So, on /r/amateurradio this afternoon there was a post asking for opinions about a new antenna analyzer by Chameleon. The thing costs $200, and as far as I can tell, only measures SWR.
I commented, “Take a look at the SDR-Kits FA-VA5 600MHz Vector Antenna Analyzer. For about the same price, it covers up to 600 MHz, and does a heck of a lot more than the Chameleon analyzer. I have an earlier version of this analyzer–the VA-4–and it works great.”
To which someone replied, “lol you have to put that together yourself.” What followed was a series of comments about how difficult it would be to build the VA-5 kit and whether or not it should be doable for most hams:
Me: “Basically, it’s just final assembly, and you get a much more capable analyzer. If you can’t do that yourself, well….”
Him: “Says there’s soldering involved. That’s pretty intense for newbies compared to this unit that is ready to go right out of the box.”
Me: “It’s really not that difficult, and like I say, you end up with a much better analyzer for about the same price.”
Him: “You’re probably right, but for someone that’s never touched a soldering iron in their life, it doesn’t matter how much it costs they’re not going to buy it.”
Me: “If you’re doing stuff that requires you to use an antenna analyzer, you should know how to solder.”
Him: “Agree to disagree. I use a coil antenna in the field. I use an analyzer to ensure I get it tuned below 1.5:1 without using a tuner. I’ve never needed a soldering iron for anything and I’ve been a ham since April 2000.”
Me: “OK. We’ll agree to disagree. I’ll say one more thing, though. If you’ve never touched a soldering iron in all that time, you’ve ended up paying more for your hobby than you need to. This is a case in point. By doing a little soldering here, you could get a lot more for your money.”
Him: “I don’t think that is accurate. Nothing I’ve purchased over the years could have been assembled by me with just a soldering iron except the N9TAX roll up jpole I purchased a few years ago but even with that it would have required more tools than a soldering iron that I don’t have either.”
Me: “I don’t know what exactly you’ve purchased, but I’d bet that there are some things you could build yourself with a soldering iron (and some other tools, of course). And, by doing so, saved yourself some money, or gotten more for your money. Not only that, by building your own stuff, you’ll learn more about how radio and electronics work. If you’ve limited yourself to using only things that you can buy you’re really missing out on one of the big pleasures of amateur radio.”
I am both amused and befuddled by this conversation. I don’t have any reason to believe that this guy is lying, but at the same time, I find it hard to believe that this person has been a ham for more than 20 years and has never soldered anything. Maybe if they only had their license for 2 months, but 23 years?
And, as I said, if they really don’t have a soldering iron, what do they do when things break? Just throw it away and buy something new? That’s crazy.
I really can’t imagine being a ham and not having a soldering iron. Soldering is ham radio 101 or should be, no?
Dave AA7EE says
You’ve touched on something that I’ve been thinking about recently Dan, and that is that amateur radio is many things to many different people. Some folk immerse themselves in many different aspects of the hobby, while others concentrate on just a few. I have always liked fiddling around with wires and circuits, and building simple projects. I have also, like many of us, long been fascinated by the sheer magic of radio transmission and reception. Without listing some of the main pursuits that fall under the umbrella of ham radio, as examples, I actually can see how some folk can find this hobby to be engaging and satisfying, without them ever having picked up a soldering iron. It’s certainly not my experience of the hobby, and I may not feel much in common with such folk, but I’d be hard pressed to argue that their experience of the hobby is not legitimate.
The first radio amateurs were, by nature, experimenters. Radio was such a new discipline that I doubt there was much to attract someone who wasn’t a tinkerer by nature. This, for me, is the root of the hobby. I don’t design my own circuits, but I do build many of them, and I get enjoyment from wiring up the different elements of whatever I’m building, into a functional system.
However, what about someone who never picks up a soldering iron, but is a very skilled high speed CW op, fully conversant with both contesting and ragchewing at 50wpm+ ? I think we’d both consider them to be legitimate radio hams.
I definitely understand how you feel about this Dan. I think that the more aspects of the hobby that a person is engaged in, the more likely it is that amateur radio will be a lifelong pursuit for them. An ability to solder, and at least build simple wire antennas and do some basic station wiring is, to me, a skill that opens the door to a fuller experience of many of the different aspects of the hobby.
