[Sticky] Welcome to the Forum

RoundyMooney

Feel free to post here, telling us a bit about your particular field of interest, and even about yourself if the mood takes you.

Enjoy,

R.

RoundyMooney

I meant to add to this...

I'm an electronics buff mainly, but have been into restoration of old time stuff (domestic valve and TV stuff) for a few years. Currently awaiting the exam in June for an amateur license, which if all goes well, I'll carry on to a CEPT 1 by getting the morse.

In the process of putting a shack together at the minute, and will gladly accept advice from anyone who know better than me

gyppo

Hey Roundy,

Your background sounds very similar to mine. Me, Electronics engineer originally, now more into the IT side of things. Used to do a good bit of TV and video repair, but its not worth bothering about anymore, unless its something special.

Started off on 40ch AM CB, then got interested in ssb & dx'ing. Also like sw listening and decoding modes like SSTV, wefax, etc.. as well as listening on things VHF and upwards.

Tried in vain to learn morse about 8 years ago, got to about 7wpm, and could'nt get any further. Now that the morse requirement is lowered, I must give it another shot.

Can't give you much advice on the shack side of things - if you saw the state of mine!

RoundyMooney

That's the joy of the disposable culture, gyppo. Remember all those little repair shops that were about a few years ago? Our kids won't. Like you, I wouldn't even bother with anything "modern" unless it were unique, but then again, what was being junked twenty years ago is now becoming sought after...

I've added Paul Stenning's site to the links thread, for those into collectables, so if you haven't seen it already, you might find it of interest.

As I'm sure you know, 5wpm is the standard now for a two letter call in this country. I'd go for it, if for no other reason, just to make the callsign a bit shorter

I think the shack issue is deserving of a thread of its own tbh. More to follow.

Owen

First of all, congrats, both to the new Forum, and to RoundyMooney for becoming a Mod - I hope you enjoy it! I'm a student PPL, and I use my bearcat scanner for listening to Radio Chatter.

PauloMN

Well done on the forum guys - I always wondered why Boards didn't have a radio forum. I'll be keeping an eye on it regularily!

Regarding the morse - it's no longer required at all and as a B license holder you have the same privileges as an A license holder. However, I think it's good to give it a shot from a number of angles - partly because of the history of amateur radio and the fact that it played (and still does) play such an important part of it.

As said above it also means a shorter callsign. It's not that difficult to get 5 words per min, I passed it no problem and I'm glad I took it. If I can pass it, anyone can!

Anyway good luck to those taking the theory and/or morse tests!

deRanged

great to see the new forum.

I'll be the first person to mention marine VHF - I got my cert a few weeks ago, have an ICOM handheld transceiver.
I want to get a scanner soon, but I'm really not sure which one to get - I'm interested in marine, air and the ISS!

god's toy

yep well done on the new forum!


I have been into radio from the time I was 9, sure then we all grew up with a radio (CB) in the house so it was as natural to pick up the Mic and chat away as talking on your mobile is now to everyone. Hell I still sometimes slip back into 'radio mode' and say 'Roger' when I'm talking to old radio buddies.

I remember the fuss about everyone been all closed down by RTE over TVI and I myself was hit twice by them.
Remembering the old days of radio in Dublin when we first got the 23 ch sets then 40 Ch and then the some went on to 80 channel I even loved UK FM handhelds then but it was the rigs with SSB and the fun really started. all the boys up on the 'highs' on channel 8, 12, or my own group 'Delta Charley' on 21 and so many more, the midland radio group for one. Anyone remember the HB's! (Hand Baggers they called themselves) ah what fun.

For my last years on the Radio we ended up on FM as we loved to just bug everyone who would not use it... channel 15 (27.135 if anyone remembers...)

Yep my glasses are somewhat rose tinted now I guess but I still have a rig ready to go if someone brings back the trend.

PauloMN

god's toy wrote:

yep well done on the new forum!


I have been into radio from the time I was 9, sure then we all grew up with a radio (CB) in the house so it was as natural to pick up the Mic and chat away as talking on your mobile is now to everyone. Hell I still sometimes slip back into 'radio mode' and say 'Roger' when I'm talking to old radio buddies.

I remember the fuss about everyone been all closed down by RTE over TVI and I myself was hit twice by them.
Remembering the old days of radio in Dublin when we first got the 23 ch sets then 40 Ch and then the some went on to 80 channel I even loved UK FM handhelds then but it was the rigs with SSB and the fun really started. all the boys up on the 'highs' on channel 8, 12, or my own group 'Delta Charley' on 21 and so many more, the midland radio group for one. Anyone remember the HB's! (Hand Baggers they called themselves) ah what fun.

For my last years on the Radio we ended up on FM as we loved to just bug everyone who would not use it... channel 15 (27.135 if anyone remembers...)

Yep my glasses are somewhat rose tinted now I guess but I still have a rig ready to go if someone brings back the trend.

