cobalt pet shortwave / mediumwave weblog

06 January 2006

ham conversations: dec 2005

A shortwave radio that can decode single sideband (SSB) can receive communication among ham radio enthusiasts. I scanned the 40 meter band and heard some conversations during my December 2005 trip to upstate New York.

21 Dec 2005 1830 UTC: 7245 khz ssb: A guy opined that DHL provided terrible service 20 years ago, but they are now as good, if not better, than the other shipping services (presumably UPS and FedEx). He's working on making a 10 meter antenna but ran out of time due to bad weather. He gave his callsign but I didn't hear it clearly.

21 Dec 2005 1833 UTC: 7255 khz ssb: This person wants warm weather, and plans to go to Ohio to visit grandkids. Various hams chime in on the political correctness of saying "Merry Christmas." They state that people complain about this phrase because they have too much free time. Callsigns were given but again I didn't hear them clearly enough to transcribe accurately. One ham is near Chestertown, NY -- about 100 miles from my listening location. Two guys whose names are Joe and Roy were talking about RF interference with a wife's computer. The computer was moved to the opposite end of a room (further away from the radio equipment) but this did not solve the issue. I started hearing tones transmitted on the channel. One of the hams noted the "knucklehead sharing his intelligence."

No comments: