TacRat
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Posts posted by TacRat
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That sounds good to me. I'm still working on getting my rig up and running in this apartment, but that shouldnt be more than a week while I am waiting on some equipment.
Anytime on the weekend would work great, except Sunday morning.
73's!!
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ok guys take it easy on me im only 19! now that being said lets get down to buisness! i have a short wave radio at my parents house and a cb in my truck. so my question is whats ham? i understand what it is but i would like to get into it and when i looked at the thread to decide what frequency for caching i felt lost... my cb has 40 channels does that count?
Well, cb is different from ham in several ways. Anybody can get on cb and talk; however, you need a license for ham radio. On cb, you have your 40 channels. On ham, you have a ton of frequencies you can talk on, along with several different modes to talk, such as voice, cw(morse code), digital, FM, AM...
Plus, the majority of amateur radio operators are the nicest of people!!! We help everybody out, that is the focused principle of our organization. When somebody is need, we do what we can to help out. For instance, when hurricane Katrina hit the coast, ham operators packed up their gear and headed down to provide communications for emergency relief, etc.
To read up more on amateur radio, check out these links:
To become a ham, you will need to study for your test, which you can order a book from ARRL which explains everything, and even includes the actual test questions/answers.
I hope this helps. If not, reply back with any questions you may have, and we'll help you. Hope to hear you on the air soon!!
73's (best regards)
Cody
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I was just thinking, we have designated a national simplex frequency for geocaching, but what about a HF frequency. Every time I go caching, I never receive a response on the GC freq. And since I just put a HF rig in my truck, perhaps we could get a designated frequency to talk to other cachers while out caching. What are your thoughts??
73's!!
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I would just update the coords. You already have the series in place and everything, so basically you are just updating them. Just make sure to post a note on the cache page itself informing fellow cachers of the changes made.
Cache On!!!
TacRat
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I am located in Southwest Illinois. I don't have my HF rig yet, so the only place you might talk to me is on Echolink.
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My first day out caching, I looked for 6 caches. I only found 1. But that didn't turn me off, I kept looking for them and eventually learned how some cachers make their hides. At first, you feel kind of bummed, but after awhile, eh, you get used to it.
Cache on!!!
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Why do some people want to turn everything into the "Special Olympics" where "everybody wins"? Having caches that are of special interest to hikers and backpackers, or off road enthusiasts, or young folks or old folks, or anybody that needs or enjoys something different is a good thing. What the heck is wrong with people being different instead of all out of the same cookie cutter mold? I am a ham and would enjoy a ham cache, but have no intentions of doing ham caches exclusivley. I happen to like variety, for if they are all the same, why bother? If you found one, you found them all. Makes for a very short term sport don't you think?
Very well put kd5kuf.
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Morse code is no longer required for upgrade licenses.
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24!! And already going bald!!!
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Well, after looking at the map, Kansas City and Republic are approximately 145 miles apart. If you are using strictly line of sight, a handheld will not work nor will a base station on VHF/UHF. Now, if you have a repeater in each city that is linked to each other, then your golden. You may want to talk to the local Ham clubs and they could tell you if there is a link between those two cities. There is also echolink (www.echolink.org) and that is another way to go. There are lots of repeaters hooked up to echolink, and since those are two big cities, there's probably a repeater somewhere close that is connected to echolink. If your FT-60R can hit that repeater, and your wife's grandpa has access to echolink, then your golden.
Another way to go is HF, otherwise known as long distance communication. With a technician license, you have limited bandwidth on the 10 meter band. Other HF bands require you to have a general license or an extra class license. So, if you were using HF, with the proper equipment and good antenna, you would definitely be able to reach other.
I have a FT-60R and it is a really good radio. The stock antenna isn't the greatest, so you may want to upgrade, but overall the radio is great. Plus, you can always check out reviews of equipment on eham.net.
Either way, ham radio is a lot of fun. You meet lots of great people and make really good friends!!! I hope this helps answer your question, if not let us know. Hams are always willing to help!!!
73's
KE5EHZ
TacRat
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I know of the cache in Toronto that requires sending a message via NTS, and that's great!! Even if you aren't a Ham, you can find a Ham who will send the message for you. I just don't see why so many people throw a fit when there's a cache available only to certain people. If somebody wants to create a cache for Hams only, so be it. Let them enjoy the sport the way that want to enjoy it.
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What's wrong with making a cache based on Ham radio...nothing. If somebody decides to make a cache for Hams only, that's there choice. What about those caches that require diving equipment or climbing gear, or any specialized equipment?? If I don't have the equipment, I don't get bothered that I can't find that particular cache. I think it's great when somebody takes geocaching and merges it with another one of their hobbies. It's just another way to expand the sport and enjoy it in your own way. So, if somebody wants to make a cache revolving around amateur radio, go for it. If a non-Ham wants to find it, they have all the right to get a license and learn about the hobby.
