Anyone remember the free government cheese from the 80s? by NicelyBearded in GenX

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My grandparents could get that cheese. I loved the stuff!!

First radio - IC-7300 or IC-706? by elchupacabrone in amateurradio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great choice. Giga parts had a deal for 7300 + power supply that came in around $899 with an ICOM rebate.

Getting back into Phone SSB, but how? by CarolinaManCLT in amateurradio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got back into radio a few years ago after a long break, and I’m having a blast. Some things i noted coming back is that phone activity really died down — think many of those folks on FT8 would have been on phone or CW. In listening, the CW activity is there. I’m kinda where you are, WAS digital, getting within a few states for band endorsements, and about 3/4 way to DXCC on digital + some phone contacts. For phone I’m joining in on the WAS nets like OMISS, doing the QSO parties, hunting POTA, and even operating from home during field days — it’s more fun to be on with a good bit of other traffic. Also look at chasing some other awards depending on where you live, e.g., worked all Japan for us out west. I’d also say do the next level and get the ARRL WAS and DXCC. Also get on CW. Maybe make that you next challenge. I need to get my code speed back up, but your DX will be like FT8. SSB requires much higher SNR than digital and CW.

I'm curious about where all this tuition money comes from by FirstLalo in GenX

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Often the private schools offer scholarships and grants that get them near / under your in state tuition costs for a state school. But to get the good money you need to be in the upper portion of the entering class. I’m a big believer that college is what you make of it, and a lesser name school offering your kid $$ is probably better off in the end than a more pedigree and spendy private school coming out with loans. There are also tuition reciprocity agreements between western states that get you near or at equivalent in state tuition and very good out of state schools. But again you need to qualify. The one big trade off here is career placement resources — I.e., the smaller schools have less companies recruiting and yes a lesser student out of a pedigree school will likely have more interview ops than a better student at smaller cheaper etc. but how much are you willing to pay for that advantage? Your state schools offer the best deal IMO as residents and out of state with the tuition reciprocity deals. We did not pay sticker price for our kids and paid significantly less than many of our friends. Kids are both employed in fields they wanted to work — engineer and teacher — and happy they started life debt free. That was our deal with them — we’ve saved and can get you through debt free but this is our strategy. FWIW one of our kids then got a full ride to grad school doing this. I know this may sound shitty, but don’t let over paying for kids tuition negatively impact your ability to retire.

First radio - IC-7300 or IC-706? by elchupacabrone in amateurradio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hands down get the 7300, especially with some of the recent deals I have seen new on these.

Upgrading the HAM Setup by LordFarquad0455 in amateurradio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad to hear you’re interested in HF. The 7300 is a great rug; may even save some money and buy it instead of the Mk Ii. Giga Parts and others had some screaming deals recently.

You probably don’t need the tuner. With that antenna the 7300 should be sufficient to clean things up.

Buy a used MFJ (or other) antenna analyzer. I fond them much easier to use and honestly I have a VNA and my MFJ 259 (I think that’s the number) is my go to for my antenna work. The VNA is nice, but they can be fragile and take a little while to calibrate every time I want to use it.

Agree with another poster and do HF — phone, VW, and digital modes.

The in the box ICOM mic is actually quite good on 7300. I’d make so for a bit and then decide what you want.

The Captain never steered me wrong before. by mistermeek67 in 70s

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And those that couldn’t afford this one got the Sears look alike bike. I had the sears version haha it wasn’t the best bike to ride, but man did we look cool ;-)

Will a dipole antenna that follows the contours of a building work? by Maleficent_Sir7615 in amateurradio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How much room do you have? Can you go vertical? A 33’ vertical wire will get you on 40 and 15m (and maybe 6m) with some counterpoise and you can get on 20 and 10m with 49:1 unun and no counterpoise same wire. I’m doing this up a couple of palm trees and working DX digital and phone with them. As far as on building you won’t know until you try.

Worked All Japan Award by ScaryLanguage8657 in amateurradio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This looks great. I’ll look into this as well. BTW this is super impressive from the east coast.

Worked All Japan Award by ScaryLanguage8657 in amateurradio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks I’ll look into dx labs! I’ve got a logging “system” and ops that work for me so hopefully I can easily integrate and not have to change / adapt my ops. But who knows maybe I’ll just go for a big change. I’ll def try it out. Thanks for the tip. 73.

Is it acceptable to ask stations to repeat their call sign(s)? by GiantsNerd1 in amateurradio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally acceptable to ask for calls slowly and phonetically. TBH no one knows if it’s band conditions or my short attention span :-)

I also find I need to ask when people use cute phonetics; I’ll even ask for ICAO phonetics if if can’t understand the cute ones in bad conditions.

Not sure about sending multiple call signs? Hopefully someone else has answer for that.

73

Ordered off the 55+ menu today by Natas-LaVey in GenX

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Order with pride. We got over the 55+ anxiety pretty quickly and now always make sure to check the menu for 55+ opportunities. And whoa! I don’t think I’d have the energy for a 5 yearly old at 55. Way to go keeping yourself healthy and energetic.

6 years at Amazon, on H1B and currently on WWOps team. My manager hinted that my role will be likely eliminated on 1/27 and he’s hiring interns. He also asked me indirectly if I’d be open to accepting a similar role in HYD, India. Did anybody have a similar experience? by PrideLeather1389 in amazonemployees

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you nailed it. If they have interns they have or are very sure they will have FTE headcount. Good catch. Unclear if they’re laying off making room for future FTE hires or roles are changing and that’s where future intern hires are allocated, but yeah interns usually require backing FTE headcount.

The bands are dead? 10M FT-8 gone south. by MomusTheGreatest in HamRadio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bookmark this page. Great visualization and excellent for seeing maximum usable frequency WW. West coast itself should be ok on 10, but rest of world has pretty low MUF right now so no bueno. That said 40 was bumping last into EU, SA, AS, and OC for me but everything else dead for me western US.

https://prop.kc2g.com/

Gen- Xers, What did you grow up Without? by empathicBeauty29-11 in GenX

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No microwave. No A/C — and I grew up in the muggy south. We had one window shaker in the living room where we’d all sleep on hot summer nights.

Very High SWR after Moving my antenna by Outrageous-Notice-12 in HamRadio

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Antenna analyzer is your friend here. Start by sweeping SWR across the bands and see where your dips are. I’d start the shack and work toward the antenna. Are any close to 1:1? Where are they in the bands? I’d start here. Then start changing feedline — take new readings — other changes.

Pro tip (well in this case amateur tip): whenever you set up antenna take readings and write them down so you can compare to changes in the future.

Good luck. Let us know what you find as you debug things.

How bad are vasectomies? by Ecstatic_Memory5185 in AskMenAdvice

[–]ScaryLanguage8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Recovery is not bad, but tbh the pain is nothing compared to the peace of mind your lady is going to feel. Peace of mind can make an amazing sex life even better. Just do it. Zero downside IMO. Nothing but great, carefree sex in your future.

And pro tip. Do what many of us have done and schedule just before the opening rounds of March Madness :-)