Any Radio Hams?

[KevTM]

Just thought I'd ask out of interest! I'm sure there must be some out there?

[davebike]

Yes G6CVP very inactive!

Dave
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Dave
NC750Xdct + others at work !
davebike1@gmail.com

[KevTM]

Nice Dave,

Knew there would be at least 1!

I was the same, licensed and used 2m for a few years then fell silent until the last year or two. Managed to renew my license and get my old callsign back.

Finding it good fun now on HF - mobile/portable and SOTA.

Any plans on getting back on the air?

Kev
GM7DHA

[panrider_uk]

Did the courses required but never bothered applying for my licence.

I was interested in packet radio but then the www came along and the rest is history.
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Current bikes: Honda ST1100 Pan European. Moto Guzzi V85 TT Travel

[oldpink]

[KevTM]

Pretty much SSB for me at the moment although have dabbled with PSK31 & PSK63 for a few QSO's but not much.

I think the number of license applications is increasing each year and has increased a lot over the last 10 years, even though the Internet is "taking over".

When I was over in the States 2m was jumping! over here not so much unless it's the weekend and the SOTA boys are out.

I don't operate as much as I'd like to but I do like experimenting with antennas, built a few magnetic loops recently which seem to work well.

Don't think I'll bother with radio on the bike although I did have 2m on the Tandem (bicycle built for two) for a while

[davebike]

Did mainly VHF 2m 70cm fm and ssb + got involved with friends ATV played around with fast scan tv a bit ran Packet for a few years

Did a lot of mobile including from Motorcycle

I used most bands (often under others call signs) from top band to 13cm never got the Morse beyond 4/5 WPM

It was a lot of fun but
No plans to get back on air

Dave
____________________
Dave
NC750Xdct + others at work !
davebike1@gmail.com

[andy_uk]

Another one here - G7KFA
I haven't used it for a long time though...
I used to run a packet node
6m point-to-point link
2m point-to-point link
2m access point
70cm point-to-point link (9k6)

When the local BBS shut down the node became redundant so I flicked the switch :/

I still have a couple of 2m/70cm handies which I switch on now and again to see if there's any life
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Aprilia Classic 125, GS500E, ER5-A1, ER5-C4, ER6 & an XJ6 project frame...

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

The closest I get is some late night / early morning DX-ing on some bullshit SW receivers - just old domestic radios, none of your proper big boys' stuff.

Just something I've always done. But about 10-15 years ago I started dx-ing more regularly, and even making tapes. I've got quite a few recordings of different numbers stations, and SW oddities, and some genuinely strange stuff on cassette.

I even got a numbers station the other month - one I'd never heard before and still haven't ID'd, but it sounds Cuban. Most of the classics have stopped broadcasting now, so you hardly hear any anymore.
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"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[bamt]

Yep. Not really active nowadays, but I did play SOTA a couple of years ago which was a lot of fun.

Back in the early 90s I was a regular on packet. I recently went past the house we sold back in 2000, it still has the 70cm yagi pointing towards where my brother used to live (I left it on the roof as it was relatively cheap and not worth the hassle/danger of going up to retrieve it).

Before moving dawn sarf I'd be on the radio constantly - mainly to pass the time on a long commute. Having moved I had a short commute, and never really built up friendships on air so gradually dropped it. I still have a 2m/70cm radio in my car, use a handheld sometimes when out with my son (who is also licensed) or brother, and do have the bike set up with radio.

[thx1138]

not a radio ham, but I did get a restricted VHF licence once, for marine band

or something like that, can't remember what it was called it was so long ago -

[KevTM]

Nice to see there's a few on here! If anyone is active/going to get active again I'll catch you on 40m at some point, possibly 60m also

Dave, ATV is good, I remember the days I used to do full-duplex ATV with my dad and his friend about 30 mile away! Good fun.

I also remember on the days of analogue TV and using 70cm ATV. The woman across the road knocked on the door looking a bit confused/excited - She said she could see my dads face on her TV but he was beaming directly into the back of her TV aerial.

TXfactor - a new TV program for radio hams has just been launched a few months ago, should check it out. www.txfilms.co.uk/txfactor/

[reckless_b]

one of our near neighbours "plays" with the airwaves, he still causes loads of interferance with any of our rf stuff, he manages to put our heating on,rf controlled, sets off the alarms on the house and garage, both hard wired, comes through on the telephone, landline, but hes stopped coming through on the tv, he has two large ugly ariel masts in his back garden and he is "always" right, its the rest of the world who is wrong. In this day and age is there any need for it?
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40 years on the road on and sometimes off bikes with a very recent OFF

[smegballs]

[KevTM]

[bamt]

[Rockhopper]

G0UKL here but haven't touched a wireless in many years.

[andy_uk]

[bugeye_bob]

[bamt]

If the problems are reasonably frequent, then you should keep a log of time/date and what issue you had. This will back you up that the issues are worth investigating (as in showing that it's not that once every six months you get your house alarm going off and you think it must be the bloke with the big aerials). This can be cross-checked against his station log - assuming he keeps one, which is best practice and likely for someone who is serious - or records on eQSL etc.

[reckless_b]

[quote="bugeye_bob"]

[andy_uk]

Taken from https://services.ofcom.org.uk/amateur-terms.pdf

[Poseidon]

Quick question for you guys... Say I wanted to listen to the marine chatter when I'm near the coast, what would be the best handheld that would do the job, without costing a ridiculous amount? I'm assuming the frequency means I'd need a licence for it too?

I love anything like this. I'm not interested in communicating with them, just like listening to the comings and goings at sea. It's the same reason I'll stand on a cliff with a set of binoculars watching the boats come and go for hours.
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1977 Honda CG125
2002 Ducati Monster S4 (currently restoring)

[smegballs]

IIRC no license is needed to receive, just to transmit. There may be a law about "receiving communications where you are not the intended recipient" but in practice it is impossible to enforce/detect.

Looks like VHF marine band is 156-162 MHz, so a 30 quid chinese UV5r should be able to listen in with its VHF coverage of 136-174MHz.

[andy_uk]