Це відео не доступне.
Перепрошуємо.
When is Ham Radio Not Ham Radio? (
Вставка
- Опубліковано 17 кві 2021
- Gerry Moore, VE7BDM, says some hams he knows claim certain ham radio activities aren't ham radio! We look at the spirit of ham radio embodied in the FCC statement of the basis and purpose of ham radio to see what goes?
Subscribe: / davecasler . Ask Dave Playlist: goo.gl/inaQeB. Tip Jar: ke0og.net/tip-jar
To learn more about me, visit: www.dcasler.com/about/
Tip jar (on my website): www.dcasler.com/tip-jar/ (provides a method to use your credit card via PayPal, Also describes Patreon)
To pose an Ask Dave question: www.dcasler.com/ask-dave/ or www.ke0og.net/ask-dave/
To order the most recent and up-to-date Amateur Extra videos on a thumb drive: dcasler.com/aevids-on-stick/
Theme music is "Sour Tennessee Red," by John Deley and the 41 Players, courtesy UA-cam Music Library.
I use drawings from OpenClipArt.org, including the "walking man"
Technician training videos, see www.ke0og.net/training/
General training videos, see www.ke0og.net/general/
Amateur Extra training videos, see www.ke0og.net/extra/
List of the Ask Dave videos, see dcasler.com/ask-dave/#askdavelist
Thanks to my sweet wife, Loretta, KBØVWW, for both audio and video assistance! (Her website is www.aldea-art.com.)
My primary website: www.dcasler.com
The ham radio part of my website (direct link): www.ke0og.net
My publishing website: www.mtsneffelspress.com, where you can find my fantasy and science fiction books, as well as some local history books I publish for the Ridgway Railroad Museum and the Ouray County Historical Society
My Amazon author page, which lists my print and Kindle books: www.amazon.com/-/e/B00471I0Q4.
I'm often asked what equipment I use to create the videos. The devices include the Panasonic DMC-G7 camera, Panasonic HDC-TM90 video camera, GoPro Hero2 HD camera, Tascam DR-05 audio recorder, Audio-Technica ATR-3350 lapel microphone, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W560 digital camera, the Kodak Zi-8 video camera, my iPhone 5S. Software used: CyberLink PowerDirector 17 on an HP Gaming Pavilion, also using Smoothdraw 4.0.5.0, FastStone Image Viewer 5.3, FastStone Capture 8.0, Audacity 2.1.1, LibreOffice 5.0.4.2, and Ink2Go 1.7.2. You can see how my studio is set up by viewing • Tips for Making Instru... .
Twitter: @dcasler
When I was a brand new ham in my teens about 51 years ago I remember the "old timers" complaining about us youngsters...we didn't know anything, didn't belong in ham radio (reminds me of "No kids, lids or space cadets"), etc. Fast forward and listen on the bands now and hear the same stuff about new hams these days...sigh. Dave's right, get over it and embrace change. 73 - Dino KLØS
If these old farts didn't embrace some changes, they would still be using OLD individual transmitters and receivers, the size of a file boxes! Not their new fancy HF rigs!
Now you wouldn't be referring to our late friend in W2 land, would you? lol I remember he added "and no Canadian Mounties" at the end .....and that was on 75m and 40m AM.....ah, the good ol' days, vacuum tubes, homebrew or military surplus.......it was even AM and CW on 2m. Times change....and it's difficult for some.
@@chrissewell1608 Ouch! Well, I still have a Drake C-line (transmitter/receiver pair) and other much older boat anchors along side my fancy modern HF rigs, since as we all of course know that real radios glow in the dark! ;-)
Oh, the baggage passed on by generations. :) Great thoughts.
Well said, Dave. A reminder of the spirit of Amateur Radio is always welcome.
And that spirit is what drives the technological advancements in this hobby!
@@chrissewell1608 The use of wired communication is "what drives the technological advancements in this hobby! " really? lets see, what in the word wireless is being missed?.
How low will we go as a group ( we are low on RF as is, lol).
Today is World Amateur Radio Day! One way of analyzing this question is this: Do you need an FCC amateur license to do it legally? If yes, it's ham radio.
yes yes
So you can only do Ham if you get a US licence?
@@daveaf3023 You missed his sarcasm. He meant you can only get an amateur license from the FCC and that nobody except Americans can get an amateur license.
I was AF also. I was a 2E171/3D173 (RF Transmission Systems, SATCOM/Microwave Wideband).
@@mjm9863 it wasn’t so much sarcasm it was more pointing out the international nature of Amateur radio.
@@rurikau yes, in effect. Lol
International ham radio licenses are recognized by the FCC, even if not issued directly by them.
(pedantic assery here... Smirk
I'm personally not into digital or echolink type stuff but i have no problem with it being there, its all out here for us to use or not use as we please, radio has something to suite everyone, and to be fair my tool box has many tools i never use ;)
Thanks Mark, well said. The main change in my shack is from the bencher to the j37 for the skcc guys
Hello Dave, you have picked up an important topic and have cleared the foggy interpretation of several radio amateurs who are skeptical about marrying RF with the Internet and the emerging various digital modes in Ham radio. In recent times I had been rediculed by certain Hams for using the Echolink but, I could figure out that those Hams were not at all familiar with this platform. Yesterday, 18 April, World Amateur Radio Day, I had written an article in my blog mentioning about the emerging technologies in Ham radio which we should embrace. It's always a pleasure watching your incredible videos which are so much of learning. Thank you Dave for all the efforts.
