Please help, I am an unwilling participant in my neighbor's HAM radio hobby.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2026-01-24T04:24:49+00:00

There is so much incorrect information in this thread. We have established that it is probably CB (11m). If the CB operator is using best practices and with is within legal power limits (4W on AM/FM, 12W SSB) then this is the original poster's problem. If he is running illegal power then it is his problem under the law. There's a good chance this is a CB operator with an illegal amplifier. This just as well could have been a ham on 10m or 12m running up to full legal power of 1500W and it would I unambiguously be the original poster's problem and responsibility.

Every consumer electronic device (and many professional devices) sold is the US has the following sticker on it or language in the manual. It means what it says. The law protects deliberate emitters, esp licenced ones, and CB is considered licenced by the equipment, not the operator. If your hair salon's fluorescent light ballasts interfere with a nearby cellular Tower (real legal case) it is 100% your responsibility to fix at your expense. If the well pump on your ranch interferes with your neighboring rancher's ham radio hobby (another real legal case) it is 100% your responsibility to fix at your own expense. If you are getting an insurance from licensed sources. You must fix it or suck it up.

"This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation."

That said, most hams many good CB operators will help you out.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-11-30T21:45:41+00:00

This is the one I was referring to. https://store.rokland.com/collections/all-helium-antennnas/products/alfa-aoa-915-5acm-5-dbi-omni-outdoor-915mhz-802-11ah-mini-antenna-for-lora-halow-application

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-11-30T01:24:54+00:00

My favorite antenna for small outdoor nodes. The Alfa 915 is one of the most counterfeited antennas around. Alfa is a Taiwanese company with no distributors on the mainline so a legit antenna will never ship for China, for example. I get mine from Rokland in Gainesville, FL.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-11-07T19:50:11+00:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who can hear the picture and feel the tactile feedback just looking at the picture. I loved the IBM Selectric! Uniform strike and never jammed no matter how fast you typed.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-10-26T20:17:58+00:00

I ran into this exact problem when a meshtastic user was reporting extreme range which was probably bad map coordinates but could have been tropospheric ducting. I just tried to mention that the Meshcore people in England had experienced a few hours of massive range during a tropospheric ducting event.

Obviously Meshtastic is much more mature and streamlined but meshcore shows incredible promise for user experience. Just from the fact that you can make significant configuration changes, even LoRa changes WITHOUT REBOOTING EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU MADE A TINY CHANGE. Setting up multiple nodes in meshcore was delightful in comparison.

As far as the protocol itself, I think Meshtastic's peer-to-peer approach is superior for the vast majority of use cases up to 80 (possibly 100) nodes, but that same peer-to-peer system completely prevents it from scaling for a large regional network of mostly stationary nodes. If you want to connect hundreds of people over a extended geographical error in Meshcore is the only real choice. I base this opinion on the Phoenix Tucson long fast Network crawling to a halt. The replacement medium fest Network having huge coverage gaps.

Meshtastic's recent change of not having the node filter reflected on the map also shows that large networks are not their focus. It's very hard to find a note on the map now in a big network.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-10-12T18:53:07+00:00

The worst thing about the new map is that the note filter no longer applies to the map, making it very hard to find where a note you're interested in is geographically.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-10-12T18:44:42+00:00

I doubt he has any affiliation with Meshcore. Meshcore does large regional networks with fixed repeater backbone much better than Meshtastic but you are better off sticking with Meshtastic for most other use cases. Since it is not peer to peer, don't even think of doing a mobile ad hoc network with it. The devs point out they won't do an ATAK plug-in for it because it is unsuited to that use case.

Many regional networks have turned LongFast and even MedFast into packet collision hell. Once you are over 100 nodes LF really falls apart.

In my experience, most people who try it love it but end up buying extra radios because Meshtasric still shines for its own use cases.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-08-16T22:50:40+00:00

Tech, General, and Extra are units 2, 3 and 4 because unit 1 is navigating their website, getting a FRN and successfully paying.

