4 ms·

The TLDR is packet radio speed caps and frequency restrictions are being [temporarily] lifted for Ida-related communications. PS: the world needs more hams!

post_break 5y ago
Maybe if the existing hams didn't gate keep. They are the perfect example of a hobby that is hostile to newcomers.
- clipradiowallet 5y ago
  What do you mean? I ask as a ham myself..I took my exam [remotely] in 2020. So far all of my contacts in my area have been pretty warm greetings. I generally get the impression that existing hams like seeing new hams pop up. That said, I live in a very rural area, and imagine that more congested areas(cities) might be less welcoming of new traffic.
  - bityard 5y ago
    > and imagine that more congested areas(cities) might be less welcoming of new traffic. I live right next door to a very large metropolitan area and the advantage is that there is a lot of diversity in terms of who is on the air. I have 50 repeaters programmed into my dual-band radio and almost all of them some kind of regular activity from weekly nets to casual drive-time QSOs. Lots of older retired gentlemen of course but plenty of other stuff going on too.
- progman32 5y ago
  (Not a ham - but thinking of becoming one): Are you referring to the exam, or something else? I find entrance exams are almost always orthogonal to actual performance (like tech interviews). I think it should be limited to verifying an understanding of safety and the law only. Everything else can be quickly and easily looked up if needed. If I make a fool of myself on the air that's on me. Take a look at the question pool: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/2019-2023%20General%20Class%20Pool%20Final%20with%20errata.pdf http://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/2019-2023%20General%20Cla... Say we limit the exam to subelements G0 (Safety), G1 (Commission's Rules), G2 (Operating Procedures), and G4 (Amateur Radio Practices). What's the downside? Why are we asking people about Digital circuits; amplifiers and oscillators (G7B), Analog and digital integrated circuits (ICs); memory; I/O devices; microwave ICs (MMICs); display devices; connectors; ferrite cores (G6B), etc? I agree it's useful information, but if all I want to do is operate my radio, why gatekeep on this other knowledge? Is my incomplete understanding blinding me?
  - clipradiowallet 5y ago
    > (Not a ham - but thinking of becoming one) Do it! I used "Ham Radio Prep"(google, it's the first result). It was really informative for me. They have a linear lesson plan with videos/tests to help you learn what you need, and then retain that information. After it was done, I felt very prepared for the exam, and the actual exam went very smoothly. As a side effect, I learned a lot about RF that I was ignorant of in the past, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. Can't recommend getting into amateur radio enough, it was one of those moments where I realized there was a giant gap in my general how-radio-works knowledge.
    - coldpie 5y ago
      The nerd in me finds the idea of knowing how to operate a radio vaguely appealing, but once you can do so and are licensed, what do you actually do with it? Just like, talk to a couple other guys about... what they had for lunch today? Is it just a way to communicate with people? Once you've invested the hours and money, what do you have on the other side? I ask this question entirely out of ignorance, sincerely I mean no malice with this.
      - dexterhaslem 5y ago
        there's a lot of variety out there. you can spend your entire ticket dorking out on digital modes (esp if you go for general+ and have access to lower bands) like FT8, FT4, Olivia, WSPR [0] to see how far out you can get on as little power as possible and so on. Or if you want to ease into it, you can get a ham radio w/o a license, or cheap SDR and try to receive and decode weather sats, etc [1] making tiny WSPR boards and things like APRS [2] interest me more than ragchewing or nets on 40 or 80 meters most of the time forgot my favorite, amateur SSTV (analog baby!) - can see some analog and hybrid (easylink over internet.. cheating) http://www.g0hwc.com/ http://www.g0hwc.com/ 0 - http://wsprd.vk7jj.com/ http://wsprd.vk7jj.com/ (click search then map to get an idea) 1 https://www.rtl-sdr.com/using-50-lines-of-python-code-to-decode-noaa-apt-weather-satellite-images/ https://www.rtl-sdr.com/using-50-lines-of-python-code-to-dec... 2 https://aprs.fi/ https://aprs.fi/
      - 5y ago
- bityard 5y ago
  I keep hearing this meme but think it's either overblown, or used as an excuse to avoid the hobby just because they are outside of the typical ham radio demographic. I got my license a few years ago and nearly everyone I've ever interacted with has been friendly and willing to help if I need it. Yes, there are asshats on the air, just like there are asshats on the Internet and everywhere else. You just don't talk to them.
- kragen 5y ago
  They're gatekeeping so you don't drown out their conversations with their friends by radiating kilowatts of noise because you think it's cool (or make money that way). Like what happened to Usenet as the internet got commercialized.
- imroot 5y ago
  I'm not going to say that it doesn't happen, but, honestly, most of the folks who I've met in my journey with Amateur radio are folks who are truly excited about RF and who want to share their knowledge in the hobby to others.
- mortenlarsen 5y ago
  Not in my experience. Everyone was very welcoming. And many were actively doing outreach. I got my "Radio Amateur Extra" license in August of last year.