73
VU3TQT
Florida now has an state wide linked repeater system. It was created for "emergency use" when hurricanes hit, and reflector towers are stationed along main highway evacuation routes, across the state. It's use is encouraged to all hams, as a means of training aid, just as long as they keep the conversations kinda short. I used it on a recent vacation in Northern, Florida, and LOVED IT. I was on my HT, talking to hams all across the state! It was fun.
Are those repeaters linked by microwave? I'm curious, I heard somewhere that they mainly exist in the event that the Internet links go down (the cell towers, etc. no longer work) because of severed connections.
@@michaellin4553 Yes, they are linked by microwave, provided by the state DOT.
SARNET - it's a great system. The repeaters and links are all hardened, and have backup power. A cat 5 could roll through an area and theres a high chance SARNET would still be available.
Its not ham radio unless it is spark gap! (G)
But you have to make your own electricity from a dynamo and a steam engine
@@odindimartino597 too high tech.
Hand crank or horse power/water wheel only!
@@odindimartino597 or a lemon
@@ke6gwf i actually use a lightning rods to atract God's electricity and funnel it into a spark gap transmission
I imagine the folks saying IRLP & digital modes aren't true ham radio still own & operate a spark gap transmitter..
My local repeater has Echolink and I have had QSO's with operators in Canada, USA Hawaii. When I hear an operator I use one of my Baofeng UV5R's to connect the two miles from my home to the repeater. and its great fun.
Perfect example to new technology meets ham radio! I love Echolink too. I recently made a personal "node" at the house. So I can "dial up the gate" (as I call it. An old Stargate reference!), while sitting in the back yard or down the road.
Hi David , I watch your videos a lot . I came from CB Radio just local talking and out of know where I’m able to to talk to Texas from Kentucky and only a few minutes. Just love it . And I was only like 16 or 17 years old back then . I told my Parents and they said sure you did . I know their is more out there.
I love your videos and information. Thanks
I stay with CW, really difficult to get into a poltical/religious argument at 10 wpm.....HiHi
This channel is a resource on so may levels.
THANK YOU DAVE CASLER
Excellent topic and great answer Dave. I have no interest (at this time) in the digital modes and it is the allure of HF DX and CW that is compelling me to get my license, and no I will not buy any equipment until I have my license. But never say never, because you don’t know if something gets your curiosity going in the future. This reminds me of a great guy I once knew in the antique car hobby that preferred stuff built before 1910 and had some great brass era cars. Someone asked him why he didn’t have a Ford Model A (which were built 1928 and later) to which he answered “I don’t like that new fangled stuff.” But he was always looking at the latest methods of restoration and tooling so wasn’t cemented firmly in the past. Cheers from Moose Jaw. Tim
Totally agree Dave. I use DMR via Peanut, (plan to put in a hotspot soon), Hamsphere, Echolink, etc. I also use HF, VHF, and other more traditional modes. Modes like Hamsphere, DMR, etc. allow many folks to get on who couldn't get on in a traditional manner. Elderly hams not able to erect antennas due to physical problems, HOA limitations, zoning regulations, financial limitations can continue to enjoy the hobby. IMO, if you don't like something, don't participate in that mode. No need to ridicule or complain about others that do enjoy it.
Thank you for this video! It's apparently is easy to forget the true "spirit" of Ham Radio is experimentation and innovation. I agree that technologies that pair the internet with Ham Radio is very much in the "spirit" of Ham Radio! Those that cling to the "definition" of Ham Radio from the past don't have a grasp of the real "spirit" of the hobby. It's important to keep your capability to communicate separate from any technology that involves the Internet. For Emergency communications, there very likely won't BE an Internet, so being able to communicate removed from the Internet is essential. That being said, day to day, it's all fair game.
Dave you should be running for president with such a diplomatic answer 🙂
Thanks for sharing your knowledge, so newbies like me can catch you experienced guys up.
Florida has "SARNET" it is over 20 repeaters linked all over the state! It is used some everyday but not much. I have programmed all of them in my radios. When I tested to be sure that I got it programmed right from Southeast Florida someone in Alabama came back with a signal report for me. It is there for storms, Florida gets Hurricanes sometimes. All of the repeaters have generator backup. Most of what I hear on it is when someone is working on one of the repeaters, someone testing there radio, and sometimes someone driving up to state. I think think this is Ham Radio, it is used some for other things but mostly make for Hurricanes and other Emergency!
Top class information as usual Dave, with an interesting collection of storm lanterns to boot.
As usual, Dave gives us a bigger context in which to think about this question.
There is the CARLA network of repeaters in California (and Nevada). I think (not positive) the links are over the Internet. But each repeater has two PL tones -- one for local use and the other will activate the link. For the latter case, all of the repeaters repeat the traffic. This dual PL tone approach means that local users have access to these repeaters without tying up the entire system.
