Studying the question pool may be my best bet right now since money is a little tight. Thanks for your suggestions everyone!!

I've searched the internet high and low looking for a website that offered online study material to get the general radiotelephone operators license, but I can't find anything. Does anyone know a of a site where I can do this? I know I need to have elements 1 and 3. I have three, but I can't find anywhere that offers element 1 for study. Any suggestions?

If you have a use for them, then I'd say they are worth something. Like other posts say, not all departments have switched to a digital system yet. I have a Radio Shack Pro-79. It's served me well in the nine years that I've had it.

Gotta get the things you need somewhere. If one place doesn't have it, then you have to go with the other place. I just wish more places carried more ham stuff to eliminate problems like this.

So you committed a crime, served your punishment, and are now a functioning member of society. You're square bud. Having your license terminated may not be related, nor should it be. I know a man whose son assisted me in getting into ham radio. He too was convicted of a sex crime. He still has his license. Maybe there is a computer glitched as mentioned in an earlier post. It could be anything. Just keep your head up high. Good things come to those who wait. 73!

My wife got her license about a year after I got mine. We got it because she worked in one city, and I in another. We couldn't afford cell phones, so we wanted a way to stay in contact with each other in lunch breaks. She had the HT, and I had the mobile. Once we moved to where we live now, she just lost interest. She says there are too many technical aspects to learn, and she doesn't have the patience to learn them, plus it's like no one else wants to talk to her. I think a lot of women feel that male hams don't want to talk to them. Why they feel this way I don't know. I have no problem talking to anyone on the radio. So how can we get more women interested in ham radio?

73,
Ryan KD8ERE

Jon,

Thanks for the info. I've never really checked out what an ohmmeter did because I never had one. But like I mentioned in a previous post, I'm looking to get one sometime in the future to have it. I'm hoping to expand my very limited knowledge on the technical aspect on ham radio. So I'm going to be doing some research here soon to find out what I should get, and what I can do with out. I don't have any HF equipment (which is frustrating), so I don't want to go overboard on my toys. But I know an ohmmeter can help no matter what type of equipment I have.

I understand what you mean about having a lot of knowledgable hams out your way. When I first got into ham radio, I lived in Lorain County. Out there, there were two hams on every street corner with five backups ready at anytime. But it seems like over the years, ham radio is dying out that way. There was a net out there called the Burning River Traffic net that met every evening at 9 p.m. Now, I never hear it on. I don't know what's going on out that way, but it sucks that I can't get ahold of anyone that way to help out.

You live in the Lima area. Can you hit the LCARA machine? The frequency is 147.150 with a PL of 110.9. It's not a bad machine, and according to the map I brought up, you may be able to reach it. It should identify as KC8BED. When you get the chance, give it a try, and let me know. Maybe we can chat one day. Thanks again for the info!

I honestly can't say that I do know how to use an ohmeter. I'm looking to get one in the future, and learn how to use it so I have the right equipment to better help me diagnose a problem. I was lucky enough to only have to replace the microphone though. I was hoping it would have been a lot worse so I could get a new radio (dual band). But I'll stick with 2M for now. Thanks though.

No shame in being on Facebook. It's a great way to stay in touch with old friends, and make new ones. Check me out - Ryan Valenjevick.

AC5UP,

That's a good idea wiring an lamp across the supply. I never thought to do that, so that'll be on my list of things to do today. I'll check it with the voltmeter first though. This way I can try to cover all bases, and hopefully get the issue resolved. It's not a big problem, just an inconvenience that I can only operate on 146 and 147 MHz. I have eyed the jpole, and it looked to be in order, but a second and maybe third time couldn't hurt. I'll have my wife eye it too. She's usually good at finding small things that I tend to overlook.

VE7REN,

I never took that into consideration. A few years back, I put adapters on it (I can't think of the proper name off hand) so I wouldn't have to keep wrapping the wires from the radio around the positive and negative terminals. Now that I think of it, there's a chance one could be loose. Thanks again!

The radio is just over 30 feet from the antenna. I've got it set up in the back of my garage, with the jpole mounted to an old basketball hoop poll in front. The power supply doesn't do anything when the radio reboots. I have an Astron 35 Amp supply. Wouldn't the light on the power switch flicker if the power supply was rebooting as well?

BTW, when I say resets itself, I mean it'll shut off, then come back on. Thanks again!

Over the last month or so, I've posted in a few different forums regarding problems I thought I was having with my antenna, then my radio. Those problems turned out to be that my microphone had taken a turn for the worse. I replaced it, and now I'm back up and running. Thank you to all who had suggestions as to how to fix my radio.

Now I'm having another problem, and I'm pretty sure it's an RF problem. I've been trying to program a few frequencies into my radio such as 145.---. Whenever I'm set on the frequency, I key up, then the radio resets itself. I have a Kenwood TM-271A. I know that with this radio, it has an RF safety feature, and will do this if there is an RF overload. I'm trying to figure out what could be causing this. Again, I'm pretty sure it's my antenna. How bad are jpoles with RF exactly? Unfortunately, I can't check it because I don't have an SWR meter. I've never used one, so I'd be lost even if I did. Does anyone else have this problem? Thanks again!

73,
Ryan KD8ERE

Sounds like the HOA is singling them out for some reason. It's stupid to get bent out of shape over a cross that's 2.5 inches bigger than what's stated in their regs when there are other violations in the neighborhood that are clearly way over the stated size.

That's an interesting idea. I've never heard someone do that on ham radio, but I have heard it on some other communications. What would the purpose of that be? I could see it at field day using a clubs call, and club radios. What else though?