Great explaining as usual Jim. Such a pleasure to have someone who makes time for others and give a easy natural lesson. Thumbs up Jim. 73s Sascha PD9Z
Thanks Jim. Studying for my Technician license and have always wanted to be a ham. At a point in life where I finally can. Your videos are very helpful. Thank you again!
Nice to see your videos again Jim, they're very enjoyable to watch! Cant wait to speak to you on HF. Last time i heard you on the radio we couldn't make a two way contact as too many were on. I too have some videos on my channel about my hometown and my other interests. Hope your ok, 73s Darryl 2W1ACM
FUZZ CLIPS yeah ham radio was always a thought for about 2 years with me. I talk a lot of CB in southern Ohio. I always will because of the locals. But I couldn't find a club and I found one in my area called Portsmouth radio club N8QA they gave me a test it was free and I passed and know the wait for call sign.
i have for sale a yaesu excellent condition still in both boxes i have used it for about 5 times and the model of yaesu is the FT 1000 MP V COMES WITH 2 YAESU MICS CONTACT ME AT MARKGM7VEY@GMAIL.COM FOR MORE INFO THANK YOU
Hi Jim, I've been enjoying your videos, Just passed my tech and general, waiting for my call to show up . I was a ham as a kid, mid 60's , code only , Eico 720, then built my Heath 401 and 301, still have them, I am now needing to get moving again, would like to get some newer gear but since I have my old stuff, I am in no rush and need a bunch of catch up. I am in Ft Pierce FL, Question, on the lightbulb dummy , isn't the resistance way too low? Dave, waiting call sign
Okay, this is a noob question. What about grounding? I am looking to setup a mobile radio in my house, with a dipole antenna for uhf/vhf. Thanks for the video.
I did in the early 1960's. I have not with the solid state rigs. So yes, they can be a very inexpensive dummy load. Much of what I do these days does require an amp. So, one of them is usually on in the standby mode. Thanks John, 73, Jim W6LG
Hi Jim, KK6BKQ Louis I'm within the city limits and have yet to build a home base station. My question to you regarding grounding. I understand there's AC power grounding and then RF grounding and then antenna grounding for lightning protection. Do you have a video on this topic?
This is a great video. I am not licensed yet but I would love to set up a receiver station with an indoor antenna some how. Do you have a video on this? Do the receivers scan to hear bands people are using? 73's
Charles Ramsey assuming you got this sorted but others might want to know. You can go two easy ways for listening, one is an SDR, the other is a SW radio, but you need to know what you want to listen to, nearly nothing does all bands and if they do they are either bad or very expensive. Indoor antennas are very suboptimal although not impossible, you can just use a random wire for a SW radio or an SDR but they typically aren't very good. Both an SDR or an SW radio plus some sort of antenna can be had for about $50 or less, but an SDR makes it a LOT easier to find and listen in to people talking, I've been using a webSDR for HF and have caught some DX'es just clicking around, enough to make out callsigns and look them up on QRZ.
I hope perhaps someone can help me. I've been out of ham radio for about 15 years, primarily because I moved to the middle of nowhere in the southwestern desert. That's been great except for the fact that if I put up a ham radio antenna, it's going to be the highest thing for a good 10 miles. The thunderstorms can be horrendous out here during the monsoon season; an antenna is *going* to get hit by lightning. As a consequence, I simply haven't put up my antennas. My HF antenna, in particular, has no DC ground, so it would really be vulnerable. What could I do? I'd at least like to put up a 2m/70cm antenna (there are a couple of mountaintop repeaters I might hit with my omnidirectional antenna). Thanks for any help.
Hi Jim, Another very interesting video! Having just bought an MFJ941E Versa-tune ATU I am very much looking forward to the next episode on using a manual ATU. I'd like to learn how to get the most out of one! 73, Tom PS, I know traps = losses but how much can you expect to loose in RF power out using an ATU on 20m?
