The timing of this video is PERFECT! I passed my extra, Saturday. The FCC was showing my upgraded license, as of this morning (12/12). This afternoon, I venture down to 7.150, for a QSO with a Japan station. Since it starts @ 7.125, I an ok. Band police to the rescue... "You're not an extra. You can't operate here." I advise that the FCC site is up to date & he may verify. I continue my QSO, and he comes back, telling me that QRZ is not updated, and I can't operate there. I ignored him and concluded my QSO. I would think that the FCC ULS is the "gospel". Even then, QRZ has a button to see my actual license. To add insult... he never gave his call sign.
The moment you passed your extra test you are an extra. Until the FCC shows your an extra you use your callsign/e. I noticed you did not leave your callsign.. It's not nessary. AF6MC
The day I received the email from the FCC my license was granted I got on the air. I threw out my call sign on the local repeater and had a few short QSOs with some of the guys who are always on the repeater. One person commented that I must be new since QRZ didn't even show my call sign yet. At least he understood that QRZ takes time to update their records. I believe they are at least 24 hours behind the FCC ULS database.
@@deanmason560 You are correct. My VE advised me of the same, but I chose it prudent to at least wait until the FCC reflected same. I do not typically divulge my call on FB/UA-cam/etc. Just the way I roll. LOL
I am a new ham in Germany, I came across band police a few weeks ago for the first time. I answered a CQ from another German operator who didn't spell his call sign with the correct spelling words (I don't care) on 7185. I replied with my call sign (DC6CK), that guy repeated my call sign correctly two times, entered it into a computer and then accused me off doing illegal transmissions with a very unfriendly tone. Yes, my call is in the official German online database that can be accessed by anyone. Yes, I do have a class A license which means I do have privileges on the whole band (7000-7200 in Germany). Yes, I was well below the legal power limit on that portion of the band and it is 'all modes' according to the band plan. Someone who isn't able to spell his call correctly and who isn't able to use the call sign database pretends to be police and gets very unfriendly for no reason? Why do people do this? Looks like deep frustration. I am glad the vast majority of people I talked to on the radio so far have been very friendly. 73 from Berlin / DC6CK
About the Versa tuner or any auxiliary tuner. SWR has nodes along the length; a voltage maximum and 1/4 wavelengh along the coax, a voltage minimum! The act of inserting an external tuner usually changes the voltage and apparent SWR and this will be particularly noticed with end-fed half wave antennas that operate at a high voltage, high impedance node of the antenna (center is low voltage, low impedance, higher current). A little bit off center does not change things much but a little bit off the end makes a huge difference between needing a 1-to-64 matching transformer, or a 1-to-49, or a 1-to-9 or whatever. The point of maximum impedance is sharply tuned and it's probably better to be slightly off perfect anyway so you don't have to deal with that sharp peak.
Best Radio Police ever: got an email from a guy after getting about 250 at a POTA with a list of call signs that worked me that were Generals. I had done some in the Extra band because it was a busy POTA weekend. He sat through the whole time and wrote every call down I worked and looked up their license class. He wanted me to delete them from my log. It takes dedication to be the band police.
@@hamradiotube He probably recorded it then sent the recording into the FCC for Official Observer points. What is the saying? "Snitches get stitches and end up in ditches."
Hmm, never thought about the loss in the transformer of the bedded really. I just put up an multi wire inverted V up at about 30 yards from the house to mitigate the noise. I wanted to put up an endfed antenna thinking the less coax I use the less signal I loose. But I might wanna rethink that. After all, The antenna is the one you have up and running.
First thing to ask when confronted by a radio cop “ Am I being detained or am I free to vfo” If they say you are detained, They need to articulate the radio crime you have committed, we’re about to commit or were witnesses committing for Probable Cause to be a legal frequency detainment. :)
I have quite a bit of experience with experimenting with my MFJ 1982MP EFHW 80-10m. Rasing and lowering the matching transformer will change the SWR on the bands. That can either help or hurt one when trying to operate. If that doesn't work out, I would recommend getting either a dedicated 30m antenna or a magnetic loop antenna. Magnetic Loop antennas are expensive, but if you got the patience to tune them, they work great. I have the AL-705 Magnetic Loop for my IC-705. One night on 30m FT8 running about 1.5 to 2w out, I had it tuned perfectly. With that power out and no SWR, I was heard from the West Coast into Italy, from sitting inside my bedroom. Didn't make any contacts, but I was thrilled that I was being heard by all those stations with 2w or less. If you want to see how well you're getting out while you're on FT8 or other digital modes, get on psk reporter and type in your callsign in the search box. That helps out quite a bit when looking to get the contacts you want. W4ISB Mike in Tennessee
I used the Wolf River Coils on a mag mount on the roof of my CRV to check into the CQ Santa net last year. Any antenna would work.I might use a ham stick this year, not sure yet.
The funny thing is there is an east coast net in the US on 28.385 on Sundays who definitely are not QRP. I spoke to a few of them when I was doing POTA a couple of weeks back and moved off 385 so they could run their net.
I was trying to work a DX station who had been working a pileup for quite some time when John Q Bandlaw Karened his way to the front of the pileup during a QSO and started admonishing the DXer for misusing the hertz. Homes was a pro, politely sent him packing, and finished his QSO. "QRZed" :D Playing POTA I've come across a few generals just a hair over into the extra portion. I assume they recently passed their extra, but suggest sliding up a few kcs into the general portion to reach a larger audience. No harm, no foul as far as I'm concerned. No need to call any more attention to it than that. I hope I'm not the cops ;)
I can't count the times I've dealt with the Band POPO. Had one tell me I was on a freq. reserved for their net, to which I asked if it was running at the moment as I'd called to see if anyone was on the freq. He said that they weren't on yet but that I wasn't allowed on there as it was their. I looked up the net and it wasn't scheduled till the next day so I reminded him that no one owned a freq and that since the net wasn't running that day I would be off after I finished my POTA. He guy, and no he never gave his call sign even after I asked, decided it would be better to punish me and must have cranked up the amp to 11 and keyed up every time me or my hunters keyed up, I decided to QSL and he kept following me keying up and yelling into the mic. He was a special kind of A-hole. Keep up the good work Mike and thanks for helping making POTA what it is today. 73 de W8MJL
The QC Santa Net has relays all over the country, so any decent antenna for 80m will work. Also following the net on the North Utah websdr really helps. Put up the antenna you have space for.
for me if a station comes back if I'm QRP it is a great way to check propagation, my best was 10 watts from us to japan and that station was 1500 watts
Thanks for helping out the Technicians with their HF privilages, anything to get them up on the HF and get them hooked so they are motivated to get their general & extra class is commendable. This is where the cool kids hangout. 73 KC0GPV
I have ran into “The Ham Radio Police Department “ more than once. When I was in MARS and Civil Air Patrol, I ran into the Ham Radio Police special auxiliary unit. that works those bands. Some people just have to feel important.
