How to be a Geek – Part 2 – Ham Radio December 23, 2011
Posted by SpeakWisdom in Uncategorized.Tags: amateur radio, geek, ham radio, how to be a geek, public service
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Part of my geekiness evolved from a long involvement in Amateur (Ham) Radio. It’s a lot of fun, provides excellent technical experience, and drops one right in the middle of helping others in need.
(Yes, there is a ham radio station on the International Space Station. Many astronauts are ham radio operators.)
For the uninitiated, ham radio involves the use of various radios, antennas and other technology to contact other ham radio operators around the world – and in space – as a technical challenge and a way to spread good will and camaraderie. It also happens that ham radio provides a means for emergency communications in all kinds of situations.
(Picture from when I had hair. I built my first ham station – remember Heathkit?)
I got involved with ham radio long, long, ago. I started with an old Hallicrafters short-wave receiver (S-38B) in the 1960′s – listening to international broadcast stations from all over the world – including the Soviet Union, China, and many more. I collected QSL cards – colorful confirmation cards that radio hobbyists exchange with each other to acknowledge contact. My attempt to get a QSL card from the Chinese international broadcaster resulted in a large box of communist propaganda arriving in the mail – not exactly what I wanted!
(A 1950’s vintage S-38B – my first radio)
My first ham radio license was earned while I was in junior high and through the years was upgraded to an “Advanced Class” which is what I currently hold. My “call” is WB4SPA.
Some might wonder if ham radio is a dying hobby – what with all of the computer and internet technology available today. But the fact is, ham radio licenses are at an all-time high – probably due to the removal of the morse-code requirement in the license tests and the fact that modern technology has made ham radio equipment less expensive (at least to start).
While I’m not nearly as active as I used to be, owing to work, family, and other commitments, I still try to stay involved. Besides the excitement of making contact with others around the world and keeping my skills sharp, emergency preparedness is a motivation too. If you look at any major disaster anywhere in the world, the first communications are always from ham radio operators. When TV, radio, cellphone, etc. facilities fail or are destroyed, ham radio still works. In my years I’ve handled a good bit of “traffic” from disaster sites, passing messages to authorities or to families worried about the health and welfare of loved ones. It’s a good and important service that ham radio provides for the benefit of all.
(With an ability to quickly bring up world-wide communications in a disaster, ham radio plays a vital emergency role.)
If you want to learn more about ham radio, feel free to contact me – or visit www.arrl.org
Stargazing Bargain December 20, 2011
Posted by SpeakWisdom in Uncategorized.Tags: Astronomy, Celestron, Costco, Nexstar 102GT, Telescopes
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Ok, yes I’m a bit of a geek and as such, have a few hobbies that fit the stereotype. One of them is amateur astronomy (and I do mean amateur!) I’ve owned a great Celestron Super C8 telescope for a number of years and have greatly enjoyed using it to observe everything from solar and lunar eclipses to comets and galaxies. It’s only downfall is the 100 pounds of scope and accessories that have to be hauled and set up at an observing site – so it doesn’t get used as often as it should.
Madge to the rescue! I’ve been looking for a smaller, lighter, computer controlled alternative for a while, but just had not stumbled on the right ‘scope. Call it a late birthday present or an early Christmas present, Madge found an incredible deal on a Celestron Nexstar 102GT at Costco. It’s street price has been around $400 – but I guess Costco picked up all the inventory and has been selling them at $159! Unbelievable! This is not a toy, but a reasonably serious telescope good enough for a serious amateur. It’s a computer controlled 4″ refractor with a nice, stable tripod and all the important accessories. With its handheld controller you simply select the object of interest and the scope quickly slews to it.
(That’s the 102GT in the foreground and the much heavier and larger Super C8 behind it.)
I’ve done a good bit of side-by-side observing with the two telescopes and find the image quality of the 102GT nearly as good as the Super C8 (which has a reputation for high quality astronomical images). Viewing the moon, Jupiter and it’s moons, star-clusters and more, I found the 102GT images to be very sharp and of high contrast, even in my light-polluted home location. Plus the 102GT folds to put in a car, weighs about 20 pounds, and takes all of 10 minutes to set up and align. It comes with 5 oculars and all the other accessories needed to jump right in to a quality observing experience. I find it a pleasure to use – it’s nice being able to focus on the astronomy – and not all the hardware.
If you know a budding astronomer, you can hardly go wrong with this scope – particularly at it’s very low price.
