Disappointment In Ham Radio

Off to take my pill's now will list them and what they are for.
Only joking gents catch you tomorrow time to lock the shack up now came in at 5am.

Hi Johno,

I completely get where you're coming from.  I've innocently called into 70cm repeaters on 10w which are about 100 miles away from me, and I feel as though I've interrupted the 'regulars' daily routine in some way?!?  It feels akin to walking into a remote country pub in North Wales and ordering a lager shandy.....and in English!?! 

The QSO was merely a signal report but, even in that short time, the other operator corrected me on some semantics or other.....he then went on to talk to his other 'regulars' who were connecting via Bluetooth on their phones to 4g transceivers in the boot of their cars, connected into their home routers via IP v6+ (they were parked on their drive) .........and no doubt a really big prosthetic cock on their heads.

Cheers

Simon.

Simon, I'm in North Wales and I've never had a problem ordering lager at a pub

Sharpshooter wrote:

chazwozza wrote:

Foundation is a waste of time 10 watts utterly sucks

It's 4 watts on CB but who sticks to it ?

It’s 12 on cb

You're both right, or wrong depending on how you look at it.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/84406/citizens-band.pdf

No one specified a modulation mode.

Well I know I didn’t specify ft4/ft8 or any other form or digital fusion/dstar when I claimed 10 watts was a waste of time lol.

Noise floor levels these days are so bad I do wonder why we bother tbh

chazwozza wrote:

Well I know I didn’t specify ft4/ft8 or any other form or digital fusion/dstar when I claimed 10 watts was a waste of time lol.

I only ever run 10 Watts, don't see the point of using any more than that.

I’ll never hear ya then lol

chazwozza wrote:

Sharpshooter wrote:

chazwozza wrote:

Foundation is a waste of time 10 watts utterly sucks

It's 4 watts on CB but who sticks to it ?

It’s 12 on cb

Why so negative my friend ?.
Are you not into radio ?.
The lower the power i make a contact on the better for be it hf or cb.

Aye I like radio 
And I’m not talking about ft/4/8 or digital
Good ole talking

Alan Pilot wrote:

chazwozza wrote:

I’ll never hear ya then lol

Why so negative my friend ?.
Are you not into radio ?.
The lower the power i make a contact on the better for be it hf or cb.

It struck me that the op was referring to talking to people about radios/aerials equipment etc to that end I said 10 watts doth butter no parsnips and in my opinion more power would be better for that ie progress through the ham ranks to at least intermediate.
Saying you can work the world on 5 watts is all fine and good if he can be arsed to setup a pc to his radio maybe ft4/8 does not float his boat due to the fact he likes to talk rather than type or just leave his pc on auto pilot
Now I’m not saying qrp operating is impossible but it’s more frustrating than rewarding again in my opinion

I do talk as well but still don't need big power.
In the past i have tested power out and going from 5w to switching a 100w liner on mad 1 s-point.

I have talked to the USA Australia Canada and New Zeeland on 10w.
If you get your gear setup right that is half the battle but many just plug it all in and off they go.

Agree with you chazwozza in that very low power operating could be frustrating to a new ham or CB user if they are looking to get QSOs on every call and have lots of long convos. But I am finding QSOs using just good ol' SSB on Foundation power can be made with simple efficient setups, just can't expect to get through every time or on every attempt.

My QSO map for my first year, green is 10m.



If someone gets a decent beam up above their house they would sure to have a whale of time with the same little power. I've seen vids of people working others half way around the world on just half a watt, 10 W is a monster amount in comparison and great fun can be had.. I'm having fun anyways, and wondering what it will be like at the sunspot cycle peak.

chazwozza wrote:

I’ll never hear ya then lol

The better your antenna, the less power you need.

If I ran 400 Watts into an low gain antenna, and it got a signal out, all well and good, except as its a low gain antenna you'll never hear anyone.

I run 10 Watts and can have SSB contacts with Indonesia, if the right band is open, using the right antenna for the propagation; but if 11m isn't open, you'll never propagate much beyond line of sight (it does travel a little further), even if you ran a 1000 Watts.  You can't beat the physics.

