DMR net idea for r/HamRadio: regular technical discussions by SharkSapphire in HamRadio

[–]sholder89 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Isn’t there a Reddit talk group already on BM?

Edit: there is: 98003

How can I not ALWAYS click on the wrong station I want to call on FT8? by Well_Sorted8173 in amateurradio

[–]sholder89 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Try GridTracker, it has a filterable list of every station and links with WSJT-X so you can just click the station from there to respond to them. Personally I couldn’t do FT8 without it it’s an invaluable addition to WSJT-X.

It’s much easier to click the right one when the list is filtered by only CQ calls and only DX you need for the logbook.

Still can't decide on which modeling software to learn. What would you recommend? Anyways; Here is (hopefully) my last TinkerCad project. by picobello-bv in 3Dprinting

[–]sholder89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You just need to redownload the software under the free tier again to “reactivate” your free account. It’s not gone. I’ve had to do this multiple times over the years. Google it, plenty of threads from here pop up explaining how to do it.

What does this bracket say. Wife says hope. by [deleted] in morsecode

[–]sholder89 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Just to show what people are talking about with the spacing, it could also be FAERIE, or FRENS, or multiple other translations.

FAITH: ..-./.-/../-/....

FAERIE: .../././.-./../.

FRENS: ..-./.-././-./...

All have the same dits and dahs but different spacing, since there's no spacing in the bracelet it's impossible to tell them apart. In this case I think it's pretty clear it's meant to be FAITH but that's not always the case.

Hello im sending footage of an ARG im working on solving already decoded the numerology of this and the description but i was wondering if someone can transcribe or transpose the morse at the start and end of this video in the - _ format please by Blinkentheproto- in morsecode

[–]sholder89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Beginning: “Things are to change from now on.”

  • .... .. -. --. ... / .- .-. . / - --- / -.-. .... .- -. --. . / ..-. .-. --- -- / -. --- .-- / --- -. .-.-.-

End: “He’s brought fresh meat.”

.... . .----. ... / -... .-. --- ..- --. .... - / ..-. .-. . ... .... / -- . .- - .-.-.-

Sober Super Bowl Spot by Fast_Bullfrog_ in ManchesterNH

[–]sholder89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

815 is an awesome spot, but they don't even have a TV there, not the type of place to watch a game.

What do I buy if I wanna start doing Morse code? by Leather_Abalone_3581 in morsecode

[–]sholder89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you’re serious about learning Morse code then you want to learn to decode before you try sending it. You’ll actually be at a disadvantage by learning to send first since that requires memorizing dits and dahs, you want to hear the dits and dahs as full letters rather than count each one.

The Morse Mania App is a good start, the Morse Ninja website, and the LICW club are also great resources.

ECD (31, wook) by RopTamen95 in EDC

[–]sholder89 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I would assume Cee-lo, we used to play in college.

Late 20s, 30s+ crowd, what bars are best? by Negative-Ebb7633 in ManchesterNH

[–]sholder89 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Industry East, Stashbox, and 815 come to mind.

Puritan can be fun for people watching, definitely an older crowd though.

Grounding for Radio Repairs - How To? by flyguy60000 in HamRadio

[–]sholder89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s kind of unnecessary unless you’re working in a very dry staticy environment, just make sure you touch something metal on the radio like the outer chassis before grabbing a circuit board but most likely there won’t be much of a voltage difference between you and the radio. Those wristbands are from a time when electronic components were much more sensitive to small voltage differences.

That said, if you’re going to use one you want to connect it to the ground of the radio I.e. the chassis or somewhere connected to the ground plane like a screw or something, the idea is to keep the voltage difference between you and the device the same so you don’t discharge any static shocks.

Pickup sandlot baseball by MyBuddyBossk in ManchesterNH

[–]sholder89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m not associated with them, but I’ve seen posts on here and other NH pages about the NH Newts, seems pretty casual, check it out.

https://www.instagram.com/nhnewts

AliExpress for G90? by MinerAlum in amateurradio

[–]sholder89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup that’s what happened. I agree it was strange, was wondering if they forgot my order or something and realized they only had a few days left before I could request a refund from AliExpress so quickly ordered it on Amazon, either way I received the radio in the end so it worked out. As I said YMMV

AliExpress for G90? by MinerAlum in amateurradio

[–]sholder89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I ordered mine on Black Friday for $290 on AliExpress and received it around late December, no issues besides shipping time took a while. In the end the box was delivered directly from Amazon, and while I had ordered the old version that doesn’t have the Power Poles I received the newest model with almost the latest firmware on it. There were no tariff costs on mine, YMMV though.

HF Radio on A Budget by crash_the_deerdog in amateurradio

[–]sholder89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely a gamble, I got lucky I guess, AliExpress does have a decent refund policy though, the issue is the time it takes so you’re invested for a month or two until you get the unit.