UA9YTP says
Life without a soldering iron is boring! Personally, I also don’t believe that a person has been doing radio for 20 years and has never soldered anything
John says
Dan
Yes, radio amateurs should be able to solder. It’s a foundational skill for station operation and maintenance.
More generally, as a society we ought to teach basic maintenance skills to everyone in taxpayer funded schools. Soldering is one of the many skills that used to be taught in shop class, along with the proper use and maintenance of basic hand tools. The ability to so basic maintenance tasks is hard to overstate.
For the naysayers, I’ll grant that a surgeon or software developer probably doesn’t need shop class skills in their professional duties. Either may have use for them in running a household where “calling a guy” to repair basic household fixtures can become a significant annoyance and expense.
I won’t belabor the point further.
Larry W2LJ says
I can’t imagine being a Radio Amateur and not knowing how to solder. Even if you’re not an experimenter or tinkerer, you should at least know how to solder a PL-259, or at the very least be able to solder a headphone jack or a paddle/straight key jack. de W2LJ
jeff says
Heck, I have a friend (a ham) who describes his 4-speed stick-shift is a “millennial anti-theft device.”
Hams don’t have to know how to solder, but it certainly will save them a lot of money. Consider a “crimp” coax connector — most (all?) of the ones I have need the center pin soldered. Pre-made coax assemblies are expensive and never the right length. And how about building a wire antenna? All of mine are soldered.
I won’t say that anybody that does not know X is not a “real ham”, but I might suggest that they are an “appliance operator.” Ouch.
(for the record, I have > 5 soldering irons. I’ve been soldering since I was about 11.)
Dan says
Yes, I think that a ham should be able to solder!
As a young ham, I try to homebrew as much as possible to save money. And besides saving money, it’s just a lot of fun!
I can’t imagine being a ham and not being able to solder!
Tristan says
I would expect being able to solder to be part of the general toolkit of any ham. Even if you never build kits, or homebrew anything its still such a useful skill.
Maybe if you just throw money at every problem you might not? Or if you just have a very limited usage of ham radio?
Maybe its another symptom of our disposable culture? Something’s broken? Just throw it away and get a new one. Or if absolutely necessary pay someone else (who has had to pay the manufacturer for permission).
sinclair says
“If you’ve limited yourself to using only things that you can buy you’re really missing out on one of the big pleasures of amateur radio.”
I have to completely disagree with this statement. I find ZERO pleasure is doing things that require a soldering. My other expensive hobby is 3R O gauge trains, and my layout build has stalled on many occasions due to getting to a part that needs soldering. I love running the trains, not building the layout, or fixing things. If I could pay something that does enjoy it to do it I would. Same could be said with radio. I’d much rather pay more to buy a cable that is longer then I need and roll up the extra then to build one myself. For sure would rather buy a ready to use radio or other equipment then to build it. I got in the hobby to be on the air, not bent over a table with an iron. As they say it takes all kinds to make the world go round. And looking down on people that are in the hobby and can’t solder is part of the elitism that is killing this hobby.
Bob N2SU says
The bottom line for all should be: Are we enjoying ourselves in the hobby? I enjoy playing with antennas and know how to solder, but not everyone does, or cares to learn, for that matter. There is room for everybody. Some like to be on the air, others are experimenters, some enjoy mentoring. Remember the push for Incentive Licensing 60 years ago? That didn’t work out too well, didn’t it?
Yohei N8YQX says
I believe everyone should know how to solder, but again I think everyone should change their own oil and sharpen their own knives. As some of mentioned above, I think soldering is one of life’s basic skills.
With that being said, I realize that the purpose of this article is to talk about soldering skills, but why are you recommending a $250 analyzer? NanoVNA, which can be bought from Amazon or eBay for around $60, is a “real” network analyzer which can do even more than the FA-VA5. I will concede that the learning curve for the NanoVNA is much steeper, but it’s a nice tool for any RF nerd.
Dan KB6NU says
In my mind, an antenna analyzer and a nanoVNA are two different beasts. Yes, they can make similar measurements, but it seems to me that the nanoVNA is more of a design engineer’s tool, while the antenna analyzer is more of a technician’s tool. To be honest, I’ve never used a nanoVNA, but they don’t seem very rugged, and I don’t think that I’d want to carry one in my POTA bag and use it out in the field. On the other hand, I’m quite happy to take my VA-4 with me and use it, when needed, on POTA activations.