Amateur radio

I basically over-studied for my Technician test and only missed 2 questions. Passed General at the same session without studying and made it by 2 questions. But Extra feels like an entirely different hobby. I love the stuff I’ve learned in the process of studying, it has really helped me wrap my head around how radios work. But it feels 10x harder to pass. Anyone else feel the same hurdle? The first 2 draw you in to a sense of security, and then Extra just slaps you in the face. Also, if anyone here passed all 3 in one sitting, you deserve a firm PoB.

The UK law on listening to transmissions other than ones specifically meant for you is quite strict (and shown below). Other parts of the world seem mostly to allow listening to anything - police, ATC etc.

For example if you visit ATC and police radio websites, often the UK is an obviously missing location.

Is the UK unique with this rule, or is it widespread elsewhere?

The UK law:

It is an offence for an unauthorised person to use wireless telegraphy apparatus with intent to obtain information as to the contents, sender or addressee of any message whether sent by means of wireless telegraphy or not, of which neither the person using the apparatus nor a person on whose behalf he is acting is an intended recipient.

I’ve seen people here both claiming that amateur radio is a crucial disaster response tool as well as people completely dismissing it. This guy has real life and recent experience with a few disasters and the reality seems to be somewhere in between. Neat podcast.

Have you ever been required to provide proof of your amateur radio license? For example, use of a scanner in a vehicle? Have you ever had an officer question the legality of your operating? Ever had equipment confiscated?

The way I understand it, we're supposed to physically have a license in our possession when operating mobile. Have you ever had that challenged? But then how does that work if all we need is a license issued online being "good enough" to operate?

Is there any discussion about adding our license to Google Wallet or even a screenshot on our phone?

In your opinion, what's the most cutting edge technology in Amateur Radio today which has the most potential to transform how we operate, and why?

Ham radio started out as my pandemic hobby, partly out of interest in packet radio and partly for emcomm purposes given the sorts of storms we see where I live on a periodic basis. I've been a licensed ham for about a year and I'm just exiting the HT stage and setting up an HF station soon. I'm not yet middle aged but most of the hams I meet in my area are firmly geriatric. It can be genuinely interesting to meet and talk to people in their 80's, 90's, and 100's, but when the room is full of people in that demographic range it's feels depressing.

I'm most active on my local NTS and ARES nets, because I think these nets have value to the community in times of need. I'm just starting to get involved in packet radio and don't have a firm grasp on it yet. Packet radio may have a different crowd, I don't know.

I would have expected the ARES/RACES to attract some of the younger more able-bodied prepper types, but that's not what I'm seeing. Where are the younger hams? I enjoy this hobby and do not want to see it die out because the last real Elmer shuffled off his mortal coil.

Hi everyone! My name is Noah and i’m a software engineer. I spent time in the Marine Corps as a radio operator and always wanted to contribute to the radio community. I am currently developing a mobile app for radio operators and enthusiasts. As of now, you can create stations that display on a map, the map shows your all other stations world wide, with each station view a calculated azimuth, chat for troubleshooting purposes, view weather in a specific area or from one station to another, and some other features. The app will be completely free and is actively under review at apple, i can post here when it gets approved. My question is, if you could have an app to help you in your amateur radio endeavors, what would you like it to have? I’m asking because whatever insight i get here, i will put into the app. Edit: Just posted in this sub with links to the current version

I'm on my 30s and I just got my license, I have a DMR radio and I've listened to some TG. I have no more experience than that, but what I have observed is that there are no young people in this hobbie (everybody I listen to is much older than me) and most of the conversations are about trivial topics (where I am on vacation, what is the weather like, etc...).

So that's all? I am an engineer and I like communications, but talking for the sake of talking without any specific professional purpose I just don't see the grace in it.

I just don't get the point in the DMR either. If I communicate with the nearest tower and all the towers are connected to the internet... aren't we reinventing the wheel but worse? We have LTE for this, don't we?

Maybe this is not for me or maybe I am still too inexperienced and I don't see where to continue.

Any advice?

Thank you so much.

EDIT: I did not expect such feedback, thanks! I'm adding what led me to get my license:

- I always liked the powerful Motorola Tetra firemen and policemen use

- I would love to be involved in the frequency coordination of large events such as concerts or football stadiums.

- I also like the survival aspect where the radio is the only system that can work in remote areas

TL;DR is a website that offers radio model-specific DMR contact list downloads for a $12 per year "donation" (i.e. fee). I sent the admin a request to have my account closed because I discovered that the site is either storing passwords in plaintext or, in the very least, not properly hashing them, and he decided to ban me from the site and change my name associated to my DMR ID to "BANNED" in the DMR database he distributes to all his customers.

I got my first DMR radio today and was looking to download the latest DMR contact list. I found through online tutorials and created an account. I paid the $12 yearly donation to gain access to the Digital Contacts Wizard.

After creating my account, I noticed that I received a welcome email containing my full password in plaintext. I then logged into the website and noticed that the account details displayed my full password.

For those that aren't familiar with website security, this is a huge no-no. Passwords should be hashed before they're stored. This means that there should be no way to decrypt the stored password. Instead, at the time of login, the password entered is run through the same hashing algorithm, and if it matches the hash stored in the database, then the passwords match and login is successful. If a website can display your password, it means they are not properly hashing your password, and they may even be storing them in a database in plaintext. Since people re-use passwords on other websites, if an attacker would gain access to the database, he would have the keys to the kingdom (bank accounts, social media accounts, online shopping accounts, etc.).