That said, it is a complicated system and a lot of maintenance is required. This afternoon, one of the repeaters appears to be hung... It would break transmission for a moment, then return to broadcasting dead air over the entire network.
I finally turned off my radio as it became annoying.
Good work, sir!
I like your objective answer. I would add that FreeDV is an open-source and free digital voice mode for HF, no internet involved, just a digital voice signal over HF. Likewise,, Fusion, D-Star, DMR, P25, NXDN (the digital modes often used on U/V) don’t have to be internet-linked. I’ve used them over just simplex and even with non-linked repeaters. Being digital, just easily gives them the option to be be routed on the internet.
As for radio-less nodes, I haven’t seen any radio-less mmdvm’s yet, but there are many radio-less AllStar and IRLP nodes (analog VoIP). (However, there are digital voice apps.)
It’s all still “amateur radio” (except the apps) for exactly the reasons you defined, even if some of the “old foggie” (and computer-illiterate) types can’t accept it.
Where I draw the line is apps like Peanut and DroidStar. That is not any sort of radio, period. That is just making believe you are using D-Star, Fusion, DMR, P25, NXDN. Unless you are holding a physical radio in your hand that supports those modes, it’s not real. That includes crossmode use with an mmdvm. I use P25 a lot with amateur radio (and commercial) using Motorolas and have noted the influx of a lot of app and crossmode users being drawn to the P25 networks simply because they know P25 is used most often with public safety and commercial use, so they think it must be “cool” for them to fakely use P25 with an app or crossmode with an mmdvm. The audio quality using DroidStar and Peanut is horrible. You can tell right away when someone is using one of those apps.
Back to HF, FreeDV is 100% free (and open-source). Even the codecs are FOSS. There is absolutely nothing proprietary with FreeDV. It’s a great mode snd I hope it continues to grow and evolve.
As I' m more interested in shortwave listening and it doesn't need any license when I live (In France) since 2000 and I'm a electronic hobbyist, I'm interested to understand basics of ham radio. I know that the design of a good receiver is half the work for a good transmission
Nicely said Dave... J
I agree it's all about experimentation, developing the technology, and becoming proficient in the operation. On the point of hot spots, I find the big disappointment is the lack of a feel of radio. What I mean by that is I use DStar and it's hard to find people on any reflectors, other than the 1c and 32c. The lack of the ability to "tune through the band" or to see what's going on with some kind of display causes me to lose interest pretty quick. I think there is a lot of potential for things like DStar if the development continues.
That was well said. Ham is more than a hobby, it is a vocation. Radio is still cutting edge technology. I have a pair of Routers I picked up for $5 each for when I can find time to do ARDEN, and a couple days ago was happy to see a box of old routers in my garage, I had thought I threw them out. Now they may find new purpose. We are creating an organic communication system that out performs the costly cell phones, and it is amazing to live in this time. We are becoming beings that exist - through electromagnetic sensing, far beyond our animalistic bodies. That is simply astounding! WS7PB 73
Dave, I was surprised to hear you say that HF is lousy for digital communications and not exactly free. What about all the NBEMS nets and Winlink? Aside from VARA, which has a paid version, there are a lot of people regularly using NBEMS and Winlink to train for emergency communications.
Reiner N2PEZ
Glad you cleared that up VOIP has also become a get off my network problem. There tends to be a group of hams that really don't like multiple link conection or bridge system on VOIP. So then it becomes a blocking baning and just out right outcast. And why are 1x1 Callsgin being used for special event on VOIP it just doesn't seem right?
we have a set of linked repeaters that we only link when bad weather is coming thru or for ares nets. Otherwise they are all separate. When bad weather is coming thru some of the counties we have repeaters in they link them so we can chat with Peachtree City up near Atlanta where the National Weather Service has an office.
Dave, thank you for you eloquent, thoughtful response. While Digital Radio like DSTAR and DMR is not for me at this time, I don't begrudge any Ham who is interested in it. I've heard some arrogant Hams say that 2 meter Hams aren't real Hams. When I got my ticket 25 years ago, I was told there was something in Ham radio for everyone. It is still true today, but now there is MORE "something(s)" than before! 73 de K4VIN.
I work at sea and I worked /MM from the English Channel and the gateway on the South Coast of England could be linked to my local repeater in the North East so I could talk to home. Pretty neat. Just a shame there aren't that many to talk to on 2m. It's not such a worry that the repeaters are tied up because 2m usage in the UK is extremely light. You can call CQ for a week and not hear anyone in some areas, so the linking is a big big advantage.
ThankYou David!
Hi,good interesting video, but I am curious what you think about Amateur Radio operator's who just learn the answers to the exam to get their licence,,and in 2021 is it relevant,,,thanks from Rotterdam 👍👍
I agree 100%. After 48 years in mostly hf, with a fairly elaborate station I might add, I jumped into DMR about a week ago now. I'm communicating with hams all over the world and having a blast ! I never realized how much fun the digital voice modes could be.
