If you think amateur radio is outdated, you are wrong. In fact, I think HAM radio is more important than ever. Amateur radio is a useful tool and when something goes wrong in your town and when the internet is down and the power is out, there is always the amateur radio. part of Amateur radio's slogan is literally "when all else fails."

@shawnchartrandva3gfy720

Жыл бұрын

you probably have money invested in HF gear tis why u probably think like that . right?

@shawnchartrandva3gfy720

Жыл бұрын

u are right about last man standing is holding a HT HEHE

@aaronberns8485

Жыл бұрын

I have a C crane skywave radio that has am fm weather band shortwave and the airport station. I use it in case the power goes out or when there is severe weather. I also have a Uniden bearcat radio that tunes to amateur radio settings. No. I don’t have an amateur radio license, but it’s still enjoyable to hear people use it and it’s a great way to learn how this job of radio communication works.

@plusorminusandtime

Жыл бұрын

When WWIII get's going, people will know the value then.

@falsedragon33

Жыл бұрын

Only the stupid look down on it. I've built cellular networks for 17 years, and a ham radio operator for 30. Ham radio is still more difficult and rewarding then the 5g nodes I build.

I wish more people understood the importance of radio communication and would get involved.

@shawnchartrandva3gfy720

Жыл бұрын

more radios like BaoFeng and SDR Clones would help the hobby unless you were born with a golden spoon in your mouth

@shawnchartrandva3gfy720

Жыл бұрын

Once they see the price of radios LMFFAO they drop this hobby like a hot potato ...... food and rent is priority

@shawnchartrandva3gfy720

Жыл бұрын

1 bedroom $1400 a month any radio new Over $1000 used $500 and up . see why the hobby is dying.

@briandeiwert5911

Жыл бұрын

@@shawnchartrandva3gfy720 sure if you want the really expensive stuff you'll pay a lot of money. If you're just starting out you can get a ham radio for around $80. Between test prep materials, the license test, and a radio anyone can be all in under $200.

@shawnchartrandva3gfy720

Жыл бұрын

when the poles shift as they will then watch how important hf GMRS 70cm 2m will become they will be the backbone of helping people.

Young Ladies are into HAM radio too. I am an operator since May 2018 and now have my advanced license. It's a great hobby and it does bring the world closer. Yvette, DL9YJ

Now I'm an old ham. I've been licensed for 60 years. But, I started as a boy, with my first license at age 14! Many have started much younger than me.

@donl1846

Жыл бұрын

Same here, 55 yrs. this year as a ham. Like you I was 14 and got my Novice in 1968.

I got my license at age of 12 back in 1962. Talking on that little 100 watt radio gave a very shy kid the courage to talk on the big radios: WSRF Fort Lauderdale 10,000 watts....WMYQ Miami 100,000 watts....WOKY Milwaukee 5000 watts....WRKO Boston...50,000 watts and WNBC New York 50,000 watts...also WFLC and WKIS Miami both 100,000 watts. Thanks to Ham Radio for a great career and a great life.

@mikesmith-po8nd

Жыл бұрын

Johnny Dark, I remember listening to you while visiting family in the Baltimore area, maybe mid 70's. Good to hear that you are still with us. I'm curious if you're still on the air?

@johnnydark9239

Жыл бұрын

Mike, I never worked in Baltimore.

@mikesmith-po8nd

Жыл бұрын

Ok, well I remember hearing you somewhere. I'm just too old to remember where, lol. Best regards.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

I planned to have a career in broadcast radio, until a Columbus DJ named Jimmy Roach visited our class at DeVry and explained the facts of the industry. The DJ side was portrayed by Harry Chapin in "WOLD". The engineering side was being taken over by automation. I discovered industrial instruments and process controls and made a 43 year career of it. I earned my Technician license in 1980, my Extra in 1989. Radio is still as magical as it was 60 years ago.

When everything else fails, ham radio works. 73, KJ4NWQ

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

Fiji learned that lesson when an undersea volcano destroyed their lone fiber cable and cut them off from the world. There are no hams on the island.

