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Messages - Polar Bear

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16
VHF/UHF Logs, including satellites and radiosondes / Work the ISS
« on: March 01, 2023, 0728 UTC »
https://www.amsat.org/track/satloc.php?lang=en&satellite=ISS

I missed the first couple of passes tonight.

Next pass is 7:39 UTC

17
10/11 meters / Re: 10m/11m Band Activity 28 Feb 2023
« on: March 01, 2023, 0726 UTC »
The problem with 11 meters is that it is unlicensed.
The people there do not work it as a hobby.
No one seems to be interested in working DX.
The lunacy - the crazy people seems to dominate the band when it is open.
It is ok, if all you want to do is look to see if the band is open.
The sheer number of operators is outstanding.
Back when there were few band openings, I used it as an indicator - is 10 meters open, or are the hams just lazy.

18
Group W Bench / Re: FCC Cancels W6WBJ License
« on: February 01, 2023, 1837 UTC »
Those people are just as racist as the worlds biggest jammer.
Maybe they ought to have their Black Panther Party net at a time different then 9 PM west coast time.
Might I suggest they have it at 3 am - then no one would hear them talk.

19
TV DX Loggings / ATSC 3.0
« on: January 22, 2023, 2236 UTC »
https://www.atsc.org/

The Pittsburgh stations has already switched.

https://www.nexttv.com/news/atsc-3-0-nextgen-tv

20
TV DX Loggings / Re: Television Repack and Digital TV
« on: January 22, 2023, 2234 UTC »
WDTV has been a no go for the past 8 years.

I have talked to Jim Breem about their signal, could receive it during the last solar cycle.

WPSU transmitter is 27 air miles from my qth - don't even need an antenna to receive it.

21
Group W Bench / Re: Squeaker AM Radio 1710 AM 1748 UTC 20 DEC 2022
« on: January 04, 2023, 1736 UTC »
If you were that impressed, why didn't you make a recording and post it on here.

22
Yes a mental health evaluation would be a start, but not the solution.

I was once a member of a amateur radio club, I actually drove 50 miles - not interstate, to and from the club meeting.

My purpose was to build a group of knowledgeable people that could be used to do more then check into a net on a 2 meter repeater and give your "No Traffic"!

A older couple attended one of the meetings, they were dressed nice, had jewelry on and the husband wore a suit and the woman wore a dress and I could tell that they were well to do.  They had just passed the General Class License Exam and came to inquire about joining the club and wanted information about a good first rig - HF radio.

On the one side of the room was the old guard - club President, vice president, secretary - all family members, that owned junk and thought that junk was good enough.

On the other side of the room was me, with a couple of radio catalogs with the best entry level rigs circled and phone numbers for the sales people that would extend to them a decent discount - if they mentioned my name.

The couple mentioned that their neighbor was Mr. X - who owned a plumbing supply company, has been licensed since 1952, and a very knowledgeable person.
Like me, these people drove 30 miles each way to attend this meeting.

Sometimes the problem is - when dealing with X cb'rs, that their opinions out weighs everyone else's opinions and their belief that who yells the loudest must be right, prevailed over my plea's for the couple - not to listen to these people - because they do not know anything about what they are talking about....

I've never seen these people ever again, neither the group of licensed amateurs that belonged to the club nor the married retirees that was looking to get into a hobby that they could both participate in.
But my opinion was that we probably lost them and that they probably tore up their license - as soon as they got home.

My point is that we only have one opportunity to make a good first impression, and people on both sides has to take into account that acting poorly only adds to the problem and it detracts from creating a positive outcome for someone that has no knowledge about amateur radio - it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.

The smartest people will tell you not to participate in those types of feuds and to turn the big knob and or walk away.
Unless it is life or death, its not worth staying in one place, making yourself into a target for any idiot that comes along, doesn't like you, your group, or the frequency and decides that it is their job to make your life unpleasant.

With the equipment the FCC has at it's disposal, they can now record the entire HF spectrum and can return at any time and listen to any frequency they desire.
So if you think this person has gotten away with something, you can guess wrong.
If it is a continued problem, the FCC can DX them, find out who they are and prosecute them to the fullest letter of the law.

For some people the only solution is to take their license away from them.  When you loose your license, you loose any right to transmit on those frequencies, so basically the only person you hurt is yourself.

If you are upset, you need to contact your ARRL section manager - if you are in the USA, and what ever legal means necessary if you are in other countries.
Have each person write a short letter explaining what happened, the time, the frequency and make a recording of everything that transpired - using a digital format such as Audacity and send them a digital copy - MPEG recording.

Crying over the internet won't solve the problem.

23
Amateur Radio / Re: Snotty Hams
« on: December 11, 2022, 1601 UTC »
My point was that hams that value their license are maybe less inclined to engage in activities that might jeopardize it.  I wasn’t implying that the bad actors were new hams.  No stereotype intended.

Understood. But just to be clear, I did mean hams who go way back. Enforcement is a joke, as anyone following the W6WBJ case can attest. It took well over a decade of him operating under a revoked license he was allowed to keep using during appeals (from 2007, which I'm certain of, to 2020 or 2021, which I don't exactly recall) before he finally lost, and last I checked he or his buddies were still jamming the WARF net with vile recordings. I didn't see that his station was seized so he might still be operating. There's no jeopardy when there's no enforcement. (Honestly, the seizure of equipment ought to be something that would make hams of every ability less inclined to engage is stuff - nobody wants to forfeit thousands or tens of thousand of dollars worth of equipment if that were a real risk one takes when breaking the rules.)

