Like all sorts of radio, Ham radio has some insider terminology, but not all that much, mostly shortcut hold-overs from the days when most radio communication was done with Morse Code, things like HiHI, (which is just a bunch of dits, sounding like laughter.) But nothing like the extensive CB radio lingo. I can babble a paragraph of CB lingo without a second thought, even without a first thought, but I don't. :)

Just remember, friend, we ALL started that way. Any Ham worth his salt can empathize. It is like learning to play guitar. We all started off not being able to play a chord without practice.

Don’t sweat the small stuff, my friend! Just have fun with your radio! If someone has a hissy fit because you said something he doesn’t think is right, sure, take his opinion for what it’s worth to you, but do it your way. You’ll develop our own style of operating and just enjoy the hobby. This rant of the dos and don’ts is what runs new HAMS off. (Notice my capitalization of ‘ham’ just for the fuddy duddies).

I try to do the same. 73, Jim

Guilty as charged!

Yes David. I agree and I could have done a better job converying that during the video. Thanks, Jim W6LG

Just this morning I worked JA1CG near Tokyo. He was really struggling with English, and I heard some stations throwing ¨500 whiskes¨ at him. I give him so much credit for trying so hard and speaking just enough English to be able to make a QSO. -- W6DGH

Or you'd utter too many.

QSL 73

I use "back to you" or "over to you".

Well, your FTDX10 is an SDR. Software Defined Radio. Just saying.

@@codymaly652 remote SDR'"s with an Internet delay.

@@kb8vom I use a pre-recorded message to call CQ when doing POTA. That could be construed as "internet delay" as well. No?

@@codymaly652 no not at all. What I am referring to is when a station says QRZ and there is a 3 to 5 second delay before the pileup starts throwing out there callsigns. The station calling has acknowledged the station he is wanting and no one can hear it because of the pileup.

You mean QRZ 1's and hearing 4's, 5's, 9's etc??? Nah did hear any of that. Or the guys tuning up for 2 minutes and completely miss out on your number? Nope, didn't experience that either. Or the nice person broadcasting "Independence Day" by Martina McBride not once but at least twice. Fun event, glad it's over, bet the op's are not going to touch a radio for a year now and celebrate that it's over!!! I sure do feel for them!!!

@@kb8vom Yeah, I stayed on FT8 because I really got tired of the unprofessionalism/rudeness towards the operators AND transmitting on top of each other. I am a fairly new General operator (my first special event) and this event was not what i thought it was going to be. Felt really bad for some of those folks...-73 KQ4KIO

We agree. I had to say that! 73, Jim

@@ham-radio Hahaha!

There is no training. There are only short multiple-choice, No-Code tests followed by a government license. The Internet has succeeded in entirely bypassing the old-fashioned Noob-Elmer relationship. I met a General Class licensee a while ago who asked me what an Elmer was. As for me, I took the Tech/General/Extra exams in 1 sitting in about an hour and a quarter after studying on the web for about 10 or 15 hours and taking QRZ practice tests till I was getting over 90% correct in under 15 minutes on each test. That really teaches one next to nothing about ham radio. Fortunately I'd been a Shortwave Listener for 40 years by then, a CBer, and a LowFER builder and experimenter, but I still had a lot to learn because I bypassed working with an Elmer. They provide a great deal of information, and establish perspective on the hobby, something entirely lacking without having one. I'd say the majority of new operators couldn't tell you why the FCC created Amateur Radio in the USA, which seems like a rather important bit of info for anyone wishing to engage in the hobby. They seem to think of it as Super CB radio, and just glaze over the part about the authorization to repair, modify, design and build your own radios and antennas. They go directly to the question of what consumer radio and antenna they should buy without ever learning the first thing about RF, when the FCC created the service to act as a sandbox for those with the interest to experiment, build, and learn all about it. If listened to ham KZfaq channels reviewing cheap Chinese HT's and they go through al of their features and never bother to check them for harmonic levels as if they don't matter. One actually did test a Baofeng, found it was about 5 dB out of spec for harmonics, and said, "Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. But you can do what you want. I mean, who's gonna catch ya?" In a self-policing hobby that the FCC can shut down anytime they decide to, the noobs really need a good Elmer to cuff them up aside the head when they talk like that. But they aren't getting those Elmers.

@ai5dd Thanks for this info. I’ve been teaching myself CW and looking for good information about conducting a QSO correctly. Easier than relearning bad habits! Do you know of reliable resources (other than W6LG 😊) for CW operation? Reliable videos or websites, either one? Thanks!!

Indeed. 73, Jim

Yep… as an Australian, I hope I can be forgiven for not instantly knowing all the state name prefixes. It’s not something that many outside the USA would surely be too familiar with. Some are obvious, like CA… but (for example) I only know MN and MI apart because I have a friend in Minnesota.

@@peter-vk3acz Not easy here sometimes. When I see "Ontario, CA" it is usually the city Ontario, CAlifornia, but my mind thinks, wait, is it Ontario, the CAnadian province? 🤷‍♂️