@JESUSCHRYSLER5512

Жыл бұрын

Replying to Rick: I IMAGINE YOU TAKING YOUR HAM RADIO APART AND CUTTING ALL THE WIRES, PUTTING METAL SHAVINGS IN THE CIRCUIT BOARDS, AND DESTROYING IT

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

@@JESUSCHRYSLER5512 You reminded me of something a friend did over 50 years ago. He thought that he'd paint the case of a Regency Range Gain his dad had. He furiously scrubbed the old paint off with steel wool... without removing the case from the radio! When he turned it on it looked like a fireball in a cage and the radio was toast.

@Long_Haired_Country_Boy

Жыл бұрын

73. KC5PBL

@anthonywallace1679

5 ай бұрын

You did a good job covering.73s wa4udk.

I'm disabled and don't get out of the home much. I operate on vhf and uhf and have made radio friends across the state and some that live fairly close to me. It's been nice that some of those folks come by and visit me from time to time. During the day it gives me someone to talk to and I simply love it. KO4HPC 73

Im a new ham im licensed since april 2022 and im loving it! LZ1BWD

The best Hobby in the World. Your Friend Uncle Guenter from southwest Germany just said that. 73...over over 💯🙋‍♂

Best hobby I ever started.

It’s not just a hobby, it’s a post-apocalyptic life skill. 73 de KF5AVV

I've been a ham for 34 years and there's always something new to learn. It is pretty amazing one can work the world with 100watts and a wire antenna.

Long live CW

Ham radio. The first voice you hear when everything else goes completely silent.

@sharetherisk7647

11 ай бұрын

Can you cite a single example in the past decade where everything went completely silent where Ham Radio saved lives in the absence of any other Comms? Not talking about Joe Bob telling Billy Bob "I heard a story about...." - I'm looking for a FEMA, NOAA, Trauma Center, Red Cross, National Guard, Red Cross etc. spokesperson who reports Ham Radio provided essential, life saving Comms within an affected area. I've searched, and find none which begs the question to your original statement "what are you writing about?" Decades past, sure, I was part of life-saving Ham Radio EmComm...but that ship sailed long ago no matter how tempting it is to lionize Ham Radio's relevancy today. Standing by...

@threeforkcreekoutdoors704

11 ай бұрын

Yes sir

When it became clear that I could not work in commercial radio as I had for well over 40 years, I turned my focus to amateur radio. I get just as much pleasure from Ham radio as I ever did from broadcasting. 73 de AJ5F.

@johnnydark9239

Жыл бұрын

See above Dave

@davemitchell116

Жыл бұрын

@@johnnydark9239 I don't understand what you are referring to.

Even though two way communications may be outdated, but when the power is out the simplest of communications are the best communications. 73 from a 17 year old ham from Sweden, SA6KOD

I'm 16 and an extra class, it's a fun hobby for everyone

Licensed since 1992, and still loving the hobby!

Nicely done piece, and you get it nearly all right. I take mild exception to the statement that ham radio was always an old man's hobby. I'd say in recent years it's been a graying hobby, but if you went back to the 1920s to the 1980s you would find radio was a fascination for boys and teens. So many grey hams today were first licensed in high school, or sooner. I will also say that the hobby is seeing a resurgence of younger folks getting involved today - which is exciting. Anyway, bravo CBS 58 - very well done. 73 de AB1DQ/James

@tomsherwood4650

Жыл бұрын

IN the beginning there were fewer old hams just because it was cutting edge coming on the scene tech.

@624radicalham

Жыл бұрын

Ask yourself how many younger kids participated in amateur radio clubs when you were in school. Say 2000 students, maybe 7 if the school was lucky. Without going back to the 1920's when this tech was cutting edge, in the 1960's the younger kids that participated were often nerds, autistic or introverts. Same as today. Very few were outgoing extroverts like Wolfman Jack. It was then, and it is now an old man's hobby ... by the percentages. That being said, it's one of the best most helpful hobby/services around. But don't remember a past that never was.

Licensed since 2011, now in college and still enjoying the hobby! 73 de K9TVG

Amateur radio is the best hobby of the world. 73´s DH1KJ Backnang Germany

I got my first license as a Novice in 1968 at the young age of 14 and I have enjoyed the hobby ever since.

@GregoryACross

Жыл бұрын

Good for you! I also started at age 14, in August 1962.

