A little—and I do mean little—ham humor
I got this from /r/amateurradio:
What do you call an apology written in dots and dashes?
Re-Morse Code.
Handheld EMF meter
On the Tech test, question T0C06 reads:
Which of the following is an acceptable method to determine whether your station complies with FCC RF exposure regulations?
A. By calculation based on FCC OET Bulletin 65
B. By calculation based on computer modeling
C. By measurement of field strength using calibrated equipment
D. All these choices are correct
The correct answer is D. All these choices are correct.
When I teach classes, after giving the students the answer, I quickly qualify it by saying that calculation based on computer modeling is usually impractical because the software is generally pretty expensive and requires some expertise to use effectively. The same is true of measuring the field strength using calibrated equipment.
But, maybe it isn’t. I recently came across the HF-BG3 Triple-Axis HF RF Analyzer on Amazon. The product description says that is has a frequency range 50 MHz to 3.5 GHz and a measurement range of 38 mV/m to 20 V/m. If this meter cost $30, I would have bought one to play with, but at $165, it’s a little outside my “what the heck” range.
It’s still an interesting possibility, though. Have any of you ever purchased or used a similar instrument?
I love repeat customers!
I love getting feedback from readers and repeat customers. This message appeared in my inbox a couple of hours ago:
Hi Dan –
Last year we purchased 15 of your Tech guides to teach a class. We had three instructors, and did a 1-day tech license class. Of our 13 students, 12 are now licensed and have radios… and a good number of those are planning to operate during Winter Field Day with our club!
This year we’d like to help a few of those new hams move up to General by teaching a more extensive course.
How can we place an order for [15] of your No-Nonsense General Class License Study Guide?
First of all, it’s great that they had 12 of 13 pass the test, second that many of them want to get Generals, and third, they’re going to use my study guide to take the course! I replied that the deal is the same for the General Class study guide as it is for the Tech study guide. And that deal is that they can order as many copies as they’d like for $10 per copy, shipping included. If you have a class coming up, consider taking advantage of this deal yourself.
Dude, just get on Temu, they have EMF detectors for <$20 and they are accurate enough for government work.
Got a URL for me?
Hi Dan,
On the calculation based on computer modelling andswer I suspect the writer of the question was referring to the simple to use computer spreadsheet available from ARRL, RSGB, DARC, WIA etc. They are not “doing” modelling but use results from modelling to give an (apparently acceptable to the regulators) RF exposure assessment based on a set of questions that the user answers.
No idea how good (or not) this EMF meter is, but here’s one JUST under your $30 level.
https://www.amazon.com/Electromagnetic-Electric-Frequency-Hand-held-Inspections/dp/B0C4L12RB4/
Thanks, Ed. Good point about the online calculators.
Regarding the EMF meter, I note that Amazon has flagged this as a frequently-returned item. That’s not a great sign. :)
Hi Dan. I came across this article of yours while trying to look for some truth.
As an Amazon Vine reviewer, I was looking for free Ham stuff on Amazon like I usually do from time to time when their recommended offerings fail to pique my interest. I came across this as an offering (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGSGGJW2) and for the price, was tempted to just grab it for “a little bit of humor,” as you say.
Normally, Amazon’s offerings to their reviewers are un-reviewed (or they give reviewers the link to the unreviewed page of the product) for obvious reasons. But there are always similar products which usually have reviews. So I decided to check those reviews out.
The review that had me ROFLMAO was this five-star review:
“Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
Works great, finds ghosts, spirits, leftover dead folks, etc. Easy to use, display is bright, instructions were easy to understand. Bonus ebook via email that gives you all the knowledge you need to find paranormal everything.”
LEFTOVER DEAD FOLKS! OMG that was funny!!!
Despite the good laugh and the free EMF Ghost Detector, I doubt I want to waste my time with it, though it might make for a great comedy review on a popular ham Youtube channel or blog. A teardown would be interesting too.
73 de KO6ARA