Ham Radio Pensioners' Problems

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  • Опубліковано 23 тра 2024
  • In other words. if you are a pensioner on restricted income,. how can you afford to enjoy your ham radio hobby? Peter G3OJV, takes a look at the options.
    ZL3XDJ
    • ZL3XDJ/ qrp.
  • Наука та технологія

КОМЕНТАРІ • 170

  • @alandrury9955
    @alandrury9955 Місяць тому +19

    There's a lot to be said for older gear too, particularly for those of us who have been around for a while. Not only do you get a decent station for a decent price but you also have the nostalgia of keeping that old gear on the air. Now I'm retired I'm very much enjoying old gear such as the TS520 and FT101 that I dreamed of having as a young ham but never could afford

  • @feste1012000
    @feste1012000 Місяць тому +10

    This is excellent. I was a G8 in the 1980s. Stopped after a few years. Now in my 70s, took the Foundation exam and Ofcom gave me back my original call sign. They were very helpful. Yes, it has proved expensive to start again from scratch as I wanted the security of warranties., but it is all proving really enjoyable.

    • @watersstanton
      @watersstanton  Місяць тому

      Thanks for sharing!

    • @ndr8469
      @ndr8469 Місяць тому +2

      As a G8 you should have been able to have it restored without a foundation exam.

    • @feste1012000
      @feste1012000 Місяць тому

      @@ndr8469 I could have, my choice to take the exam to get my brain back on track.

    • @PhilG8JQH
      @PhilG8JQH Місяць тому

      @@ndr8469I agree - I am a G8, had a 20 year break due to work/family commitments, then applied for my call to be restored- no requirement to sit any test at all.

    • @sundog486
      @sundog486 Місяць тому

      That sounds good. I was a G8 in the late 60s (70cm & 23cm) but even though I paid for a search, City & Guilds can't find my records of passing the RAE. Nor have I been able to find any RSGB yearbooks with my callsign listed, which is another way of restoring the licence. I'm considering getting re-licensed by taking the exam/exams and it would be cherry on the cake if I could get my old call sign back.

  • @MakeDoAndMend1
    @MakeDoAndMend1 Місяць тому +2

    Very well put together video. Having given up the Hobby sold all my kit. Now I am a pensioner and returned to the Hobby. Now struggling financially with the price of kit. Too many features and functionality on modern radios I shall never use. Voice speaking to me "Power On" Torch Function. Personal Panic Alarm. Why. ?? Same with all modern devices. Bread Toaster with a 24hour clock. Also why don't they make cameras for left handed people. Oh well is it me. Cheers from us old pensioners George and Jane. 😂

  • @CamilleCullen-ow6qj
    @CamilleCullen-ow6qj Місяць тому +3

    New ham radios are indeed very expensive. However, when you look at the prices using constant dollars, I think most are actually cheaper than they were years ago. That is a small condolence though when you still can't afford them. Another great video!! Robert K5TPC

  • @spweber54
    @spweber54 Місяць тому +1

    Another great video and relevant topic, Peter! I, too, was licensed at 17 years of age and am now 70. Never owned a tower, yagi, vertical, or any commercial antenna in over 50 years if hamming--but had great joy playing with an endless number of wire antennas in all the places I have lived.
    Enjoy working CW at less than 50 watts, when propagation is good I can work the world. FT8 has brought great fun into the hobby for me, since it works at 25 watts when SSB and CW won't due to poor propagation. I just changed my QTH to a townhome in the great Pacific Northwest (Washington) and put a simple OCF dipole up using 22 gauge wire I bought for $20 for 100 feet. From my 2nd story ham shack, I screwed a 4:1 UNUN outside the window. I have 12' hanging down and pinned to the house with push pins. And I threw the other 57 feet up on the roof shingles, where I snaked it around so the wind can't blow it. It tunes from 80 up to 6meters,and I have been having a blast regular working Japan, Australia, New Zealand and all of USA with just 50 watts.
    Ham radio experimentation has always been a blast for me with a compromised wire antenna as it keeps the thrill alive when you work DX!
    Keep these great videos coming!
    Stan - WB5UDI

    • @watersstanton
      @watersstanton  Місяць тому

      Great to hear from you Stan. True Ham Radio.

