Amateur Radio INTRODUCTION TO AMATEUR RADIO and facsimile (FAX). But this is only the begin- class. This license offers great privileges and ning! There are several special (US, Japanese requires passing a 35 question multiple choice and Russian) satellites circling the earth that written test. No code proficiency is required! This Amateur radio is one of the most exciting and hams can use. Hams transmit their signal into the test is administered by qualified volunteer exam- popular pastimes in the world. There are over one satellite, then the satellite retransmits the signal iners in your area several times a year. When you million "HAMS" operating from every end of the back to earth, thus extending the "range" by a pass this test you will be granted full use of all the globe. You can "meet" a coal miner in Germany, factor of 1000+! Some hams even use the moon VHF (and higher) ham bands in any mode ... a housewife in Australia, a missionary in India, or to bounce their signals to a distant ham! The including voice! A technician license will permit a research scientist in Antarctica ... all without International Space Station has an amateur radio operation on the popular 144 MHz band, called 2 leaving your living room. station aboard. Occasionally the International meters. A variety of inexpensive mobile and Space Station carries a crew member who is a handheld 2 meter radios are available. Most cities The first Ham band starts at 1800 kHz; not far from ham. NASA allows astronaut hams time to com- have 2 meter "repeaters" sponsored and main- the top end of the "AM" band. There are nine municate with their earthbound fellow hams! tained by local amateur clubs. The repeater additional bands available to hams throughout the Imagine the excitement of talking to the Interna- antenna is usually on a tall building or tower. A shortwave (H.F.) portion of the radio spectrum. tional Space Station as it passes overhead! repeater takes an input signal and then rebroad- Unlike "AM" broadcast signals, shortwave signals casts it, substantially increasing the effective have the ability to consistently travel great dis- There are many aspects of amateur radio ... truly range of your radio! Many repeaters also have tances. Shortwave ham signals will reflect (re- something for everyone! Many amateurs like to "auto-patch" capability to make phone calls from fract) off the invisible layer above the earth called experiment (or just tinker!) with various antennas your radio. The technician license will even allow the ionosphere. Hams operating on the amateur or circuits, others enjoy talking to distant stations you to operate through the new generation of ham shortwave bands have the ability to talk all over (called working "DX"). Still others prefer to com- satellites (which act like repeaters!) giving you the world. Beyond the shortwave ham bands lies municate with other local hams or experiment with worldwide range on VHF! At press time (04/2019) an area of the radio spectrum called VHF (Very the transmission of text or pictures. there is an effort underway to expand Technician High Frequency). Hams also have special bands privileges to some of the HF (shortwave) bands, but You will meet many people through amateur radio. that they can talk on in the VHF region, UHF region this has not been finalized. and even above! There are hams from every walk of life and every age. Many famous people are also hams includ- GENERAL LICENSE While long distance communications does occa- ing: Walter Cronkite, Ronnie Milsap, Joe Walsh, The general class "ticket" is the most popular sionally take place on the VHF ham bands, these Patti Loveless, Priscilla Presley, Gary Shandling, class of license. This level requires a 35 question bands are usually used for local communications. Marlon Brando, Chet Atkins, Tony England, Owen multiple choice written test. There is no longer a Many hams have portable ("walkie-talkie") or mo- Garriott, Joe Rudi and Art Bell. code requirement. The general "ticket" dramati- bile VHF radios to talk to other hams in their local cally expands your operating privileges! You now Amateurs do more than communicate for plea- area using "repeaters" to extend range. Above the can operate all modes on all ham bands including sure and relaxation. In any civil emergency, where VHF portion of the radio spectrum lie still higher voice on all the shortwave (HF) phone bands for communications are disrupted, amateur radio op- frequencies. Hams have additional bands in this global communications. Many hams find the erators are the first on the scene with trained region. Hams use UHF for local contacts, trans- privileges of the general class adequate and do people and reliable communications channels mission of TV signals, satellite communications not seek to upgrade to the extra license. and experimentation. both locally and to remote locations. Emergency organizations like ARES (Amateur Radio Emer- EXTRA LICENSE Hams use several methods to communicate with gency Service) are groups of ham operators who There are special band segments reserved for each other. When ham radio began all hams volunteer themselves and the use of their equip- holders of the extra class license. Another written utilized Morse code. Morse remains a popular ment for county and community emergencies. 50 question multiple choice exam is required for mode among amateur radio operators. Transmis- They work with the Red Cross, Disaster Services, the prestigious extra class. sion by Morse code is an efficient, reliable and fun and the Federal Emergency Management Agency way to contact distant stations. Morse code as well as local health, welfare and safety agen- GETTING STARTED operators use a set of standard abbreviations and cies. Examples of recent events where hams There are several ways to get your first license. procedures that virtually eliminates the language have provided important services are: the Califor- Universal has a variety of books to help you learn barrier. TNX FOR QSO OM ES 73 means "thank nia earthquake and hurricane Katrina. Hams also the "theory" of ham radio. you for the contact and best wishes" in any provide communications for marathons, road ral- Many prospective hams buy a communications language! Hams also operate "phone" (voice). lies, charity drives and similar civic activities. receiver (or transceiver) while they are studying On the shortwave bands, hams use a special Amateur operators also work closely with weather for their "ticket". Universal has a nice selection of transmission mode called "single side band" or bureaus to spot tornados and report severe new and used receivers. A good receiver may be SSB to transmit greater distances and more effi- weather. ciently use their allocated frequencies. A third helpful for several reasons. You will be able to method that hams use to communicate is called There are over 1.6 million hams worldwide, oper- listen to other amateurs, and start to learn the radioteletype (RTTY). This mode requires extra ating from nearly every country on earth. In the "language" and "buzz-words" of ham radio. Get- equipment. In order to communicate by RTTY, U.S.A. alone there are over 700,000 amateurs. ting your first station on the air doesn't have to be each operator previously had RTTY equipment Amateur radio operators are required to obtain a expensive! Universal has a nice selection of which roughly resembled a typewriter. Today license from the government before talking on the inexpensive used equipment. Amateur radio personal computers can be adapted for RTTY air. Getting your first amateur radio license is not equipment does not require any special wiring in work. In this mode the hams simply type their difficult. Effective April 15, 2000 the license your home. Antennas can be large, expensive messages back and forth. A new mode called structure for new American hams became simpli- and elaborate, or simple, unobtrusive and inex- Packet permits the high speed interchange of fied and the code requirement reduced or elimi- pensive. Many new general class hams string up messages, data and programs between hams. nated from some licenses. In late 2006 the Morse a "dipole" antenna which can be purchased for $ Data modes such as PSK31 and JT65 can even code requirement was completely dropped for all about 45. You are now ready to begin the lifetime transmit text messages during marginal condi- license levels! adventure of amateur radio. A couple of helpful tions. Hams can even send pictures back and websites to visit are: forth to each other over great distances! These TECHNICIAN LICENSE www.ARRL.org modes are referred to as slow-scan TV (SSTV) The Technician Class is the entry level VHF-UHF www.DXing.com Universal Radio, Inc. Info.: 614 866-4267 651-B Lakeview Plaza Blvd. Quality Equipment Since 1942 Orders: 800 431-3939 Worthington, Ohio 43085 Page 47 www.universal-radio.com.