Well google helped me discover a good site with an introduction to the basics of Ham radio...and whaddaya know....it's on eham.net
So I'll read thru it before peppering you guys with any more questions like I have been.
Sorry about all the typos in my previous post, didn't have my glasses on and print gets smaller as I get older. Although I'm sure I sound like a young newbie to you guys, I'm 52 yrs old and grew up around ham radio because my dad was always on it in my high school and college days. So, I'm familiar with the nomenclature from hearing it so much but I gravitated toward the computer technology sector and never ventured into ham radio until this week when I unpacked that closet.
In this day and age of computers, internet, free voice and video communication online and cell phones, I'm curious as to what ham radio actually brings to the table nowadays. I remember the strong friendship bond among the hams my dad talked to regularly, and the ability to make friends all over the world was very enjoyable to him. But this can be done online with just a laptop now. I guess the freedom of being sef reliant and still functional even in the event of disasters and no internet connection, no functional cell phone towers and so forth is the biggest attraction. But there are always satelite phones which can also be used as modems with computers during emergencies. Having gone 2 weeks with no phone, power, water or internet after hurricane Wilma a couple of years ago, I can see the value. I recall my dad having a car battery for backup in the 70's and 80's, but I wonder how long that would actually last, I know my spare car battery backup didn't last long during Wilma. I guess you guys probably have generators.
What are the highest traffic ham forums online that I can visit so I can learn a lot quickly. Is eham.net one of the bigger, high traffic forums. I enjoy a few hobbies such as motorcycling and a fascination with LED lighting and belong to some very high traffic forums in those areas that are invaluable to me, and I've made many friends there who share those hobbies. I'd like to find a few similar ham radio forums along those lines. I think I'm going to get a license, unpacking and photographing this equipment brings back good memories (CQ, CQ, CQ echoing in my ears thru the wall all night as a teenager...lol) , but I also think I'd rather use much smaller, solid state equipment to start off with (assuming it exists). This equipment has sentimental value to me, but it's so big and space consuming that I'd need half a spare bedroom to set it up, which I don't have. If I could sell it for a good price and get something much smaller that was just as good and could do the same things, it would make more sense for me, given my space constraints.
