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Amateur Radio Braces for Hurricane Isabel
TaxSlave writes "Amateur Radio operators in North Carolina and elsewhere in the projected track of Hurricane Isabel are getting ready for action. ARES has been activated in many areas, and hams are recommended to be ready. NC ARES has an information page for the storm and Hurricane Watch Net has a good info page as well. Even outside the major storm area, hams are posted at shelters which are filling up with storm refugees."
Mmmm... Ham.
hams are posted at shelters which are filling up with storm refugees
Good thing too. All this evacuating is making me hungry!
Good luck to those in the hurricane zone. We are in tropical storm warning
73 de KC2IXE
Queens County (NY) ARES EC
Queens County Radio Officer - RACES
-- 73 de KG2V For the Children - RKBA! "You are what you do when it counts" - the Masso
My boyfriend is in his 20s and is a ham. People might think hams are a bunch of old farts, but that's not entirely true. When the grid is down, you can always count on hams to be there to help!
It's good to see that the Hams are in action and all, but do you think it's very responsible to be slashdotting the servers of organizations providing emergency services in a disaster?
Eh?
That's all very well, but what about vegetarians? Are we going to just let them starve to death?
If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
Even though we have had so many advances in technology over the years, its the good ole HAMs that come to our rescue during times of trouble or disaster. Even during the recent blackouts in NYC, they kept in touch & relayed messages back & forth. Often there's just one link who keeps the messages going up & down.
Hats off to you people & thanks for the wonderful job you do!
Man, we don't get ANY good storms up here anymore. It used to snow like crazy back in the mid 80s. Now I'm lucky if it's a white Christmas! Time to relocate to NC so I can get involved in all that hot ham radio action!
Tom
KB8UFJ
Indeed. Ham radio is only for old farts who still use Morris code.
How likely is it that their monsterous huge aerials will survive the winds ?
... unless you really need to. The last thing the HAM radio folks in NC need is the slashdot effect.
get real time reports on condition in the affected area. Net control is actually in Austin TX.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Ha. Can you hear me now? Nope? HOw about now? NOpe... da-dit-da-da-etc... Yep, heard that.
-- Liberalism is a mental disorder.
Well, only in the USofA.
Other countries are dumping Morresey Code as requirement.
Great stuff, I can just see Tony hancock doing the Radio ham sketch.. If you have never heard it, tune into BBC7 on a tues and you may catch the original radio broadcast.. :-)
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
Indeed about the old farts. Most of them can't get around their fleamarkets without a "Little Rascal" or other motorized wheelchair-like device. God forbid they have to walk more than an 1/8 mile from the parking lot to the food vendors.
around the rest of the country, to relay Health & Welfare traffic during the aftermath.
./ effect!
Some other frequencies of interest:
14.265 MHz [USB] Salvation Army SATERN net.
7.232 MHz [LSB] Tarheel net [daytime]
3.923 MHz [LSB] Tarheel net [after 7:30 pm]
3.907 MHz [LSB] Coastal Carolina net.
The nice thing about radio is, as long as you're only listening, it doesn't suffer from the
To all those in the area where it's going to hit, good luck and hold on to your hats.
Atleast they're the amateur model..When I was young I always wished my braces could play the radio. Now a stinkin hurricane gets radio braces. Feh!
It will be interesting to see if any building-to-building WiFi links or other wireless networking tech can operate in a hurricane. I'd bet that high rain, very wet vegitation, and the odd flying bit of sheet metal will kill reception or reduce reliability. Also, external high gain antennas will be prone to wind-induced misaligment and damage.
Isabel should be an interesting test of any mesh networks in the area -- assuming that they have independent power sources, of course.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
--
We've got cellphones! Everyone knows how great cellphones work in an emergency. Viva la cellphone!
Ham radio is antiquated. I can buy 2 FRS radios at Wal-Mart for 30 dollars and will be able to talk a whopping 1/2 mile.
--
And when Isabel destroys many of the cell towers, where will you be then? Unless you have a satphone your Aunt Tilly in Burbank won't know what's become of you. She could get a message relayed via ham radio, with a response to find out that you are ok, although maniacally clutching your cell phone.
Also, FRS radios and Ham Radio are not the same thing, by a long shot.
Cellphones relly on infrastructure....
A shortwave radio can communicate with somebody litterally on the other side of the globe without any additional infrastructure.
