I love this thread already!
I've been a ham since Nov 2019. My son got his license this year right after he turned 15. A week ago he upgraded to the highest level, Amateur Extra.
Getting into QRP (low power) myself since it goes well with HOMEBREW build-your-own stuff, which is my main interest.
Currently building an antenna tuner (L-match) for my QRP radio.
Can't wait to have kids. People always say kids hate radio but it's always the opposite whenever you start DXing and hear pretty much anything they are glued. That's how I got hooked, I remember getting broadcasts from Asia SWLing with my dad. My fondest memories from my childhood where I bonded with my dad most were always over radio.
It's fun to split up into "squads" and do check-ins when you reach certain points when hiking and do reports. Don't know if you and your son have done this but my wife's brothers and I will do this when somebody's riding the ATV in the woods and we'll practice mapping as well as radio with this. I know when I have a son I will do this :) I am thinking about doing some APRS projects as well as a private pager network for around the homestead, my wife can't always find me and am thinking this would be a good solution.
Have you done QRP and NVIS together? I use a low ¼-wave horizontal dipole for 80-40-20 and need the 100 Watts to transmit voice, can do digital at about 25 Watts. Even though low-mounted I can still DX to ID, OR, and TX from zone7, rarely hit the East Coast. I don't have enough space to hide a ¼-wave 160.
No, but I should get into HF more deeply because I have the acreage for an antenna farm and don't have any zoning laws on my property or CCRs/HOAs. If anything hurts the hobby it is CCR/HOA business, not it being "inaccessible" or whatever meme. I've only started living out here recently though so I only have my UHF/VHF/CB rigs setup at the moment (those see active licensed and unlicensed usage, not only voice but packet out here so I am kept busy on the airwaves). I have some UHF projects with some friends (meshnet) but at some point I'll have to get serious about HF again now that I am out of the city. It's the time/money/fatigue conundrum, usually at least one of those is an issue :)
Topic: ham radio topics (Read 2382 times)