Hi, As best I can tell at this time, there is not a lot of loss. The feedline losses can be huge because of impedance mismatch. I hope to demonstrate that next. Stay tuned! Thanks, Jim
I have the biggest antenna tuner mfj makes and run 1kw. I tune my 80 meter dipole to the DX window by cutting it to length without an antenna tuner in line and I do not need the antenna tuner there. if I go higher in frequency or lower in the CW band I use the antenna tuner. I do not use the antenna tuner to fix a crappy antenna. 73, Jim N5QL
I agree, i don't like to use them. However, i am using a Hustler 6btv on 30m, and the AL100 tuner is a necessary evil for operation on the 30m band. All other bands are 1.3:1 or less. The ground radial system consist of 30 28ft radials. I can just about work any station i car hear. Thanks for posting this vid! 73 es gud DX de KC5NGX
Automatic tuners do require power. Manual tuners, generally no power unless there is a relay or wattmeter in the tuner. Thanks Dane and have a lot of fun on HF. 73, Jim
Hi again Jim hope you are doing better,I had a few antenna turners along the way and I can say that the roller type are (Crap) good word and always go back to my old girl friend my Dentron mt 3000a tape coil and I am looking for another but they are getting way up in cost ,enough of the small talk I know Bob Heil uses the light bulb ,and I have two dim blub testers here I put together ,in your next session would you show just how you wired your load test to coax.,And I was always told to set my SWR with low power I see you tuned with your turner with high out put of radio 100 watts ?? I am still learning at 67 n2wjs Charlie.
Is it me, or is the framerate of the video low? Anyways, great video for beginners. Could you maybe do a video on how to get started in HAM radio? Or maybe how to find out if you are interested in HAM radio. That equipment is not very cheap, like I know it might not be that bad in america, but that is a lot of money in Slovakia. Are there alternatives? Maybe a handheld would suffice? Something like the Baofeng UV-82 ?
Yes, I screwed up somewhere. It looks choppy to me too. What frame rate should I use? The best source for equipment is local guys who want to help out a beginner. The Chinese handhelds do work. I am not doing anything on VHF or UHF. I am on HF only and have a great time. Thanks, Jim
Just a couple of things: 1) Shouldn't you always have a good ground for your station's radio and in this case the tuner also? 2) I thought you were only ever supposed to perform the antenna tuner function on low power say 10 to 20 watts and never use high output while performing the tuner function. Thank you
I had a full power station with an amp that weighted 200 pounds to a large tuner on the second floor over the garage for decades. There was no "RF ground". I had no problem for 38 years there on the mountaintop. I have built large tuners that can tune a full power. One was designed to handle way more than legal limit. It has a vacuum variable cap. Many tuners can handle a few hundred watts without damage. It is smarter to NOT tune at full power. 73, Jim
Don't get me wrong I really do appreciate your videos. But I need more info on how to ground a dipole. I was just going to ground the mast but people keep telling me I have to ground the antenna to a ground rod. I'm not clear on where to connect the ground wire to the dipole antenna. Can you please help me. ? Also hams keep telling me I should ground the coax? How can I ground the coax when it has connectors at both ends? One connector goes to the balun then to the dipole and one connector goes to my radio so where am I supposed to ground the coax from? Please help me man. I'm confused. And I apologize if my last comment sounded rude I'm just getting really frustrated with this grounding thing. We rarely have any lightning here but I still want to do it right. 73. .
Jim w6lg what a interesting hobby to get in to ham radio
Great explaining as usual Jim. Such a pleasure to have someone who makes time for others and give a easy natural lesson. Thumbs up Jim. 73s Sascha PD9Z
This was so informative and almost interactive. Well do Jim, great series..
superb channel jim....Great videos
Thanks Jim. Studying for my Technician license and have always wanted to be a ham. At a point in life where I finally can. Your videos are very helpful. Thank you again!
Thanks Jim, I really enjoy your advice mate!
Thanks Jim, My girlfriend and i are wating on our call signs to pop up in fcc data base! Great videos! Joe and Hope!
Very good! Have lots of fun. Welcome to the Amateur Radio Service. 73, Jim W6LG
Nice to see your videos again Jim, they're very enjoyable to watch! Cant wait to speak to you on HF. Last time i heard you on the radio we couldn't make a two way contact as too many were on. I too have some videos on my channel about my hometown and my other interests.
Hope your ok,
73s
Darryl 2W1ACM
Great video very informative!!
Great Jim catching up
Jim w6lg I like your utube videos they are interesteing
I've been an electronics tech for 16 years and never got into the communication side .HAM radios are freaking awesome I love them !
Me and my cousin are going to a Swap meet in September 11 Sunday morning at 8 am in Milwaukee 2022
Thanks Jim
Thanks - Jim
Thanks for the kids Jim - most useful.
