[Jerry H.]

Anyone on here a HAM radio operator. Thinking of getting my Technician ticket.

[Greg Reid]

I still have my license....KF4NWO...but I never really was into it as a hobby. I used to repair two-way radios in an earlier life, got my FCC license which was required back in the day to tune transmitters. I wound up getting my Ham license just for the heck of it really...but after working all the time on that stuff it never appealed to me as a hobby.
I actually used it for my Radio Controlled airplane hobby for a while because most guys wouldn't be on my frequency since you had to have a license to use them. The standard RC model frequencies were always crowded and you had to wait until your frequency was clear in order to fly.
It's been so long since I've fooled with any of it, I don't even recall the frequencies.

[Half-Inch Stud]

KB3 ULA. just expired during these exciting times. Never got into the hobby of DX'ing, nor getting on air just to burn the hours away. Transmitted a couple months ago.

More into building Tube audio, repairing tube audio. Playing tube audio.

[Mr Anonymous]

I dont have the license yet, but I did find an R390A receiver in my dads basement after his passing, and had it restored. Out of the 55,000 made, it is serial number 3 from the Motorola contract in 1954. What an amazing piece of machinery. No transistors of any kind, and with nothing but a 36" CB antenna, I can pick up all the way from China. Got a SQL card from Radio Havana last year, a mere 11 months after asking for it. On those cold winter nights, the ionsphere is generally good to pick up all sorts of stuff. The AM part of the radio is almost useless at those times, getting 2 sometimes 3, maybe 4 stations on the same frequency. WSM in nashville is 350 miles away, listen to it regularly and clear as a bell. This ol radio is pretty decent, and will still work fine after The Bomb goes off.

Listening to shortwave hillbillies arguing about who makes the best bass boat and pickup truck, well, thats just cheap entertainment.

[64-3Deuces]

Originally Posted by Mr Anonymous

I dont have the license yet, but I did find an R390A receiver in my dads basement after his passing, and had it restored. Out of the 55,000 made, it is serial number 3 from the Motorola contract in 1954. What an amazing piece of machinery. No transistors of any kind, and with nothing but a 36" CB antenna, I can pick up all the way from China. Got a SQL card from Radio Havana last year, a mere 11 months after asking for it. On those cold winter nights, the ionsphere is generally good to pick up all sorts of stuff. The AM part of the radio is almost useless at those times, getting 2 sometimes 3, maybe 4 stations on the same frequency. WSM in nashville is 350 miles away, listen to it regularly and clear as a bell. This ol radio is pretty decent, and will still work fine after The Bomb goes off.

Listening to shortwave hillbillies arguing about who makes the best bass boat and pickup truck, well, thats just cheap entertainment.

Yep, the R390A (an update of the R390) is an old school radio that was a real work horse and initially and extensively used in the military. Those are what we used in naval intelligence intercept and they could pickup anything, though our antenna system was a bit bigger. BTW, if IRC from my short-wave days the card is a QSL card; one of the many Q-codes used by ham operators.

[Bills Auto Works]

Originally Posted by Jerry H.

Anyone on here a HAM radio operator. Thinking of getting my Technician ticket.

YES!

I am WB8SVW, My Dad is N8WS & my Mom is WD8ASV.

My Dad is on every day, Mom & I are not. I just don't have time, but have kept my license all these years. I got my Novice license @ 11 years old (youngest ever at the time on Ohio) General license @ 13. Been a ham for 47 years.

The Contests & Field Day are my favorite times to operate.

God bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...closed.614419/

[Shiny]

Good memories for me too.. and still fascinating but I never pursued.

In college (mid-70s), I joined the HAM club as I had always liked electronics in general. I had learned morse code in scouts so wasn't too hard to get a license - I think it was W0NDU?

I never used it, though, even though the club had multiple radios and antennae?... too much homework back then.

