Engineering is great because of that. You can try to introduce all the gender or social justice bullshit you want into it, but at the end of the day the thing either works or it doesn't.
If you only get your tech license, I would encourage you to follow through with upgrading your ham license at least once (to general class). That's a good plan. The local comms that exist in VHF/UHF are fun, but the stuff below 50 MHz are where radio really comes into its own.
Communications on those bands are challenging. You have to understand antennas, how to aim them, and how to check and exploit current atmospheric conditions. It's a bit like sailing, in a sense. Equipment is expensive off the shelf, but building from scratch is entirely feasible.
Past the science, though, this spectrum of radio frequency is unique in that it is the only human technology that allows for worldwide communication without use of external infrastructure. No satellites needed, no comm lines, nothing. The equipment is even feasible to run on solar power, as the energy requirements are modest. It offers a form of independence that can be found no where else.
It is no longer required, but if you have the ear for it consider learning morse code. If you don't have a look at small signal digital modes (FT8 and JS8 Call in particular).
What these transmission modes have in common is narrow bandwidth, and as a result energy efficiency. They let you reach the whole world using modest equipment, and in the case of CW morse code transmission, extremely simple equipment.
I wonder if I could connect my old circa 1988 Radio Shack CT-200 Transportable Phone. Assuming it would even still work as it was a kids toy for years (no battery of course).
That phone uses the old AMPS-800 cellular standard. It predates even the 2G CDMS/GSM stuff.
The last service in the US was discontinued in 2008, and has since been discontinued in much of the world.
It actually uses the same frequencies as modern LTE stuff, but it won't talk to any current towers. Turning it on is probably not the best idea from an interference perspective -- at this point it's basically nothing more than a mostly ineffective jammer.
AMPS was the best. Signal in the middle of nowhere, guaranteed. No one cared that it may have required a 5 foot trunk antenna, but you could always get a call out. It just worked, and it worked beautifully.
Also analog if I recall correctly.
We were on amps to the very end. Probably made one of the last calls too when they flipped the switch.
Now we're sitting here watching Ebay for Iridium phones at a less than new price but might as well get a new one at this point
Never got rid of mine, I'm the only one in my family who has a flip phone (even grandma and grandpa got them), and I'm the only one out of my friends who has one. Feels good.
I wonder if i can find a dumb phone i can stick my sim card in. Pull it out and stick it in the smart phone that I literally only ever use at home, in the off chance I need to do something on it in town.
I'd just get a linux phone. Something like a pinephone or gab phone. I gotta imagine there is a semi secure way to make a phone. At least as secure as an actual desktop computer. Android phones and Apple phones we're running around with these days are like if every program you installed on your desktop was also malware lol. If we ever get a phone with an OS that actually blocks those apps from spying on ur device 24/7 or spoofed parts of the phone so the apps think it's talking to part of the phone that isn't really there would be pretty good. Just degoogled my phone with Lineage OS which feels pretty good right now.
One of my coworkers, old school brilliant developer, uses a flip phone exclusively and when he buys laptops (used ThinkPads), he guts them of the junk he doesn’t want, shorts out the microphones, physically disables the camera etc. He then throws an OS like BSD on there.
I’ve been considering going the flip phone route as well.
Easier solution: faraday bags/pouches. Easy to use and very effective (the certified/tested ones), bonus being you can jump right back to the 21st century whenever you want by simply taking the phone out of the bag.
Battery seems to drain a bit faster while the phone is sitting there searching for a signal but outside of that it's still better than going to something like the pine phone or librem 5..
Put your phone in airplane mode when off grid (out in the woods for example) for the same reason. Battery lasts a lot longer when the phone isnt screaming it's poor little head off for towers that aren't there.
Love my faraday pouch. I also imagine someone looking at my little icon on a map, have it disappear only to reappear somewhere completely different 3 hours later.
Lol I work in cyber security. I’m strongly considering going back to a flip phone 😆
flip phone? better off with CB radio
Engineering is great because of that. You can try to introduce all the gender or social justice bullshit you want into it, but at the end of the day the thing either works or it doesn't.
Science in general is great like that. Makes you pretty much immune to bullshit when applied rigorously.
See this licensing part is the part that annoys me.
If you only get your tech license, I would encourage you to follow through with upgrading your ham license at least once (to general class). That's a good plan. The local comms that exist in VHF/UHF are fun, but the stuff below 50 MHz are where radio really comes into its own.
