The Ham Radio (and Related topics) Discussion and Question Thread
- Thread starter KGIII
- Start date
OP
Tonight? Oh, tonight was a very specific tone and matches exactly what is on the scanner. They send out a radio tone every night at 19:00, some sort of radio check. It's every night. I hear the same thing on the scanner. It's almost like clockwork, but they've done it late before. It's a person and they mention the radio check bit.
The bit in CW was completely unknown to me. So, if you meant that then by all means. But, the radio check thing is something they do every night at exactly the same time. It's a mutual aid type of thing, heard by the towns around me.
If there's a fire or rescue event, people respond even though they're not necessarily in the same town. Every night, they send out a bunch of tones and it's that radio check thing I mentioned. Of this much I am quite certain. I no longer have it, but I had a small radio that was red and a bit bigger than a pager. That's what went off when there was a rescue call out. That too received the radio check/tone test thing they do. It got great reception.
As for the CW, that makes sense - that they were IDing themselves. It was very brief and faster than I could ever hope to understand it. Heck, it was faster than I could write it down. I ain't even kidding. The ditty bopper doing that had done it before.
I used to write the channels down that were active and then look them up which is a lot easier to these days with the internet.
Back in the old days we had frequency charts and manuals and for the most were fairly accurate.
Ah... newbies! LOL
Repeater Morse ID's are automated, not a person. And the speed is limited to a maximum of 20 wpm by federal regulations. Although my link is old, this rule is still in effect. As you learn more about amateur radio, you should read (or at least skim) through the full text of Part 97 and refer back to it as needed when you have questions about amateur rules. This is a good link to bookmark for your ham radio collection as it always stays current. Downloading Part 97 on PDF or other document files may be out of date.
When there were Morse exams, they were 5 wpm (Novice/Tech), 13 wpm (General), and 20 wpm (Extra). The FCC offered a commercial telegraph license (T1) that tested at 25 wpm, but Extra Class hams were given credit for the Morse requirement. I don't know if the T1 is still available. It was mostly held by ship radio operators, and even ships at sea have now gone mostly to satellites and Morse is not required, if I'm not mistaken.
But "faster than you can write down" ??? Nah! That ain't nothin'! Even spelling letter-by-letter, you can start to imagine that 20 wpm is not that fast. An average "word" is 5 letters in gauging wpm. I have known a number of operators that use Morse in the 40-60 wpm range. Here is a 2008 story of an operator who routinely copies 140 wpm. And High-speed telegraphy (HST) has some fierce competitions in Europe.
Of course, most folks can't copy those extremes, and Part 97 restricts Morse to 20 wpm for automated ID so that the ID will be recognized by many users of the repeaters. It's not just repeaters though. You are allowed to create an automated CW ID for yourself too, but it also must be limited to 20 wpm or less. Manual CW can be at any speed. Most folks normally just ID with the "mode" you are using (CW, AM, FM, SSB, digital modes, etc).
Here's a fun little video...
When I passed my Extra I had to do Morse test also. But for me no problem learned it as a teen and did it in the army for over 8 years. Used to copy 60 WPM but I'm down to about 35 now
Even though you do not need morse any longer for the Tests I still recommend you try to learn it, but you can do that after you get your ticket. Enjoy the Journey is my motto
Even though you do not need morse any longer for the Tests I still recommend you try to learn it, but you can do that after you get your ticket. Enjoy the Journey is my motto
OP
It was faster than I could write down the CW, that's for sure. If they'd used letters I'd have been able to write that down. I dunno if anyone would be able to read it, but it'd get written down.
I am vaguely familiar with some letter spelling type communication. I'm not proficient at ASL, but I can sign fairly rapidly and know some words but spell out the rest. They need to spell out the words back to me, as my ASL vocabulary is pretty limited.
So, I've got that going for me.
But for me no problem learned it as a teen and did it in the army for over 8 years. Used to copy 60 WPM but I'm down to about 35 now
Well, if it matters, I can probably type faster than most folks here.
And, I can now confirm the radio at least works. I had it on regular scanner frequencies (in frequency mode) and I listened to a full emergency call out today. It was pretty weak and garbled, but now I can confirm the radio works.
OP
I probably should have ordered the antenna from Amazon, 'cause I ordered it on a slow boat from China. It won't be here until like the 15th. We'll see what that accomplishes.
Everything I've ever ordered from Amazon is slow as hell getting here but it arrives most of the time not always but most of the time.
I've don't order from Amazon anymore.
OP
Pretty much everything I order is slow. This is what I get for living where I live.
There's a village about 20 miles or so from me and that's where the grocery delivery trucks turn around and head back to civilization. There's no such thing as a food delivery service (not even pizza delivery).
But, Amazon is faster than the rest. I don't get 'free 2 day shipping', even though I pay for Prime.