73 de Malcolm M6MYB
Great video. KK7T
Thanks
i heard you on the air the other day, i couldn't make it back though
I just passed my tech exam yesterday. Now need a good radio
Preston Whitt.....congrads m8. good job. welcome in our noiselevels. ;)
HamAndShortwaveRadio yes still waiting on my call sign. I ordered a baofeng today.
Preston Whitt Boafeng is a great ht to start with, that was my first, I actually just got my callsign about a week ago and I'm loving it!
FUZZ CLIPS yeah ham radio was always a thought for about 2 years with me. I talk a lot of CB in southern Ohio. I always will because of the locals. But I couldn't find a club and I found one in my area called Portsmouth radio club N8QA they gave me a test it was free and I passed and know the wait for call sign.
i have for sale a yaesu excellent condition still in both boxes i have used it for about 5 times and the model of yaesu is the FT 1000 MP V COMES WITH 2 YAESU MICS CONTACT ME AT MARKGM7VEY@GMAIL.COM FOR MORE INFO THANK YOU
Hi Jim, I've been enjoying your videos, Just passed my tech and general, waiting for my call to show up . I was a ham as a kid, mid 60's , code only , Eico 720, then built my Heath 401 and 301, still have them, I am now needing to get moving again, would like to get some newer gear but since I have my old stuff, I am in no rush and need a bunch of catch up. I am in Ft Pierce FL, Question, on the lightbulb dummy , isn't the resistance way too low? Dave, waiting call sign
Okay, this is a noob question. What about grounding? I am looking to setup a mobile radio in my house, with a dipole antenna for uhf/vhf. Thanks for the video.
Great stuff Jim, very educational. I'd like to ask about the lightbulb - have you arranged that as a dummy load? Best regards, John
I did in the early 1960's. I have not with the solid state rigs. So yes, they can be a very inexpensive dummy load. Much of what I do these days does require an amp. So, one of them is usually on in the standby mode. Thanks John, 73, Jim W6LG
Do I see Log4OM on your computer? If so, sure would like to see some demos and tutorials!!!
Hi Jim,
KK6BKQ Louis I'm within the city limits and have yet to build a home base station. My question to you regarding grounding. I understand there's AC power grounding and then RF grounding and then antenna grounding for lightning protection. Do you have a video on this topic?
This is a great video. I am not licensed yet but I would love to set up a receiver station with an indoor antenna some how. Do you have a video on this? Do the receivers scan to hear bands people are using? 73's
Charles Ramsey assuming you got this sorted but others might want to know. You can go two easy ways for listening, one is an SDR, the other is a SW radio, but you need to know what you want to listen to, nearly nothing does all bands and if they do they are either bad or very expensive. Indoor antennas are very suboptimal although not impossible, you can just use a random wire for a SW radio or an SDR but they typically aren't very good. Both an SDR or an SW radio plus some sort of antenna can be had for about $50 or less, but an SDR makes it a LOT easier to find and listen in to people talking, I've been using a webSDR for HF and have caught some DX'es just clicking around, enough to make out callsigns and look them up on QRZ.
nice videos, you've sparked an interest in me. but why didn't you try to get a long distance contact?
I hope perhaps someone can help me. I've been out of ham radio for about 15 years, primarily because I moved to the middle of nowhere in the southwestern desert. That's been great except for the fact that if I put up a ham radio antenna, it's going to be the highest thing for a good 10 miles. The thunderstorms can be horrendous out here during the monsoon season; an antenna is *going* to get hit by lightning. As a consequence, I simply haven't put up my antennas. My HF antenna, in particular, has no DC ground, so it would really be vulnerable.
What could I do? I'd at least like to put up a 2m/70cm antenna (there are a couple of mountaintop repeaters I might hit with my omnidirectional antenna).
Thanks for any help.
Hi Jim, Another very interesting video! Having just bought an MFJ941E Versa-tune ATU I am very much looking forward to the next episode on using a manual ATU. I'd like to learn how to get the most out of one! 73, Tom
PS, I know traps = losses but how much can you expect to loose in RF power out using an ATU on 20m?
Hi,
As best I can tell at this time, there is not a lot of loss. The feedline losses can be huge because of impedance mismatch. I hope to demonstrate that next. Stay tuned! Thanks, Jim
I have the biggest antenna tuner mfj makes and run 1kw. I tune my 80 meter dipole to the DX window by cutting it to length without an antenna tuner in line and I do not need the antenna tuner there. if I go higher in frequency or lower in the CW band I use the antenna tuner. I do not use the antenna tuner to fix a crappy antenna.
