wilkingj
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| posted on 17/8/12 at 01:31 PM |
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Become a Radio Ham.
The Foundation licence is so easy 8 year olds pass it in a day.
The Intermediate licence is a full weekend of study.
The full licence is still quite a lot of work.
Its an inside hobby.
It has kept me interested for 31 years.
You can pick it up and put it down whenever you like (except during an actual conversation!!)
The only outside work is putting up some simple aerials. (I use a single piece of wire to talk all over the world!)
You dont need a 40ft Mast and Jodrel Bank mounted on top, unless you are a nutter like me.. and Yes , I have one of those, and a 4ft and a 6ft dish
antenna as well. But then me, the wife and both my boys are all licensed!
You can learn, you can operate, you can build (all or just one!)
You can make it as simple and as cheap or as expensive as you want.
There are lots of cheap and small and easy kits to build, from a few quid.
It can be very rewarding to make something then actually use it to communicate with someone. Especially if its something very simple (and cheap is
good to!).
You can talk to, and even meet up with other local people. We have a local meeting in a pub once a month. a Pie n Pint night!
Usually a good social bunch of people.
I am currently playing with Morse code, which I learned 30 years ago and never used (now getting my speed back up). I am talking to people all over
Europe and Scandinaia with just 5 watts of power and a piece of wire draped around the garden (hung off the House to a pole to a tree)
Its also good when they say they have 400 watts power and a XYZ (read expensive antenna), and I'm making the trip on 5W and a bit of wire.. I
love that!
So give it some thought.
U2U me if you want some websites and info.
Hope you find something to interest you.
BTW... there are several Hams on LCB!!
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
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hughpinder
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| posted on 17/8/12 at 03:03 PM |
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If you like making stuff, get this!
Unimat SL 1000 Watchmakers Lathe | eBay
I know it says 'watchmakers' lathe, but you can make clocks, small ic engine/steam engines/stirling engines etc with one. I know a
gunmaker who uses this size of lathe. It will fit on a board about 2 ft square so can easily be a 'spare room' hobby rather than full
workshop job.
Just remember - you can end up spending as much time just making new bits for the lathe as you do other stuff.
Regards
Hugh
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Stott
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| posted on 17/8/12 at 03:12 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Irony
quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
xbox - you assume i can get infront of the TV. The remote seems to have a feature called "soaps" .... 
Funny - you must have the same model as me
Doesn't the soap button send you to the garage though? Mine does.
Seriously though mine is impossible sometimes, mostly she's great but now and then she wants to sit and watch a crap marathon on tv for 2 hrs
and I'm expected to sit there too. If I want to go out the garage she feels like I "haven't been around much" but if I sit in
front of the tv and open the laptop then I've been on the laptop "ignoring her" , I genuinely need to sit there doing faff all for
her to be happy.
Needy much?
Rant over lol
As for the project can't you just bring bits of the car in to do, I do that if I can, keeps her quiet anyway. That is if you're allowed
mucky bits in the house. Failing that ask for handcuffs for your birthday then cuff her to the sink and go out the garage, just a thought.
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mds167
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| posted on 17/8/12 at 03:15 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Stott
Seriously though mine is impossible sometimes, mostly she's great but now and then she wants to sit and watch a crap marathon on tv for 2 hrs
and I'm expected to sit there too. If I want to go out the garage she feels like I "haven't been around much" but if I sit in
front of the tv and open the laptop then I've been on the laptop "ignoring her" , I genuinely need to sit there doing faff all for
her to be happy.
Needy much?
That rings a bell! Had to watch an awful 'horror' film called Frozen last night. On the other hand, my daydreaming powers are getting
stronger.
"No, you can't lick the system; but you can give it a damn good fondling."
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DIY Si
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| posted on 17/8/12 at 03:36 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Stott
Doesn't the soap button send you to the garage though? Mine does.
Seriously though mine is impossible sometimes, mostly she's great but now and then she wants to sit and watch a crap marathon on tv for 2 hrs
and I'm expected to sit there too. If I want to go out the garage she feels like I "haven't been around much" but if I sit in
front of the tv and open the laptop then I've been on the laptop "ignoring her" , I genuinely need to sit there doing faff all for
her to be happy.
Needy much?
Rant over lol
As for the project can't you just bring bits of the car in to do, I do that if I can, keeps her quiet anyway. That is if you're allowed
mucky bits in the house. Failing that ask for handcuffs for your birthday then cuff her to the sink and go out the garage, just a thought.
I get this too. If I go to the garage I get told off for not spending any quality time with her. But if I stay in and watch some crap on the TV, we
tend to sit at opposite ends of the sofa so we can both be comfortable, so it's not as if it matters anyway!! Bloody women.
“Let your plans be dark and as impenetratable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My new blog: http://spritecave.blogspot.co.uk/
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