The Delta Charlie group... there's a blast from the past! I was DC 48. Great craic DX'ing back then, I have a rake of QSL cards from back then, think I still have them. I spoke all over the place on 11m with that callsign!

Shame about 11m all the same - I was active until a few years ago, but I just got bored with all the... erm... unsavoury characters around it. Seemed to me at the time that the only activity was a bunch of foul-mouthed racists and keyers - generally people I didn't want to talk to. I ended up getting the license a few years ago but haven't been hugely active yet, I intend getting some antenna work done this summer so should be on a bit more soon!

I too ended up spending a lot of time on UK FM, usually up the high end where it was a little quieter (less scummers ;-) ).

god's toy

Well it's nice to find an old DC member on here! I'm DC56 if you wanted to know...
Yep I agree about the 11M band, man it use to be so much fun! 666 and all the boys on every night ah good times indeed.

I have always said I would get the HF ticket one day, I even went and passed the Maritime/DSC ones a few years back
but some reason I've never got around to it, I fire up the radio but as I'm outside Dublin now I dont get to hear that much.... would love to get a few of the SSB's and AM boys on just for one night!


Good to meet you

PauloMN

god's toy wrote:

Well it's nice to find an old DC member on here! I'm DC56 if you wanted to know...
Yep I agree about the 11M band, man it use to be so much fun! 666 and all the boys on every night ah good times indeed.

I have always said I would get the HF ticket one day, I even went and passed the Maritime/DSC ones a few years back
but some reason I've never got around to it, I fire up the radio but as I'm outside Dublin now I dont get to hear that much.... would love to get a few of the SSB's and AM boys on just for one night!


Good to meet you

Yeah you should go for the HF license. I put it off for years and years, and finally I got it a few years ago. It's really not too bad - try and do a course if you have one available in your local amateur radio club. Take a look at some past papers and it'll give you a very good idea of what to cover - the questions are usually pretty similar from exam to exam.

Mind you I know they were talking about making it multi-choice after I did mine - not sure if that has happened, but the content/questions should be much the same. Also don't forget that morse is no longer required and passing the test will give you access to everything with no restrictions.

Let me know if there's anything I can help you with anyway and I'll try my best.

RoundyMooney

PauloMN wrote:

Mind you I know they were talking about making it multi-choice after I did mine - not sure if that has happened, but the content/questions should be much the same. Also don't forget that morse is no longer required and passing the test will give you access to everything with no restrictions.

The exam is now ticky box (4 multiple choice options), and in my view anyway is probably even easier than before. Morse is not required, but if you do take it, it shortens your shiny new callsign by one letter-upgrading a CEPT Class 2 to a Class 1 in international terms(i.e. EI8ABC becomes EI8AB or summat like that). 5wpm is the standard required.

I'll have to learn it myself over the summer, I'll be taking the exam in June, and I think the assessment for CW is in July sometime.

PauloMN wrote:

Let me know if there's anything I can help you with anyway and I'll try my best.

Seconded. Check the IRTS website, getting started, for details of the exam format.

CrowdedHouse

Ah just found this ...

Licensed Experimenter here although have been inactive lately...maybe get going again for the summer 6 metre season.

Best of luck with the new forum.

RoundyMooney

I can see a few boardsie QSO's on the horizon lads, we'll have to arrange a sked when I get me ticket at least...

Heathen

Thanks for this forum Roundy...

I got into Radios about 1995.. strolled into CQ Communications in dublin and bought a EuroCB 40 box AM a power supply and a hembro aerial and some coax.. was delighted with myself.. set it all up and did a bit of ear wiggin for a few days.. till i finally got the balls to key up and say hello.. first qso was with a fella called Ronan in Portmarnock, sound chap that i got to know well after that.. i got hooked after that, met loads of people all over dublin on the air, and started meeting up for eyeballs.. ended up making a lot of really nice people and good mates, we used to go karting and on booze cruises to hollyhead and all.. it was deadly craic, and everyone helped eachother out lending equipment, lending expeirence, even helping out with getting rid on TVI, or erecting antennae.. i then got a Superstar with usb ssb highers and lowers and roger bleeps and all the Bling that came with it lol got an antron 99 and highered the aerial to 50 feet with stay wires and all, then started doing a bit of DXing, got qsl's from Cincinatti and someone in europe and all, started pushing 80watts and wrecking the TV network around my gaff.. lol, so had to drop power.. eventually got into scanning and exploring repeaters and ear wigging on them.. but i stopped txing once i moved to waterford in 2000..
i brought a mobile rig with me in the car to see if their was any life down here, but soon found that it was only young fellas burning around in cars chatting away, i kinda missed the buzz of my old radio mates in dublin, so the rig is in a box under the stairs now...