In some circumstances at low frequencies you might propagate further using ground wave, and indeed with mine rescue, low frequencies can propagate through rock to deep below the ground.

So having a powerful TX and being RX deaf doesn't help you hear anyone, unless the other station has a better antenna, and even then, they could be running 10 Watts vs your 1000 Watts.

At the end of the day, a Yagi Beam and Rotator is cheaper than a 1000 Watt Linear Amplifier.

SangueG wrote:

Agree with you chazwozza in that very low power operating could be frustrating to a new ham or CB user if they are looking to get QSOs on every call and have lots of long convos. But I am finding QSOs using just good ol' SSB on Foundation power can be made with simple efficient setups, just can't expect to get through every time or on every attempt.

My QSO map for my first year, green is 10m.



If someone gets a decent beam up above their house they would sure to have a whale of time with the same little power. I've seen vids of people working others half way around the world on just half a watt, 10 W is a monster amount in comparison and great fun can be had.. I'm having fun anyways, and wondering what it will be like at the sunspot cycle peak.

I'm not a new Ham though, I've only ever had a Full Licence, (M1EPB and then the M5), and pick up Foundation Licensees that might be running 2.5 Watts Portable, I'm not there to frustrate them, I want to work them, if I run below 10 Watts and they can hear me, it encourages them to invest in more and better antennas, so they get the best out of their power limits, and if they had no electronics or radio background prior to their M3/M6/M7, then improving their antenna helps them to study for an Intermediate exam, through practical experience, then they are running 50 Watts with their better antennas, and want to hear even more weak stations and improve their antenna more, and invest in a RX Pre-Amp, to get better DX, and then onto the Full Licence, and get the best antennas, best pre-amps, and a Linear Amplifier to run the legal 400 Watts into the highest gain antenna they can afford.

So with chazwozza being so negative about power levels isn't making him glitter here mate, instead he could learn a thing or two by discussing the subject instead of dismissing everyone.

As regards dissing Digital Modes, there is actually a point to these, in RAYNET, automated Digital Communications provide resilience to User Services in times of Emergency.  He really has to do some research regarding the multiple uses of each mode, not just the automatic QSO people working for Awards whilst they are not there.  After all, they may be testing their setup to prove it all works before implementing it for RAYNET, unless he asks, he'll never know.

There's also awards for QRP, which is generally less than 5 Watts for some awards these people are getting the very best out of the least power, they enjoy the technical challenge and often invest thousands or many hours of fettling to get the very best out of their antenna systems, just because someone is running 5 Watts doesn't mean they don't have a 3,000 Watt Linear sitting on the shack bench whilst they do something challenging.  You get out of the hobby what you put into it.

(Has 600 Watt Linear sitting under the bench)

You can't educate pork.
I like that saying so i though i would just mention it lol.

Look guys if we all had the same opinion it would be boring I've never stated you couldn't work countries with 10 Watts just that it would be crap. As the op stated he has gone back to cb not everyone got into radio to do digital or qrp it doesn't float everyone's boat he could just as easy work the world on 11m with a cheap 100w burner when conditions  are right 

Can't educate pork quality insult just because we have different views lol reminds me of the ham bands

I always tell people to remember that like any hobby, there is always a percentage of dickheads - just ignore them, and as long as you are operating within your license conditions or regs, do what makes you happy. Other people's opinions should not dictate how you operate.

80m here is always good if you want to catch up on the latest medical treatments, and I'm grateful I cant fit in an antenna for 160m as I'm told that's worse.

I appreciate how much effort hams and radio enthusiasts put in for long distance dx etc.
But I feel I will only ever be a casual radio operator.
Ham radio chat to me does seem concentrated on equipment, distance, ailments with a spattering of "airwaves policing know alls"  lol.
I'm not knocking that but CB seems more relaxed,
Everyone is different thankfully, and with CB being easier to access it attracts more scope of people.
You just have to put up and work around those that key mics, play music etc.
But I'd take the heydays back in a heartbeat

The trick is to not argue and help each other imo.