Mike and I worked diligently with the FCC to try to get them to enforce the rules and remove the rule breakers.
In return, I had a nasty email or two from Laura about my own behavior - trying to get my electric co-op to fix their lines - noise which I believe was from the auto reporting meters - not arcing noise from a bad insulator.  She threatened my license also.
Big business takes precedence over amateur radio - which was - up and until a couple of years ago - free.
The ARRL made a few dollars on the license exam and the books, but the renewal and the license was free.
Now we pay for the license too - I guess that is all a part of - if you want enforcement, you must pay for enforcement.

Once W6WBJ was removed - the WARFA people told MIKE - AA8KB - now our problem is solved and we don't need you anymore and since you are not colored - please go away!  Since then I have not heard Mike on the air - I was told that he sometimes frequents a net in the early hours of the morning on 80 meters - since that is what his rhombic antenna was built to do.

( BREAK ) - Breaker - is a telegraphy term that is used to denote an EMERGENCY.  It is in poor taste to use the term BREAK unless there is an actual emergency.

24
General Radio Discussion / Re: Cold War Radio history.....
« on: November 04, 2022, 2118 UTC »
Thank You for sharing.

25
Amateur Radio / Re: Project 756 Pro
« on: November 04, 2022, 2116 UTC »
If it is supported by the factory, a factory service center repair would be almost $500 for the one fix and as much as $200 for the other.
So by doing the repair by yourself, you saved almost $500
So $300 for a good donor radio - which you bought, was as much as what it was worth!
Kudo's for fixing it yourself.

ps. - ICOM builds junk, and instead of fixing their mistakes, being a man and saying I goofed and recalling a number of units, they do a really neat thing, they turn their back on their customers, change the model number , rectify the faulty part in the new model and keep selling it to anyone willing to buy it.

That is the only thing that holds me back from buying anything with the ICOM badge on it.

26
Amateur Radio / Re: UNID 7200 LSB 1724 UTC 2 NOV 2022
« on: November 04, 2022, 2110 UTC »
What you are hearing is hams acting poorly.  7.200 LSB Phone has been a problem now for the past 3 years.,
The FCC says that they are working on it, but just as fast as you get rid of one group, another group comes along just as bad as the previous group.
I tried to help get rid of those people, but there is not a lot you can do until someone knocks on their door and serves them a warrant for their arrest.

27
Amateur Radio / Snotty Hams
« on: November 04, 2022, 2107 UTC »
I have been licensed since 2011 - have been a Amateur Extra Class ham - all but 3 months of that period of time.
Was talking the other day on QRZdotcom and someone told me that I had no right to say anything - that I did not know anything, since I have only been licensed for 11 1/2 years.
I have been shortwave / amateur radio listening since about 1969 / 70

They know nothing about my educational background or what I even did for a living for 40 years.

I was just wondering if any of you had a similar event happen to you like that?

ps - I have never been treated that way on this chat forum!

28
Amateur Radio / Re: 15/20 Meters packed with CW signals
« on: August 01, 2022, 1549 UTC »
If trans equatorial skip is present, then the only thing you need is to be a relative distance away from the equator to listen to South America, but then again, someone needs to be on the air to be able to hear them.

A lot of people are afraid to call CQ and will only operate when someone calls cq for them or the hit it and quit it contact of a contest - where you do not get a quality conversation just a fake signal report and a exchange.

That was the one thing I liked the most about the vertical antenna I had on a 30 foot tower, you could listen equally well in all directions.

Having the option of more then one antenna also is also beneficial when it comes to operating dx.  Sometimes you can hear them better with the vertical and it was a much better antenna to use when it came time to ask - is this frequency in use?

29
Amateur Radio / Re: Equipment Recommendations?
« on: August 01, 2022, 1543 UTC »
The ICOM 7300 is purchased by the person that knows little about amateur radio and believes that by buying it - it will solve all of your problems.

Icom's does two things - they sound loud - which is desirable in a pile up, and they show an honest 100 watts on the meter into a resonant antenna..

That appeases the cb'r in most hams.  The person that feels like they paid for 100 watts and they want to see 100 watts on the meter...

It's usually followed by the Heil Microphone people - the ones that do not have a radio voice, that thinks that they can solve all of their problems by buying a expensive microphone.

I've used the stock Kenwood hand microphone for so long that it doesn't even make sense to step on the pedal and talk on the boom mic anymore.

You can always tell who is on a ICOM radio because their audio sounds like crap!  Once you learn what to listen for, you will be able to predict who is on a icom.

30
Amateur Radio / Re: 2M FM Simplex
« on: July 07, 2022, 1856 UTC »
The easiest way to work 2 meters fm simplex is to take a good 2 meters fm radio and install a mobile antenna beneath a airplane.

Then all you have to do is fly around at 1500' and get someone to log your contacts for you.

I listened to K6FUZ making contacts - 150 miles away, and he was never less than 20/9..

Although I don't agree with using 146.520 as a dx frequency, I will say that he did have a real pile up going on and had multiple offers for a place to stay for the night / weekend if he was willing to land his plane at their local airport..

That seems like a really good deal, to be able to fly anywhere and have offers of a free place to stay and a free ride from the airport.

Phil made it the whole way to where I live before he turned around and flew to the Pittsburgh international airport to refuel.

And Phil had been making non stop contacts on 2 meters FM from the time when he left Oshkosh Wisc that morning.

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