Some of you may have heard of Amateur radio (HAM radio) but never heard of field day. Maybe you're like me and have been into HAM radio and just heard about field day. Either way you should check it out. It may be too late to get to field day this year, but you can always go to the next one and you don't even need a license to participate!
First, I should tell you a little about field day. Field day is an ARRL (American Radio Relay League) sponsored event when ARRL clubs around the nation set up their emergency equipment and test it out by making contacts with other clubs. All stations are divided into different regions and classes based on the equipment they are using and the types of contacts they make. Many of these emergency bases run anything from generators and batteries to solar and wind. In addition to the many different types of power supplies there are contacts made on all radio bands using different modes of communication from CW (Morse Code) to Phone on FM (Voice).
Here in Enid Oklahoma, the local club had generators and batteries. We had a solar panel but no-one really knew how much energy it put out and how much energy the radios required. Just by looking at it I would guess that about the only good it would have been this year would be charging some batteries on the hand held radios (HT's). Before Field day I had never used an HF (High Frequency) radio. Most of the time I had worked on VHF (Very High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency). If you have ever used the radios that you can get from Walmart or Radio Shack you most likely used VHF. The only problem with VHF is that it doesn't reflect of the ionosphere so it can only be used for line of sight operations. On the other hand HF frequencies will bounce in the ionosphere and you can talk over great distances. The trade off is clarity.
HF is probably the coolest type of radio communication out there if you like to do more than punch in numbers and talk. It requires that you listen and tinker. You will play with the frequency, squelch and shift knobs, among others, to find someone talking on the radio and make contact. The Field Day was the first time that I was able to try this out and I can tell you that I am hooked! I like to tinker and I like a little bit of a challenge. With this I get to play with electronics, tinker and develop a skill that can be useful in emergencies. Plus, I don't know about you but, I think it is cool that I was able to contact someone in California without having to use a network of wires that some company built for phones. These capabilities also have great potential for service, which is another huge draw for me.
I love the opportunities to help out with events and emergencies. I have been able to help in large parades and have talked to people who have helped with everything from marathons and rodeos to search and rescue operations. Field Day is an opportunity for me to see a little more of the emergency side and what it would take to help in an emergency. I would encourage anyone who is a little curious about HAM radio to attend an event and talk to the HAMs.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
HAM radio.... and oldie but a goodie!
I originally started this blog with the intent of writing a little about my adventures into the new hobbies of shaving with a straight razor and making soap. I am still doing those hobbies but the going is slow. I have yet to even remotely get the honing of an old blade down, I am finding it more of an art than simples steps, and I haven't made a lot of soap. Both hobbies can take a lot of time. So, recently I have looked back into an old hobby, amateur radio; frequently referred to as HAM radio.
It was almost 10 years ago that I got into HAM radio, and it was actually a friend who got me into it. I don't have permission from my friend to use his name, I just haven't asked, but I am sure he won't mind me using his callsign. KE7BFU, my friend who I will just call BFU, was drawn to HAM radio by W7SAR in his neighborhood and wanted to take the Technician test but didn't want to take it alone. He decided to talk to me and get me to study for it with him. So, we checked out some self study books from the county library and started reading. Shortly after getting our license, sometimes referred to as our "ticket", SAR gave us each a radio, ICOM IC-02AT's. I talked with BFU and even helped in some major parades in our area, but by the second year of helping in the parade my radio's tone for accessing repeaters didn't want to work. I had to borrow a radio for the parade and we were supposed to take a look at the radio. Unfortunately we never did get to look at the radio.Years went by and I never really did get to use the radio again, and basically I didn't participate as a HAM.
After 9 years of having my HAM radio license I tried to turn the radio on and just see if I could listen to some channels. By this time I had moved a few times after getting married, graduating college and becoming an officer in the military. Unfortunately now even the screen didn't work. About the only tool I have for diagnosing electronics is a digital multimeter. I had basically given into the fact that I couldn't use that radio and I had no idea how much a new one would cost but I knew it would be expensive, or so I thought. I got onto Amazon and looked for radios. To my great surprise I found an HT (Hand-held Transmitter) that was only about $40. At first I was very skeptical, but after doing some research I decided that I would like to give it a try. I didn't really have the money at first so I just checked out a book from the library and brushed up on some info that I had almost forgotten.
Shortly after getting the book for Technicians "Now You're Talking", which was from the 1990's, I decided to study for my General license and get a book that was more up to date. I again turned to Amazon and found a used book for $10 with shipping. Less than a month later I have the Baofeng UV-R5 radio and tested for my General license and passed. This was certainly a big leap back into HAM radio, but it's totally worth it!
I have started doing research into the digital modes, and I can say that it is totally confusing. In particular I have been looking into APRS and even the "beginners" guides, that say they don't assume you know anything, seem overly confusing. I am not exactly technically illiterate, I built musical christmas lights that respond to live music, but I still felt like HUGE chunks of information was missing from some of these guides. Thankfully there is a guy here in the local radio club, KC5SII, that does APRS and is willing to teach me a few things. I think that I could piece it together in the long run but why reinvent the wheel when you don't have to? Eventually I think that I will do some posts on HAM radio, but no promises. Hopefully this will be something that I will take the time to blog about.