"Official observers are trained to deal only with clear and unambiguous violations of FCC rules and not become interpreters in areas that are controversial. To become an official observer, the amateur must first be appointed to the position by their section manager."
They are not police and have no authority whatsoever, and if they don't provide their callsign when they first reach out to you, they are in violation. They are just sad, afraid little old people absent any personality or life, struggling in every way possible to somehow be relevant. Ignore them (don't feed the trolls). Also, QRZ and the ARRL are not official legislative and/or enforcement bodies as many mistakenly believe. One merely replicates callsign data at a delayed rate, and the other publishes lists of suggested best practices. As ham radio operators, we are accountable only to the FCC, and are bound only by their rules of law. Don't let anyone bee ess you otherwise!
I love your response about band police! I keep a current copy of the ARRL provided band plan at my QTH station. That's what I reference and follow. If some joker on the air wants to tell me otherwise, they are welcome to do that, and I will keep on referencing the plan and enjoying my radio how I see fit. They can go eat static.
"Internal or external antenna tuner -- which one should you use?" The one that WORKS. For SWR less than 3:1 untuned, the internal tuners work great. External tuners typically can tune into 10:1 SWR. "Stay away from certain portions of their allocated sideband frequencies" Some people seem to "stake out" frequencies as if they own them. This kind also stakes out seats at the movie theater, church, or any other place of routine visit. This kind posts "no trespassing" signs on public lands (national forest, BLM). That sense of entitlement can lead to dangerous consequences so feel free to call them "sad hams" but they might not be hams at all.
Rather then trying to tune 30 meters on 80/40m 1/2 wave, run a 30m 1/2 wave wire 90° to the 40/80m wire. That has worked for wire dipoles from the same feed point.
I'd make a sizeable bet that that QRP guy was an "Rulebook Extra," Mike. Also, as far as the ATU question goes, the only way it *might* matter is if the length of the feedline jumper from the external tuner to the back of the radio or the feedline length from the ExtTU to the feed point at the antenna might be an strange harmonic on 30M that throws the ATU off OR there may be some common mode coming back off that EFHW disrupting the tune. As an experiment, maybe throw a short counterpoise on the feed point of the EFHW or put a 1:1 choke balun on the feedline at the output of the external tuner and see if that fixes it. What he meant by "bypass" is probably he's is putting the external tuner in bypass to eliminate "double tuning" when using the internal ATU on the radio. BTW, you CAN use BOTH if it gets really wacky. You just turn the internal ATU OFF, turn the external ATU ON, tune the external ATU and get a match and then turn the internal ATU ON and tune the internal ATU to "get it the rest of the way there" for max match and, thus, power output from the xcvr. Just be careful if you hear either tuner start to "fly" (the relays chattering away. I'm not sure if the MFJ ATU model he has has latching relays or not).
Spot on, Mike! Band police can go kick rocks because they have other motives! Just follow the FCC rules and regs (within your license privileges) and you will be fine. Great answers!
28.425.00 "The Human beacon" on ten meters. That guy ripped me a new one for not using proper Phonectics. My first experiance with a "Sadham" when I was new to HF. Alpha Hotel! Hows that for Phonetics.
is there a direct way to use the L band 1210MHZ and C band 3940MHZ to directly access a glonass without being detected or flagged? there must be? this is how the military and stuff do it
To a point, you are correct... But if the gentleman is a Tech, 1500W is out of the question, he is limited to 200W PEP... LoL... I love the fact that they checked QRZ to verify his licensing... Curmudgeon central right there, LoL
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it say right there in the ARRL Band Plan that Novice and Technicians are limited to 200 watts? Look at the right side where 10 meters is. N,T (200W). Not being the band police, just wanted to politely bring it to your attention that there indeed is a power limit on 10 for technicians. 73
@@Blake-jl8lhn1mie was correct in his statement. Mike said if you want to run 1500W then go ahead, in reference to the Technician operating on that frequency. However, Mike did correct himself with the information being flashed pretty obviously on the screen, before the video even aired.
Next time I get a 'band police' type, I think my response will be "Did I get your callsign correct - KA1REN? (or substitute the number with whatever number the person's zone is). 😃 Mike - ND7E
@@spaceflight1019 True, but you're just going to come back after operator responds and say "Oh, my bad. I thought you were the Karen I also heard on this frequency! LOL!
I've also met the Band Nazis --- but mine was on 6 meters and he didn't like me sending tuner tests (cause they are reserved for Contesting stations, he says). Hey, at least I don't live in an HOA .....
@@hamradiotube ;-) THOSE are very close to the words he used .... (Mind you, I never used "CQ TEST" --- rather, more like, "Testing, Testing, KI5PXQ, Testing" (talk about getting one's knickers in a knot!)
@@1shARyn3 The easy way around it is this: "This is W3XXX testing for TVI. Anything? How about now?" and just go on with it until you're done. Now, if you want to strike a little fear into these guys, you say this: "This is amateur radio station W3XXX giving a test at the request of the Federal Communications Commission. (Count to ten, repeat the introduction, and sign off.)