@philmann3476

Жыл бұрын

Got started in '69 at age 14. Looks like we've progressed together. Glad to meet a fellow traveler. 73 de WN9CWD/WB9CWD/K9CN.

@donl1846

Жыл бұрын

@@philmann3476 My first rig was a Johnson Viking II xmtr, Hammarlund HQ-140 XA rcvr., straight key and an old box of crystals for the Viking II so I could operator on the 80, 40 and 15 meter Novice portion of the cw band. My Elmer "tuned the transmitter down" to 75 watts input to meet my Novice license class at the time, 73.

@philmann3476

Жыл бұрын

@@donl1846 I got into this (after a long period of burning interest) as a freshman in high school as part of a course taught by one of the science teachers and lifelong ham, W9SCH. The main rig for novices at the club station, W9EDC, was a Heathkit Mohawk receiver and a rock-bound Globe Chief transmitter. After passing the General or above, you got to play with the Drake TR-3. At home I had a home-brew 15 Watt xmtr coupled with my Heathkit GR-64 receiver and my only crystal, 3739 KC, which I still have. Great fun and I miss those days. 73

FT8 is not a communication mode

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

No, FT8/4 are weak-signal modes, but it's the fact that these stations are so automated that they can work DXCC in one day while you're at work is what gets people frosty. I don't run it. The current FT8WW operation has gotten a lot of the HF DX SSB folks frosty because it had only 3 weeks to use HF, and operated zero HF SSB, 80% FT8, 18% high-speed CW, and the remaining and current operation via the QO-100 geostationary satellite that doesn't cover half the planet. Exclusivity sucks!

I absolutely love amature radio! 73 everyone. KI5YTJ

I've been a ham for decades but I've never had a home station setup in the house because I don't want to be tied to a desk. I take my radio hobby with me everywhere that I go in the form of a sophisticated handheld radio. I still enjoy the hobby, but in a different way than most people.

I'm taking my test at the end of summer. Can't wait to get on the air. Currently studying CW

Lovely video, its nice to see a wide variety of people enjoying this excellent hobby !

@shawnchartrandva3gfy720

Жыл бұрын

1 in 2000+ are under 20 . you never hear young people on Ham unless it a ham at a scouts meeting.

The seed was planted when I was 10 or 11 years old, and I remember Knight Kits selling for a few hundred dollars; completed rigs even more. Now, 56 years later, I'm starting the hobby I discovered a long time ago.

I am approaching 20 years a licensed Amateur Radio Operator. I also hold GMRS licenses for public service event that use GMRS repeaters, such as the MS 150 City to Shore.

I love ham radio. I just hate they always interview old people

They need to showcase SOTA and POTA and their philosophies of using radio to get people outside to the parks and mountains, 73

@hotforit

Жыл бұрын

Agreed. They also missed the boat on the volunteer aspect of the hobby but I'm sure they are limited to the program schedule.

I've loved radio since the late 60's.. Been a ham since 2010 I don't do CW but I have dabled in digital communications...

One thing not committed on is that we also have a lot to do with emergency communications. It is just not rag chews, but providing a service when other communication services are down. KCØKM

27. Day 2. I want to get certified on my bday this year.

I’ve been a ham for over 40 years.

This is a different type of addiction ☺️

25+/- years as a Ham. 73's KE6UPI

Great video.

Excellent story! Thanks for sharing. ~ 73 ~ AC7WH

I was talking to Manchester England from my driveway in my truck this morning...talked to Nepal this week. Lots of fun.

Nice. I have been a ham radio operator since 1986 as G1JIV with a class "B" license. Then I took the CW test and became G0MIH. Now I'm living in Thailand and have the call HS0ZLQ. Love ham radio.

I knew a hams operator (The Silver Fox) Bassett ca. 1977 & 17 years old man he walked over everyone's transmissions!

Tie that paddle down! Just sayin' 😎

got my license at 15. as a 2000's baby there isnt many of us. But I transmit every day. Alot of corporations really want our bandwidth but we wont give in to the them. Digital is the future of armature radio. Much easier for a young guy or gal to get into radio when its just like texting. Alot of old farts hate us digital young guys but the truth is it is the future. Better to have digital being used rather than nothing being used and the FCC selling our space to At&T.

