-=> Kent Timm wrote to JIMMY ANDERSON <=-   
      
    > There have been a few other newish HAM's pop up on one of the   
    > repeaters, so I guess I'm hitting it at a good time.   
      
    KT> I don't know what happens to the new hams around here.  I've been   
    KT> licensed since the beginning of 2010 and every fall they have a ham   
    KT> course at the local club (which I am not involved with btw) and they   
    KT> usually claim about 16 to 18 new hams each course, but rarely do I hear   
    KT> any body new on the repeaters over the years.  and the ones that do   
    KT> turn up don't stay active long.   
      
   That's kinda sad. Not that there are new ones, and not that they fall away   
   (not every hobby is for every body, of course) but that they boast that   
   many new ones but most fall away. I'd rather have only 5 people pass their   
   test each year and 3 or 4stay than 15 pass it and only 4 or 5 stay.   
      
    KT> Part of me wants to get a regualr VHF radio again instead of just the   
    KT> HT, since I have to keep the HT in the right spot to get a good signal,   
    KT> but I just is hard to justity even getting a used radio when there's   
    KT> nothing on there to hear or talk to except a couple nets..   
      
   I understand that for sure. 2m/440 is ALL I have right now. With my HT I   
   was only able to HEAR and SOMETIMES transmit. Now I have access to repeaters   
   30 - 50 miles away as well. Maybe with a 'more than HT' you'd have more   
   people to talk to?   
      
    KT> btw: I got my license solo.  I used an old Radio Shack book "from 5   
    KT> watts to 1000 watts" and some study info I found on a Toronto club's   
    KT> website.   
      
   Nice. :-) My wife and I bought Gordo's books and used free iPhone practice   
   tests. :-)   
      
    > I was in my wife's truck yesterday and I don't have her mobile rig   
    > installed yet, so I popped open EchoLink on my iPhone just to see...   
    > Went to a repeater in Alabama I had made a contact on and 'chewed'   
    > for about 30 minutes with two different people local to that area.   
      
    KT> I don't use echolink that much, but did something like that myself,   
    KT> randomly picked a repeater in London UK and put out my callsign and   
    KT> talked to a guy there on his way home from work for a while.   
      
   GB3LV? If so - just connected... No response yet, but I'll add it to my   
   favorites!    
      
    KT>     There's   
    KT> an echolink net out of Florida (southcars) I check in to from time to   
    KT> time too.   
      
   Can't find anything like that - which one? I'll add it to my favorites as   
   well.   
      
      
   ... WWhhaatt  ddooeess  dduupplleexx  mmeeaann??   
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