IA-Flyer

I practiced for the technician test using one of the online brain dump sites tonight and I’m up to 90% on the last 10 tries so I thought I’d find a test location and take the test this weekend if possible.
I went to http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml and did a search for a test location.
I live between Sioux City IA (50 miles north) and Omaha NE (60 miles south).
Guess what, nothing within 150 miles, and the entire state of Nebraska (10 miles away) isn’t even listed!
Can the test be taken online somewhere?

HELP!

smitymax

No you cannot take the test online, you have to go to a volunteer testing center, usually run by a local Amateur Club. Perhaps you could send an email to the ARRL {arrl.org} and they can help you locate a testing session. I know you did a search through the ARRL site but perhaps it is not as up to date as you would like. I think I would correspond directly with them and they should be able to help. You might have to travel some distance to find a club that gives the exams.
Good luck.....

IA-Flyer

Thanks, I'll contact them to see if there is a closer test.
I found a test this week about 150 miles from where I live.
I'll have to see what the roads are like, snow is the forecast for that day and a 300-mile drive in bad weather doesn’t sound like fun.

smitymax

That's better than it used to be before the FCC started the Volunteer exam progam. You used to have to go the an FCC field office which were only located in the major population centers, Some had to go many hundreds of miles to take the exams.
Hope you make out ok. Good luck.

IA-Flyer

Thanks for the luck Chuck, it must have worked!
The snow quit this morning and the roads didn’t look bad so I made the trip.
I missed 3 of the 35 questions so it looks like I get to use my new blackwidowav system when I show up in the FCC database.

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Congrats and 73's!
I just renewed mine online a couple of weeks ago.

smitymax

Jim (1A-Flyer) Yes, congratulations. Welcome to the wide world of Ham radio.

I have been an active ham for over 56 years now and enjoyed it all, still do a lot of operating on the ham bands, though do not fly my RC on 6 mtrs ham band (I did at one time in the past)

Again congratulations from W6ASO... Chuck

IA-Flyer

Thanks Guys!
It was a fun experience and I'm glad I made the trip. One of the 3 volunteer examiners was a RC flyer! I almost felt bad that I was just getting it for RC, they looked like a great group of people.

Best regards
Jim

iflyj3

My Feedback: (7)

Don't feel bad about your only proposed use of R/C. I got mine back in '67 for R/C and so that I could experiment legally. I was on the air a little years ago with A.M. phone. That'll tell you how long its been. Standard, get on the radio and talk to someone does not interest me. Different strokes for different folks.

Anyway, your ticket adds one more to the amateur ranks and helps with the total numbers when it comes to Frequency allocations/ etc with the FCC. In order to help some, I did join the ARRL as they are the FCC watchdog for all of ham radio.

Good luck with being legal and have fun.

73's

Fubar-One

My Feedback: (1)

Of course, you know you can now also fly using 50 & 53mhz systems? Limited selections on radio gear, true, but you are almost guaranteed to have NOBODY else on your freq at the field! Having had some dude holler "Anyone on 38?" AFTER flipping on his radio and sending my sloper down into the scrub oak, you better believe I switched to 6 meter systems at the slope.
He WAS sorry and did fetch my plane, by the way. He is just lucky it was making a close in pass at the time and is a foamie.
One weird thing tho, I cant use a 6 meter rx in the plane that is carrying my 900mhz camera system. They just do NOT get along...

IA-Flyer

Thanks iflyj3!

[quote]ORIGINAL: Fubar-One

Of course, you know you can now also fly using 50 & 53mhz systems? Limited selections on radio gear, true, but you are almost guaranteed to have NOBODY else on your freq at the field! [quote]

Yep, I was thinking about that.
Seriously, there is one other person that fly’s within 20 miles, but we keep our radios on separate frequencies.
That’s the nice thing about video flying in my area, lots of places to fly and nothing to run into!

I’ve been thinking about putting a remote TX antenna on the roof of my car (if that’s possible) and doing a long-range flight.
Do you know of any remote antennas or mounts for RC transmitters?

