TGO David

If a guy can make money selling tactical beer mugs then you can certainly make money selling those! Signed, Proud Owner of a Tactical Beer Mug

Sadly there aren't many entries (80?) mostly because folks had no idea it was there. But yes, you will need to re-enter it. This gives us a chance to clean it up for accuracy by attrition.

Getting your feet wet in Amateur radio is fairly easy and if you'll just be doing local comm or bouncing off of repeaters, all you need is your Technician license and a UHF/VHF radio. The cost of the test is merely $15 plus whatever you invest in study aids. A simple 2m hand-portable (think walkie-talkie) may be sufficient for hitting your local repeater and can be had for about $130-200 depending on what brand and model you get. I bought a Yaesu FT-270R hand-portable after the fact and spent all of $130 on it. Portables usually issue about 5-watts power, which combined with the typical rubber ducky antenna limits you a bit on how far your signal is going to reach. A few miles, depending on terrain, typically. Mobile UHF/VHF rigs can be had from about the same price range to upwards of $500 depending on how many bells and whistles you want. The Yaesu FT-7900R that I run in my truck only cost about $300. You also need to factor in the cost of your antenna, antenna mount, antenna coax, power wiring, etc. I think my rig cost me about $500 all together but I planned for future expansion and added in some things you could eliminate to save money. If you want to talk to folks in other states / countries, you're going to want to pursue your General license (another $15) and invest in HF gear. The sky is the limit on the cost of the associated equipment and it all depends on how deep you want to get and how much you want to spend.

Welcome!

The exclusion of Code seems to be a somewhat religious topic among Hams. You have the guys who had to do it to get their General license and feel like everyone else should have to as well. Then you've got the guys who are happy that it's no longer a requirement and believe it should be an optional pursuit. I fall into the latter category.

You are a search ninja.

Since it is a forum, you will be able to search it using the full power of the vBulletin search engine. Key words, Boolean expressions, etc.

I honestly can't think of a reason why I'd want a 9mm when you could have a .38spl +P+ in the same form factor.

I guess I'm a license whore... because I went ahead and ordered a copy of Gordon West's exam prep for Amateur Extra and will pony up again for the next level of the HamTestOnline study aid. My target for completing it is end of July. I'm booked solid for the next few weeks with some training classes for a work-related certification and need to focus on that for the time being. Of course, this is all subject to change. I may end up with the Amateur Extra license before that if I find that I have free time.

Thread closed. Honestly, a good lawyer would likely advise that you not discuss it publicly.

House initially... mobile eventually.

Does this KFC not have any surveilence cameras that might be of benefit? None at nearby establishments?

Wilson Combat Pro Bobtail Glock 19 Totally opposite ends of the spectrum huh?

Not unless you have an Icom 7000 that you want to trade, or a Yaesu 897D + cash.

Right.

HK45. It's for sale in the trading post.

For Technician I just used the book and the freebie exam simulator over on eHam.com. For General I used the study guide and exam sim at HamTestOnline.com. Keep in mind I also have five years of EE studies in my background as well. It certainly made it easier, but frankly one could just do the HamTestOnline studies and pass using wrote memorization. I'll check it next weekend. My Tech license showed up on the Friday following the Saturday that I took the exam. Chances are this will be no faster. I'd probably be more pumped if I had an HF rig. Did I mention that I have a really nice HK 45 for sale?

They use a really weak spray paint for the "stainless" finish on their rifles. I ended up spraying mine with stainless Norrell's Moly Resin. The receiver is just aluminum, so if you leave it like that it will oxidize over time.

KJ4### /AG I hit 34 or 33 out of 35. I can't remember what they told me, but they were strongly encouraging me to go ahead and take Amateur Extra. I may go back and do that later. I don't even have an HF rig right now and I'm feeling like complete and utter crap with allergies and doped up on Mucinex, so I just wasn't feeling like sitting in for another test this morning. Seriously, someone needs to buy my HK45 so that I can put an HF rig in at the hacienda.

I know where the Jabberwocky sleeps. I'll try to surprise it soon and see if I can barter your post count back.

Maybe you mentioned your post count one too many times and the TGO Jabberwocky ate it.

Keep going dude.... you'll be at 100 again before you know it.

I think this thread has served its purpose. Folks, please do our Vendors a favor and give them a chance to earn your business. I don't mind people stating that they got good service somewhere else but I do hope that our Vendors are being thought of as well. Thanks.

FWIW, I pass cops all the time if they are driving under the speed limit. I don't go racing by them but I'll definitely do the legal limit +/- to get to where I'm going.

Understood. I'm pretty good at 1" one-shot groups myself.