  • @williambrooks6629
    @williambrooks6629 Місяць тому +3

    That was a very frank discussion. I came back into AR after 20 years away. It is expensive and there is a dirth of second hand bargains unless you are in the right place at the right time. I have to agree that having a powerful station with all the bells and whistles is a waste of time. It doesn't make you a better operator. As you said, " Where is the challenge". I recently set up on top of a hill with my fg pole tied to a farmer's fence post. It didn't work very well but the farmer and I had a really good conversation.

  • @brucecash3939
    @brucecash3939 Місяць тому +2

    Great video Peter, 100 watts and some wire will get you contacts around the world. I had used home built dipole antennas and a used Yaesu FT840 transceiver for almost 20 years before getting a ftdx-10 last year. It doesn’t take much to have fun and make contacts

  • @Dennis-uc2gm
    @Dennis-uc2gm Місяць тому

    Good talk on being an old timer in the hobby. I got my ticket in 1977 when you almost had to wait your turn to get on a 2 meter repeater frequency. Being retired almost 5 years now and using almost a 20 year old rig on HF I still have just as much fun. Most the 2 meter repeaters in my area now are deadly quite and the ones that have some traffic have shifted to a digital mode of sorts. There still all sorts of stuff to do in hobby and it balances out some of the other things I like to do in these late years.

  • @KingLoopie1
    @KingLoopie1 Місяць тому +6

    Peter, I'm a new retiree. (what we are called in the USA) and I just bought an ftdx-10 as my 1st hf+50mhz transceiver (as a tech, I've enjoyed my ft-70dr). Now you're basically telling me I'd have fun with a crystal radio and a home built tube transmitter... Where were you a few weeks ago when I ordered it? I could've saved $1k! 😂😂😂😜

    • @user-ef3nu1eh7z
      @user-ef3nu1eh7z Місяць тому +2

      Sorry in my 50 years of cross band operator used and old has always been my options ( no collections) one radio at time fix til actually broke!!!!
      Only problem had cataracts repaired now cannot do close and small work so change of radio is few and between

  • @TheIaindavidson
    @TheIaindavidson Місяць тому

    Very informative video, even for a 35 year old juvenile. In today's economic landscape, it's not just pensioners who have to make the best of old or budget gear.
    Thank you

  • @dougtaylor8735
    @dougtaylor8735 Місяць тому +7

    I am a retired ham and all I have right now is a Kenwood TS 440, a Heathkit amp, and a home brew off center fed dipole. Works very well on 80 through 10 meters and I regularly make contacts all over the world. I don’t use the amp unless I want to get through a pileup. I’ve never had a waterfall display so I don’t miss it.

  • @ericlawrenson7866
    @ericlawrenson7866 Місяць тому

    Hi Peter, a very relevant topic, and then even more so for people like us in South Africa with a terrible exchange rate. As a retired ham I fully agree with your outlook on the subject. I run late 1990's gear, and home made antennas, and still have a lot of fun operating HF from the QTH. I have no budget, but also no desire, to invest in new kit, as impressive as it may be. 73's.

  • @michaelgriffin628
    @michaelgriffin628 Місяць тому +3

    I am a pensioner just qualified in 2023. My resources are limited. I have a Kenwood TS440 with a home brew doublet in the loft and a refurbed tablet. I think I get as good results as the 1.5K's splattering all over the place. I only spend what I can afford and I really enjoy the hobby. Know your hobby, the rules and the science and the sky is the limit, literally.

  • @alangoulding4252
    @alangoulding4252 Місяць тому +1

    Excellent advice Peter as always hopefully it will urge people to do more home brew and see expensive aerials are not required...I use my home brew antennae on 40 meters and get out very well I made my own 49:1 balun and have an swr better than 1.3 to i across the band. 73s Peter...G7WBB Alan

  • @cWatts-zv3oo
    @cWatts-zv3oo Місяць тому +5

    I truly admire this one old man! Well said, 😊

  • @ronmikkenie73
    @ronmikkenie73 Місяць тому +1

    Indeed.... nothing wrong with a G90 and a piece of wire. Yesterday PA-VK with 20W SSB on 20M.
    FT710 is a great radio, but me being limited to portable operation, and having nearly no space at home for storing large stuff, most radios and all commercial antennas are just too big (for my personal situation). Not a pensioner, so money is not the real problem. Most manufactured stuff is just far too big!
    Portable operation also opens the road to antennas you should not use at home: EFRW with (homemade) 1:9 UNUN is a true multiband performer, but keep it far away from other electrical/electronic equipment as it picks up and generates interference due to it's nature. But in an open space "in the middle of nowhere", nobody cares about the outer conductor of the co-axial cable carrying RF current...
    What I like on your video: even while being a shop-owner, you still do not emphasize on buying new radios. Second hand is OK many times. Especially when you know the previous owner.

