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| | |  Phlog: Eightbitswide
| | |   
| | |  Date: 3/29/24
| | |  Subject: Amateur Radio Sucks
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  v    Created on the Agon, a z80 based single board computer.
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I've had the fortune of being able to work a job which involves
running a large machine, with plenty of time to think and listen
to music and podcasts while earning a living.  Every year I purpose
to learn something new, so I decided to take advantage of the time
I spend, wearing a pair of earbuds, and learn amateur radio.
After three weeks of repetitive listening to the Amateur Radio Crash
Course, I took the exam at a local ham fest and passed with flying
colors.  As a newly licensed technician I now had privileges to
several bands which include the popular 2 meter band for the
transmission of both voice, data, and cw. Exciting stuff?
Not having an actual radio, I hit Amazon and quickly located
the radio that everyone seems to start with, the Beofeng UV-5R.
Passing the Amateur Radio Exam had been on my bucket list for
several decades.  I'd grown up seeing Heathkit radio kits
advertised and was under the impression that I'd discover a
horde of radio DIY'ers playing with radio.   Perhaps some sort
of experimental packet network that replicates the BBS systems
of the 1980s, only dependent on radio for connection.
I attended a couple club meetings to discover the truth that
most of the radio amateurs in my area tend to be "appliance
operators."  No one really pushing the boundaries of the tech,
beyond what can be purchased from the semi-local DX Engineering.
No interest in packet networking, with most involvement in
the hobby being connecting to local 2m nets on the repeaters.
Worse yet, shopping for radio gear at DX Engineering requires
a pretty steep budget.  I'm simply not interested in spending
thousands dollars to talk to the old timers about the weather.

It's not that the opportunities aren't there.  The bands are
largely unused, with very cool possibilities using APRS, data,
and privileges for extended range wifi.  I've had to adopt a
"If it's to be, it's up to me" approach to my radio hobby.
We are starting to see decent radio inexpensive alternatives to
the poorly designed $20 Beofeng radios.  Recently I purchased a
Quansheng UV-K5  which has a load of experimental firmware
releases  being done by radio DIY'ers.  Inexpensive QRP radio kits
are also alive and well, restoring that "build it yourself" part
to the hobby.  A quality 2m antenna can be built from $10 worth
of PVC pipe and a tape measure.  (Mine was).  You won't find me
sitting on the local repeater discussing your colonoscopy, instead
I'm plotting to setup a local ham radio WIFI network and add
some features to APRS.  Most of my gear is being hand built,
repurposed, or purchased on a shoestring budget, so it may be
a while until I knock out the entire todo list, but DIY is the
an important part of the hobby for me.  Not spending a fortune on
radio gear is also keeping the "XYL" (wife) happy.   The Internet
itself merges nicely with Amateur Radio with services like
EchoLink which allows you to connect digitally to repeaters
using an internet connected cell phone, tablet, or even a PC
with a web browser.  New digital modes are in the works.
Ham radio doesn't have to suck.   KE8YCE

Cool Links:

http://www.ribbitradio.org
https://radiowave.nz/
https://webapp.echolink.org
https://www.echolink.org