I immediately tried to change my password while logged in, but found that I could not even change the password I initially created. I logged out, and chose the "Forgot Password" option, hoping my password would reset and allow me to set a different one. Instead, the "Forgot Password" option only showed me a password hint (i.e. the last 4 characters of my actual password). The site said that if I needed any other password help to please send them an email.

I sent an email asking for my account to be deleted and sharing my disappointment that the site isn't following responsible website security standards. The guy (Marshall) responded by refunding my $12, banning my DMR ID, and marking my name as "BANNED" in his DMR database. This means that anyone who downloads their DMR DB from will see my name as "BANNED" on their radios.

He finished his email with

You can explain to people why your name shows up on their radio as"BANNED" for your DMRID.  :)

I attached the entire email chain for full transparency.

I'm super upset about being banned, especially since I only got my first DMR radio a few hours ago, but the behavior of the guy who manages the website seems so childish. I didn't even ask for a refund. Frankly, a website as popular as should do a better job with handling people's password data, especially since thousands of people are likely paying the $12 per year "donation" to use the Contact Wizard. I don't think it's out of line to expect that donations to maintain a website should go towards maintaining the website, security included. Though I definitely would agree that I could have been more professional in my original email, I don't think I deserved to have my information banned from the database, and it's kind of crazy that one guy has the power to do so.

Well, it's that time again! Welcome to 2024! Every year we try to post an amateur radio resolutions thread. So, what are your 2024 radio-related resolutions? What radio-related activities are you most looking forward to? What kind of equipment do you want to get on the air?

If you were involved in previous years, please let us know how you did. If you're new, welcome aboard! Please post what you would like to accomplish with amateur radio.

73 GD DX 2024

Hi there! Off and on, I've been really interested in becoming an operator ever since I was about 15-16. Back then there wasn't many testing sites near me, and not having my own income made it not very feasible for me to get started in the hobby like I wanted.

Fast forward to now, I'm 22 with my own money so my interest has been fairly revived as of recent. But my concern lies with where I live now. I'm in an apartment surrounded by a decent amount of trees and general interference from WiFi, 5G, etc. The OTA television reception here is pretty piss poor, and to make matters worse, there's really no feasible way to mount an outdoor antenna where I am at.

All of this is to ask, is going through with becoming an operator worth the effort with the area I'm in? I want to do as much with amateur radio as I can, beyond just getting my Technician and such, and I fear that my living condition just isn't suitable for such a hobby that relies on good transmitting power and distance. I'll probably still go ahead with getting my Technician license, but I don't know if I'll have much more capability beyond just using the 2m/70mm bands. You all probably know better than I do, so any advice or comment is appreciated.

Thank you for reading my wall of text lol, 73

Got an email because I worked a guy out of band. He was on 7.177, so being a general above 7.175, I responded. I logged it on Pota and QRZ. Then I got an email an hour later. Just seemed odd to be that quick if it's not a bot.

I'm 70 years old and just got my Extra Class license. But despite passing the exam - maybe I just like taking tests - I've never really been a practicing ham and I want to try it.

The last time I was on the air was 56 years ago, when I was 14 and tapped out a hesitant five WPM on CW as a Novice. Got my General in the 1980s and hit distant repeaters a few times from the roof of my apartment building in Manhattan, 15 stories above the Upper West Side. (My lack of operating experience probably owes to having lived in Manhattan for the last 40 years.)

I now live in an apartment six miles north of The Bronx, facing north across the Long Island Sound. Lots of repeaters around; 2m is a possibility. Or I could rig a stealth 20m dipole from my window to some trees and attempt some DX.

I don't own any equipment. Shopping around, but no a clue on what to buy. I do travel a lot, and am inclined towards something compact, but would hate to give up the possibility of DX. Attracted to the Elecraft KX2.

I guess the question is, now that I have my Extra, what's my next step? What should I buy, and what should I do that will lead me to increasing involvement in the hobby?

One thing I'm concerned about is the fact that the on-air conversations I have overheard seem pretty dull. I'd like to find some interesting conversations. Not sure where I can find then.

My apologies for such a rambling post. I'm just at loose ends after getting the Extra and I'm not sure what to do now.

I want to get into either amateur radio or CB. I've been reading a lot about how antennas, radio waves, radios etc work, and love having this kind of knowledge. Since this mostly applies to both (except I guess for long range things?), based on my current understanding they could both be interesting.

I've been searching around for differences between the two, and almost everything focuses on the differences in power, wavelength etc, which is all valid, but what I really want to know is: what is the difference in actually using the two? For example: will there be many more people on one compared to the other? Is one more about people having conversations with strangers, and the other more like phone calls? Is one more active than the other? Any cultural differences?

What I am looking to get out of this, other than the technological learning experience, is to discover people around me with similar interests, learn from others etc. I would hate to purchase a radio, only to discover no one around me is using it.

I'm in Canada by the way (if that makes a difference). Getting a license would totally be an option. I already ordered the training book (initially just because I want to learn, but potentially to get a license).

I know a lot of you are licensed hams, so please ignore this message. But those of you who are interested, please feel free to let me know any questions you may have. I've been licensed for a while, and do amateur radio testing for our Spokane, WA area for about 4 years now.

I am into just about every part of the hobby. APRS, satellites, HF, digital stuff, repeaters, antennas, etc. I know we don't want to turn this subreddit into a constant ham radio discussion, but if you want to use this thread as a place for beginners or people with questions, I would be happy to answer any that you may have.