water cooler :: Ham



ke4nt1, are you a ham operator?  I noticed you often sign off with "73".  I googled that and came up with the current meaning "best regards".  But some other historical data suggests that it came from the days of telegraph, and may have orginially meant "My love to you".  Other people say that is bunk.  

Whatever it means or meant, that "73" signoff got me to exploring ham sites.  There are bunches of them out there.  I was just wondering if any of the hams on this board might point me in the direction of a few of their recommended basic or beginner web sites about ham radio.  I'd like to know how to get started in ham radio, how to get a license, what sort of equipment to get, how to interact properly with the ham community.

I think maybe someday I'd like to go mobile, but for now, I'm mainly interested in a home base station.

So, how about it.  Anyone got any suggestions for me?
Since I don't know your country of origin, I can only share what I know
about the US licensing and testing information..

www.qrz.com is a great place to start.

My wife and kids got their licenses studying the online practice tests,
went to a testing site, and passed first time  !

www.arrl.org has reams and reams of information about testing sites,
experiments, news, antennas, articles, and projects involving ham radio.

Those should keep you busy for a good while..

I enjoy APRS, GPS, Contesting, Homebrewing, Antennas, Satellites, and
just general tinkering with radio.  Collecting QSL cards is fun..

Linux and Ham Radio go very well together..
There are many extensions in the repository for Amateur Radio use.
The Hams I know are very supportive, and friendly, like DSL forums.

Enjoy..

73
ke4nt
ke4nt1, thanks!  I'm in the US, by the way.  I see that the first license level is Technician, and from all accounts, is easy to attain.  

Both sites look great, and I'm sure I'll be immersed in them for many hours.  The ARRL site looks particularly informative.

What sounds most interesting to me right now, besides just being able to talk to other hams, is digital packet and television, plus building my own experimental gear.  

Thanks again for the info.
Since it's started...
I've long been semi interested in ham radio. My father and I went to a church class on it years ago, learned a bit, but both became disinterested after a while. For me it was mostly due to being a teen I think, ham wasn't "cool" *chuckles*.

Anyway, I do have a real question or two. Starting off, are there usable licenses available for no-code? I know most real hams hate hearing this, and pass it off as lack of desire to learn, but I really have a hard time with learning morse code. I've tried several times in my life, and just haven't been able to grasp it yet. Same thing goes for other stuff, ie, despite my mother being a music teacher, I can't read music to save my life. I took Spanish in high school for three years, and a semester in college, and can't hardly speak a lick of it, let alone understand it.

Question two: Do you have any suggestions on learning Morse? Websites that help, books you know to be good, etc...?

Thanks
Morse is fun.  I'm a Canadian HAM, so things are a little bit different up here.  Especially since they're thinking of removing the urrent Morse requirement to get on HF.  Canada's been humming and hawing on it for a while, and are going to go for a new tierage soon, but as for when, nobody knows.



Anyway, 73's, and good luck getting your ham ticket.
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