Introduction to Operating in Today's Ham Radio World

Estes Valley Amateur Radio Club(EVARC)

Got Your Ticket, Now What??

Introduction to Operating in

Today's Ham Radio World

Why Ham Radio Exists Many diversified interests and opportunities for many. In the U.S., recognition as a voluntary noncommercial communication service. Particularly emergency comm.

Continuation of hams’ proven ability to advance the radio art.

Extension of ham radio’s unique ability to promote international goodwill.

Oh – It’s FUN, too!

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Activities of all Sorts!In a Confused Order!

- DX (long distance) ops Ionospheric fun!

- Mountain Topping Colorado - duh!

- CW Morse code More bang per watt out

- Emergency Comm. Stay tuned next week

- Mobile & Portable ops RVs, cars, bikes, …..

- Moon Bounce (EME) Think big antennas!

- Am. Satellite Ham Sats piggybacked

- Digital modes ops All kinds of bits & bytes

- QRP ops <5 watt output, worldwide


. . . . And more

A good ref.: http://www.eham.net/newham/

- Kit / homebrew construction Back to the future!

- VHF/UHF repeaters Armchair talk, home or away

- Radio / Internet hybrid IRLP, Echolink, . . .

- Competitions Contacts galore! Awards.

- DXpeditions Ops from remote turf!

- ISS Contacts Since STS-9, 1983. US Station NA1SS

- Amateur Image Comm. Both “stills” and TV images


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Operating from Estes Park

Note the CW key in the right hand and the computer screen straight

ahead. The old and the new.

How do we become proficient Hams?

Listen, listen, listen!!

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Base Stations

http://www.hamuniverse.com/setuphamstation.html

Mobile Stations

http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=12686Estes Valley Amateur Radio Club 8

Portable Stations


Antennas & Antenna Stuff

www.ad4dx.com/pdf/basic-antennas.pdfGood “antennas” reference:

Remember: halfwave dipole ~ 468/f(MHz) feet long



Pick a (Frequency) BandAmateur Band Frequency

160 & 80 meters ~1.6 & ~3.800 MHz

60 meters Channelized, ~5.3 MHz

40 & 30 meters ~7.1 & ~10.1 MHz

20 meters ~14.2 MHz

17, 15, & 12 meters

10 meters ~28.5 MHz

6 meters

2 meters ~146 MHz

70 cm ~430 & 222 MHz

33 cm

902 MHz and UP

Ant

enna

s

Large

Small

Many Variations on the λ/2 Dipole2 typical HF dipoles


Common VHF/UHF antennas

Example Calculation:

Freq (mhz) 146A (inches) 19 5/16 (Note "A" length is to the SO-239 insulator but not critical)

B THRU E (INCHES) 20 3/16

LENGTHS FROM FORMULA ( 234/FREQ MHZ) + 5 % LONGER FOR RADIALS

http://www.hamuniverse.com/antennas.htmlEstes Valley Amateur Radio Club 13Estes Valley Amateur Radio Club

Antenna Safety Issues


- Grounding

- Electrical Safety

- Lightning Protection

- RF Exposure

http://www.arrl.org/safety

Good reference on ARRL website:

Threshold Power Levels for RF Exposure

Evaluation

Table 1 You must perform an RF environmental evaluation if the peak-envelope-power (PEP) input to the antenna exceeds these limits. Band Power (W)160 meters 500 80 500 40 500 30 425 20 225 17 125 15 100 12 75 10 50 6 50 2 50 1.25 50 70 cm 70 33 150 23 200 13 250 SHF (all bands) 250 EHF (all bands) 250 Repeaters: Non-building-mounted antennas: If the distance between ground level and the lowest point of the antenna is less than 10 meters and the power is greater than 500 W ERP. Building-mounted antennas: If the power exceeds 500 W ERP.

HTsUHF

VHF

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Antenna Safety RF radiation hazards



160 and 80m Bands80 is great “ragchewing” band, phone and CWLongest distance contacts at night (>200 mi.)

160 is “topband”, and similar capabilities to 80m

What Frequencies and When?

60m Band – “Newbie”

Only channelized HF band Max. radiated power limitation 100W

ARRL bandplan updated & effective 3/5/12


http://www.arrl.org/news/new-60-meter-privileges-now-in-effect

Check details at:

40 and 30m Bands

40m is home to many!Phone and CW – good daytime & nighttime

propagation (hundreds of miles +)

30m has similar prop. to 40mLimited to 200W output, CW & Digital only

No Phone Ops



20m Band

Workhorse of DX (long distance) bands

Usually, 20m is open to somewhere worldwide, day and night

Phone, CW, digital all available


17, 15, and 12m Bands

Most activity in daylight hours, except during highest sunspot activity periods

Not nearly as crowded as 20m

Good DX with right propagation conditions

Q Codes, RST, Phonetic AlphabetSome common Q codes used for CW (Morse code) operation

QRM Is my transmission being interfered with? You’re being interfered with.

QRN Are you troubled by static? You are being troubled by static.

QRT Shall I stop sending? Stop sending.

QRX When will you call me again? I will call you again at _____.

QRZ Who is calling me? You are being call by ____.

QSB Are my signals fading? Your signals are fading.

QSL Can you acknowledge receipt of message or transmission? I am acknowledging receipt.

QSO Can you communicate with ___ direct? I can communicate direct with _____.

QST General call preceding a message to all hams and ARRL members.

QSY Shall I change to another frequency? Change transmission to another frequency.