Hi there Mike...i don't want to saund like the ham police...i was a novice year's ago before they let us use voce privilege in 10 meters ( a enchanted novice they use to call us ) and I was very happy whit my first 10 meters móvil radio ( the Uniden Hr2510 ) i did have a Drake TR4 that i use for mose code in dose day's. But the Hr2510. That was the one I cute use in my móvil whit 25watts ( i still have it after all those year's and it works ). Now I'm a general and use my ICOM ic751...ok let me said something and please correct me if I'm Rong. Novice/Technician can only use 200 watts in 10 meters from 28.300/28.500 there voice section not 1,500 watts...like i said i don't want to sound like the ham police...but please. Check it out .. because i think you make a little mistake saiding that if he wanted he can't use 1,500 watts in 10 meters...( Generals, advance and extra can use 1,500 watts in 10 meters but not in the 28.300/28.500 section we are limited to 200 watts )...thank you for your atención and eny comment is welcome.... 73's and good DX's from....WP4EFM
I'm an extra and I had an Australian tell me the same thing on 10M Technician band he even called me an idiot and he answered my CQ and said I was interrupting his net people are silly police
I respectfully disagree with your comment the EFWH antennas have a slight signal loss penalty compared to a center-fed half-wave dipole. While technically true, in practice it is not. For many hams, one mounting point of the antenna as well the feedpoint are connected at or near the shack. This means that the feedline can be kept very short. In such situations, running a center-fed antenna means stringing additional feedline out to the middle of the antenna unless you plan to set up a folding table in the middle of your yard so you can sit directly underneath the feedpoint. And to reduce the cable loss to a center-fed dipole you generally need heavier cable which puts much more mechanical stress on the entire system. For me, EFHWs have been amazingly easy and inexpensive to use. Another quick note... The radiation pattern of an EFHW is a bit different than a center-fed dipole. Whereas the center-fed dipole has nulls coming off the ends of the antenna when it's one-half wavelength in the air, the EFHW has nulls at the center. When setting up an EFHW antenna, orient the antenna 90 degrees from what you would normally use with a center-fed dipole and you'll be much happier with the result.
I have three EFHW and have them up quite high around close to 50 feet and have worked all over the world with an amplifier also. Might not be as good as a dipole but hey they work well. The band police guys are something else. My buddy got an email from a guy told him he was out of band. He must’ve been recording him and sent it to the FCC which he later on received a letter in the mail. And the contact was from months ago can you believe that? Get a life 😮
Sad hams are going to sadham. When a tech is finally able to get on HF using 10m answering a call gets that kind of treatment the band police sadham should get his rear end kicked.
These are the types of hams that ruin the hobby for everyone else. yes we need to police ourselves but theres a large group of elmers that want to make it as PITA for newcomers so discourage them and drive them out. Good work on this vid.. keep it up
I don't understand it. It's not even an age group either. I've seen some younger salty hams on the internet that love to rain on everyones parade too. It's just a personality trait. I think it's called toxic.
As a truck driver the cb has died off shortly after smartphones and also the older generation retire. How is ham and gmrs still going? I attended a few radio meet and saw mainly WW2 hats. I was the youngest at 40 and one maybe early 50s all the rest were well over 70 . What keeps the radio clubs going?
GMRS is growing exponentially with new exposure on UA-cam, the advent of easily available and cheap Chinese radios, and the lack of a test. Lot of outdoors and prepper type people there too. Ham 2m/70cm repeaters are pretty dead in a lot of areas outside of check-in nets with a lot of old people. Actual local clubs are pretty grim with old guys who are dropping fast. Clubs suffer probably due to the intense pushback to both new members and to new technologies like digital. DMR is active nationwide with links like Brandmeister.
I was told one time "This is the Hurricane Net Frequency!!" I replied "Is there a Hurricane? Has the net been activated?" The yelling response "I said this is the Hurricane Net Frequency!!" I looked at the Hurricane Net website and it said in around four days they may activate the net. I just moved on. As the saying goes "When you argue with a fool bystanders wonder who the fool is."
Old curmudgeon :) awesome. You also have the I just got my extra so I must be a SME. The person at a hamfest telling you what your stuff is really worth. The I must be a better ham since I can afford expensive gear. When I was a kid doing mostly cw there were the vibroplex snobs. Man they always sounded like crap. I hated calling cw and some one came back using a bug. Just enjoy the hobby. It's been there for me just about my entire life. Joe WA4UJY
I’ve had my general license for several years, but have been exposed to ham radio for over 50 years. I really haven’t been active in ham radio because of the sad hams who feel a sense of power being the self police force. The sad hams must live pathetic lives.
Self appointed band police are just as annoying here in the UK, almost universally they are ill informed and will not give their own callsigns, as such they don't exist and can be ignored. Band police have immense patience, they will listen to the most boring conversation and jump in if you put a foot wrong (in their eyes). Many years ago a friend and I were talking on an obscure 70cm simplex frequency while setting up a 2m packet link. It was about 3:00am when my friend said "bloody thing" referring to a piece of equipment. Fortunately we were saved by a band policeman who said "language", you have to wonder how many hours the idiot was listening. Regarding the 80m/30m issue, depending on how how an SWR you are happy with cutting the antenna low on the 80m band may be acceptable on 30m, it is a bit of a compromise and you may not like the pattern.
I made a linked inverted V antenna that works on 20, 30 and 40 meters, and I can also connect extra wire to work on the 80 meter band. At 34 feet/~10 meters elevation it seems to work pretty well.
Mailbag Monday ~ Question : With the FT-891, Can you go from FT8 to SSB mode without disconnecting the cables in the back. I am a new FT-891 owner and a new General.
Yes, assuming FT8 is done in DATA mode when you switch to regular USB/LSB.. It will switch to normal inputs.. You can specify when in the digital mode to use back ports for audio.. I do it all the time.
Ah, I hated the Anointed... the Self-proclaimed champions of Ham Radio! It was much worse in 1996 when I first got my license! I hated the hypocrisy on 145.250 in Sacramento, CA...
Say Cowboy look at that chart where it described Novice / Technician 10m operating privilege's. They have a 200W power limit there. I generally agree with you so keep up the good videos.
Yes I glanced over that. That's why I put on the screen in GIANT LETTERS Techs have 200 watts. Everybody want's to point out when I misspoke but fails to see I corrected it in the video. I guess not everyone is actually watching. Oh well. So long as techs are getting on 28.385 that's all that matters lol.
