along with several Saber's and the key loader. Also a Motorola M216, about a dozen assorted Sabers, bunch of 800/900 MHz Maxtrac's, and a few EF Johnson secure HT's that run AES encryption.

Also had a PRC 320 man pack which is still used by Special Forces, heavy sucker to move around but gotta like the features for pick nick table DX.

DISCLAIMER: I do not operate secure on the Amateur band for obvious legal reasons  :96-

After seeing that pick I wasn't thinking local Law Enforcement, I was thinking a sweet Fed mobile comms post :)

Yes...
Icom IC-706MK-IIG
Hustler 6BTV
LDG 200 tuner
Antron A99 for 10 meters

Repeaters.....
MSF-5000 on VHF
MSF-5000 on UHF
MSF-5000 on 900
XPR-8300 on UHF (mototrbo) (Las Vegas and Hawaii)
GR-1225 on UHF

Everything linked together with Allstar/Asterik 4 wire full duplex telephone software switching.

Remote base(s) Frequency Agile 2 and 440 Kenwood TM-G707A with custom controllers

In this household "IRLP" is a dirty word and Dave Cameron can kiss my ass :)

naw :) just my daily driver, but have been mistaken for "Federal" and "Local" Law Enforcement more than a few times

Nice setup!  iCom, Ya can't go wrong  :131-

I'm mainly a Yaesu guy but have owned a IC706 and kick myself in the ass for trading it!!

Back to your car.....If you drove by my QTH with that setup I would be thinking "OH, S**T!!! IT'S THE SLOT MACHINE POLICE!!! RUN!!!" LOL

Antennas kept VERY "Low Key" as to not attract attention (and look like the HAM Hoopties on hamsexy.com)
Painted black to blend in, from front to rear........
XM satellite patch antenna on 2.1Ghz
440 1/4 wave spike
927 5/8 wave gain
29/54 base loaded (minus whip in cargo area)
450 1/4 spike
146 1/4 wave spike
All antennas are "Antennex"

Do you have any bumper antennas? I have a bumper setup on a lincoln town car (800MHz, 440MHz, & VHF High Band), The bumper antennas aren't cheap and normally are used by Fed's when having even snub-nose antennas on the roof is a no-no or in my case when driving around Atlantic City at night and trying to avoid being hit with automatic weapon fire by people thinking I'm the po-po.

On the Dodge caliber I have a short VHF High Band whip mounted on the side of the hatch and a fake sat antenna that's really for 800MHz, plus another small whip for the Aircraft band (aviation buff). I get a lot of hostile looks in AC with the Dogde.....I need to invest in some kevlar lining and 3 inch ballastic glass before taking it to AC again,,,

I really like your ride, great setup and it's discreet to keep those without the know from spotting it.

Thanks :)
Vehicle has regular plates on it (no Vanity or god forbid HAM call plates!)
Frames around the plates are flat black.
ZERO "markings" such as stickers. Nothing that would make this vehicle "Differant"
from another one :)
Frame mounted towing "Receiver" with hitch/ball sticking out a good 24 inches to prevent
close calls from tail gating fools. it's job is to take out radiators and oil coolers if rear-ended.
Sometimes gets used to actually TOW a trailer :)

Same here, No vanity plates or HAM plates or crappy Dayton stickers/duct tape DIY signage.
That's why with the lincoln I chose to keep it ultra discreet, The trunk has lot's of room for my AK & AR, 1000 rounds of ammo, and some other things....

When going to dayton I keep a low profile, Bringing plenty of protection with me. After all, with the bathroom malfunction, 500 LB HAMs that haven't showered for days, and a shortage of food at the roach trap motel's continental breakfast s**t could get ugly!! LOL

I hold an extra license. I have looked at NLG a couple of times and never signed up. I saw the Ham thread and decided to sign up. I haven't been active for several years but plan on putting up an OCF to get back on HF. My HT died and I'm looking at one of the cheap Baofeng HT's just to get back on the local repeaters. Started as a novice in 82

73's

Ted - KA8SEP