Jeroen
Secure messaging: http://quickmsg.vreeken.net/
Morse code is a critical skill that should not become a dead skill. Sure, it may take an apocolyptic disaster, but there could be scenerios where only morse is working. You never know what you have lost until it is gone.
www.mikesmind.com - www.daddyworkathome.com - www.freetofarm.org - www.tenfoottable.com
Better hope the interference from the power line carriers will be low enough for the hams to do their job.
As long as this doesn't result in more man-made disasters like Twister, I'm not complaining.
Use ISO 8601 dates [YYYY-MM-DD]
... someone needs an upgraded sarcasm detector.
Scientists restrict study to entire physical universe; creationist
gaaah!!!
see subject
First, here is some background info.
Second, study up for the 35 question multiple choice exam using the Now You're Talking book.
Third, take your test.
Then get some gear - you'll be the one helping out in the next disaster in your area!
K9JRW
wont that 60ft yagi on a 125ft beam be smashed to bits of aluminium or the HF 300m dipole be turned into worthless ball of wire ?
or is it just v/uhf and car rigs ?
i know i wouldn't want to be cranking my tower up in hurricanes
(if you excuse the pun ladies)
and 50 million people won't be shafted again when Isabel knocks out power across the eastern seaboard, tripping power grids thousands of miles away?
because i'm in detroit, and I don't exactly have the utmost faith that they've corrected the problem already. particularly since they haven't even identified it yet.
at least i'm all stocked up again.
unfortunately my generator hasn't arrived yet.
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
Depends on what kind of aerial you're talking about... if you mean 2meter, 440, etc, then yes... a tall tower (typically for a repeater, and that might not survive the hurricaine) facilitates communications, since these bands tend to be line-of-sight.
However, if you read the article, you'll notice they are using the 80-meter band, which is NOT line-of-sight. Tall antennas are not as critical... you can rig up a dipole with some wire after the storm passes, and get passable reception.
aerials, schmaerials... a true ham is a master at jury-rigging stuff, including antennas.
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
Does anyone (apart from truckers naturally) use CB radio anymore? Is it ever used in these sorts of scenarios?
Amateur radio will never be big with Slashdot readers (although they try to kiss up to it for the geek factor). Why? No porn (rim shot!)....
Scientists restrict study to entire physical universe; creationist
I'm a vegetarian you insensitive clod!!!
>> The thought of ham in action gets him excited.
Is that the sequel to 'Hams Gone Wild' ?
A simple handheld 2 meter radio (for local area use) is available for under $100 new. If you're really cheap you can get a used rig (or if you want someting better than the 2meter HT I'm mentioning). Mobile (read car-mounted) radios with somewhat longer range start at about $150. It isn't that expensive, but if you still can't afford it, see if there is a club in your area, if so there might be somebody willing to loan or sell you some of their old gear. If you STILL can't afford it, well, you CAN always make your own CW transceiver.
Little Brother, watching the watchers
Well, you are incorrect, in fact, morse code is only the smaller portion of Ameteur Radio. There is a large spectrum, and probably the better bulk of people are license to use voice over the ham bands.
The first license, the Novice is limited to sending morse code. The second license, Technician, can use voice on limited frequencies. The third, General, cause use a lot of voice frequencies, as can the last two license levels.
So don't just think of "Ham Radio" users as nothing more than morse code, because there is more to it than that.
Good job of slashdotting the hurricane watch site.
I agree that current casual applications of wireless networking mean that few will care about the reliability of these networks. Yet proponents of the technology would have us use wireless in more intensive and all-encompassing ways.
Today, nobody really cares if the laptop in an empty and dark executive office becomes disconnected during a hurricane. Tomorrow, we may care a great deal if our phone/data networks or municipal services control systems are knocked offline because an underlying wireless network failed.
Personally, I suspect that wireless is more robust than wireline because physical wires are so prone to flooding or downed trees. But I would like to see examples, like those provided by Isabel, on how these systems operate during and survive natural disasters.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
Thanks for the info. I've been wanting to get my license but just haven't gotten around to it. These links are what I need.
Should have been modded Insightful, not merely Funny.
CW (Morse code) is often the only way to get a message through when all other methods fail. All you need to be able to do is switch a carrier on and off. And it can be done with very low power.
And to think the ITU now allows countries to do away with the Morse requirement for operation under 30 MHz. (There are petitions before the FCC to do this in the US.)
For example..
