On the 3rd day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

Three different radios, two license upgrades, and a license, callsign
from the FCC.

The "main bands" in ham radio are now HF (which has 160, 80, 75, 60, 40,
30, 20, 17, 15, 12, and 10 meters)...VHF (6, 2, and 1.25 meters), and
UHF (70, 33, and 23 centimeters). There are other bands as well; but
these are the main ones, on frequency charts of various license class privileges.

Many Ham Radio Transceivers, whether base station, handi-talkie, or
mobile, are transmitting in just a single band. However, others now can
have transmitting capabilities via dual band, triband, or even quad-band.
And, the way that technology is advancing, in the not too distant future,
more transmitting bands in a radio may be covered.

Some radios even have"out of band receive", where you can listen to such
things as aircraft, railroads, NOAA Weather Radio, regular broadcast
stations, and more.

On the 4th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

Four sets of antennas, three different radios, two license upgrades, and
a license, callsign from the FCC.

G5RV's, J-Poles, Cubical Quads, and Magmounts, are among the many types
of antennas available to work the various bands. Some are small and
simple to build, set up, and work with; while others are on huge towers
of stations that literally "work the world" with amateur radio.

On the 5th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

5 Band DXCC. Four sets of antennas, three different radios, two license upgrades, and a license, callsign from the FCC.

One of the most prized awards in amateur radio...and one of the most
difficult to obtain...it's gained by making contacts in at least 100
different countries around the world, on 5 different amateur radio bands,
using the desired mode...voice or digital.

On the 6th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

6 Meter Clean Sweep, 5 Band DXCC. Four sets of antennas, three different radios, two license upgrades, and a license, callsign from the FCC.

Called "the magic band", the area just above HF, and at the low end of the
VHF spectrum...when tropospheric ducting occurs, inducing skip; one can literally work coast to coast, or even across the ocean, on 6 meters. Technician Class licensees and above have full access to this band.

On the 7th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

7 Nights Of Net Logs, 6 Meter Clean Sweep, 5 Band DXCC. Four sets of
antennas, three different radios, two license upgrades, and a license,
callsign from the FCC.

There are literally nets on every night of the week, on various bands and modes...whether HF, VHF, UHF, D-Star, or VoIP (Echolink, CQ100, HamSphere, etc.); and can be phone or digital.

The nets can be for formal written traffic, traders nets (where ham radio operators can list ham radio equipment that they want to buy, sell, or trade)...on a special topic (such as trains, weather, cooking, ham radio technology, or even Bible Study)...or just a general ragchew or roundtable net...the format of each is determined by Net Control.

With very few exceptions, all nets are DIRECTED, and all stations will
contact Net Control before attempting to contact another station on the
net. Plus, all stations checking in are required to follow the
instructions of Net Control, as well as the protocol and format of the
net. Stations failing to do risk being muted or blocked from the net.

As a side note, on D-Star, the callsign of the transmitting station is automatically sent when they key up...whether to speak, or for what's
known as a "quick key checkin to a net"...done either into a D-Star
repeater, or a D-Star Reflector, if these are connected into an internet gateway. So, there basically is "no way to hide ones identity" on D-Star...whether one is transmitting via a DVDongle, using a DVAP with
their radio, or on a D-Star repeater via their rig.

It's affectionately known as "Echolink On Steroids", and I personally
use it more than Echolink for nets during the week. Several nets also
meet on D-Rats during the net, on various Ratflectors, where they can
chat, exchange files and messages in real time, and find other hams
with the Maps Feature.

There are several files in my D-Rats Shared Folder on getting started
with D-Rats, mostly in PDF format...and other files are in the D-Star
Users Yahoo Group.

On the 8th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

8 the Hamfest Start Time, 7 Nights Of Net Logs, 6 Meter Clean Sweep, 5
Band DXCC. Four sets of antennas, three different radios, two license
upgrades, and a license, callsign from the FCC.

Most hamfests are just half day events for a few hours...usually on a Saturday...although some can be as much as 3 days, such as the Dayton Hamvention (tm), held in mid-May each year in Ohio. Venues of where the activities are held, the availability of license exam sessions, the
number of forums, dealers, and flea market vendors, etc.; plus costs
for transportation, lodging and meals in the area, event admission,
prize tickets, prizes offered, and tables for vendors, among other
things, vary by event.

In most cases, the start time for these events is 8am local time. And,
for many, that means an "early wake up call"...so, they can make the
long drive, to get there when the hamfest opens, to either get good
deals at the flea market, or from dealers; or taking part in a forum,
a license exam session, and more. Some 2 day events may start on a
Friday afternoon, and then continue for much of the day on Saturday.

