3 ms·

how the turntables. Back in the 80s my grandfather (N4MDB RIP) had a ham radio in his car and used something called an "autopatch" which could dial phone numbe

by dekhn 2y ago

how the turntables. Back in the 80s my grandfather (N4MDB RIP) had a ham radio in his car and used something called an "autopatch" which could dial phone numbers. He'd call my grandma and say we were going shopping or whatever. Everybody from the shack could listen in with their radios. He tried to get me interested in ham radio but at the time I was exploring the internet and ham seemed... boring? Overly fussy with its technical license and morse code? He did give me a shortwave radio and explain how radio waves could bounce off the atmosphere (which seemed like science fiction honestly) and I got to listen to numbers stations.

Dalewyn 2y ago
>He tried to get me interested in ham radio but at the time I was exploring the internet and ham seemed... boring? Might wanna be careful, you might get your turns tabled and become that grandfather one day. :V
RachelF 2y ago
Yeah those "autopatch" devices were illegal - Ma Bell had rules against connecting any radio to the telephone system. Probably worried about long distance revenue. The portable radios/cord free telephones back then were a bit of a legal gray-zone.
- mananaysiempre 2y ago
  >> Back in the 80s [...]. > Yeah those "autopatch" devices were illegal[.] Hadn’t the Carterfone decision[1] made them legal already in 1968? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone
hn72774 2y ago
No more morse code on the exam. Hamstudy.org is a great study aid.
- EasyMark 2y ago
  Danke! I will be checking this out tonight.
- dekhn 2y ago
  True. Honestly, if I was going to do this (I won't) I would probably just set aside a couple weeks to train a deep net to parse and generate morse code (a near-perfect example already exists: https://github.com/f4exb/morseangel https://github.com/f4exb/morseangel) and in the process of debugging the model, will end up dealing with so many audiovisual examples I'll end up knowing morse without actually studying.
- godelski 2y ago
  For any one interested in doing this, getting your Technician (lowest level) is pretty easy. If you're already familiar with very basic circuits and electronics you could probably go in blind and have a >50% chance of passing (there are questions you'll need to memorize). Go through the practice exams, you'll see. But here's the thing, you don't need any time to wait to take the General test (mid level), and there are a lot of benefits to General. (Here's the chart for frequency allocation[0]) You can take the test the same day and won't have to pay an extra fee. (I've seen a few do all 3 in the same session, but time is probably an issue) So even if you don't get the General, it is worth the shot. You'll definitely need to study for the General though. Your license stays with you for 10 years, so it can just be nice to have in your back pocket (and with this kit, quite literally) [0] https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band%20Chart/Hambands4_Color_17x11.pdf https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band%20Chart/Hamb...
WorldWideWebb 2y ago
My dad (W6FP RIP) did the same. I thought that was pretty neat but not enough that I ever got into ham radio.
6c696e7578 2y ago
It makes me wonder if anyone has archived the number stations broadcasts
- ablation 2y ago
  Yes: https://irdial.com/conet.htm https://irdial.com/conet.htm

by dekhn 2y ago

Dalewyn 2y ago

>He tried to get me interested in ham radio but at the time I was exploring the internet and ham seemed... boring? Might wanna be careful, you might get your turns tabled and become that grandfather one day. :V

RachelF 2y ago

Yeah those "autopatch" devices were illegal - Ma Bell had rules against connecting any radio to the telephone system. Probably worried about long distance revenue. The portable radios/cord free telephones back then were a bit of a legal gray-zone.

mananaysiempre 2y ago
>> Back in the 80s [...]. > Yeah those "autopatch" devices were illegal[.] Hadn’t the Carterfone decision[1] made them legal already in 1968? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carterfone

hn72774 2y ago

No more morse code on the exam. Hamstudy.org is a great study aid.

EasyMark 2y ago
Danke! I will be checking this out tonight.
dekhn 2y ago
True. Honestly, if I was going to do this (I won't) I would probably just set aside a couple weeks to train a deep net to parse and generate morse code (a near-perfect example already exists: https://github.com/f4exb/morseangel https://github.com/f4exb/morseangel) and in the process of debugging the model, will end up dealing with so many audiovisual examples I'll end up knowing morse without actually studying.
godelski 2y ago
For any one interested in doing this, getting your Technician (lowest level) is pretty easy. If you're already familiar with very basic circuits and electronics you could probably go in blind and have a >50% chance of passing (there are questions you'll need to memorize). Go through the practice exams, you'll see. But here's the thing, you don't need any time to wait to take the General test (mid level), and there are a lot of benefits to General. (Here's the chart for frequency allocation[0]) You can take the test the same day and won't have to pay an extra fee. (I've seen a few do all 3 in the same session, but time is probably an issue) So even if you don't get the General, it is worth the shot. You'll definitely need to study for the General though. Your license stays with you for 10 years, so it can just be nice to have in your back pocket (and with this kit, quite literally) [0] https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band%20Chart/Hambands4_Color_17x11.pdf https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band%20Chart/Hamb...

WorldWideWebb 2y ago

My dad (W6FP RIP) did the same. I thought that was pretty neat but not enough that I ever got into ham radio.

6c696e7578 2y ago

It makes me wonder if anyone has archived the number stations broadcasts

ablation 2y ago
Yes: https://irdial.com/conet.htm https://irdial.com/conet.htm