Get On the Air!
I remember my first bicycle. It was blue. It was small enough that my feet could touch the ground. It was new and beautiful! My brother and I had a very special Christmas that year ! His was normal sized and red while mine was smaller, blue and had training wheels. TRAINING WHEELS??? I assured my dad that I didn’t need TRAINING WHEELS! Then I got on the bike and proved myself wrong. But within a day (or two) I pretty well mastered the art of bicycling. That is if the art of bicycling was riding in circles on the smooth street in front of our house.
In the 1950s most of the side streets in Taft were gravel. Some were well compacted and relatively smooth; others not so much. A decent road for the big tires of a 1949 Ford; a real challenge for bicycle wheels. If the road was a sloping one, stopping before reaching the bottom was usually due more to a crash than successful braking. On one trip down that steep road behind our house the lever fastened to the bike frame that allowed the brake to work when the rider pressed the pedals in reverse came loose. I tried to slow the bike and all that happened was I was repeatedly lifted up in the air as the lever allowed the wheel to rotate the pedals in reverse! My only choice, more fate than choice, was a crash into the ditch which bent my front wheel as well as a few of my body parts.
How does this relate to getting on the air with your brand new shiny radio? Well, new experiences can be daunting and sometimes you need training wheels, sometimes you need to have a harrowing episode to teach you the things you need to know to successfully practice your new hobby. In my case training wheels allowed me to learn the balance necessary to ride a bike. The crashes were painful lessons to teach maintaining a bike meant to periodically tightening screws and bolts. We all had to learn to walk before we could run. Some did so easily and somewhat naturally … others took a more circuitous and painful route.
I’m hoping to inspire new hams to turn on their radio (after connecting it to power and an antenna), pick up the mike, listen for an opening and press the PTT. Oh, yeah, and to speak … “This is K7XYZ checking into the Noon Time Net” A great way to start is on 145.370 Mhz. When net control welcomes you onto the net you are hamming! Don’t be afraid to let everyone listening know that it is your first time. If you need help with a particular problem with your radio or radio station … ask.
Most new hams start with a small VHF hand held transceiver. Programming these little wonders is often a daunting and confusing task. There are numerous videos on the internet some are helpful and some are just more confusing. But what is confusing to one may be enlightening to another. Check the programs until one seems to be right for you. Ask for help. If you can’t get on the air to ask, come to the meeting either in person or by zoom. Chances are someone can help you out of the confusion and onto the airwaves!
The Technician class license is meant to be the introduction and pathway to amateur radio. Many think it is a great way to get into the hobby and a quick way to operate on the air with relatively inexpensive radios. It is. But it provides opportunities that many overlook. I offer the following to consider diving deeper into your new hobby.
As an interesting experiment, I put 28.300 MHz on my transceiver and began to slowly turn the dial until I reached 29.700 MHz. Why slowly? Because my radio covers more of the spectrum the faster you spin the dial and I wanted to simulate a normal search for a station. Also, if you tune too fast you can pass over signals without knowing they are there. In this instance “slow and steady wins the race.”
This is the 10 meter band and a part of it is available to Technician class for HF phone operation. From 28.300 Mhz to 28.500 Mhz is the portion of the band open for Technician operation Many Technicians don’t take advantage of the privilege and equate HF High Frequency phone with the General and higher license. Not only is the band a decent slice of the spectrum; when conditions are right one can communicate all over the world! And right now conditions are right and getting better as part of the sun spot cycle improves the band.
Tune, listen, make sure you are on frequency and respond with your call sign after the station finishes calling CQ. Tune along the band to find a station that is coming in strong and clear. Why? Chances are good that if the station is strong coming to your receiver your return signal will do its best getting to them. Listen how the station operates. Some call CQ for a long period of time; some for a very short period of time. It would seem that some want to broadcast a CQ more than answer a CQ because they pause for such a brief time before calling CQ again.
If the station doesn’t answer, keep trying. Sometimes the conditions at a station are very heavy with static or noise. Keep trying and if you are lucky your call will hit a clear spot and the station will hear you and return your call. If you don’t connect within a reasonable time move on and keep trying. Patience is an important quality for a ham!
Many times it is band conditions. Sometimes it is something with your station. Your fingers have touched or moved a control (how could that have happened with my banana fingers?). I have found that the mike gain on my transceiver got turned down; the RF power was way low; or that I was a little off frequency. These things can all drastically affect your signal and success in making a contact. Patience and perseverance often times win out. Keep trying and the thrill of making that contact will be a real reward!
What do I talk about? That depends on you. What sort of conversation do you have over a cup of coffee or tea? Possibly the comment about Starbucks or your preference for Earl Gray tea would not be appropriate in this case; but the idea is not without value. You can ask about the weather, or what it is like where they are. Do they have other interests besides ham radio? Whatever you do when you are trying to get to know a new acquaintance is good advice. Maybe creating a “script” of questions to ask would up your comfort level.
Try to stay away from religion and politics and don’t get too personal is good advice. I was listening to a female operator and this male asked if she was married. I was so astounded, I wanted to contact him and tell him this is amateur radio not a dating service! The young woman handled it very well by answering him with the question if hams asked HIM if he was married and what did her martial status have to do with ham radio. Ask about their station; their experience in radio; their contact that was the most interesting or the most distant.
The important thing is to pick up your microphone and depress the Push To Talk. Get on the air! There are no “contact police” until the operator begins to use foul language or disrupts other amateurs contacts in a purposeful and damaging manner. If the contact is a “Rag Chew” the topics are pretty much open to whatever the parties want to discuss that is not considered inappropriate.
Climb on that “bicycle” and start riding. The reward will be worth the possible bumps in the road and hopefully any “crashes” will be minor!
73, Chuck Gerttula W7CRG