@@hamradiotube Don't know if you noticed it, but since 10 opened up in October it seems like the really good DX has been operating above 28.500. During the CQ WW contest there were DX stations up to 29.000 but very little between 28.3 and 28.4. I noticed the same thing during the ARRL contest last weekend.
There's really not enough information to weigh in on what happened with Ryan's experience. There are a myriad of possibilities and a few have been covered well here but it's important to remember that amateur radio is somewhat of a fraternity and we're supposed to be promoting good will, etc. After decades of operating on HF, I'll still occasionally do something unintentional (key up too close to a net, for example). It's nothing to get butthurt about. Just make a note and move on. There are plenty of jerks in the world. With the recent explosion in amateur radio licenses its important to not engage them or the bands could quickly become a giant mess a la 3.8945 in the 90s.
To the Technician class operator that wrote in: What Mike said about you having a legal right to transmit full power on frequencies informally accepted by hams as "QRP calling frequencies" is correct. However, if you did so now (since you are now aware of the informal band plan) you would be considered a poor operator by other hams. The ham community has a term for this: poor operators are called "LIDs". I'm sure that you don't want to be labeled a LID by your fellow operators. So, to be a good (polite) operator, you should not transmit USB using full power anywhere on the 10 meter band that would cause a significant amount of your transmitted signal to fall within 28.385-28.388 (minimum - this assumes that most QRP operators use very sharp receive filters). If you are unsure about how clean your transmitted signal is, I recommend that you apply a generous guard band around this channel. For example, at my station (when running barefoot, i.e., 100W) I would not use 28.380-28.390 in USB mode. A good example of why it's important to know the informal band plan is the 2 meter band: legally, you can transmit SSB anywhere above 144.1MHz. However, most of this spectrum is filled with FM repeaters. There is no law that prohibits you from using these channels for your own purposes. However, if you do, don't get upset if other hams start calling you a LID. As a possible new ham operator, it's important who you get you advice from. I recommend that you locate an Amateur Radio club in your area and get connected. In the mean time, just try to be as polite as you can be. - W7OG (licensed since 1964)
7:47 You are incorrect. Technicians cannot use 1500 watts on 10 meters. Novices and Techs can use no more than 200 watts on that band . You might want to look again at that color chart you first put up.
Yes. And 30 seconds later I flashed on the screen in GIANT LETTERS techs can do 200 watts SSB, but thank you for being so quick to stop the video to tell me I made a mistake that I already corrected. Must be nice being perfect.
Yes. Thank you for pointing out the mistake that I corrected 30 seconds later with GIANT LETTERS that were flashed across the screen stating that techs had 200 watts on SSB.
He didn't do anything wrong. He answered a CQ. It's the QRP Calling Frequency. Not the QRP Responding Frequency. And if someone is just going to yell at him for that, what does that do for our hobby? Does that make for a welcoming environment that more people are going to want to be a part of? It's these same Ham Radio Police who are asking themselves why the hobby is dying.
The timing of this video is PERFECT! I passed my extra, Saturday. The FCC was showing my upgraded license, as of this morning (12/12). This afternoon, I venture down to 7.150, for a QSO with a Japan station. Since it starts @ 7.125, I an ok. Band police to the rescue... "You're not an extra. You can't operate here." I advise that the FCC site is up to date & he may verify. I continue my QSO, and he comes back, telling me that QRZ is not updated, and I can't operate there. I ignored him and concluded my QSO. I would think that the FCC ULS is the "gospel". Even then, QRZ has a button to see my actual license. To add insult... he never gave his call sign.
wow. im a technician and only had my ticket for a couple weeks.. even I can tell that guy is an idiot lol =X
The moment you passed your extra test you are an extra. Until the FCC shows your an extra you use your callsign/e. I noticed you did not leave your callsign.. It's not nessary.
AF6MC
The day I received the email from the FCC my license was granted I got on the air. I threw out my call sign on the local repeater and had a few short QSOs with some of the guys who are always on the repeater. One person commented that I must be new since QRZ didn't even show my call sign yet. At least he understood that QRZ takes time to update their records. I believe they are at least 24 hours behind the FCC ULS database.
@@deanmason560 You are correct. My VE advised me of the same, but I chose it prudent to at least wait until the FCC reflected same. I do not typically divulge my call on FB/UA-cam/etc. Just the way I roll. LOL
Congrats! That is quite an accomplishment! I am a lowly Tech for about a year, but studying now for my General. That’s probably as far as I’ll go!
I am a new ham in Germany, I came across band police a few weeks ago for the first time.
I answered a CQ from another German operator who didn't spell his call sign with the correct spelling words (I don't care) on 7185. I replied with my call sign (DC6CK), that guy repeated my call sign correctly two times, entered it into a computer and then accused me off doing illegal transmissions with a very unfriendly tone. Yes, my call is in the official German online database that can be accessed by anyone. Yes, I do have a class A license which means I do have privileges on the whole band (7000-7200 in Germany). Yes, I was well below the legal power limit on that portion of the band and it is 'all modes' according to the band plan.
Someone who isn't able to spell his call correctly and who isn't able to use the call sign database pretends to be police and gets very unfriendly for no reason?
Why do people do this? Looks like deep frustration.
I am glad the vast majority of people I talked to on the radio so far have been very friendly.
73 from Berlin / DC6CK
About the Versa tuner or any auxiliary tuner. SWR has nodes along the length; a voltage maximum and 1/4 wavelengh along the coax, a voltage minimum! The act of inserting an external tuner usually changes the voltage and apparent SWR and this will be particularly noticed with end-fed half wave antennas that operate at a high voltage, high impedance node of the antenna (center is low voltage, low impedance, higher current). A little bit off center does not change things much but a little bit off the end makes a huge difference between needing a 1-to-64 matching transformer, or a 1-to-49, or a 1-to-9 or whatever. The point of maximum impedance is sharply tuned and it's probably better to be slightly off perfect anyway so you don't have to deal with that sharp peak.
Best Radio Police ever: got an email from a guy after getting about 250 at a POTA with a list of call signs that worked me that were Generals. I had done some in the Extra band because it was a busy POTA weekend. He sat through the whole time and wrote every call down I worked and looked up their license class. He wanted me to delete them from my log. It takes dedication to be the band police.