I must say gents, that my investment in 70cm and 2m equipment has not been the most rewarding experience, mainly due to the people at the other end of the QSO.  As such, I'm going to pack it up until it might serve some real purpose to enrich my life, or save it.

That's sad to hear Simon. I obviously haven't had the same experiences as you or I might be feeling the same.

If I could make a suggestion; Keep a rig packed up in the back your car, if even only one of the cheap handies. You touched on a, hopefully never needed, but definitely a real possible use which is that you never know when it might be useful to assist you or another person...

Whilst my daughter was doing work at a kennels in Ablington I carried the little uv5r each time I drove her out there. More it was just something to listen to on the way, or whilst I was sat waiting for her to finish. What I did find though was that from the kennels I was able to access the Swindon 2m repeater and also talk to a mega station in Swindon on PMR. That was interesting because there was zero mobile phone coverage there or also at a couple of spots on the route to (much to the disgust of my daughter who couldn't use her phone all day).

There was one day I got stuck in the mud there (it's a real farm track that leads the final way to it). I did manage to get myself freed thankfully. Another day the car broke down on route between Ciren and the kennels, thankfully I was able to fix it. Both times though, had I not been able to sort, it did make me feel safer knowing I had another form of comms where I could raise help. I know I would of only had to walk less than a mile to get help if I had to, and I am quite capable of doing so.. but some people are not able to, and you never know one day you might be further out in a more remote place and it could save you or another.

Or.. you're just sat waiting for someone in you car one day, bored, and dig it out for a listen.

If at first you don't succeed - give up.

It's always a shame to hear of disappointment with radio ventures especially when it all starts off with such excitement or enthusiasm.


My initial start with VHF/UHF didn't exactly thrill me but I make an effort to chat to my old Ham friend when I can which means I'm on air often to catch a newly licenced 'Baofeng' QSO which is a great pleasure. Sometimes there's the thrill of a tropospheric lift and suddenly I'm chatting to someone a hundred miles or more away. Totally would have been missed if I too 'gave up'.

HF left me deflated, accused of using more power than allowed, not having enough power for a QSO, needing better audio with a DJ style mic or apparently and magically telling me I'm a 100Hz off frequency?!?!?

I could have given up, especially as it took me some time to repair the radio I was gifted and disability made it difficult to string up antennas. Luckily I didn't and currently enjoying some digital DX that I never had expected to get so involved with.

There's still things I want to do including homebrewing some more gear, playing with more antennas and giving voice SSB another go whilst ignoring the naysayers. It's a massive playing field involved with good old radio and sometimes you just have to find what you enjoy.


Let's hope some of you do. 

I live out in the Wiltshire area I completed my foundation licence in January this year I run both 2m/70cm alongside my cb equipment and a Yaesu FT818nd I am not sure why but I have a good network of both amateur operators in the area and with a little work and time I have managed to access most of our local repeaters, the guy’s in Swindon normally reply to a call through either of the repeater’s. Try 145.375 in the mornings around 10:30 someone’s bound to reply. 26 CT4525/ 26TG064

I'm quite enjoying this thread and the debate.
Pondering over it, it seems CB radio has a slight resurgence, and ham radio too is becoming popular amongst new foundation license holders.
This sounds like a good thing.
I like a bit of banter and I'm not averse to swearing. Listening in on channel 19 fm today was interesting.

But at least there's free speech rather than big brother internet crap

Obviously I can only listen on ham frequencies and I respect that. And if I do a foundation course I'll keep to the guidelines.

If people stick to that mindset and go on whatever band/frequency they enjoy then surely jobs a good un ?

Again, to the op. Thanks for this thread and look at it that you have added another string to your bow.
I've ordered a PMR radio to look at other avenues and I'm still considering doing a foundation license.

Just to close, I was chatting to someone today that has a scanner and used to sideband back in the day.

He was interested in my Sirio on my car roof.
He's now thinking of getting a rig and trying to talk his mrs into putting a magmount on his car as well as a home base antenna at home

I was quite apprehensive about driving round with a big antenna on the roof. My mrs called me a geek when I recently bought a 9900 "CB radio" but you know what? I've found I don't care, and it's attracted quite a bit of interest.

So be positive and attract new blood