"Cor blimey, would you look at that great big hurricane out there! GLK Florida, is there anyone out there? Stone the bleedin' crows, Im off for a fag and a pint.."
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
As far as your main point goes, though, right on! It is even better made than before, as you don't need any code whatever to get started.
73 de KG4WWN
Little Brother, watching the watchers
Check out:
here, here and here
This one is my favorite.
"Your comment has too few characters per line (currently 6.1)" blah blah blah...
S
See, when we really need HAM radios is when something like Isabel comes along. But she's going to knock out all the power lines anyway, so hams should just stop complaining.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
You ever notice when disaster strikes(weather, blackouts, etc), those ham radio people are always there? Hmmm..
73 de GNAA
"Marge, prepare the emergency ham!"
</HOMER>
"A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
GeneralEmergency
Ahh, most excellent. Thanks for the information, I haven't been an active Ham for about 12 years now as I have just been busy with other things. But keep saying I am going to buy a new rig and get back into it...
Guess it's time to get rid of my Novice status then!
Thanks again...
The Novice license is no longer available. Existing Novices can continue to operate.
The Technician license grants nearly all privileges above 50 MHz, but Techs are only allowed to operate HF (below 30 MHz) if they've passed the Morse Code test, and then only Morse Code at low power (and one phone allocation on 10 meters) in a few small slices of spectrum.
General class licensees have some privileges on all amateur bands, including voice, data, and video where it's allowed. Extra Class operators have full privileges.
Here is a good summary of the license classes and operating privileges.
And don't let the test scare you off. Any self respecting geek ought to be able to learn the test material in a couple afternoons.
I got my Novice license at about age 11. I'd stayed with Technician class for years, then they dropped the 20 wpm code requirement for Extra. It took me about 8 hours of studying to prepare for the test and I passed with a 96%.
If you're reading slashdot, and you already use things like FRS radios, there's no excuse for not getting a license and earning the ability to use REAL equipment.
Plus, you can run higher power 802.11b. =]
N1VG
Also, I should have probably noted that I don't know anyone that has ever used "morris code", but I do know a lot of people that use and like "morse code"
If you are going to bash something, at least know what it is you are bashing and don't make yourself look anymore the fool than you already are...
Here is some quick general info I normally hand out.
t ml
m l
/ /www.arrl.org/arrlvec/2003Technician_graphic s.pdf
There are 4 current classes you could get. To get one, you need to one
before it, ie if you want general, you need to have tech and tech + morse
first.
Technician
Technician + Plus morse code
General
Extra
The test is only $10 and lasts for 10 years. to renew, you just have
to fill in some paper work and send it into the FCC.
The test is 35 multiple choice questions.
The Technician class Syllabus is here
http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/tech-syllabus.h
To find a testing center in your area.
http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.pht
Question pool for Technician class (I printed these out and read over them twice and was able to pass the test)
http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/tech2003.txt
http:
Online Practice test
http://www.qrz.com/testing.html
I'm taking my Technician's test this saturday in the Little Rock hamfest at the Alltell arena.
Testing begins at 8am, no reservations accepted.
I've sold some unused hardware and have a budget to buy a mobile 2m unit and a decent dual band HT.
Nope, 100% pure coincidence.
Other famous coincidences in the World:
The USA spends $xxxx Billion liberating Kuwait and Iraq, which coincidentally have a lot of oil. Iraq is to be divided into three distinct regions - regular, premium, unleaded.
fill in your own here..
"You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
Even a light bulb can be used to make contacts around the world.
Is ham radio the only licensed geek hobby?
dah di dah
washingtonnc.org has someone blogging about the storm.
You'r slashdotting a page meant for emergency communications.
You have the right to do it, but a little common sense please?
My cat speaks Morris code...
Meeeeooooooww Meeeeooooooww....Meow....Meeeeooooooww Meeeeooooooww Meeeeooooooww....Meow Meeeeooooooww Meeeeooooooww........Meeeeooooooww Meeeeooooooww....Meow Meow....Meeeeooooooww Meow Meow Meeeeooooooww
some hams, does that count?
*Not really true, I do have standards.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
There are some advantages:
1. Education - people are encouraged to know about the technology, rather than blindly using the technology
2. Transparency - from Education, the users get to see what the technology is capable of/in capable of.
3. Reliability - from Transparency, the users are able to use the technology more appropiately.
More than anything, Ham brings together a lot of like minded people - people who are interested in radio communication, it is great fun - just like a lot of people have fun using Linux, or doing any other amateur activity - which some other group would find very "ancient".