That is the "Special Forces" segment of the band police.. ruthless
Wow!! You've gotta be a special kind of A-Hole to do something like that.
@@hamradiotube He probably recorded it then sent the recording into the FCC for Official Observer points. What is the saying? "Snitches get stitches and end up in ditches."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA *takes breath* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Must've been a "slow news day" or something. Some of these guys just need to shove off.
Hmm, never thought about the loss in the transformer of the bedded really.
I just put up an multi wire inverted V up at about 30 yards from the house to mitigate the noise. I wanted to put up an endfed antenna thinking the less coax I use the less signal I loose.
But I might wanna rethink that.
After all,
The antenna is the one you have up and running.
First thing to ask when confronted by a radio cop
“ Am I being detained or am I free to vfo”
If they say you are detained,
They need to articulate the radio crime you have committed, we’re about to commit or were witnesses committing for
Probable Cause to be a legal frequency detainment.
:)
"If I'm free to VFO then I'm also free to stay." Always record the band police.
@@EdwardGriffin
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Lol!! I love it!
I have quite a bit of experience with experimenting with my MFJ 1982MP EFHW 80-10m. Rasing and lowering the matching transformer will change the SWR on the bands. That can either help or hurt one when trying to operate.
If that doesn't work out, I would recommend getting either a dedicated 30m antenna or a magnetic loop antenna. Magnetic Loop antennas are expensive, but if you got the patience to tune them, they work great.
I have the AL-705 Magnetic Loop for my IC-705. One night on 30m FT8 running about 1.5 to 2w out, I had it tuned perfectly. With that power out and no SWR, I was heard from the West Coast into Italy, from sitting inside my bedroom. Didn't make any contacts, but I was thrilled that I was being heard by all those stations with 2w or less.
If you want to see how well you're getting out while you're on FT8 or other digital modes, get on psk reporter and type in your callsign in the search box. That helps out quite a bit when looking to get the contacts you want.
W4ISB
Mike in Tennessee
I used the Wolf River Coils on a mag mount on the roof of my CRV to check into the CQ Santa net last year. Any antenna would work.I might use a ham stick this year, not sure yet.
I've had incredible success with my WRC mounted to my trunk. The car makes a great ground plain!
The funny thing is there is an east coast net in the US on 28.385 on Sundays who definitely are not QRP. I spoke to a few of them when I was doing POTA a couple of weeks back and moved off 385 so they could run their net.
I'll have to let them know that's a QRP calling frequency ONLY!!
Freeze - band police! Randy calls them sad hams. LOL
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions and produce another quality video. Great work!
My pleasure!
I was trying to work a DX station who had been working a pileup for quite some time when John Q Bandlaw Karened his way to the front of the pileup during a QSO and started admonishing the DXer for misusing the hertz. Homes was a pro, politely sent him packing, and finished his QSO. "QRZed" :D
Playing POTA I've come across a few generals just a hair over into the extra portion. I assume they recently passed their extra, but suggest sliding up a few kcs into the general portion to reach a larger audience. No harm, no foul as far as I'm concerned. No need to call any more attention to it than that. I hope I'm not the cops ;)
I can't count the times I've dealt with the Band POPO. Had one tell me I was on a freq. reserved for their net, to which I asked if it was running at the moment as I'd called to see if anyone was on the freq. He said that they weren't on yet but that I wasn't allowed on there as it was their. I looked up the net and it wasn't scheduled till the next day so I reminded him that no one owned a freq and that since the net wasn't running that day I would be off after I finished my POTA. He guy, and no he never gave his call sign even after I asked, decided it would be better to punish me and must have cranked up the amp to 11 and keyed up every time me or my hunters keyed up, I decided to QSL and he kept following me keying up and yelling into the mic. He was a special kind of A-hole.
Keep up the good work Mike and thanks for helping making POTA what it is today. 73 de W8MJL
That is the reason to keep a log. If they identify the entire log can be submitted with the complaint that he was jamming you.
The QC Santa Net has relays all over the country, so any decent antenna for 80m will work. Also following the net on the North Utah websdr really helps. Put up the antenna you have space for.
I wish I had Santa's height. I'd drop an 80 Meter EFHW off the side of the sleigh.
@@hamradiotube forget that! Go big or go home 160m!
@@JReed305 I'm waiting for the guy on 2200M to comment :D Can you educate me on the "QC" Santa Net...I listen on 3916
for me if a station comes back if I'm QRP it is a great way to check propagation, my best was 10 watts from us to japan and that station was 1500 watts
Thanks for helping out the Technicians with their HF privilages, anything to get them up on the HF and get them hooked so they are motivated to get their general & extra class is commendable. This is where the cool kids hangout.
73 KC0GPV
Great info Mike, techs need all the help and encouragement we can offer.
I have ran into “The Ham Radio Police Department “ more than once. When I was in MARS and Civil Air Patrol, I ran into the Ham Radio Police special auxiliary unit. that works those bands. Some people just have to feel important.
Special auxiliary unit? Dang you must have really done something wrong to mobilize them lol!
Thanks for the band police heads up and details. I’m new to SSB and I see how that could be confusing. Didn’t even know about the “police” 😂
“The Police” were a popular rock band during the late 70’s,early 80’s.
"Official observers are trained to deal only with clear and unambiguous violations of FCC rules and not become interpreters in areas that are controversial. To become an official observer, the amateur must first be appointed to the position by their section manager."
They are not police and have no authority whatsoever, and if they don't provide their callsign when they first reach out to you, they are in violation. They are just sad, afraid little old people absent any personality or life, struggling in every way possible to somehow be relevant. Ignore them (don't feed the trolls). Also, QRZ and the ARRL are not official legislative and/or enforcement bodies as many mistakenly believe. One merely replicates callsign data at a delayed rate, and the other publishes lists of suggested best practices. As ham radio operators, we are accountable only to the FCC, and are bound only by their rules of law. Don't let anyone bee ess you otherwise!
I love your response about band police! I keep a current copy of the ARRL provided band plan at my QTH station. That's what I reference and follow. If some joker on the air wants to tell me otherwise, they are welcome to do that, and I will keep on referencing the plan and enjoying my radio how I see fit. They can go eat static.
