From: Jean-Paul Louis <louijp@gmail.com>
To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. <piclist@mit.edu>
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Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2020 08:01:35 -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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Jason,
Welcome to the world of Ham radio.
I have been a ham since 1963, so I have seen a lot of changes in the
equipment and the propagation ups and down across more than four eleven
year solar cycles.
To do HF in urban environment,  I suggest that you either buy or build a
small magnetic loop, and get a used HF transceiver to y contacting a local
ham radio club. You will be amazed how far you can go with little power.
Digital modes will get you the whole world with less than 10 watts of RF
power.
But you need to understand that ham radio purpose is not social gathering,
but more experimentation, contest and emergency help.
If you need to know more about any topic on ham radio, feel free to contact
me off list, and  I will be glad to help

73 de Jean-Paul
N1JPL



On Sun, Sep 13, 2020, 8:38 AM Jason White <whitewaterssoftwareinfo@gmail.co=
m>
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> I'm going to cut off my post here. I look forward to hearing the advice o=
f
> others - even if only tangentially related.
>
> -Jason White
>
>
>
>
> --
> Jason White
> --
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> View/change your membership options at
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