Ham Radio For Dummies

Ward Silver, NØAX, has been a ham since 1972 when he ear­ned his Novice license. Ward is the lead editor for the ARRL Radio Handbook and the ARRL ­Antenna Book. He is the author of the ARRL License Manuals and several other books on ham radio topics.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1My Assumptions about You 2Icons Used in This Book 3Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 4Part 1: Getting Started with Ham Radio 5Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted with Ham Radio 7Exploring Ham Radio around the World 8Tuning into Ham Radio 9Using electronics and technology 10Joining the ham radio community 12Radiosport — Competing with Ham Radio 15Communicating through Ham Radio Contacts 16Ragchews 17Nets 17Citizen Science and HamSCI 18Chapter 2: Getting a Handle on Ham Radio Technology 21Getting to Know Basic Ham Radio Gear 21Building a Basic Ham Radio Station 23Basic stations 23Communication Technologies 26Understanding the Fundamentals of Radio Waves 28Frequency and wavelength 29The radio spectrum 30Dealing with Mother Nature 32Experiencing nature affecting radio waves 32Overcoming radio noise 33Chapter 3: Finding Other Hams: Your Support Group 35Finding and Being a Mentor 36Interacting in Online Communities 37Social media and blogs 37Videos, podcasts, and webinars 38Email reflectors 39Online training and instruction 40Web portals 41Joining Radio Clubs 41Finding and choosing a club 42Participating in meetings 44Getting more involved 45Exploring the ARRL 46ARRL benefits to you 47ARRL benefits to the hobby 48ARRL benefits to the public 49Taking Part in Specialty Groups 50On the Air — IOTA, SOTA, and POTA 50Young Hams — YOTA 51Competitive clubs 51Handiham 52AMSAT 53TAPR 54YLRL 55QRP clubs 56Attending Hamfests and Conventions 57Finding and preparing for hamfests 57Buying equipment at hamfests 58Finding conventions and conferences 59Part 2: Wading through the Licensing Process 63Chapter 4: Understanding the Licensing System 65Getting Acquainted with the Amateur Service 66FCC rules 66Ham radio frequency allocations 67Learning about Types of Licenses 69Technician class 70General class 70Amateur Extra class 70Grandfathered classes 71Getting Licensed 72Studying the exam questions 72Taking your license exam 72Volunteer examiner coordinators 73Volunteer examiners 73Receiving Your New Call Sign 74Call-sign prefixes and suffixes 74Class and call sign 75Chapter 5: Preparing for Your License Exam 77Getting a Grip on the Technician Exam 77Finding Study Resources 78Licensing classes 79Books, websites, and videos 80Online practice exams 82Locating Your Mentor 82Chapter 6: Taking the Exam 85Types of Exams 86Public in-person exams 86Remote exams 86Exams at events 87Exam sessions in homes and online 87Finding an Exam Session 88Registering with the Universal Licensing System (ULS) 88Getting to Exam Day 90What to have with you 91What to expect 91What to do after the exam 93Chapter 7: Obtaining Your License and Call Sign 95Completing Your Licensing Paperwork 95Finding Your Call Sign 98Searching the ULS database 98Searching other websites for call signs 99Printing your license 100Identifying with your new privileges 101Picking Your Own Call Sign 101Searching for available call signs 102Applying for a vanity call sign 103Maintaining Your License 104Part 3: Hamming It Up 105Chapter 8: Receiving Signals 107Learning by Listening 107Finding out where to listen 108Understanding how bands are organized 109Using Your Receiver 110Tuning and scanning with channels 112Continuous tuning with a knob 113Software-controlled tuning 114Listening on VHF and UHF 115Listening on HF 116Using beacon networks and contact maps 118Receiving Signals 121Receiving FM voice 121Receiving SSB voice 125Receiving digital voice 127Receiving digital or data modes 128Receiving Morse code 131Chapter 9: Basic Operating 133Understanding Contacts (QSOs) 134Common parts of contacts 135Casual contacts 139Nets and talk groups — On-the-air meetings 139Contests and DXing — Radiosport 141How contacts get started 142Joining a contact 144Failing to make contact 145During a contact 147Calling CQ 150Casual Conversation — Ragchewing 152Knowing where to chew 152Identifying a ragchewer 154Calling CQ for a ragchew 155Making Repeater and Simplex Contacts 156Understanding repeater basics 156Making a repeater contact 160Using access control 161Miscellaneous repeater features 163Maximizing your signal 164Setting up your radio 164Making a simplex contact 168Digital Voice Systems 169HF digital voice 170VHF/UHF digital voice 170Digital repeater networks 172The DMR system 176Casual Operating on HF 178HF bands 178Picking good times to operate 179Contacts on CW and digital modes 181Chapter 10: Public Service Operating 185Joining a Public Service Group 186Finding a public service