28.385 is recognized as the frequency where hams ask for my Venmo account so they can give me money to buy antennas. True story.
I wanna piece of that!
Thanks for explaining the 10 meter answer so clearly .
My pleasure
"Internal or external antenna tuner -- which one should you use?"
The one that WORKS. For SWR less than 3:1 untuned, the internal tuners work great. External tuners typically can tune into 10:1 SWR.
"Stay away from certain portions of their allocated sideband frequencies"
Some people seem to "stake out" frequencies as if they own them. This kind also stakes out seats at the movie theater, church, or any other place of routine visit. This kind posts "no trespassing" signs on public lands (national forest, BLM). That sense of entitlement can lead to dangerous consequences so feel free to call them "sad hams" but they might not be hams at all.
Actually... An external _remote_ antenna tuner is best. No losses incurred on the coax due to impedance mismatch.
Whoop whoop, it's the band police... 👮🚓
They're coming for you1
Rather then trying to tune 30 meters on 80/40m 1/2 wave, run a 30m 1/2 wave wire 90° to the 40/80m wire. That has worked for wire dipoles from the same feed point.
We need some band police to go on 7.200
Thats my hangout and absolute favorite freq
I'd make a sizeable bet that that QRP guy was an "Rulebook Extra," Mike. Also, as far as the ATU question goes, the only way it *might* matter is if the length of the feedline jumper from the external tuner to the back of the radio or the feedline length from the ExtTU to the feed point at the antenna might be an strange harmonic on 30M that throws the ATU off OR there may be some common mode coming back off that EFHW disrupting the tune. As an experiment, maybe throw a short counterpoise on the feed point of the EFHW or put a 1:1 choke balun on the feedline at the output of the external tuner and see if that fixes it. What he meant by "bypass" is probably he's is putting the external tuner in bypass to eliminate "double tuning" when using the internal ATU on the radio. BTW, you CAN use BOTH if it gets really wacky. You just turn the internal ATU OFF, turn the external ATU ON, tune the external ATU and get a match and then turn the internal ATU ON and tune the internal ATU to "get it the rest of the way there" for max match and, thus, power output from the xcvr. Just be careful if you hear either tuner start to "fly" (the relays chattering away. I'm not sure if the MFJ ATU model he has has latching relays or not).
Spot on, Mike! Band police can go kick rocks because they have other motives! Just follow the FCC rules and regs (within your license privileges) and you will be fine. Great answers!
Thanks John.
28.425.00 "The Human beacon" on ten meters. That guy ripped me a new one for not using proper Phonectics. My first experiance with a "Sadham" when I was new to HF. Alpha Hotel! Hows that for Phonetics.
My Call here is N2MJF also have a Alinco DJ-MD5X DMR HT and a Yeasu FT5D HT!
is there a direct way to use the L band 1210MHZ and C band 3940MHZ to directly access a glonass without being detected or flagged? there must be? this is how the military and stuff do it
To a point, you are correct... But if the gentleman is a Tech, 1500W is out of the question, he is limited to 200W PEP... LoL... I love the fact that they checked QRZ to verify his licensing... Curmudgeon central right there, LoL
How do you get a tower up for RACES/ARES/Skywarn in a non HOA area? Can I use PRB1 and if so, how?
Amen Brother! Great explanations..TRUTH!
Thanks bud.
Hey you kids !! get off my Lawn ! i remember them days the grumpy old man with the black socks pulled up to his knees :)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it say right there in the ARRL Band Plan that Novice and Technicians are limited to 200 watts? Look at the right side where 10 meters is. N,T (200W). Not being the band police, just wanted to politely bring it to your attention that there indeed is a power limit on 10 for technicians. 73
There is a power limit on everyone at any frequency. He was saying that there is no qrp frequencies. The person asking mentioned running 100w
@@Blake-jl8lh But he also said there was nothing about power limits, and that is not true, just not QRP.
Yes. That's why I flashed on the screen in GIANT LETTERS technicians have 200 watts.
@@n1mie i think he was pretty clear
@@Blake-jl8lhn1mie was correct in his statement. Mike said if you want to run 1500W then go ahead, in reference to the Technician operating on that frequency. However, Mike did correct himself with the information being flashed pretty obviously on the screen, before the video even aired.
Next time I get a 'band police' type, I think my response will be "Did I get your callsign correct - KA1REN? (or substitute the number with whatever number the person's zone is). 😃
Mike - ND7E
Lol I love that!
KA1REN is an active callsign.
Just spin your VFO...don't give them time of day
@@spaceflight1019 True, but you're just going to come back after operator responds and say "Oh, my bad. I thought you were the Karen I also heard on this frequency! LOL!
I've also met the Band Nazis --- but mine was on 6 meters and he didn't like me sending tuner tests (cause they are reserved for Contesting stations, he says).
Hey, at least I don't live in an HOA .....
How dare you use radio for testing. It's not like that's what it's for or anything.
@@hamradiotube ;-) THOSE are very close to the words he used ....
(Mind you, I never used "CQ TEST" --- rather, more like, "Testing, Testing, KI5PXQ, Testing"
(talk about getting one's knickers in a knot!)
@@1shARyn3 The easy way around it is this:
"This is W3XXX testing for TVI. Anything? How about now?" and just go on with it until you're done.
Now, if you want to strike a little fear into these guys, you say this:
"This is amateur radio station W3XXX giving a test at the request of the Federal Communications Commission. (Count to ten, repeat the introduction, and sign off.)
Hi there Mike...i don't want to saund like the ham police...i was a novice year's ago before they let us use voce privilege in 10 meters ( a enchanted novice they use to call us ) and I was very happy whit my first 10 meters móvil radio ( the Uniden Hr2510 ) i did have a Drake TR4 that i use for mose code in dose day's. But the Hr2510. That was the one I cute use in my móvil whit 25watts ( i still have it after all those year's and it works ). Now I'm a general and use my ICOM ic751...ok let me said something and please correct me if I'm Rong. Novice/Technician can only use 200 watts in 10 meters from 28.300/28.500 there voice section not 1,500 watts...like i said i don't want to sound like the ham police...but please. Check it out .. because i think you make a little mistake saiding that if he wanted he can't use 1,500 watts in 10 meters...( Generals, advance and extra can use 1,500 watts in 10 meters but not in the 28.300/28.500 section we are limited to 200 watts )...thank you for your atención and eny comment is welcome.... 73's and good DX's from....WP4EFM
Can you comment or explain what the portion of the 40m band at 7.075-7.100 is, who can use it, and what, on the band plan, it means? Thanks
I'm a curmudgeon, so I'd use an inverted antler for Santa.