  • @AB1Vampire
    @AB1Vampire Місяць тому

    Nice take on a fair observation, yeah. Here in the US too, n2eye

  • @leonardogalloiz3atv474
    @leonardogalloiz3atv474 Місяць тому

    I appreciate the contents of your video, expecially the idea that an Ham Radio operator can greatly enjoy the hobby even with limitate resourced.
    In fact satisfaction arise from different activity, all requiring personal effort, but vastely not depending on money expence: study of fundamentals of radio communications tech, exercise on operating skills, home brewing of antennas and simple equipments and accessories, outdoor and QRP operations.
    The greatest joy in the hobby is to achieve contacts with simple means and low budget gears.
    Ham-radio rigs manifacturers have to take in account the physical limitations of a market made up mainly of elderly and ever aging people.
    Only taking in the right account the ergonomics of radio equipment, older Hams will be induced to purchase new equipment.
    73' de IZ3ATV, Leo

  • @BrightBlueJim
    @BrightBlueJim Місяць тому +3

    Old pensioners, young students, and all other people who don't have money to burn. For the reasons you mention and more, the barrier to entry need not be as high as it looks. If you look at the catalogs and see that a transceiver is $1500, and a decent antenna is $300, and then you need coax, a tuner, and a dozen other things you haven't thought of, you're well into "nope" territory. But the good news is that if you are just a little bit handy, there's no antenna you can't build yourself for a fraction of what you'd pay for a store-bought one, and there are kits for all types of ham-designed transceivers, to lower that cost as well. And more importantly, at least for me, is the greater enjoyment for having built something (even if it's just from a kit) that you can work magic with.

  • @MakeDoAndMend1
    @MakeDoAndMend1 Місяць тому

    One thing I would like in a Handheld. Is the time. Also a button you can hold in which records the audio so it can capture callsign. Also logs time and freq, signal strength etc. In file name of the recordings so I don't have to carry pen, paper and try and log it. Just records when button just held in not full qso. A useful feature..I know you don't need to record it. But a useful feature. So when back home you can replay for the log. Cheers from old George

  • @gtretroworld
    @gtretroworld Місяць тому

    Brill video Peter, it’s like having my grandad back when you get going. As for pensioner’s my father has recently bought a FT710, infact a lot of friends have and for the money it is a little bargain. But if cash is tight i have said it before you can do the same with let’s say an old FT840 which you can pick up for coppers.

  • @kenwezeman7827
    @kenwezeman7827 Місяць тому

    Excellent advice!

  • @m.9243
    @m.9243 Місяць тому +4

    My 'old warrior' Yaesu FT707 is still doing a fine job, after a few capacitor replacements and an alignment.
    With just 100 watts and a wire dipole antenna I make DX contacts regularly!
    Bought it many years ago from another Ham operator who wanted to upgrade to a new transceiver with 'bells and whistles'.
    Then again, I am old enough to having started my radio hobby back in the days of home brewed Valve transmitters and a Hallicrafters receiver!
    So, as long as I make the QSO all these 'waterfalls' and various other facilities, I can do without.
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.s
    73's from VK2Bxx

    • @nicklaslundgren
      @nicklaslundgren Місяць тому +2

      I envy you a bit. I’ve owned a Yaesu FT-707 since 1993. It’s a mighty fine radio with wonderful reception and audio.
      However, mine is not working. 😔 The VFO is running all over the place, mostly around 91 MHz. I think it’s a soldering problem, but this radio is so hard to fix with all those wires in there, like a bucket of worms.
      How did you manage to fix yours?
      I now run a FtDX10, but still miss my 707...

    • @snail2171
      @snail2171 Місяць тому +3

      @@nicklaslundgren It's easy to fix problem. I have had the same problem with FT 707 just bought. Problem is variable capacitor rotor contact oxidation. Spray of Deoxit will fix it.

