Ham / Amateur radio ops?

My brother's brother in law is into that. I saw him camping up in Chenango State Park in New York State two seasons ago. The family all rents cabins for a couple weeks every year. He had a big long wire strung across the trees and his equipment set up in the cabin porch! This guy is a genuine eccentric genius, holds dozens and dozens of patents. He worked as an engineer for IBM for many years. In the days of tube tv's he would fix everybody's tv. He recently restored a cell phone that had been dropped in water. I think I'm clever, this guy is over the top.

stoker-man wrote:

the "phone patch'. He would talk to the ham radio operator on navy ships and relay calls to their families via our home phone. This was in the days before our current communications technology and was pretty amazing. I think it was also illegal

I don't remember how it was done because the chief used to set everything up, but that was the only way to communicate with family in 1971 when at sea. Phone patches were done maybe once or twice during the 45 days that we were out and only a few guys were able to make calls. I don't know if it was illegal or not.

Nothing illegal about ham radio phone patches. From the Amateur Radio site, http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regula ... patch.html:

Begin quote:

Phone Patch, Autopatch and HF/VHF/UHF Operating Guidelines

"Radio amateurs in the US enjoy a great privilege: The ability to interconnect their stations and repeaters with the public telephone system. The wisdom of the federal government in permitting, and even in defending, this freedom has been demonstrated time and again. There is no way to calculate the value of the lives and property that have been saved by the intelligent use of phone patch and autopatch facilities in emergency situations. The public interest has been well served by amateurs with interconnect capabilities."

End quote.

There are no government rules on it's use only the self regulation by hams so they don't compete with the common carriers. In many counties ham radio telephone patches are not permitted. See the referenced link for more info.

I have a ham radio license but have never used it. I was at a local Hamfest (flea market) a few years ago where they were having license examination sessions. Took the test on a bet with a friend and passed.

Machinist wrote:

coalkirk wrote:I don't think there was anything illegal on the Navy end, just the ham radio operators end.

They were probably using MARS - Military Affiliate Radio System.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_A ... dio_System

AV8R
I Have a Technician license. I use Icom IC-746Pro, it works on all common amateur bands except 60 meters.

Mike:

That's one hell of a rig! I've been looking at all makes and models. Do you use it much?

Used to push a little power on the CB bands, Cobra 148 gtl and a Uniden hr2510, still have them. Talked to a guy in France on 27.555usb 148gtl with about 100 watts of help. He sent me a postcard in the mail. Was mobile in a 1978 cadillac coupe deville with a trunk mount antenna and talked to a guy on the island of Bora Bora, he sent me a card, went out and got my ham license N3UVT. Was into packet on 2 meters for a while, don't even know if anybody does that anymore. Have a Icom 2mtr mobile, RS 2mtr handheld ht101?, and a 440 tiny handheld, some packet equipment, enough mobile and base antennas(none currently up) to make me look like one of those crazy ham operators. Tower i picked up last year, may install this year. What i really like to do was listen to shortwave ssb and data comms, JRC525, JRC535D, ICOM 71A, half dozen Infotech decoders for rtty, arc, feq, ascii, fax, morse, numbers stations, etc.etc. Anything out there from below AM broadcast VLF, up to 30mhz. 1/2 dozen scanners, Piles of dust on it all. Test equipment? Lots at one time, now only basic HP8640b, 3586C, meters, power supplies, Booton? modulation meters,stuff i can't even remember anymore! Probably about 10,000 tubes, maybe twice that i don't know. Last time i was into it, i bought about 100 pieces of HP 606B signal generators at an auction at the depot, sold as many as i could and scrapped the rest for the Aluminum and tubes, Good deals on 6dj8 amperex bugle boys if anybody needs them. (audio tube talk). One more room to get painted upstairs and carpeted, then maybe i will string a long wire and see whats on HF these days, since the code was dropped i can talk ssb on 10 meters, may do that and want to upgrade to general.

73'

KB1KLN

Kl2bx

I run a mariad of equipment from a yeasue handheld to a 4k dollar hf kenwood.

KB1GNI here.

Amateur Extra, and VE accredited which means that I can help administer exams.

Great hobby, and one I wish that I had discovered earlier in life. Hams are the friendliest group of people I know.

I don't have a HF radio (expensive!) and I spend most of my time on 2M & 440. Public service events and emergency communications are my main areas of interest. My wife is licensed, too, but the only thing she does with it is course communications for the Boston Marathon, which we do together.