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Hey all. I'm an aspiring ham. I've got some of the study material but i was wondering if there are ever classes offered in the Sacramento valley area. If anyone knows can you please post some info?
Thanx!
Thanx!
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Sat, April 24, 2004 - 11:07 PMFrom "World Radio" magazine, contact the following:
Bob, kq6aw@arrl.net, 916-464-4115
n6na@arrl.net, 916-492-6115
Good luck!
73, Loren, AD6YU
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Sat, April 24, 2004 - 11:15 PMFrom "World Radio" magazine, here are ham radio
clubs for you to contact:
North Hills Radio Club
916-944-1464
River City Amateur Radio Communications System
License classes offered
916-492-6115
Sacramento Amateur Radio Club
T. Preston, KQ6EO, 916-722-9358; or
L. Ballinger, WA6EQQ, 916-393-4775
Yolo Amateur Radio Club (Davis)
Dave Nishikawa, KC6YFG, 916-756-6375
73, Loren, AD6YU
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Mon, April 26, 2004 - 2:23 AMThanx Loren! Appreciated! I've got a couple of the study books. I had an older edition of Now You're Talking from the early 90's and I just recieved a new one in the mail recently. I can't believe how much easier they've made it to get a license now. Any how, i've gotta relearn my code anyway so it's gonna take me a while. I'm hoping to be ready to take the exam by the end of the summer. -
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Tue, April 27, 2004 - 12:23 AMHi, DJ--
Guess you are studying for the General Class license.
Bravo! We can use good CW guys!
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You can download the entire question pools from
the ARRL Web site:
www.arrl.org
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You can take online sample tests on:
www.qrz.com
and
www.wvara.org
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Of course, you can go for the no-code Technician Class
license first; and when your code ability is firm, then
upgrade to General. You can get on the air quicker that
way.
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But CW is "real amateur radio"--all the operating
traditions stem from it. There are lots of tapes and
CDs to learn from. W1AW and other stations send
code practice sessions on the air. Best bet is to
get your hands on a shortwave receiver with a BFO
(beat frequency oscillator), and start trying to copy
"live" QSOs on the air. Since the standard speed
for licensure now is only 5 WPM, there are lots of
stations sending at that speed these days.
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Study hard, and persevere. Your effort will be
suitably rewarded when your license comes in the
mail!
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Let us know when that happens, and tell us what your
new call sign is then.
---
73, Loren, AD6YU
20M QRP CW, 2W
2M FM, 25W -
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Tue, April 27, 2004 - 12:29 AMthanx again for all the info Loren. I'm definately going to go for a General class ticket. I'm a big dx guy so getting a license wouldn't be very rewarding for me(or fun)if i couldn't work dx on the HF frequencies!
Cheers!
- David -
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Sat, May 22, 2004 - 11:12 PMHey David, What loren said about no code tech is the fastest way to hit the airways. And you could do a little dxing on the magic band (6 meters) while your waiting to up grade. By the way if you wait a short time there gonna do away with cw like the rest of the modern world then no code techs will be grandfathered to gen. class. But if you really enjoy cw go for it.
Good luck, Bill -
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Sun, May 23, 2004 - 4:13 AMI've almost learned all of my characters now anyway so I'll probably just proceed with it. I don't really care much about the vhf & uhf frequencies. I real reason i wan't a license is to work the hf frequencies. As it is now I'll still need code to access the ones i want to work.
re: 'doing away with cw'...Does it concern any of you hams out there that this might happen? Do you think it will bring "new blood" into the ham ranks or just spoil the amateur bands the way that lax regulations and licensing did on the old citizens band?
Thanx for the info Bill.
73's
- David -
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Sun, May 23, 2004 - 4:37 PMMany countries have already done away with the Morse
requirement, and the FCC is now considering various
proposals for yet another restructuring of amateur
radio licensing in the U.S.
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I have no problem with elimination of the code requirement,
since that seems to be the prevailing trend. So far, only
India and Russia have said they *will* keep the code
requirement. CW transmitters are still the easiest to
build, and have the fewest number of parts in relation
to transmitters for other modes.
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My only reservation is that if both the entry-level and
General Class licenses are no-code (or maybe even
*all* ham licenses become no-code), that would mean
that licensed hams without any proven abilities to send
or receive the code at *any* speed could be turned loose
on the CW segments of the existing HF bands, and
create havoc and chaos for those hams who *have*
passed Morse testing either by the FCC or the VECs.
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73, Loren, AD6YU
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Sun, May 23, 2004 - 8:54 AM(coming a little late to the party, but what the heck)
In addition to the sources you listed, you can find all the Morse practice you can stand on this page:
www.aa9pw.com/radio/morse.html
This page will allow you to download a custom-generated Morse practice audio file. You can get random characters, a sample QSO, even news headlines pulled from an RSS feed and Morse-encoded! I used this resource extensively when studying for my General exam a couple of years ago.
