2 ms·

I would like to really get into it, but I get hung up with the monotony of weekly check ins and no one really else around except for the same 5 people on the re

I would like to really get into it, but I get hung up with the monotony of weekly check ins and no one really else around except for the same 5 people on the repeaters.

nichos 6y ago
I'm in the same boat. Really, I got my ticket about a year ago and still haven't transmitted.
gravypod 6y ago
I wish there was more digital computer networking going on like AX.25 or something similar but encryption is forbidden and the population of ham radio is not interested. I for one would love an HF slow speed "irc" mesh network or something similar.
- kwk1 6y ago
  > encryption is forbidden Encryption for the purposes of obscuring the meaning of a message, which provides a bit of wiggle room. For example it should be permissible to send a message signed with a private key and then include the public key to decipher it along with the transmission to prove the transmitter is the identity associated with the keys. That should be enough to have something IRClike on AMPRnet...
- Johnythree 6y ago
  Digital networking on the HF and VHF ham bands has been around since the early '80. The ban on encryption isn't to stop hams communicating, but to stop the commercial users taking over. The licensing authorities allow Ham radio to exist only because it is self regulating. And self regulation can only exist if there is no encryption. And FWIW there is an enormous amount of slow speed digital traffic on HF now. Mesh networking is also popular.
entropea 6y ago
VHF has been fairly boring for me except 2m sideband, which almost nobody uses. I had a lot of fun modeling shortwave antennas and putting them into real world use. Since I had decent antennas I also did SWL and things like oddity signal analysis, DXCC, antennas for lightning storms on Jupiter. I still listen to Radio Habana Cuba english some nights on shortwave on my cheap chinese loop. I would like to get a QSL card from them.

I would like to really get into it, but I get hung up with the monotony of weekly check ins and no one really else around except for the same 5 people on the repeaters.

nichos 6y ago

I'm in the same boat. Really, I got my ticket about a year ago and still haven't transmitted.

gravypod 6y ago

I wish there was more digital computer networking going on like AX.25 or something similar but encryption is forbidden and the population of ham radio is not interested. I for one would love an HF slow speed "irc" mesh network or something similar.

kwk1 6y ago
> encryption is forbidden Encryption for the purposes of obscuring the meaning of a message, which provides a bit of wiggle room. For example it should be permissible to send a message signed with a private key and then include the public key to decipher it along with the transmission to prove the transmitter is the identity associated with the keys. That should be enough to have something IRClike on AMPRnet...
Johnythree 6y ago
Digital networking on the HF and VHF ham bands has been around since the early '80. The ban on encryption isn't to stop hams communicating, but to stop the commercial users taking over. The licensing authorities allow Ham radio to exist only because it is self regulating. And self regulation can only exist if there is no encryption. And FWIW there is an enormous amount of slow speed digital traffic on HF now. Mesh networking is also popular.

entropea 6y ago

VHF has been fairly boring for me except 2m sideband, which almost nobody uses. I had a lot of fun modeling shortwave antennas and putting them into real world use. Since I had decent antennas I also did SWL and things like oddity signal analysis, DXCC, antennas for lightning storms on Jupiter. I still listen to Radio Habana Cuba english some nights on shortwave on my cheap chinese loop. I would like to get a QSL card from them.