Welcome to Ham Radio 201 New General / Extra Session to Ham Radio 201 New General / Extra Session...

Bay-Net WW6BAYwww.bay-net.org

Welcome to Ham Radio 201

New General / Extra Session

Sponsored by Bay-Net www.bay-net.org


Bay-Net www.bay-net.org

Virtual Ham Radio Club

> 160 members

6 repeaters @ 2 sites

– Analog FM, D-Star & C4FM Dig

– IRLP / EchoLink VOIP

Events

– Field Day

– Antenna Shootout

– Annual meeting

– Urban Shield

Supports

– American Red Cross

– FEMA USAR TF 3

– Radio Mala - Nepal

501(C)3 Non-profit

Bay-Net

Field Day !!!


Fo Time Podcast


Agenda

New Technician / New Ham

6:00 Kickoff

6:15 VHF/UHF Gear

7:00 VHF/UHF Operating

New General / Extra

7:45 HF Gear

8:30 HF Operating

9:15 Done


New General / Extra … Gear



What’s In A Station?

Power Supply

Antenna

WattMeter

RadioFeed Line

HeadphonesMicrophone

Speaker


HF RadiosGood Better Best

Standard features common to all radiosFrequency bands, Modes, Power output

$650-$1,000 $1,000-$2,000 $2,000-$4,000++

So, what is the difference ???Performance - Quality - User features


HF Mobile Radios – Good Universal Rig

• Same standard features as “base” radios

• Typically good / not great performance

• Much smaller

• Designed for mobile… good for portable

• Easy to haul around

• Can have a cramped user interface


New / Multi Purpose Radios

Icom IC-7100HF, 6m, 2m, UHFD-STARMoble/Base config

Icom IC-7300HF, 6m SDR architectureTouchscreenFull Time spectrum display

Yaesu FT-991HF, 6m, 2m, UHFSystem FusionPart time spectrum display

Keyer


Buy a Used Radio

• A 20 year old radio is still a good radio

• Price range: 50% to 75% of new pricing

• Ebay – Craigs List – Local hams

• Try before your buy if you can


Portable Low Power Radios

• Optimized for portable use

• Backpacking / hiking / travel

• Battery operated

• Wide range of performance and features

• Wide price range

$900+ $650 $300


Advanced Radio Features

• Performance

– Digital signal processing

– Automatic notching

– IF shift

– More sensitive / selective

– Lower noise Rx

– Better Tx audio processing

• Spectrum display / waterfall display

• Antenna Tuner

• Better Rx filters

• Keyer

• CW / RTTY / PSK decode


Typical Antennas

Vertical

Wire Dipole

Yagi


Feed Line & Connectors

Cable Attenuation @ 144 MHz

Attenuation@ 440 MHz

LMR-400 1.5 2.6 Best

RG-213 2.3 4.5 Good

RG-8X 4.6 8.5 OK

RG-58 5.1 12 Bad

RG-174 10.1 20 Dummy load

Connectors N (Best) BNC (Good) UHF PL-259 (OK)


Accessories

SWR/Watt Meter Computer Interface

Headset External Speaker Desk Mic


Power Supply

• 13.8 VDC

• 35 Amps

• Fused power junction


Battery Power


Antenna Tuners

Antenna tuner, a matchbox, transmatch, antenna tuning unit (ATU),

or antenna coupler…

- Connected between a radio and its antenna

- Improves power transfer by matching impedance of the antenna to the radio

- If you have a resonant antenna you don’t need a tuner

Tuner types

- Internal vs external

- Manual vs auto tuner

- Balanced vs unbalanced

Antenna

Internal

External in the shack

External at the antenna


Antenna Tuners

Icom IC-7300

16.7 – 150 Ohms

Max 3:1 SWR range

Elecraft K3

Max 10:1 SWR range

Internal TunersExternal Auto

Tuner

External Manual

Tuner


Tool Kit

Antenna

Analyzer

Digital Volt/Ohm

Meter (VOM)

Soldering Iron

& Hand tools

PowerPole

Crimper

In-Line

Volt / AMP Meter

Watt Meter


Parts Kit

• PowerPole Connectors

• Fuses

• Coax adapters

• Resistors

• Capacitors

• Coax connectors

• Scotch 33+ Tape

• Rescue Tape

• Solder

• Zip ties

• Lugs


ARRL HandbookFundamental TheoryElectrical FundamentalsAnalog BasicsDigital Basics

