On 3/20/2013 3:30 AM, Gunner wrote:
Ive been doing the online tests for the Technician exam. Of the 6
times Ive taken the sample exams...I passed it 5 times. Of the 4 times
Ive taken the online sample General exam..Ive passed it twice.

This without any study.

I was a ham nearly 40 yrs ago..and we didnt have FM or packet radio
etc etc and there was a CW portion (Thank Crom its gone!)

I picked up a Kenwood TS-530SE transiever in the last load of Stuff
from that mini-storage clean out along with a couple boxes of other
radio Stuff. The radio turns on..and gives me a hiss out of the
onboard speaker..but I dont get any signals on the old long wire
antenna Ive got up..so there are Issues. Ive downloaded the
schematics..gonna make me think and at my age...relearning board
repair is gonna really hurt. Got all the gear for checking it out
though..Tektronics scope, Tektronics freq counter, Tektronics VOM etc
etc...mil surp RF generator...all the proper Stuff. Everything except
a dummy load.

Anyone got a 50 ohm, 100 watt dummy load collecting dust I can
swap/trade for?

Btw..Im up to my ass in scopes if anybody needs a couple or 3. I
think Ive got 5-6 up on the shelf and I certainly dont need that many.
One for the service truck, one for the bench, a spare and Im good.

Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

I haven't taken a ham test in 40 years, but, as I recall, it's a lot
like a driver's license test. Not much about whether you can drive
a car, but mostly about knowing the rules.

The electronics is trivial for anybody with any experience at all.
But it's useful to practice the questions so you can interpret what they
really ask.

As for the dummy load, what are you gonna do with it.
If all you want to do is see power, a light bulb works fine.
If your emissions are in the band and used under the terms of
your license, you're good to go. Just pick a dead spot in the band
and keep it short.

The complexity goes up from there. Go to any ham swap meet and you'll
probably find a boatload of dummy loads for sale. Just take the meter
and
check the resistance. Hams are people... and people can't be trusted
to tell you that it's blown.

There are zillions of nice resistors mounted on big heat sinks used
as circulator loads and in cellular base stations. Those show up
at swap meets in the 100W range for $15 or so. Nice, small, no oil,
excellent high frequency characteristics. But take the meter.

Ham radio is just like any hobby. If you're impatient, you'll spend
a lot of money. If you troll the swap meets and garage sales, you
can pick up most stuff dirt cheap. Be patient. Go to ham club meetings.

Ham radio is mostly dead for reasons stated elsewhere in the thread.
Every damn QSO is about the weather, the rig, then nothing left to
talk about. Interweb news groups are much more entertaining these days.

You'll have more fun talking to locals on the uhf frequencies.