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I think its a great idea!!! It would be good if there was a way everybody across the country could participate. Using a local repeater is good and the dtmf tones is an awesome idea, but then how many participants would you get. Now if you used echolink or something like that, you could get some more involvement.
And for the non-hams, they could find a ham to help them communicate. I was thinking of figuring out clues that lead to a website, and on the website was a recording that played a morse code file which gives you the next steps. I dont know what would be at the end of the rainbow, I haven't thought that far ahead yet...
What other ideas are floating around out there???
KE5EHZ
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I would say its a good deal. I just bought a FT-60R and it is a really good radio, even for some advanced operation. Since the 60 replaced the 50 not too long ago, I would take it for a 100. These are really good little radios, rugged and durable. Even though you would only output 5 watts, you could get a replacement antenna, and get a little more distance going for ya. If you decide not to take it, I would check out some hamfests around the area. You can usually get a pretty good deal at a hamfest plus have a good time meeting fellow hams!! Let us know if you need any help!!
73's
KE5EHZ
TacRat
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Thanks for the information. Do you know of any testers for Ham Radio, in the Matanuska Susitna Borough District (Wasilla, or Palmer), in Alaska?
Go to the following link and look for exams. http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml
You can also go to this link, http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/clubsearch.phtml, and search for nearby clubs. They would definitely be able to help you out. Hope this helps!!!
73's
KE5EHZ
TacRat
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I dont know too much about icoms. I'm into Yaesu. I have a FT-60r and it is a great radio!!! Long lasting battery, great transmit, all kinds of good features. If you want to review a piece of equipment, go to www.eham.net and search for that particular item. There are lots of hams out there that give their opinion which really helps you out before you spend hundreds of dollars on something.
As far as the test, it depends how well you understand the material. A lot of it is common sense, but then there is the electronics portion, understanding voltage, current, resistance, so forth, antenna propagation. I really recommend getting the manual from ARRL.org. My fiance just passed her test and she had no knowledge of radio prior to the test. She only missed 2 out of 35. The book (from ARRL) also has the question pool with the answers. So really, if you study that and memorize the questions and answers, you should be talking in no time.
Good luck!!!
73's
KE5EHZ
TacRat
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The cheapest sites I have come across are:
www.gigaparts.com
www.randl.com
I would also recommend purchasing the Technician manual from www.ARRL.org. This gives you all of the information you will need to pass your test. It even includes the exact question pool with all of the answers. Let us know if you need any help!!!
73's
KE5EHZ
TacRat
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A few website I look at are:
www.randl.com
www.gigaparts.com
www.hamradio.com
www.memphisamateur.com
I think a good starter radio is a handheld dual band, which covers 144-148 MHz and 420-450 MHz. I just bought a really good handheld FT-60 by Yaesu which really impresses me, and it was only $200.
A really good website to check out before you buy any equipment is www.eham.net. You can get a review from almost any piece of HAM equipment. Let us know if you have any more questions!!
73's
KE5EHZ
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I missed it tonight because I had a calculus test to study for and I didn't see the time posted until now, 3 hours later. But I will make it next week. Hope there was a good turnout!!!
73,
KE5EHZ
TacRat
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The big thing to remember is that you make the choice to search for a cache or not. Because you may think it is inappropriate, somebody else might think it is loads of fun. The proper thing to do is to contact the cache owner and verify with him before "disturbing" the cache. If you are unsure that you found the cache, do not log it as a find. Another good point brought up, what's the fun of a decoy if you know about it. And last, nice gesture to replace the cache, but be sure to check with the owner first. I had a person move one of my caches around because they thought it was in the wrong place, but how would they know in the first place. I love to place caches that make you think...outside the box. Above all, have fun. If you don't like to play in a particular playground, find somewhere else to play that suites you better.
Cache On!!!
TacRat
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So you basically follow your receiver based on your signal strength?? If that's right, that sounds pretty good. Would you be sending out some sort of beacon (if you don't use a live operator)??
If anybody has any stories, please tell. This seems like a very interesting story!!
73's
KE5EHZ
TacRat
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The net isn't active just yet. We are trying to set everything up. Click on the following to stay updated: Geocaching Net
73,
KE5EHZ
TacRat
Want to get a Geocaching roundtable going on 75meter phone?
in Ham Radio
Posted
That should be good, but I won't be able to do it this Sunday. I should have everything up and running by next weekend. I'll keep you updated.
73's!!