Couple of Radio Questions - Amateur

[rgdillon]

First - any tips on how to select a club to join? I did a search on the ARRL site and they are quite a few in my area - two very close. Club one - thier website is very good and the membership app is pretty detailed. Club two - website is "amateur" to say the least and the membership app is short and to the point. Club two meeting location is only about 10-15 mins from me.

They both advise about the same things - club two says they work directly with the Red Cross.

Second question - I'm terrible at remembering numbers - any tips on remembering all these freq's that I need to know

Also interested in getting some of the Morse Code CD's to learn from - any one better than the other?

Thanks,

Ron

 

[CHPMustang]

Ron I'd usually go for the larger membership club personally as for example I reside in Richardson but joined the Plano club due to their repeaters(144Mhz/440Mhz) cover a much larger area,have plenty of mentors to help me with learning new modes/technologies

I'd say join both clubs if it came right down to it as there's no rule says you can't be with more than one

There's some downloadable Morse learning softwares available,I've known some hams to learn by dihs & dahs or by word association,I'd try out what works best for you

I've got NuMorse Professional but just haven't gotten around to using it yet

 

[jharvey]

I agree with CHP on the larger club usually having more Elmers and and usually better repeater coverage. Here in Atlanta one of the oldest clubs around is full of techno weenies who really don't care to talk to ya if you don't have a EE/Phd/MS/BS from MIT or GA TECH, but the smaller club I belong to is full of the people that taught the techno weenies, go figure. Attend a couple of meetings with each club and see which one fits the best.

As far as remembering frqs, it takes time and repetition just like anything else, my Yaesu FT7800 in the truck has Alpha tags so I can "name" the repeater freqs. You could make up a cheat sheet and leave by the radio.

As for the Morse code, lot's of folks use the Gordon West tapes, they're supposed to be good.

73's
K4DZL

 

[ArlieEdwards]

Hams, I am very new, but have realized something really quick. When you walk into one of these clubs, the first thing you notice is there are very few young people. What are we doing to attract new young blood? We gotta have them or face extinction.

One of the things that I learned and used when testing is that once the test begins, you can write anything down on a clean sheet of paper that you like. I took a couple of clean pieces of paper into the testing with me, showed the testor that they were clean and then in front of him, I copied from memory all my frequencies and formulas that I could remember. Once you know the formula for say bandwith, frequency and speed of light, you can figure out a lot of the rest.

73
KE5DYD
Arlie

 

[rvassar]

On morse code... Don't fiddle around with the tapes and "work your way up" method. It doesn't work, it's frustrating, and it actually wrecks your ability to use code.

Go straight to the Koch method. You learn two letters at a time at whatever speed your goal is. No relearning, retraining, and more importantly no plateu at a useless 8 wpm.

You might try G4FON's software: http://www.g4fon.net/CW Trainer.htm


KC6OOM/5

 

[rgdillon]

Thanks guys for the help. I keep taking the online tests as I am reading the book - always get either a 69 or 68% cause I just can't remember the numbers I can retain "things" just never freaking numbers. Ah well -

Downloaded the G4FON program - pretty cool. Won't work in the truck but I can run it here while I'm doing other things - Thanks

You get tired of me asking questions - just ya know - slap me. Got a side job coming up that should pay for the gear I've got my eye on

Thanks,

Ron

 

[CHPMustang]

Thanks guys for the help. I keep taking the online tests as I am reading the book - always get either a 69 or 68% cause I just can't remember the numbers I can retain "things" just never freaking numbers. Ah well -

Downloaded the G4FON program - pretty cool. Won't work in the truck but I can run it here while I'm doing other things - Thanks

You get tired of me asking questions - just ya know - slap me. Got a side job coming up that should pay for the gear I've got my eye on

Thanks,

Ron

It's just a matter of the memory thing which I'm sure you'll overcome

If there's questions about Amateur Radio there's plenty of us on board here with varying levels of experience that can help out so ask anytime

Bill

 

[Oboy]

For the club thing, I would go to each of there meetings and see which one you like the most. I lucked out and the club that is in Belen, is sweet. There is a lot of people that know what is going on and are very willing to help you out. (Doesn’t help if you join a club with a bunch of A-holes.) They are also into the ARES / RACES thing, I don’t know if I will get involved with this just yet.

For remembering the frequencies I cant remember them either. I was told that they will only have one question per test about the bandwidth and frequencies. I think my test only had one. Just keep doing the online tests and you will do fine.

73’s

Mark

 

[rgdillon]

It's just a matter of the memory thing which I'm sure you'll overcome

I'm afraid that the seventies might have rearranged the brain cells that handle numbers -

Ron

 

[jharvey]

I'm afraid that the seventies might have rearranged the brain cells that handle numbers -

Ron

Try re-living the 70's while you're studying and see if it helps any

The freqs are a pita but you'll get them, just takes time and repetition, I was in the same quandry as you but when it came test time I had no problems and I don't expect you will either. Just keep at it

73's
K4DZL