HAM radio

[endure]

Vibroplex iambic keyer?

Probably. The thing about working coast stations all over the world was that they were all completely different.

Portishead/GKA was the biz. The week before Xmas their traffic lists were continuous. If you were lucky you got QRY 35

Colombo/4PB had a dodgy PSU in their main transmitter which made it warble.

Odessa/UDE (Soviet Ukraine) thought that 65wpm was reasonable.

Slidell/WNU was far and away the slickest cost station in the US. They put the giants like Ammagansett/WSL and SanFrancisco/KPH to shame.

Lots of nostalgia herefor us old farts ...

Maritime Radio Historical Society

 

[endure]

If you can read morse and you want to listen to something that made your average Sparky's skin crawl listen to
"GLD - DDD/SOS Sent From Landsend Radio/GLD" on the link I've just posted.

 

[Roadster280]

@supermatelot - Let me just say, THANK YOU for laying down the gauntlet.

I’ve been in comms for almost 35 years. To join the TA, you had to be 17 years 6 months. I was 17 years, 6 months and 6 days. Now I’m 52. Back then it was a solitary HF set in a Land Rover. Quickly it grew to a HF RATT installation, and then I went regular. Re-traded to tech a year or two later, and learned the innards. After the mob, I stayed in comms, and am still there. Today, I work with fiber, and the multi-100G systems on the end of the fiber plant. And indeed, if the fiber is not there, can we make it work financially if we build it?

But then I watch this video, and I am coming home. Some people like cars, some like sports, some like music. Me? I’m a Scaley.

 

[supermatelot]

@supermatelot - Let me just say, THANK YOU for laying down the gauntlet.

I’ve been in comms for almost 35 years. To join the TA, you had to be 17 years 6 months. I was 17 years, 6 months and 6 days. Now I’m 52. Back then it was a solitary HF set in a Land Rover. Quickly it grew to a HF RATT installation, and then I went regular. Re-traded to tech a year or two later, and learned the innards. After the mob, I stayed in comms, and am still there. Today, I work with fiber, and the multi-100G systems on the end of the fiber plant. And indeed, if the fiber is not there, can we make it work financially if we build it?

But then I watch this video, and I am coming home. Some people like cars, some like sports, some like music. Me? I’m a Scaley.

Dont bloody blame me!!!!

There are people with proper beards on this thread...beards with residue of soup...and other things on them. Well airated footwear with some degree of additional insulation also.

You have those to acknowledge also.
Its been a wonderful journey...you've beat me to the first hurdle.


Well chuffed

 

[fv1620]

There will be some Clansman rigs on air this afternoon with VMARS 80m net, note that this is USB not the usual LSB for this band:

Sunday 21st February 1500UTC

The 80m Military Radio Net (UK & a bit of Europe)

Frequency 3.680 USB but may vary subject to QRM etc please look for us.

This net is aimed towards the military radio user, and as such you’re encouraged to get out your old military radios to participate. Usual check in protocol now is by radio type so:

1) Clansman 320

2) Clansman 319/321

3) LOW <10w and manpack with whips

4) QRO sets such as Skanti or 618T

This gives more people a fair chance of being heard, so please observe.

 

[endure]

@Roadster280 Plenty of practice here

http://cw.dimebank.com:8080/

 

[endure]

@supermatelot - Let me just say, THANK YOU for laying down the gauntlet.

I’ve been in comms for almost 35 years. To join the TA, you had to be 17 years 6 months. I was 17 years, 6 months and 6 days. Now I’m 52. Back then it was a solitary HF set in a Land Rover. Quickly it grew to a HF RATT installation, and then I went regular. Re-traded to tech a year or two later, and learned the innards. After the mob, I stayed in comms, and am still there. Today, I work with fiber, and the multi-100G systems on the end of the fiber plant. And indeed, if the fiber is not there, can we make it work financially if we build it?

But then I watch this video, and I am coming home. Some people like cars, some like sports, some like music. Me? I’m a Scaley.

Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!

 

[Roadster280]

There will be some Clansman rigs on air this afternoon with VMARS 80m net, note that this is USB not the usual LSB for this band:

Sunday 21st February 1500UTC

The 80m Military Radio Net (UK & a bit of Europe)

Frequency 3.680 USB but may vary subject to QRM etc please look for us.

