Amateur Radio.... Don't talk to me about it...
My boss loves this shit. He humps a rucksack FULL of equipment with wires and ariels and what looks like a car battery, up a hill in Northumberland and is AMAZED he can talk to someone 25 miles away on another hill "on 2 metres" WTF? WWWHHAATT TTHHEEE FUCKKK?

His house looks like the local Taxi office with wires up and down the garden, MAASSSIIVEEE poles up the side of the house, ariels, scaffolding - the lot. Nevermind the string of complaints from neighbours when he fires it all up, lights dim in the street and everyones TV goes off!

And the kit - have you seen the price? £1200 for 1 thing. and he has several of these things. Transceivers or something. You can't even listen into the rozzers anymore either - local security guards and even more mudane toss than that!

AND these guys have to pass 'tests' to allow them to do this and have codenames!

AND They get these names/photos made into postcards - AND SEND THEM TO EACH OTHER AS PROOF THEY'VE TALKED! AAaaAArrRRRgggGGHHFFFffmmPPUuuppmmff!!!!!

He's a programmer too - but won't go past VB6. "too many pictures" in the newer VB studios.... i don't even know what that means!
(TheManofScience, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 14:03, 12 replies)

I think
You need

To chill a bit. Have a nice cup of tea.

But yes - what an absolute geek.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 14:13, closed)

He shares my office...
and occasionally has a hand held scanner on, you know, just to listen to what he can hear. Usually the crane operator on the building site across campus...

AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
(TheManofScience, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 15:06, closed)

and your not using this to fuck with him! why?

(NuffMuff fucks shrubbery, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 15:32, closed)

oh, i fuck with him...
He has 2 hearing aids so when i'm talking to him i cut my voice out at random intervals but keep my lips moving and then wait for him to shout "batteries in my hearing aids have gone again, hang on...."

small amounts of mental abuse will either keep him on his toes - or push him into early retirement.
(TheManofScience, Fri 5 Nov 2010, 9:19, closed)

Maybe because it's fun?
What do you do with your time when you're not at work? Sit and rot your brain watching Z-List-Factor, or Britain's Got No Imagination?
(gordonjcp, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 15:35, closed)

Erm...
I like playing PS3 in my spare time.

It does not deprive the rest of my street from electricity, nor do I force any of my colleagues to watch me play it.

Fair play to walking up a mountain with a ton of equipment though. Each to their own!
(perfectrhys come find me on PS3., Thu 4 Nov 2010, 16:10, closed)

Neither does amateur radio...
... unless you're doing something very wrong.

Oh, and on the "expensive" part, I've just talked to one of the guys aboard the ISS with a radio that cost me a fiver at a junk sale.
(gordonjcp, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 20:21, closed)

Mainly...
Restore my 1964 small window Beetle i have in the garage - While this is old it's not redundant as people still use 4 wheeled petrol powered devices to circumnavigate the big shop at Asda
(TheManofScience, Fri 5 Nov 2010, 9:16, closed)

But it's old and out of date
You can get a nice new Vauxhall Corsa and it will be cheaper to run and easier to drive.

Not nearly as much fun though, and definitely not as satisfying.
(gordonjcp, Fri 5 Nov 2010, 9:21, closed)

I still use morse code
dah di diddle di dahhhhhhhhhhh


www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAOOd48j6WA
( buffet_the_appetite_slayer ٩(●̮̃•)۶ jacked in to the ICE on, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 20:12, closed)

Hardcore old school dude
Clicky for your boss!
(rickster999, Thu 4 Nov 2010, 21:27, closed)

Father in law
is a radio Ham. He is also ultra conservative, and in addition very naive about the www etc. Im agine his surprise when he was surfing the www for the first time, and typed "amateur" into google...
(kitescreech still here, Sun 7 Nov 2010, 17:55, closed)