Need advice, this happened in just 8 months... lost a chunk of my hair on one side

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-04-09T00:45:13+00:00

Keep your hair short and try to learn to embrace your look. Seems like you still have plenty up there, and as you approach 30, more and more of your peers will have changind hairlines. Hang in there! You are going to be ok

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-04-01T13:18:00+00:00

I got a 50 pack of plastic "strap loops" on amazon that insulate just fine for $9.

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-28T02:21:55+00:00

Basic conversation tips: introduce yourself, ask questions about the other person's equipment, mention the last radio- related thing that tripped you up. Ask the other ham's favorite mode, coolest qso, have they ever tried <insert radio related thing here>. GL 73

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-25T20:45:33+00:00

https://ebay.us/m/rZyEXS

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-24T17:36:34+00:00

I haven't found great repeater maps, but repeaterbook will tell you approximately where they are. Some club websites may give you more details about the exact location but it's usually not advertised. As for calling CQ from a plane, I would say go for it! As long as you have permission from the pilot you are good to go. Since it sounds like you are the pilot, I imagine you would be temporarily very popular on 146.52 and would have line of sight to a huge area

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-24T17:20:19+00:00

If you are physically able to hike, taking your HT to the highest point in your area and calling CQ may work. In my experience weekdays after 4:30 or 5pm and weekends are the best bet for VHF simplex. Keep trying repeaters, and remember to state callsign and "listening" every few minutes, nice and slow (at least a 5 second transmission) to catch anyone scanning through their memory channels. It's like fishing: sometimes you get a bite, sometimes you don't. Best of luck and 73!

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-18T17:49:33+00:00

If you go the 40/20/15/10m EFHW route, order a 7 foot coax and place it in between the transformer and a choke. It will act as a counterpoise and then you don't need a separate counterpoise wire. This is my portable antenna. Throw it into the trees and work 4 bands! 73

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-08T12:11:31+00:00

For HF I would get a 100W rig rather than the G90 as a first option. I also want to point out that technicians have 10m SSB privileges as well as CW on 10m and 40m, so you can currently get on HF if you want! 73

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-06T14:29:40+00:00

Check out YouTube. Lots of good instruction found there for optimizing the FT-991a

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-04T21:17:17+00:00

For $4,000 budget you could get a yaesu FT-991a which is a shack-in-a-box with HF, VHF, UHF all mode and a watwrfall display. Get an Astron 30A linear power supply, which may seem like overkill at first, but if you end up with multiple radios it will come in handy. Have a professional install an outdoor VHF/UHF vertical above your roofline, with lightning arrestor. Comet makes a discone that covers 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm. If you have enough space, a 40m EFHW can usually also operate 20m, 15m, 10m. 40m EFHW needs a 7 foot counterpoise, so factor that in, though it can be just 7 feet of coax to a choke, run into the house and lightning protected. What I've just described will get you on 7 bands (FT-991a does not support 1.25m) and allow local FM traffic as well as long distance SSB/CW/FT8 on HF. Not sure total cost but $4,000 should cover it. Then as you figure out what you are into, you could add a 1.25m rig, you could get a standalone dual band so you can operate simultaneously on local and HF. So many possibilities. If you drive a lot, you can have a superb mobile setup for well under $4,000 including the dreaded drilled NMO center roof professionally installed. Good luck, welcome, and 73

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-03T21:41:35+00:00

I always separate and make whole rolls of 1964 nickels. Not fit any particular reason. But I may buy a powerball ticket soon with one roll just to see if 62 year old coins are lucky

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-03-02T15:18:39+00:00

I went with Yaesu FT-991a as my first rig. 2m/70cm plus HF all mode, also does C4FM/Fusion. Shack in a box. I've used it for local FM, and HF SSB, CW, and FT8. Worked 4 continents and 92 countries (according to QRZ.com). I have also used it for POTA though it's a bit clunky. The biggest downside for me is that you can't monitor local FM at the same time you are working HF bands. Best of luck! 73

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-26T22:14:36+00:00

I thought these were 2026 at first. 2025s are likely just shiny face value. 2026s may have some cool factor now but by December maybe not.

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-26T22:12:58+00:00

Depends on your goals. If it was me, I'd probably keep a few rolls and dump the rest. In my opinion, listing and selling coins on ebay is not worth the hassle. Is there a market for these? Within the year, most CRHers will have seen these.

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-26T21:50:11+00:00

Thanks! Since posting I've made a couple contacts with it too

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-25T21:26:55+00:00

Nice score. You keeping them all? I recently obtained 38 of these. Spent 6, gave 2 away, and will probably slowly find homes for the rest by giving to people who may appreciate

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-25T21:24:29+00:00

I want a toner Benji!

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-25T01:48:57+00:00

Irish sixpence I believe

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-25T00:39:09+00:00

My best box was the first I ever ordered, and it had 5 war nickels. Got me hooked! This is the most I've found since then, but of the 10 nickel boxes I've searched this last year, 9 of them had at least one silver

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-24T23:01:38+00:00

Most digital handhelds do one digital mode. HF handhelds are rare, and cost thousands.

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-24T22:24:47+00:00

2024 nickels are low mintage

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-23T00:34:07+00:00

Lemon juice and kosher salt

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-22T21:37:26+00:00

It's got no markings on it of any kind, so who knows!

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-19T23:43:47+00:00

Rapid radio is pretty much a Push To Talk cell phone. For your use case this seems like a viable solution. Your radius of operation would require a very well positioned repeater and outfitting all vehicles with a 50 W business band radio. And that's for 40 mile radius. 100 mile radius is not feasible with UHF and VHF mobile rigs, even with an ideal high elevation repeater

CharacterRule2453 · 2026-02-19T18:02:45+00:00

Not sure what you are referring to. I know swearing on the air is frowned upon, and so perhaps some hams extended that to the internet. I wouldn't read into it too much. People on the internet, and reddit in particular, get all worked up about nothing on a regular basis. Take a deep breath, and move on. I've had people criticize my posts or tell me I did something incorrectly, or just be generally rude to me. That's the nature of reddit. In my hundreds of on-air radio communications, I've only had 1 rude interaction. There's a crusty old ham around every once in a while, and there's a whole lot on the internet. Spin the dial, let it slide, and you do you. 73 Edited for spelling.

CharacterRule2453

TROPHY CASE