group 186Volunteering for ARES 188Preparing for Emergencies and Disasters 189Knowing who 189Knowing where 190Knowing what 190Knowing how 192Operating in Emergencies and Disasters 193Reporting an accident or other incident 194Making and responding to distress calls 195Providing Public Service 197Weather monitoring and SKYWARN 197Parades and charity events 198Participating in Nets 199Checking in and out 200Exchanging information 200Tactical call signs 202Radio discipline 202Digital Message Networks 203Winlink — email by radio 204AREDN 206NBEMS 207Chapter 11: Operating Specialties 209Getting Digital 210Digital definitions 211WSJT modes — fast and slow 212FT8 and FT4 213PSK31 and PSK63 216Radioteletype (RTTY) 216Non-WSJT MFSK modes 218PACTOR, ARDOP, and VARA 219Packet radio 220APRS and tracking 220DXing — Chasing Distant Stations 223VHF/UHF DXing with a Technician license 223HF DXing with a General license 227Taking Part in Radio Contests 235Choosing a contest 237Operating in a contest 238Chasing Awards 245Finding awards and special events 245Logging contacts for awards 246Applying for awards 247Mastering Morse Code (CW) 247Learning Morse correctly 248Copying the code 249Pounding brass — sending Morse 250Making code contacts 251QRP (Low Power) and Portable Operating 251Getting started with QRP 252Portable operating 253Direction-finding (ARDF) 256Operating via Satellites 257Getting grounded in satellite basics 257Accessing satellites 258Seeing Things: Image Communication 259Slow-scan television 259Fast-scan television 261Part 4: Building and Operating a Station That Works 263Chapter 12: Getting on the Air 265What is a Station? 265Planning Your Station 266Deciding what you want to do 266Deciding how to operate 267Choosing a Radio 270Allocating your resources 271Software defined radios 272Radios for VHF and UHF operating 273Radios for HF operating 278Filtering and noise 281Choosing an Antenna 282Beam antennas 283VHF/UHF antennas 284HF antennas 285Feed line and connectors 289Supporting Your Antenna 293Antennas and trees 293Masts and tripods 294Towers 295Rotators 296Station Accessories 298Mikes, keys, and keyers 298Antenna system gadgets 299Digital mode interfaces 301Remote Control Stations 302Remote control rules 302Accessing a remote control station 303Upgrading Your Station 304Chapter 13: Organizing a Home Station 307Designing Your Station 307Keeping a station notebook 308Building in ergonomics 309Viewing some example ham stations 312Building in RF and Electrical Safety 316Electrical safety 316RF exposure 317First aid 318Grounding and Bonding 319AC and DC power 320Lightning 320RF management 321Chapter 14: Computers in Your Ham Station 323What Type of Computers Do Hams Use? 323Windows 324Linux 324Macintosh 324Android and iOS 324Microcontrollers 325What Do Ham Computers Do? 325Software-defined radio 326WSJT-X and fldigi 327Radio and remote control 327Hardware considerations 328Keeping a Log of Your Contacts 329Paper logging 329Computer logging 330Submitting a contest log 333Confirming Your Contacts 335QSL cards 335QSLing electronically 336Direct QSLing 337Using QSL managers 337Bureaus and QSL services 338Applying for awards 339Chapter 15: Operating Away from Home 341Mobile Stations 341HF mobile radios 342Mobile installations 343Mobile antennas 347Portable Operating 349Portable antennas 353Portable power 354Field Day 355Field Day “gotchas” 357Chapter 16: Hands-On Radio 359Acquiring Tools and Components 360Maintenance tools 360Repair and building tools 366Components for repairs and building 368Maintaining Your Station 370Overall Troubleshooting 372Troubleshooting Your Station 372Power problems 373RF problems 374Operational problems 375Troubleshooting RF Interference 377Dealing with interference to other equipment 378Dealing with interference to your equipment 380Building Equipment from a Kit 383Building Equipment from Scratch 384Part 5: The Part of Tens 385Chapter 17: Ham Radio Jargon — Say What? 387Spoken Q-signals 387Contesting or Radiosport 388Antenna Varieties 388Feed Lines 389Antenna Tuners 389Repeater Operating 390Grid Squares 391Interference and Noise 391Connector Parts 392Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 393Chapter 18: Technical Fundamentals 395Electrical Units and Symbols 395Ohm’s Law 396Power 397Decibels 397Attenuation, Loss, and Gain 398Bandwidth 398Filters 399Antenna Patterns 400Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) 401Battery Characteristics 402Satellite Tracking 402Chapter 19: Tips for Masters 405Listening to Everything 405Learning How It Works 406Following the Protocol 406Keeping Your Axe Sharp 406Practice to Make Perfect 406Paying Attention to Detail 407Knowing What You Don’t Know 407Maintaining Radio Discipline 407Make Small Improvements Continuously 408Help Others and Accept Help from Others 408Index 409