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Amateur radio (Ham radio)
73, my friend, there are dozens of us out there!
Came here to say this, 73 from KB1OTE! Come join us at !amateur_radio@sopuli.xyz
73 de SA5FTP. I'm the only one in my circle of friends. Could be more active on HF, mostly on the local repeater
I got my general license, but I’m too scared to talk to people 🥲
Anything we can do to help with that? I'm a little mic shy myself, but it goes away as soon as a good topic starts being talked about.
You got access to Dstar/DMR or some other way of communicating internationally? I'm in VK3
I think there’s an EchoLink repeater near me? I just have a baofeng. I’m planning on building a QMX soon because I feel like CW and digital modes would be fun and I kind of want to go on bike trips and do radio or something. I think I need to look up how POTA and SOTA work. I’m not a big talker in real life, I’ve always kind of preferred written communication, so I’m hoping Morse code helps, haha.
The other thing is I’m just kind of worried about getting the etiquette wrong or doing something wrong, even though it doesn’t really seem that complicated.
Don't worry about getting anything wrong. Most people are pretty excited to speak with someone new or that doesn't come on air often.
We're all just normal people, done of use are even a little introverted.
Just say what's on your mind.
"Hi, I'm Joe, happy to be speaking with you, in kinda new to this and am a bit nervous. Anyhow how are you and where are you from?"
Chances are that will spawn a conversation that feels less forced and more natural as you move forward.
I've messaged you my email address. Never private messaged on Lemmy before so I hope it works. Just say hello and we can maybe catch up on echolink or discord.
Yeah, I had a couple of good conversations on repeaters when I first got my license, but I’m a bit of an introvert so I always feel a bit weird after a conversation like “did I fuck this up?” haha. And the extra rules and unspoken etiquette around radio is a bit intimidating, but I think as long as you identify every 10 minutes or whatever and stay in band nobody will get too mad at you.
I’m really excited about getting into CW actually, and QRP seems interesting and like a really fun challenge. I actually built a pixie kit recently, but I used it as soldering practice before building the QMX mini that I got recently. Hopefully I’ll have some time to build that soon :). I can mostly copy short 5 or so letter words in my head now at 40 WPM, but I haven’t practiced in a few weeks (and obviously I fall behind on complex words or longer ones). I’m a bit nervous about trying to actually send and receive Morse in the wild though, and I REALLY don’t know the etiquette and q-codes and shorthand associated with that yet, but I guess I’ll learn!
I was wondering if I should get into this. I'm more interested because it seems cool and I need some kind of backup means of communications in case communication is down or something
Sure, give it a go. The bands and the learning you get access to as a ham are a valuable tool.
But don't be that kind that gets a licence just for 'prepping'.
Having the gear without being proficient in it's use or having someone to talk to is pretty useless.
Any guides to get started?
The process varies from country to country. Let me know where you're from and I'll try to point you in the right direction.
US of A
You’ll need to pay $35 (I think?) and write a multiple choice exam.
https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session
The exam is relatively easy, and you can find lots of resources for practice exams and stuff. At first you’ll have a hard time with some specific questions, but you’ll get the hang of it. If you want they usually let you write the general and the extra exams after the technician for no extra fee (they’re harder but give you a better license with more permissions. Technician gives you a lot, though)
If you’re at all interested you should do it! Getting licensed doesn’t take much time, even if it seems a little daunting at first. Then you’re ready to go when you get the itch!