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| Author | Does anybody here use ham radio software on their PPC or 68k Macs? (Read 677 times) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ShinobiKenobi
256 MB  Posts: 362 System 7 fan 
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on: November 16, 2025, 23:09
I've always been interested in ham radio, but still need to get my license. I was wondering if anyone here uses their System 7 Macs to run packet radio or any other ham radio software. I saw this video (modern link) once of a ham radio operator using the Hellschreiber technique or method years ago, and it always fascinated me. Do any of you do any amateur radio stuff on old Macs? |
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snes1423
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256 MB Posts: 458 A Man born of Mechina
Reply #1 on: November 17, 2025, 15:35
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Ive used a real ham radio not in a museum either i have an uncle who was a former gulf war convoy truck driver afterwards he was a produce semi-truck driver who was seen in the background of a ice road truckers episode (forget which one would have to ask him next time i see him possibly this xmas/new years) he showed me when i was like 4 or 5 maybe how to operate one on my grandparents (now his) farm he even has his own page for that farm here https://sealtheseasons.com/pages/kludy-farms?srsltid=AfmBOopAwS6A_GlLyWlVb1mxkO6eHjbEnT6sx6GRp9Y9VQJsxXcwDSvF
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ShinobiKenobi
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256 MB Posts: 362 System 7 fan
Reply #2 on: November 19, 2025, 09:10
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That is really cool snes! Thanks for sharing that with us.
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Bolkonskij
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Administrator 1024 MB  Posts: 2023
Reply #3 on: November 20, 2025, 12:57
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Ham radio is something that has really interested me for a long time. I think my first contact with the whole idea was while watching the sitcom ALF back in the late 80s. In it, family dad Willie Tanner had a HAM radio setup in his garage and used it to talk to somebody from Belgrade - just the other side of the globe from his location. I remember how I was in awe at the concept that you could just do that using HAM radio. (remember folks, this was before I had any idea about the internet and phoning somebody outside of your hometown was something to think twice about) The idea of getting into it stuck with me - until I discovered what bureaucracies had done to it. The course and certificate they require you for having to operate a HAM radio appears ridiculous for something so niche a hobby. Hence, given my other responsibilities (family, kids, job, existing hobbies) I've put it on the "later in life" list. I certainly hope I can get to it, for I'm both interesting in the technical side as well as the social side (it appears to be an all friendly worldwide community). Searching the Mac Garden for HAM radio delivers a few good entries for System 7 related software, but it seems software was mostly device specific as in here. It does seem like something that should be do-able on a System 7 Mac though and would probably emit some true 80's / 90's vibes :-)
Last Edit: November 21, 2025, 07:37 by Bolkonskij
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snes1423
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256 MB Posts: 458 A Man born of Mechina
Reply #4 on: November 20, 2025, 20:54
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all i remember was that it was very noisy and that the truck it was in ended up being abandoned in a mudpit on that farm due to a mudslide that tipped it over and it stayed that way from 2011-2023
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wove
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1024 MB Posts: 1363
Reply #5 on: November 21, 2025, 02:41
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My Father was into Ham Radio, with the license and rig all setup. It was the geeky thing to do in the 1950s. He would get all excited exchanging Morse Code messages with somebody in a far off foreign land. I do not know how long he continued with the hobby and he had gotten rid of his equipment before he passed away. Commercial broadcast radio had become a thing when he was young and radio captivated him in much the same way computers captivated later generations of young men.
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snes1423
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256 MB Posts: 458 A Man born of Mechina
Reply #6 on: November 21, 2025, 03:20
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@wove sounds like a episode of Leave it to Beaver i saw 15 years ago lets see if i can the specific one... Ah-Ha here we go https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0630314/
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ShinobiKenobi
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256 MB Posts: 362 System 7 fan
Reply #7 on: November 22, 2025, 06:13
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@Bolkonskij if I get my license, I'll definitely try some of them. Sadly, I don't yet. I have the radio, power supply, and antenna, but I don't want to risk it lol. But packet radio is something I definitely want to try if I get a license. @wove Yeah, I've heard that, too, about ham radio being THE geeky thing to do before the 1970s and 80s. Then it became about computers and BBSes. My grandpa had a base CB station. That was back when you needed a license to talk on the CB. He had an antique 12-channel CB. I never knew anyone growing up who had ham radios. @snes it would be cool if they salvaged the radio at least.
Last Edit: November 22, 2025, 06:17 by ShinobiKenobi
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