Jon KG4RNE -
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Re: Ham classes in Sacramento.
Sun, May 23, 2004 - 9:37 PMAwesome! Thanx Jon. Any response to my question about dropping the code requirements?
- David
(maybe I should start a new thread for this one...hhmmmm)
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WHATS REAL RADIO CW 0r SSB or.
Sun, May 30, 2004 - 6:49 AMLoren, what makes you think that CW is "real radio"? Thats like saying driving a big truck is real driving. I think CW aught to remain a part of radio, but not as a requirement. I learned CW the old way, dits and dahs, then covert to letters. I forced my brain to learn like that even though it is not the best way. First I think a person should not learn the letters,, learn the sound of the letters much as you learn music. Then practice, practice, practice. Course most people learn code better with a practice partner. The age of amateur radio is rising, the seniors are going, and being replaced with fewer young ones. The younger ones want computers with radios, so lets teach them the right way to be hams but incorperate the computers and the different ways they interact. I do try as often as I can. I am an extra class, but I hear about dumbing down the tests. I took a practice test with my wife for general, she passed, I flunked. I also flunked the extra practice test the first time. So I think that the tests reflect a harder entry than it used to be 20 years ago with CW at 5-13-20 words/min. I see you operate QRP, great! Love my HW-8. WB7WVO jr Maxwell operating portable at Hungry Horse Montana -
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Re: WHATS REAL RADIO CW 0r SSB or.
Mon, May 31, 2004 - 9:20 PMSince CW preceded both AM and SSB, the practices,
protocols, and procedures used in the voice modes
came from the legacy of CW. Any ham who knows about
the origins of ham operating practice will appreciate
them better, and understand why hams still make
reference to the "Q" code, give signal reports in
terms of R-S-T, what "SK" means in addition to
"Silent Key," where "73" and "88" came from, etc.
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I agree with you that CW should not be killed, but I
do disagree with you about not having any Morse
testing for licenses. If we keep CW sub-bands in
the HF portions of the radio spectrum, then we
should *not* turn loose untested operators onto
those sub-bands, where they could seriously
disrupt CW communication by learning the code
on the air. Imagine someone keying down in the
lower 25 kHz of 20M running a kilowatt
unmodulated, then starting to send at 1 to 2 WPM.
Under the scenario of "no Morse testing" proposed
by several no-code advocacy groups, this kind of
behavior wouldn't be classified as malicious
interference. Most good CW ops *would* consider
it that way.
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There *should* be Morse testing for the Extra Class
license, and the current 5 WPM is definitely not
overly difficult or unfair (compared to the old 20 WPM).
The Extra Class license is top-of-the-line, and
5 WPM is what Novices had to pass once upon a time.
This is essentially what the ARRL is now proposing
to the FCC.
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If all Morse testing is eliminated as you would like,
that is O.K., too. Just find some way to keep the guys
and gals who don't know *any* code from getting on
the air causing QRM to those hams who rely on CW
to communicate with on the air. Riley Hollingsworth
can't do it all, and the FCC has cut its monitoring
activities drastically. Do you have a solution,
suggestion, or proposal to deal with this concern?
Constructive criticism is alway welcome.
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The HW-8 is a great rig! I used to have a Ten Tec
Power-Mite PM-3A. Now I have an MFJ Cub--2 watts
on 20M CW into a low dipole (8 to 15 ft. high, lazy "Y").
Have QSLed most western states (except Wyoming);
and also North Dakota, Texas, Hawaii, Alaska,
British Columbia, and Alberta.
Every QSO is cherished, and I QSL 100%.
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73, Loren, AD6YU
San Jose, California -
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Re: WHATS REAL RADIO CW 0r SSB or.
Sun, June 6, 2004 - 9:18 PMHello everyone, I'am just responding to loren's concern that the cw portion of any band be overrun by people qrming at 1 or 2 words a min.Most of the people i know (no code on up to extra don't even own a key. Most people nowdays go in differant ways. After thinking about it i know only two hams that use cw.
Bill2 -
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Re: WHATS REAL RADIO CW 0r SSB or.
Mon, June 7, 2004 - 11:29 PMBill2--
Perhaps you haven't made a conscious attempt to get
to know any hams who operate CW. Believe me, there are
many. The FISTS CW Club is an international club
with thousands of members who use the code
regularly, and work to promote its use. Check out our
Web page at:
www.fists.org
All radio modes are "real" radio.
Why do people still make and bake their own bread
when they can just go to a store and buy a loaf
ready made? Why operate Morse code when one can
operate SSB or FM? Maybe there is an element of
fun, an element of creativity, and a sense of joy
involved. Morse is not for everyone, and voice is not
for everyone. The object is to have fun, and to
operate cleanly without causing intentional
interference to others in a shared RF spectrum.
This knowledge can be gained without Morse
testing. It boils down to basic concepts like
good sense and courtesy.
73,
--Loren, AD6YU
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