Great post, Rob! Like many hams, especially older ones, I started down
the learning path before I started high school. 60 years later, I'm
still trying to learn new stuff, and to better understand the stuff I
thought I knew. :)
Another important part of ham radio is sharing our knowledge and helping
each other out. Older hams helped me learn about radio, helped me learn
CW, helped me with antennas, and even gave me my first rig (a 40M
Command set). Now that I'm one of the older guys, I try to do my part,
passing it forward.
Some ham clubs still practice that side of ham radio. The North Shore
Radio Club near Chicago, The Santa Cruz County Radio Club, and the
Northern California Contest Club all do that in different ways, but they
do it, and do it quite well. When I moved to CA from IL 10 years ago, I
joined NCCC and put out the word on the email reflector that I needed
help with antennas. The next morning, two guys were standing in my
driveway, and they had both driven an hour to get there!
73, Jim K9YC
On Fri,12/30/2016 2:37 PM, Rob Atkinson wrote:
I completely agree with WA3JPY. You who want this all-inclusive,
let's all have a warm fuzzy because we all have ham tickets, ham radio
take note:
In Part 97, the FCC _requires_ licensees, who are the recipients of
_grants_ to continue to advance the radio art, by improvement of
communications _and_ technical skills. Your license is a GRANT, in
the way a scholarship is a grant. You are supposed to IMPROVE.
No, you don't get to blow off the technical stuff and play with some
toys if you want to be a legitimate grant holder.
If you want to sit back and run a ham shack "entertainment center,"
you should get another hobby.
I also am a slow learner and have found acquiring the ability to build
and troubleshoot quite difficult. This hobby can be a lot of hard
work. Many times I have been tempted to give up in anger and
frustration. But then, you fix something or build something and it
works, even if it is only a power supply, and you feel like you shot a
hole in one.
People who promote the idea that, oh, it's okay to just sit there and
use some black boxes and memorize answers to test questions to be a
CBer ham, are NOT doing the hobby any favors. That attitude is
harmful!
Ham Radio and CB are largely the same thing now because of this.
Part 97 - Rules of the Amateur Radio Service
Title 47: Telecommunication – Updated September 2014
PART 97—AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE
Subpart A—General Provisions
§97.1 Basis and purpose.
The rules and regulations in this part are designed to provide an
amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the
following principles:
(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to
the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service,
particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
(b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to
contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
(c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules
which provide for advancing skills in both the communication and
technical phases of the art.
(d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio
service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.
Converting an AF67 to controlled carrier: I'd start by getting
schematics for the AF67 and a controlled carrier rig like the DX60 and
comparing them.
but, the AF67 is high level plate modulated so the change over might
be more trouble than it's worth. I for one, do not understand why
you'd want to take this on. I'd run the AF67 stock because to most
operators, a constant carrier is more desirable. If the mod. iron is
blown in the AF67, then that might explain your project.
If you are trying to have an exciter for an RF amplifier, it would
make more sense to beef up the amplifier to handle the continuous
carrier duty cycle than it would to modify the exciter. You can't go
wrong with an improved amplifier.
73
Rob
K5UJ
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