If the sideband stations would kindly stay out of the AM-window areas, that would be fine. The bands aren't that crowded. Thanks for asking! :-)
Mike, as always great info !!!
For 80 meter santa band don't you need a northern pole antenna?
Kq6pr
I'm an extra and I had an Australian tell me the same thing on 10M Technician band he even called me an idiot and he answered my CQ and said I was interrupting his net people are silly police
I respectfully disagree with your comment the EFWH antennas have a slight signal loss penalty compared to a center-fed half-wave dipole. While technically true, in practice it is not. For many hams, one mounting point of the antenna as well the feedpoint are connected at or near the shack. This means that the feedline can be kept very short. In such situations, running a center-fed antenna means stringing additional feedline out to the middle of the antenna unless you plan to set up a folding table in the middle of your yard so you can sit directly underneath the feedpoint. And to reduce the cable loss to a center-fed dipole you generally need heavier cable which puts much more mechanical stress on the entire system. For me, EFHWs have been amazingly easy and inexpensive to use.
Another quick note... The radiation pattern of an EFHW is a bit different than a center-fed dipole. Whereas the center-fed dipole has nulls coming off the ends of the antenna when it's one-half wavelength in the air, the EFHW has nulls at the center. When setting up an EFHW antenna, orient the antenna 90 degrees from what you would normally use with a center-fed dipole and you'll be much happier with the result.
I have three EFHW and have them up quite high around close to 50 feet and have worked all over the world with an amplifier also. Might not be as good as a dipole but hey they work well.
The band police guys are something else. My buddy got an email from a guy told him he was out of band. He must’ve been recording him and sent it to the FCC which he later on received a letter in the mail. And the contact was from months ago can you believe that? Get a life 😮
Sad hams are going to sadham. When a tech is finally able to get on HF using 10m answering a call gets that kind of treatment the band police sadham should get his rear end kicked.
Makes you want to get on 10m and call CQ for techs only.
@@toddhowell2299 There are about 9,000 Novices still around so don't leave them out of the fun.
These are the types of hams that ruin the hobby for everyone else. yes we need to police ourselves but theres a large group of elmers that want to make it as PITA for newcomers so discourage them and drive them out. Good work on this vid.. keep it up
I don't understand it. It's not even an age group either. I've seen some younger salty hams on the internet that love to rain on everyones parade too. It's just a personality trait. I think it's called toxic.
I understand it. they don't want us communicating off of smartphone tracking
Who puts the 20m QRP SSB call freq at 14.285, then at 14.286 oh lets put the AM call freq here??????
Hahaha is it really??
Sad hams will sad ham
They sure will.
As a truck driver the cb has died off shortly after smartphones and also the older generation retire. How is ham and gmrs still going? I attended a few radio meet and saw mainly WW2 hats. I was the youngest at 40 and one maybe early 50s all the rest were well over 70 . What keeps the radio clubs going?
GMRS is growing exponentially with new exposure on UA-cam, the advent of easily available and cheap Chinese radios, and the lack of a test. Lot of outdoors and prepper type people there too. Ham 2m/70cm repeaters are pretty dead in a lot of areas outside of check-in nets with a lot of old people. Actual local clubs are pretty grim with old guys who are dropping fast. Clubs suffer probably due to the intense pushback to both new members and to new technologies like digital. DMR is active nationwide with links like Brandmeister.
Mike ,Hope your all ok? Heard about the storm. 🙁
All good here. I'm way south of all that WX but thanks for checking up.
Band police is a new term... we used to call them LIDs.
thanks for explaining. I have been yelled at a few times as well. Annoying.
They come in many forms.
I was told one time "This is the Hurricane Net Frequency!!" I replied "Is there a Hurricane? Has the net been activated?" The yelling response "I said this is the Hurricane Net Frequency!!" I looked at the Hurricane Net website and it said in around four days they may activate the net. I just moved on. As the saying goes "When you argue with a fool bystanders wonder who the fool is."
No, no...a "lid" is a poor operator. You're confusing them with the "Kilocycle Kops".
Very nice job! 73 Al K3ZE
Thanks.....another good one..!!
You bet
Old curmudgeon :) awesome. You also have the I just got my extra so I must be a SME. The person at a hamfest telling you what your stuff is really worth. The I must be a better ham since I can afford expensive gear. When I was a kid doing mostly cw there were the vibroplex snobs. Man they always sounded like crap. I hated calling cw and some one came back using a bug.
Just enjoy the hobby. It's been there for me just about my entire life. Joe WA4UJY
I have to ask can you recommend a decent base antenna that's good for 10 11 and 12 m
They used to call these guys "Kilocycle Kops" years ago.
I’ve had my general license for several years, but have been exposed to ham radio for over 50 years. I really haven’t been active in ham radio because of the sad hams who feel a sense of power being the self police force. The sad hams must live pathetic lives.
Self appointed band police are just as annoying here in the UK, almost universally they are ill informed and will not give their own callsigns, as such they don't exist and can be ignored. Band police have immense patience, they will listen to the most boring conversation and jump in if you put a foot wrong (in their eyes). Many years ago a friend and I were talking on an obscure 70cm simplex frequency while setting up a 2m packet link. It was about 3:00am when my friend said "bloody thing" referring to a piece of equipment. Fortunately we were saved by a band policeman who said "language", you have to wonder how many hours the idiot was listening. Regarding the 80m/30m issue, depending on how how an SWR you are happy with cutting the antenna low on the 80m band may be acceptable on 30m, it is a bit of a compromise and you may not like the pattern.
I made a linked inverted V antenna that works on 20, 30 and 40 meters, and I can also connect extra wire to work on the 80 meter band. At 34 feet/~10 meters elevation it seems to work pretty well.