Working with "barebone stuff" can be a lot more satisfying than working with cool-looking, pseudo-hi-tech gadgets.
if you like to get inspired while studying for your license, get one SWL SSB receiver and start monitoring the amateur radio traffic
:a y/a ll/category1500/?from=R0a /swscan/swsc.php
SWL - Receive only requires no licencing in most parts of world...
Few links off google
http://listings.ebay.com/pool2/listings/endtod
http://www.radioworld.c
Please, oh please, let's not damage ham radio's image this way. Some folks here on ./ still think we are okay.
I would like to point out that getting the gear needn't be expensive. These people have handheld 2-meter sets that cost less than most gamer-grade video cards. My 2-meter handheld, a Yaesu VX-5R, retails for $250 and Yaesu often has it on sale for around $200. It puts out 5 watts (sufficient for all the local repeaters), will do 6 meters and 440 as well, has a wide-ranging receiver, and isn't all that much bigger or heavier than my cell phone.
That will be sufficient for you to get into your local ARES net to prepare for emergencies in your area.
Someone you trust is one of us.
I've never done an extended or widespread Skywarn activation before. All of the auxillary nets are coming up along with the main net out of LWX. It's kind of exciting to see everyone lining up to go down to NWS and getting their systems on backup power--it's really the kind of thing that we do all this tinkering for.
In space, no one can hear you moo.
I've always heard this thing about running higher 802.11b. How much can we pump it up if we're licensed?
The last thing we need in Ohio is more rain (we're already over 9 inches above normal for the year), and Isabel threatens to add more precipitation to our area. Since we're so over saturated, nearly every time it rains, our areas go into automatic flood watch. As amateur radio operators, my wife and I provided communications for the American Red Cross for flood victims in the Stark County area in late July. Looks like we might be called to action again.
73 de KC8WVJ (and KC8WVK - my wife)
meow meow meow mow mow mow meow meow meow
and now for meaningless drival to get mast the compression filter.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
> Who said it was a woman?
:-)
My BF and I actually met on Slashdot three years ago...we're engaged. I had a Slashdot account, but lost the password and the email address associated with the account was long gone...so I haven't bothered to re-register. I suppose I could provide you with some proof of my gender, but as they say on the Internet, those could be anyone's breasts
There are 4 current classes you could get. To get one, you need to one before it, ie if you want general, you need to have tech and tech + morse first.
Technically you only have to pass the test for the class before it. So if you want general, you only have to pass the tests for tech + morse and general. Which you can easily do in an afternoon.
You don't actually have to pass and be issued a tech license, then a tech + morse license, then a general license. I just wanted to clarify that since I didn't think the parent post was clear on that.
http://www.eham.net/articles/6303
http://www.eham.net/articles/6385
etc, etc, ad nauseam.
"my aerial's bigger than yours"
"You're just a CBer"
"Your're just an old fart"
"nerrr nerrr na nerrrr nerrr" etc. etc.
Well I am glad that the States are going to get a taste of what we have to get through each year here in the caribbean.
Why use Ham radio when you can have SPAM radio! It's the radio that comes in a can to protect from the worst weather conditions.
Not only will Spam Radio keep you updated on the latest conditions in Nigeria, you will also learn how you can take advantage of offers that will let you achieve, erm, "personal growth", (wink wink, nudge nudge)
By reading this sig, you agree to the terms of my sig license.
Oh wait, that wasn't it.
GODDAMNIT!
Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice
That part about "posting hams at shelters" sure has flushed out all the turkeys at Slashdot.
Bring it on Isabel!!! ( Me lives in Northen VA ).
Ah screw the ARRL. We'd still be doing Morse if they (and a large majority of the ARRL hams) had their way. That being said, get a Technician license and get into radio digital transmission. But the league is (still) seriously behind the times.
Hook the audio output of the short wave to your sound card.
Have fun!
See http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gc i341011,00.html and http://www.co.fort-bend.tx.us/county_services/OEM/ citizens_band.htm
Check out the hams at work on the east coast. They are currently reporting weather and assisting FEMA; Live shoutcast broadcast is available here: http://live.irlp.net:8080/
Unless you have a satphone your Aunt Tilly in Burbank won't know what's become of you.
This just in: Hurricane Isabel has just taken a 90 degree turn, vertically. It has become the first hurricane to do so, leaving meteorologists baffled, and fueling the fire of those who say they could never predict weather accurately anyway.