Also with the solar and band conditions the way they are or are not, this provides a way to carry on and enjoy the hobby. It's one more tool in the tool box. I too got some negative feed back from some old fogies, but asked if they use email ? Why yes they do. I asked well since you didn't put a stamp on it and have the postman carry it, was it really a valid communication ? LOL ;-) They are now asking what do they need to buy to get started... 73 from NQ0A in Moab Utah...
Using your logic, you might use your mobile phone for the job, here is why: its radio, you can make good QSO on it, its cheap, some already use DMR on their phone ( shhhhhh ) ,,,,, and we rest our case.
@@che59v Your not the brightest bulb in the lamp are you....For young people this technology is what attracts new younger hams to the hobby, and we sure know that this hobby could use some new younger blood...shhhh, I rest my case.
@@scorpianspirit5124 You still don't get it ( looks like your "bulb" is switched off ).
Young people might be attracted to the hotspot, internet, their phone, some even like loud Hard rock ( like us ), and that's is great, yet what is this to do with our WIRELESS HOBBY? the idea of hotspot comes to mind here.
Getting the numbers up( young people ) by giving up who we are is 100% pointless ( just like your last comment).
When all fails (and it will, just a matter of time ) wireless basics will still work ( that is if we are ready as hams and not trendy idiots who go with the flow looking for their internet connection) if we fail to understand this basic then we all failed the spirit of ham radio, wireless when noting around is working is our BIG point of difference ( sadly most have forgotten this point ).
I am old enough to remember the early 1950s, where Hams were buying and adapting surplus radio communication equipment from WW II and the Korean War. I also experienced Canal Street electronic component stores in New York City, that was eliminated by the construction of the World Trade Towers. I have also been to Akihabara in Tokyo, where similar shops still exist. I was also a prolific builder of Heathkit and other kits, where I learned the basics of electronic assembly, now hindered by the rise of microelectronic components and much fewer discrete components. That was then. Now we go out and spend $5000, $10,000 and more to buy ready made Ham equipment and shift the emphasis to modern communication techniques, compete in communication contests, provide public services, etc. More on the use of the equipment rather than its creation. However, I still see those challenged by antenna development. So, my point, as I think David made, there is room for all in the broad spectrum of HAM communications. I remember fondly the "old days" of building my equipment and learned much from the process. Now we move forward to our newer world of our HAM hobby.
Well said!
Best video ever! Thank you!
I'm no radio conservative or purist who believes ham radio starts and stops at CW. But it does seem to me that a cornerstone of the true value of ham radio is the idea that someone with just the gear and knowledge they have at hand can communicate great distances with someone else with just the gear and knowledge at hand, nothing else required. The more intermediate steps and technologies required, the less fundamental value exists, and the less like ham radio it becomes. In the final analysis, using cellphones to communicate over distances is not ham radio in any sense of it that I perceive.
Ham radio is the greatest vocation there is. Embrace it all.
Great!, Buy yourself a mobile phone.
As someone who's trying to get into ham radio, most the people I've met have been pretty exclusive about who and what is ham radio. Even as a 40 year old, I don't feel like I'd ever be in the in group.
I do have to wonder whether getting on using just a cellphone -- without being in control of an actual radio transmitter on ham radio frequencies -- constitutes ham radio.
The only reservation I have about linking into the internet or mobile data is reliance on that infrastructure isn't the best idea in an emergency. That's basically the communications infrastructure radio is the backup for. If I can't use DMR, D-Star, Fusion, etc. without a hotspot it's not much use when the internet is down. I don't HATE hotspots and internet or mobile data though.
Good one, Dave.
Well said
Bandwidth is like real estate: it is not being made any more. Like real estate, there are by-the-ways but we canna change the laws of physics.
Before I retired from a large electric utility two years ago we were updating our trunked UHF radio system. We added a few channels on various hops in the process, opened a few new sites, but the users still occasionally bumped up against the limits.
Around here VHF is not exactly crowded. Any use of the frequencies is a good thing otherwise we will lose them. I am very afraid that is exactly what is going to happen to 23 cm here in Europe. Politicians want to auction off the frequencies for cell phone / mobile internet use.
Don't forget the Galileo navigation system!
I think you summed it up very well Dave, thanks. Much better that I could have put to words. 73..wd0akx
Slippery slope is often times not a fallacy. I think the major threat in the long term is that if the kids get their technician licenses and simply talk, as you mentioned you feared, two feet away from the hotspot connected to their computer three feet away, and one day they just plug in a microphone into the "hotspot", and that becomes the new norm for radio, it really will be an extremely dangerous moment for Ham. Because you are literally at the point of new people looking at the service and going "Why don't I just plug my microphone into my computer directly and talk to people on Skype".
And you will have one hell of a time making an argument that it isn't hardly any different.
Focusing on HF and simplex is very important as a core part of the service. Bending TOO much to appease the short attention span of the modern, socially engineered youth, just means you will have parts of the service that are so like superior license free offerings that nobody will see any value in it.