It's good the hobby still going strong even with the internet.

Some get the impression that it is old guys. Well back in the beginning it was cutting edge to be in radio and the users and experimenters were on average pretty young in the majority. That is because it was a new technology and exciting. LIke when personal computing was a new thing, young people were heavy into it and older people really did not get interested in computers outside of professional spheres. Then the young guys got old but kept it up and thus the age balance started to shift higher.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

50 years ago, I was a CB radio kid. Like most of my friends, I couldn't grasp Morse code, so I didn't bother with ham radio. By 1980 our generation began migrating to the ham bands, and there were quite a few of the old-timers that resented it. Time marches on, those guys died off, and now WE are the "old-timers"! But a scan around the CB band reveals no one under age 50, if anyone at all. So, what happened? The entry portal to CB radio was the walkie talkies that were Christmas and birthday presents for many kids of the 1960s and early 1970s. When channel 9 was the calling channel they came with channel 9 crystals. When channel 11 was the calling channel they came with channel 11 crystals. When the national CB radio organizations (I'm looking at you, REACT!) complained about interference the FCC moved walkie talkies to 49 MHz. Why is that important? Kids would talk to the neighbors who had CB radios. Their friends would get on their parents' base stations and eventually get base stations of their own. They would read magazines like Electronics Illustrated and learn all about the magical world of radio. Some of them got into ham radio and made careers in electronics. So, what happened? Two things: First, the FCC moved walkie talkies to UHF. Second, a change in society. Kids still key up their bubble pack radios and ask if anyone is out there. 50 years ago this was the first step into the world of radio. Answer one today, and risk being labeled a child predator and having to explain yourself to the authorities. The curiosity is there, but you don't dare encourage it.

@redstickham6394

Жыл бұрын

@@spaceflight1019 I had a 100mw walkie talkie that was on CB channel 14 and me and other kids had fun talking on them. Sometimes we'd get on our bikes and see how far we could talk. Sometimes we'd just listen. It was a fun time then the walkie talkies were moved to 49mhz and later UHF(GMRS) so we couldn't hear the CBers anymore. You are right about the changes in society, nowadays it seems like curiosity is no longer encouraged. It's sad.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

@@redstickham6394 Thanks for remembering. I made a point out of going on channel 14 every Christmas morning and talking to everyone I could hear. I also would check 14 every day just in case someone was there. Remember when those talkies had code keys? They couldn't send and I couldn't understand it but every time I run across a CW pileup I'm instantly transported back to those days.

Amateur radio forever,73-88 from WB1CMT / PP1BP ex N1CNS somerset,massachusetts

@bonasperry8747

Жыл бұрын

Since 1977

Good video, Issac needs to secure his paddle though - lol FT-8 isn't for me, but have at it - whatever floats your boat! 73 WB8YJF

Considering the news media did this story, I'm surprised because they actually did a decent job on the topic!

yep i'm a fellow ham, it's a nice hobby

Should not have mentioned ft8..lol

When the phones are down the hams are up 73's De n2akj

And GMRS is growing

nice video! 73!

Ron Swanson would like this type of radio station.

@andrerobitaille559

Жыл бұрын

Wait until he sees teletype machines to send his complaints over radio!

Not sure why this makes it sound like amateur radio is becoming obsolete. True, hams are a rather small percentage of the population, but amateur radio is far from obsolete. It is an interesting hobby in you can talk to thousands of hams worldwide. The farthest I've reached was a ham in the Ukraine, using a suitcase-sized loop antenna on my back porch. We do provide public service too; Skywarn has lots of hams out keeping an eye on the weather when it gets bad, and they can radio in to the net operators to get warnings out to the public or to report trees down in roads to get crews sent out. I've helped out with the Akron marathon where a bunch of us were stationed at points along the route to report the runners progress, and if a runner got into trouble and needed medical assistance we could radio in to let them know exactly where to send an ambulance.

This point I'm still trying to fathom tropospheric tunnel. I'm fascinated when I can get a signal 800 miles away, but it's very different from "skip" on the AM band. That can be fascinating too.

