by zev 7 Replies latest jw friends
wakey wakey, the bands are opening up, i'm on 20m 14.070.0 on bpsk31 with my new (to me) station.
kenwood ts530s and laptop, buck comm interface.
cushcraft r7000 10m-40m antenna...
and my handi work attaching this baby to the pole. i had to improvize, but thats what ham radio is all about. doing what you can with what you have.
common you guys, lets dx!
I don't have any radio equipment like that but I do remember in the movie Contact, the little girl was trying to contact new people on her radio and she kept saying "CQ".
What does CQ mean?
Your neighbors must love you
elsewhere:
CQ means "Calling any station" in the earlt days of radio, morse code was THE only means...and it was much easier to build your own equipment, for just doing morse code. voise is another story. so to save keying the whole phrase "Calling any station" a shorts word structure was developed. letters instaead of words and phrases. its so common now that any ham who hears them knows what they are, even though with todays technoligy, computers can do the code better faster and easier than ever.
Atilla,
actually, other than the sight of the antenna, a properly run, tuned station will cause no interference with tv's and other electronics. even running up to the radio's maximum capability of 200 watts, i don't disturb anyone. and the antenna is in a good spot. its really not in anyons way, view or anything. of course most of the time we run as low power as possible, enough to make the contact. allot of guys like to run "qrp" very low power, typically under 5 watts. their signal can be heard across the globe, under the right ionsphereic conditions.
Zev................ham radio operator............WOW!
Me too! Been a ham since 1977 and used to be a regular on the JW morning net on 80 and 40. Did a lot of afternoon skeds with the "bros" on 15 meters back in the '80's. It's nice to meet another xjw ham here.
I still have all my equipment.........Icom 735, MFJ 9040 QRP rig, Heathkit HW 8 QRP and keyers and lots of other goodies. But alas.........no antenna right now. Lost my W9INN MPD5 about 2 years ago when my 60' tree had to come down.
Been thinking of a vertical and better decide on one before it gets cold. I love operating in the winter. Checked out the Isotron antennas too and they are not to bad for single band operation. Did you know that the guy who makes the Isotron is a JW? I also belong to a local radio club for over 20 years. Hey.........who knows.......we might have talked to each other in the past.
If you want........I will send you a PM with my call.
HappyDad
got your pm happy dad and replied. you just never know who the hams are until you pull up in front of their house and see the array of antennas or the tower out back.
i'm working on the tower thingy......
thats why i keep dropping these little tid bits here. lots of new people on th board and why not enjoy a nice qso with an exjw using their favorite hobby?
i'm not up on all the new amatuer stuf, hd.....so all i can say is, look around and see what you think is best.
dang, my radio is almost as old as my youngest sister. i just don't keep up. at least i'm in the somewhat didgital age with bpsk, qbsk, rtty and stuff like that. haqving a ball with it.
73's
zev
Well ZEV,
Be seeing you on 20m BPSK31, RTTY. Sideband, SSTV or perhaps CW.
Joseph W4VGX
Hi Zev! Altho I am not a ham operator myself, I come from a long line of hams!!! LOL! My grandpa and my dad and my uncle all were, and I have many fun, fond memories of dad letting me talk on his set back in the 60's. I also have some pretty fun stories of the lengths to which my grandfather went to get his antenna as high as possible, as well as the practical jokes he played on my grandmother.........like the time she was sound asleep on the couch, snoring loudly, and grandpa keyed the mike under her nose..........then she woke up! LOL!!!
Terri
