High-Powered Pot-Growing Lights Are Screwing Up Ham Radio

I don't know who does ham radio any more but I imagine it would people living in remote regions on the coast where you can get transmissions from far away places. Or remote places where you can't get cell service or wifi.  Also weird desert dwellers who get their porn by ham radio.

People all over the world still participate in HAM radio.  It's actually a wonderful mode of communication that's much more self-reliant compared to the stuff you have to pay for, when you think about it.  If there is some disaster or communist overthrow, the cel towers and cable TV won't function for a while.  But the HAMsters just need a good battery supply and/or generator to communicate.

just you need an 80' antenna on your roof...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm ham radio

Wait, I have a 80' antenna on my roof. Do I have to plug something in or does is it sit up there attracting ham waves?

As an old geek zine person I looove the concept of ham, just dont know who users are. Do you need flat land vs mtns which might block waves? 

Botb over and out.

One of my neighbors got deeply involved in the hobby maybe 25 years ago and actually did put up a tall antenna, but on a separate structure, not the roof. I think it's a 100-foot tower made of triangular metal sections.  He had a whole room full of radio gear of different sorts and would chat with people all over the world.  That neighbor was on Submarines in the Navy during WWII; maybe he had a radio-oriented job.  They send each  other postcards called "QXR" and hang them on the walls of their radio rooms.  The QXR is your "Call letters" and location, whatever slogans or artwork you put on it.

So I thought it might be fun to get a license for the ability to use "packet radio" (internet over radio waves). Unlike the 70's or 80's, you don't need to learn Morse code for the basic license anymore.  It's sort of like driver licenses;  you have to take a test and each additional level has another test.  The more wattage you use to broadcast your signal, the more licenses you need.

Also the basic license allows you to broadcast on certain bands of the frequency spectrum; if you want to use more channels, you need more licenses. Never did try for a license, but I read the 'Intro to Ham Radio' book the neighbor gave me. I liken the hobby to the early days of sattelite TV; with a dish and receiver one could watch all sorts of crazy programs "for free".  

These guys have all the info regarding the Amateur Radio hobby.  They probably could tell you why the crappy magnetic ballast is interfering with their broadcast.

http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio/

Can kirley tv be far off?

> desert dwellers who get their porn by ham radio

How does that work?

I only use the sun.

"...> desert dwellers who get their porn by ham radio

How does that work?.."

If you go to the 5:21 AM post and check the link, those Ham radio freaks have all that info on multimedia over amateur radio waves. They've got liek, a couple dozen satellites in orbit just for the Hams.  If you look at the photos, their "radio rigs" appear to be sophisticated arrays of computers married to radio transcievers and stuff.

They can probably watch porn on one screen and talk to Martians with the other. THey might even trade Earth Rhinoceros porn for Martian porn ??

>>>>>>> It's actually a wonderful mode of communication that's much more self-reliant compared to the stuff you have to pay for, when you think about it.  If there is some disaster or communist overthrow, the cel towers and cable TV won't function for a while.

Mr Stu is right about this - I seem to recall been several major natural disasters where the hammers became an essential part of the emergency response network when everything else was down for extended periods (2011 Halloween snowstorm up here in the northeast may have been one).

Its kinds cool. I get it.  You only need your own science, Knowhow and power source to speak to someone around the globe. No satellite, no payment to the big companies. At least they don't say "good buddy" comeback.

Several years ago when the digital ballast were first coming out, my friend's neighbor told my friend that he needed to change his ballast cause it was interfering with his radio he used as a emergency response rescuer. 

How old is the article?  You would think this issue has been resolved by now .

I think I  was in error when I typed "QXR". Probably those postcards are called "QSL".

When I was in 6th or 7th grade,  there was an amateur radio class at school which I attended for a few weeks.  All us nerds showed up (maybe a dozen) and learned Morse Code.

That's as far as I took it.  I could not really see the potential for Fun within that paradigm, compared to baseball, skateboarding, or running a Still.

This guy was a local am radio/hammer:

 (Woody Harrelson in 2012 movie)

got a HAM antenna down the street from me- really interferes with my guitar amp when I step on the wah wah.

Cue in Spinal Tarp

>>>Can kirley tv be far off?

I threw up in my mouth reading that.

Tangential point....
I recently bought a used Fender Blues Junior Guitar Amp to give to my kid.
Turned it on and listened to FM Radio coming through the amp.
Online research suggests unshielded 12AX7 tube socket causes the tube to amplify random FM Signals.
So far the only solution I've found is to purchase after market copper shielded tube covers.

Treblemaker ,,

My semi-educated guess is that you could build a signal-repellent or interference-shield for a buck or two worth of wood veneer and Reynolds-Wrap.

Make a few layered sandwiches of those materials, the length and width of the upper section, and try it out.

Ohhh thanks for the description Stu, I believe there is one of those towers in my yard (left by the previous owners, with the top part taken off & stashed up by the barn). The antenna part may still be around somewhere, I think someone ran over it though.... it was in pretty rough shape the last I saw it. Maybe a little crushed, even. 

Didn't realize what it was for, we've been using the tower as a trellis, such as it is. (Works pretty good actually..) For some reason, I always thought the setup was something to do with TV. We used to have a similar TV antenna on our roof back in the ancient times of my childhood. Not quite as large as this one, with fewer arms.

Hasn't indoor grow room tech gone to LED yet?  That requires far less wattage than the HPS/MH types traditionally used.

BrightDay, 

There are many different styles of antennae for various applications.  But as a rough breakdown, you could divide into 'Omnidirectional' or 'Directional' types. Go look at your local Firehouse and see the stuff they have.  Those guys usually have high-powered radios that always function, so they can talk with the Fire-persons from the station.

The Omni would be an antenna that brings in signals from all around.  A directional style like the 'Yagi' would be aimed at some signal source in the distance.

I've actually looked into this in the last few months in order to get better cel-fone reception.  However, I have not accomplished much.

You could buy a 'Yagi' style antenna, or build yer own out of PVC pipe and coat-hangers.  The key is all about antenna-design and making the lengths of metal wire just right.  The radio-geeks have endless internet pages about all that stuff.