    • @m.9243
      @m.9243 Місяць тому +1

      @@snail2171 Well said!
      This process was part of my 'restoration' of the FT-707. Capacitor change also made a difference, mostly in drifting and selectivity.
      I left the alignment to a tech who has the right instruments and know-how to do it properly.

    • @nicklaslundgren
      @nicklaslundgren Місяць тому

      @@snail2171 Thanks for this reply! Very valuable advice! Can you say which variable capacitator that causes this problem, and where it is located?

    • @nicklaslundgren
      @nicklaslundgren Місяць тому

      @@m.9243 I sure need to check this on my faulty FT-707. May I ask which capacitators you replaced? And which variable capacitators did you spay?

  • @alzag6hpr553
    @alzag6hpr553 Місяць тому +1

    Couldn’t agree more Peter. As for the 710 I’m blown away by it for the money. Allan G6HPR.

  • @GordonHudson
    @GordonHudson Місяць тому +1

    It's also worth looking at the ZS6BKW Junior antenna. It's slightly bigger than a half size G5RV but is closer to 50 ohms. I am retiring at the end of June. Looking forward to having more time for radio. The time in my life when I had the least money was when my kids were young! GM4SVM

    • @QRO293
      @QRO293 Місяць тому

      Enjoy the retirement Gordon, I have a few years left yet and I can't wait to drop the tools!

    • @GordonHudson
      @GordonHudson Місяць тому +1

      @@QRO293 I am lucky to be able to retire so young, but I have had enough!

    • @watersstanton
      @watersstanton  Місяць тому

      Be good to hear the results.

  • @OJ71081
    @OJ71081 Місяць тому +1

    Many more senior Hams are like yourself Peter, encouraging and helpful. However I sometimes encounter people who seem like they would rather the hobby die out then allow new blood through the door. I think this attitude is really sad, I am happy to admit I'm still learning about radio and there's lots I have to discover , but surely the best thing is to encourage new amateurs to ensure the hobby stays alive and the amateur bands aren't poached for commercial interests. I'm not what i would call very young, got into the hobby at 40 four years ago, I'd always been interested in radio but more from the point of view of listening and through music etc, I never went to bed without my radio on fron about age 7, then as I got older became interested in the SW BC bands but got into ham radio quite late in life. The first time I managed a contact to VK in 20m completely blew my mind to be honest, and I've not looked back since.

  • @GearoidMacGearailt
    @GearoidMacGearailt Місяць тому

    Great video

  • @salve-amicus
    @salve-amicus 14 днів тому

    You be right, tnx

  • @lifegettingintheway2710
    @lifegettingintheway2710 Місяць тому

    My ham station in 1962 was a Hallicrafters S38-B and a military surplus ARC-5 transmitter. My antenna was a vertical using TV antenna masts mounted on a large 7UP bottle for a base insulation. My ground system was the plumbing of my parent's house. Not much at the time for contests which I've never been interested in, and I don't care for talking into a radio though I did build an SSB mod for my ARC-5. I eventually got into digital and started with a model 19 RTTY desk complete with 5-bit yellow tape reader and keyboard. In the 80's I got an AEA pk900 running into a Yaesu FTDX-570 transceiver. I'm approaching 80 and have a keen interest in WSPR systems. Very low power, and all contacts are recorded and verified by automation. I do want to nail the extra class ticket before I go silent key. The idea of optimizing a WSPR by improving antenna systems and dropping power as low as possible while hitting all continents is compelling.

  • @11ildiko11
    @11ildiko11 Місяць тому

    My friend had to go into a retired facility, had his antenna in his window, and when he increased transmitting power more than QRP, he set up the internal alarm, and nurses stormed into his room assuming that he called for medical emergency!

  • @Plons0Nard
    @Plons0Nard Місяць тому

    0:55 "more mature" 😊
    My friend calls it "vintage" , like a good old Port, or Aldebaran liquor 👍🏻🤝🏻🇳🇱

  • @JoseArrom
    @JoseArrom Місяць тому

    I’m a pensioner and just bought a Yaesu FT710. I have eye issues and I’m ok with the display. Trying to deal with the antenna issues.