In any case, the satellite phone network is now the one in danger. The only risk to cell towers is the miniscule chance that a satellite lands on one of them while falling from orbit.
All residents of the International Space Station have been ordered to evacuate immediately.
-- Fighting mediocrity one bad post at a time.
1500W, with an antenna with as much gain as you want. Which is way more than nessicary unless you are attempting moon bounce networking...
Hmm.. 802.11b Moonbounce. Talk about war-driving.
Ah, then you'll also like to know you can get all the way up to extra class with only 5wpm code...
Little Brother, watching the watchers
YHBT. YHL. HAND.
I was down in the Homestead area about 8 hours after Andrew blew through... My cellphone stopped working somewhere just south of lake Okechobee and didn't start to work again for over 10 days. I worked with the Red Cross, SATERN, and other groups for close to 3 weeks.
As I have said before, to many "cellphones are the answer" kinda people, cellphones do not work when their towers are laying on their sides.
On the other hand, last June, during Field Day, we got hit with a particularly violent thunderstorm that knocked one of the local clubs completely off the air (http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/07/02/1/?nc =1). We were a few miles south of that group, but also lost an antenna, a tower, and half-way submerged a generator in the storm. However, we were back on the air with batteries and wire antennas in about an hour.
Amateur radio may not be "modern", it may not be fast, but one thing it is, is RELIABLE. Any time, any where, "When all else fails".
73 de Paul, KC4YDY
The number 1 problem of working in a cubicle - 23 power cords, 1 outlet...
A new way to pop popcorn... send a 500meg file over your 1500watt wi-fi link. I was under the impression you were limited to 100 PEP.
Why did you rtfa? You shouldn't have rtfa!!!!
Everything seemed to be going so nice
'till the end of all beings punched right through the ice
You're both really fat. The two of you met at either a Science Fiction convention or a D&D game. Even though you're both physically repulsive, you're into "alternative sexuality". You describe yourself as "polyamorous, bisexual sub with a tendency towards topping from the bottom." He likes to think of himself as a "poly bi dom who is also into genderfuck and furry sex".
Bleach - slashdot couples are ghey
Even cheaper: buy a used radio on EBay, or visit a local ham store or ham swap meet. The gear you find may not be the latest and fanciest, but there is a lot of good, serviceable gear out there. My 2m handheld is a Radio Shack HTX-202 - big (by modern standards), heavy (ditto) and ugly (in the eye of the beholder... :-),
but it's built like a tank and it works very well.
Unlike other radio services, we hams can build our own radios. Hardly anybody does anymore. Sad.
...laura VE7LDH
How do you characterize slashdot as left-leaning? /. is almost entirely populated by middle class white men in their teens or early twenties. Their politics tend to be essentially libertarian, with a slight isolationist bent (i.e., anti-immigration, slightly jingoist).
Well the written rule is that you're never supposed to use more power than you need to get the intended communication through.
That said, I believe the 2ghz range limits are 1500w. Its been a while since I had to memorize those charts, though, so it might be less than that. Most frequencies seem to be 1500w, though.
Thats twice the power and nearly the same frequency as your microwave oven, though. You probably don't really want to be doing that.
They can go back to playing with their train sets.
My girlfriend and 11 year old daughter passed their novice/tech tests without effort.
cince they basically eliminated the code it's no effort to get in.
Problem is that many of the repeaters are choked with idiots.. "Dave can you hear me?" "yeah! cool we're 20 feet apart!" and yack on for 20 minutes as they drive down the road hogging the repeater for no reason. Espically on a state wide linked repeater system.
Get off the repeater and talk simplex!!!! Courtesy and using your brain are required in this hobby.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I think you can do the full 1500 watts, but it's not like you can use the internet over it. All encrypted communications are banned, as are anything obscene. Just checking your email and getting porn spam would be illegal.
You also have to transmit your callsign every 10 minutes.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
And don't let the test scare you off. Any self respecting geek ought to be able to learn the test material in a couple afternoons.
Basically, when I decided to upgrade from Advanced to Extra, I found about four different sites that supplied online practice tests. Here's one of them; here's another; and here's a third. Basically, about three times a day I took a practice test and made notes on the stuff I missed. Then, I went back and studied up on those topics. Did I memorize the answers? Well, yeah . . . but I also decided that, after thirty years as a ham, it might be a good idea if I actually figured out what a time constant was useful for, or how to read a Smith chart, or how to figure complex impedance. So, I did.
