Lesson 10- Interference with Nearby Electronics

When I first started playing with my HF radio, I noticed something strange. When I talked on 20m, I could hear sound coming out of a set of near by computer speakers. I haven't extensively studied it out, but I believe that the speakers are poorly shielded, and actually acting as a poor radio receiver. Similarly, I have had computer speakers in the past that amplified AM Radio stations in the area. In this lesson, I will better familiarize you with the source of such interference, and what you need to do as a ham radio operator to mitigate it. I should state up front, don't take any of this as legal advice.

Lesson 9- Setting up your First Amateur Station

So, you have your Amateur Radio License, and are looking to buy your first Amateur Radio to get started. What exactly do you need to get? In addition, what are some upgrades you might be able to get to do more with your station than you otherwise could do? In this lesson, I will discuss what an Amateur Station requires at a minimum, what some common upgrades are, and what some of the less common upgrades are that a person can do with an Amateur Station.

Lesson 8- VHF, UHF, HF, What's the difference?

Radio waves are grouped in general by powers of 10. There are 4 key radio bands, UHF, VHF, HF, and MF, within Amateur Radio that have very different characteristics, which I will explain in this post, along with some of their strengths and weaknesses. While there are bands even higher frequency than UHF, they aren't commonly used by Amateurs, and so I won't talk here about them.

Ultra High Frequency (UHF) - 300 MHz- 3000 MHz- This band is the highest frequency band commonly used in Amateur Radio. It covers the 70cm, 33cm, 23cm, and 13cm bands. Of these, the most common by far is the 70cm, but 33cm, 23cm, and 13cm also have their following. UHF tends to penetrate buildings better than VHF, due to it's shorter wavelength which penetrates better. UHF is almost exclusively a line of site communication, while it will penetrate objects, it does not penetrate Earth, nor get reflected by the Atmosphere. It tends to be absorbed by moisture, and thus is affected by leaves significantly. This band is also home to many commonly used devices, such as WiFi, Coordless Phones, and other household items. Much analog TV transmission occurred on UHF. Commonly used for Walkie Talkies as well, due to the short size of the antennas required to make them work.

Very High Frequency (VHF) 30 MHz- 300 MHz- This band is very popular for Amateur Radio use, including the 6m, 2m, and 1.25m. Of these, the 2m is the most popular, but 6m has it's place. These frequencies commonly can talk beyond line of site, although not significantly beyond typically. The larger wavelengths start to exhibit the propagation characteristics such as ionosphere reflection, especially Sporadic E Propagation. VHF penetrates trees relatively well, but is mostly a line of site band as well. It is also known for FM broadcast radio, and is still used today for such purposes. I have made contacts as far as 70 miles or so away using VHF waves.

High Frequency (HF) 3MHz-30 MHz- This band is well known for it's propagation throughout the world. These waves actually are reflected off of the Ionosphere, producing a phenomena known as Skywave Propogation. Frequencies in this region include every Amateur Band from 10m-80m, I won't bother to list them all. It also includes CB radio, which allows for unlicensed communication at comparatively low power. I don't have a lot of experience yet, but I have heard conversations as far as half way across the United States in my very brief time playing with it, but I know people regularly talk across the world.

Medium Frequency (MF)- 300 kHz- 3 MHz- This only contains one Amateur Band, the 160m band. The primary means of communication with this band is Ground Wave Propagation, which has a fairly limited range. In general, the higher bands do well for communicating across a local area, while the higher bands do better for communication across the world. It should be noted that the first trans Atlantic communication via radio waves was done by Amateurs using MF. Commercial AM Broadcasting is done in this band.

Lesson 7- Atmospheric Propogation

There is no subject that I have more difficulty understanding than Propagation in terms of Amateur Radio. I've been trying to explain it to a Ham-in-training, but I've had some difficulty, so I'm going to take the time to learn about it and explain it to you all.

Lesson 6- Types of Amateur Communication

There are a number of types of communication. Here's a few common definitions which you might need to know, for taking the Amateur Radio test, for understanding Amateur Radio laws, or just for general purpose.

Lesson 5- Basic laws and rules

There are a large number of laws and rules relating to Amateur Radio, as explained by the FCC in Part 97. These are to keep the hobby safe, not interfere with others, encourage Hams to learn more, and make the best use out of the bands. Here's a few of the basic rules that are given.

Lesson 4- Saftey

Amateur Radio can be a fun activity, but it does involve high amounts of electricity, and radio waves. Also, if you are working on a tower, it can cause some safety issues. I'm going to talk about some safety precautions to ensure that you can have fun in this sport, but not pose a safety risk to yourselves or others.I'm going to break this down in to 3 areas, namely Physical Safety, Electronic Safety, and Radio safety.

Lesson 3- Basic electronics

Electronics are any device that runs on Electricity. Essentially, Electricity is the flow of electrons through a conductor. There are 3 key things in electronics that are the most fundamental principals, which are all related to each other. I'm going to relate them to water flowing through a hose, which isn't a completely unrelated concept.

Lesson 2- Ham Radio Frequency Bands

The following is US centric, but most of the amateur bands across the world are quite similar. The following chart is borrowed from eham.com, and shows not only the band information, but also the frequency and how to use that particular frequency. Of course, the given use is only typical, it really depends on the exact propagation variables for the day in question.

Lesson 1- Radio Waves

Today's world is full of radio waves. Just looking at where I am sitting, I see a tablet, smart phone, printer, wireless router,  laptop, coordless phone, GPS receiver, key fob, and bluetooth adapter, all of which are radios. How do these radios work?