First of all. What happed to rec.radio.amateur? It is not supported on
my server.

Second. I was a ham back in the 90s. I have been inactive since 1996.
I had lots of gear and sold it all because I was tired of the hobby.
I am beginning to regret selling some of it. I had some really nice
antenna tuners, Heathkit SM220, nice TenTec radios, VHF/UHF all mode
all the way up to 1.2G, etc. All gone.

I just acquired a Kenwood 520 to listen to the HF bands. It seems
like a nice basic radio that will do for a while. I really would like
to get on 80m but I don't have the room for a 80m dipole. Is the
matching Kenwood tuner a good one? I think it will be a while before
any good hamfests because of the Wx in chicago.

I researched rigs on line and so far I like the Icom 746 Pro but
I'm not ready to spend that kind of cash.

I was also told that I can upgrade to Extra with just a written
test. Since my license expires in 2 years it seems like the thing
to aim for.

I still have a couple of ham friends so I will probably pick their
brains, but I open to suggestions!

chuck
K1CAS

Chuck Sherwood wrote:
First of all. What happed to rec.radio.amateur? It is not supported on
my server.

Second. I was a ham back in the 90s. I have been inactive since 1996.
I had lots of gear and sold it all because I was tired of the hobby.
I am beginning to regret selling some of it. I had some really nice
antenna tuners, Heathkit SM220, nice TenTec radios, VHF/UHF all mode
all the way up to 1.2G, etc. All gone.

I just acquired a Kenwood 520 to listen to the HF bands. It seems
like a nice basic radio that will do for a while. I really would like
to get on 80m but I don't have the room for a 80m dipole. Is the
matching Kenwood tuner a good one? I think it will be a while before
any good hamfests because of the Wx in chicago.

I researched rigs on line and so far I like the Icom 746 Pro but
I'm not ready to spend that kind of cash.

I was also told that I can upgrade to Extra with just a written
test. Since my license expires in 2 years it seems like the thing
to aim for.

I still have a couple of ham friends so I will probably pick their
brains, but I open to suggestions!

chuck
K1CAS

Hey Chuck,

Check out your local club, but they aren't interested in having their
brains picked. They'd much rather have you pick their booty.

I would foget ham radio. It is on the way out.
Get some woodworking tools.




On 30 Nov 2005 22:27:24 -0800, "moparholic"
wrote:


Chuck Sherwood wrote:
First of all. What happed to rec.radio.amateur? It is not supported on
my server.

Second. I was a ham back in the 90s. I have been inactive since 1996.
I had lots of gear and sold it all because I was tired of the hobby.
I am beginning to regret selling some of it. I had some really nice
antenna tuners, Heathkit SM220, nice TenTec radios, VHF/UHF all mode
all the way up to 1.2G, etc. All gone.

I just acquired a Kenwood 520 to listen to the HF bands. It seems
like a nice basic radio that will do for a while. I really would like
to get on 80m but I don't have the room for a 80m dipole. Is the
matching Kenwood tuner a good one? I think it will be a while before
any good hamfests because of the Wx in chicago.

I researched rigs on line and so far I like the Icom 746 Pro but
I'm not ready to spend that kind of cash.

I was also told that I can upgrade to Extra with just a written
test. Since my license expires in 2 years it seems like the thing
to aim for.

I still have a couple of ham friends so I will probably pick their
brains, but I open to suggestions!

chuck
K1CAS

Hey Chuck,

Check out your local club, but they aren't interested in having their
brains picked. They'd much rather have you pick their booty.

On 29 Nov 2005 20:49:50 GMT, (Chuck Sherwood)
wrote:

First of all. What happed to rec.radio.amateur? It is not supported on
my server.

Second. I was a ham back in the 90s. I have been inactive since 1996.
I had lots of gear and sold it all because I was tired of the hobby.
I am beginning to regret selling some of it. I had some really nice
antenna tuners, Heathkit SM220, nice TenTec radios, VHF/UHF all mode
all the way up to 1.2G, etc. All gone.

Oh man, you sold it before the ebay craze. Sorry to here that.

I just acquired a Kenwood 520 to listen to the HF bands. It seems
like a nice basic radio that will do for a while. I really would like
to get on 80m but I don't have the room for a 80m dipole. Is the
matching Kenwood tuner a good one? I think it will be a while before
any good hamfests because of the Wx in chicago.

I just put up a vertical ground mounted Hustler 5BTV. Works great on 20-40-80.


I researched rigs on line and so far I like the Icom 746 Pro but
I'm not ready to spend that kind of cash.

I have the 746 non-pro. Works great. Watch out for the "Pro". It has a flaw
causing the TX to fail, that has yet to be corrected. Here are some searches:

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...om+746+dead+TX

Here are the eham.net reviews. Notice the non-pro has much less problems and
better reviews.

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/176
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1951


I was also told that I can upgrade to Extra with just a written
test. Since my license expires in 2 years it seems like the thing
to aim for.

50 question. Read ARRL's Extra Q&A, and memorize the answers.



Vinnie S.

I would foget ham radio. It is on the way out.
Get some woodworking tools.

That is what they said 10 years ago..
I still hear signals on the bands so at least somebody
is xmitting...

I don't particularly like woodworking.

chuck

Sure you hear lots of signals on the bands. Appliance operators and
cb'ers.


On 1 Dec 2005 15:05:32 GMT, (Chuck
Sherwood) wrote:

I would foget ham radio. It is on the way out.
Get some woodworking tools.

