I’m officially a HAM

[NorCal]

My recently deceased Father-In-Law was a WWII vet, an electrical engineer and a HAM radio operator. He loved his radios. I would take him to the local club meetings once a month, clear up to his passing at age 93.
I have an industrial technology undergrad degree, so I have a somewhat technical background. I decided to study and take the test for my license in my FIL’s honor. I did, passed and just received my call sign. I don’t plan on using it, but heck, I kept one of his radios and the license is good for 10 years, so you never know.

 

[CK55]

nice!

 

[BernardSmith]

Congrats on earning your license. Many years ago my FiL urged me to get my license but as a teenager in Scotland I was a DX (that's "long distance" for non SW aficionados) listener and had albums of postcards I got from DX hams and commercial SW stations.

 

[TxBrew]

Congratulations. Sorry for the passing of your Dad.

 

[Mismost]

Had an Uncle who was a ham operator with friends all over the world. Later he became involved in computers and something called the internet....he was quiet the funny guy and was always sending out the craziest, funniest, jokes and stories you ever heard. He died with thousands of "following friends" who had never even seen him.

Ham radio I suspect, is not all unlike these forums where you come to know folks you've never met..... and perhaps provide help or aggravation....both of which I feel are necessary for true happiness!

My regards on the passing of your FIL, TxBrew.

 

[sour_grapes]

Where's @dcbrown73 when you need him? Congrats!

 

[Trevor7]

I also send my condolences - the only positive thing about losing a loved one, is that it makes us take a closer look at our own lives, and re-analyze them to be sure we're doing what matters.
As for the ham license, welcome to the club! I too am a "kinda active" operator. Not only is @dcbrown73 a ham, but I found that @wrongway is as well.
I had an old boss who would ask, "Ya know what a ham is? It's 1/2 of a pig's butt!"

 

[dcbrown73]

I'm sorry for your loss, but congrats on you new license! If you're in the least bit social, you should definitely give it a try.

I'm not super social. My enjoyment comes from the technology itself. DXing is fun too. (making contacts outside the US)

 

[dcbrown73]

Where's @dcbrown73 when you need him? Congrats!

I have been in the process of moving and that has kept me quite busy! (that's one major downside of winemaking / collecting. That's a lot of wine to have to move! It's good thing I was storing it in the boxes I bought the bottles in! I couldn't imagine trying to find boxes for all that wine when trying to move it!

Also to note since this is a ham thread. On May 5th, I took my extra test and passed! (I was a general class license since I first got licensed back in 2014)

Anyhow, again. Welcome to the club!

 

[dcbrown73]

Ham radio I suspect, is not all unlike these forums where you come to know folks you've never met..... and perhaps provide help or aggravation....both of which I feel are necessary for true happiness!
.

Funny thing is, I would say about six months ago. I was on my 2M local repeater and started talking to a guy that lives about 40 miles from me. He said he had just moved from California. Given I lived there a while too, I asked him where and he said Napa. Anyhow, he said he had a vineyard there, (don't recall the name) but sold it when he moved here. So, we had two things in common. Radio and winemaking!

 

[sour_grapes]

Here, guys, have one on me:

 

[jswordy]

My recently deceased Father-In-Law was a WWII vet, an electrical engineer and a HAM radio operator. He loved his radios. I would take him to the local club meetings once a month, clear up to his passing at age 93.
I have an industrial technology undergrad degree, so I have a somewhat technical background. I decided to study and take the test for my license in my FIL’s honor. I did, passed and just received my call sign. I don’t plan on using it, but heck, I kept one of his radios and the license is good for 10 years, so you never know.
View attachment 49805

Sorry about the loss of your Dad. The license and a working radio are good things to have, a working radio with a backup generator is even better. Ham radio was one of the crucial means of communication in Huntsville, AL, in April 2011, when 39 tornados downed high tension lines and cut power to the city and county of about 350,000 population for a solid week. Cell towers were down and phones could not be easily charged. Ham operators with backup generators were an essential link.