post_break 5y ago

Maybe if the existing hams didn't gate keep. They are the perfect example of a hobby that is hostile to newcomers.

clipradiowallet 5y ago
What do you mean? I ask as a ham myself..I took my exam [remotely] in 2020. So far all of my contacts in my area have been pretty warm greetings. I generally get the impression that existing hams like seeing new hams pop up. That said, I live in a very rural area, and imagine that more congested areas(cities) might be less welcoming of new traffic.
- bityard 5y ago
  > and imagine that more congested areas(cities) might be less welcoming of new traffic. I live right next door to a very large metropolitan area and the advantage is that there is a lot of diversity in terms of who is on the air. I have 50 repeaters programmed into my dual-band radio and almost all of them some kind of regular activity from weekly nets to casual drive-time QSOs. Lots of older retired gentlemen of course but plenty of other stuff going on too.
progman32 5y ago
(Not a ham - but thinking of becoming one): Are you referring to the exam, or something else? I find entrance exams are almost always orthogonal to actual performance (like tech interviews). I think it should be limited to verifying an understanding of safety and the law only. Everything else can be quickly and easily looked up if needed. If I make a fool of myself on the air that's on me. Take a look at the question pool: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/2019-2023%20General%20Class%20Pool%20Final%20with%20errata.pdf http://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/2019-2023%20General%20Cla... Say we limit the exam to subelements G0 (Safety), G1 (Commission's Rules), G2 (Operating Procedures), and G4 (Amateur Radio Practices). What's the downside? Why are we asking people about Digital circuits; amplifiers and oscillators (G7B), Analog and digital integrated circuits (ICs); memory; I/O devices; microwave ICs (MMICs); display devices; connectors; ferrite cores (G6B), etc? I agree it's useful information, but if all I want to do is operate my radio, why gatekeep on this other knowledge? Is my incomplete understanding blinding me?
- clipradiowallet 5y ago
  > (Not a ham - but thinking of becoming one) Do it! I used "Ham Radio Prep"(google, it's the first result). It was really informative for me. They have a linear lesson plan with videos/tests to help you learn what you need, and then retain that information. After it was done, I felt very prepared for the exam, and the actual exam went very smoothly. As a side effect, I learned a lot about RF that I was ignorant of in the past, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. Can't recommend getting into amateur radio enough, it was one of those moments where I realized there was a giant gap in my general how-radio-works knowledge.
  - coldpie 5y ago
    The nerd in me finds the idea of knowing how to operate a radio vaguely appealing, but once you can do so and are licensed, what do you actually do with it? Just like, talk to a couple other guys about... what they had for lunch today? Is it just a way to communicate with people? Once you've invested the hours and money, what do you have on the other side? I ask this question entirely out of ignorance, sincerely I mean no malice with this.
    - dexterhaslem 5y ago
      there's a lot of variety out there. you can spend your entire ticket dorking out on digital modes (esp if you go for general+ and have access to lower bands) like FT8, FT4, Olivia, WSPR [0] to see how far out you can get on as little power as possible and so on. Or if you want to ease into it, you can get a ham radio w/o a license, or cheap SDR and try to receive and decode weather sats, etc [1] making tiny WSPR boards and things like APRS [2] interest me more than ragchewing or nets on 40 or 80 meters most of the time forgot my favorite, amateur SSTV (analog baby!) - can see some analog and hybrid (easylink over internet.. cheating) http://www.g0hwc.com/ http://www.g0hwc.com/ 0 - http://wsprd.vk7jj.com/ http://wsprd.vk7jj.com/ (click search then map to get an idea) 1 https://www.rtl-sdr.com/using-50-lines-of-python-code-to-decode-noaa-apt-weather-satellite-images/ https://www.rtl-sdr.com/using-50-lines-of-python-code-to-dec... 2 https://aprs.fi/ https://aprs.fi/
    - 5y ago
bityard 5y ago
I keep hearing this meme but think it's either overblown, or used as an excuse to avoid the hobby just because they are outside of the typical ham radio demographic. I got my license a few years ago and nearly everyone I've ever interacted with has been friendly and willing to help if I need it. Yes, there are asshats on the air, just like there are asshats on the Internet and everywhere else. You just don't talk to them.
kragen 5y ago
They're gatekeeping so you don't drown out their conversations with their friends by radiating kilowatts of noise because you think it's cool (or make money that way). Like what happened to Usenet as the internet got commercialized.
imroot 5y ago
I'm not going to say that it doesn't happen, but, honestly, most of the folks who I've met in my journey with Amateur radio are folks who are truly excited about RF and who want to share their knowledge in the hobby to others.
mortenlarsen 5y ago
Not in my experience. Everyone was very welcoming. And many were actively doing outreach. I got my "Radio Amateur Extra" license in August of last year.