After about three weeks I was scoring 100% constantly, and aced the in-person test.
The technician test should be a complete snap. You just need to know as much about the FCC rules related to ham radio as you need to know about state motor vehicle laws in order to pass your written driver's test.
Someone you trust is one of us.
My girlfriend and 11 year old daughter passed their novice/tech tests without effort.
.
.you're telling us that you live in Arkansas?
Ewww. .
Soooo. . .
ham radio still lame
Yeah, I got one of those 202's too. I use it and a 2 amp power supply as a "base" rig.
Actually, if you get involved with the local ham community, you can often find someone who doesn't mind donating a hand-me-down to a new ham. I wouldn't count on it, but others have been kind enough to help me with equipment in the past.
Someone you trust is one of us.
no, Northern Flor-id-a!
we got's us a Gator Farm!
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I taught my cat morse.. but now all I ever hear is..
;)
meow meow meeeeoooow meow.meow.meow.meeeeoooow meow meow...meeeeoooow meeeeoooow.meow...meeeeoooow meow meow meow.meow meow.meeeeoooow.meeeeoooow meow meeeeoooow meow.meow meow meow meow
----------------------------
Esobofh - Currently drinking fresh mango juice.
And don't forget that satellite phones are bound to be severely overloaded if they're available. Maybe it's not a problem for inmarsat, but Iridium or any other LEO constellation is only going to have one bird in view at a time in the disaster area, and that's not much bandwidth.
I'm 23, but have been out of the hobby about 5 years. I just got a vanity call and checked out the new licenses...wow. I was a Tech+, so I have 5wpm code. I can get my General now with just a quick test. (And believe me, it's quick. I just looked the book. Simple math.) Awesome...I always wanted to do more than 10 meters on HF. Too bad the the BPL crew is going to crap on the parade.
See http://udel.edu/~mm/ham/rockmite/
Eric
www.va3ep.net
The joke doesn't really work, since the "their" and "tests" show he was talking about 2 people.
But Grandpa is still in diapers!
Oh wow, thats cool. Totally different than here in canada. Here there is only 3 classes. Basic, advanced, and the 12WPM. I just wrote my basic and advanced in 1 sitting. I'm and EE so it wasnt too hard. Morse on the other hand will take a good while to learn i think. All the 5WPM morse gives you tho is access to all the really low CW frequencies. Ill get it, just later.
It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.
An Amateur Radio Operator's License can also provide extra privliges such as: (In Michigan, and many other areas) Exemption from scanner laws, which means I can have a scanner permenently mounted in my truck and on. Nearly free customized license plates (with your call sign) Exemption from the newly enacted communication spoofing/dns legislature passed earlier this year, basically making war driving and other activities such as IP NAT illegal. (discussed on /. before)
Also keep in mind that Hamfest's are great places to find a bargin on geek equipment other than ham stuff. http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html
Also check out APRS if you are not familiar with it. web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/aprs.html and findu.com
73,
Ken
KC8SWY (Kilo Charlie Eight Sierra Whiskey Yankee)
-StarMaven
-StarMaven
-StarMaven
-StarMaven
As many of you slashdot readers can now see, there are many ham operators out here. So you might be asking, how did so many ham operators all end up all in one place on slashdot.org all at the same time? Simply put... "Communication" We are a fraternity of individuals with like minded interests. Like computer hobbyists/nerds/junkies etc. like yourself, there is a culture of electronic communication junkies called Amateur Radio operators. The fact that we are all suddenly here in one place on the internet is a small example of the power of Amateur Radio communications. So you think the computer and the internet is fun? Try combining computers with Amateur Radio equipment and then you really have a hobby! I have inexpensive antennas that can readily communicate with satellites in space. I can relay either computer transmissions and data or voice signals through these space satellites orbiting around the earth. I can talk directly to an astronaut in the space shuttle. This is called SAREX communication. I can point my antenna and bounce my signals off the moon to a person in another country. I can send TV like images (similar to NASA) to places that don't even have the internet or even electricity like Antartica. I use solar power panels to provide power to my computer and ham radio equipment and can operate in the wilderness in the middle of nowhere anytime! Without the internet! Without electricity and more! Sound Interesting? Why not join our ranks?... http://www.arrl.org Now that's high tech! 73 Charles KC8VWM