[GRLUG] NOT LINUX - FCC to vote on net neutrality later today.

[Bob Kline]

Had?  Again, do they expire?

I never became a ham, but as a kid
did some listening.  My take is that the
attraction was the opportunity to learn
some electronics, and radio in particular.

I have to believe the hardest thing is
antennas, and something die hard hams
were always interested in.  It's a black art,
and IMHO the most difficult part of the
technology.  Today one has everything
from fractal antennas to wireless gadgets
of all kinds, including watches, to humongous
antennas - 1,500 feet and higher.

Anyway, the encryption thing seems to do
in the concept of using ham radio as a
way around Comcast and others.

But isn't it curious that with antennas from
Cyberguys, Amazon, etc., that one can get
ranges of literally miles using WiFi, long range
WiFi:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-range_Wi-Fi

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-range_Wi-Fi>that one can get up to miles
of interaction
under the right circumstances?  Say from a
hill on 92nd street to a tall building in GR?

Oh, and without a license.  I'm sure that
feature will be plugged up if long range
WiFi becomes popular and effective.

    -- Bob


On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 7:31 PM, Don Ellis <don.ellis at gmail.com> wrote:

> There are two types of license: Amateur and Commercial (I've had both),
> each with specific requirements. In the commercial world, it is illegal to
> disclose or repeat messages received without permission, and keeping them
> private is a mandate. In the amateur world, communications are public and
> for experimental/entertainment purposes. Encryption is prohibited. Maybe
> because it can't be a threat to established governments. In the old days,
> ham radio communications were possible to some pretty restrictive locations,
> though getting a license there may have been somewhat restricted too. Casual
> conversations were possible with people behind the wall. Nothing important
> could be sent on ham channels; that's what commercial channels were for.
>
> [Health and welfare messages are not "important" in this context, but are
> common traffic for hams.]
>
> There's still lots to learn that requires a ham license. With a license,
> you can use larger antennae and more powerful transmitters than without. At
> St. Charles LUG, there was a presentation on instrumentation for amateur
> rocketry that required a ham license. Very interesting, and shows some of
> what we can learn.
>
> One topic that's lots of fun is testing how far you can go with 802.11
> 2.4GHz communications. Might be hard to break some of the standing records,
> but putting additional restrictions can make it more challenging.
> Improvising an antenna system and testing it is a technical exercise.
>
> --Don Ellis
> [wb5zgt => kd0ye ( lapsed )]
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 7:26 AM, Bob Kline <bob.kline at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> ...
>>
>
>
>> I gather there are no use requirements
>> for keeping a license active.
>>
>> Anyway, no encryption would kill the idea.
>> Any idea what the reason is?
>>
>> A more testy question, what is the primary
>> motivation for becoming a ham today?  In
>> days gone by, one learned a lot about radio
>> and electronics, because many people built
>> their own equipment.  But that hasn't been
>> the case for decades, as good Japanese
>> radios became available for good prices.
>>
>> Without that learning incentive, what is
>> the reason people become hams today?
>>
>> Or is my assumption wrong?
>>
>>    -- Bob
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 8:15 AM, Matt Michielsen <
>> mattmichielsen at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> The biggest issue with the ham license is that you aren't allowed to use
>>> encryption.  I'm KD8EVV but haven't had a radio turned on in years.
>>
>>
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