And no, I can't order their food delivery (though there are food items I can buy, they get delivered like regular packages).
Ah well...
At least it's only 20 miles or so not to bad of a drive but I can understand the frustration.
Brickwizard
Well-Known Member
My village is considered the back of beyond in the UK, however it's not that bad, the next village 2 miles one way has a little shop which opens odd times 6 days a week, and 5 miles the other way is the nearest main town [which I try and steer clear of], my problem is not that we do not get delivery services, but we keep getting them when we dont want them, Lazy arsed drivers use Google Maps on their smartphones, they put in our postal code [zip] and the map puts the pin in our front garden, whereas that code covers some 50 houses [spread along a mile stretch of road] plus about 7 out lying farms, we constantly get take away food deliveries [any time day and night] at the door, and often e-bay and other online deliveries, In the UK since Covid, they no longer knock, just leave packages on the door step, a week or so back I received a package on the step, it was from a posh London bridal company a light blue bridesmaid dress, now don't get me wrong, I like blue, but a size 6 defiantly would not fit me.
it was for a house 20 away from us [lucky I found the last name on the residents association members list]
We rarely order anything and when we do we know when and from where it will arrive.
We receive a lot of other peoples packages and it doesn't take the people who the stuff belongs to to come and get their stuff.
Most of the not claimed stuff on my porch is from Amazon and the delivery people are always in a big hurry so they make mistakes.
We receive a lot of other peoples packages and it doesn't take the people who the stuff belongs to to come and get their stuff.
Most of the not claimed stuff on my porch is from Amazon and the delivery people are always in a big hurry so they make mistakes.
OP
I love the drive and I accept that there are things I give up to live here. It's a worthwhile exchange.
The drive is a lovely twisty route through the mountains where you often see more moose and deer than people. The weather conditions can change multiple times along the way.
It's awesome! I live here on purpose.
Well, I hope you at least tried to wear it! LOL
Maine is the most heavily forested state in the US and I'm pretty much right in the thick of it. The land was purchased at auction and is quite a big parcel. It was logging company land but none of it had been cut since the early 80s.
Now to bring it back to amateur radio...
I figure it's a perfectly good spot to have an amateur radio station. It's out in the middle of nowhere. It's high up on a mountain. Well, a Maine mountain. Our tallest mountain is just a mile high and that's only because they stacked a bunch of rocks on the top of it.
I should be able to, with enough power, send signals in at least a 180° arc. I'm not on the top of the mountain, though I suppose I could have an antenna placed there.
By the way, one of the hams I have watched on YouTube is in the UK. I guess they have a bunch of people there who are into the hobby. So, if you wanted to get into it, there's surely a way to do so.
Brickwizard
Well-Known Member
I have/had quite a few friends who were/are hams, but it never interested me that much
All you need to do is to be able to hit a repeater.
Repeaters rebroadcasts weak signals into strong signals.
I listen to the 2 meter band today it's been pretty quiet.
There was a couple of guys talking on their way home from work.
Reminds me of CB radio.
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OP
I heard some pretty clear CW today. It wasn't as fast as the last bit I heard. It was still pretty fast, but it was very consistently spaced. The dots and dashes were of a consistent duration.
most of the repeaters I have heard ID in CW run about 18 to 20 WPM, some faster. But as @The Duck said there is not a lot of activity on 2 meters lately. I do not have any VHF gear at the moment but last time I listened it was pretty quiet.
May try to get another 2M rig but can't right now.
How Far Can a Ham Radio Reach?
Ham radios have a long range, keeping you connected even when disaster strikes. But how far can a ham radio reach? Compare their range to CB, GMRS, and more.
moonrakeronline.com
Long Distance Communications with Ham Radios & Satellites
Long Range Communications using Ham Radios and Satellites is easy! Communicate over hundreds of miles in an emergency or bug out situation!
geekprepper.com
Worth looking at.
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OP
I think that's probably what I heard. It wasn't all that long but was very consistent.
How Far Can a Ham Radio Reach?
Ham radios have a long range, keeping you connected even when disaster strikes. But how far can a ham radio reach? Compare their range to CB, GMRS, and more.
Long Distance Communications with Ham Radios & Satellites
Long Range Communications using Ham Radios and Satellites is easy! Communicate over hundreds of miles in an emergency or bug out situation!
Worth looking at.
Heh... I had already at least skimmed some of that. I really want to bounce signals off the ionosphere (as mentioned earlier). It'd also be kinda neat to hit a satellite.
I'd looked at DMR but didn't really think too much of it.
It's possible to send data over the radio, we do it all the time. With some work, it'd be possible to put up things like web pages and use your radio like a MODEM. That interests me as well. Point to Point microwave is still fashionable in some areas.
