Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
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Mark Janke
| | 11/19/2008 10:13 AM |
 Alert | Thanks Craig. | |
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Bjorn Bakke
| | 01/04/2009 8:29 PM |
Alert | Craig, Handle is Bjorn and callsign is KD7TGH Thanks and 73s Bjorn | | | |
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Walt Gibson
| | 01/28/2009 12:34 PM |
Alert | Craig,
Walt here, callsign KE7USP | | | |
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Mike Rupp
Member Sponsor
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
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terrance bailey
| | 01/29/2009 7:39 PM |
Alert | | terrance KF6IAO had my license for about 10 years but havnt been active for a while due to work until a few days ago. i just got a yaesu vx-8r. | | | |
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Joe Koegler
| | 02/26/2009 9:26 PM |
Alert | Well the call sign odometer has rolled over to KF7*** apparently. Got mine today. For reasons previously posted I hestitate to post the whole call sign.
Getting the license is easy, it's figuring out what to buy that's really the difficult part. I think I've settled on a Yaesu 7800 as a starter radio. Mostly for dual band, remote head and reputation. Not sure how the Motorola acquistion will affect that down the road. Probably not in a good way if their phones are any indication. :rolleyes"
I think we are going to head down to Pull Y'all Up for the ARRL hamfest next Saturday.
If there are some deals to be had I might buy there, but in any case it's a good chance to see some equipment, antenna mounting options, and talk to some of the scary people.
There is absolutely no way that I've found in the immediate area to actually put your hands on any kit. ABC in Shoreline was waste of time -- think I interrupted the cranky codger's nap time. Bearcom Redmond has Icom demos -- but doesn't carry sell any Yaesu radios. Etc., Etc...
Ham | |
"Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." - Douglas Adams | |
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Mike Rupp
Member Sponsor
| | 02/26/2009 10:36 PM |
Alert | Joe, the best thing you can do is read the reviews on eham.net to get an idea of what the pros / cons are of a certain radio. Generally speaking, the Yaesus and Icoms are good radios that have strong followings. Kenwood makes some decent stuff as well, but its a little more of a niche product.
The motorola acquisition of Yaesu is a potentially scary one. If they run it anything like their mobile phone business, you'll have to pay extra for software and proprietary cables, etc. If you haven't done so, check out the Icom 208H. It's a nice, small, full power 2m, 70cm radio. | |
WZ7V
Study for amateur radio exams here
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Jerry Horn
| | 02/26/2009 10:48 PM |
Alert | I wouldn't worry about stuff for the IC-7800R. You can find all sorts of aftermarket toys on ebay. I have two 7800's and they work great, but are a real pain to program. To save time and headaches I use G.R. Freeth programming: http://www.g4hfq.co.uk/ | |
JERRY
Enjoying the backroads of the Pacific Northwest | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
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Jay Erickson
Member Sponsor
| | 03/12/2009 2:38 AM |
Alert | While I haven't gotten my ham license yet I do listen to my scanner now & again and I have to say you'd be hard pressed to find friendlier & helpful people along with great prices by driving down to Portland and stopping into Ham Radio Outlet It has been several years since I was last down there so hopefully they haven't turned grumpy too but not getting soaked with sales tax was worth the trip. | |
Traded in all my project vehicles for my 2009 Xterra, not an ounce of buyers remorse. | |
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Jerry Horn
| | 03/12/2009 9:14 AM |
Alert | Posted By Craig Miller on 03/11/2009 9:16 PM
Jerry,
Just noticed your call sign. K7PNW is perfect!
Craig Thanks. I consider myself extra lucky to have found it. "Hutchman", a friend from the PNWBA Forum, and I will be testing for our Extra Class licenses this weekend in Kennewick. We are both confident, but never count your chickens until the waves are propagated...er, ah...the eggs are hatched, right? And my buddy (and son-in-law) "Weisergeiser", also of the PNW Forum, will be testing for his Technician Class license at the same exam session. We are all going out afterwards to celebrate at Ruff's Giant Burgers where we hope to be joined by a couple of other folks from the PNW Forum. I doubt any of us will want to talk much about ham radio so it will be a good time to discuss the run to Virtue Flats the following weekend. | |
JERRY
Enjoying the backroads of the Pacific Northwest | |
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
| | 03/12/2009 10:10 AM |
Alert | Good luck on the test, though I'm sure you will do fine.
Virtue Flats sounds fun. Wish I could head out with you, but alas I have an appointment to stay home and drink Margaritas. Someone has to do it I guess. | |
My Overland Adventure Blog | |
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max chapman
| | 03/12/2009 10:24 AM |
Alert | Sorry for the dumb newbie HAM question, but planning on doing this soon. Is the Tech test license good enough to get a radio? Is there any advantage to the other tests?
max | | | |
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Mike Rupp
Member Sponsor
| | 03/12/2009 10:39 AM |
Alert | Max, the tech license is likely the only license that you'd ever need. With a tech license, you have access to the 6 meter band and above (2m, 440cm, etc). The 2 meter FM band is the most commonly used band for vehicle to vehicle communication for a trip with a bunch of vehicles that are together.
The general and extra license classes give you privileges on the HF bands, which is used for long-range communications, e.g. communicating with a station in a different country.
I'd recommend jumping on hamtestonline.com, passing the tech exam, and going from there. | |
WZ7V
Study for amateur radio exams here
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max chapman
| | 03/12/2009 11:29 AM |
Alert | Thanks Mike, that is what I assumed I just didn't know for sure, and makes things a little easier :) | | | |
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Jay Erickson
Member Sponsor
| | 03/19/2009 7:33 PM |
Alert | Amazon finally delivered the 2009 ARRL handbook so I'll dig into that and see how it goes. I've been to some of the online testing sites but I prefer to have a study manual and I'd like to understand the answers behind the questions instead of just rote memorization to pass the test. | |
Traded in all my project vehicles for my 2009 Xterra, not an ounce of buyers remorse. | |
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Mike Rupp
Member Sponsor
| | 03/19/2009 7:47 PM |
Alert | Jay, the ARRL handbook is a fine way to study the material as well as study for the exam. I used the ARRL to study for the technician exam since I didn't know about hamtestonline.com.
Check out this link: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html It has a lot of practical information, such as repeater etiquette, etc. that isn't covered in detail in the ARRL study guide. | |
WZ7V
Study for amateur radio exams here
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Craig Miller
Title Sponsor
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