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Post by M4Madness on Dec 26, 2022 8:53:58 GMT -5
That’s amazing and I’m super intrigued by this! I know little to nothing about ham radio. I just finished a book on Endurance, The fateful voyage of Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to reach the South Pole in 1914. That got me researching more info on Antarctica. Not too hi jack the thread, But how much would you guess it costs just to get started in ham or shortwave or amateur radio? Like any other hobby, you can spend a little or a lot. Just like deer hunting, you can go out with a cheap rifle in everyday clothing, or you can buy a super expensive rifle and be decked out in the latest gear. At the end of the day, both hunters can come home with deer. The first thing with amateur radio is licensing. It's not really difficult and the license is good for 10 years. There are three different license levels: technician, general, and amateur extra, and each level allows you more frequencies to use. Obviously, you do not need a license to simply listen, but I'm sure you'd like to transmit sometime. The technician license is pretty much just the close-range stuff using UHF/VHF. You'd need general license at the minimum to contact people in other countries on HF. $1000 would get you a very, very nice radio that covers all the HF frequencies, and you could fashion an antenna with automotive wire and a length of coax. A big antenna (couple thousand dollars plus tower) is awesome, but not required. The best selling radio is probably the Icom IC-7300, which is what I have. It is by far the best bang for the buck in the ham world, having features usually reserved for the high-priced models. I'd be glad to help anyone out who is interested in getting started.
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Post by greghopper on Dec 26, 2022 9:01:18 GMT -5
Saving all that money for QSL cards I see... I ordered a thousand when I got licensed, so I'm good for a long time. Lol! Pic…
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Post by M4Madness on Dec 26, 2022 9:12:24 GMT -5
Here's a recording I made of a guy in Algeria calling out for someone to talk to. His call sign is 7X4AN (seven x-ray four america norway using phonetics). youtu.be/xWL-d3M7v_s
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