THIS WAS VERY COOL THANKS CBS 58 GREAT JOB... de DAVE McCumber N9WQ !

great little video de W1CJF

FTDX3000! I have the same rig. Nice! 73 de K2CJB

Wonderful hobby de w3oj

KC6UBP is why so many people have left amateur radio.

@Jee2024IIT

Жыл бұрын

?? Backstory pls

1:12 "the ability to talk to people" also dude has his vfo on the ft8 digital freq

Ham radio is next for me. I have the gmrs license and several of those radios. Also have cb for short range emergency comms, and Shortwave radios.

@KKEM641

Жыл бұрын

Great! I suggest you find a class either in person or online. The Technician test is fairly easy, but it sometimes can be daunting and difficult if you do not understand parts of it. KCØKM

Yes, as a licensed ham operator, I’m able to communicate during an emergency when everything else fails. Lol people think the Internet and the cell phones and the power grid will all work during a huge emergency more times than not it won’t.

I started listening aged 14 when I built a one valve kit. Aged 19 got my G8 licence, vhf and up. In 1976 passed the Morse test and got this call. Built gear and bought some gear and putting 60m on my h/b QRP tcvr. Repairing my Racal RA17L, I think the 2nd v.f.o. is not working. Repaired and use a 1944 Wireless 19 Set. Made a Morse Code contact the other week, one Watt got me 1500 miles. I use nothing above 5 Watts. G4GHB

A wonderful hobby 73 de G0uch

They should have stressed "When All Else Fails" aspect of amateur radio as well, not just conversations...

They work off grid on battries.

Just stay away from 7.200 on 40 meters 😂

Their are so many aspects to the subject that you have to specialise. You'll never do it all in one lifetime! Myself, It's mainly antenna research.

In my teens I had a CB radio to!

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

I started with shortwave listening in 1964, got on CB in 1970. The worldwide propagation was fantastic! Ten years later I went ham because the opportunity to explore propagation is just so much bigger than CB.

Plain BS to think that FT8 enables you to talk to someone. No info except callsign and grid locator will be exchanged. I'd call that a zombie mode.

Yeah FT8 kinda anti social but neat too

Talk to people on Mars

@Wa3ypx

Жыл бұрын

No but there is such a thing a "MARS", Military Auxiliary Radio System

@nerdgarage

Жыл бұрын

It would be wicked cool if on one of the upcoming moon, and mars, missions, and I mean those being done and planned now, before manned missions, some country put some form of ham radio repeater on the moon, and mars --- forget moon bounce, eme, meteor scatter, etc, this is the 21st century ! It's getting too easy to communicate around the planet, time for a new distance challenge.

@kd5inm

Жыл бұрын

You can talk to astronauts on the space station

@nobody8717

Жыл бұрын

@@kd5inm I been trying on occasion with a baofeng. Just to see if I can. :P

@devilsatan2973

Жыл бұрын

@@nobody8717 Just find out when they will be overhead and point a beam ant. at them and give out your call!

There not kidding when they said that it picked up steam during the lockdown, I got my license during the lockdown. Amateur radio is more than it was and my local club is getting stuck in with manometer band and optical communication. Greetings from the UK, M7EMC

Consider the following, if there is any disruption in the electrical power transmission in a region or more widespread like large sections of the country, for an extended period of time, then most modern methods of communication won't work. If there are powerful "atmospheric EMP events" that cooks most modern electronic devices, modern communications won't work. If there is widespread destruction of communication infrastructure then modern communications won't work. Internet access via DSL or cable won't work, that means WiFi won't work. Cell phone towers may work temporarily at lower power and bandwidth due to battery backups but eventually they too run out of power and not work. Landline telephone, have battery backup they too will eventually not work. So, at that point, what are you left with? How will you communicate? Yes there are satellite phones, but few people have them and even so, it is a point to point communication, you will be limited by the people who have satellite phones. This is the strength of Ham radio, it will work when most every other form of communication goes down. Ham radio uses the naturally produced ionosphere plasma, high in the atmosphere, to bounce radio signals. It does not require man-made infrastructure between transmitter and receiver, also ham radios can be powered with batteries. Finally ham radio is not usually point to point communication so when one broadcasts one usually blankets an entire area, thereby increasing the number of people one can contact. I suggest, at the very least, that everyone buy a battery powered short wave capable radio. It's best to get a shortwave radio that can be powered through multiple means like batteries, solar power, and hand crank. Such radios do exist and are not that expensive. To protect the radio from EMP blasts wrap it completely in two plastic bags, and place it in a sealed metal enclosure, like a "cast iron dutch oven".

