I got my General in late 2024, but haven't done much with it. Collected a few HTs, built one little 2m-specific antenna, but I'm a bit embarrassed to hit Transmit when I'm not sure I've got everything configured right to not intrude on other repeater users.
I had two atypical goals with it:
- If I could present a certificate that says "the Government admits that I know something about how RF operates" maybe my irritating brother would acknowledge me when I tried to explain that Wi-Fi multipath concerns no longer apply when we plugged his machine into a hard-wired Ethernet socket.
- Being able to brandish "the FCC allows me to build a 200-metre antenna tower in the backyard" as a counterargument when the local HOA hassles me about the weeds that apparently have evolved beyond vulnerability to the stuff they sell at the local home centre.
It feels very "bifurcated" as a hobby -- you either do 2m/70cm stuff with little $100 handhelds, or you start doing outright construction projects to deal with antenna sizes, and spending four figures to explore HF.
Comments
I got my General in late 2024, but haven't done much with it. Collected a few HTs, built one little 2m-specific antenna, but I'm a bit embarrassed to hit Transmit when I'm not sure I've got everything configured right to not intrude on other repeater users.
I had two atypical goals with it:
- If I could present a certificate that says "the Government admits that I know something about how RF operates" maybe my irritating brother would acknowledge me when I tried to explain that Wi-Fi multipath concerns no longer apply when we plugged his machine into a hard-wired Ethernet socket.
- Being able to brandish "the FCC allows me to build a 200-metre antenna tower in the backyard" as a counterargument when the local HOA hassles me about the weeds that apparently have evolved beyond vulnerability to the stuff they sell at the local home centre.
It feels very "bifurcated" as a hobby -- you either do 2m/70cm stuff with little $100 handhelds, or you start doing outright construction projects to deal with antenna sizes, and spending four figures to explore HF.