I'm also returning to the 11 meter hobby after years of absence. I've
always been interested in all kinds of radio ever since I was little. I
was hoping to get my ham liscense, but the hams here (who know morse
code) turned me off of ham radio when they deliberately marked answers
I had correct as wrong, just because they only want the people who are
already in their little clique to be the only ones in it and prevent
anyone else from getting in.

As I found out the hard way, despite what the hams tell you, if you
want to get your ham liscense, it's not what you know, it's who you
know.

I now think that they should bring back having the FCC officials as
your test examiners instead of letting the hams theirselves be your
test examiners.

Also, another difference between hams and this cb'er is

If someone is playing music over the cb, the ham will automatically
assume it's illegal and report it to the authorities. (Stuffy.)

While I'll just sit there and listen to it if it's music I like. For
several different reasons, but mainly because you don't necessarilly
know what the situation is.

Then hams will say that I'm promoting and condoning illegal activities
by not reporting those illegal transmissions that are going out over
the cb airwaves, because it's illegal for anyone to be playing music
over the cb channels.

well, none of those stuffy hams ever bothered to think that just maybe
that music going out over the cb is from some kid a number of houses
away using an old 100 milliwatt cb channel 14 kids walkie talkie handed
down to him by his grandfather.

And it's perfectly legal to play music on that channel on that type of
walkie talkie.

So the hams would be falsely reporting perfectly legal transmissions as
illegal transmissions.

Making false accusations like that could land you in jail or get you
fined.

The way I understand it is those 100 milliwatt kids walkie talkies from
the 60's and early 70's are allowed to transmit on any cb channel with
anything they want to, although I only remember ever seeing ones that
operated on cb channel 14. Probably because that's what the model I
had operated on.

Other models might have operated on different cb channels.

And as I remember, they did transmit up to several houses away.

So no, I'm not condoning illegal activities by not reporting what might
be perfectly legal transmissions just because you hams think it's
illegal transmissions so you can feel important by getting someone
busted.












Spirittalk wrote:
I am interested in returning to this hobby after many years out.

In this time I have tried to get interested in taking the ham ticket
but too many of the attitudes are stuffy and I find the contacts I used
to make on SSB on 11 meters a lot more enjoyable.

I might add that some of the 11 meter dxer operators could teach a
thing or two to the hams about operating and general friendliness and
basic politeness.

I am off restricted space for aerials and I am thinking of a loft
dipole.

Are there any other aerials, loft mounted new on the market that give
good performance on 11 meter SSB , I am not aware of.

I was last on the air at the end of 1986 on 11 meters and wish to
rejoin.

I have been disillusioned with wanting to become a radio amateur due to
attitudes amongst the stuffed shirts !!!

There are never any decent QSO's as I had back in the day.