You can't hold a conversation with some digital modes like ft8, the only thing you get is call sign location and single straight! I am a ham and like to hold a conversation, also many ham in different countries speak English so there is no to much language berior! Some people get a bit confused about mores code to, they think that if you make a contact with it it's interchangeable say if you speak english and you make a contact to say someone in Germany and the other ham only speak german then you can communicate well thats not quite true, yes like in ft8 digital mode you can get their call sign location, single straight and both of us as hams do understand that information no matter what language you speak but to really hold a conversation it's not possible because mores code uses the standard alphabet punctuation and numbers so if you speak, read and write in a different language for your own then you really can't hold a conversation! This should discourage anyone from getting a ham license and a radio and get on the air. Like I said many hams in other countries speak English it's kind of the unofficial ham language! Some hams like this just getting as many contacts as possible and collecting them to get all countries and you can get an award certificate if you do it and all you need to do is make a contact with callsign and single straight and that's an official contact towards earning that certificate!

@Bashnja1

Жыл бұрын

The award is pretty valueless when it's just computers talking to each other with no input from the operator. Might as well take up fretwork or home conjuring as a hobby if that's all you can do. Communication is for communicators.

@chrisredding6673

Жыл бұрын

@@Bashnja1 Agreed; but on the other hand anything that persuades an operator to stay involved and 'ready' - when he might otherwise leave - is a good thing. Whatever floats yer boat I suppose.

FT8 not talking

@davidmohr4606

Жыл бұрын

but still communication.

@Knarf14

Жыл бұрын

@@davidmohr4606 so is listening for beacons

@KarlKrogmann

Жыл бұрын

There's one in every crowd.

@Knarf14

Жыл бұрын

@@KarlKrogmann yup if you cant hear it with your ear then let the machine listen for it

@expert244

Жыл бұрын

JS8CALL

I would say one of the problems with Ham radio is the hoarding of the old radios. All these rich old guys with basements full of great equipment that could be on the air. You can’t find cheap ham radios anywhere.

@tomsherwood4650

Жыл бұрын

Well how cheap do you want. The current inflation is making everything expensive but estates and upgrades keep a constant flow of used radios that can be cheap. The price to value ratio with Japanese radios has increased to the point that you can spend 500 or less for a decent radio that is modern for practical purposes.

@kennethschultz6465

Жыл бұрын

THER DEFENTLY IS A DIFRENCE OF CHEAP AND YOU BE A CHEAP SKATE!!

@kennethschultz6465

Жыл бұрын

@@tomsherwood4650 don't bather this DUUDE Just pissed over som guy got 2 or 4 rigs Suddenly we are all horders!!! I GOT 7 .. omg omg omg i am a sosial horder With out friends or any life

@jayrogers8255

Жыл бұрын

You can always build a kit. I’ve done several. It’s something I enjoy & it helps you learn how all of this magic happens!

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

It's a matter of perspective, and skill. No, you're not going to find a 7300 for $50, so you have to use a little savvy and think about what you want to do. I'll keep my examples simple because ham radio has so many different facets. First up is your budget. Set aside about $1000. You won't spend it all unless you want to. Start with antennas. What bands do you want to operate? How much land space do you have to use? The antenna is the radio's "window" so get the best. Listen to what others are using. I have a 60'x180' lot so I use an Alpha Delta DX-V and a Cushcraft R5. Wire dipoles work great and a CB antenna will rock on 10 and 12 meters. Radios. I recommend getting a TS-430. They turned the ham radio world upside down 40 years ago and they're still plentiful and relatively cheap. I know how to fix things so the range of things I can use is greater and cheaper. My current 10 meter favorite is a castoff Siltronix 1011D that needed a new volume control. My 10 meter antenna is a vertical rescued from the original owner's roof after he died. Because I did the work it cost me my time.

i have no interest in the social aspect of it- the internet has taken care of any urge i have to talk to random people. still considering getting a basic license just for possible emergency use- we do get a hurricane through here once in a while, eg.

