Who's got a HAM Radio? Bring it to Gen Con. We'd like to set up a fox hunt during the convention and a net on Wednesday night.
The net will be on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm on 70 cm. The frequency will be 444.500. This is a simplex frequency so no PL tone or offset.
HAM as in Amateur Radio? I was into that as a teenager, lo so many moons ago. My equipment was definitely not portable, although I remember the shorter-wave band (2M maybe?) stuff as being somewhat compact. Of course, I haven't done anything with it in 30+ years, so I'm guessing the equipment these days is just a bit more sophisticated.
it was portable in '85
Heh, that's not that different from my setup.
Yes, for about $50 you can get a nice portable 2 meter radio.
This is what a cell phone was like back in 1987, ahh, memories. So, not surprising that the Ham gear has come along with it. Maybe time to renew my license, if that's even necessary anymore...
Getting your license will cost $15.00 and there is no requirement to know morse code.
I always bring my hand held to Gen Con. Never know when the massive waves of attendees will bring down the nearest cell tower. 2m barely works within the convention center but 70cm is crystal clear all over the con.
W3RD? That's weird.
- W0RD [ Whisky Zero Romeo Delta ]
We're still working out the frequency for the Net, looking into permission to use a local repeater if possible.
Ham Radio operators at the first Gen Con.
The net will be on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm on 70 cm. The frequency will be 444.500. This is a simplex frequency so no PL tone or offset.
** Dragon Net 2019 **
The Dragon Net will be at 7:00 pm on Wednesday night. Frequency is 444.500 Mhz. Simplex, no PL tone or offset. Everyone is welcome to join us on the air. Location of the transmitting station will be determined at the convention but we plan to be somewhere with lots of gamers.
We want to talk to gamers on the air about their characters, favorite games and maybe have a dice rolling contest just for fun. We'll let anyone one who is interested sit down and talk - With Zero Red Dragons
Both KC9THF and I will be co-net controllers for this unofficial event so bring your HT (ham radio) to Gen Con and lets fill the air waves with the sound of dice rolling, monster slaying, jokes and merry making!
Man, this is really making me wish I hadn't let my license expire, but I was too busy uh... giving birth and doing the baby/toddler parenting thing to realize the expiration date... and then the grace period, had lapsed.
I got my General class license when I was 14, when you still had to do code at 20WPM.
My dad had always been into the hobby and I'd always been peripherally interested, but he really got me into it after my mom died, as a thing for us to do together and to just have a healthy distraction, I think.
I've thought about getting my license again, but there are no exams nearby and the local HAM scene has changed a lot from when I was younger. People (here at least) just buy radios and talk on 2 meters now. The whole appeal of it for me was the hobby electronics and the engineering/maker side of it, and talking to people all over the world on the lower bands (or astronauts going over in the shuttle).
One of the great aspects of Ham Radio is that you do not need a license to listen (only to transmit). Bring a hand held and tune in Wednesday night. We'll be discussing our location so stop by and say hello and maybe "tell us about your character" :-)
