Ham Testing

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rusty_tlc

rusty_tlc

Dain Bramaged Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
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Location
Reno, NV
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forum.ih8mud.com
For those of you who still haven't gotten your Geek on or want to move to the next level of Geekdom.
18 Jun 2011 | 0900
(3 hrs.)
Amateur Radio License Exams

Amateur Radio License Exams will be given at the Regional EOC, 5195 Spectrum Blvd, Reno. Exams start at 9:00am and continue until no one is left to test; walk-ups are always welcome. The Exam fee is $15.00. Contact Tim O’Shea, KY7Y, for further information.
Click to expand...


Practice exams here;
QRZ.COM QRZ Ham Radio Practice Tests

Stuff you will need to get on the air;
 
Well, I haven't posted in awhile. Been busy at work, life, and everything else inbetween. Tonight, took my General test. Was another 10 week session, but I got comp time for going, so I won't complain. Passed it, missed 2 just like on the Technician test. For grins, I took the Extra test too. I got 20 right & 30 wrong. Didn't pass, but then again, I didn't even understand the questions.

I am happy now knowing that I don't have any more classes to go to.

The QRZ.com practices help A LOT. I made my own study guide and once I had finished reading it, I started doing the practice tests until I would consistently get 90%.


Jon
 
thumper said:
Well, I haven't posted in awhile. Been busy at work, life, and everything else inbetween. Tonight, took my General test. Was another 10 week session, but I got comp time for going, so I won't complain. Passed it, missed 2 just like on the Technician test. For grins, I took the Extra test too. I got 20 right & 30 wrong. Didn't pass, but then again, I didn't even understand the questions.

I am happy now knowing that I don't have any more classes to go to.

The QRZ.com practices help A LOT. I made my own study guide and once I had finished reading it, I started doing the practice tests until I would consistently get 90%.


Jon
Click to expand...

Congrats on getting your General! :cheers: Now you can claim to be an Uber Geek... :p
 
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Gah! was that this weekend? Work has been busy and I probably won't make it back up until July. Working for a school district is very busy at the beginning & end of the school calendar. Next few weeks will be pretty hectic and then it slows down during summer time for me. I will try to make some kind of run again. The run I went on to Deer Valley was a blast for me. Showed me what my truck was capable of, which is a lot more than I am capable of.

Uber Geek...not sure I like that, but what the hell :idea:


Jon
 
Congrads on getting general Jon.

20 out of 30 is pretty good on the Extra, it is not an easy test.
 
I was laughing the entire time I was taking it. I didn't even understand the questions. Figured, might as well try it since I was there and passed the General.

Other than getting a lot more frequencies I can use, is there really any benefit to having a General license?

I've been looking at some radios to mount in the truck and I like the Yaesu FTM-350. Looks pretty neat, I think it would be ok if I had just the technician level done. Just need to save up some money and do some searching on how to mount the still to be decided antenna(s) on the back hatch. I know most of the 80 guys had 2, long and short, I think that is what I will do also. Not sure if I will even get a radio to take advantage of the general frequencies now.


Jon
 
thumper said:
I was laughing the entire time I was taking it. I didn't even understand the questions. Figured, might as well try it since I was there and passed the General.

Other than getting a lot more frequencies I can use, is there really any benefit to having a General license?
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Uber Geek status! :)

Seriously, other than access to a wide range of frequencies, no benefit. For off-roading, no benefit. Now if you get your Extra, you'll be able to get a shorter call sign (and some additional frequency access). But for most hams, having an Extra is purely a status thing.

thumper said:
I've been looking at some radios to mount in the truck and I like the Yaesu FTM-350. Looks pretty neat, I think it would be ok if I had just the technician level done. Just need to save up some money and do some searching on how to mount the still to be decided antenna(s) on the back hatch. I know most of the 80 guys had 2, long and short, I think that is what I will do also. Not sure if I will even get a radio to take advantage of the general frequencies now.
Click to expand...

The FTM-350AR is a 2m/70cm dual transceiver radio with APRS features. It's definitely a Geek's radio. But with all of the cool accessories, it's an expensive option. Radio $530, GPS $70, ....

