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Old 15th Jul 2019, 2:27 pm   #121
MrBungle
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

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Originally Posted by Scimitar View Post
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One of them did mention playing around with CB radios in the 1980s however so they weren't quite as ignorant as they made themselves out to be
Hmm, I would infer the opposite from that statement. ;-)
Fair point
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Old 15th Jul 2019, 4:44 pm   #122
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

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Interestingly on this point, I was talking to some passing cyclists who wondered what the hell I was doing on Sunday and they outlined the decline I think:

"you do know we've got mobile phones these days, but I'm sure you've heard that before"



One of them did mention playing around with CB radios in the 1980s however so they weren't quite as ignorant as they made themselves out to be
This seems to be a very difficult point to get across to most people. They think we just want to talk to people, so they can't understand why we don't just use Skype or a mobile phone or whatever, whereas we aren't really interested in that, we want to talk about radio and allied subjects, our latest projects, achievements etc. My neighbour's son asked me a few weeks ago why I bothered shoving my 40 foot topband vertical up and down, when I could get software for my PC that would allow me to talk to up to 40 people all over the world at once. (insert roll-eyes smiley here).
Trying to explain to him what it was all about was like trying to herd cats. If you've ever seen the bit in Spinal Tap where the guy is fixated on his amplifier 'going up to eleven', you'll know the feeling.
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Old 15th Jul 2019, 5:05 pm   #123
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

Indeed. I had a friend of mine say the same thing a few months back as well over dinner. After explaining he still didn't get it. My closing remark was "but you play golf" and the point was got.

Honestly I could do without amateur radio but I think if I didn't occupy my mind continuously, I'd probably be a bond villain or something.
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Old 15th Jul 2019, 6:14 pm   #124
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

Why not just pick it up, take it to the green and put it in the hole? Exactly.

I just explain that for me, the idea that you can hang your voice on a signal, fling it off a wire and catch it with another wire many miles away - in some cases half way around the world - and turn it back into the original voice signal - is as miraculous now as it was the day I first learned about the concept. The novelty for me has genuinely never worn off.
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Old 15th Jul 2019, 6:27 pm   #125
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

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"you do know we've got mobile phones these days, but I'm sure you've heard that before"
Ah, you always need a counterquip. I'd have been ready with "And motor cars" while giving their bike a good stare.

I stopped in at the lifeboat station in South Queensferry to pick up a load of Christmas cards. The place is a bit of a tourist magnet and you get loads of bikers gathered on the front at weekends.I was on my way back from the stables and my breeches and boots got a few stares... "I ride something much hairier" was my quip. They choked on their sandwiches and we wound up having a good conversation and better understanding each other's concerns. I was proud of that quip!

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Old 15th Jul 2019, 7:04 pm   #126
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

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"you do know we've got mobile phones these days, but I'm sure you've heard that before"
A while back a rambleroid said something similar to me when I was out with my PRC320 working /P from somewhere I *know* is a totally-tragic black-hole for cellphone signals[1].

My reply was "How many signal-bars does your phone show down here? I've got nine!!"

[1] I was operating on 5MHz. Licence requires me to provide a contact phone-number for use in the event that the primary-user requires me to close-down. I guess they'd have got my 'out of service area' voicemail.
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Old 16th Jul 2019, 4:15 pm   #127
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

I need to check,but I think there is an activity day on 20th July,note not a contest.I should know as I read it out on the RSGB news!

Yes,1700--1900 UTC Club Log is handling statistics ,upload qso,s in ADIF format.

Find out more on www.veron.nl
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Old 19th Jul 2019, 1:02 pm   #128
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

Wear your vest!
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Old 21st Jul 2019, 9:09 am   #129
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

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Originally Posted by Steve G4WCS View Post
Finished recapping the mutek 251. Lancashire to ales with antennas on the ground at both ends

https://youtu.be/bF8gfOv2ZOE

Lovely looking radios those icoms. Might even be better than ft225rd. (*)



(*) second thoughts, nah.
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Old 8th Sep 2019, 2:26 pm   #130
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Default Good News 144 and 50Mhz

At 144MHz, after a major effort, the 144 to 146MHz frequency range was
successfully withdrawn from the French WRC-23 aeronautical proposal.
This hot topic had been the subject of detailed submissions by the IARU, France and Germany. This excellent result for amateur radio occurred in parallel to a number of other proposals being adopted to support aeronautical interests.


Courtesy of South Gate Amateur Radio News
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Old 8th Sep 2019, 2:35 pm   #131
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Default Re: Good News 144 and 50Mhz

Excellent news. Thanks for the update!
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Old 8th Sep 2019, 3:10 pm   #132
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Default Re: Good News 144 and 50Mhz

Good news.
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Old 8th Sep 2019, 4:50 pm   #133
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Default Re: Good News 144 and 50Mhz

The aeronautical people have just had to buy new radios with 8.33kHz channel spacing.. a government/eu subsidy has only just ended.

This has just added a lot more channels than the 25kHz existing spacing.

1) plane owners do not want to buy yet more new radios
2) movement to data rather than more talking is seen as the future
3) any new scheme needs global adoption... planes fly around, don'tcha know!

While ITU-R sees anything above 30MHz as non-global, the nature of aircraft makes it inevitably global. The 144-146 amateur band is a global allocation with expansion in some regions so it would take a global agreement to shift it.

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Old 9th Sep 2019, 1:04 pm   #134
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Default Re: Good News 144 and 50Mhz

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Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
The aeronautical people have just had to buy new radios with 8.33kHz channel spacing.. a government/eu subsidy has only just ended.

This has just added a lot more channels than the 25kHz existing spacing.

1) plane owners do not want to buy yet more new radios
2) movement to data rather than more talking is seen as the future
3) any new scheme needs global adoption... planes fly around, don'tcha know!

While ITU-R sees anything above 30MHz as non-global, the nature of aircraft makes it inevitably global. The 144-146 amateur band is a global allocation with expansion in some regions so it would take a global agreement to shift it.

David
I've seen no evidence that the proposed 2-metre 'grab' was intended for legacy analog human-to-human voice-comms; my understanding was that it was intended for spread-spectrum digital data/navigation use by drones, UAVs etc.
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Old 9th Sep 2019, 3:47 pm   #135
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

Yes, that is my understanding too.
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Old 9th Sep 2019, 4:00 pm   #136
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

Currently ED-23 and DO-186 both define the aviation band from 108 to 154MHz ! and the segment above 118 as phone.

They will also need changing, then.

But, yes, drones are going to be a very big problem. Drone people would probably prefer a band needing a smaller antenna.

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Old 9th Sep 2019, 9:59 pm   #137
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Default Re: Save our 2 Metre Band.

Good news.

The thing I have always liked about 144MHz and nearby, the frequency is high enough that the antennas can be fairly compact and the components for transmitters/receivers still resemble their lower frequency counterparts (unlike UHF) and you can wind small coils with 3 to 8 turns of self supporting wire that fit well on a pcb and easily make coil taps. The circuitry is easy to get working (mostly) and the waveforms examined with a good scope. So its all just right for experimental work with transmitters and receivers of a home brew character. I have enjoyed making many small transmitters amplifiers and some receivers at this frequency. I've attached a photo of a 1 watt NBFM transmitter-receiver pair (one way) I made about 20 yrs ago for a audio signal transmitter project. These days I wouldn't build anything like this with screws through the face of the case etc and I'd have a more professional finish. The feet were made of the long handle of a carbon fiber reinforced kitchen spoon . But it was a lot of fun.
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