With these hamfests, you must be a licensed amateur radio operator to
win the radio prizes. Everyone must be present to win any of the prizes awarded...the exception is the grand prize, awarded at the end of the hamfest...when the crowd then usually "parts like the Red Sea" (hi hi).
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33)

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However, they each had to constantly review Part 97, to be sure they were
in the spirit of amateur radio. But, when harmonic violations did occur,
the Official Observers were diligent in letting their parents know of them...and the continuous whipping CW paddles were definitely in use on
the harmonics backsides.

It's rumored that the battery fanny packs were removed before the
discipline was administered with the Wouff Hong, Rettysnitch, and
Ugerumph. And, while the harmonics may have felt that the discipline
stung like 10 50 hertz, their parents knew that the warnings before
discipline were always the SAME, and they made sure that the harmonics
wouldn't become tone deaf. And it seemed like the most likely time for the discipline was to be needed was between 11am and 12 Noon on Wednesdays.

But, the discipline was not rough enough to the point of making their
signals bleed. And, the noise level of the harmonics in response to the discipline was not known; and it's none of our business.

The more serious violations required the harmonics to go to court in
west, wearing their Mores Coat outfits. This was because the pink slips
were too skimpy for the sake of decency for the females...not to mention
they especially looked even worse on the males!! One also had to be
careful not to rile E. Hollingsworth, the Enforcement Judge. He had a reputation of sending scofflaws to Hellschriber as punishment. No word
on how long they had to be there, or if the Wouff Hong, Rettysnitch, and Ugerumph were in use by the bandwidth demons on the miscreants.

In time, it was time for the harmonics to date and marry...and for them
to follow in the footsteps of their parents. Once they reached 25 years
of age, they were able to become part of the Quarter Century Wireless Association.

And so, with ham and radio saying seven three (best wishes) to their
harmonics, and eighty eight (love and kisses) to each other...that is
a look at the lives of ham and radio, and their harmonics.

**

Ham For The Holidays - The 12 Days Of Hamming

And now...with a Christmas In July theme...never mind longing for cooler weather in summer (especially in August in Arkansas), the Cabot Nightflyers
Net is proud to present "Ham For The Holidays".

Using the melody of the song "TheTwelve Days Of Christmas", I've created
a new tune, as it were..."TheTwelve Days Of Hamming". Instead of more ham
radio pun humor, it's now a gift giving scene, with Radio providing gifts
for Ham, and the harmonics...and I'm sure that some may be glad that the majority of the dry humor is over...at least for now (hi hi).

However, while metrically correct in what will be noted...since any
singing on the airwaves is defined as music...no matter how badly one sings...and since music is prohibited on the amateur radio frequencies,
as per FCC rules, I obviously can not sing these lyrics on the air, or
with this recording. That even means not even tenor solo...which is ten
or eleven miles away, and so low that no one can hear it (hi hi).

Anyway, each of these are different items that are experienced in the
hobby, and it's by no means an all inclusive list...because there is just
too much in amateur radio to just cover 12 categories.

For each one listed, though...I have included a brief (but sometimes, a detailed) explanation of each one. This could be for the ham radio
operator who has, or wants everything (hi hi).

**

On the 1st day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

A license, callsign, from the FCC.

This is obviously needed for one getting on the air in the first place.
Today, the Technician Class license is the entry level license into
amateur radio. Morse Code is no longer required for a ham radio license...
but you can still learn and use the original digital mode, CW...and many amateur radio operators do just that. But, you no longer have to prove
that you know Morse Code at the license exam session.

There are several options for studying for a ham radio license exam...
which are multiple choice, and can be with, or without schematic diagrams.

If you pass an exam, congratulations. Unlike years ago, when you had to
have the paper copy of your license "in hand" before you transmitted for
the first time...you now can get on the air as soon as your callsign
appears in the FCC ULS database, which can be anywhere from 5 days to
2 weeks or more after the exam session.

Some exam teams can now upload the session data to the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) electronically, and if the session is held on a Sunday through Thursday, the VEC can have the data to the FCC within 24 hours.
If the session is on a Friday or a Saturday, the VEC will have the data
by the first of the following week (if it's a US holiday, it will be to
the VEC, then the FCC on the next business day).

If it has been more than 2 weeks since your exam, and you still haven't received a note from the FCC on your license/callsign, you can call the
Exam Team Leader (Liaison), who can contact the VEC, to find out what the
delay is, and get back to you.

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--- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33)