Why pay $35 to the FCC when the rules go into effect and take a written test to become an Amateur just to plug a wireless device to talk on the internet? "I can do that for free with my cheap USB microphone and various free online chat rooms". I think some people's push to make internet connected radio a focus to attract the kids aren't just a little off the mark, I think they are hauling the service in the wrong direction.
Slippery slope is a fallacy. Claiming otherwise is making exceptions for personal favorites. The examples you make as "an extremely dangerous moment for Ham" are about those not likely to get a license in the first place.
Your example of "Why don't I just plug my microphone into my computer directly and talk to people on Skype" ignores the idea that they could _already_ be doing that before their license, so got their license to be able to do _more_ . The menu of topics available to hams has expanded over the last 50 years, so why make an argument on only one narrow aspect when a good elmer could point them to many other radio topics. The "dangerous moment for ham" doesn't come any technology, but from the lack of elmers and quality clubs.
"one day they just plug in a microphone into the "hotspot", and that becomes the new norm for radio" will never become the norm because ham radio is about tinkering and learning. The incurious types you mention will wander off, making it self-filtering, leaving those who are curious. Your example implies that newcomers are more likely the incurious instead of the curious. But are they incurious or they lack good elmers because so many hams today are too self-absorbed, self-righteous and ungenerous with their time?
@@sammiller6631 You make some valid points. The hardcore, serious radio people will be just as dedicated today as they were 100 years ago. That is absolutely true, "low hanging fruit" won't tempt the best of them. Also, you are right that if we don't have good leadership from the old men then the whole service has a rocky future.
But let us consider a few other considerations. A growing problem is the fact we have the younger generation tends to be growing up in more urban and suburban living spaces rather than rural. More people living in apartments with poor antenna setups, and even those who live in houses being locked down by HOA restrictions, leading to no antenna for HF or severely compromised antennas. Add in the high electric noise of such places, resulting in high noise floors in many places, many Hams might start to see HF as problematic, or even beyond their capability.
So, at some point, do we eventually see problems with people dropping off of HF simplex and taking that "low hanging fruit" of making contacts via internet? Are we going to see more people stop striving to put in the work to make "every country" contacts and "all 50 states" contacts, ect., by working the bands and listening to conditions, and see more people essentially try to lower the standards and make contacts the short, easy, lazy way?
What we don't need to see are a new generation of Hams never "growing up" and staying in the comfort zone of VHF/UHF repeaters and linking systems. It won't be all that great if people start basically Skyping their long distance internet contacts and getting easy, essentially almost all internet international and other contacts instead of working them the right way.
These new digital modes and linking systems are GREAT things that only add to Ham if they are just extra tools in the big tool box, and another great way to make contacts and explore Ham radio during the poorer solar conditions.
They could become a potential issue if they become the easy way out, or the dumbed down "smart phone" version of Ham that allows too many potentially great operators get too comfy doing too little easy work.
@@kingduckford " the younger generation tends to be growing up in more urban and suburban living spaces rather than rural." is trading one difficulty for another. The rural ham of a hundred years ago had space but lacked the ease of available knowledge and supplies. The rural ham had to be creative because there was no Gigaparts, HRO or Amazon with free 2-day shipping for anything they needed.
On the flip side, the modern apartment ham still has to be creative, except about space. Maybe they go to a park instead of a shack at home. Or they have to be as creative with their experimental antennas as the early ham had to with their receivers.
Can you imagine a ham from the 1930's rolling their eyes at a modern ham saying "HF is problematic, or even beyond their capability" after the last century ham got a chance to use an IC-7300?
QRM is a problem but doesn't mean you shouldn't rise to the challenge. Just like they did when they had to travel to a new city for their license. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, so why catastrophize about it?
I just call random numbers on my phone and ask whoever answers if they want to talk about phones, the weather, and their health problems, lol.
I'm old school. I remember being worried about the future of ham radio back when using dial-up internet and CU-SeeMe, one of the earliest VOIP programs. It's not that I don't like change, as I became an IT professional with 18 programming languages under my belt and a corporate webmaster. Rather, it changed the character, and yes, somehow the very magic and appeal of amateur radio for me. Would you still enjoy the shooting sports if you had a rifle & electronic scope that wouldn't let you ever miss the bulls-eye? I guess the love is in the pursuit of the endeavor for some of us.
Radio is many things; the allure of a glowing vacuum tube connected to a tuned circuit is one type of magic, and the magic is there to be seen and carefully managed. All-band solid state radios are pretty much just appliances BUT can be used in somewhat magical ways.
Even with digital modes such as FT8, where the complaint is that it isn't a *conversation* but just a bunch of contacts, how different is that from a typical QSO contest? Just a bunch of contacts. The *magic* of FT8 in particular is discovering DX "tricks" such as operating "split" (it was designed to be operated in that mode, doncha know) so that you reply to a distant contact NOT on his frequency because right now 40 people are doing exactly that; BUT find a clear spot a few hundred hertz and reply to the contact on the clear frequency. His radio is listening to the entire 3 kilohertz audio bandwidth and will hear your call but not any of the 40 stomping on each other.
I love the low power conversational modes such as Olivia and PSK31. Real conversations, low power, minimal bandwidth utilization.
