BH4FHO: new ham reporting.

[technix]

I got my ham license. Yay. I am still limited to UHF/VHF though.

Currently I only have two 5W dual band handhelds, a Baofeng UV-5R and a Baofeng DM-1801, with the latter being a FM+DMR rig loaded with OpenGD77 firmware. And I have no access to roof for antenna, so reception is awkward at best.

73 de BH4FHO.

[CJay]

Congratulations.

Next step HF?

[radiolistener]

I got my ham license.

Are you from China? How much cost ham license your country?
Please tell more about rules in your country. This is very interesting.

[technix]

Congratulations.

Next step HF?

Yes, and some SDR work.

[technix]

I got my ham license.

Are you from China? How much cost ham license your country?
Please tell more about rules in your country. This is very interesting.

Cost to HAM license in China is province/municipality-dependent. In Shanghai, where I live, the cost is free. China is an ITU Region 3 country. The call sign prefix of mainland China and Taiwan is B. Hong Kong retains her ex-British Empire prefix VR, while Macau has XX.

The HAM licensing system has been overhauled in 2013 to address shortcomings exposed in the 2008 earthquake: the simplification of class system, and the removal of Morse from tests, both of which hindered the expansion of HAM circles. There is also tighter integration between HAM clubs and local emergency authorities in the revised rules. A then-recently set up station in Lushan County under the new rules greatly helped with the rescue efforts when the 2014 quake struck, since that station, operating on car alternator power, was the sole way of communication between that county and outside world after communication cables were cut in the quake.

The current system has three levels: classes A through C. Class A is the beginners’ class, roughly equivalent to the FCC Technician class, permits transmission in all HAM bands above 30MHz at a maximum power of 25W. Class B, the intermediate class that is roughly equivalent to FCC General class, permits bands lower than 30MHz at 100W on top of Class A. Class C, the top class roughly equivalent to FCC Amateur Extra class, permits 1kW on sub-30MHz. There is no limit on what mode one can use on each permitted bands, as long as your local HAM club and radio authority have access to the documentations, and no crypto is involved.

As of callsigns, it is now a lifetime assignment, as it no longer reflects your license class as it used to in the pre-2013 system. I shall forever be known as BH4FHO on the airwaves regardless of my license upgrades.

73 de BH4FHO.

[technix]

Here in Shenzhen the exam fee is 200 CNY plus 22 CNY SF-Express postage for the operator license certificate and 22 CNY EMS postage for the station license certificate postage.

Shanghai has ceased issuing physical station licenses, instead as soon as the call sign shows up in Shanghai Economy and Industrialization Committee’s database and can be queried from their website, the station becomes licensed.

I hope we can talk over the airwaves soon. 73 de BH4FHO.

[HB9EVI]

in the words of my region here: Félicitations!

have fun with your new kind of 'Cincinnati Time Waste'

[cdev]

Congratulations to all of you!
This is truly a great thing.

[bson]

Congrats!  Now onto class B and C.

On a side note, the FCC is considering opening up portions of HF bands other than 10m to allow Technician class access to FT8/JS8.  I personally think that would be great, would be a perfect funnel for popularizing HF and encourage Technicians to get a General/Extra license and operate on HF.

[cdev]

What is the ham community in Shanghai (and in other areas) like?

Are there any interesting new modes being used there?

[cdev]

I also saw the other day that they are starting to allow some people to take their (US) ham exams via a video hookup.

It seems to still be experimental but I think it would be a really good thing.

It would help me a lot.

Congrats!  Now onto class B and C.

On a side note, the FCC is considering opening up portions of HF bands other than 10m to allow Technician class access to FT8/JS8.  I personally think that would be great, would be a perfect funnel for popularizing HF and encourage Technicians to get a General/Extra license and operate on HF.

[mrf245]

I got my ham license. Yay. I am still limited to UHF/VHF though.

Currently I only have two 5W dual band handhelds, a Baofeng UV-5R and a Baofeng DM-1801, with the latter being a FM+DMR rig loaded with OpenGD77 firmware. And I have no access to roof for antenna, so reception is awkward at best.

73 de BH4FHO.

BG7LK? here. Just passed my class A exam, applied for the license, and still waiting for it to show up on my door. I already knew the range of my call sign, but not the exact last digit.

Here in Shenzhen the exam fee is 200 CNY plus 22 CNY SF-Express postage for the operator license certificate and 22 CNY EMS postage for the station license certificate postage.

Edit: BA7LKP is what I ended up with.

Both good man, see you on the air! I always join CQWW and WPX contest if convenient and make few DX contact with FT8 mode in HF.
BH7JUO

[technix]

What is the ham community in Shanghai (and in other areas) like?

Are there any interesting new modes being used there?

Ham community varies from place to place in China. Here in Shanghai it is mostly the elderly and the geeks, predominantly males, taking up ham as a hobby. I am not sure about other provinces since my reception do not allow me access to farther away repeaters.

It is reasonably popular in Shanghai to use digital modes like DMR and Yaesu System Fusion. I am even considering building a YSF codec module myself (STM32F405 + I2S codec + a lot of DSP code in C) for a Kenwood TK-8100 I fixed up and modded for amateur band. (It would be weird to see a Kenwood blasting out signals encoded for Yaesu.)

BA7LKP is what I ended up with.