You never know when you may be the link to saving someone's life in an emergency.

 

[BernardSmith]

Ham radio I suspect, is not all unlike these forums where you come to know folks you've never met..... and perhaps provide help or aggravation....both of which I feel are necessary for true happiness!

My regards on the passing of your FIL, TxBrew.

The thing about Ham communication is that you are not permitted to talk about any subject that might cause "aggravation" so except in emergencies most talk is around the ham rigs (radios) themselves, the attenna, others you have called or been called by, and problems with or solutions to problems of communications.

 

[dcbrown73]

The thing about Ham communication is that you are not permitted to talk about any subject that might cause "aggravation" so except in emergencies most talk is around the ham rigs (radios) themselves, the attenna, others you have called or been called by, and problems with or solutions to problems of communications.

Actually, you can talk about anything you want providing the subject matter is non-pecuniary. ie, you can't use the armature bands for commercial communications, promotion of commercial activities, or broadcasting. (like music, speeches, lectures, etc) Obviously the use of profanity isn't permitted either, but believe me. You will hear it, though I believe it's usually from unlicensed people as you can get fined or even your license stripped away from you.

The no aggravation discussion is incorrect. Religious and political discussions happen (I avoid them like the plague) and those are the biggest aggravation conversations I know of! I also avoid conversation when guys are talking about their prostate issues hah.

 

[BernardSmith]

@dcbrown73, True, but doesn't the ARRL suggest that if a topic is moving into an area where other members of the chat and those listening to the chat can be offended you should change the subject. (see under "rag chew"). The group I was associated with did not talk politics or religion or work - anything that was not very superficial. They did chat about weather, pets, menus and their rigs. Health issues were always superficial too. More the niceties than any deep discussion. But yeah, I guess this was a set of conventions and not hard and fast policies and rules.

 

[dcbrown73]

@dcbrown73, True, but doesn't the ARRL suggest that if a topic is moving into an area where other members of the chat and those listening to the chat can be offended you should change the subject. (see under "rag chew"). The group I was associated with did not talk politics or religion or work - anything that was not very superficial. They did chat about weather, pets, menus and their rigs. Health issues were always superficial too. More the niceties than any deep discussion. But yeah, I guess this was a set of conventions and not hard and fast policies and rules.

Yes, that's the ARRL trying to provide a guideline for good rag-chew etiquette to prevent people from getting angry or upset and resorting to name calling etc. (like they do on many Internet forums) It's just not the "rule of law".

That's one thing I love about this place. It doesn't really degrade into name calling and stuff. Well, except under my breath!

 

[RICHARD RYBA]

Excellent. Condolences on your Silent Key father.
How about this bottle of wine though...

 

[dcbrown73]

Excellent. Condolences on your Silent Key father.
How about this bottle of wine though...

Ha! That's sweet! For those that are interested, the Morse code spells:

C
H
A
R
D
O
N
N
A
Y

 

[CUZN_J]

My recently deceased Father-In-Law was a WWII vet, an electrical engineer and a HAM radio operator. He loved his radios. I would take him to the local club meetings once a month, clear up to his passing at age 93.
I have an industrial technology undergrad degree, so I have a somewhat technical background. I decided to study and take the test for my license in my FIL’s honor. I did, passed and just received my call sign. I don’t plan on using it, but heck, I kept one of his radios and the license is good for 10 years, so you never know.
View attachment 49805

Congrats, hey use it I have been ham since 1980 and just love making contacts with all the fellow hams, KB4ILV, Extra class,

 

[CUZN_J]

Sorry about the loss of your Dad. The license and a working radio are good things to have, a working radio with a backup generator is even better. Ham radio was one of the crucial means of communication in Huntsville, AL, in April 2011, when 39 tornados downed high tension lines and cut power to the city and county of about 350,000 population for a solid week. Cell towers were down and phones could not be easily charged. Ham operators with backup generators were an essential link.

You never know when you may be the link to saving someone's life in an emergency.

yes doing ARES is quite a reward