Author Topic: EXAM DAY Today ~ June 13th, 2009 (Read 3111 times)

FourBee · « **on:** June 13, 2009, 09:24:16 AM »

I Passed

Arrived at the Testing Center at 9:45 a.m. Most of the other examinees were already there nervously waiting for the VE's to get things started. Testing began at 10:a.m. and it got very quiet ~ butterflies were fluttering in my stomach as my eyes blurred at trying to read the questions. We turned in our test papers and waited for the gradeing. We all passed, and some of us (me included) volunteered to be tested for next higher operating class . I was so nervous by then I could hardly write my name, but in the end I passed it too.

Hurray! In a few weeks I'll have my General Class Amateur Operators License..

For some reason, I don't know why. I put my two ARRL Study Manuals in the car when I left the house. At the Test Center I realized why I'd brought those books. There was a young man there very much enthusiastic about radioing, but a little financially strapped. His study book appeared to be out dated, so I retrieved my books from the car and gave them to him. We were both very happy.

4B

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 13, 2009, 09:40:22 AM »

congratulations 4b!!! that is wonderful news!!! the general was a piece of cake weren't it!!! i am so happy for you i might go have a cold beer!!( only one tho, i gotta watch the blood sugar. plus i have been sober for going 30 yrs.!!) when you gonna start studying for the extra?? it ain't to bad a test now-a-days neither. this is truly great news!!!!! good job 4b!!!!!!73's. aa5ez (it will be good to see you signing with your call in a few days!!!!)

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 13, 2009, 09:50:11 AM »

shoot i got so excited i forgot about foggy for a few minutes! hey foggy 4b done went and done it!! i sincerely believe you can do it to!! read thru the book a few times and you pretty much got the test whipped!!now 4b the real learning begins!!!!! you can get out there and start tinkering!!! you are at the point of where the rf meets the wire!!!!on the frontline of the antenna battle most hams have!!! what i got works but would one of them work any better?

?? wooo hooo!! have some fun 4b!!!! foggy let us know how you are doing!!! i will help all i can!! 73's.aa5ez ( i am ez!! just ask any of the girls!!!)

pills · « **Reply #3 on:** June 13, 2009, 11:36:06 AM »

congrats!

73s

Foggy · « **Reply #4 on:** June 13, 2009, 11:39:17 AM »

Four B
You DA MAN Congrats.. I'am so glad.
Ozark
I been tring to fine study time ..Moma is tired of renting and we have been house shopping. but the Spirit it get it is strong. I'am a 1/4 thur my first read I figure by the second read the questions will be headed your way LOL

Foggy

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #5 on:** June 13, 2009, 12:59:47 PM »

i'll keep checking in foggy!! if i can help i sure will!! those study guide books can sure be dry reading. i do believe you can pass as neatly as 4b did.keep in mind you will need space fer an antenna farm when you are place shopping!! real estate prices should be good for a buyer now. i always look at antennas in relation to gain per acre!!! hang in there foggy it will come. take care all. 73's aa5ez

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 25, 2009, 07:49:43 PM »

hey foggy!! check in and let us know how you are coming along!!73's aa5ez

FourBee · « **Reply #7 on:** June 26, 2009, 03:47:40 AM »

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hey foggy!! check in and let us know how you are coming along!!73's aa5ez

Yeah foggy , like ozark, I'm still here too.

Been busy here staying cool as possible. All those storms messed up my garden pretty much. . Had to get another electric fence charger, and the hail put a few dents in my car.

Now the grass is growing so fast it's keeping my wife on the lawnmower and me on the tractor cleaning the pastures. And the Sheep; a friend of mine is in poor health and asked me to take over his sheep. They hadn't been sheared in 3 years.

I did six (6) head., one per day at 30 mininutes per head. I know it can be done in 1 minute by professionals.......

Even at that slow of pace I still brought blood. Boy I hated that. To top it all off. I stand at 5' 10", and One of those buggers jumped over my head and kicked my right behind the ear and my head hurt for a week.

Just finished spraying my fence rows, now hopefully I can get back to setting up my radio and antenna.