Practical Design and PrinciplesRF TechniquesComputer-Aided Circuit DesignPower SuppliesModulationOscillators and SynthesizersMixers, Modulators and DemodulatorsRF and AF FiltersReceiversTransmittersTransceiversTelemetry and NavigationDSP and Software Radio DesignDigital ModesRF Power AmplifiersRepeaters

Antenna Systems and Radio PropagationPropagation of Radio SignalsTransmission LinesAntennas

Equipment Construction and MaintenanceComponent Data and ReferencesConstruction TechniquesStation AccessoriesTest Equipment and MeasurementsTroubleshooting and MaintenanceRF Interference

Station Assembly and ManagementSafetyAssembling a Station


Radio Advice…

• Get a good quality / basic radio to start

– Consider mobile radios

– You will want to upgrade later

• Do NOT start with a QRP radio

• Any antenna is better than none

– Dipoles and verticals are good starter antennas

– Get the antenna as high as possible

• Get a CW filter if you plan on operating CW

• Invest in a good quality set of accessories and tools


10 Things to do in your first year

1. Set up your station

2. Assemble your tool kit

3. Register on the Logbook of the World

4. Work a contest

5. Get an ARRL handbook

6. Join the ARRL

7. Participate in Field Day

8. Make a CW or PSK contact

9. Build an accessory or cable assembly

10.Listen to a ham radio pod cast or video


HF Operating



Agenda

New Technician / New Ham

6:00 Kickoff

6:15 VHF/UHF Gear

7:00 VHF/UHF Operating

New General / Extra

7:45 HF Gear

8:30 HF Operating

9:15 Done


Basic Bands and Propagation


Basic Bands and Propagation

Band

160m DX Night in winter months

80m Local day, further at night

40m DX Night, local day

20m DX Day & Night

17m DX Day & Night

15m Daytime

12m Daytime

10m Daytime Worldwide during sunspot high


Basic Bands and Propagation – Solar Cycle


Basic Bands and Propagation - Tools

• PSK Reporter

– http://www.pskreporter.info

• SolarHam

– http://www.solarham.net

• DX Cluster

– http://dxheat.com/dxc

• ebook: “Understanding LF & HF propagation”

– http://g0kya.blogspot.com


www.pskreporter.info


That Band Plan again…

14.000 CW

14.070 RTTY

14.095 Packet

14.100 NCDXF Beacons

14.112 CW

14.150 SSB

14.230 SSTV

14.286 SSB Calling Freq

14.350

http://www.arrl.org/band-plan


Making your first QSO – Calling “CQ”

• Find an open frequency

– Check band-plan

• “CQ CQ CQ K6BEZ calling CQ”

• May not get a response. Don’t take it personally


Making your first QSO – Answering “CQ”

• Caller calls “CQ” or “QRZ?”

– QRZ means “who’s calling me?”

• Make sure you are on frequency

– Tune until the caller sounds “normal”

• “K6BEZ”


Making your first QSO – Arrange a “Sked”

• A Scheduled Contact

• Work with a friend or club

• Useful for testing problems in setup


Making your first QSO – The Exchange

• Location

– Country, City

– Maidenhead Grid Square

• Signal Report “RST”

– Readability 1-5

– Signal strength 1-9

– Tone (CW only) 1-9

• Weather

• Station Details

• …


Logging Software

• Ham Radio Deluxe

• Log4OM

• N1MM

• HamLog

• MacLogger

• RUMlog

• … and dozens more…


Morse Code – Why?

• No longer required for license

– More popular than ever before

• Miles per Watt

– 10 dB gain over SSB

• Low signal to noise

• Very narrow bandwidth

• “Quiet” operation

• Need transceiver and Key

• Need to learn new language


Morse Code – How to Learn?

• Online

– www.lcwo.net

• PC

– www.g4fon.net

• Smart-phone

• Tapes & CDs

• Broadcasts

– W1AW transmissions


Other Digital Modes

• Miles per Watt

• Low signal to noise

• Bandwidth efficient

• “Quiet” operation

• Need a PC or Smartphone


Other Digital Modes

• PSK31, RTTY, Olivia

– “QSO” modes

• JT65, JT9

– Slow but very efficient

• Winlink2000

– Email over HF


Find Out More

• PSK31

– Randy Hall, K6AGE on Youtube

• FLDigi

– Cross Platform

• Winlink 2000 (email)

– http://www.winlink.org/

• JT65

– http://www.bay-net.org/articles.html


Digital Setup

Laptop, FLDigi, Signalink & FT-817


Portable PSK

FT-817 & DroidPSK


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