I asked myself the same question about why do the DMR Hotspots not have a microphone/speaker when they are meant to be connected to the internet for talking. Another $300 DMR radio is needed to talk on the DMR network if sitting at the hotspot. Of course, at least can move around the house or neighborhood and talk with the DMR handheld using the DMR hotspot
It was a valid question, and a great answer was given. Thank you. WA3RIJ
As far as adding a microphone to a hotspot, that's pretty close to what dudestar accomplished. That program allows you to connect directly to a TG or reflector from your PC.
Bands are under threat - in many areas they aren't used enough. Some of these Internet platforms detract from spectrum use. I understand that concern. Use it or lose it as they say.
Interesting topic. Thank you as always for your perspective and knowledge Dave! - KE8QPI
I have a subjective comment about the spirit of Amateur Radio. One thing that attracted me to Amateur Radio was the feeling of discovery, growth, and a strong feeling of belonging. I really needed those feelings back when I was a teenager. Now, it seems as though the hobby has become more sophisticated to the point where you have to be very smart in order to keep on top of the technology. There is nothing wrong with that. But, it gets to a point where you quit wanting to keep up and you just want to enjoy the hobby on a knowledge level where you are comfortable and you can do things. I don't know why, but I don't really care about using the Internet as a backbone. I like learning about digital communications, but I am not caring about the bells and whistles of the new technologies. I am finding that I like doing complicated things with very simple methods. I bought a TYT DMR radio a few years ago, but I have not done anything with it because it is way too involved and there is more stuff to learn. I got more enjoyment out of making a contact on 10 meters with a ham in New Zeland with a Radio Shack 10 meter radio, a portable power supply, and a window sill antenna that I spend hours on trying to get it right then using hot spots or repeaters connected to the Internet. The new stuff is neat, but I feel less involved. I'm not saying that I am right and I am not trying to make a point. This is just my very subjective feeling about the hobby. However, my attempt to learn about IQ modulation has led me to learn more about trigonometry and the math needed to understand IQ modulation. So I still challenge myself, especially with learning the math which I never had been very good at learning. There is a sense of achievement in learning and applying what you learned. I think that is what I want from Amateur Radio.
Hotspot without Radio is called Echolink !
The real question is not:'is it ham radio or not'. It IS ham radio when you have to be a licensed amateur to use it. So the real question is: 'Do I want to use it'. Make your own decision and don’t let the others make that decision for you! As Dave said, it is always easy to find some 'old school' amateurs saying this or that is not 'real' amateur radio. But on the other hand it is easy to have nice QSOs via RTTY, FT8 and so on as well. Try EchoLink and other internet related modes. It is fun. But finally I found it most satisfactory to make contacts via HF, VHF or UHF over the air, because I made those contacts myself without the aid of technology provided by others.
We have a hardened microwave linked system called SARNET that's incredible. About 50 repeaters, covers nearly the entire state. It is VERY inactive most of the time.
IRLP and things like DMR where people have a hotspot at their house - Of course it's ham radio. It's just a different kind. I would say it's not useful for emcomms, but that's not all ham radio is about. Some people aren't in range of a repeater, but they have internet. What's wrong with them using a digi hotspot?
Well, ham radio is about experimentations (antennas, power, location, wave propagation, etc). That’s the soul of ham as a hobby. Communication is its consequence. It is not about the mode, either digital or analog. The point is being dependent of internet connections infrastructure, without any experimentation (like hotspots), is like to go chat over Skype (even better as you can see the other end!)
I am mostly into the excitement and intrigue of setting up my equipment, and antenna, and talking to people on the air! I I find this a very captivating, exciting and intriguing part of the hobby, and I really do injoy doing this! But I am neither a luddite or an old foggy ham! I sometimes operate on APRS, with messaging. I do like to chat on VHF-UHF with FM and mostly repeaters, and I do sometimes use digital voice (C4FM) But mostly I just like to get on, call CQ, somewhere on HF, and chat with someone! Does this mean I think IRLP, or WireresX, or any other other various forms of wireless -internet-wireless modes cheating? NO! I just do not find them as fascinating or as rewarding!
"Hams have traditionally been a cheap lot." Tell me about it. I remember it being around the year 1999 or 2000 and every ham was running Commodore 64s
This is the best answer to this very common question. Thank you. KN4BHS
Great explanation! Well done, Dave.
I paid nothing for FreeDV, and have had a couple digital QSOs on HF.
I was also going to mention FreeDV
I got interested in ham radio when I was a pre teen, but was never able to get there, I almost did in the 60's while in the Navy but no joy. Now at the age of 72 I've had my license since Dec. 2019, my only interest in HAM radio is old fashioned QSO's on HF, I do use vhf/uhf with our club and weather nets. I will likely never use digital but each to his or her own, just don't lose the heart and soul of the hobby, that is the art of radio.📻 🎙73's kd9oam
Be glad of this some "not hamradio", Back in the past it took a lot of work to allow RTTY and you had to ID in CW. Then came the fight to run ASCII and scrap the CW ID, which led to Packet, APRS and such. Meanwhile, the FCC bought equipment to decode all common data modes and as long as your not encrypted its not a problem. One of the latest is FREEDV digital voice, it uses the same codec as your computer. It comes down to what do you want to do with YOUR license?