It can be cost prohibitive though. Not trying to put it down.

And quit saying it is too expensive. Compared to what tech hobby? How much does a fully loaded laptop cost now, for computer hobby. IF you can stiill call it a hobby. Compare price to value ratio. Back in the day the tube ham radios adjusted for inflation were pretty expensive for much less tech and capability compared to radios in the past 30 years. You can buy a used but modern ham rig that is still competitive features for regular practical purposes for a comparative steal. Unless you insist on buying from auction site speculators with dream prices.

@davidbrayshaw3529

Жыл бұрын

It's all relative. Clearly, not everyone around the globe can afford to set up a high powered HF station. But not everyone around the globe can afford a new set of golf clubs and green fees either. Not everyone can afford a jet ski or a couple of nice rods and reels. At least with ham radio, you can start out by simply joining a club for a nominal membership fee only. And at least with VHF/UHF, you can buy a Chinese HT for about the same price as a pub meal. Not everyone can afford it, but if you live in the first world and have a job, you're well on your way.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

Tube radios have lethal voltage inside them and I never recommend them to newcomers. The key is to find someone knowledgeable to help you find your first radio. I've had great success with the TS-430 and have helped several people get started with one. They're plentiful and relatively inexpensive.

@Dfk429S9fo3

Жыл бұрын

@@spaceflight1019 any voltage can be lethal if applied properly.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

@@Dfk429S9fo3 Tough to get killed by 12 volts. Lot easier to get killed by the big volts in tube radios. But if you have the experience, go for it.

@bill-2018

11 ай бұрын

@@spaceflight1019 Don't stick your fingers in there is my answer. There's no need to. G4GHB

But it is slowly being destroyed by the digital infestation. Soon it will simply be another form of texting with no voice or cw to be heard on the bands.

CQ DE POL INT QSA INT QRK K

First licensed in high school about 1965, I'm 74. Six years electronics tech in the Navy, I maintained GCA (PAR) RADAR and TACAN. I'm not as active as I once was. Lack of support by FCC on interference issues from consumer electronics is lacking in urban/ city areas. (RF noise floor).

Okay, boomer. Over

FT8 SUX

is your child going to buy a ham radio or a IPHONE LIKE ALL HIS FRIENDS . what you think... you already know.

WALTER Cronkite KB2GSD Was a wery Activ H.A.M GREETINGS FROM DENMARK 🇩🇰 🖖 🇩 🇰 🖖 🇩🇰 ♥️ OZ1***

By the way .....This hobby is not for the faint of heart . radio gear is so so so so so expensive people can NOT afford the Hobby anymore . a Kenwood walkie talkie $1000 Dollars Baofeng out of china $65 Dollars . LOL RICH MANS HOBBY!!!!!

@tomsherwood4650

Жыл бұрын

So get a Baofeng or a ten year old used Kenwood that for all practical purposes is not state of the art loaded with esoteric features but is equal to the task still. Like saying Maseratis make driving a rich mans pursuit.

@davidbrayshaw3529

Жыл бұрын

Expense is relative, isn't it? And you don't have to dive into the deep end and spend your life savings on gear. Join a club and you'll most likely find a bargain to be had or just use club equipment. And one of the beauties of radio is that once your set up, the ongoing costs are minimal, if any. And while new ham gear, like new anything, depreciates as soon as you leave the shop, used gear holds its value pretty well. I'm not saying that radio is free, it isn't, but there are plenty of far better ways to make your cash evaporate than radio.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

Like anything else, you have to be a savvy shopper.