I did, however, figure out how to repair a broken radio teletype the club had laying around. That was a good day when it started spitting stuff out.

That's cool that Greg leveraged his HAM license for RC. I can remember being frustrated when somebody else was on my frequency at the glider field. I knew I would have had an edge if I had maintained my HAM license.

HAM radio today must be a digital playground... I can only imagine what the technology has done to improve the hobby. All the signal-to-noise tech that makes hard drives and cell phones actually work must be killer for HAM reception.

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

I still have my license....KF4NWO...but I never really was into it as a hobby. I used to repair two-way radios in an earlier life, got my FCC license which was required back in the day to tune transmitters. I wound up getting my Ham license just for the heck of it really...but after working all the time on that stuff it never appealed to me as a hobby.

Pretty much me right here. Used to have to have the license to do any type of transmitter repair or work, which was what I was doing in the late '90s. I remember the roaring and screaming over how unfair it was that I was the first group that didn't have to do the morse code tapping test and how we weren't "real" operators and all that. Back then it was old fogies looking down their noses at me and other young kids trying to get into it (not unlike the old car hobby). I did work with a couple of old 4 digit ham radio operators who had some pretty amazing equipment setups that showed me some neat things.

I actually just found my old license (expired a few years back) a few weeks ago while cleaning out my house to move.

[Mr Anonymous]

Originally Posted by 64-3Deuces

BTW, if IRC from my short-wave days the card is a QSL card; one of the many Q-codes used by ham operators.

I typed QSL and autocorrect thought better of it.

[Shiny]

All I remember now is

CQ CQ de W0NDU CQ CQ

Was fun at the time..

And I admire you all that were able to fix stuff back then. Different world when stuff was worth fixing and people like you actually knew how.

Those old fogies are now dinosaurs and I have advanced to fogie status I suspect!

[jerry455]

I got my license, KE8EVM, a couple years ago. I got it to use HAM radio's for our city during emergency's. I am a member of our cities CERT, Community Emergency Response Team. We started getting members licensed to use HAM radios for when we have an emergency we can deploy and communicate with each other and our police department, who manages us. I have not really been into listening or talking on it except for our training sessions. I have a Yaesu FT60 and a mobile antenna that I put on my truck.

[64-3Deuces]

Originally Posted by Mr Anonymous

I typed QSL and autocorrect thought better of it.

That DARN auto correct...

[Two_70_Converts]

Wow, that's something all the Pontiac enthusiasts and Hams as well. I'm more a listener than a QSO'er. I'm heavily into the older tube gear (Boat Anchors) and have a special affection for restoring and collecting Signal Corps gear.

[Jerry H.]

Taking my test this Saturday morning.

[Mr Anonymous]

Originally Posted by Two_70_Converts

Wow, that's something all the Pontiac enthusiasts and Hams as well. I'm more a listener than a QSO'er. I'm heavily into the older tube gear (Boat Anchors) and have a special affection for restoring and collecting Signal Corps gear.

this is it:

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by Mr Anonymous

this is it:

Wow... that looks like a treasure. You must be really happy to have that and be able to use it. Very cool.

[Formulabruce]

I remember getting my class II FCC license, and I did complain when those after me didn't have to do any code. Back in the 70's you technically needed a FCC class 3 ? License to use a CB. We had a very powerful Siltronix unit that did Ham and SSB. It could ruin any TV signal in a 5 mile radius when it was cranked up. Regular chats with west coast and Europe were possible. Seems like a waste of time now.. loved the old tube radios though.

[jerry455]

I remember back in the early to mid 70's I had to get an FCC license for my radio control boat. The first radio I had was a 27 Mhz and the later Futaba radio was 72 Mhz.

[Jerry H.]

Passed my Technician License today! Should be about 10 days until I get my call sign and am able to be on the air. Now to shop for a mobile setup. So many options!

[Two_70_Converts]

CONGRATULATIONS! Very nice achievement. Now the fun begins.