I like to think amateurs should be aware of the many communication technologies available to us. We get to choose what interests us and how to spend our time. During emergencies amateurs have to respond with the technologies that simply works. I do wonder how FEMA and state agencies will utilize STARLINK in the future. 73, W1RKB
Thanks Dave for these It means a lot to us hams.
Very well said. It seems that all bad behavior is rooted in some form of fear or another. People are afraid that they'll lose something. This includes the loss of the world they once knew. This sort of fear can lead to the "violent" response that the ham in the video experienced. If people do not like something new, it would be great if they understood that they do not have to participate in it. They can continue to do what they like to do. Others will still be around to enjoy the activity with them. Some people like airplanes, some like trains, some like to ride horses and bicycles, others prefer only to walk. Some folks enjoy all of the above and more. There's room for everyone and everything under the sun. Take care and 73, KC7ZXY.
Lose something? really? Again, THIS IS NOT Digital V.S Analog, it is Wireless communication V.S internet-dependent communication systems,
In other words, YES, change is great, go Digital, try new things, challenge the hobby, but let's do so Antenna to Antenna 99% of the way ( and not the other way around).
Hello Dave. I have a question. Years ago i got my technician license. i was kd0-eqq i don't have it anymore. I am getting interested in getting my license again. Want to get general class but want to do it cheap. Don't have a ton of money. Any suggestions?
Intruding in this conversation; getting the license was until recently without cost whatsoever. FCC has recently introduced a modest fee for licenses ($35 if I remember right) good for 10 years (if I remember that, too). As for learning what is needed, I believe the best way is to have someone tutor (an "elmer"), but as elmers are not always correct or up to date, any of the General Class books or online is pretty good. Actually having a radio is useful but you can always use one of the "web sdr's" and the idea is to memorize the bands and sub-bands by listening to a signal, deciding if the person you hear is in his licensed sub-band using the QRZ database (for instance). Antennas and tuning are also best understood by actually doing it and observing the results. Mag-loops are terrific for understanding tuning as their performance dramatically changes just a few kilohertz off tuned frequency.
There's a LOT of good used equipment for sale, maybe even free if you'll just take it home! That kind often involves good old fashioned tuned circuits and maybe vacuum tubes. The best radio receiver I've ever owned or used was a Collins R-390; it was incredibly big and heavy but oh my gosh nothing comes close to it for sensitivity and selectivity.
At the other end of the spectrum is the new "brick" style QRP radio from Lab599, the "Discovery Tx-500" I think it is called. It has "mil spec" written all over it, figuratively speaking. Things that are *good* tend also to be difficult to get, at least for the first couple of years.
And again well said Dave. 73 de GI8WFA.
شكراً
Wasn't it Hams who first started using TCP for packet radio?
Great view point! Thank you for sharing!!!
K9LRG
Nah! It's "Ham Radio" - not Ham "Telephone Lines". The magic is in the radio waves (IMHO) 😉! Enjoy your postings Dave, 73s
As somebody who's a younger ham i feel like digtal is the wave of the future almost every public safety dept is slowly moving to the digtal side
Radio is radio. Ham radio is radio. The Internet is NOT radio. If you rely on the Internet for communications, when the Internet goes down, then what are you gonna do? If you want to QSO over long distances, get you General and work HF.. If I wanted to use the Internet for communications, I'd use Facebook chat.
Dave what you are talking about the HOTSPOT with a mic and speaker exist today it is a DVSTICK30 and it is amazing. You need a ham ticket and you have to be registered with dmr and dstar.
So its not for non hams. It operates BLUEDV and will talk really well through
DMR , DSTAR, YAESU SYS FUSION and can be transcoded to p25 , nxdn with others soo to come. All digital modes have open-source systems that work very well and give you a ton of options.
It cost about 100 to 120 for the DvStick30. There are others DVSWITCH DUDESTAR and Peanut that work well also. I have radios the same thing. But the codec the PC uses sounds much better. Do yourself a favor check it out.
AA4CP Chuck
Port Salerno FL USA
You have just described Florida's SARnet. Hams can communicate from one end of the state to another. Google SARnet to read more.
AM is what I grew up on ... that silly stuff called SSB just ain't right! LOL :P People need to get over it... experiment away and adopt what works for communication. :) Nice piece David! 73 - KF6IF
I never understood the hostility towards linking the internet with ham radio. Commercial radio and TV broadcasters have relied on wired and microwave links for decades and nobody complains that it's not real TV or radio if they use phone lines or internet connections.
If you are putting RF into the air, and you need an amateur radio license to do it, it is most certainly Ham Radio.
Is Elmer holding something in his left hand?
