Back in February I made the decision to jump back into amateur radio. I\u2019ve had an extra class license for a number of years. So I have the maximum privileges. And I just renewed it for another ten.<\/p>\n
I dropped a pretty good load of cash on a bunch of new gear. Probably the biggest piece of the expenditure is an HF setup that I haven\u2019t even used yet.<\/p>\n
This is partly due to laziness. It\u2019s also partly due to being so entertained with the other gear that I bought that I haven\u2019t really been wanting for more to keep me busy.<\/p>\n
The HF setup I have uses an outdoor portable-style antenna. I did this because we have antenna restrictions where we live. While I\u2019m not allowed to have a permanent antenna outdoors, I can\u2019t see that it would be a problem to have one that I setup and take down each time I use it.<\/p>\n
So this is what I have. But that actually presents a bit of a barrier to actually using the thing. All my other gear is setup to where I can just sit down and use it any time I like. But the HF rig, I have to hassle with setting the antenna up each time. So I haven\u2019t done it yet.<\/p>\n
Another aspect is… I have never really understood how to operate on HF. And conditions aren\u2019t good these days. I am really expecting that it will be a frustrating experience when I do get around to trying it. For many this is the most fun part of the hobby. For me\u2026 I haven\u2019t spent enough time doing it to really get the hang of it yet.<\/p>\n
On the other hand\u2026 virtually all of the other gear that I bought is oriented to digital communications via the internet. Yes, some will say that this isn\u2019t \u201cradio\u201d. But the fact is, it has four things that are very much in the spirit of amateur radio.<\/p>\n
First, I am talking into a radio on my end. And the person I\u2019m talking to is typically talking into a radio on their end. So we still get to play with the cool gear. It\u2019s really a minor technicality that it\u2019s the internet that is connecting us.<\/p>\n
Second, this form of digital communications has the aspect of enabling conversations with interesting people around the world. And for me, that has always been the most appealing aspect of ham radio. Good conversation!<\/p>\n
Third, when using these digital modes there is really plenty of tinkering around to do. Sure, maybe there is more computer tech and less radio tech. But it\u2019s still tinkering all the same.<\/p>\n
Fourth, there is the aspect of a cohesive community. Hams helping hams has a long tradition. And with many internet groups dedicated to this digital communication tech, there is plenty of opportunity to learn and help others learn.<\/p>\n
One major difference between these digital modes that use the internet vs HF, is that communicating via the internet is quite reliable. It is not dependent on solar conditions or propagation. Whereas operating HF is very hit and miss. In my experience, one can operate for hours without even making one contact. <\/p>\n
There is no doubt that I will be trying out my HF gear before too long. Maybe even today. I do know that I picked out some good gear. And it ought to be a lot of fun. My challenge will be learning the appropriate operating procedures for the mode. People do things differently on HF.<\/p>\n
Regardless, so far my foray back into ham radio has been a lot of fun. There are so many things to learn that I think the process could go on for quite awhile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Back in February I made the decision to jump back into amateur radio. I\u2019ve had an extra class license for a number of years. So I have the maximum privileges. And I just renewed it for another ten. I dropped a pretty good load of cash on a bunch of new gear. Probably the biggest … Continue reading “Ham radio, again”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-60","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ham-radio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":313,"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions\/313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moondog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}