However.. i was out for a drive yesterday with my girlfriend and we passed a big repeater station, and i started getting the bug bitting me.. i have been with my girlfriend for 6 years and she never knew i was an anorak till i sprung it on her yesterday telling her "That its a Greenrod, that there is a 5/8 wave antenna, that is a dipole aerial.. that is for uhf, that if for vhf... " and so on.. lol
anyway the result of the conversation being "why dont you bring all your equipment down from dublin next time yer up visiting yer folks" WHOO HOOO!! little does she know i have an attic FULL of equipment.. anyway, im just on to say hi, and hopefully i will catch someone from here on the airwaves some nite

73's
Mack

RoundyMooney

Nice stories there, Macker.

In other news, have applied today for the exam, so I'll be "out there" hopefully within the next six weeks

watty

Great new forum..

BTW all Irish PERSONAL 3 letter suffixes end in B. You get a totally different pair of letters with the CW pass.

Club and special event call signs can be 3 or 4 letters and don't need to end in B.

IMO CW was obsolete in 1972 when I did my UK exam. Sometimes I do it using my 102 key "bug" key and DSP assisted decoding.
I started learing morse in 1969 but never did get the hang of it.

Hi all,

Amateur radio/CD bnrings back memories, started on CB in the mid 70's then graduated to a B license G1.. got the CW in 1980 and a G0 A license, was very active until about 1990, got married kids etc....

Must get back into it again I still have some of the gear. Left the AR88 behind in the UK

PS how easy is it to get an IE A license if I had a lapsed G A license..

watty

You don't need CW any more. Even an old UK B license is full Irish priveledges. Since you have an A licence you'll get a two letter call sign. otherwise you get a 3 letter call ending in B.

I filled in the OTDR form and sent them my City & Guilds and UK Call Sign.

Ring Comreg and ask for Derek O'Rielly in Charge of "Wireless Experimenter Licences" and he'll sort you out.

73 GI8JTR/EI9FEB

YourName

I am brand new to this forum but heard a lot about it, been sifting through all the threads for a while now, so I thought I better get cracking at leaving a few replies . . . . . . . so without further ado . . .. . . . . .

I have become very interested in all this hobby radio stuff over the lst while but don't know much about it whatsoever, I see you have laid out frequencys where you could listen to the people talking down at Dublin Airport, I live in close proximety to it personally and would be highly interested in hearing what they say over the airwaves, what could I buy to do this, you recommend ebay a lot on the forum, I have used that several times, maybe I could pick up a radio from there, but what one exactly ????

I would enjoy doing this as a hobby as I am into technology personally, but obviously to start off I wouldn't want to spend much money . . . . .

Anybody have any recommendations? You all sound very interested in what you do on here and very well up on it, so I hope my lack of knowledge ofthe whole subject hasn't made you laugh to much over the course of you reading this comment, mainly probably the terminology I have used, but sure if any wants to leave a comment I am sure I will figure out how to use this forum and send ya one back,

Thanks,
Andy
:rolleyes::D;):confused::eek:

Hissing Sideban

Morse is a bit like giving up smoking - you can believe it is hard, and it will be, or easy if you approach it with the right mental attitude (I have approached both in both ways...and eventually succeeded!)

The right way to learn morse is using what is known as the Koch method,
G4FON has devised an excellent (Free) programme to teach it to yourself
see http://www.g4fon.net/CW%20Trainer.htm or do a google for G4FON Morse.

Morse is great as you can work huge distances with low power and / or a practical aerial system feasible for a suburban house- - using SSB, the novelty can wear off after several dozen East Coast W's and European amateurs - (if you haven't a stonking aerial system!)

(BTW re ciggies - yer only man is (was) Allen Carr)

73 De EI3HG

tunerk

RoundyMooney wrote: »

Feel free to post here, telling us a bit about your particular field of interest, and even about yourself if the mood takes you.

Enjoy,

R.

i was wondering if it would be possible to buy a raido scanner from the us or aus and would they run on our 220 volts seen some cheap ones on ebay thanks

BravoMike

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum. I have been interested in radio's for quite some time then finally picked up an Icom Ic-r5 to have a listen to whats out there. It did the job for Airband and VHF radio. Recently I picked up an Icom PCR-1500, I find it to be a great reciever combining two hobbies I.T. and radios. It has opened up a new world of decoding Acars, Automatic Picture Transmissions, and hopefully ship ais soon enough. I suppose now recieving is becomming a bit boring and I would mind venturing into Txing. A quick question, how do I go about getting the experimenters licence and can you use a simple handheld tranciever rather than a base tranciever?

CB19Kevo

Welcome to the forum, Would you not thinking of getting CB while waiting to get your licence?

BravoMike

I was thinking of that alright but I have all 40 Channels stuck into the scanner but there does not seem to be much activity here in Limerick. I have heard of a few taxi drivers having CB with a few more getting it soon enough.

The RF Tech Guy

Hello everybody

New around here (obviously :rolleyes:) so thought I should introduce myself before posting elsewhere.

Well... I like all the usual radio stuff. Bit of airband monitoring both VHF and UHF, CB, basically anything radio related really.

Like the technical aspect of the hobby a lot and spend a bit of rare free time constructing and trying out the odd new thing or two.