[Vanhackspace] [Fwd: Ham Radio]

[Joe Bowser]

Hey

I knew that we had at least one person with a licence on the list, but 
here's something I'm going to forward to the list.  I removed most of 
the phone info, but this should be interesting reading for the list.  
Also, if anyone can find that old poster with a guide to the spectrum, 
that would be useful.  Also, can anyone contact the UBC HAM club and 
find out when their next course is?  We should send at least three 
people over there to get trained up.

Joe

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Ham Radio
Date: 	Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:58:39 -0800
From: 	David Eaman <exman at telus.net>
Reply-To: 	david at exmantech.com
To: 	Joe Bowser <bowserj at uselessdegree.net>



Joe,
    I've had my ham radio license (VE7MDE) for 10 years (give of take a few) and don't use it that much.  Licensing is now fairly easy since the gov't has washed its hands of any interest in the bandwidth.  Basic Class is a shoo-in and Advanced is just some radio theory and mostly regs. (They're very big on regs!)  I've got all of the books (albeit old now and most likely, out of date) but you're more than welcome to them.
    Best sources for info are the UBC Ham club and Peter Anderson in the Communications Dept. at SFU.
    Here's the downside... Reason that the gov't has gone away from ham is 2fold:
     1.  The anal-retentive hams do a far better job of policing their own band against evil-doers (like those who would say, "darn" on the air) and other bolsheviks than they could ever do.  If you do something outside the rules, some old geezer with nothing to do but monitor the bands all day and remembers the BIG WAR will be making your life Hell for as long as he can.. (few women are hams).
and
     2. The bands are now probably considered white space to be gobbled up when the gov't gets some good offer from a telco or other monolith.  Most hams are now 115 years old, right-wing old guys that remember when electronics meant burning components and RF burns on your fingers and won't be around much longer to defend their turf.  More to be said on this...
    I could be totally off base here and maybe it could change, but you might want to go down toBurnaby Radio  <http://www.burnabyradio.com>  orCom-West  <http://www.com-west.com/>  and get a sense of the vibe.
     Unfortunately, I'm literally out the door now for a 2 week getaway down to Oregon and south, so I'm gonna miss the meeting dammit, but if I can be of any help, let me know.