Ham radio Extra class

[handlebar]

I have been absent from the B and B for sometime due to the study bug that had bitten me. I have held a General class amateur (ham radio) license since 1999 and always wanted to upgrade. But time and many other stupid excuses made their way into my vocabulary. So two weeks ago I decided that i NEEDED to take the Extra class exam get it over with!!
Hence the long nights of electrical theory and principles coupled with copious amounts of tea. My lunch hours have been spent pouring over the 783 question pool as well as any free time I had between work and the typical home life.
I had also been taking practice tests online and via iPod Touch applications with resulting climbs in positive attitude.
Yesterday was the day for the exam and I didn't do as well as i wanted to,missing 2 questions. Drats.
I wanted to ACE this test!!!

So that is it. I have no more tests to take. The top of the ladder has been reached and now I hope to become a VEC examiner myself in the next year or two.

So you other hams out there: Which class level are you, how active on which bands and of course, what gear do you use?

As of now I'm strictly QRP on HF due to apartment living. I use a Yaesu FT-817 with a GR5V Jr strung up around the ceiling of the room attached to an LDG Z-100 antenna tuner. My 5 watts out on HF usually gets me out to the Columbia Basin net on 75mtrs at night with no problem and I have been able to do well when the band is open. I also love VHF/UHF/microwave action with the HT's being Kenwood's delightful F6A,Yaesu's VX3R and the full compliment of Icom's 02AT,03AT,04At and 12AT for 1.2 Ghz. I have a few scanners for the local public service as well. I would have loved to buy a Kenwood TS-2000 for passing the exam but that will have to wait until money becomes available sometime in the next 5 YEARS!!

Thanks for letting me share!!!

Jim
N7MYW

 

[dpm802]

Congrats on the upgrade.

I had an advanced ticket, but let my license expire several years ago. I was no longer active on any band, but when I was, I liked to work CW on 40M, and I'd listen to a lot of the voice traffic on 20M, but rarely picked up the mic. I also had a 2M rig in my car and an HT so I could rag-chew with my local repeater club.

I tried for a long time to get that Extra ticket, but I could never crack the 20wpm speed. No matter how much I practiced, I could never get myself above 18wpm, and even that was intermittent. I had no problems with the theory part of the test, but the code always held me back.

My last rig was an Icom 745, fully pimped out with every internal filter and matching Icom accessories. I was working in a Ham Radio store when they went out of business, and we all treated ourselves to new rigs at severely discounted prices.

 

[handlebar]

The Icom 745 was a great rig. I remember my mother having that rig when she was first a general. She sold it later on due to an upgrade in equipment. She still regrets it!

I still drool over that Kenwood TS2000 and Icom 746 Pro.

Jim

 

[KenS]

I have been absent from the B and B for sometime due to the study bug that had bitten me. I have held a General class amateur (ham radio) license since 1999 and always wanted to upgrade. But time and many other stupid excuses made their way into my vocabulary. So two weeks ago I decided that i NEEDED to take the Extra class exam get it over with!!
Hence the long nights of electrical theory and principles coupled with copious amounts of tea. My lunch hours have been spent pouring over the 783 question pool as well as any free time I had between work and the typical home life.
I had also been taking practice tests online and via iPod Touch applications with resulting climbs in positive attitude.
Yesterday was the day for the exam and I didn't do as well as i wanted to,missing 2 questions. Drats.
I wanted to ACE this test!!!

So that is it. I have no more tests to take. The top of the ladder has been reached and now I hope to become a VEC examiner myself in the next year or two.

So you other hams out there: Which class level are you, how active on which bands and of course, what gear do you use?

As of now I'm strictly QRP on HF due to apartment living. I use a Yaesu FT-817 with a GR5V Jr strung up around the ceiling of the room attached to an LDG Z-100 antenna tuner. My 5 watts out on HF usually gets me out to the Columbia Basin net on 75mtrs at night with no problem and I have been able to do well when the band is open. I also love VHF/UHF/microwave action with the HT's being Kenwood's delightful F6A,Yaesu's VX3R and the full compliment of Icom's 02AT,03AT,04At and 12AT for 1.2 Ghz. I have a few scanners for the local public service as well. I would have loved to buy a Kenwood TS-2000 for passing the exam but that will have to wait until money becomes available sometime in the next 5 YEARS!!

Thanks for letting me share!!!