73, Jim N5QL
I agree, i don't like to use them. However, i am using a Hustler 6btv on 30m, and the AL100 tuner is a necessary evil for operation on the 30m band. All other bands are 1.3:1 or less. The ground radial system consist of 30 28ft radials. I can just about work any station i car hear.
Thanks for posting this vid!
73 es gud DX de KC5NGX
Hi Jim. I am new to ham, so you may have already answered this question. Does the antenna tuner require any external power?
Automatic tuners do require power. Manual tuners, generally no power unless there is a relay or wattmeter in the tuner.
Thanks Dane and have a lot of fun on HF. 73, Jim
Newby would like to know about the light bulb that illuminates when you are transmitting. What is it connected to?
Coax. It was the antenna for the video. Thanks Jerry. 73, Jm W6LG
Hi again Jim hope you are doing better,I had a few antenna turners along the way and I can say that the roller type are (Crap) good word and always go back to my old girl friend my Dentron mt 3000a tape coil and I am looking for another but they are getting way up in cost ,enough of the small talk I know Bob Heil uses the light bulb ,and I have two dim blub testers here I put together ,in your next session would you show just how you wired your load test to coax.,And I was always told to set my SWR with low power I see you tuned with your turner with high out put of radio 100 watts ?? I am still learning at 67
n2wjs Charlie.
Is it me, or is the framerate of the video low?
Anyways, great video for beginners. Could you maybe do a video on how to get started in HAM radio? Or maybe how to find out if you are interested in HAM radio.
That equipment is not very cheap, like I know it might not be that bad in america, but that is a lot of money in Slovakia. Are there alternatives? Maybe a handheld would suffice? Something like the Baofeng UV-82 ?
Yes, I screwed up somewhere. It looks choppy to me too. What frame rate should I use?
The best source for equipment is local guys who want to help out a beginner. The Chinese handhelds do work. I am not doing anything on VHF or UHF. I am on HF only and have a great time. Thanks, Jim
Jim W6LG at least 24-30 FPS (frames per second), ideally 60FPS, although I don't know if your camera can do that.
so you recommend AM mode vice SSWB with the Tuner
No. I did not recommend AM. I do not recommend a tuner. What is SSWB? Thanks, Jim
Jim can you tell me what country you are in? And the rules are probably different from each country would they not be?
I would like to seek a HAM Radio license using two old Radios kindly suggest a suitable scheme which would help me to obtain a HAM Radio License
What's the best hand held no electricity ham radio
I think the Elecraft KX3 is the best. 73, Jim W6LG
Jim w6lg I need help in studying for my ham license I have a learning disabilty in math
Jim w6lg my hobbys are painting pictures and lisining to shortwave and ssb iam thinking about getting my ham license I have 4 shortwave receivers
Just a couple of things:
1) Shouldn't you always have a good ground for your station's radio and in this case the tuner also?
2) I thought you were only ever supposed to perform the antenna tuner function on low power say 10 to 20 watts and never use high output while performing the tuner function.
Thank you
I had a full power station with an amp that weighted 200 pounds to a large tuner on the second floor over the garage for decades. There was no "RF ground". I had no problem for 38 years there on the mountaintop.
I have built large tuners that can tune a full power. One was designed to handle way more than legal limit. It has a vacuum variable cap. Many tuners can handle a few hundred watts without damage. It is smarter to NOT tune at full power.
73, Jim
whats your email please? you are the man i need to talk to, cause im just getting into ham.
I wish you would explain this better so that us new folks we can understand what you mean. . sorry but your just not explaining it so well.
I do my best. Thanks.
Don't get me wrong I really do appreciate your videos. But I need more info on how to ground a dipole. I was just going to ground the mast but people keep telling me I have to ground the antenna to a ground rod. I'm not clear on where to connect the ground wire to the dipole antenna. Can you please help me. ? Also hams keep telling me I should ground the coax? How can I ground the coax when it has connectors at both ends? One connector goes to the balun then to the dipole and one connector goes to my radio so where am I supposed to ground the coax from? Please help me man. I'm confused. And I apologize if my last comment sounded rude I'm just getting really frustrated with this grounding thing. We rarely have any lightning here but I still want to do it right. 73. .