Much of the old stuff is AM, while most voice communications are done with SSB (single-sideband with a suppressed carrier--AM is double-sideband with a full-power carrier and takes up more bandwidth but sounds better). There are still portions of the phone (i.e., voice) bandlets that are haunted by AM operators. Nothing is truly unusable, unless you go back a few decades further to spark-gap transmitters.the elephant wrote:I stand to inherit this stuff one day. If I can get it working, would such old equipment be compatible with modern standards? I hear that newbies no longer have to do morse. Is this correct? What would a license cost? How much time is involved in classes and how much is individual? I want to become a ham operator just because of this old gear! This set looks like something right out of some movie, mostly being Dad's father's gear from around WWII.
But making that old stuff work and work well is a huge technical challenge. It would be better to sell it to someone who is into restoring and used those "boat anchors" and get something newer (though not necessarily new).
Radio stuff is cheaper now than it used to be, even in actual dollars. The radio I now use was $2300 new in 1991, and a radio of its quality (outstanding) and features (more limited, especially regarding computer interfacing) would cost no more now, and may cost a bit less. Used, I paid about a third of that. There are more ultra-high-end models on the market now, with unprecedented prices, but they provide capabilities and features beyond anything that was available decades ago, particularly with digital processing. You can also get quite usable, good-quality HF radios for as little as $300-$400. Attach it to a dipole strung up in the trees (under $50) with coaxial cable (under $100) and an antenna matching tuner (so you can use that antenna on all bands, and low-power models are under $100 used) and you have enough capability to work at least your half of the world. I made a contact with Slovenia within five minutes of hooking my radio up the first time. I spent no more than $600 to get that HF first radio on the air. But you can spend as much as you want up to many tens of thousands of dollars. The guy on the other end might not be able to tell the difference on any given day.
Amateur radio now uses testing programs administered by other hams, not directly by the FCC. The FCC has designated certain clubs as "volunteer examiner coordinators", who work with hams who serve as "volunteer examiners" to administer the tests. The VEC's can charge for administering a test, but it's nominal and not all VEC's charge. I took my tests with the Laurel VEC (part of the Laurel Amateur Radio Club, in Laurel, MD) and they were free. Nobody charges more than a few bucks. The largest of the VEC's is the American Radio Relay League. Most clubs in the U.S. are affiliated with ARRL, so their VE's are everywhere.
Morse code is no longer required at any level, and that has sparked some nasty debates among radio amateurs. But it's a fact.
There are three tested grades of radio amateurs: Technician, General, and Extra. The Tech license provides permission in the VHF and UHF bands, plus a few limited privileges in the 10-meter band and in other bands using Morse code. If you want to use a 2-meter radio and chat on the local repeater, the Tech license is all you need.
The tests are drawn from pools of questions, with the pools including hundreds of questions. The pools are public, but the mix of questions that might be drawn from the pools for any given exam are not. The questions are drawn randomly, but in groups to make sure all important subject areas are covered. The Tech and General tests have 35 questions each, and the Extra test has 50 questions. A passing score is 70%.
The Tech test is not difficult, and includes basic rules and a very simple understanding of electricity, mostly at the DC level.
But if you want to talk around the world, you'll want at least the General license. That test includes a lot more questions concerning rules of usage, particularly in the HF band, and the technical questions cover electricity in the frequency domain. You'll have to memorize the band boundaries, and you'll have to know the purpose of a mixer, a product detector, an amplifier, and so on. Antenna theory will not be all that specific.
The Extra test includes much more depth of electrical theory, including interpreting schematics and circuits, understanding components, and understanding electrical resonance in circuits and antenna systems. Technically, the Extra test is much harder than the General test if you have no background in electronics, though an understanding of the science of acoustics helps a lot. The Extra test doesn't test rules, though, to any great extent, because having the Extra license only adds privileges on a few slivers of bands. (It also lets you get cooler call signs.)
Local clubs often have classes for people wanting to study up for one of the tests. Local clubs can also hook you into a market for stuff you don't want to use yourself, and for stuff you do.
The fun for me is building the stations as much as operating them. Each new project requires a new body of knowledge, and that's what I particularly enjoy. I also get a thrill when the station I've assembled works. Unlike the Internet or a telephone, when I talk with that guy in Slovenia, it was he and his radio and antenna, and me and mine. All we needed in between was an appropriately reflective ionosphere. I get weary of the infrastructure we are asked to rent without understanding, and this takes me to a new level of self-sufficiency that appeals to me.
Rick "who also enjoys the camping-related club activities" Denney