Jim
N7MYW

Congratulations on the upgrade Jim. I've had the Extra grade study material setting here for over a year, and just can't get going on it. I just built a RickMite 40 Meter QRP transceiver and am working on learning CW. My principal radio is a Yaesu 897D with an LDG AT-897 antenna tuner. I do check into a couple of Oregon nets on occasion, so maybe I'll hear you out there. It's a bummer about the Portland Pen Show going away.
73
de
Ken / KE7HGE

 

[handlebar]

Congratulations on the upgrade Jim. I've had the Extra grade study material setting here for over a year, and just can't get going on it. I just built a RickMite 40 Meter QRP transceiver and am working on learning CW. My principal radio is a Yaesu 897D with an LDG AT-897 antenna tuner. I do check into a couple of Oregon nets on occasion, so maybe I'll hear you out there. It's a bummer about the Portland Pen Show going away.
73
de
Ken / KE7HGE

A great shame it is indeed. I have heard rumblings that someone will be taking over the pen show but alas have only heard just that:rumblings. I have a wonderful collection of pens but have enjoyed the shows over the last 5 or 6 years.
Like you, I had the book sitting there since last July when the new questions came out. I figured that since they were good till 2012 I would be ok. I just looked at the book again while cleaning out the desk and decided that was it! I was going to study. So I did.
That Yaesu is a great radio. I want another HF rig but until I sell my Omega watch (just listed on Craigslist today) I cannot. I thought I had it sold here but that fell through.

Oh well. Another hobby never hurts.

Jim
N7MYW

 

[Taipei Personality]

Congratulations on the upgrade!

I use a barefoot IC-718 into a G5RV at 45 feet. I've worked 49 states (what is it with South Dakota hams?) and 89 countries so far (since December). I'm a VE as well, and I'll tell you that it's quite rewarding and something you should consider.

73 de Phil, AE4PC

 

[handlebar]

Congratulations on the upgrade!

I use a barefoot IC-718 into a G5RV at 45 feet. I've worked 49 states (what is it with South Dakota hams?) and 89 countries so far (since December). I'm a VE as well, and I'll tell you that it's quite rewarding and something you should consider.

73 de Phil, AE4PC

Hi Phil,

Actually one of the motivating reasons for my upgrading was indeed VEC possibilities. I will be signing up for that as well as getting back into ARES and local club activities. I have been out of the loop for about 6-7 years in that regard. Some of the local politics put a damper on the meetings and club get-togethers. I will give it a go again.
My FT 817 has netted me about 1/3 of the states on QRP. I don't live in a great area for signals what with a lot of electric lines and cell towers close by. But I make do. The Timewave DSP filter does wonders!!

Thanks for the response.

Jim
N7MYW

 

[Roman414]

DPM802, when I was in Navy radio school 16wpm was my stumbling block. I aced through 14wpm, but just couldn't crack 16wpm. My instructor bumped me up to 18wpm. I couldn't copy much of it, but when he dropped me back to 16wpm after a couple of days it sounded slower and I passed it with no problem.

 

[OldSaw]

Congratulations.

I also have let my Advance class license lapse. I might reapply some day and see if I can get my old call sign back.

 

[TorzJohnson]

DPM802, when I was in Navy radio school 16wpm was my stumbling block. I aced through 14wpm, but just couldn't crack 16wpm. My instructor bumped me up to 18wpm. I couldn't copy much of it, but when he dropped me back to 16wpm after a couple of days it sounded slower and I passed it with no problem.

I had a heck of a time passing 18wpm (Coast Guard RM school) and just barely made it. Later I was stationed at USCG Commsta Kodiak (NOJ) and worked CW regularly. At one point, my section was short of qualified ops, and I did 12 hr CW watches for a few weeks. Boy, did that make a difference - I got up to 35wpm pretty quick.

73

 

[otherstar]

Congrats!

Extra class, AC5XL here. I'm not on anything other than 2 meters at the moment. I had gotten to Advanced class and never could get faster than about 18 WPM on CW. When they changed the CW requirements, I upgraded immediately.

I have a Icom 730 sitting on the desk and the parts for my old G5RV sitting in the garage. I'd had it up about 30 feet at the highest point. I've worked, but not confirmed most of the states, and about 15 countries in about a year with that setup. When the bands start to improve, I plan on putting up a horizontal loop of some kind (I live on 1/2 an acre in an unrestricted, semi-rural area). I love to work 10 and 17 meters the most, but I've spent plenty of time on 15, 20, 40 and 80 meters in both SSB and CW modes. I'm mostly a rag-chewer, but I do contest sometimes (even though I've never officially entered a contest).