73's kf5bri

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #8 on:** June 26, 2009, 04:37:14 AM »

remember 4b the radio amateur is supposed to be well rounded and not let his hobby get in the way of work family etc!!! i think you have let work get in the way of radio!! what a revolting development!! kicked in the head by a sheep!!! 4b that kick could have knocked out your ability to use the ptt button! or to turn the vfo knob! maybe time to have a sheep roast!!!! all joking aside be darn careful around livestock 4b!! it is so easy to get hurt! i know what you mean about the storms. i just got my yard cleaned up.we only had small hail up here so far. the heat has sure put the hurts on me. i got awful sick and had some bad chest pain the other day. i still ain't feeling to good. i hope foggy checks in and lets us know how he is doing. 7mm was thinking about trying for a ticket maybe,i think he was wondering if he could afford another addiction! shooting and ham radio are sure nuff addictions. i will keep checking in and if i can give anyone some help and encouragement. i will do my best!! like i said before i ain't been overly blessed with smarts or education but i do know what works and what don't on some things! i am going to leave the sheep to you 4b!! another kick in the head might put me over the edge!!!! 73's aa5ez

FourBee · « **Reply #9 on:** June 26, 2009, 04:51:29 AM »

Now ozark don't you be checking out on us now. Take it easy in this heat. It'll sure get to us old timers in a hurry. Best wishes for you in my prayers.
73's 4B KF5BRI

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 30, 2009, 10:29:01 AM »

hey foggy!! drop a line and let us know how you are doing. i hope you have found some time to study a little. let me know if i can help in any way. 4b how's the head feeling? that blasted sheep didn't knock anything important loose did it? have you been thinking about a hf rig any? i might turn loose for a k3 one of these days.i see some mixed reviews on the k3. apparently you either love the little rig or hate it. one thing i noticed was that the owners of the company get involved with the email reflector. they reply to problems and request on an almost daily basis. that is impressive for a company now-a-days.take care.73's aa5ez

FourBee · « **Reply #11 on:** June 30, 2009, 12:16:14 PM »

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ozarkhillbilly49 ~ 4b how's the head feeling?

I tell you what. These animals have got it in for me I guess. Received another knot on my head from a mad mamma Blue-Jay. All I was gonna do is put the chick back in the tree, and she thumped me a good'un.

A K3; wow, ozark that's quite a rig for sure. I don't doubt but what you could make that rig do all the tricks its made for. It would be best if I started with a simple rig, but decided to get a middle of the road rig, YAESU's FT 950AT. Its got more stuff in the box than "Carter" has little liver pills. One feature alone that amazes me is a switch that toggles thru 4 test meters as they appear in the View Window. An ALC, SWR, Amp, Volt, and Comp meter. It has so many other things that you'd understand, but it'll take me some time to learn how to use them. I'm going to string a dipole between 2 trees about 28' high is as high as I can get. Just want to keep it simple as I can. 73's kf5bri

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 30, 2009, 01:48:29 PM »

that will work 4b!! looking forward to a good ragchew one of these days. take care,73 aa5ez

FourBee · « **Reply #13 on:** June 30, 2009, 02:19:52 PM »

ragchew; Yeah boy. I'm already gettin butterflies just thinkin bout it. Hope I don't get lock-jaw when that day comes.

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 30, 2009, 05:47:34 PM »

don't worry 4b. a good ragchew is almost like sitting around visiting with folks. just id with your call ever 10 minutes. 73's aa5ez

FourBee · « **Reply #15 on:** June 30, 2009, 06:20:58 PM »

Yeah; I've been listening to a bunch down in Texas early on Week-ends with just my little portable shortwave. They cut up and go on like a bunch of farmers down at the local coffee shop. Now if I can hear them with it, surely I can pull them in when I get my rig set up. Don't know how much power they're puttin out so may not be able to reach them, but I'd like to try anyway.

Foggy may be movin. I just re-read his last post ~

Quote

Moma is tired of renting and we have been house shopping

~ and figured that may be why we're not hearing from him as of late.

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #16 on:** June 30, 2009, 06:27:59 PM »

a north south oriented dipole and a 100 watts they should hear you ok. specially on 40mtrs.73's aa5ez

FourBee · « **Reply #17 on:** June 30, 2009, 06:33:31 PM »

North to South. That's the way I've got it planned to go up. A full 100 WATTS huh!? Well; it's supposed to have that much punch alright.

PS ozark I'm going to call it a night. 73's kf5bri

Duke45 · « **Reply #18 on:** July 22, 2009, 03:56:01 PM »

Hi a great day it is . My wife got her tech. lic and i my gen. lic. we can now start to use our radio. Still have a bunch to learn. 73's to everyone Duke45

FourBee · « **Reply #19 on:** July 22, 2009, 04:28:52 PM »

Congrats Duke45; happy hamming to the both of ya.... 73's 4B

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 22, 2009, 07:04:16 PM »

congrats duke, to both of you!! have some fun!! you mite have to tell your wife what an old ham friend of mine told his wife when she got her ticket in the late 1940's. sam was a hard working and practical man. he was fully aware of how excited his wife jo was at getting her ticket. he was also thinking about his stomach when he told her he didn't want to home from work and find a hot transmitter and a cold stove!! i never got to meet jo as she passed way some years before i meet sam. i do know he loved and missed her deeply. any way both of you have some fun!!!! 4b how is it going at your qth? still in the antenna fight? take care all, 73's aa5ez.

