Re: Someone push me...
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 6:25 pm
Cool idea I might look into.
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That is true! As long as I do not move out of Texas, I never have to memorize another license plate ever again.NotRPB wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 5:38 pm It sure makes my new "free" car license plate easy to remember, I can remember my name after two Whiskeys
( I don't drink, but it's funny)
Apparently, you can get multiple license plates with your call sign too if you have more than one car, and get them for trailers too, I have a flatbed and a boat trailer, ...
You can buy a HT (handy talkie) for $30 quite easily.The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:51 pm A. When do all these nets become self-aware?
B. I know the sky is the limit, but how hard is this on a wallet, for someone on a fixed income who doesn’t want to blow thousands on it. I’m talking a basic setup.... enough to get started.
Is a $30 unit worth a cup of warm spit? I ask because I actually bought one a couple of years ago .....I think on Amazon......I’m just not licensed to use it yet, so I having.Flightmare wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 9:03 pmYou can buy a HT (handy talkie) for $30 quite easily.The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:51 pm A. When do all these nets become self-aware?
B. I know the sky is the limit, but how hard is this on a wallet, for someone on a fixed income who doesn’t want to blow thousands on it. I’m talking a basic setup.... enough to get started.
I can reach all the Collin county repeaters with mine, as well as many of the Dallas repeater. A good antenna helps ALOT...but you can make those for cheaper than the radio if you wantThe Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 9:48 pmIs a $30 unit worth a cup of warm spit? I ask because I actually bought one a couple of years ago .....I think on Amazon......I’m just not licensed to use it yet, so I having.Flightmare wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 9:03 pmYou can buy a HT (handy talkie) for $30 quite easily.The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:51 pm A. When do all these nets become self-aware?
B. I know the sky is the limit, but how hard is this on a wallet, for someone on a fixed income who doesn’t want to blow thousands on it. I’m talking a basic setup.... enough to get started.
Most new hams start with 2-meter (VHF) and 70 cm (UHF) and many stick with those bands. As noted, you can get a handheld (HT) for $30 - $60, but using an HT means very limited range. You need to be close to a repeater or use your own node. However, you can get 2-meter mobile rigs for less than $150 to greatly increase your range. Dual band mobile rigs can be had for $350 or less. Mobile rigs make excellent base rigs with a 12 volt regulated power supply.The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:51 pm A. When do all these nets become self-aware?
B. I know the sky is the limit, but how hard is this on a wallet, for someone on a fixed income who doesn’t want to blow thousands on it. I’m talking a basic setup.... enough to get started.
Thanks Charles. I actually have a pair of little Baofengs .... the BF-F9-V2.....which I bought on sale at almost half-price. I forget where I bought them, but I’ve had them for at least 2 or 3 years. I bought them to have for disaster preparedness purposes, but other than turning them on to make sure they worked, I’ve never actually used them. It has been my intention to get at least a technician license, but each time I sit down to study for it, some distraction or other (grandkids, whatever) intrudes, and I have never struggled so hard to say on task! It doesn’t help that I’ve never been tech savvy when it came to electronics and such. As a kid, I always fiddled around with the more creative side of things - photography, art, etc. Electrons are voodoo to me. (I suspect that my liberal arts professor parents went out of their way to try and steer me in that direction as a child rather than the technical.) Anyway, for me, it means starting at absolute ground zero, but I would REALLY like to accomplish this. My son and daughter in law gave me a “Ham Radio for Dummies” book for Christmas. I have studied a bit on the HamStudy.org website each time I’ve tried to get started, but wow.....even that kind of goes over my head. It really just boils down to rote memory learning - the kind I’m not so good at. I have to be able to conceptualize what I’m learning. I’ve always been that way. So I’m ashamed to say that this has not been as easy for me as maybe for some others. If I could just take a class somewhere, where someone could explain why and how it works, I might do better. But I really want to do it.Charles L. Cotton wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 10:17 pmMost new hams start with 2-meter (VHF) and 70 cm (UHF) and many stick with those bands. As noted, you can get a handheld (HT) for $30 - $60, but using an HT means very limited range. You need to be close to a repeater or use your own node. However, you can get 2-meter mobile rigs for less than $150 to greatly increase your range. Dual band mobile rigs can be had for $350 or less. Mobile rigs make excellent base rigs with a 12 volt regulated power supply.The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:51 pm A. When do all these nets become self-aware?