  • @kd5inm
    @kd5inm Місяць тому

    New radios arent that expensive here in the states. There are radios out there that can be "assembled" and are very good new for 'used' radio prices. The uBitx v6.0 is a good radio. I have an upgraded version that I have $255 usd in I used to WSPR to Australia and NZ from Texas. The radio has WSPR mode built in with no computer needed. It can also display CW onscreen.
    I like that the Yaesu rigs are mentioned as well. I have several of them in various portable configurations. They are a very good value. The G90 is also a great rig as well. I however don't know what that paperweight 7300 was doing on screen because anything I Can Only Monitor is just good for 🔫 target practice here in the states....

  • @user-so2jd8io5e
    @user-so2jd8io5e Місяць тому

    Not really on topic, but I just learned an undocumented feature of the FT-170 concerning the LEVEL control. Normally, it affects the receive waterfall, but I accidentally adjusted it while it was transmitting FT-8 and it adjusted the level of the transmitted signal on the waterfall, independent of the receive LEVEL setting. This feature is not in the manual.
    I enjoyed your pensioner video - it was relevant to me as I retire at the end of May.

  • @peteshulver9221
    @peteshulver9221 Місяць тому

    Another really useful video but it’s not only some pensioners who struggle to afford equipment and many retired people like me still have a decent income and like me live in a rural area and have a couple of towers and several transceivers in my case a 7610 so not an old one. My problems are more associated with climbing tall ladders and such as not so good with balance but technically sound and been licensed since 1979 😀

  • @anthonymokelkie9360
    @anthonymokelkie9360 3 дні тому

    I bought old heathkit hw 101 for 150 dollars and after few repairs and such and home made dipole I make contacts on cw and ssb all over the place. minimal costs. and when i was young i had tube receiver and home brew oscillator cost 25 dollars and i made contacts.

  • @mikeraymond6822
    @mikeraymond6822 Місяць тому

    my station has changed a again, 🙄 so i have settled on a yaesu ft dx 1200 for main set. a yaesu ft 991 for 2mts and 70. and its a back up for the main radio. i did have a 710 but I wasn,t that fussed to fiddley for me tbh. for mobile i have a ts50, all my radios are second hand 699 total cost 1599. that was my retirement treat along with my small rv hi hi. after 40 years of mechanical engineering I'm lucky to be in a good place , the hard work was very hard work .. now I'm sitting back and enjoying a hobby I'm back into since Jan 2024. next challenge relearn Morse code. my call is a GW4 from 1982

  • @mikewalsh511
    @mikewalsh511 Місяць тому +4

    I go to hamfests looking for bargain gear and most of the time even gear 5-10 years old is marked only a small amount down from the full retail price when the stuff was brand new! Stuff depreciates! Don't expect to sell a well used radio for 20% less than you paid for it. Take a small loss and do another ham a favor!

    • @watersstanton
      @watersstanton  Місяць тому +1

      Yes.

    • @BrightBlueJim
      @BrightBlueJim Місяць тому

      It's all supply and demand. This just means that there are too many poor hams who think they need 100 Watts. Sorry, but that's just how it goes. I think if most hams took the rule to heart, "use no more power than you need", 100 Watts would rarely be used, and 20 Watt radios would rule the bands.

  • @alangoulding4252
    @alangoulding4252 Місяць тому

    Forgot to mention Peter I am still using my Kenwood TS940s made during the late 80s and still going strong..73s Alan

  • @rayscrivens6160
    @rayscrivens6160 Місяць тому

    I agree that success in amateur radio is doing the best that you can within your abilities and resources. I get the greatest satisfaction in QSO's with the "small guys" rather than the big stations for whom you are the umpteenth station they've worked this week.

  • @N4DJC
    @N4DJC Місяць тому

    Some amateurs in the US complain about a $1500 radio and drive a $50,000 truck. Me, I’ve been retired for about 15 years I can afford the gear. Pricing here is quite a bit lower here than in the UK and EU, with all the taxes.

  • @julianrobertson3303
    @julianrobertson3303 Місяць тому

    Thank you for sharing as always .
    I've just learned that if the UK goes to war all ham radio operators will have to stop using their equipment , during WWII ham radio operators was required to dismantle all their equipment & submit the equipment to the M.O.D local area official storage department .
    Ukraine ham operators have been ordered to stop their equipment ,& yet they still do !.
    It's likely to happen again so I shall wait & see what happens in due course .

