Amateur Radio / Ham Operators

Foxhound5366 said:
Care to share a link here so we can tease the content? I mean you can take as good as you give right?
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Nice try
That would be the first step in trying to identify me and then I’ll have to change my number again because death threats are not cool.

You will have to just agree to disagree with me and that’s perfectly okay. You do you
 
EmmanuelGoldstein said:
Nice try
That would be the first step in trying to identify me and then I’ll have to change my number again because death threats are not cool.

You will have to just agree to disagree with me and that’s perfectly okay. You do you
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Don’t think any ham amateurs have ever sent death threats to each other, but discussions over antennas can get quite heated I guess. All good, you just play nice and let grandma do her best on that newsletter, it’s more than you’d have without her.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
Don’t think any ham amateurs have ever sent death threats to each other, but discussions over antennas can get quite heated I guess. All good, you just play nice and let grandma do her best on that newsletter, it’s more than you’d have without her.
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Not my circus nor my monkeys thank god.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
Ok so … I did it! Last week Friday I got an email with my official call-sign. I’m a registered South African ham, after passing the RAE exam two weeks ago.

My home office has already been invaded by two radios (one dual-band and one multi-band), two antennas, one power supply, and too many cables, and I haven’t even been licensed a week x.x

It has been a journey I won’t lie: bi-weekly training sessions (Tuesdays and Thursday evenings via Teams), increasingly desperate cramming for the exam (and hardly having any time for it thanks to my hectic dayjob), some rather bad sunburn from a practical antenna-building session in the glaring sun … and it’s all been worth it.

Not only do the students in my group all have great camaraderie, but the actual community of radio amateurs is large and always deeply helpful (I’ve been showered in thousands of rands of gear already just for talking about what I need) and willing to share their knowledge on any topic under the sun across an ever-expanding network of whatsapp groups I’m getting sucked into.

It’s a lot. It’s hard to even appreciate that so many people don’t have the first idea about amateur radio,‘when it’s this entire vibrant world of radio repeaters linked up across South Africa, proud clubs. fierce contests … and weird old-timey aspects like sending postcards to people you’ve spoken to overseas (these days it’s pretty much all digitally logged … but you still get to learn about the postcards in the course material as if you weren’t living in a country with a failed postal service).

This is only the start for me. I’m still building my equipment and knowledge. You may find me with a radio sitting at a park bench near you. I swear I’m a licensed professional …. amateur.

And you know, now’s time for you to enroll for next year’s May exam group, if something catches your fancy. If you do, come find me on 145.700.

View attachment 1859431
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So if anybody is interested in getting their amateur radio licence, the 2026 registration form is now available for the Sandton Amateur Radio’s intake (course starts at the end of January and you’ll write the exam in May): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...rBW2wTJ8Kvr2h8qe5w4Md1Phw/viewform?usp=dialog

If you’re not in Johannesburg, there will be a closer local club to you.

Good luck! There really is no better time to get this done than right now, because you’ve then got the rest of your life to figure out which part of the hobby you like most (and there are very diverse aspects - from chatting to people around the world, to morse code, to climbing mountains to set up temporary radio stations at the peaks, to high-altitude balloons with radio beacons, to emergency preparations, to digital modes and nodes, to capturing signals from the International Space Station or the next moon landing, to all sorts of friendly competitions).
 
How is the activity on the frequency bands ... both for HF and for VHF/UHF?

There is a SDR radio (pi pico rx) I want to make but was wondering what bands to target initially, I would like a busy band to know that it is working. I do have a couple of RTLSDR that I need to dust off, but these ones don't cover HF. I need to make an antenna for VHF/UHF bands too. There is a huge building adjacent to my property that blocks off the coastline and Durban Central, behind me there is a drop off from a hill so reception has become poor since I last dabbled.

It was over 25 years ago that I made a regen receiver with a single FET and there were times that the signal was incredibly strong and loud considering the circuit.
 
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Vis1/0N said:
How is the activity on the frequency bands ... both for HF and for VHF/UHF?

There is a SDR radio (pi pico rx) I want to make but was wondering what bands to target initially, I would like a busy band to know that it is working. I do have a couple of RTLSDR that I need to dust off, but these ones don't cover HF. I need to make an antenna for VHF/UHF bands too. There is a huge building adjacent to my property that blocks off the coastline and Durban Central, behind me there is a drop off from a hill so reception has become poor since I last dabbled.

It was over 25 years ago that I made a regen receiver with a single FET and there were times that the signal was incredibly strong and loud considering the circuit.
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I think VHF and UHF are “busier” because anyone with a Baofeng walkie is on there, chatting on whatever repeater they can find. HF is a lot “quieter” in terms of requiring a bigger dedicated radio and antenna setup, with a ham radio licence, but because you’re able to make contact with people anywhere in the world you might find it feels busier in quantitative terms.

UHF is just too short distance to be much fun in an urban environment: it’ll get you 2km but that’s about it. VHF to a repeater is where the fun is at, then you can talk literally all across South Africa (they recently linked a number of repeaters across the country). To have any real flexibility and to brush up on which parts of the bands you’re allowed to use, you’ll need to get your ham licence.
 
I am interested in reception only, not two way. I like the challenge of minimalist hardware picking up difficult signals and the tweaking that goes with it. Switching an appliance and talking is boring. So not into being the ham operator at all at this point. I guess I have to target the SW bands at first to get the device operational, and thereafter play around with the front end filters and antenna. I purchased my components from Mantech a couple of weeks back, and am am itching to go for it.

Don't know if your user name is related, the other thing that always attracted me was the ARDF portion. Doppler arrays and the physics of switching between multiple antenna's and applying basic math to locate a target.
 
Seeing as @ChuckMeFarley confirmed completing the latest RAE exams, here's the latest intake signup:

Hello everyone

We are excited to announce that registration is officially OPEN for the upcoming Radio Amateurs' Exam (RAE) course presented by the Sandton Amateur Radio Club

If you are ready to learn how to operate, build, and understand radios while working toward your official callsign, it's time to secure your spot.

*Key Course Details*
First Class Starts: Thursday, 2 July 2026
Class Times: Tuesdays and selected Thursdays, 19:00 - 21:00
Platform: Online via Microsoft Teams
Exam Date: Saturday, 10 October 2026

*Requirements & Costs*
You will need to pass the exam and complete an HF practical assessment (equipment setup plus at least 5 on-air contacts).
Course fee: R500 (SARC)
Exam registration: R700 (SARL)
Total: R1 200

*How to Register*
Please fill out the Google Form at the link below to get officially registered for the intake:
docs.google.com

October 2026 RAE Students

We are excited to announce that registration is officially OPEN for the upcoming Radio Amateurs' Exam (RAE) course presented by the Sandton Amateur Radio Club If you are ready to learn how to operate, build, and understand radios while working toward your official callsign, it's time to secure...
docs.google.com docs.google.com

Please feel free to ask any questions in the chat. We can't wait to get started with you all on the 2nd of July!
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