WOOP! WOOP! Make way for the radio police.
28.425 is where the police station is. lol
This is where we will lock you up.
FOREVER!!!!!.
You'll never get me, see!
I love these comments on how antenna tuners work... never ending entertainment. *EDIT* I don't necessarily disagree, I just love how people explain :)
Nice job with the video!
Mailbag Monday ~ Question : With the FT-891, Can you go from FT8 to SSB mode without disconnecting the cables in the back. I am a new FT-891 owner and a new General.
Yes, assuming FT8 is done in DATA mode when you switch to regular USB/LSB.. It will switch to normal inputs.. You can specify when in the digital mode to use back ports for audio.. I do it all the time.
What Chris said
@@chriscoel Thank You, Paul KD9SYD
How do we write in??
Ah, I hated the Anointed... the Self-proclaimed champions of Ham Radio! It was much worse in 1996 when I first got my license! I hated the hypocrisy on 145.250 in Sacramento, CA...
Wooooo! Great video
WTF are you talking about the band Police is a great band! Roxanne is one of my favorite songs!!!
Oh god I can't stand them. Sting's voice is like nails on a chalkboard. It's prob worse than Geddy Lee. So bad. Absolutely cannot stand the Police.
@@hamradiotube it's OK we can't all have good taste, Love you man love your content.
BK is a radio brand, but it also works for Band Karen’s
The band police lmao that's a good one. 🤣
Say Cowboy look at that chart where it described Novice / Technician 10m operating privilege's. They have a 200W power limit there. I generally agree with you so keep up the good videos.
This: ua-cam.com/video/0_AD_vOxVYU/v-deo.html
As stated, I see a (200W) right under the N,T on the AARL band cheat sheet. Still twice the power the questioner said. "Band Police" 👎
Yes I glanced over that. That's why I put on the screen in GIANT LETTERS Techs have 200 watts. Everybody want's to point out when I misspoke but fails to see I corrected it in the video. I guess not everyone is actually watching. Oh well. So long as techs are getting on 28.385 that's all that matters lol.
@@hamradiotube Don't know if you noticed it, but since 10 opened up in October it seems like the really good DX has been operating above 28.500. During the CQ WW contest there were DX stations up to 29.000 but very little between 28.3 and 28.4. I noticed the same thing during the ARRL contest last weekend.
@@hamradiotube Now you have those viewers watching your You Tube channel policing you,Mike!
There's really not enough information to weigh in on what happened with Ryan's experience. There are a myriad of possibilities and a few have been covered well here but it's important to remember that amateur radio is somewhat of a fraternity and we're supposed to be promoting good will, etc. After decades of operating on HF, I'll still occasionally do something unintentional (key up too close to a net, for example). It's nothing to get butthurt about. Just make a note and move on. There are plenty of jerks in the world. With the recent explosion in amateur radio licenses its important to not engage them or the bands could quickly become a giant mess a la 3.8945 in the 90s.
Policing the ham bands: serious business.
Someones gotta do it.
internal or external tuner? Resonant antenna.
That's what I say.
In general I agree. I only use a tuner for getting my 80-10 EFHW down into the phone portion so that I'm resonant on all of the harmonics.
To the Technician class operator that wrote in: What Mike said about you having a legal right to transmit full power on frequencies informally accepted by hams as "QRP calling frequencies" is correct. However, if you did so now (since you are now aware of the informal band plan) you would be considered a poor operator by other hams. The ham community has a term for this: poor operators are called "LIDs". I'm sure that you don't want to be labeled a LID by your fellow operators. So, to be a good (polite) operator, you should not transmit USB using full power anywhere on the 10 meter band that would cause a significant amount of your transmitted signal to fall within 28.385-28.388 (minimum - this assumes that most QRP operators use very sharp receive filters). If you are unsure about how clean your transmitted signal is, I recommend that you apply a generous guard band around this channel. For example, at my station (when running barefoot, i.e., 100W) I would not use 28.380-28.390 in USB mode.
A good example of why it's important to know the informal band plan is the 2 meter band: legally, you can transmit SSB anywhere above 144.1MHz. However, most of this spectrum is filled with FM repeaters. There is no law that prohibits you from using these channels for your own purposes. However, if you do, don't get upset if other hams start calling you a LID.
As a possible new ham operator, it's important who you get you advice from. I recommend that you locate an Amateur Radio club in your area and get connected. In the mean time, just try to be as polite as you can be.
- W7OG (licensed since 1964)
7:47 You are incorrect. Technicians cannot use 1500 watts on 10 meters. Novices and Techs can use no more than 200 watts on that band . You might want to look again at that color chart you first put up.
Yes. And 30 seconds later I flashed on the screen in GIANT LETTERS techs can do 200 watts SSB, but thank you for being so quick to stop the video to tell me I made a mistake that I already corrected. Must be nice being perfect.
@@hamradiotube I didn't stop the video. I just didn't see it. Sorry. Evidently I'm not perfect.
SAD HAM
Intersting!
We really should calling them a trans-match
Why do people always animorphize inanimate objects.
👍
Music does not help....same effect as QRM
It says it right on the band plan, 200W
Yes. Thank you for pointing out the mistake that I corrected 30 seconds later with GIANT LETTERS that were flashed across the screen stating that techs had 200 watts on SSB.
@@hamradiotube cool man, just letting ya know most people don't care about watts at that point as long as you're not blasting others
Band police= sad hams
holy cow this is complicated....i just wanna chat from my UV-5R with my buddy......
I inherited a president 2600 how can I tell if it's been modified to CB band I know less than nothing about it thank you
I would have no idea.
I’m an extra with my 2x3 call sign and I like to call CQ across the Extra band widths and get lookups on my QRZ account. 73 everyone KD9VBE
I agree the band police are annoying but it is still nice to follow the considerate operators guide. w1ip
He didn't do anything wrong. He answered a CQ. It's the QRP Calling Frequency. Not the QRP Responding Frequency. And if someone is just going to yell at him for that, what does that do for our hobby? Does that make for a welcoming environment that more people are going to want to be a part of? It's these same Ham Radio Police who are asking themselves why the hobby is dying.
Hello from Ireland...