KI4BBO.org :: radio
Amateur radio is a fascinating hobby that anyone can get into! Amateur radio is a really neat service/hobby that, obviously, involves radio communications, some of which are worldwide! It is really fascinating to think that your voice is traveling through the air at light speed, around the world, or even just around the block. Hams (as amateur radio operators are sometimes called) are permitted to use up to 1500 watts of power on certain frequencies!

Amateur radio is worldwide; thousands of hams all over the world have amateur radio licence, and communicate with each other every day! For worldwide communication, the HF (high frequency, actually, they are lower than most of the other frequencies!) bands are most commonly used, but 6 Meters, 50-54 Mhz are also used for some exciting DX (distant) contacts. And the VHF (Very High Frequency) frequencies are mostly used for local contacts, but sometimes, it their is a condition known as ducting occurs, you can actually reach quite far! I once contacted a mobile station in Canada on two meters (VHF)! And the UHF bands, like 440, are used for local contacts, the signal doesn't travel very far, but we have a fairly large amount of bandwidth, so Fast-Scan TV is commonly done on 440.

Amateur radio is diverse: There are many different modes of communication, including voice, morse code, SSTV (still pictures), Fast Scan TV (live video), and other digital modes such as APRS, RTTY, PSK31, and even digital voice. There is truly something for everyone!

Amateur Radio is a service: During emergencies, such as hurricane Isabel, Hams are always ready to help, they main red cross stations, take damage reports, and do many other tasks to help out. The Red Cross has trained some amateur radio operators in emergency surveying and reporting, so they scout around and radio the information back to the Red Cross HQ. Did you know that during life or property threatening emergencies, Amateur Radio operators, are allowed to use any frequency, with any amount of power, to get help!

Amateur Radio is family friendly: Unlike CB, in amateur radio swearing and obscene language is actually illegal! That is not to say that it doesn't happen, I have heard a very small amount of cussing on the air, but the FCC is really cracking down hard on those who do, with hefty fines for repeated offenders.

Amateur Radio is efficient: On HF (high frequency) the band spectrum is very limited, so Hams had to find a way to efficiently use the spectrum provided to them, thus, they use SSB (single sideband), CW (morse code), and other means of communicating. Several of these transmissions could fit into a single FM transmission, and, since it is on HF, it goes MANY times as far!


It is very easy to get a beginners license, you don't even have to know Morse code! All you need to do, is score 74% or more on a 35 question, multiple choice test, you can even take it multiple times in a row if you did not pass it the first time! I got my license on June 19th, 2003, and have greatly enjoyed it ever since. There are things called repeaters that take in a signal and then broadcast it back out on a different frequency. Repeaters greatly extend the operating range of handheld and mobile transceivers, even base stations are permitted to use repeaters!


My current station consists of a Yaesu FT-1500M and a Icom T-81A/E. Both of which I am borrowing from Tim - KG4HOT. I am mostly on two meters on the 146.76 WA4TFZ repeater. I am an active participant in the VYRAA (Virginia Young Radio Amateurs Association) youth net. The net is hold on the 147.075 W4PNT repeater, if you are a licensed Amateur radio operator, and you are not able to get into the repeater, you can check in via echolink. The echolink call sign is KG4ZYH, just do a search on that in EchoLink, and you should find us. Membership to VYRAA is free for all youth hams. If you would like to find out a little more about VYRAA, you can e-mail me and I will be happy to help you if I can.


To find out more go to www.qrz.com. There you will find practice test, and other neat little things, and you can look up any US issued Amateur Radio callsign, and find out there name, address, and maybe even phone number and e-mail address. Another good site for the study materials is www.hamquick.com. Well, study hard and I hope to catch you on the air sometime!


My favorite digital operating mode is SSTV, that is when you send pictures, using sound, over the radio. it is lots of fun and very easy to use. My favorite SSTV program is MMSSTV, you can download it for free from www.qsl.net/mmhamsoft. It is very easy to use and setup. For an interface between the radio and computer, different people use different things. With my setup I just use a Mic held up to the speaker for transmit and receive. It works, but it is not the best. Some have a cable connecting the radio and computer for receive, and some for both transmit and receive, this is the way that provides you with the clearest image. SSTV is easy to do and tons of fun, on average it takes about 72 seconds to send one picture, more or less depending on the quality you want. Most people do SSTV on HF, but some, like myself, don't have HF privileges and do it on VHF. ON the local repeater, we have one night a week specifically set aside for anyone who wants to do some SSTV.

Another fun mode of operation, is APRS (Automated Position Reporting System). To use APRS, you hook your GPS receiver up to your radio transceiver with a special interface. The GPS then tells the radio the current position, and the radio broadcasts it out via a short burst of sound. The signal then travels to something called a "Digipeater" which is a repeater for digital signal. After that, maybe even after multiple "hops" it will reach a digipeater that is connected to the internet, that digipeater then send the transmitted information to one of many websites. If you know the callsign of anyone who does APRS, you can find their position on FindU.com.

So, you may be asking, "How do I get started?" My advice to you, would be to go to www.w5yi.org, and order their study guide. It will have everything you need to know to get started. Also, if you would like help getting started, feel free to email me, and I will be happy to answer any questions that you might have. Happy studying!

Valid XHTML 1.1! Valid CSS!