From: Chris Smolinski <csmolinski@blackcatsystems.com>
To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. <piclist@mit.edu>
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Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2020 05:58:49 -0700
Subject: Re: [OT] Socializing over Ham radio? (as a "young person", and the
	usability of the upper HF bands)
Thread-Topic: [OT] Socializing over Ham radio? (as a "young person", and the
	usability of the upper HF bands)
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Hi,

Yes solar activity is low right now, and probably will be for at least the =
next year.  But the HF bands are still open, you just need to be on the rig=
ht band at the right time(s).=20

If you don't have a lot of room for antennas, you could go with a 20m dipol=
e, which obviously is half the size of a 40m :)  20m tends to be fairly act=
ive during the daytime.  40 and 80 meters are active most of the day and ni=
ght here, 80m is not as busy daytimes now but that may pick up some in the =
winter when D layer absorption is less of an issue.  10m is of course dead =
most of the time except for some brief openings.

If you don't wan't to spend a lot of money on a rig, there's a lot of used =
options, eBay and such. Hamfests are a great way to get a used radio for a =
good deal and see what you're buying beforehand, but the virus has pretty m=
uch stopped them this year, at least around here.  In the nw radio dept, I =
got an IC-7300 about a year ago and have been very happy with it, it replac=
ed my ancient IC-735 which I had actually bought used off eBay some time ag=
o.  I also have a Johnson Viking II which I occasionally operate on 40,80 o=
r 160 meters for fun :)

A dipole is not a large investment, some wire, a balun, and some coax and y=
our'e done. What sized property do you have, any good trees for supports, a=
ny HOA Nazi issues regarding antenna restrictions?

I don't tend to operate much myself lately but do run an SSTV decoder on 14=
230 USB 24/7 to see what rolls in. And occasionally transmit SSTV, but that=
 doesn't really expand the social interaction much.=20

Most of my lack of activity on the air is that the usual CQ calling and ran=
dom conversations aren't that interesting to me. And contests give me a ras=
h :)=20

Maybe we need to start a ham net for all of us socially awkward engineering=
 types :)

Chris Smolinski, N3JLY
Black Cat Systems
Westminster, MD USA
https://www.blackcatsystems.com





> On Sep 13, 2020, at 8:35 AM, Jason White <whitewaterssoftwareinfo@gmail.c=
om> wrote:
>=20
> Hi everyone,
>=20
> I'm a fairly recent college graduate. The socially awkward engineering
> type. I was wondering if Ham radio could be a viable way to "expand one's
> social circle" - perhaps by participating in local ham club nets.
>=20
> My impression is that ham radio consists predominantly of retirement age
> folk. And, that outside of university/college run ham clubs that I'd be
> unlikely to encounter many people my own age.
>=20
> With the advent of "advanced" digital modes - the distinction between the
> experience of talking over the radio and talking in an internet chat room
> is blurred. I find myself questioning the value of investing in tbe
> purchase and setup radio equipment/antennas.
>=20
> I got a technician license in 2015 and a Boefeng UV-5 handheld radio. At
> the time the goal was to tinker with and build some RF circuits and
> socialize. I found that the local 2M nets were not much to my liking - my
> transmit power was low, and even on close repeaters I rarely could manage
> to get a single word in due to the eagerness of the other participants to
> speak.
>=20
> I was recently granted a general class license. The thinking being that
> perhaps DX (international contacts) and local nets on the HF bands might
> provide a better experience. However, now that I have gotten my license a=
nd
> am looking at the investment involved in getting a radio and a 40m dipole
> set up in a suburban area - I find myself wondering about the value that =
it
> would provide to me.
>=20
> Additionally, I've read that the sunspot cycle is at an all time low. My
> limited understanding of ionospheric radio propogation is that many of th=
e
> shorter wavelength bands (that use more reasonably sized dipoles) can be
> marginal without high gain antennas and high transmission power levels at
> this point in the solar cycle.
>=20
> I'm going to cut off my post here. I look forward to hearing the advice o=
f
> others - even if only tangentially related.
>=20
> -Jason White
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> --=20
> Jason White
> --=20
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