Passed my amateur radio General Class license.

[marlin39a]

Great accomplishment Sir. Now comes the real expensive part.

[Shamus]

Lately I haven't been active on HF due to storms, but I want to get my antennas back up! Dang tornadoes. Last one didn't leave me many tall tress, might have to put up a tower.

[myg30]

Congrats 1911sw, ( wish you had a name ). Been a ham since 1971. Learned everything the hard way but had a break when I took the extra with a good friend ( now silent key) I felt the test and code was much less difficult then back in the 70’s.
Random letters and characters at 20 wpm was tough fer most back then especially being a teenager.
We are packing up and getting ready to move so operating is almost at a halt fer me. Just 2m/440 mobile.
I’m going to throw up an antenna so the winter I will be able to operate some.

Good luck and all the best DX to ya, de Mike WA2DLN

[bakerjw]

OK.... YOU ARE ALL IN TROUBLE NOW.....
My wife said no more hobbies and I caught myself looking at HF rigs again because of all of you!!!!
All in jest.

With all of the turmoil, I can get an HF rig and not catch flack for it as she wants to have some communications. I might poke around and see what is out there at a decent price. I know where I can get a Heathkit HW101. My first radio was one and I loved it.

[derek45]

[derek45]

[derek45]

[WebMonkey]

gratuitous shack photo



kb0wlf

[myg30]

Very nice QSL’s Derek. I used to have my shack lined with them. I only have a handful of very precious cards that I will always remember and save. Some are friends that are long gone and others were the DX contacts I made as a novice on cw with DX-60B w/crystals, HQ- 110 and a inverted V at 28’.
The smiles were stuck on my face fer days working those hard earned DX Qso’s as a 13 yr old.

[MaryB]

My custom built(by me) radio desk, steel workbench legs, a piece of counter top with bracing, red oak riser to hold junk, wall mounted monitors so they don't interfere with radio space.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Some nice gear!

General for some years here, just can't really do lots on my budget in an apartment. So just 144MHz / 440 on occasion, been doing other things for a while due to RL 'stuff'. Need to get car radios some time.

[MaryB]

Some nice gear!

General for some years here, just can't really do lots on my budget in an apartment. So just 144MHz / 440 on occasion, been doing other things for a while due to RL 'stuff'. Need to get car radios some time.

Gte an Icom IC-705, a magnetic loop and work the world on FT8! Or even SSB! QRP can do some long haul stuff just fine. Loop can go on your deck when in use, sit inside when not. They are tiny and don't take up much space(53"w and 42" tall for this one https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/bcm-loop-40 ). Yes they are fiddle to use, require retuning if you change frequency... but it can get you on the air. A ham stick on the balcony railing with a ground wire dropped straight down or ran back into the apartment can work too... LOTS of ways to get on the air from an apartment!

[elmacgyver0]

I have been a technician for a long time. Built a 500 watt uhf amplifier for ATV fast scan with 2 4CX250 transmitter exciter tubes I got from an old radio/TV station engineer.
I used to love building electronics. Funny thing, I was always shy about getting on the radio, never got my general license but was able to pass the written test.
Figured I would be general automatically when they dropped the code requirement as I was Tech+ which means I passed general but flunked the code part.
Well I was wrong, they just dropped the Tech+ back to Tech. The Tech+ holders got the shaft. Never did much with the radios after that.

[derek45]

I have been a technician for a long time. Built a 500 watt uhf amplifier for ATV fast scan with 2 4CX250 transmitter exciter tubes I got from an old radio/TV station engineer.
I used to love building electronics. Funny thing, I was always shy about getting on the radio, never got my general license but was able to pass the written test.
Figured I would be general automatically when they dropped the code requirement as I was Tech+ which means I passed general but flunked the code part.
Well I was wrong, they just dropped the Tech+ back to Tech. The Tech+ holders got the shaft. Never did much with the radios after that.

CW requirement was dropped several years ago.

now it's tech, general, and extra, no more advanced, written tests seem to be pretty easy for most folks.

I started as a tech plus in 1993, made my first QSO on 10meter SSB.

then passed the General written, failed the morse.

VE's / Elmers of the club talked me into calling CQ on 40 meter CW to get my speed up.

It worked, a month later I passed the 13 word per min. CW and advanced written.

Then Clinton said american citizens could not be trusted with 30 round mags, and bayonet lugs, so I sold all my ham gear and started buying more rifles
( 1994)

I got back into it again after Sept.11th 2001

.

[lesterktm]

Congrats!

[sagamore-one]

Congrats from North Eastern Indiana , home of KD9GEA.

[1911sw45]

Thank you all. Just have to get a HF rig. Right now just running 2m and 70cm. With Yaseu FTM-400XDR as my base with a Yaseu 2800M in the car. HT with a FT-60R.

[MaryB]

I have been a technician for a long time. Built a 500 watt uhf amplifier for ATV fast scan with 2 4CX250 transmitter exciter tubes I got from an old radio/TV station engineer.
I used to love building electronics. Funny thing, I was always shy about getting on the radio, never got my general license but was able to pass the written test.
Figured I would be general automatically when they dropped the code requirement as I was Tech+ which means I passed general but flunked the code part.
Well I was wrong, they just dropped the Tech+ back to Tech. The Tech+ holders got the shaft. Never did much with the radios after that.

Depends on the year you got Tech+, it had to be before March 21, 1987 I think, and your license needs to be active or in the grace period for renewal. And it had to be done by a certain date...

[Mr_Sheesh]

MaryB, I am glad you are optimistic re: my budget, sadly reality's less helpful I'll work on it.

[MaryB]

Want to budget it go with one of the QRP radios like this one https://www.radioddity.com/products/...hf-transceiver good reviews by many! $449 is affordable too! QRP is a challenge... but can be done. I used to run 5 watts mobile and worked DX!