  • @union310
    @union310 Місяць тому +2

    Ham radio is still exciting, it just needs support and information to make entry into the hobby for newbies, of all ages.

    • @watersstanton
      @watersstanton  Місяць тому +1

      Yes agreed

    • @brian.7966
      @brian.7966 Місяць тому

      Ofcom has stated giving it away now. for 2 cornflake packet tops, you can get a full license.

    • @union310
      @union310 Місяць тому

      @@brian.7966 I sat my foundation licence around two weeks ago and passed. My parents are both seriously ill and I struggle to find time to study as well as keep a job going and raise my children. If the licence was as it was I would have never taken it.
      However been able to sit it in three parts and use a transceiver, learn and have fun. I also will be attending a once monthly meeting at a local club.
      In my lunch times I have written a small paper to be presented to my local lodge on my journey so far.
      The encouragement from Essex ham and the likes of this channel all made it possible.
      I have also joined the RSGB and proudly display their badge on the back of my car.

    • @union310
      @union310 Місяць тому +1

      @@brian.7966 Hi, as someone who has just passed their foundation licence I don't find your comment encouraging.
      I look after my elderly parents who are seriously ill, I work full time and I have three children. I am also heavily involved in Freemasonry. If I was not able to sit my licence in three parts to achieve a full licence I would have probably not put in for it. I was however encouraged by channels such as this and the work of Essex ham who were fantastic.
      The only way to grow or for that matter maintain a hobby is by being relevant, approachable and encouraging.
      I have prepared a small talk to be given in lodges around Cumbria to promote ham radio. I wonder how much you have done to encourage others? I look to people who have been in the hobby with a licence at any level for encouragement. 73's

    • @union310
      @union310 Місяць тому

      @@brian.7966 Not sure why but twice I have given a comprehensive reply to your quote and twice it has disappeared?

  • @user-so2jd8io5e
    @user-so2jd8io5e Місяць тому

    I meant FT-710, not FT-170, sorry.

  • @firemarshal17
    @firemarshal17 Місяць тому

    I agree. I’m a pensioner who is still running an Icom 725. I can’t afford to lay out $1,500usd on a new rig.
    73 N8DG

  • @mikesey1
    @mikesey1 Місяць тому

    My Yaesu FT-897D does me fine!

  • @paulswift700
    @paulswift700 Місяць тому

    Yes I'm one of them. I'm 68 now but don't get on air anymore as it's become boring to me.
    I can't afford this new stuff and only have vintage radios like the TS830S and FT101EE and others but I don't get to use them.

  • @CliveBriscoe
    @CliveBriscoe Місяць тому

    Well said Peter! As one OT to another... 73 Clive GW3YHR

  • @jimdavis5230
    @jimdavis5230 Місяць тому +10

    I am a pensioner and over the years I have bought many pieces of amateur radio equipment cheaply because they were advertised as faulty or not working at all. This includes transceivers, linear amplifiers and transverters. I managed to repair every piece of equipment I bought. Now if I can do that then anyone can do the same. Despite being licenced since 1978 I am just a bum G8 so clever people who have passed the Morse test should be able to repair equipment far better and faster than I can. Since the Morse requirement was dropped I found that many G4 and G3 licencees talked down to me and treated me as inferior so I abandoned amateur radio. The hobby seemed to be full of class snobbery which I dislike intensely. I have heard many old class A licencees talking down many M3 and M6 licencees which made me feel sick and annoyed. No wonder I abandoned the class ridden hobby.

    • @Rubedo777
      @Rubedo777 Місяць тому +6

      Jim old son… nils desperandum carborundum illigitami… in other words don’t let some arrogant bastions get at you. Many of these never touch a Morse key after they passed, and if you get into Morse… slow Morse…. Those guys will look after you. Have a look on the Tube about them. Best wishes from another old boy.73. 🤠 💙

    • @SteveBrace
      @SteveBrace Місяць тому +2

      I agree with @Rubedo777 with the caveat that they are a tiny minority. I'm a lockdown ham (2020) and found some of them but they're just the general armholes you find in any community... As Rub said. Don't let them grind you down, hit them right in their log... No QSL 😁 DE 2E0PTY. 73 OM

