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#21
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Scott wrote:
Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... ![]() homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas ![]() ====================================== I fully support that approach . Station accessories can often be easily home-brewed as can simple QRP equipment , and usually at very modest cost . All wire type of antennas can be readily home-brewed as well at minimal cost using 'alternative' materials for insulators ,etc. Frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH |
#22
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On 2007-10-29, John Tartar wrote:
Well $50 is definitely Do-Able, for a SSB/CW radio. If you were mass-producing a kit, it should be easy. The challenge (back when I read it) made it sound like it had to be buildable with printed instructions and $50. If you have to buy everything in single unit quantities and make your own PCB (or build ugly/Manhattan, a challenge that would seem more formidable than $50 to many new hams) then it's hard to squeeze everything in. How many tinkerers have any idea how much it would really cost to build one of their creations? They probably built most of it from the junkbox. -- Ben Jackson AD7GD http://www.ben.com/ |
#23
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On 2007-10-29, Scott wrote:
Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... ![]() homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas ![]() While I agree that $700 is quite reasonable for an all-band rig, there actually _are_ people for whom $700 is an unreasonable investment in their hobby. It isn't as important for them to actually operate on every band all at once, it's more important that they find a reasonably priced entry point into the hobby. Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. But more important is the simple fact is that I learn more by building than by buying. If ham radio is really more than simply a glorified Citizen's Band, we are supposed to be educating and training outselves both to serve the public and to better our own understanding of radio and the radio arts. I think any attempt to make experimentation of that sort more accessible to the broad population of hams should be applauded. Mark KF6KYI Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg |
#24
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Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to
imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. --------------------------------------------------- You're joking, right? I think if you took a survey of 25 or so hams here (or in most other ham venues for that matter), you'd have a very difficult time finding even a few who have anything close to $3,000 invested in their hobby. Pile on me if I'm wrong guys, but pile on if I'm right too. Joe W3JDR "Mark VandeWettering" wrote in message . org... On 2007-10-29, Scott wrote: Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... ![]() homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas ![]() While I agree that $700 is quite reasonable for an all-band rig, there actually _are_ people for whom $700 is an unreasonable investment in their hobby. It isn't as important for them to actually operate on every band all at once, it's more important that they find a reasonably priced entry point into the hobby. Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. But more important is the simple fact is that I learn more by building than by buying. If ham radio is really more than simply a glorified Citizen's Band, we are supposed to be educating and training outselves both to serve the public and to better our own understanding of radio and the radio arts. I think any attempt to make experimentation of that sort more accessible to the broad population of hams should be applauded. Mark KF6KYI Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg |
#25
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I'm guessing I have somewhere around $3000 invested over the 25 years in
the hobby...let me do some rough math...Kenwood 520S $300, Kenwood 690SAT $1500, Yaesu 857 $600, Astron 35A power supply $250, MFJ 1278 Multimode Controller $300, Cushcraft A50-5S $150...am I there yet? Countless PL-259, N connectors, LMR400 coax, etc. BUT, I certainly know anyone can get by with a lot less investment. The key is investment over time. If I take my $3000 over 25 years, it only averages $120/year...pretty cheap for a hobby. I fly as another hobby and I can tell you that it costs more than $120 a year! ![]() Scott N0EDV W3JDR wrote: Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. --------------------------------------------------- You're joking, right? I think if you took a survey of 25 or so hams here (or in most other ham venues for that matter), you'd have a very difficult time finding even a few who have anything close to $3,000 invested in their hobby. Pile on me if I'm wrong guys, but pile on if I'm right too. Joe W3JDR "Mark VandeWettering" wrote in message . org... On 2007-10-29, Scott wrote: Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... ![]() homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas ![]() While I agree that $700 is quite reasonable for an all-band rig, there actually _are_ people for whom $700 is an unreasonable investment in their hobby. It isn't as important for them to actually operate on every band all at once, it's more important that they find a reasonably priced entry point into the hobby. Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. But more important is the simple fact is that I learn more by building than by buying. If ham radio is really more than simply a glorified Citizen's Band, we are supposed to be educating and training outselves both to serve the public and to better our own understanding of radio and the radio arts. I think any attempt to make experimentation of that sort more accessible to the broad population of hams should be applauded. Mark KF6KYI Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg -- Scott http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/ Gotta Fly or Gonna Die Building RV-4 (Super Slow Build Version) |