Hey Dave. My very personal opinion is: as long as the last signal goes via antenna to the repeater, I accept the connection. If the connection only goes from computer to computer (e.g. Echolink), why do you still say the callsign? A great option for OMs without an antenna or on vacation. It should then be at least one side via the antenna, otherwise it is not amateur radio. I have a D-Star UP4DAR with microphone connected directly to my network and then to the Internet. Yes, I can hear the others, but I don't enjoy speaking myself. Personally, I don't like DMR, C4FM etc. hotspots within the shack. Yes, if you don't have a repeater nearby, ok. But I wouldn't have much fun with it. And amateur radio is supposed to be fun, isn't it? I got into amateur radio in 1984 at the age of 14. I am on the nostalgic opinion, that a real conversation goes from antenna to antenna without anything in between. Except for a repeater or, as in the past, a digipeater for PacketRadio. Kind regards and vy 73 de Frank DF2EAN
Every innovation has been decried as not 'real ham radio'... If such people had their way we'd still be using spark gap transmitters (so the hobby would be extinct).
I like to think of ham radio as part of a hobby that is 'having fun with RF'. So CB, scanning, GMRS, low/mid/hi-fer and more.
That could be extended to having fun with communications technology.
You can get a DStar/DMR/Fusion app for your computer and phone too. And there's free digital voice for HF, it's at the cutting edge though, and is even patent unencumbered I believe.
When is a radio amateur not a radio amateur? I would say that it is when the citizen does not need authorization from the official departament (license) to make contact with other people.
Maybe we should stick to spark gap transmissions.
On the DMR/hotspot front, there is a computer app called Dudestar that doesn't require an RF radio at all (much like the Echolink app for Echolink). There could be a QSO that involves ONLY the Internet and computers as if they are like Skype, MS Teams, etc. Are Echolink and Dudestar even "radio" (forget the amateur part) in those cases? I've been having an internal debate about this myself.
Good question. If one can buy a DMR radio, a hotspot and a good internet, why would be necessary to study propagation to get a ham license?!?
@@gusdx3654 Most if not all talk groups in DMR are transmitted on RF repeaters to one degree or another and the DMR radio and hotspot are using amateur bands, so a valid call sign is required for those reasons.
HAM - comes from the reference to "ham fisted" keyers back in the telegraph era. Meaning those operators who were either inaccurate or sloppy with morse code. It was later adopted to identify all radio operators who were unprofessional ... ie... amateurs. It stuck. Purists could interpret this to mean that CW operators are HAMs.
While some older Hams are warming up to digital modes and other forms of communication such as C4FM and DMR, to me it seems that as long as RF is involved in one way or another then is Radio. If there's one thing I try to pass along to those new to the hobby, is to be open minded and to ignore the naysayers who refuse to to at least give it a try.
KD2QOJ. Great content which leads to intelligent conversations
Did you say a community called "Water Dog?" Around here that's what little boys are told to call their private parts by their grandmothers. LOL BTW: I enjoy my AM and CW, but also my SSTV, SSB, and DMR. I would try other modes, but there is only so much free time in a week. I think I will try FT8 next vacation. I still keep paper logs though. Just what I like. Paper logs don't get lost in hard drive failures.
Dave you and I have a computer controlled a 7300 hundred . so some would say this is not ham radio.
Ham radio is when a ham uses a 📻
When one is transmitting CW bacons?
When you go through a computer/internet and the program software it is using, it is no longer ham radio. That includes Echolink, FT8, IRLP, etc. Ham radio is antenna to antenna. Not internet provider cable to internet provider cable. Cellphone "ham radio" is not ham radio either.
They're a cheap lot... I love it. I consider myself part of that cheap lot. I made almost all my antennas except for a set of hamsticks I just got (they were on sale). Thanks for the laugh and the good advice as always. K5FIT
I've got a gadget called a ThumbDV. It's a self contained DV3000 coder/decoder for the various digital modes. Plug that into the USB port of a PC and load up the software, and you can talk into the computer's microphone and it comes out over the air on a repeater far away. It is heavily locked down so you must have a legal call sign to connect, so there isn't the heavy concern that unlicensed persons will bootleg with it. People say "you aren't transmitting with a radio -- that isn't ham radio!"
But if you access a ham station remotely, talking into a computer in Ohio and having it transmit in Alaska, is that the same thing? People who live in assisted living homes, or where HOA or CC&Rs forbid antennas or transmitters can use remote stations to operate, and can use a ThumbDV to get on the air worldwide, and not get fined by the busybody Karen who runs the HOA.
I see using an HT to talk two feet to the hotspot as wasteful, and it contributes to radio noise pollution when you could just use a ThumbDV.
Of course, we'll get people who say "why not just call them on the phone?" I don't know the number to reach a random person in Gloucestershire, or in Western Kansas, or in Japan. I might know a specific person there, but ham radio is about making new friends and connections. A phone won't do that.
Ham radio is about connecting to people using communications technology, hopefully in new and creative ways. If all it consisted of was talking to friends we already have, we could email them, and ham radio would be irrelevant.
I hear ops talk about digital is only computer talking to another computer. I dont understand that. You have a computer interfaced with your radio that is connected to your antenna. Like a microphone or morse key. And a nut behind the wheel.
Winsystems is another one
Did you say Single Side Band (SSB)?Don’t you mean SINGLE SLOP BUCKET?!? 😂