QTH What is your location? My location is _____.Estes Valley Amateur Radio Club

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The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Phonetic Alphabet

A – Alfa (AL FAH)B – Bravo (BRAH VOH)C – Charlie (CHAR LEE)D – Delta (DELL TAH)E – Echo (ECK OH)F – Foxtrot (FOX TROT)G – Golf (GOLF)H – Hotel (HOH TELL)I – India (IN DEE AH)J – Juliet (JEW LEE ETT)K – Kilo (KEY LOH)L – Lima (LEE MA)M – Mike (MIKE)

N – November (NO VEM BERR)O – Oscar (OSS CAR)P – Papa (PAH PAH)Q – Quebec (KEY BECK)R – Romeo (ROW ME OH)S – Sierra (SEE AIR AH)T – Tango (TANG OH)U – Uniform (YOU NEE FORM)V – Victor (VIK TORE)W – Whiskey (WISS KEY)X – X-Ray (EX RAY)Y – Yankee (YANG KEY)Z – Zulu (ZOO LOU)

Bold syllables are emphasized


Readability, Signal Strength, Tone (RST) System


VHF & UHF Operations

Repeaters and More!



Our repeater antennas on Pole Hill Road. Folded dipoles, pointed down the hill! (VHF is bigger – UHF are smaller.)

(ID is NØFH)

VHF/UHF Mobile and Base Station Options


Computer to

Program HT

VHF/UHF Mobile and Base Station Options


IRLPInternet Radio Linking Project

Estes Park’s repeater is IRLP capable

http://www.irlp.net/

Uses the Internet to link distant radio sites

Gives global coverage to normally localized VHF and UHF frequencies

Enables minimally equipped stations to communicate globally

Allows end user control of links via their radio’s DTMF (Touchtone) keypad (Try “recorder” Node 9990 & hear yourself reply)


IRLP in Colorado


IRLP in the USA, one day in March


UK & European IRLP? Yes!!


EchoLinkThe 800 lb. gorilla of Internet Linking

For licensed hams, EchoLink® software opens up new possibilities for communicating around the world with other amateurs. Your PC (or Smart Phone) links you or your local repeater to any of thousands of other stations over the Internet.

There are more than 200,000 validated users worldwide — in 162 of the world's 193 nations —with about 5,000 online at any given time.


http://www.echolink.org/

EchoLink ‐ www.echolink.org


Common VHF/UHF FM Simplex Frequencies146.52 MHz*

146.535

146.55

146.565

146.58

146.595

147.42

147.435

147.45

147.465

147.48

147.495

147.51

147.525

147.54

147.555

147.57

147.585

*National Simplex Calling Frequency (Add to your scanner!)

2 meter Band FM Simplex(15 kHz intervals)

http://www.hamuniverse.com/simplexoperating.html

No Repeater

Assuming both antennas can “see” each other, try Simplex from HT, mobile, or base stations.


“Grid Locators” Used in VHF/UHFOne of the first things you will notice when you tune the low end of any VHF band is that most QSOs include an exchange of "grid squares."

What are grid squares/locators?

Well, they're more like rectangles, and are just a way of dividing up the surface of the Earth. Grid squares are a shorthand means of describing your general location anywhere on the Earth in a manner that is easy to communicate over the air.

2° Longitude by 1° LatitudeEstes Valley Amateur Radio Club 36Estes Valley Amateur Radio Club

Grid Locators for Colorado


HF Calling ‐ Standard PracticeCalling CQ to Make a Contact

Let's assume your license permits you to operate SSB on 10 meters.

1. Begin by finding a clear frequency such as 28.460. Speak clearly into the mike and ask "Is this frequency in use? This is VE3BUC." If you get no response you might ask a second time just to be sure. Again if there is no response then proceed to step 2. If someone says that the frequency is in use then just move to another clear frequency and try again.

2. Now call "CQ CQ CQ. This is Victor Echo 3 Bravo Uniform Charlie calling CQ CQ CQ. This is Victor Echo 3 Bravo Uniform Charlie, VE3BUC calling CQ and waiting for a call."

Now you listen for the return call. Being on an HF band (10 meters) it is possible to get a call ranging from very strong to very weak.

3. You might hear "VE3BUC this is Papa Yankee 1 Alpha November Foxtrot PY1ANF calling.“

4. You respond by saying "PY1ANF (using phonetics is best) this is VE3BUC. Thanks for the call your signal is 59. My name is Don and my QTH is Ontario. So how do you copy? PY1ANF this is VE3BUC over.“

You have made your first HF contact. At this point you can make the contact as long or short as you like depending on the band conditions and what you find to discuss with your new friend in Brazil.

5. You end an HF contact by giving both call signs and signing off. For example: "... thanks Luis for the contact and 73 to you and your family. PY1ANF this is VE3BUC signing off."What do you do if more than one station responds to your call? If you hear one call clearly then simply respond to that station as discussed above. If you hear only parts of call signs, maybe "Alpha November" then in step 4 begin by saying "the station with Alpha November make your call." Once you have heard the complete call sign you can proceed as in step 4.

http://www.eham.net/newham/operatingEstes Valley Amateur Radio Club 38

Technician HF Privileges10 Meter Band (28MHz)

200 W max.

28.000 MHz 28.300 MHz 28.500 MHz

RTTY/data/CW SSB phone


Confirming the Contact ‐QSLingA confirmation that proves the contact occurred.

These confirmations are required for those seeking awards, and is a great tradition for all ham radio operators.


QSL Cards from Different Eras


Methods of QSLingPaper Cards can be sent via 3 methods:by Bureau, by QSL service, by direct mail. Each hasdifferent advantages and speed.

Electronic QSLing is also possibleTwo of the most‐used systems are:eQSL and ARRL’s Logbook of the World

www.arrl.org/lotw)(www.eqsl.cc &


And Finally . . . Don’t get Snowed! Call your Elmer!


Introduction to Operating in Today's Ham Radio World

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