B. I know the sky is the limit, but how hard is this on a wallet, for someone on a fixed income who doesn’t want to blow thousands on it. I’m talking a basic setup.... enough to get started.
Antennas are cheap and you can easily make your own. (I enjoy building antennas.) An external antenna with a mobile rig gives you excellent range.
Chas.
Kenwood TM-V71A dual band (I have two)
Kenwood TM-281A 2-meter rig (Excellent 65 watt rig)
Yaesu FTM-7250DR dual band (not dual receive)
Baofeng UV-5R dual band HT
Thanks to my Dad, I was no stranger to electronics even as a kid. However, when I got my license (1977), we didn't have the pool questions and all exams were given at the FCC office. We had to buy electronics theory books and learn the material. That took several weeks. Upgrading to Extra (~ 2013) after the code requirement was dropped was easy using Gordon's book and his computer practice software. I'll explain my procedure that worked well for me and others.The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Mon Jun 18, 2018 8:48 amThanks Charles. I actually have a pair of little Baofengs .... the BF-F9-V2.....which I bought on sale at almost half-price. I forget where I bought them, but I’ve had them for at least 2 or 3 years. I bought them to have for disaster preparedness purposes, but other than turning them on to make sure they worked, I’ve never actually used them. It has been my intention to get at least a technician license, but each time I sit down to study for it, some distraction or other (grandkids, whatever) intrudes, and I have never struggled so hard to say on task! It doesn’t help that I’ve never been tech savvy when it came to electronics and such. As a kid, I always fiddled around with the more creative side of things - photography, art, etc. Electrons are voodoo to me. (I suspect that my liberal arts professor parents went out of their way to try and steer me in that direction as a child rather than the technical.) Anyway, for me, it means starting at absolute ground zero, but I would REALLY like to accomplish this. My son and daughter in law gave me a “Ham Radio for Dummies” book for Christmas. I have studied a bit on the HamStudy.org website each time I’ve tried to get started, but wow.....even that kind of goes over my head. It really just boils down to rote memory learning - the kind I’m not so good at. I have to be able to conceptualize what I’m learning. I’ve always been that way. So I’m ashamed to say that this has not been as easy for me as maybe for some others. If I could just take a class somewhere, where someone could explain why and how it works, I might do better. But I really want to do it.Charles L. Cotton wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 10:17 pmMost new hams start with 2-meter (VHF) and 70 cm (UHF) and many stick with those bands. As noted, you can get a handheld (HT) for $30 - $60, but using an HT means very limited range. You need to be close to a repeater or use your own node. However, you can get 2-meter mobile rigs for less than $150 to greatly increase your range. Dual band mobile rigs can be had for $350 or less. Mobile rigs make excellent base rigs with a 12 volt regulated power supply.The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:51 pm A. When do all these nets become self-aware?
B. I know the sky is the limit, but how hard is this on a wallet, for someone on a fixed income who doesn’t want to blow thousands on it. I’m talking a basic setup.... enough to get started.
Antennas are cheap and you can easily make your own. (I enjoy building antennas.) An external antenna with a mobile rig gives you excellent range.
Chas.
Kenwood TM-V71A dual band (I have two)
Kenwood TM-281A 2-meter rig (Excellent 65 watt rig)
Yaesu FTM-7250DR dual band (not dual receive)
Baofeng UV-5R dual band HT
I like the idea of a mobile station in my vehicle, and maybe a base station in my home. But I am concerned about cost, and it’s not something I can just throw money at. The units you listed seem pretty affordable, so thanks for that.