@frg9600

Жыл бұрын

That's baloney, and your comment proves that you know nothing about amateur radio. I've seen used HF rigs for sale locally (Northern Utah) from $125.00 to $400.00. Sure, they might not be the "latest & greatest" transceivers with all the bells and whistles, but they'll get you on the air and let you talk around the world with a decent antenna if conditions are good. I didn't pay $65.00 for my Baofeng HT, either. I bought it for $25.00 brand new in the box on closeout through Walmart, and there are plenty of eBay sellers that will sell you a Baofeng HT for $50.00 or less all day long. Hamfests are also a great place to pick up used rigs on a budget.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

@@frg9600 Truthfully, if all you look at are the catalogs and fleabay it's easy to get that impression. As you've said, you can get better deals elsewhere but if you're new to the hobby you have to find someone you can trust. I must have an "Ask Me!" sign on my back for all of the times I've been asked at hamfests. It usually starts with "What do you think about this radio?" But I have a good story to go along with that... Maybe 30 years ago, I was selling a Heathkit SB-301/401 combo at a hamfest a few months before Christmas. This kid, maybe 11 or 12, showed interest in them and asked enough questions to convince me that he was knowledgeable. After the fourth or fifth time I asked him how much money he had. "Not enough" was the reply. "I didn't ask you that", I said. "$125" was his response. I said "Take it". The look on his face I'll never forget. His father said "You don't have to do this", and I smiled and said "Yes, I do."

Ham radio in 2023? HA!

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

It's still going strong, especially since the solar cycle is on the upswing.

Just because you! say the hobby is not dying Does Not Make It FACT!!!!!! .. The Fact!!!!! is , it is dying..................

@davidbrayshaw3529

Жыл бұрын

It's actually growing in the USA, but that's where the good news ends. Throughout the rest of the world licenses are tapering off, annually.

@shawnchartrandva3gfy720

Жыл бұрын

@@davidbrayshaw3529 why its growing in the USA IS!!!!!! because of GMRS PERIOD. GMRS starts you off on a cheep freq and you guys get repeaters on GMRS . I ran the First GMRS repeater in the capital city of Canada Ottawa . then ISED BANNED gmrs and the top part of FRS 22 down to 14 . ISED are NOT good people for making money . Infect they spend it faster then they get it and all in the wrong places TOO FUNNY. ISED should have followed the states on GMRS my GMRS repeater was called URS "UnderDog Repeater System" Motorola MSF5000 and was heard in Upper state NY . this turned into VA3URS a full blown yeasu repeater on UHF. plans for a Vhf this summer . i had to write my ticket and had to get the Advanced ticket to own and operate VA3URS . was super hard but i passed and here we are a Ham but a CBer at heart.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

@@davidbrayshaw3529 It was all fun and games until the volcano erupted and cut Tonga off because there are no more hams on the Island. A TS-430, car battery, and a wire dipole would have enabled someone to alert the world to the catastrophe days before a ship arrived.

I will never pay money for a FCC license to talk my "Freedom of Speech" on my 2 meter HAM radios. "if people do not know who is in control, then they will be remote controlled."

@frg9600

Жыл бұрын

Great, hope you can afford the FCC fine when the local ham radio club tracks you down on a foxhunt and turns you in to "Uncle Charlie" for transmitting without a license.

@unitedstatesirie7431

Жыл бұрын

@@frg9600 oh, you think so ? .....well, I am the government. Have you taken your politician emotionally manipulated Coronavirus vaccination ?

@unitedstatesirie7431

Жыл бұрын

@@frg9600 I don't acknowledge the FCC authority. They have no authority over me. "...some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." ~ HOLY BIBLE, 1 Timothy 4:1

@Jee2024IIT

Жыл бұрын

@@frg9600 the other person thinks that he's the protagonist of this world and the entire world is filled with foolish people manipulated by top officials other than him.

Getting a ham license.... Who wants to register with the government we have now?

@tomsherwood4650

Жыл бұрын

Don't worry, FCC raids are rarer than Dept. of Agriculture raids, anymore.

@spaceflight1019

Жыл бұрын

You have to be really, REALLY bad to get their attention!

Should have mentioned CB radios on the 11Meter as most enthusiasts use it. Much cheaper radios and equipment and as much fun when the skip is good 😅

i wonder if cbs understands that cell phones are radios

@devilsatan2973

Жыл бұрын

Probably not!

@astronautdolphindetective6908

Жыл бұрын

@@devilsatan2973 amen brother

Great story WB9SWR

Without amateur radio, the world just might stop spinning when things get rough. Support your local ham! My call is KJ6QKV.

Very Well Done 👏 KD2TAX 73