FourBee · « **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2009, 04:22:24 AM »

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4b how is it going at your qth? still in the antenna fight? take care all, 73's aa5ez.

ozark; I'm still mulling over whether or not to clip my 40meter dipole wire for a desireable swr or leave it be and get an external tuner to do the job for the FT-950 . I don't see how I can do without a tuner eventually anyway. In regards to the old Johnson Matchbox you mentioned awhile back, I ran across the MFJ-974H that claims to be its successor. What's your opine on that? Another tuner that seems to be a 'rave' for the YAESU FT-950 radio is the MFJ-986. Those are the two I'm looking at right now and can't afford to get either one just yet. 73's 4B............

Skunk · « **Reply #22 on:** July 23, 2009, 05:42:15 AM »

FourBee,

I was always afraid to open this thread because the title says, "EXAM DAY Today." I figured that if I opened the thread and came in, it would be just like walking into an old high school classroom and I'd have to take a test or something.

I tried to avoid those test days like the plague.

Finally I get enough courage to take a peek and find that it was you doing all the testing.

Thank goodness for that!

So therefore, even if I'm a bit late, a Big Congratulations To You is in order for obtaining your General Class Amateur Operators License. Way to go! You guys make the short wave radio scene sound like a lot of fun.

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #23 on:** July 23, 2009, 07:29:31 AM »

hi skunk!! it is a lot of fun if you are crazy enuff!! 4b has been having fun with an antenna project. i have been taking apart a transformer to rewind for a amplifier project. all kinds of fun. 73's to all.aa5ez

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 23, 2009, 09:47:54 AM »

4b, there ain't no substitutes fer the matchbox. the matchbox is "link" or "magnetically" coupled. that means that the rig makes no physical connection to the antenna. that makes for a safety margin in static buildup and several other troubles. the matchbox is misunderstood by many folks!! it is as good or better than any design yet conceived.does the matchbox handle low impedances very good? no! it is designed to work 80 thru 10 meters.most 160 metr. antennas are going to be short low impedance antennas that require special treatment. most 80 thru 10 antennas are going to be higher impedance doublets,end fed zepps, etc. that is what the matchbox was designed to handle. many manufactures today build and market hi dollar broad range whiz bang tuners with a lot of snake oil on'em! do a search and find l.b. cebiks site(w4rnl unfortunalely now sk.) as he states it is hard to get the values needed to tune 160- 10 mtrs in one box.the coil dimensions for a 160 tuner and the cap values are large! it is better to run 80-10 in a tuner(already a stretch!). many old timers used homemade tuners with plug in coil sets for each band!! that is by far the most efficient way to go for max power transfer. the matchbox done this with a tapped coil and a bandswitch. i have found that if a matchbox won't tune an antenna it ain't much of a radiator. there is a real good chance that a matchbox would tune your doublet as is. i am sorry if i sound prejudiced about some of the modern thinking! to many hams today want convenience at the expense of sound engineering and rf principles. you can only get so much convenience and qsy capability until something must suffer. sorry about being so long winded!! i am not to good with the written word!!(note screen name, not very much education here!) any ways i will be around if any body needs me. take care. 73's to all

phalanx · « **Reply #25 on:** July 23, 2009, 01:57:11 PM »

Congrats ,now you will want to take the next step.
That is where you have to watch your Ps and Qs ,because you know to much to be restrained , yet you still stand and lean over on the line.

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #26 on:** August 02, 2009, 09:14:01 AM »

hey foggy!! check in and let us know how you are doing!! i hope you are finding the time to read a little bit once in a while!! the tech test is a piece of cake if you have read thru the book once or twice. a freind of mine got his tech a couple of years ago at a hamfest. we had about an hour and a half before test time. i asked him if he would take the test if i bought him the book. he said sure,why not. he read thru the book once skimed thru once,went in and tested and passed with a low 80's score. belive me if george can do that i bet you could to!!! if i can help you in any way foggy(or anyone else) drop a line back!! 73's

Foggy · « **Reply #27 on:** August 05, 2009, 12:52:30 PM »

Ozark I'am working at it I tring to find time to sit down and read it's been life comes at you fast time here lately Thanks for checking up on me
Foggy

ozarkhillbilly49 · « **Reply #28 on:** August 05, 2009, 02:03:28 PM »

good to hear from you foggy!! leep at it. things will get easier! wishing you all the best! if i can help you out in any way drop a line. 73's

Foggy · « **Reply #29 on:** September 01, 2009, 01:44:20 PM »

Hey Guys
Been reading and taking practice tests been getting between 75-80 not enough buffer yet for me. also a friend sent me a a ICom ic2000 2 meter rig and a 25watt powersupply free if i get my lincence in 4 months if not 150 for both,,
well Back to the Books
Foggy