Repeater King

I've been studying for my Extra exam and feeling overwhelmed by the 700+ question pool. I keep reading that you don't need to know all 700 questions, just most of the questions for each topic. What study methods have worked best for recent test takers? I'm looking at HamStudy.org app, which has explanations for every question, but wondering if I should supplement with books or videos. For context, I passed General last year and want to upgrade before the new question pool expires in 2028. I've heard taking two practice exams per day the week before helps. Any other specific tips?

honestly my biggest regret with my first go-kit was making it too heavy to actually want to bring anywhere lol. i went way overboard and ended up with this massive pelican case that was technically impressive but i never grabbed it when i should have because it was such a pain. eventually i split it into a grab-and-go bag with just the essentials and a secondary bin with the stuff for longer deployments. the ft-891 is a great choice by the way, runs well on 12v and doesnt draw crazy current on receive. you might want to think about how youre charging that lifepo4 in the field too — i have a small solar panel and a dc-dc charger that lives in the kit permanently so i dont have to think about it

Planning a portable field setup and evaluating transformer options for my EFHW antenna. The Fair-Rite 2643251002 has been found to be more efficient than the FT240-43 across the entire HF band, while also being able to handle 100w of high duty cycle modes (such as FT8 or PSK31) for extended periods. The 2643251002 is also considerably smaller at 1.5" diameter versus 2.4" for the FT240-43. Has anyone done direct comparisons between these cores? Looking at efficiency measurements and heat dissipation under continuous digital modes.

Just passed my Technician exam and I'm getting confused reading about band plans vs. FCC Part 97 allocations. My radio shows the entire 2m band (144-148 MHz) but I keep reading about 'band edges' and staying within certain segments. Where exactly am I allowed to transmit? Can I use any frequency in my allocated bands, or are there specific segments I should avoid? I don't want to accidentally operate outside my privileges. Also seeing references to 'band plans' - are these legally binding or just suggestions?

Know that when you interface N1MM+ to WSJT-X, a new instance of WSJT-X is created that is completely separate from your working "everyday" copy. This new instance of WSJT-X is called "WSJT-X – ForEW1" and comes with all settings defaulted. You need to configure audio and CAT settings in this new instance separately.

ok so ive been checking into my local 2m net for a few months now and i think i understand the basic flow but im still fuzzy on when exactly you're supposed to give your callsign. like i know you have to ID every 10 minutes and at the end of a transmission but in a net context does that mean every single time you talk, even if its just a quick 'copy that, 73' type reply? the net control seems to say his call pretty much every time he speaks but some of the other guys only say their call at the start and end of their longer exchanges. also separate but related question — is there a standard way to break into a net if you have traffic or need to ask something? i tried saying 'break' once and it felt like i did it wrong based on how people reacted, or maybe i imagined that. been doing a lot of reading but honestly the practical stuff is hard to learn without just asking people who actually run nets.

With the FCC's updated RF exposure rules that went into effect May 2021, I'm confused about when exactly I need to perform a routine environmental evaluation for my station. The amateur-specific exemption from having to conduct an RF exposure evaluation has been replaced by the FCC's general exemption criteria, though radio amateurs have always had to comply with RF exposure limits. Can someone break down the new requirements? I operate on HF with 100W and have a basic dipole about 30 feet from my house. Do I need to fill out paperwork or just perform the evaluation myself? Section 97.13 requires the licensee to take certain actions before causing or allowing an amateur station to transmit from any place where the operation could cause human exposure to RF fields in excess of FCC guidelines, and the licensee must perform routine evaluation if transmitter power exceeds specified levels.