Communications on those bands are challenging. You have to understand antennas, how to aim them, and how to check and exploit current atmospheric conditions. It's a bit like sailing, in a sense. Equipment is expensive off the shelf, but building from scratch is entirely feasible. Past the science, though, this spectrum of radio frequency is unique in that it is the only human technology that allows for worldwide communication without use of external infrastructure. No satellites needed, no comm lines, nothing. The equipment is even feasible to run on solar power, as the energy requirements are modest. It offers a form of independence that can be found no where else.
It is no longer required, but if you have the ear for it consider learning morse code. If you don't have a look at small signal digital modes (FT8 and JS8 Call in particular).
What these transmission modes have in common is narrow bandwidth, and as a result energy efficiency. They let you reach the whole world using modest equipment, and in the case of CW morse code transmission, extremely simple equipment.
Hang a wire and you will be surprised how far you can talk with little effort.
I need to get back into it
We should all be doing HAM (I keep slacking on this)
I wonder if I could connect my old circa 1988 Radio Shack CT-200 Transportable Phone. Assuming it would even still work as it was a kids toy for years (no battery of course).
That phone uses the old AMPS-800 cellular standard. It predates even the 2G CDMS/GSM stuff.
The last service in the US was discontinued in 2008, and has since been discontinued in much of the world.
It actually uses the same frequencies as modern LTE stuff, but it won't talk to any current towers. Turning it on is probably not the best idea from an interference perspective -- at this point it's basically nothing more than a mostly ineffective jammer.
AMPS was the best. Signal in the middle of nowhere, guaranteed. No one cared that it may have required a 5 foot trunk antenna, but you could always get a call out. It just worked, and it worked beautifully.
Also analog if I recall correctly.
We were on amps to the very end. Probably made one of the last calls too when they flipped the switch.
Now we're sitting here watching Ebay for Iridium phones at a less than new price but might as well get a new one at this point
It’s likely that old GSM phones are incompatible with today’s networks.
sauce / ad from the time:
https://www.sts-productions.com/blog/2018/5/25/radio-shack-ct-200-transportable-cellular-phone
and this one looks like the scenery a famous builder from NYC could have seen (CT-201 tough):
https://i.maga.host/mcfGXC8.png
Same. I’m considering a “dumb” phone.
Never got rid of mine, I'm the only one in my family who has a flip phone (even grandma and grandpa got them), and I'm the only one out of my friends who has one. Feels good.
I wonder if i can find a dumb phone i can stick my sim card in. Pull it out and stick it in the smart phone that I literally only ever use at home, in the off chance I need to do something on it in town.
I'd just get a linux phone. Something like a pinephone or gab phone. I gotta imagine there is a semi secure way to make a phone. At least as secure as an actual desktop computer. Android phones and Apple phones we're running around with these days are like if every program you installed on your desktop was also malware lol. If we ever get a phone with an OS that actually blocks those apps from spying on ur device 24/7 or spoofed parts of the phone so the apps think it's talking to part of the phone that isn't really there would be pretty good. Just degoogled my phone with Lineage OS which feels pretty good right now.
One of my coworkers, old school brilliant developer, uses a flip phone exclusively and when he buys laptops (used ThinkPads), he guts them of the junk he doesn’t want, shorts out the microphones, physically disables the camera etc. He then throws an OS like BSD on there.
I’ve been considering going the flip phone route as well.
All my laptops always immediately get linux put on them an a bandaid over the camera.
I really do enjoy Linux Mint.
Easier solution: faraday bags/pouches. Easy to use and very effective (the certified/tested ones), bonus being you can jump right back to the 21st century whenever you want by simply taking the phone out of the bag.
Battery seems to drain a bit faster while the phone is sitting there searching for a signal but outside of that it's still better than going to something like the pine phone or librem 5..
Put your phone in airplane mode when off grid (out in the woods for example) for the same reason. Battery lasts a lot longer when the phone isnt screaming it's poor little head off for towers that aren't there.
Turn the damn thing off when you're not using it or not expecting calls
I don't even trust that!
That's cute. You think you can turn your phone off? No, it just looks off unless the battery is completely, totally dead.
Sure but in a faraday bag it'll burn less battery is the whole point
Love my faraday pouch. I also imagine someone looking at my little icon on a map, have it disappear only to reappear somewhere completely different 3 hours later.
Got my old Nokia 3310 only issue is my current sim card does not work with it same size and everything but they just cant communicate it seems.