That is what they said 10 years ago..
I still hear signals on the bands so at least somebody
is xmitting...

I don't particularly like woodworking.

chuck

I still hear signals on the bands so at least somebody is xmitting...

Sure you hear lots of signals on the bands. Appliance operators and
cb'ers.

I doubt that CBs are sending morse code. I heard some CW signals
that sould like beginners too so perhaps there is some new blood
in the hobby.

Anyway I would rather be listening to the radio that read some of
the crap that is posted in these newsgroups. I don't the condition
of ham radio but I must say the condition of news groups associated
with ham radio have declined a lot since I last read them.

I must say that someones advice to find a local club is the way
to go. At least people there are interested in HR and not just
there to kick other people or make dirty jokes.

chuck

Heh.. nobody out there willing to "Elmer"...

However, there does seem to be a plethora of people looking to inflate their
egos,
or better yet, sit and tell others how clueless they are; and call it
teaching.
Then there's a few that I'd swear could literally dumb another person to
death with their random babble.
It's funny [and not limited to ham radio] that only the 'can't teach' types
always seem be the teachers.
Plus, I've never met a ham that wasn't involved in/obsessed with, a
power-struggle of some sort.
Who needs it?

No one wants to show you how to do something, they just want to talk about
how you can't.
[see below]

The truly intelligent only pass through amateur radio, finding out they were
better off without it.
So, yes ma'am, nothing left but appliance ops and CB-types that won't listen
to
anyone and think they know it all.
It's a pathetic cycle, eh?

Oh, and ham isn't going anywhere... it's akin to a bug on a windshield....
wipe on it and all you get is a bigger mess that still won't go away.

rb
....with another shameless plug for www.hamsexy.com





"dontspam" wrote in message
...

Sure you hear lots of signals on the bands. Appliance operators and
cb'ers.


On 1 Dec 2005 15:05:32 GMT, (Chuck
Sherwood) wrote:

I would foget ham radio. It is on the way out.
Get some woodworking tools.

That is what they said 10 years ago..
I still hear signals on the bands so at least somebody
is xmitting...

I don't particularly like woodworking.

chuck

Amen Woody



On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 02:08:14 GMT, "Woody"
wrote:

Heh.. nobody out there willing to "Elmer"...

However, there does seem to be a plethora of people looking to inflate their
egos,
or better yet, sit and tell others how clueless they are; and call it
teaching.
Then there's a few that I'd swear could literally dumb another person to
death with their random babble.
It's funny [and not limited to ham radio] that only the 'can't teach' types
always seem be the teachers.
Plus, I've never met a ham that wasn't involved in/obsessed with, a
power-struggle of some sort.
Who needs it?

No one wants to show you how to do something, they just want to talk about
how you can't.
[see below]

The truly intelligent only pass through amateur radio, finding out they were
better off without it.
So, yes ma'am, nothing left but appliance ops and CB-types that won't listen
to
anyone and think they know it all.
It's a pathetic cycle, eh?

Oh, and ham isn't going anywhere... it's akin to a bug on a windshield....
wipe on it and all you get is a bigger mess that still won't go away.

rb
...with another shameless plug for www.hamsexy.com





"dontspam" wrote in message
.. .

Sure you hear lots of signals on the bands. Appliance operators and
cb'ers.


On 1 Dec 2005 15:05:32 GMT, (Chuck
Sherwood) wrote:

I would foget ham radio. It is on the way out.
Get some woodworking tools.

That is what they said 10 years ago..
I still hear signals on the bands so at least somebody
is xmitting...

I don't particularly like woodworking.

chuck

Hello, Chuck

First of all, "rec.radio.amateur" isn't a group; there has to be another
word on the end. You can find it in your newsgroups if you search for
"rec.radio.amateur" and you'll find such things as
"rec.radio.amateur.policy", "rec.radio.amateur.misc" and many others.

If you wish to upgrade, you may or may not be out of luck. You must have
proof of passing the Morse code test at 5 words per minute (or higher).
This would require an old (before 1987, I believe) technician license which
required 5 words per minute plus the general theory, or an old novice,
general, advanced, or extra class license. I'm not too sure about the tech
+ (tech plus 5 words per minute).

Obviously, you can renew your ticket in 2 years and can continue to use it
now.

If you wish, check out this URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamRadioHelpGroup/

You'll find a lot of folks willing to share information with you and they
have had some give-aways of study material.



Best regards from Rochester, NY
Jim


"Chuck Sherwood" wrote in message
...
First of all. What happed to rec.radio.amateur? It is not supported on
my server.

Second. I was a ham back in the 90s. I have been inactive since 1996.
I had lots of gear and sold it all because I was tired of the hobby.
I am beginning to regret selling some of it. I had some really nice
antenna tuners, Heathkit SM220, nice TenTec radios, VHF/UHF all mode
all the way up to 1.2G, etc. All gone.

I just acquired a Kenwood 520 to listen to the HF bands. It seems
like a nice basic radio that will do for a while. I really would like
to get on 80m but I don't have the room for a 80m dipole. Is the
matching Kenwood tuner a good one? I think it will be a while before
any good hamfests because of the Wx in chicago.

I researched rigs on line and so far I like the Icom 746 Pro but
I'm not ready to spend that kind of cash.

I was also told that I can upgrade to Extra with just a written
test. Since my license expires in 2 years it seems like the thing
to aim for.

I still have a couple of ham friends so I will probably pick their
brains, but I open to suggestions!

chuck
K1CAS