Unless you are really into APRS, I'd recommend a simple 2m radio. The FT 2900R ($150) is rugged, and kicks out 75 watts... enough to punch to a repeater if needed. For truck to truck, a few watts (with decent antenna) will do. I only wish the 2900R had a detachable face plate (like the FTM 350AR) as I rather mount the radio somewhere out of the way (like under a seat).

For antenna mounts, there's lots of options... optimal for RF is generally in the center of the roof. But this sub-optimal, I think, for off-roading (and low garage entrances). Looking at photos of your rig, two easy-to-do options I'd suggest is off the gas can rack in the back or off the front bumper. Another option would be off the spare tire mount somehow. And then there's a roof rack option.

-- Kurt (also an Uber Geek :)
 
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Actually you don't need to mount the antenna on the center of the roof to get good performance.

The type of antenna makes a difference. A 5/8 wave antenna presents a 50 ohm impedance to the radio with no ground plane, so the antenna location is less critical. Mounted on the hatch the antenna will be somewhat directional along the plane of the roof but this is no big deal. For 2M a hatch mount a 5/8 wave Larsen antenna works well, I know a couple of guys that run that set up. I use a Larsen 5/8 wave on both the 60 and 40. The 40 mount is off the roll cage, essentially no ground plane at all. It performs very well indeed.

You will want a Diamond K400SNMO mount, be sure you start out with NMO mounts. It is simply the best system out there. I think the Larsen antenna you want is the NMO150CHW, but that's from memory. If you call the guys at Hamcity they will get you the right stuff.


BTW I passed Uber Geek without even slowing down to wave hello. :p
 
Thanks Kurt & Dan

I like the FTM350 because of the APRS/GPS stuff and it looks cool :grinpimp:
Thought it would be kind of neat to see tracks of where I have been etc. via the tracking thing. I only plan on buying a radio once (hopefully) and want to enjoy the one that I get.

As for the antenna mounting, the items that Dan mentioned is what I think I will use. IIRC that's what most of the 80s guys used. I will go back and check the subscribed threads and see what I can come up with. It will probably be a few months till I get it.


Jon
 
I've been looking at the FTM-350 also.
Reviews;
Yaesu FTM-350R with APRS Product Reviews
N5FDL's EMCOMM Journal - N5FDL Amateur Radio

I think it would be great in my FJ40 because it combines the HAM radio, FM Stereo with MP3/Ipod input and GPS in one unit. It's pretty tight inside the cab of the 40 and most of the time it is open top. One piece of electronics to remove/install if I need to leave the rig unattended in a bad place would be convenient.

That said I'm not a big fan of any kind of electronics that combine to many functions in one unit. One or all of the functions is bound to suffer and if the main unit fails you lose a lot of capability.

I also think the display on the radio would be essentially useless for GPS navigation. The problem with a small display is by the time you zoom enough to get detail you lose context and it is very easy to make a wrong turn. Also for what we do you need Topo maps. So your looking at just using the radio GPS out put routed to say a tablet or laptop. The GPS option is $75 for the GPS receiver and $70 for the antenna, about $145 out the door. For $20 you can add an external USB GPS with built in antenna to a laptop or tablet.



Not that I've spent much time thinking about this or anything. :rolleyes:
 
I can see that you haven't spent much time thinking about this :D

I do agree with the topo maps and such, but my laptop is so old and I don't feel like getting another one.

On the APRS stuff, I looked at Google maps and saw that where you could input the callsign and see the tracks of where they had gone. That seemed cool to me, cool enough to justify it I guess.

I read the reviews on the radio too, seems some of the early models had issues but they have resolved them with a update.

Either way, I will be acquiring the antenna(s) Comet SBB25 & Comet SBB1 or similar and the Diamond trunk/hatchback/lip mount. I will make my decision on the radio later on down the road.


Jon
 
Those are both good antennas, I've used them. In fact I still use the SBB1 on the trail.
The SBB25 didn't hold up well, I'm kind of hard on my toys.:D
 
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