went through the exact same confusion when i upgraded honestly. what helped me was just downloading the ARRL frequency chart pdf and keeping it next to the radio for a while. the band edge thing tripped me up too at first. i accidentally got yelled at on 80m for being too close to the tech/general line, which was embarrassing but whatever, you learn 40m can be kind of a zoo especially in the evenings when the DX starts rolling in and everyone piles up around 7.150-7.200 range. just find a clear frequency, listen for a bit, then ask if its in use before you start calling. youll figure it out pretty quick

so ive been messing around with this for a few weeks now and im not sure if im making it more complicated than it needs to be. basically i have a 4-port antenna switch (the cheap MFJ one) and i wanted to automate it based on what band the radio is on. the FT-991A puts out band data on the ACC port so i figured i could read that with an arduino and drive some relays to switch antennas automatically. the band data is straightforward enough, its just a few lines that go high or low in different combinations for each band. i got the decoding working fine on the arduino side. the problem is the relay side. im using a generic 8-channel relay board from amazon and i keep getting weird behavior where one relay will sometimes trigger when a different one should. im guessing its a power issue but i honestly dont know. the arduino is powered from USB and the relay board has its own 5v line from a wall wart. anyone done something like this? feels like im close but also like i could be missing something obvious. also considered just scrapping the arduino and using a raspberry pi with a relay HAT but that seems overkill for what is basically just switching 4 relays.

ok so ive been licensed for about two years and mostly do HF but my buddy kept bugging me to try working through AO-73 and i finally caved and gave it a shot last weekend. i have an FT-818 and a Arrow antenna so i figured that was enough to at least hear something. i can hear the downlink no problem, signals are actually pretty strong when the bird is high enough in the pass. but here is where i get confused — i know you have to correct for doppler shift as the satellite comes toward you and then moves away, but like... do i tune the uplink, the downlink, or both? i was reading different things online and some guys say to keep the downlink fixed and tune the uplink, others say the opposite. and im using the 818 which is only one radio so how does that even work with full duplex monitoring. also i was using heavens-above to predict passes and it worked ok but someone mentioned gpredict is way better for this stuff, is that true? the pass i caught was maybe 8 minutes long and signals totally disappeared for the last minute or so, is that normal or was i doing something wrong with the antenna pointing.

hamstudy dot org. thats it thats the reply lol. i studied for maybe 5 days using just that site and passed with one wrong. didnt even open a book

I had the same nerves six months ago! A great way to begin is by checking into a local net—like the EARS Information Net on Monday evenings. Nets provide a structured environment where you'll know exactly when to transmit and what to say. The structure really helps.

What's your CQ timing and message length? I increased my rate 20% just by shortening my CQ to "CQ TEST N0CALL" and reducing delays between transmissions. Even a rate of 15/hour (only one QSO every 4 minutes!) still nets 720 contacts - every second counts in maintaining rhythm.

im in almost the exact same situation lol, around 13-14 and been there since like spring. one thing someone told me at my club was to set the character speed higher than the overall speed, like run characters at 20wpm but words spaced out so you have time to think. farnsworth spacing i think its called. the idea being your brain learns to hear the characters at speed even if you have extra time between them and then you gradually close the gap. havent been at it long enough to say if it really works but it seems to be helping a little bit so far.

yeah the antenna separation thing is gonna bite you if you just plug both radios in and go for it. i tried something similar during a state QSO party a couple years back and my second radio basically turned into an expensive noise generator. ended up just using it to monitor the other band passively with the volume way down, which actually helped a little for knowing when to switch. if you do want to try real SO2R eventually, look into the microHAM stuff or even just a manual bandpass filter set, the Array Solutions ones are decent. but seriously dont try to learn it during SS, that contest moves too fast and you'll just frustrate yourself. NAQP is a lot lower pressure and shorter, might be a better place to experiment

fixed stations really shouldnt be using WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1 — thats more of a mobile path. for a fixed station at decent height you can usually just do WIDE2-1 or even WIDE2-2 depending on the network density around you. WIDE1-1 is meant to hit fill-in digis that are low to the ground, and if you're already elevated it kinda wastes a hop. try dropping it to just WIDE2-1 and see if your packets are getting through more cleanly. also 30 miles to the nearest igate is pretty rough depending on terrain. if your packets are getting digi'd but not reaching the igate theres not a lot you can do about that from the path side. have you looked at whether your direwolf igate is actually connecting to the APRS-IS server? sometimes the pi just quietly drops the connection and doesnt reconnect cleanly. i check mine every week honestly because it happens more than you'd think.

