Greetings

My name is Larry and my callsign is ve3fxq.
I have a problem. Though I have been licenced since 1964, I feel like the
perferbial newbie. I have been away from amateur radio from around the mid
90's until now. I got my hf and vhf equipment reconnected this summer and
found radio activity far lower than when I left it in mid 90's.
Now I am retired and need a shot in the arm with some insight with the new
technology.
I am now reading about a stardard called 802....
What is it.
I am also hearing the people are using 2.5 ghz and 5.0 ghz
I am not sure where to begin asking questions so... does anyone know of a
website that can educate me on this new 802 standard and how that frequency
is gotten to.
I hate to say this but etc, etc.

Larry ve3fxq

Well, 802.11 is the standard used for WiFi, or wireless networking cards
you can purchase for your home computers. Many people have found that
with amplifiers (even to the legal limit) covers quite a distance. Nothing to
do with Ham radio though, except that WiFi is co-mingled partially with one
of the U.S. ham bands at 2 GHz and 5 GHz.

Hams are dying now by the droves, and the modes and skills of operators is
drastically changing. No longer are the skills of building a rig from scratch
what drives new hams. They mostly want to communicate, and not be here
just for the electronics.

"larry" wrote
Greetings

My name is Larry and my callsign is ve3fxq.
I have a problem. Though I have been licenced since 1964, I feel like the
perferbial newbie. I have been away from amateur radio from around the mid
90's until now. I got my hf and vhf equipment reconnected this summer and
found radio activity far lower than when I left it in mid 90's.
Now I am retired and need a shot in the arm with some insight with the new
technology.
I am now reading about a stardard called 802....
What is it.
I am also hearing the people are using 2.5 ghz and 5.0 ghz
I am not sure where to begin asking questions so... does anyone know of a
website that can educate me on this new 802 standard and how that frequency
is gotten to.

Well, 802.11 is the standard used for WiFi, or wireless networking cards
you can purchase for your home computers. Many people have found that
with amplifiers (even to the legal limit) covers quite a distance. Nothing to
do with Ham radio though, except that WiFi is co-mingled partially with one
of the U.S. ham bands at 2 GHz and 5 GHz.

Hams are dying now by the droves, and the modes and skills of operators is
drastically changing. No longer are the skills of building a rig from scratch
what drives new hams. They mostly want to communicate, and not be here
just for the electronics.

"larry" wrote
Greetings

My name is Larry and my callsign is ve3fxq.
I have a problem. Though I have been licenced since 1964, I feel like the
perferbial newbie. I have been away from amateur radio from around the mid
90's until now. I got my hf and vhf equipment reconnected this summer and
found radio activity far lower than when I left it in mid 90's.
Now I am retired and need a shot in the arm with some insight with the new
technology.
I am now reading about a stardard called 802....
What is it.
I am also hearing the people are using 2.5 ghz and 5.0 ghz
I am not sure where to begin asking questions so... does anyone know of a
website that can educate me on this new 802 standard and how that frequency
is gotten to.

In article 7t8zb.4012$US3.3773@okepread03,
Gene Storey wrote:
(snip)
Hams are dying now by the droves, and the modes and skills of operators is
drastically changing. No longer are the skills of building a rig from scratch
what drives new hams. They mostly want to communicate, and not be here
just for the electronics.
(snip)

What attracts them away from using just the Internet and WiFi for
communication, then, which you don't have to pass examinations for, if
not the home-built electronics, etc.? Maybe other hams provide better
conversation or something? (-: Or, they're traveling a lot and can't
easily get connectivity any other way from where they are?

-- Mark

In article 7t8zb.4012$US3.3773@okepread03,
Gene Storey wrote:
(snip)
Hams are dying now by the droves, and the modes and skills of operators is
drastically changing. No longer are the skills of building a rig from scratch
what drives new hams. They mostly want to communicate, and not be here
just for the electronics.
(snip)

What attracts them away from using just the Internet and WiFi for
communication, then, which you don't have to pass examinations for, if
not the home-built electronics, etc.? Maybe other hams provide better
conversation or something? (-: Or, they're traveling a lot and can't
easily get connectivity any other way from where they are?

-- Mark

"Gene Storey" wrote in message
news:7t8zb.4012$US3.3773@okepread03...

Hams are dying now by the droves, and the modes and skills of operators is
drastically changing. No longer are the skills of building a rig from
scratch
what drives new hams. They mostly want to communicate, and not be here
just for the electronics.

I wouldn't be quite that strong. Yes, a lot of hams are older, but we are
adding new hams at a slightly higher rate than we are killing off old ones.
And the new folks, while different, are engaged in the wide range of facets
of this hobby that we all are.

We do have a huge number of techs, who are pretty much relegated to VHF. A
surprising number of these folks are getting engaged in Amateur Radio Public
Service activities. Perhaps not as many as we might like are upgrading, but
emergency communications is probably 90% or better VHF, so for what drives
these folks, their tech license is all they need.

We are also seeing a renaissance of sorts of building, both kit and
homebrew. There are probably more kit manufacturers out there than ever,
and the quality of these kits is astonishing. Most are far better than
Heathkit ever dreamed of, and some even have construction manuals that put
Heath to shame. Nowadays, even the smallest club can put together very high
quality kits. Take a peek at what the North Georgia QRP Club is doing, or
the Flying Pigs. For the top of the line commercial kit, take a look at
http://www.elecraft.com. There are very few already built rigs that can
hold a candle to the K2, and they are all a LOT more expensive.