73's
Jim

mithrandir

My Feedback: (2)

I fly on a dry lake in california called "Rabbit Dry Lake". This place is near lucerne valley east of victorville. It is huge and flat. The jet guys like it for test flights due to the many landing options provided due to the large area. I remember weekends last summer when there were 2 choppers, 3 or 4 giant scale, 6 turbines and a host of about 10 regulars... all on the same day!!
2 months ago, I was among the last 3 to leave on a sunday. All 3 of us were on 50 mhz, 2 of us were both channel 08, but we all had FCC HAM Tags!!!!
When I took the test and passed, I was asked what band I was going to use, I told the testers and testees present that I was looking at 420 mhz. They looked at me funny, I explained to them I was interested in ATV, specifically a downlink from a RC plane, and I was suprised that they responded quite favourably to this. I half expected a condescending "Oh... One of those guys" reply. I got my stuff from http://www.hamtv.com and from http://www.aesham.com in LA and LV respectively. I have yet to make antennas and put together power supplies, so I have not applied power to it.... I will try to let you guys know how well this stuff works.
Any trons out there have a feeling for how critical it is to SWR the Tx antenna? I am building a 1/4 wave vertical dipole. I have carefully measured the element lengths. I am actually more concerned about burning this thing up then range at this point.

have fun
mds
KG6QQG

(Formerly KAXZ8284 back in the old days when we needed FCC license to fly 72 mhz LOL)

IA-Flyer

Hi mds,
Sounds like you have a great place to fly!
Good luck with the video downlink, its addictive! Looking forward to seeing some of your video and hearing about your experiences.
Yes a high SWR can reduce the life of equipment, I had a network card that could test SWR at one time but sold it. I’m just using factory made ones these days.

The PIPE

Dear IA-Flyer:

The PIPE Here once more...and I've been on six meters since the fall of 1978...with callsign KA1ABG!

Now, if you've EVER figured out that you'd like to have your very OWN homemade RC transmitter-with ALL the controls on the transmitter just where YOU would want them...well, NOW that you've got your Technician ticket, you CAN do such a thing!

The WHOLE idea behind this, these days, begins at

http://mstar2k.com/ ...

...as THAT's the home of GORDON ANDERSON's MICROSTAR transmitter encoder, and associated accessories!

Have you ever wanted a COMPUTER RC eight channel transmitter with eight memory positions, with each and EVERY memory position capable of being NAMED (with up to SIXTEEN characters available for naming it) for the exact plane you were going to fly? A transmitter that even has a SYNTHESIZED RF deck on the six meter band to use with it, that the encoder actually works with to REMEMBER the exact frequency a certain plane has to use with it? And a whole LOT of other features, like a built in DIGITAL TACHOMETER function usable with a remote sending device that you can build, that's just plugged into the Tx when you wish to check out how your engine's running?

The MICROSTAR has ALL these features, and MANY more-all built RIGHT INTO it!

Gordon's main "contact info" is shown below...

GORDON ANDERSON
1104 Christopher Lane
Benton City, WA 99320
Home Phone 1-(509)-588-5410
Email at [email protected]

...should you be interested in building up for YOURSELF, the six meter RC radio of your dreams!

And for the JOYSTICKS, trim levers, antenna mounts, etc...including CUSTOM aluminum transmitter cases to house your MicroStar within...MARV JENSEN, at http://www.jensenjetmodels.com/id30.htm , has ALL the hardware you could ever need to COMPLETE a MicroStar transmitter project with!

I've had a thread here at http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Buil..._302053/tm.htm on how I built up that FIRST MicroStar, and MORE posts will be going up in that thread as I get the stuff together from Marv in the coming months to start building my SECOND MicroStar knobby radio!

My "knobby" SINGLE STICK MicroStar Tx is prominently mentioned in that thread of mine shown in the previous paragraph, and it's operational now on Ch.03, and Gordon built the encoder for me, and even TESTED it himself, all for US $150 POSTPAID within the continental "lower 48" US states! A SECOND MicroStar encoder, similarly assembled and tested by Gordon for my needs, is waiting here at home to be the basis for ANOTHER knobby radio for my use later in 2004!

There's even a Yahoo Group for MicroStar users at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MP8K/ ...it's ALSO for the no-longer-made Ace MicroPro computer radio-and there's a WHOLE LOT of people there (including yours truly) that are willing to help you with your possible future MicroStar Tx construction project, should you ever consider "going for it"!!!

Just wondering, IF you might ever be interested in building up your OWN RC RADIO, where you can get everything to do it with...well, with the info shown in this reply, NOW you can start checking everything out on the Internet about actually DOING IT yourself!

Happy New Year and Great Flyin' in 2004,

from The PIPE!

IA-Flyer

Thanks for the info PIPE!
So many projects, so little time

I guess (these days) I look at my electronic projects as a last resort! If I can buy something factory made I go that way, saves more time for flying and building planes!