It was almost 10 years ago that I got into HAM radio, and it was actually a friend who got me into it. I don't have permission from my friend to use his name, I just haven't asked, but I am sure he won't mind me using his callsign. KE7BFU, my friend who I will just call BFU, was drawn to HAM radio by W7SAR in his neighborhood and wanted to take the Technician test but didn't want to take it alone. He decided to talk to me and get me to study for it with him. So, we checked out some self study books from the county library and started reading. Shortly after getting our license, sometimes referred to as our "ticket", SAR gave us each a radio, ICOM IC-02AT's. I talked with BFU and even helped in some major parades in our area, but by the second year of helping in the parade my radio's tone for accessing repeaters didn't want to work. I had to borrow a radio for the parade and we were supposed to take a look at the radio. Unfortunately we never did get to look at the radio.Years went by and I never really did get to use the radio again, and basically I didn't participate as a HAM.
After 9 years of having my HAM radio license I tried to turn the radio on and just see if I could listen to some channels. By this time I had moved a few times after getting married, graduating college and becoming an officer in the military. Unfortunately now even the screen didn't work. About the only tool I have for diagnosing electronics is a digital multimeter. I had basically given into the fact that I couldn't use that radio and I had no idea how much a new one would cost but I knew it would be expensive, or so I thought. I got onto Amazon and looked for radios. To my great surprise I found an HT (Hand-held Transmitter) that was only about $40. At first I was very skeptical, but after doing some research I decided that I would like to give it a try. I didn't really have the money at first so I just checked out a book from the library and brushed up on some info that I had almost forgotten.
Shortly after getting the book for Technicians "Now You're Talking", which was from the 1990's, I decided to study for my General license and get a book that was more up to date. I again turned to Amazon and found a used book for $10 with shipping. Less than a month later I have the Baofeng UV-R5 radio and tested for my General license and passed. This was certainly a big leap back into HAM radio, but it's totally worth it!
I have started doing research into the digital modes, and I can say that it is totally confusing. In particular I have been looking into APRS and even the "beginners" guides, that say they don't assume you know anything, seem overly confusing. I am not exactly technically illiterate, I built musical christmas lights that respond to live music, but I still felt like HUGE chunks of information was missing from some of these guides. Thankfully there is a guy here in the local radio club, KC5SII, that does APRS and is willing to teach me a few things. I think that I could piece it together in the long run but why reinvent the wheel when you don't have to? Eventually I think that I will do some posts on HAM radio, but no promises. Hopefully this will be something that I will take the time to blog about.
HARD Shaving soap.... Good or bad?
Recently I made a batch of soap in an attempt to make some soap that I can use with my straight razor. The previous batch I had made was REALLY soft and wasn't going to work so I decided to try and make a nice hard soap. It turns out that the lather made this recipe isn't very stable so I will have to make a new batch and try a different mixture. However, I also discovered that hard soap may not be the best, but I will point out a few pro's and con's that I discovered and it may help you make a decision.
Pro's. One of the biggest benefits of the hard soap is that it lasts a long time. This soap doesn't crumble or fall apart and even stays together pretty well when it gets wet. Because it holds up well when it's wet it doesn't clump into your shaving brush like a soft soap might. Sadly, this is about the only pro's I could find to simply a hard soap. At first I honestly thought this would be a big bonus so I wouldn't have to make a lot of it.
Con's. The biggest benefit might also be its biggest downfall. Because it is so hard it is difficult to lather. It is hard to dissolve enough soap to get it to lather and so it takes a long time. That wouldn't be so bad if the lather was good, but it just might be what makes it unable to produce a good lather. Also, being so hard also makes it hard to even use as a hand soap and can even be kind of painful.
So, there you have it. It is really short but I hope it helps. When you are making a soap keep in mind that a hard soap might last a while and hold up well when wet, which is good, but it may be impractical in the end. The one benefit is that I might be able to mix in more potassium hydroxide, typically used in liquid soap, and get a better lather without making mushy soap.
Pro's. One of the biggest benefits of the hard soap is that it lasts a long time. This soap doesn't crumble or fall apart and even stays together pretty well when it gets wet. Because it holds up well when it's wet it doesn't clump into your shaving brush like a soft soap might. Sadly, this is about the only pro's I could find to simply a hard soap. At first I honestly thought this would be a big bonus so I wouldn't have to make a lot of it.
Con's. The biggest benefit might also be its biggest downfall. Because it is so hard it is difficult to lather. It is hard to dissolve enough soap to get it to lather and so it takes a long time. That wouldn't be so bad if the lather was good, but it just might be what makes it unable to produce a good lather. Also, being so hard also makes it hard to even use as a hand soap and can even be kind of painful.
So, there you have it. It is really short but I hope it helps. When you are making a soap keep in mind that a hard soap might last a while and hold up well when wet, which is good, but it may be impractical in the end. The one benefit is that I might be able to mix in more potassium hydroxide, typically used in liquid soap, and get a better lather without making mushy soap.
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