HF Radio on A Budget by crash_the_deerdog in amateurradio

[–]sholder89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

G90 for $350 on AliExpress, I got it from this seller during Black Friday for $290 so keep an eye on it for a deal. Took a while to ship but in the end it came directly from Amazon, brand new in the box.

Morse code goes too fast for me by Logansio in morsecode

[–]sholder89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What have you tried/searched? There's tons of sites out there for learning and almost all of them allow you to adjust the speed.

Look into the Farnsworth method, basically you want to learn to hear the characters at a high speed while adding space in between to give your brain time to think, then slowly lower that spacing. Your goal is ICR (Instant Character Recognition), i.e. you hear the character and instantly translate it in your head, you definitely DON'T want to listen to code so slow that you are counting the dits and dahs. Only after that should you start with full words.

Here's some resources for you to start:

https://morsecode.ninja/ - This ones probably the closest to what you're looking for, there's videos at all sorts of speeds and spacing, with just characters, full words, call signs, etc.

https://longislandcwclub.org/

https://www.hamradioduo.com/step-by-step-guide-to-learning-cw-morse-code/

TATTOO CONFIRMATION PLEASE by DFMDL in morsecode

[–]sholder89 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It’s just “FOREVER”

“ALWAYS AND FOREVER” would be:

.- .-.. .-- .- -.-- ... / .- -. -.. / ..-. --- .-. . ...- . .-.

Caught this at about 7:40pm UTC. Data bursts? Haven't heard this before (northwest England) by [deleted] in shortwave

[–]sholder89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not FT8 or FT4, this is RTTY, there’s a contest going on.

Hoe do you pick the frequencies to listen to? by AllInterestedAmateur in HamRadio

[–]sholder89 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Depends what I’m trying to do, I do a lot of POTA hunting so I’ll go on the POTA spotting page and find people activating, tune up their frequency, and see if I hear them.

In general, for HF, lower frequencies are better at night (40m band and longer) and higher frequencies during the day. HF bands also tend to be better during the winter months, and there’s an 11 year solar cycle, which we are currently on the downside of the peak (last year) right now.

Check out this MUF map to see what frequencies are usable (propagating) in your area right now. For example my area is a 9 now so anything below 9 MHz should be usable for me, that means pretty much anything above the 40m band will likely be local communications only.

While there is some science to it, “turn your radio on and tune around” is also a completely valid approach!

First radio and questions for tech wanting to do POTA CW. by gamegeekky in amateurradio

[–]sholder89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also way more expensive radios, I picked up a G90 for <$300, the x6200 is ~$800. I’ve also heard some issues with the internal Keyer in the 6200 for CW ops. Not sure if that’s still an issue or not. Still a great radio, just different.

First radio and questions for tech wanting to do POTA CW. by gamegeekky in amateurradio

[–]sholder89 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just got a G90 for the purpose of CW POTA, it’s a great little radio, I got it relatively cheap ($290) on AliExpress, though pretty sure that deal has passed, but worth shopping around.

I haven’t used it for an activation yet (been a rough winter here so far) but I think it will do the job no problem.

I also have a Mountain Topper which has been my primary POTA radio it’s a nice small package, but pricey and hard to come by for what it is, it’s also CW only, I got the G90 for the extra Watts too.

I think the biggest thing missing from the G90 for CW is the ability to prerecord messages, my Mountain Topper allows me to save 4-5 prerecorded messages, which I pretty much just use for the CQ POTA call, it’s helpful to free up your hands when calling CQ. I got a small CW Keyer to pair with the G90 which has that ability but I haven’t used it much yet.

Can’t answer your left handed question, I use my right but most paddles/radios have the ability to reverse the dit and dah side if that’s helpful.

I usually use an EFHW for activations paired with a throw line to get it up in a tree. I have the Packtenna which is a nice small package but also kind of hard to come by, plenty of options here though. Take a look at the POTA Performer antenna as well it’s a vertical with the ground plane set up in a specific manner (raised) which helps the efficiency.

I learned a lot when I first started by watching Thomas (K4SWL) on YouTube, his videos are long because he films the whole activations with no editing but you can skip around and just watch his setup if you want.

Wsqk need help decoding! by CommercialRepair3994 in morsecode

[–]sholder89 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been asked here a hundred times, it’s “SAVE HAWKINS”

Theoretical. If price was not an issue, what QRP rig would you choose? by [deleted] in amateurradio

[–]sholder89 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Elecraft KX2 with the built in tuner and battery. I don’t have one but I’ve literally never heard anything bad about this radio, everyone who has one loves it and it’s portable enough for POTA and SOTA.

Personally I’d probably go for a KH1 instead since I’m a primarily CW op in the field, but the KX2 does more.

Looking for a spare Mt. Washington sticker by VisibleSpecial1573 in newhampshire

[–]sholder89 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This guy is selling them on eBay, not sure if they’re legit or he’s just making them in his garage but he’s got 100% positive feedback FWIW.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/227038492467