This net is aimed towards the military radio user, and as such you’re encouraged to get out your old military radios to participate. Usual check in protocol now is by radio type so:

1) Clansman 320

2) Clansman 319/321

3) LOW <10w and manpack with whips

4) QRO sets such as Skanti or 618T

This gives more people a fair chance of being heard, so please observe.

I had a quick listen to this with Joddrell Bank’s WebSDR. I could hear the classic Clansman tuning signal, but no voice audio. Wish I had more time to listen to this, I’d be very interested. But already have a golf tee-time, so I’m outta here.

...but FedEx says it may be “7300 Day”, if they’re to be believed

 

[Electromagnetic]

I had a quick listen to this with Joddrell Bank’s WebSDR. I could hear the classic Clansman tuning signal, but no voice audio. Wish I had more time to listen to this, I’d be very interested. But already have a golf tee-time, so I’m outta here.

...but FedEx says it may be “7300 Day”, if they’re to be believed

Oh dear, netting to the same frequency seems a bit iffy for some. Net controller also having to explain to the uninitiated why USB is in use. Actual frequency seems closer to 3676 with some variation between radios. Net controller has poor audio with his PRC 319 radio but considering he bought it as not working that's good going. Good luck finding parts for that. Some sets in use have excellent audio. ETA heard another two 319s with perfectly acceptable audio given the compression.

 

[Pete Cozy]

Yep, great until the internet and all the cellphones go down if the brown smelly stuff ever hits the fan. We have a ham radio for contacting the emergency services and neighbours if the SHTF as do most folks around these parts.

PRC319 covers most bands and freqs, PRC320 are good for long wave comms, both do CW, rugged, compact, VHF for local, don't worry about licencing, as there will be nobody around to enforce it, IIRC there EMP proof, to an extent, so if some nipple pops off a nuke over Hamburg and blacks out Europe, for decades you can still communicate, share information, help each other,

 

[fv1620]

Bit of a cacophony today, so much noise here I pulled out after 30 mins : (

 

[endure]

 

[itchy300]

How often do the amateur frequency allocations change?

I've heard a rumour that VHF has changed slightly giving the clansman 351/2 more utility but fur the life of me I cant find anything confirming this

 

[Electromagnetic]

How often do the amateur frequency allocations change?

I've heard a rumour that VHF has changed slightly giving the clansman 351/2 more utility but fur the life of me I cant find anything confirming this

There have been rumours about selling off some of the VHF/UHF spectrum but nothing new in the range of the PRC351/2. The two bands it can operate on are 4m and 6m. UK has had 4m for years but not every country has a 4m allocation so maybe it was another country getting 4m you heard about? Or perhaps it was about a new Anytone radio for the 4m band?

4-meter band - Wikipedia
6-meter band - Wikipedia

 

[fv1620]

How often do the amateur frequency allocations change?

I've heard a rumour that VHF has changed slightly giving the clansman 351/2 more utility but fur the life of me I cant find anything confirming this

In the RoI they now have 30-49 MHz on a secondary basis.

40 MHz

The current bands for radio amateurs in Europe between 25 MHz and 88 MHz are 10 metres (28.0-29.7 MHz), 6 metres (50-52/54 MHz) and 4 m...

ei7gl.blogspot.com

 

[Electromagnetic]

In the RoI they now have 30-49 MHz on a secondary basis.

40 MHz

The current bands for radio amateurs in Europe between 25 MHz and 88 MHz are 10 metres (28.0-29.7 MHz), 6 metres (50-52/54 MHz) and 4 m...

ei7gl.blogspot.com

And 60 MHz too by the look of it. Interesting.

 

[Roadster280]

I have news. Very good news

 

[endure]

I have news. Very good news

View attachment 551626

Go on. Make us in the UK really angry. How much did you pay for it

 

[itchy300]

There have been rumours about selling off some of the VHF/UHF spectrum but nothing new in the range of the PRC351/2. The two bands it can operate on are 4m and 6m. UK has had 4m for years but not every country has a 4m allocation so maybe it was another country getting 4m you heard about? Or perhaps it was about a new Anytone radio for the 4m band?

4-meter band - Wikipedia
6-meter band - Wikipedia

I can't remember the source of the rumour which is frustrating. Im pessimistic though as I think we're more likely to lose space than gain it.

 

[Electromagnetic]

I can't remember the source of the rumour which is frustrating. Im pessimistic though as I think we're more likely to lose space than gain it.

There may have been a rumour about losing some of the 70 cm band which is secondary but it's more likely to be much higher up ie frequencies useful for data bandwidth.