#26
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On Nov 6, 2:14 am, "W3JDR" wrote:
Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. --------------------------------------------------- You're joking, right? I think if you took a survey of 25 or so hams here (or in most other ham venues for that matter), you'd have a very difficult time finding even a few who have anything close to $3,000 invested in their hobby. Pile on me if I'm wrong guys, but pile on if I'm right too. Joe W3JDR That brought back a beautiful image from when I first got my license. A couple of other teens in the same town got their licenses at the same time. One, in particular, was on limited means. Very limited means. I remember going over to his house and being very happy for him that he was working all over the place on 15M CW, using a little one-tube regen receiver, parts scrounged from somewhere. And I see no reason you can't do the same sort of thing today, on CW at least. Both the receiver and the transmitter can be simple and still be effective. Cheers, Tom |
#27
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![]() You can easily dump $3,000 into a single, contemporary, mid-range "box". I don't even look at the catalogs or QST any more for this stuff which is large, at least two big knobs, severa dozen other knobs/switches, and panadapter screen with fancy-schmantzy readout (digital send VFO freq, receive VFO freq, bandwidth graphics, etc). But, over the last 30 years, yes, in total I easily dumped more than $3K into several VHF rigs, one UHF rig, several handi-talkies, a number of solid state HF rigs, amplifiers, old retro tube gear, some antennas (beams), rotators, SWR meters, antenna tuners....it all adds up. Easily, quickly. Now, a guy can --it is possible--get on the air with something like a used TS-520 (good basic HF rig) dipole, coax, microphone, all bare minimum, for less than $500, maybe even less (520s maybe down to $250 these days, depending on how badly a guy wants to sell his). Me, yes, I have a 520 and an old Icom 707 (bought at a ham store for $400, and it is vintage entry level simple broadband rig from at least 20 years ago). And, a couple of boatanchors. ===== no change to below, included for reference and context ===== On Tue, 6 Nov 2007, W3JDR wrote: Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. --------------------------------------------------- You're joking, right? I think if you took a survey of 25 or so hams here (or in most other ham venues for that matter), you'd have a very difficult time finding even a few who have anything close to $3,000 invested in their hobby. Pile on me if I'm wrong guys, but pile on if I'm right too. Joe W3JDR "Mark VandeWettering" wrote in message . org... On 2007-10-29, Scott wrote: Part of the reason might be that building piece by piece is getting pretty expensive for what you end up with. For $700 or so, you can buy a radio that works all the HF bands plus 6, 2 and 432 with all kinds of features. Try homebrewing that for $700... ![]() homebrewed these days is station accessory equipment that just makes some task around the shack a little more convenient (I'm guilty of this as well). I do still hombrew all of my own antennas ![]() While I agree that $700 is quite reasonable for an all-band rig, there actually _are_ people for whom $700 is an unreasonable investment in their hobby. It isn't as important for them to actually operate on every band all at once, it's more important that they find a reasonably priced entry point into the hobby. Listening to the bands, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there are still hams who operate with a budget of less than $3000, and still manage to have fun doing so. But more important is the simple fact is that I learn more by building than by buying. If ham radio is really more than simply a glorified Citizen's Band, we are supposed to be educating and training outselves both to serve the public and to better our own understanding of radio and the radio arts. I think any attempt to make experimentation of that sort more accessible to the broad population of hams should be applauded. Mark KF6KYI Scott N0EDV geek wrote: On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:10:27 +0000, John Tartar wrote: The deadline for the ARRL homebrew challenge has passed and I hear that the ARRL received 4 entries, all NO computer radios. NONE were in the computer assisted category. Publication is scheduled for Feb 2008 QST A Yahoo group was started to discuss developments. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ARRLHBC/ Some of the entrants have posting info about their entries there. Four entries? This does not bode well for the hobby :-( IMHO, building at least some of your own stuff should be a prerequisite for the license. Cheers, __ Gregg |
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