Homebrewing has been spurred by the Internet, which gets homebrewers
together on forums like this one and QRP-L, and has made parts more
accessible as well. Subscribe to QRP-L, or just graze the archives
(http://qrp.lehigh.edu/lists/qrp-l/) and the number of homebrewers gathering
there is astonishing. Wander on over to http://www.qrparci.org/links.html
and follow some of the links to the various clubs ... most of which have
some sort of kitting projects, or to the dozens commercial outfits offering
kits and supplies. Take a look at http://www.amqrp.org for some pretty high
tech kits and projects. AmQRP has a magazine, the Homebrewer, which is
strictly about homebrewing, and Sprat, QQ, and several others are heavily
homebrew.

Amateur radio is changing, and maybe it's not always changing in the ways
that make us comfortable, but it certainly isn't all doom and gloom. And
for those of us that like to melt solder, we have a lot more company than we
did 10 years ago.

...

"Gene Storey" wrote in message
news:7t8zb.4012$US3.3773@okepread03...

Hams are dying now by the droves, and the modes and skills of operators is
drastically changing. No longer are the skills of building a rig from
scratch
what drives new hams. They mostly want to communicate, and not be here
just for the electronics.

I wouldn't be quite that strong. Yes, a lot of hams are older, but we are
adding new hams at a slightly higher rate than we are killing off old ones.
And the new folks, while different, are engaged in the wide range of facets
of this hobby that we all are.

We do have a huge number of techs, who are pretty much relegated to VHF. A
surprising number of these folks are getting engaged in Amateur Radio Public
Service activities. Perhaps not as many as we might like are upgrading, but
emergency communications is probably 90% or better VHF, so for what drives
these folks, their tech license is all they need.

We are also seeing a renaissance of sorts of building, both kit and
homebrew. There are probably more kit manufacturers out there than ever,
and the quality of these kits is astonishing. Most are far better than
Heathkit ever dreamed of, and some even have construction manuals that put
Heath to shame. Nowadays, even the smallest club can put together very high
quality kits. Take a peek at what the North Georgia QRP Club is doing, or
the Flying Pigs. For the top of the line commercial kit, take a look at
http://www.elecraft.com. There are very few already built rigs that can
hold a candle to the K2, and they are all a LOT more expensive.

Homebrewing has been spurred by the Internet, which gets homebrewers
together on forums like this one and QRP-L, and has made parts more
accessible as well. Subscribe to QRP-L, or just graze the archives
(http://qrp.lehigh.edu/lists/qrp-l/) and the number of homebrewers gathering
there is astonishing. Wander on over to http://www.qrparci.org/links.html
and follow some of the links to the various clubs ... most of which have
some sort of kitting projects, or to the dozens commercial outfits offering
kits and supplies. Take a look at http://www.amqrp.org for some pretty high
tech kits and projects. AmQRP has a magazine, the Homebrewer, which is
strictly about homebrewing, and Sprat, QQ, and several others are heavily
homebrew.

Amateur radio is changing, and maybe it's not always changing in the ways
that make us comfortable, but it certainly isn't all doom and gloom. And
for those of us that like to melt solder, we have a lot more company than we
did 10 years ago.

...

In article 7t8zb.4012$US3.3773@okepread03, says...

Well, 802.11 is the standard used for WiFi, or wireless networking cards
you can purchase for your home computers. Many people have found that
with amplifiers (even to the legal limit) covers quite a distance. Nothing to
do with Ham radio though, except that WiFi is co-mingled partially with one
of the U.S. ham bands at 2 GHz and 5 GHz.

More specifically: The current standards are 802.11b and 802.11g.
In terms of security, wireless networking is iffy at best. WEP can be
cracked in a matter of hours.

Hams are dying now by the droves, and the modes and skills of operators is
drastically changing. No longer are the skills of building a rig from scratch
what drives new hams. They mostly want to communicate, and not be here
just for the electronics.

Excuse me?! Speak for yourself! I've always been in it for the fun
and learning of messing with the guts of the radios and associated
goodies themselves. In fact, I went and made RF services part of my side
business, dedicated heavily to hams who want to use commercial hardware
(mostly Motorola) on the ham bands, but who may lack the skill or
equipment to get such working on them.

I will say that there's a -lot- more "appliance operators" on the
air, but the techies among us are still around. You just have to look a
little longer and harder to find them.

73 de KC7GR

--
Dr. Anton Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t c&o&m
Motorola Radio Programming & Service Available -
http://www.bluefeathertech.com/rf.html
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (Red Green)

In article 7t8zb.4012$US3.3773@okepread03, says...

Well, 802.11 is the standard used for WiFi, or wireless networking cards
you can purchase for your home computers. Many people have found that
with amplifiers (even to the legal limit) covers quite a distance. Nothing to
do with Ham radio though, except that WiFi is co-mingled partially with one
of the U.S. ham bands at 2 GHz and 5 GHz.

More specifically: The current standards are 802.11b and 802.11g.
In terms of security, wireless networking is iffy at best. WEP can be
cracked in a matter of hours.

Hams are dying now by the droves, and the modes and skills of operators is
drastically changing. No longer are the skills of building a rig from scratch
what drives new hams. They mostly want to communicate, and not be here
just for the electronics.

Excuse me?! Speak for yourself! I've always been in it for the fun
and learning of messing with the guts of the radios and associated
goodies themselves. In fact, I went and made RF services part of my side
business, dedicated heavily to hams who want to use commercial hardware
(mostly Motorola) on the ham bands, but who may lack the skill or
equipment to get such working on them.

I will say that there's a -lot- more "appliance operators" on the
air, but the techies among us are still around. You just have to look a
little longer and harder to find them.

73 de KC7GR

--
Dr. Anton Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t c&o&m
Motorola Radio Programming & Service Available -
http://www.bluefeathertech.com/rf.html
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (Red Green)