I'm in a celebratory mood since I just passed all 3 levels of Ham Radio exam this evening:
Technician
General
Amateur Extra

So now I just need to wait for my callsign to appear in the FCC online database, and then I'm legal to go on the air!
I've had an interest in electronics off-and-on since I was a boy. I keep coming back to it every couple years, each time going deeper into it. Ham radio is heavy on electrical engineering, but that's not exactly light-years away from my main career, which is software engineering. I guess I'm just an engineer type.

A fellow Trad nudged me into ham radio a few weeks ago, and I decided it would be a great goal to work towards. So I've been studying hard, and tonight it all paid off.

It's great from a prepping perspective. Unlike other modern forms of communication, ham radio requires NO infrastructure or intermediaries. You and your radio send the message to him and his radio, possibly halfway around the world. If you have spare parts and some batteries/solar power, you're completely independent -- even if the whole Internet got locked down.

Congratulations Matthew! My father was a ham radio operator and I remember he received some kind of an award for helping to coordinate bringing in of supplies to Honduras or Guatemala after a devastating earthquake in the 70’s thé infrastructure was destroyed and ham radio was the only way for them to communicate. Dad was able to talk to people all over the world and I remember he had antennas going all over the yard. I have a question though, it used to be that one had to know morse code to get a license is that still true?

By the way, you may want to be careful about displaying your new call sign as it can be traced back to your home phone number and address, whatever is on your license. However, it can backfire as some people put their call sign on their car license plate, so if you put a Trump/Pence 2020 bumper sticker on your car, antifa types could target your car and your home.

ABSOLUTELY TRUE.


When you give anyone your ham radio call sign, you have basically told them who you are, and where you live.  Anyone's ham call can be looked up online.  In that the airwaves are a public commons, a scarce resource, whether we like it or not, the government has a right to license users of those airwaves, to regulate the use of those airwaves, and to make these licenses public information.  The alternative would be to allow everyone to set up pirate or "wildcat" radio (and even TV!) stations on frequencies of their choosing with no power limits.  (Yes, I know that would be fun, but...)



I used to have a ham radio vanity plate on my car.  I can now see why that was a BAD idea.

Congratulations, I'm a ham radio operator too, though I sold my equipment some time ago (needed the money).  The Yaesu transceiver would be a nice thing to have.

Is this one any good?  The price is certainly right.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R8PHHF3/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B07R8PHHF3&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwchanco-20UYyUCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDA4MTAwMk1UMVcyNE80RFNaJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYnRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Popular because it is cheap and is an HT with 8 watts (most HTs have 5 watts power), but the signal is very dirty. The Baofengs splatter adjacent frequencies, much to the annoyance of hams trying to use adjacent frequencies. ICOM, Yaesu, Kenwood HTs are much cleaner,

Before last year Baofengs were popular because they were already "jailbroken" (could transmit outside of the ham bands at full power, e.g., aviation, marine, FRS/GMRS, and .gov bands), but the FCC ordered the manufacturers to end that. The newer radios are supposed to be limited to transmitting in the ham bands only. I have not seen (or sought) any reports regarding manufacturers' compliance.

The mods.dk website archives many modifications, including mods to jailbreak many models of radios—usually involves snipping specific diodes off the board (ends your warranty).

P.S. PLEASE do not use (((Amazon))) when there are innumerable better alternatives: https://www.hamradio.com/ , https://www.gigaparts.com/ , https://www.dxengineering.com/

…the government has a right POWER to license users of those airwaves, to regulate the use of those airwaves, and to make these licenses public information.…

People have rights. Governments have powers.

Free men don't get a license from the government to use HAM radios.

Real free men just use it.

Yeah, free men don't need driver licenses or car registration. Just do it.

In large part, VHF and UHF are just "plug and play." Not so with HF. HF requires practice and experience to use it well.  Practice means "on air" time. In the fUSA surveillance state see how long you are "on air" without a license.

While a fair portion of hams are of a "live and let live" mindset, a significant fraction of hams are prigs who jealously guard "turf." Try using a bogus call sign or transmitting without a call sign and they will narc you out in a hurry. Most logging software automatically queries the FCC database when  contact is logged. DFing your location(s) and fingerprinting your radio is a trivial exercise.

Earlier this year I learned that a radio can be DF'd without transmitting. Your radio's LO and IF can be DF'd.

In the current environment the risk/benefit ratio for unlicensed radio work is unfavorable to your remaining "free."

So you can buy equipment now and (1) use it unlicensed at risk now or (2) don't learn to use it until the festivities start when the cost of a stupid mistake is much worse than a fine.

Yeah, free men don't need driver licenses or car registration. Just do it.

In large part, VHF and UHF are just "plug and play." Not so with HF. HF requires practice and experience to use it well.  Practice means "on air" time. In the fUSA surveillance state see how long you are "on air" without a license.

While a fair portion of hams are of a "live and let live" mindset, a significant fraction of hams are prigs who jealously guard "turf." Try using a bogus call sign or transmitting without a call sign and they will narc you out in a hurry. Most logging software automatically queries the FCC database when  contact is logged. DFing your location(s) and fingerprinting your radio is a trivial exercise.

Earlier this year I learned that a radio can be DF'd without transmitting. Your radio's LO and IF can be DF'd.

In the current environment the risk/benefit ratio for unlicensed radio work is unfavorable to your remaining "free."

So you can buy equipment now and (1) use it unlicensed at risk now or (2) don't learn to use it until the festivities start when the cost of a stupid mistake is much worse than a fine.

Not only what you say over Ham Radio bands can get you in trouble, but also your post content at CathInfo alone can get you targeted.

My husband is very guarded in what he says. His Ham Radio buddies are likewise very careful. They limit their discussion to farming, guardening, health, weather, fires, wind storms, floods, and rain levels. Once in a while cryptic statements are made, for example that there are a lot of unhappy people in California who hope to leave this wretched sanctuary state.

The NSA, CIA, and FBI are listening to everything we post, publish, and say on the internet, phone, or radio. If we cannot get rid of the Deep State, then our very life and liberty will be at risk. Surveillance is multinational. Not only are the MI5, MI6, Australian intelligence, Mossad, etc. watching us, but also other countries are sharing information about their citizen through satellite technology. The Deep State is everywhere.

Already, post content and videos are being censored at YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Instagram. Videos are being privatized and thus are no longer viewable simply for mentioning Schiff's CIA Whistleblower.

Congrats Matthew. That's a neat accomplishment. 

I put up my first homemade antenna! It works very well, as I have heard many conversations using it. Most of the voices sound pretty clear. I've heard traffic on many frequencies (2M, or 144 - 148 MHz) but I'm mostly listening to a repeater in a nearby town. I've also heard some Morse code, but there haven't been any conversations in it yet. Incidentally, I am just starting to learn Morse code.

I can't wait till I finally get my call sign, so I can speak up and join in!