All the gear but no idea

I just looked you up on qrz.com....wow you have a lovely set up going there mate I hope to work you at some point. Noel

I also have an 817nd, they are a great little rig. 5w and a long wire....man so much fun when your calling out cq cq cq and then someone replies from another country....it's just amazing. Give's me a real buzz. I like to operate up high on mountain tops and on the beach. I do partially own a static caravan with a few other enthusiast and we are up around 900m over looking northern Ireland. It's quite the view. We can see 5 of the 6 counties from up there. I love to connect my 817nd 5watts to the MA5B beam and point to the the USA. With the gain on the antenna I'm talking into many states with 5watts. It's just incredible how it works. Thanks very much to all who have commented. I had no idea it would get this response. Please feel free to share stories and if your new ask questions and maybe one day you could talk to someone on the other side of the world with your washing line Noel

Hey, yes you are correct. You don't need a licence for pmr. I jumped the gun and thought you guys were on the amateur band. 144-146.

Nice to meet you. Noel 2I0SFA my qrz pages need's updating big time

Welcome to PW Bill.....plenty of useful information on here and knowledgeable people to help you out. P.s I'm not one of them haha hence my user name....lol

Welcome to PW James

Well, the guy that give you the radio's is breaking the law. 8km walkie talkies are ment to be used. The amateur bands are a licenced frequency and you need to have completed a course to do so. If caught there is a fine. The licensed amateur should no better and have some respect for the people who have obtained there licence.

Matt, it really depends on what your after. Local 2m rig's aren't that costly...100 pound second would get you sorted for the locals and with the repeaters you can get out a good bit. As for HF bands (worldwide) them rigs are more costly like Neil said 400 upwards would get you a rig that does HF and local. There are various homebrew antennas that you can construct quite cheaply. I have my HF set at home and local in the car. There are options for both....you will need power supply and an tuner for you aerial. Can be costly but if you shop around you can get set up for a reasonable price. Firstly you need to get your foundation licence in order to be able to transmit. NOEL

Hey Matt, 10m is the amateur band. With the right conditions and propagation you can get worldwide

I am from the portadown area. In the countryside

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and the link to the other post for local shooting. Redditch drop me a private message. I have a friend of the missus lives very close to Coleraine. Only problem I have is convincing the better half to let me stay with her single friend haha interesting conversation that will be....but if the worst come to the worst and I wasn't allowed to stay with another women I wouldn't mind driving up early in the morning. Wouldn't be regular but if the shooting is bad could be worth it. That's if you don't mind putting up with misses from me drope your details anyway sure and I'll soon let ya know. Just out of interest what pests do you have to shoot? Euget123 how far are you away....I do have a tent I hope the wife never sells my gear for the price I told her I paid

Hey, you should really look into amateur radio. It's a great hobby! There are so many different area to look into...worldwide, local, building, low power (qrp), international space station chasing....the list can go quite a bit. I am the exam secretary for the Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club www.muarc.com if you like to have a chat with people local or you just fancy a quick report from the other side of the world then I would recommend it. Newarcher1 the best way is to look up on google local amateur radio clubs (then your location) of nothing found I would also suggest looking at the Rsgb (radio society of great britain) website. There is a three tier exam....foundation which allows 10watts of power, intermediate - 50w and full callsign which allows 400w. The foundation licence is relatively easy and you can buy the foundation book on amazon for 5 pounds. Multiple choice questions and if you pass you will have your own personalised callsign. Neil, nice to meet you on here. Do you use your call sign just for raynet duties or do you have a your own setup at home? I have helped out at some raynet duties but not joining at this moment of time in my already packed and busy lifestyle. I do some sota work Neil.....I'll have to listen out for your callsign 73's Noel

Just putting the feelers out to see if anyone else shared my other interest in amateur radio? My callsign is 2I0SFA

Greetings everyone on pigeon watch. I stumbled across this remarkable site packed full of useful topics, suggestions and ideas. I have spent most of my day reading the interesting topics posted by some very knowledgeable people. I also enjoy the less intense topics for some light reading or giggle. I am not overly new too the shooting scene, but I wouldn't say I'm hardcore. I tend to shoot for a few weeks to satisfy my adrenaline rush, then put the guns away until I get the urge to take them out again. One of the reasons I joined PW was to see if I could find possibly someone who is from N.Ireland and wouldn't mind me coming along for a shot. I'm very keen to learn and would like to get into the sport deeper. I am willing to travel. I'm sure if someone fits the bill they can drop me a private mail. P.s I have my own shooting gear and guns - 12 gauge, .22 air rifle, .22lr. Anyway, looking forward to reading more topics and getting to know the regular post PW members. Stay safe and never tell the wife the price of anything!