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Welcome to the Charlie Tango DX Group. The home of ALL things Radio - CB, 11m DX, Amateur, PMR446, PLD, Network and Data. We welcome all radio enthusiasts of all knowledge levels. Join today and claim your own unique World Famous CT Call-sign
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Good morning all, I'm Matt from the outskirts of Bristol. Totally new to the hobby with lots to learn, after spending a few evenings reading up some bits I bought a cheap handheld to listen to what was floating about in my local area. A call sign would be great for when I invest on some decent kit! Kind regards, Matty
Victor CT Directors
Call Sign : 26-CT-3228 / M7VIC Posts : 5779 Times Thanked : 352 Join date : 2019-11-10 QTH or Location : Bedford Equipment Used : Various
....and welcome to the hobby, totally new with a million paths & opportunities to explore!
You have the Baofeng listed in your equipment which is capable of PMR frequencies. I do believe that there is some PMR action in and around the Bristol area so may be worth listening for the 8@8. (Sundays 8pm, Channel 8 - 446.0937MHz).
You could also look at the Amateur Radio Foundation licence, now with online exams, free online training and opens a host of bands, frequencies and modes to you. Exam fee is less than £30 and you already have the Baofeng which would open 2m and 70cm Amateur bands to you. (I have a homemade beam and use my little Baofeng to talk around East Anglia through the repeater network!)
Then of course we have CB radio, nowadays with the legal use of Sideband & AM modes which can carry your transmissions around the world when the right conditions are in
All exciting stuff! Don't let it all overwhelm you, radio can become a lifetime hobby.
Also don't be afraid to ask any questions on the forum, there's a really helpful bunch of people here.
Call signs are usually issued most days and your profile is all filled in ready to go, so just keep an eye on this posting for when our Mr. Gary Wilson allocates you.
All the best, Victor
GaryWilson CT Directors
Call Sign : 26-CT-1836 Ham 2E0GGQ Posts : 4128 Times Thanked : 344 Join date : 2019-06-27 QTH or Location : Redcar, North Yorkshire. Equipment Used : Radios & Wires & Stuff! Age : 59
I am delighted to allocate you 26-CT-4250 may you have good luck with it.
I would definitely concur with victors comments with regard to the radio you have bought. There might be some action on PMR but I would imagine you'd do better on the 2m & 70cm Amateur bands. You can do your foundation exams online now and get your license in a couple of months. Whatever you decide all the best of luck to you.
73's Gary.
C.T. Admin.
Mattyb1989 New Member
Call Sign : 26-CT-4250 Posts : 2 Times Thanked : 0 Join date : 2021-09-13 QTH or Location : Yate, Bristol Equipment Used : Baofeng UV5R Age : 34
Thank you very much for the advice and call sign allocation, listening in to the 8&8 last night was actually what prompted me to look a bit further into the call signs etc and pointed me this way.
I will continue keeping an ear out on the PMR channels and look into the foundation licence, Could you point me to a link for the online examination?
Kind regards, Matty
Victor likes this post
Victor CT Directors
Call Sign : 26-CT-3228 / M7VIC Posts : 5779 Times Thanked : 352 Join date : 2019-11-10 QTH or Location : Bedford Equipment Used : Various
I can thoroughly recommend Essex Ham for their online training course and invaluable help in obtaining your Foundation licence and what is required. Many members here including myself passed Foundation with their help. Link as follows :-
Worth starting there first and signing up to their course before booking an examination with the RSGB which can be found at the following link :-
https://rsgb.org/main/rsgb-examination-booking/
Do see what is required with Essex Ham first before booking your exam so that you're not caught out unexpectedly. (I had to ask for a friends help with the loan of a Windows laptop having a webcam as I run a Linux machine.)
I hope that helps and do wish you the very best with it all.
All the best, Victor
John123 CT Directors
Call Sign : 26CT763 Posts : 4076 Times Thanked : 145 Join date : 2019-06-27 QTH or Location : Manchester Equipment Used : Optima, Superstar 360fm, Stalker 9fdx, President Jack Age : 50