    • @Rubedo777
      @Rubedo777 Місяць тому

      @@SteveBrace Steve you are right and I should have made that clear… they are a small minority I found it hard to believe that
      “ senior “ hams would behave that way until a few more told me it was so. So I apologise, I didn’t intend to mean all of us. D U H ! Got it wrong again. 🤔🧐
      Thanks.73. 💙

    • @kd5inm
      @kd5inm Місяць тому +2

      There are lots of fish in the sea. You should fire up your gear and get back on the air. De KD5INM

    • @gavindouglas5581
      @gavindouglas5581 Місяць тому +2

      I have a ic7300 with a 204 foot long g5rv antenna running 100 watts manual a.t.u tunnel 30 feet high i get good results on h.f ham bands 80 40 6 12 160 20 bands. In New Zealand. Zl1gam.

  • @chrisg7veo495
    @chrisg7veo495 Місяць тому

    there are a lot of well off pensioners too that can afford more than the younger ones

    • @EI6DP
      @EI6DP Місяць тому

      Not me 🥸

  • @n0vty873
    @n0vty873 Місяць тому +1

    One of the reasons I get gear for a disabled friend of mine

  • @waterst20
    @waterst20 Місяць тому

    I need to stock up before I retire next year. 73s KE4EDU Tim Waters

  • @11ildiko11
    @11ildiko11 Місяць тому

    100w is sufficient,but nowadays the main problem is noise in the receiver! Anyone have a good idea how to reduce it?

    • @Patrick-rd9qo
      @Patrick-rd9qo Місяць тому

      Mag loop? More directional than a dipole.

  • @qutips33
    @qutips33 Місяць тому

    flagpole antenna and easy set up and cheap

  • @jeffreycrawley1216
    @jeffreycrawley1216 Місяць тому

    At the other end of the "spectrum" . . . I bought my niece's lad a Quansheng UV-K6 at Christmas (£15 including shipping!), he's made his own Slim Jim antenna and has logged his first calls (under supervision) while starting off a Foundation course with a view to taking his test in the summer holidays.
    Says it's "dead cool"
    So you can do it on a shoe string!
    72

  • @jaimz33
    @jaimz33 Місяць тому

    I know pensioner hams who won't have anything if it doesn't have valves in it. They won't part with them either.

  • @leonvanderlinde5580
    @leonvanderlinde5580 Місяць тому

    I am an Amateur pensioner. I can not afford anything anymore as the pricing is horrendously high.

    • @adamap2796
      @adamap2796 Місяць тому +1

      The internet is flooded with near new second hand equipment, what do you call horrendously high ? Are you in the UK ? You’ve just had a 10% triple locked pension increase 🧐

  • @Brookspirit
    @Brookspirit Місяць тому

    It's not just pensioners who can't afford new gear. Most of it is out of my reach and i'm a fair way from getting a pension.

  • @jimdavis5230
    @jimdavis5230 Місяць тому +9

    I remember some G4 licencees calling me " half a ham" because I hadn't passed a Morse test. Despite this I had several of my own radio designs published in Practical Wireless and ETI. My advice to any young people interested in amateur radio is don't bother unless you can pass a Morse test from 50 years ago. Then take a deceased G3 or G4 callsign to avoid being treated as brain dead scum.

    • @B_MAD_24
      @B_MAD_24 Місяць тому +1

      Bla

    • @petemillis4666
      @petemillis4666 Місяць тому +2

      Sorry, but your advice is dreadful.

    • @sundog486
      @sundog486 Місяць тому

      Or you could just call the HF bands "the DC bands" as some G8's used to do in the early days when we were on UHF.😉

  • @M7GBU
    @M7GBU Місяць тому

    14:28 Xiegu GSOC has been released, it is a large screen for the G90.

  • @fredr7217
    @fredr7217 Місяць тому

    I’m 58 and studying for technician license.

  • @g4joe
    @g4joe Місяць тому +1

    Go QRP , can make it yourself . Cheep 😄👍

  • @maxinelko
    @maxinelko 13 днів тому +1

    I thought that radio amateurs were expensive only in Ukraine.

  • @Pootycat8359
    @Pootycat8359 Місяць тому

    I'm 71, and my eyes have gone south. So, I like equipment that uses tubes, discrete transistors, and traditional 8 & 14 pin ICs, Surface mount components? Ah!!!! I need a magnifier to read the color code on a 1 W carbon composition resistor.

