Amateur Radio

[SUNRAY]

They actually did that to me, my father went up to the school to complain, but it made no difference. That happened early, before I got to the writing stage and it delayed my learning from there on, quite a bit. I think I maybe became 'reluctant', as a result of the treatment, whereas I had begun school a little advanced of the rest.

I had been taught to read and write before I started school, I remember reading to Mum from the newspaper and will never forget the word 'municipal' because of it!
Of course I had learnt the alphabet as 'Ae, Bee, See' but at school got totally confused with the pronounciation method and remembering telling Mum she was wrong.

I didn't know that.

I think the only problem I have from the switch, apart from the hand writing, is a slight confusion between which is left and right. I tend to look around when picking up knives and forks, to remind me which hand each belongs in. Usefully, I was always able to work and use tools with either hand.

One of the things we learnt at school was 'You write with your right and what's left is your left' try learning that parrot fashion and trying to get left and right wrong. it wasn't until I was 9 and got run over by a car, breaking my right leg and creating ongoing problems with my left that i found a way to work it out, to this day any confusion is always referred to 'it's my left leg that hurts'.

Equally I find I'm fairly ambidextrous as so many tools are designed for the right hand. But I never did learn to cut straight.

 

[SUNRAY]

They actually did that to me, my father went up to the school to complain, but it made no difference. That happened early, before I got to the writing stage and it delayed my learning from there on, quite a bit. I think I maybe became 'reluctant', as a result of the treatment, whereas I had begun school a little advanced of the rest.

I had been taught to read and write before I started school, I remember reading to Mum from the newspaper and will never forget the word 'municipal' because of it!
Of course I had learnt the alphabet as 'Ae, Bee, See' but at school got totally confused with the pronounciation method and remembering telling Mum she was wrong.

I didn't know that.

I think the only problem I have from the switch, apart from the hand writing, is a slight confusion between which is left and right. I tend to look around when picking up knives and forks, to remind me which hand each belongs in. Usefully, I was always able to work and use tools with either hand.

One of the things we learnt at school was 'You write with your right and what's left is your left' try learning that parrot fashion and trying to get left and right wrong. it wasn't until I was 9 and got run over by a car, breaking my right leg and creating ongoing problems with my left that i found a way to work it out, to this day any confusion is always referred to 'it's my left leg that hurts'.

Equally I find I'm fairly ambidextrous as so many tools are designed for the right hand. But I never did learn to cut straight.

 

[bernardgreen]

One of several regrets I have is that I could not read audible Morse. Printed Morse on paper tape wasn't a problem.

rather than the home-brew stuff I was brought upon

Home brewing electrical and electronic equipment gave a deep insight in the way things worked. That deep insight is something a lot of people have never acquired even though they are skilled at using things

 

[SUNRAY]

What I've always hated with a vengence is not having the right answer provided, in my RAE there was a resonant frequency question and answers given being a factor of 10 and 100 above and below the right answer. The problem is it makes me doubt and then a similar question is so easy to make fit the wrong answers.

The RSGB "Exam Secrets" booklet is good in that respect. It not only gives you the correct multi-choice answer but follows it with a paragraph explaining why it's the correct answer. Almost as good as a human tutor. Like many during lock-down I sat Foundation, Intermediate and Full. We might not be as well versed as those that sat their RAE and Morse but we are adding new blood to the hobby - just hope we don't balls it up.

Yes but when it is a definitive question like what is the resonant frequency of...? and the correct answer is not there it can really upset the confidence, one ends up convincing themselves they have got it wrong and forcing an answer from the selection. A second and similar question is easy to then make match the first and get that wrong too.

In my RAE there was a faulty question in each paper and both were later discounted from the exam so the final score was 45/59 rather than 45/60 for example. That corrects the scoring but not the confusion/confidence during the exam.

I haven't seen any documentation referring to getting licensed/exams/training since 2002 so I'm well out of date with the current requirements. That said about 12 years ago the mother of one of our young club members was showing an interest in the hobby and it got to the point I suggested I'd go with her to another club (to save any embarrassment) and upgrade my foundation to full while she does the whole lot as a race with her son.

Congratulations on passing, did you get all 3 call signs or just jump straight into the 'full'. Don't put yourself down, the old farts like me don't know everything either, even if some claim they do... a bit like some on this site.

 

[Jackrae]

When I was doing the intermediate exam in one of the questions I was convinced that none of the options were correct so simply guessed at the nearest. I said this to the online invigilator (done via Zoom) who managed to keep dead pan in his suggestion I took the matter up with RSGB. I eventually realised that the error was mine in failing to fully understand the question topic - bit of a personal embarrassment but it taught me a lesson.

I studied for the exams one at a time; the Foundation and Intermediate had various RSGB groups offering free syllabus tutorials which was a great help, especially with mock exams. The final Full syllabus I worked through on my own. I therefore ended up with 3 call signs. Since registration (and renewal) with Ofcom via their online service is free I intend to keep the first and second for old times sake.

As to 'old farts' ; at 75 I joined that club many moons ago

 

[JohnW2]

One of several regrets I have is that I could not read audible Morse. Printed Morse on paper tape wasn't a problem.