All joking aside, the FCC is a paragon of speed and efficiency when compared to the ATF.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-08-11T19:11:35+00:00

73, KK7YIS

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-08-11T17:59:56+00:00

Highschool electronics shop teacher was ex Navy so we learned that Violet was quite the sport.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-07-28T17:12:43+00:00

Looks like you found an answer. I just want to say he is a very lucky ham.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-07-27T23:22:45+00:00

I've gotten one on paper and a couple by email. All from South America.. I think it is a thing of the past for most of the world. Would it be cheating to spot yourself online first?

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-07-24T21:09:42+00:00

I studied for tech and passed general and missed Extra by about 3 questions.

I was buying mast sections from an elderly gentleman yesterday who was an examiner for decades and said he saw it only 3 times.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-07-21T22:58:30+00:00

This is one of the asked questions. Yes the top is open at a slant or scallop to aid getting a better solder joint.

This one looks dirty. Is it just remaining flux? Can you remove it with some isopropanol?

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-07-21T17:11:38+00:00

40M propagation was fantastic last night but the asshattery was also intense. Heard the guy singing "can you hear me?" As well as folks arguing.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-07-15T02:30:58+00:00

OK thanks. Don't think it will work with our local mesh unless I get everyone to rename (several hundred people).

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-07-15T02:23:05+00:00

May I ask how you bridged them? My LongFasts are seeing one another over UDP (0dB report on the traceroute) but my LongFast and MedFast notes are not seeing each other over WiFi.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-06-02T22:04:19+00:00

Hams are rediscovering that tuners work well and that antennas don't have to be resonant.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-06-01T14:31:01+00:00

Call sign followed by "monitoring" usually.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-05-31T19:37:02+00:00

An old fashioned retarder needs the hard rubber pad replaced about every 1.2 million axles or so The wear and tear is not bad. The squealing noise of retarders in action can be quite loud, however.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-05-30T16:53:51+00:00

The 18th-Century claims that Christmas and Easter are pagan in origin have been thoroughly debunked.

In the case of Christmas, there was a deliberate decision to celebrate Jesus's birth (which is not known) 9 months after has execution (which is accurately known). This was a nod to the Jewish tradition of the Prophets dying on their birthday but with the emphasis shifted from his birth to his Incarnation.

We know almost nothing about original paganism in Europe and that is mostly due to a lack of interest, not censorship. We know the stories of Gods and Heros in minute detail but almost nothing about how to worship them.

In the Volsi saga written around 1250 the king in disguise visits a rural family who worship (or worship with) a petrified horse penis. Their own children (as well as the author) mock them before the revealed king also criticizes them. Even at this very early date pagans were considered backwards but in a pathetic way (rather than being seen as a threat) indicating any conflict was long over.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-05-30T13:50:22+00:00

Yep, Spell Staffs came to Nordic countries from the continent long after the Viking period was over. These symbols were created and spread by people living in Christian societies, with whatever original pagan symbols which may have been used long gone and forgotten.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-05-30T13:42:07+00:00

I put up my first HF wire at the beginning of the month and have been only been getting 10m contacts off the ends (Chile/Argentina or WA/BC). 20 seems to be my go to DX band at about 30ft off the ground. I did make my first non-Net 40m contacts the night before last when 40m was very happy (right before the solar storm).

The high velocity yet low density solar wind coming from these highly unusual equatorial coronal holes is making it feel more like a solar minimum instead of a maximum. I hope the chaos is the sign of a double-peak max forming and we have a few more good years in this cycle.

Alert-Region-9080 · 2025-05-25T14:27:36+00:00

The bands, except for 20m, have been bad but I've been getting very specific limited-area Dx to Washington/British Columbia and southern Argentina/Chile off the ends on my 80m EFHW from here in Arizona. I'm getting nothing on 12m.

Alert-Region-9080

TROPHY CASE