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.
True! The scientific method was devised by the same people that directly inspired our nation. It was meant to be a method through which anyone could reproduce the same results and compare, allowing the people to garner true knowledge instead of relying upon a large body to filter it to them.
Obviously, we're in need of a return to form on that. Climate change science is a chief example. Somehow, ONLY the giant science foundations have the resources and the abilities to process the data right, violating that concept that science should be accessible. Obviously, with something as complex as that, that makes a degree of sense, but nonetheless, there should be performable experiments by individuals that can verify their data, yet there does not appear to be.
Is it wrong? I can't prove it's wrong, but I take it with a strong dose of skepticism because if it's inaccessibility (and everything else wrong with it).
Another example might be astrophysics/space science. Unlike climate, however, it IS observable and reproducible by individuals if necessary. People have launched their own satellites and such; curvature of the Earth can be measured by math, and the patterns of the planets and stars can be observed with fairly simple equipment (depending on the scope talked about). In instances of much greater depth (stuff about expansion of the universe and so on) many of the facilities where that data can be found are relatively accessible to the public (large scale space telescopes, for example).
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
Yup. Analog. Unencrypted. Good old fashioned FM voice.
Some congressman or other got caught doing something embarrassing when someone recorded his call on such a system.
That's why those two windows in the 800 MHz band are blocked on scanners sold in the US. All comms on those lines are long since encrypted, but the law remains on the books because some idiot in congress thought the best way to secure the signal is to outlaw receivers.
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.
True! The scientific method was devised by the same people that directly inspired our nation. It was meant to be a method through which anyone could reproduce the same results and compare, allowing the people to garner true knowledge instead of relying upon a large body to filter it to them.
Obviously, we're in need of a return to form on that. Climate change science is a chief example. Somehow, ONLY the giant science foundations have the resources and the abilities to process the data right, violating that concept that science should be accessible. Obviously, with something as complex as that, that makes a degree of sense, but nonetheless, there should be performable experiments by individuals that can verify their data, yet there does not appear to be.
Is it wrong? I can't prove it's wrong, but I take it with a strong dose of skepticism because if it's inaccessibility (and everything else wrong with it).
Another example might be astrophysics/space science. Unlike climate, however, it IS observable and reproducible by individuals if necessary. People have launched their own satellites and such; curvature of the Earth can be measured by math, and the patterns of the planets and stars can be observed with fairly simple equipment (depending on the scope talked about). In instances of much greater depth (stuff about expansion of the universe and so on) many of the facilities where that data can be found are relatively accessible to the public (large scale space telescopes, for example).
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
Yup. Analog. Unencrypted. Good old fashioned FM voice.
Some congressman or other got caught doing something embarrassing when someone recorded his call on such a system.
That's why those two windows in the 800 MHz band are blocked on scanners sold in the US. All comms on those lines are long since encrypted, but the law remains on the books because some idiot in congress thought the best way to secure the signal is to outlaw receivers.
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