just chiming in because im kind of in the same boat, sitting around 15wpm now and trying to get to 20. one thing i found helped was listening to faster code even when i cant copy it at all, like put on a 25wpm QSO and just let it wash over you while doing something else. sounds weird but i think it helps your ear get used to what fast code sounds like. also LCWO.net has some good exercises if you havent tried it, more flexible than a lot of the other sites for setting up custom drills. good luck, this part of the journey is definitely the grind part lol

so the Tri-County hamfest is coming up on the 18th and im trying to decide if its worth making the drive. last year i picked up a decent MFJ tuner for like 20 bucks at the swap tables but the year before that it was pretty picked over by the time i got there. does anyone know if theyre doing the flea market tables again or is it mostly just vendors this time? i heard the club that runs it changed hands or something and the format might be different.

im in kind of a similar situation and went with the dipole route last spring, no regrets. i did an inverted V on 40m with the apex at about 32 feet and ive worked europe a handful of times on it which surprised me honestly. the NVIS thing gets overstated in my opinion, yeah its better for closer in but its not like you cant get out at all. the vertical might edge it out on pure DX but the setup headache and the ground radial situation wasnt worth it for my yard. also the ladder line into a tuner setup is super flexible, same antenna works fine on 80 and 20 for me with just the tuner doing its thing.

yeah i do this all the time, its honestly my favorite part of the hobby at this point. used to chase dx constantly but now i just kind of drift around and see what i find. 40m at night is real good for that, you get all kinds of weird skip and sometimes youll catch somthing totally unexpected. last week i heard a station from costa rica just crystal clear out of nowhere on like 7.180. didnt even have time to work him before he was gone but still cool

the partial callsign thing works but you gotta be careful with it because if theres another station with similar suffix you can cause a real mess. had a situation on 17m a couple years back where me and some other guy both ended up responding to the same partial and the DX got confused and just went QRT for a few minutes. not ideal what expedition were you working if you dont mind me asking? im trying to figure out my own list of what to chase this cycle since propagation on the higher bands has been way better lately. 10m especially has been crazy good for DX, had stuff coming in from the pacific last week i havent heard in years

Anderson Power Poles on everything - this is critical for field ops. Also consider adding a low-voltage cutoff to protect that expensive LiFePO4. Learned this the hard way when I deep-cycled my first battery. A simple voltage monitor saved me hundreds in replacement costs.

Aircraft and balloon stations should avoid any path at altitude since digipeating isn't necessary due to antenna height. We've seen significant improvement in our region since implementing proportional pathing based on speed and distance from home station.

Every QRP field operator should have a ZM-2 - they do a brilliant job of matching random wire antennas and taking your resonant antenna to a non-resonant band. Worth every penny for POTA work.

so ive been messing with APRS for a few weeks now and i cant figure out why my packets are getting digipeated locally (i can see them on RF) but they never seem to make it to aprs.fi. my setup is a Kenwood TM-D710G hooked into APRSIS32 on a windows box, and i set the path to WIDE1-1,WIDE2-1 which i thought was pretty standard. the nearest igate i know of is about 12 miles away and shows as active on the map so its not like there's nothing out there to hear me. i ran a test for like an hour yesterday and nothing showed up on aprs.fi under my callsign. did a search, nothing. the TNC in the radio is definitely decoding packets fine because i can see other stations scrolling by in the software. its just MY packets that seem to vanish into the ether after the first hop. i even boosted output to 50w thinking maybe the igate just wasnt hearing me but still nothing. is there a way to see if the digipeater is actually passing my packets along or just killing them? maybe the digi is broken or misconfigured on that end? i feel like im just going in circles here