BH7JUO

I think the two of you are within VHF/UHF QSO range, according to the QTHR indicated in your callsigns. Have you two tried talking already, maybe over a repeater?

[technix]

Congrats!  Now onto class B and C.

Likely not. Taking the class B exam requires one having class A certificate for at least 6 months. And taking class C requires operating a class B station for two years. I am about to head to the States before the next Shanghai class B exam can happen, so I am likely stuck at class A for now. OTOH I will be taking FCC General class to get a similar spectrum access while in the States.

[sgub]

de BI1EIH from Beijing   

Here in Shenzhen the exam fee is 200 CNY plus 22 CNY SF-Express postage for the operator license certificate and 22 CNY EMS postage for the station license certificate postage.

Shanghai has ceased issuing physical station licenses, instead as soon as the call sign shows up in Shanghai Economy and Industrialization Committee’s database and can be queried from their website, the station becomes licensed.

I hope we can talk over the airwaves soon. 73 de BH4FHO.

[cdev]

Maybe you need a better antenna? Is it possible to see them?

I think the two of you are within VHF/UHF QSO range, according to the QTHR indicated in your callsigns. Have you two tried talking already, maybe over a repeater?

I can't even reach 439.360 C4FM (Shenzhen ham club) or 439.460 FM (illegal, but popular) relays in Shenzhen. I live fairly away from downtown, and the only amateur relay we have here is DMR, which my Yaesu is not supported.

[cdev]

Does it need to be omnidirectional, or directional, and do you have some outdoor access, like a patio?

[ahbushnell]

I also saw the other day that they are starting to allow some people to take their (US) ham exams via a video hookup.

It seems to still be experimental but I think it would be a really good thing.

It would help me a lot.

I got my tech on line Nov. 2020 and my general on line jan. 2021.  So I think it's beyond experimental.  worked great. 

[cdev]

I wonder if they would let me take my test that way? Seems like many exams are now being done in cars, but I don't have a car.

[cdev]

The DBJ2 is a dual band antenna that works well is fairly easy to construct - and has some fairly good gain for what it is.

Its omnidirectional and made out of that old style 300 ohm twinlead and a short stub made of coaxial cable.

You could make a small hook for your ceiling and only hook it to it when its in use, letting it hang. Nearby objects detune it a lot. You'll have to make it a tiny bit larger because your band is slightly lower than the US band. The original version (inside a specific Lowes SKU of PVC pipe) is extremely popular in California because it works quite well and also has the benefit of costing almost nothing to make..

But, if you live in a steel framed building, unless you have a balcony or very large windows, your options will probably be even more limited.  But if you have just a little bit of space, something like this makes a nice antenna, especially if you are up a bit. Make sure its vertical because its pattern puts most of the signal around the horizon.

Maybe you need a better antenna? Is it possible to see them?

Definitely, also a better position. In doors, I can't even receive FM broadcast well. I certainly need to setup a better antenna somewhere without angering the property management and my landlord.

[mrf245]

I think the two of you are within VHF/UHF QSO range, according to the QTHR indicated in your callsigns. Have you two tried talking already, maybe over a repeater?

I can't even reach 439.360 C4FM (Shenzhen ham club) or 439.460 FM (illegal, but popular) relays in Shenzhen. I live fairly away from downtown, and the only amateur relay we have here is DMR, which my Yaesu is not supported.

439.460 repeator is at the top of WuTong mountain and I think it has the largest coverage in ShenZhen... My QTH is Zhuhai and sometimes join 439.460 "check in" activity every Friday night.

[vk3yedotcom]

With two handhelds, one on 2m and one on 70cm, try satellites.

Passes last about 10 minutes. Receiving needs a small handheld 3 el beam for best results.

More here:

https://vk3ye.com/gateway/satellite.htm

[TheSteve]

Congrats to all of the new hams in the thread! de VE7FM

[qiran]

de BH4FMC

[cgroen]

Congrats from an ex "HF contester and moonbouncer"
OZ9AAR

[borjam]

Congratulations! EA2EKH here.

I don't get why there are still license classes limiting access to HF. The troublesome idiots that pollute the HF bands tend to be old timers who have gone insane, not newbies.

[cdev]

College!? Good luck, and also welcome!

That's great.. Where are you going to be going to school?

Congrats!  Now onto class B and C.

Likely not. Taking the class B exam requires one having class A certificate for at least 6 months. And taking class C requires operating a class B station for two years. I am about to head to the States before the next Shanghai class B exam can happen, so I am likely stuck at class A for now. OTOH I will be taking FCC General class to get a similar spectrum access while in the States.

[cdev]

WA5VJB makes a PCB material log periodic that works well on 440 Mhz and is quite compact. I have one here and use it to listen to repeaters in this area. its quite directional. I taped mine to a piece of posterboard to protect it and make it easier to handle. I would guess it has around 9DB gain and the 70 cm band. It also works on higher bands. It was a good value at around $15. It covers 400-1000 MHz.

It would likely vastly extend the range of a HT like the Baofengs. It would seem to me to be almost a sure bet it would be useful to you your new hobby. If you use 440 .

Its listed here https://www.wa5vjb.com/products1.html

and you can find it for less if you look. I paid about $15 on ebay.  I would not mount it outside because it catches a lot of wind outdoors and in a strong wind, the PCB traces would get broken. But indoors it works great.