    • @billmccullough777
      @billmccullough777 27 днів тому

      At 75 y.o., I have learned I am no longer competent to fiddle with the HV parts of the TS-830. Sigh... Now I have a TS-870 that a professional refurbished. Sounds great, works great! I can forego reliving history for living the journey now. 73

    • @Pootycat8359
      @Pootycat8359 27 днів тому

      Unless you HAVE to work on it "hot," it's best to kill the HV PS & ground the B(+). In the 1980s, I took care of the maintenance for a Harris MW-50A AM xmttr, which had a 24 KV PS. One did NOT work on that puppy with live HV!

  • @StevenTT120Layout
    @StevenTT120Layout Місяць тому

    Yes I am G6MMD

  • @hamshackleton
    @hamshackleton Місяць тому

    Your editing skills are slipping! You told us about your half-size G5 twice! 🙂 - - - I started with an HAC regen one-valver kit rx - when I could afford the batteries - it was a hungry beast!

  • @control5835
    @control5835 Місяць тому +1

    HOME BREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

    • @watersstanton
      @watersstanton  Місяць тому

      If you can! Many have physical limitations that prevent this option.

  • @juraphotos7489
    @juraphotos7489 Місяць тому

    My daughter says ham radio is a old mans hobby 🤣🤣

  • @MrMe4444444
    @MrMe4444444 Місяць тому

    I have found everything at the swap "works". 😢 Yeah sarcasm.

  • @B_MAD_24
    @B_MAD_24 Місяць тому +1

    I don't know.
    Pensioners and people with jobs are going to be saying they don't have the money to pay for these radios.
    The second-hand market is just as bad as NIB.

  • @nealbeach4947
    @nealbeach4947 Місяць тому +3

    It's becoming a hobby for the wealthy.

    • @londo776
      @londo776 Місяць тому +1

      and the old

    • @adamap2796
      @adamap2796 Місяць тому +4

      Ham radio equipment in general has never been so affordable. And neither has it been so easy and inexpensive to obtain a license.

    • @union310
      @union310 Місяць тому +4

      Only if you want it to be.

  • @stuffyourhandle
    @stuffyourhandle Місяць тому +2

    Pensioners like me don't buy the latest fancy gear they have been around long enough to know what is worthwhile and what is not....

  • @londo776
    @londo776 Місяць тому

    That is exactly the problem with amateur radio all you old( Where are the ladies) man, I think the average age of a sad ham is 68, Where is the next generation coming from? I don't know of any amateurs in they 20s or 30s in my town. Amateur radio Is dying or very dead With nobody to come on in the future

    • @union310
      @union310 Місяць тому +1

      That could be said of a lot of hobbies

    • @adamap2796
      @adamap2796 Місяць тому

      Only last month, in my club, a family of four took and past their foundation licenses. Parents and two kids. Ages, parents 36, 38, kids 12 and 14 years old. They are loving the hobby and the kids friends have also been enticed to also have a go.

    • @union310
      @union310 Місяць тому

      @@adamap2796 Fantastic

    • @londo776
      @londo776 Місяць тому

      @@adamap2796 just one family in how many years?. My points still stands.

    • @londo776
      @londo776 Місяць тому

      @@union310 name some?

  • @JuliusLemonhead
    @JuliusLemonhead Місяць тому +2

    Not ok with title, you and your channel is commercial, preaching to the choir...

    • @SteveBrace
      @SteveBrace Місяць тому +4

      Yes. What do you expect from the director and secretary of a ham radio retailer? But this isn't a long advertisement; it's informative and I find his avuncular presentation pleasing. 73 OM

  • @stuffyourhandle
    @stuffyourhandle Місяць тому

    wouldn't trust any Chinese radio

    • @EI6DP
      @EI6DP Місяць тому

      I run an Xiegu G90 and its one fabulous rig and a brilliant receiver. With *all* Japanese rigs and equipment in general all have inbuilt obsolescence.

    • @stuffyourhandle
      @stuffyourhandle Місяць тому

      @@EI6DP ts50 ic728 ts520se

  • @tonywright8294
    @tonywright8294 Місяць тому

    Make your own it’s not difficult !

    • @watersstanton
      @watersstanton  Місяць тому

      Many pensioners are no longer able to build gear because of health issues.