Amateur Radio

[trolls' bane]

I felt a need to create a thread for discussion among ham radio operators, so...here we go.

Are there any hams out there? I'm going to be getting my FCC license very soon (going for Technician class).

[Snowdog]

I've had my 'ham' radio license since the mid 80's. I think its up for renewal in a bit.
They don't require morse code anymore do they?

[Nurvingiel]

I'm not a ham, but I really like amateur radio. My exposure is limited to truck drivers, fire fighters and forestry workers while driving around logging roads.

I also enjoy small town radio stations and campus radio, which sort of fall into an amateur grey area (depending on how polished the hosts/DJs are).

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

Originally Posted by Snowdog

I've had my 'ham' radio license since the mid 80's. I think its up for renewal in a bit.
They don't require morse code anymore do they?

I don't think so.

They don't even use it in the Coast Guard.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

I also enjoy small town radio stations and campus radio, which sort of fall into an amateur grey area (depending on how polished the hosts/DJs are).

Not very polished at all! At least not my campus radio station. I've thought about trying to get my own time on the radio station tthere and have my own segment...too busy for it right now though.

[brownjenkins]

I did a campus radio show way back when, and have messed with some internet stations more recently. The 'net seems to be where it's moving these days, though one never know how copyright issues will hash out.

[Mari]

I did some translation and English interviewing for the radioclub in Japan, but that was more on the spot translating of questions and answers etc. I never got near the equipment. They had a lot of interesting-looking equipment there though.
Question: at your universities, do the radioclubs have rules as well? The club in Japan had to be bilingual, had to have a certain amount of hours interviewing people and cultural programmes, other clubs could "reserve" a certain amount of time for promoting their clubs, etc. Every broadcast had to have a theme and the more indepth parts had to be approved first.

[Nurvingiel]

That is so cool Mari! Even if you didn't touch a mike you were still an integral part of the show.

The CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television Communication) makes the rules for radio in Canada, but they aren't nearly as stringent as the Japanese rules. You don't need to get your content pre-approved and your show doesn't have to be bilingual (even though we do have two official languages)!

Even the station doesn't have to be bilingual. CBC, the government radio, has two stations - one in English and one in French. This satisfies the country's demand for both languages. Plus since the government's running it, they do have to broadcast in both languages. However, the stations are independent of one another.

Basically as long as you don't break their rules, the CRTC will leave you alone. They're pretty laid back about the rules. They only even ask that you have a minimum of 10% Canadian content. I don't understand how this rule really works though, because Fox and many other American TV stations can broadcast here and they don't have any Canadian content.

The CRTC's Wiki.

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by Nurvingiel

They only even ask that you have a minimum of 10% Canadian content. I don't understand how this rule really works though, because Fox and many other American TV stations can broadcast here and they don't have any Canadian content.

It's not the Americans fault that you pick up their TV signals

[hectorberlioz]

You know what would be really cool? A weekly Entmoot Radio Podcast. I was thinking about this all day today, and I just had these really cool ideas for what would be the segments. Naturally we would have a "biography minute" for JRRT, a segment for talking about movies, a segment for news and politics, and of course jibber jabber of the sort we find here.

I would be host (naturally, since I came up with it), and some of you folks would call in and talk to me.

Don't ask how I put this all together, because I have no clue...I guess I would tape our conversations, and just edit it into something cohesive.

Does anyone think this at least sounds like a fun idea?

[Tessar]

Only if I get to appear as a guest, and only if we can hire someone to do my voice for me.

Like, someone with a really deep, sexy voice. Oh yeah. Then, like, you'd ask me a question and I'd tell the person what my answer was, and he would say it in a deep, sexy voice. That would kick much ass. ^_^

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Does anyone think this at least sounds like a fun idea?

Sounds like fun indeed, although also a lot of work. Weekly may therefore be a bit too ambitious, maybe start at monthly or bi-weekly for finding your feet.

[Mari]

What is a podcast? @_@

[Butterbeer]

Little green digital audio/video "peas".

They usually are best heard fresh, uncooked via an mp3 pea player


Wonderful idea, and i like Tessar's "rent a barry white" voice thang

You could do interviews over skype etc - and all you need is an audio editing program or videoediting program -

cut it together and encode it /upload it to the Great Green pea pod in the sky!

[Mari]

*blink blink* Okay, stop and rewind. What? I understood the words MP3-player, audio and video editing programme. That's about it.

[Butterbeer]

You could do a weekly one minute rpg dramatisation - have 3 poeple or so with mics - to cover some of the roles - they record their lines and send you the wav / mp3 file to cut it together - get some free special effects wavs etc, and whoa!


I'd also like to see a spike milligan /goonies style entmoot irc live podcast


we set up a time for all to jump onto an enmoot irc channel -and we have 3 people on skype nominated to read it out in wierd accents each posting -as fast as they can as the irc channels hums along

no swear words or anything above a mild double entendre, obviously

again throw in some samples- honking horn...steam train..hippos burping etc randomy ...

again ..just edit in the best parts

[Butterbeer]

Originally Posted by Mari

*blink blink* Okay, stop and rewind. What? I understood the words MP3-player, audio and video editing programme. That's about it.

You are probablt best to google it, rather than get too much sense out of me - i am hungover

best BB

[Mari]

Haha okay. How's your head?

[Butterbeer]

feels the size of a giant pumpkin ..with a family of arguing ferrets skittling around inside it

[Mari]

Hmm, interesting visual...