Ham Radio

[Tom Bender]

Any ham radio operators out there? I have inherited a briefcase with ham radio books and a few parts. Free to anyone interested. Just cover shipping.

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[Jerome Stanek]

Any ham radio operators out there? I have inherited a briefcase with ham radio books and a few parts. Free to anyone interested. Just cover shipping.

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you may want to see about a ham fest near you. those books could be worth a lot of money

[Patty Hann]

Ditto on the book value.
One on Amazon is newer than yours ( it has a $1.95 price tag) and it's still almost $250

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[Tom M King]

Back when I was a Boy Scout, learning Morse Code was a requirement for one rank. I remember learning it in bed one morning before my Parents woke up that day. I don't remember if it was that book, or not, but the letters were all presented in drawings with the dots and dashes in each letter, and it stuck with me right away. I wish everything else had come so easily, but I never understood why that was so easy to learn.

[Mike Henderson]

You don't have to learn Morse code any more to get a Ham license. I suppose some old Hams still use Morse but it's dying out.

I was never very good at it.

Mike

[Just looked it up, they dropped the Morse requirement for a Ham license on February 14, 1991.]

[Tom M King]

They dropped the requirement for Boy Scouts decades ago. I think that was sometime around 1965 when I learned it. I never did forget it.

[Bill Dufour]

I would think the internet has killed ham radio.
Bill D.

[Bill George]

Taking out the Morse requirement dumbed down the Ham Radio hobby. When all your cell phone towers are down and the internet has no connection then ham radio is the fall back. A Morse code transmitter can be cobbled up and a signal sent under extreme conditions and with very little power. Can run off a car battery if needed. Been a Ham since 1978 or so.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

This discussion comes at a sad time for our extended family. It makes me miss Ken and think of the family. My two brothers lost their father in law last week. Ken was a Navy radio officer and had the Motorola shop in town. I hope some of the grandkids will take an interest in his radio gear.

[Ronald Blue]

Taking out the Morse requirement dumbed down the Ham Radio hobby. When all your cell phone towers are down and the internet has no connection then ham radio is the fall back. A Morse code transmitter can be cobbled up and a signal sent under extreme conditions and with very little power. Can run off a car battery if needed. Been a Ham since 1978 or so.

I agree with your assessment in general. It was nothing that you did on a whim. Didn't you have to work your way up the progression to actually be allowed to use voice communications? I was never into Ham radio but knew a few many years ago that were. Along with learning Morse code it seems they had to learn a lot about the electronics side of it as well. My memory might be skewed though.

[Bill George]

I agree with your assessment in general. It was nothing that you did on a whim. Didn't you have to work your way up the progression to actually be allowed to use voice communications? I was never into Ham radio but knew a few many years ago that were. Along with learning Morse code it seems they had to learn a lot about the electronics side of it as well. My memory might be skewed though.

Yes I started as Novice built my own Heathkit rig and was restricted to code only until I could pass the 13 wpm Morse and another written test. You actually had to know some electronics and not just be a glorified CB radio operator. Ended up with an Advanced Class ticket. Best contact I ever made was with a ham in Tasmania, some in Japan and of course Europe.

[Andrew More]

I would think the internet has killed ham radio.
Bill D.

And cell phones. My dad used it to talk to people all over the world (internet) and to call home (cell phone). My wife and I use our phones the same way.

[Mike Henderson]

Taking out the Morse requirement dumbed down the Ham Radio hobby. When all your cell phone towers are down and the internet has no connection then ham radio is the fall back. A Morse code transmitter can be cobbled up and a signal sent under extreme conditions and with very little power. Can run off a car battery if needed. Been a Ham since 1978 or so.

It certainly didn't "dumb down" Ham Radio. Learning Morse is not an intellectual feat - it just kept a lot of people out of Ham radio. You still had to know a fair amount of electronics to pass the test (besides the Morse).

There was a commercial license that didn't require Morse and the test for First Class was pretty tough.

Mike

[And when someone got their Novice license they found out that more advanced Hams would not slow down their Morse to communicate with them.]

[Thomas L Carpenter]

To you hams out there, the International Space Station has a ham rig but I have forgotten call signs etc. Should be available on the internet. Don't know if they still do QSL cards anymore but if they do it would be a nice one to have.

[John Stankus]

The books probably aren't worth much. The folks on Amazon are fishing for folks with "One-Click" buying. I warn my students about that. One of the American Chemical Society Exam review books shows up on Amazon for $900 sometimes, when you can buy a new copy from ACS for <$25.

Some of the parts look like they are from an old Alinco radio
The directories are out of date,
The wire strippers are useful but probably not worth the shipping
I would see if there is a local ham radio club, and pass it along there.

Here is a list of Ham Radio clubs in Michigan (no affiliation with any (or the website))
https://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Ham_Radio/Clubs/North_America/USA/Michigan/

John, N5PEE

[Tom Bender]

Thanks John, wow, there are something like 60 clubs in Michigan? Not sure where to start. We've inherited so much stuff that this collection is getting pretty close to the trash bin.