On /r/amateurradio yesterday, /u/Zericef posted:
I got my Technicians license about a year ago. Ever since then I have attempted to make contacts whenever I feel like messing with the radio. I’ve been really unlucky making contacts and feel like maybe I’ve been looking in the wrong places or don’t have powerful enough equipment. Currently I use a handheld Baofeng in a small town. The times I have found people talking on the radio I felt too anxious to join in on a conversation for fear that I would be interupting people. Any advice for making first contacts easily and talking to people on the radio when you find them? Explain to me like I am 5, it’s been about a year since I took my test so I am sort of rusty on these things, but I feel like I could really enjoy it if I’m able to get back into it all. Thanks!
Some of the advice he was given includes:
- Find and check into a net. Since nets have a formal structure, it should be easier to make a contact that way.
- Ask for a “radio check.” This would be a way to make a contact for a particular purpose and many guys are willing to pop on for a short contact and give a report.
- Buy or build a better antenna. One fellow noted that his home-built J-pole worked a lot better than the Nagoya replacement antenna he had purchased for his Baofeng. Get the antenna up as high as possible.
- Consider digital modes, such as DMR, perhaps with a hotspot. Personally, I’m not sure that this is such great advice. DMR is a lot more complex than simply using an analog repeater.
- Try to break into an on-going conversation.
My bit of advice was to note the call signs of the stations he heard, look them up on QRZ.Com, and then email them and ask if they’d be willing to meet on a particular repeater frequency and try a contact. I know that if someone contacted me that way, I’d be more than happy to try and help them.
What advice would you give this fellow ham?
Bruce Dubin says
I think many new Tech class licensees get frustrated. In many (like a lot) of areas, the repeaters are just plain dead! Makes them wonder why they got their ticket? Or, small clicks of hams keep the repeaters to themselves. How about some clubs make a point of starting a Qso (a lot are retired and home) or even just an on the air check in every hour or so. They could ask for anyone/everyone to join. Just some thoughts. K8RQX
Paul Butzi W7PFB says
I’d suggest, as intimidating as it can be, trying the repeaters you can hit with “Hi, I’m a new ham looking to make my first QSO. My callsign is KG7STV, Kilo Golf Seven Sierra Tango Victor.” If no luck on repeaters, try 146.52 or 446.0.
I often have the radio on, monitoring the local repeaters and calling frequencies. People pop on, give their callsign. If I’m not particularly busy and in a mood to chat, I’ll respond, but most times I’m busy. If I hear someone say they’re a new ham trying to make a contact, I will respond even if it’s not convenient. There are not many things I enjoy more than helping a new ham make his/her first QSO, and I suspect most hams feel the same way.
Howard AE0Z says
I think 1-3 sound like good ideas. I agree 4 is not for a newbie. I would not suggest 5.
Dave New, N8SBE says
I’ve helped new hams I’ve talked into getting their ticket by going out into the parking lot with them and having a contact, first on simplex, then through the local repeater. This is where they find out what front-end overload means, because you have to separate a good distance before you can hear the repeater when the other guy is transmitting on the input.
Help program their HT (you do know how to do that, right?), so they don’t have to fiddle around with keyboard entry to get on the local repeaters and simplex frequencies.
Then, I help them put a couple of local nets into their cell phone calendar, and a reminder into mine to send them a text message just before net time, to remind them to get on the net.
Be persistent. Newbies have all kinds of reasons why they didn’t get on, You have to be keep after them to break down that mic fright.
If they are having problems getting into the local repeater, help them order up a mag-mount antenna they can stick on their file cabinet, preferably above ground. It does wonders for the signal. If they don’t want to invest twice what their radio cost, or they don’t have a handy metal cabinet to stick a mag-mount to, help them build a coat-hanger (or use stiff house wire) antenna, that they can hang on the inside of an exterior wall.
If they check in once or twice, then quit, get on the phone with them and find out what broke. Be helpful, but persistent. Remind them that they went to the trouble to get a license, and that you will do what you can to help them get on the air in an enjoyable way.
Oh yeah, get them to come to club meetings. Offer to pick them up or meet them for dinner before/after. Whatever it takes.
Pat says
Making HT QSOs can be a challenge and remain a challenge.
1) Suggest a cheap DMR HT and hotspot for all the QSOs and chatter you can handle.
2) Suggest CubeSats
Don says
I would want to be sure he has his Baofeng HT programmed correctly, including tone. And is he running full power? Programming the Chinese radios is often a challenge for even us fifty-year hams. If he has gone a year without a QSO, I really wonder if he is even accessing repeaters or has enough power to be heard by simplex stations. Assuming there are some locally.
Sounds as if he really needs someone local to help him. N8SBE is right on his suggestions. I find most repeater users to be welcoming and friendly to newcomers. If he is hearing people but not making contacts, I doubt he is making the repeater or being heard on simplex. Or calling and calling on the repeater output frequency with half a watt and a rubber ducky.
73,
Don N4KC
http://www.n4kc.com
http://www.donkeith.com
Mike W8MRA says
A good piece I’ve seen given about deciding which digital modes to get into, is to program the frequencies listed in the repeater guides into an analog radio. See if the squelch is staying open long enough to ascertain there are actually conversations going on before you go buy a radio for that mode. People often will get a digital allocation, and not put up a machine.
WA4A Bob Truitt says
This ham’s problem sounds more like “mic fright” than anything technical!
Besides being curious and anxious enough to find out what your fellow hams are doing, I suggest you make up a “script” to remind YOU who YOU are and what YOU are up to! Include your call sign, name, location, rig details, age, how long you’ve been on the air, what you do (work, school, retired, etc,) Mention your interests, other hobbies, affiliations and why you are on-the-air….Then, ask the other ham(s) you are talking to those same questions! After a while, you will find out that just “breaking the ice” will be more important to a successful and interesting QSO than adding a kilowatt amp and a hundred foot tower!
Good Luck and 73!
DE WA4A