I think there’s an EchoLink repeater near me? I just have a baofeng. I’m planning on building a QMX soon because I feel like CW and digital modes would be fun and I kind of want to go on bike trips and do radio or something. I think I need to look up how POTA and SOTA work. I’m not a big talker in real life, I’ve always kind of preferred written communication, so I’m hoping Morse code helps, haha.
The other thing is I’m just kind of worried about getting the etiquette wrong or doing something wrong, even though it doesn’t really seem that complicated.
Don’t worry about getting anything wrong. Most people are pretty excited to speak with someone new or that doesn’t come on air often.
We’re all just normal people, done of use are even a little introverted.
Just say what’s on your mind.
“Hi, I’m Joe, happy to be speaking with you, in kinda new to this and am a bit nervous. Anyhow how are you and where are you from?”
Chances are that will spawn a conversation that feels less forced and more natural as you move forward.
I’ve messaged you my email address. Never private messaged on Lemmy before so I hope it works. Just say hello and we can maybe catch up on echolink or discord.
Yeah, I had a couple of good conversations on repeaters when I first got my license, but I’m a bit of an introvert so I always feel a bit weird after a conversation like “did I fuck this up?” haha. And the extra rules and unspoken etiquette around radio is a bit intimidating, but I think as long as you identify every 10 minutes or whatever and stay in band nobody will get too mad at you.
I’m really excited about getting into CW actually, and QRP seems interesting and like a really fun challenge. I actually built a pixie kit recently, but I used it as soldering practice before building the QMX mini that I got recently. Hopefully I’ll have some time to build that soon :). I can mostly copy short 5 or so letter words in my head now at 40 WPM, but I haven’t practiced in a few weeks (and obviously I fall behind on complex words or longer ones). I’m a bit nervous about trying to actually send and receive Morse in the wild though, and I REALLY don’t know the etiquette and q-codes and shorthand associated with that yet, but I guess I’ll learn!
I was wondering if I should get into this. I’m more interested because it seems cool and I need some kind of backup means of communications in case communication is down or something
The exam is relatively easy, and you can find lots of resources for practice exams and stuff. At first you’ll have a hard time with some specific questions, but you’ll get the hang of it. If you want they usually let you write the general and the extra exams after the technician for no extra fee (they’re harder but give you a better license with more permissions. Technician gives you a lot, though)
If you’re at all interested you should do it! Getting licensed doesn’t take much time, even if it seems a little daunting at first. Then you’re ready to go when you get the itch!
I’m really curious about bonsai but it seems hard to get into! I also worry that I don’t have a good eye for aesthetics, and that might be a problem too, haha. It seems really cool though.
… also maybe this seems like a stupid concern, but sometimes I wonder if it’s cruel to the tree? I know little actual details, though… and also most people wouldn’t care about a tree’s feelings, haha.
Music. My parents weirdly never listened to music. When I was a kid, the most they would listen to was a Queen greatest hits album and another greatest hits from this 80s band from my country. But like, only on road trips.
I don’t know why, but ever since I was very young I loved music. One of the first birthday presents I remember choosing myself was a copy of Dookie (Green Day). I didn’t know what it was, but I loved the cover. Less than a month later we were back to the record store and I bought this brand new album by a band I had never heard before, In Rainbows by Radiohead. And that was it. I was hooked forever. Music was to become the most constant and important part of my life.
I spent years finding and listening to music. Trying to understand the history and development. Music really was my main hobby in high-school, like listening to music.
Nowadays I also play guitar and produce a bit, but I still listen to music as a hobby.
And my parents still don’t listen to music at all lmao. Even after enduring years and years of me hogging the AUX cable and forcing them to listen to everything from Wu Tang Clan to Burzum and Sufjan Stevens and Nirvana… but I love them. The most they would say is “wow this is very heavy” as I blasted black metal lol
I feel the same way. When I was a kid, my parents had a pretty small collection of tapes of religious music, and that’s the only stuff they would listen to. Once I got my first internet connection around the age of 12, a whole new world opened up.
Today, I listen to music all the time, while working, while driving. It was so weird (and depressing) to go on a trip in my sister’s car who doesn’t listen to music.
!The fungus shapes the ice into fine hairs through an uncertain mechanism and likely stabilizes it by providing a recrystallization inhibitor similar to antifreeze proteins!<
I always find these interesting that we still haven’t figure out fungi fully.
A lot of people. For many, it’s not even something they know exist. Even setting it up for them is a bother because of the occasional site it breaks, and the complete lack of technical awareness.
I play tabletop RPG games, and everybody I’m related to, parents, my brother, aunts and uncles, cousins, all think it’s silly and won’t ever touch a set of dice.
I had to cancel Christmas for my eleven-year-old foster daughter.
Last Monday, her mom (who was doing really well after eight months, and we were trying to organize an overnight stay on Christmas Eve with), had a mental breakdown that resulted in the police getting called and her one daughter that had moved back in had to move out. DSS then canceled all unsupervised visits. We were all devastated by this setback, and we tried everything we could to arrange some kind of visit Christmas Day, but they wouldn’t budge (once we found out the full context of the incident, we agreed that was the right call).
Move to Friday, the 22nd. I get a call from my wife that the girl had stolen a gift bag with some shampoo and soaps that was to be donated to one of those adopt a family programs at her school. When confronted, she denied stealing it, claiming she was told it was for her (it wasn’t, nor was the kid that she claims told her that aware of this). We were livid. My wife made her bring the gifts to the girl and apologize. After, she doubled down on her innocence and wanted to know if she was still going to be receiving all of her Christmas presents (she’s extremely materialistic). It was at this point, I told my wife that she was not going to receive anything from us, which she reluctantly agreed.
Before we could even inform her of that punishment, she attempted to run away. The only reason I heard her is that she closed the storm door too loudly. When I chased after her (in 22 degree F weather, and she only had a fleece jacket on) and yelled at her to get back in the house because she was grounded, she refused. Eventually, I had to call the police because of the danger (she has a history of running away). She initially refused to polices urging to come back to the house, until they told her that if she refused, she would have to go to a juvenile detention facility for Christmas.
I then had the task of telling her Saturday that, because of her actions the day before, she was not receiving any presents from us for Christmas. Her first question was: “will I still get the phone that my mom bought me?”
We’ve since been monitoring all exits out of our house since Friday night. My wife has slept on the couch in the living room each night.
Wow, I think you win this game. Sorry to hear all that. Thank you for what you and your family are going through for this poor girl, her mother, and us all.
asklemmy
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