Goodness knows whether I could still usefully do it at all, but in my day I was pretty good with 'audible Morse' (probably because 'I started very young'), having taken and passed 'advanced exams' at 35 wpm, in contrast with the 12 wpm requirement for an Amateur Radio licence.

Home brewing electrical and electronic equipment gave a deep insight in the way things worked. That deep insight is something a lot of people have never acquired even though they are skilled at using things

Indeed so.

I can but presume that we now have a very small number of people who are very knowledgeable and skilled as regards designing at the level of the individual elements (junctions, 'transistors' etc.) within what are often incredibly complex 'chips' - given that the great majority simply 'use' those chips without hardly any understanding of what goes on within them.

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Indeed so. 'Enlightenment' about such things is one of the (perhaps few!) positive things to say about 'what has happened to the world' over the decades!
Same here. I hate to think of how many years (decades) it is since I've used mine! As well as all the other distractions of life, I think my interest started waning when it became increasingly a business of (expensive) commercial kit, rather than the home-brew stuff I was brought upon - whereupon my 'technical interest' started moving in other electronic (and, eventually, 'computing') directions..

Kind Regards, John

I did a lot of home brewing but eventually I realised it was cheaper to buy a commercial unit. It was so easy to look at the cost of electronic components and think it's cheap but then adding the sockets, knobs, enclosure etc the cost soom racked up.
I have a 10 channel audio mixer I built in 1974, in 1998 I purchased a Soundcraft mixer; 8 mic/line & 2 stereo inputs which was of course so much better in so many ways and it cost less 24 years later.

 

[JohnW2]

As to 'old farts' ; at 75 I joined that club many moons ago

I have two-and-a-bit years to go

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

I have two-and-a-bit years to go

Kind Regards, John

I'm not yet at that age but 'old farts' isn't exclusively an age thing

 

[bernardgreen]

I can but presume that we now have a very small number of people who are very knowledgeable and skilled as regards designing at the level of the individual elements (junctions, 'transistors' etc.)

Your presumption is sadly very accurate.

 

[JohnW2]

I did a lot of home brewing but eventually I realised it was cheaper to buy a commercial unit. It was so easy to look at the cost of electronic components and think it's cheap but then adding the sockets, knobs, enclosure etc the cost soom racked up.

Yep, that was, at least for me, 'the beginning of the end' of home-brew being a sensible route, other than as an intellectual exercise.

Of course, a lot of my earliest radio equipment was not 'home-rewed' but, rather, was ('built like battleships) "war surplus" stuff - my earliest receivers which covered amateur bands were an R208 and and R107 (both seeming designed to be able to survive being driven over by a tank ), followed by an HRO (which I still have).

I have a 10 channel audio mixer I built in 1974, in 1998 I purchased a Soundcraft mixer; 8 mic/line & 2 stereo inputs which was of course so much better in so many ways and it cost less 24 years later.

I still have a lot of the stuff I built back in the 60s. When I have a moment, I'll try to remember to take some photos!

Kind Regards, John

 

[SUNRAY]

Yep, that was, at least for me, 'the beginning of the end' of home-brew being a sensible route, other than as an intellectual exercise.

Of course, a lot of my earliest radio equipment was not 'home-rewed' but, rather, was ('built like battleships) "war surplus" stuff - my earliest receivers which covered amateur bands were an R208 and and R107 (both seeming designed to be able to survive being driven over by a tank ), followed by an HRO (which I still have).
I still have a lot of the stuff I built back in the 60s. When I have a moment, I'll try to remember to take some photos!

Kind Regards, John

Mmmm 19 set, CR100, Eddystone, ECC88 2m to 4-6MHz converter. All went in the period of abstinence.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Home brewing electrical and electronic equipment gave a deep insight in the way things worked. That deep insight is something a lot of people have never acquired even though they are skilled at using things

There isn't such a need these days, as there once was. There is so much more you can just buy off the shelf and cheaper. It was the home brewing (and 1) which eventually got me into AR. My home brewing, is mostly wine now, with a the odd item which no one has thought (China) profitable to sell ready built, plus repairing things which fail, if it's worth while.

1. I was an early builder and writer of software for various systems, long before you could buy a home computer ready made. That was a really fun, entertaining time and right on the edge - which I suppose was why I was more interested in the digital modes of AR, than the ragchews.

 

[bernardgreen]

Sadly lack of storage space and several house moves meant most of my creations were lost over the years. One early success was a three transistor radio using a BBC schematic diagram. OC44 OC45 and OC 71 if I recall correctly. Largest was a lap counter for Scalextric. 4 counters 0..31 and four 2 digit 13 segment displays, all discrete components.

Aged 8 was in awe of a chap who had built his own TV set..

A couple of Wireless Set No 46

Nostalgia

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Mmmm 19 set, CR100, Eddystone, ECC88 2m to 4-6MHz converter. All went in the period of abstinence.

18 set, 22 set, R1155? (Lancaster receiver), I eventually progressed to a posh Lafayette valve receiver with mechanical filters, but I never kept any of them. I just have left - an Icom 706 with auto-antenna tuner, an handy and a commercial mobile comms Tx/Rx which I reprogrammed to the amateur bands, a Yaesu 8800 Rx left and an adapted TV receiver USB dongle SDR from my last dabble in aircraft ID/position reception.

Along with the war surplus, I dabbled with a few of the Sinclair items.