Ham Radio Tutorial - Hamquick Technician Class Tutorials

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Experience the Excitement... Get your Ham Radio License Today! Tutorials The tutorials are categorized into sub-elements, each subelement focusing on a different topic you need to learn, beginning with T1 to T0. Use the menu, by clicking on the blue letters, starting with Number 1 in section T1 on the right. Later you can skip between pages using the above menu. Yeah! Lets Go!

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1A Amateur Radio, F.C.C., License Classes, Renewal F.C.C. The Federal Communications Commission in Washington makes and enforces all the rules and regulations pertaining to amateur radio. They can grant or take away licenses or impose fines on amateurs if they are not following their rules. An amateur station in definition is a station in the amateur service who is responsible for radio communications. Any licensed amateur who is responsible for the stations transmissions is called the control operator. For Example: If you allow your friend to use your radio equipment to talk, then you are responsible for his transmission because the station is yours.

Purpose of Amateur Radio What is the purpose of amateur radio. Well, there are several purposes but I won't bore you with them. For now all you need to know for the test is the following: To increase the number of trained radio operators and electronics experts, and improve international goodwill.

Amateur Radio License In order to operate a station in the U.S., an F.C.C Amateur Primary License is required. This license is good for a period of ten years after which it must be renewed.

How Soon Can I Operate My Station? As soon as the FCC's computer database shows that you have been granted a license, you are authorized to operate your station if you wish.

License Classes The F.C.C. has broken the Amateur Radio Service into 3.5 license classes. You must start as a Technician class operator and climb the ladder.(You can't skip. You must start out as a Technician and work your way up to the highest license class.) If you wish to gain more privileges than the ones you have, the F.C.C. requires that you pass an exam for you to gain the additional privileges of a higher class license. License Class

Privileges

Requirements

1) Full privileges in the VHF and Technician UHF amateur spectrum above Requires that you pass a 35 question exam. Class 30 MHz. 1.5) Requires that you passed the previous exam with Technician Limited Morse Code and Voice the addition of a 5wpm (words per minute) Morse with Morse Privileges in the HF spectrum. Code Exam. Code Limited Access to all the HF

Requires that you have already passed the

2) General amateur bands with Morse Class Code, data and voice modes.

Technician and Morse Code requirements with the addition of the General Class 35 Question exam.

3) Amateur Extra

Requires that you have passed the General Class exams with the addition of the Extra Class 50 question exam.

Full amateur radio privileges.

License Renewal Once you get your license it is good for ten years. After the ten years are up you must renew it again for another ten years. You have up two years to renew. During this 2 year period your license has expired and your amateur radio privileges will not exist. Once you renew your license you may operate your station as usual. The F.C.C recommends that you renew your license 90 days before your license expires. This way your privileges will not disappear after the expiration date. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.)

The F.C.C.(Federal Communications Commission) enforces all amateur radio rules and regulations. An amateur station is a station in the amateur service who is responsible for radio communications Any licensed amateur who is responsible for the stations transmissions is called the control operator There are 3.5 license class: Technician, Tech with Morse Code Endorsement, General, and Amateur Extra. Your amateur radio license is good for ten years after which you have 2 years to renew it. You may operate your station as soon as the FCC's database shows that you have been granted an amateur primary license. Next»

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1B Technician Frequency Privileges VHF/UHF Bands The F.C.C. authorizes a Technician with No Morse Code Licensee to operate on authorized frequency segments (or bands) above 30 MHz. This region is called VHF and UHF for Very High Frequency and Ultra High Frequency. Much of the activity here is local to your area. These bands are fun and you will meet many people here. The Bands

The VHF and UHF bands are labeled by wavelength not frequency. If you are talking about a segment of frequencies it would not be wise to say: "I bought a radio that works on the 50.0 to 54.0 MHz Band." It is much easier to tell your friend that your radio works on the 6M VHF band. The number "6" for Six Meters stands for the wavelength of the radio wave in the 50 MHz region. The Technician No Code Amateur Bands

50.0MHz_____________________54.0MHz

6 Meter Band VHF

144.0MHz___________________148.0MHz

2 Meter Band VHF

222.0MHz___________________225.0MHz

1.25 Meter Band VHF

420.0MHz___________________450.0MHz

70 centimeter Band UHF

902MHz_______________________928MHz

33 centimeter Band UHF

1240MHz______________________1300MHz

23 centimeter Band UHF

2300~2310MHz___________2390~2450MHz

13 centimeter Band UHF

**

** Note: The 13cm band above is split into two segments. One piece is from 2300 to 2310 Megahertz and the other segment is from 2390 to 2450 MegaHertz

The Technician with Morse Code HF Amateur Bands

3675kHz_____________________3750kHz

80 Meter Band HF

7.1MHz______________________7.150MHz

40 Meter Band HF

21.100MHz__________________21.200MHz

15 Meter Band HF

28.100MHz__________________28.500MHz

10 Meter Band HF

The High Frequency Privileges If you are a Tech who has not passed his 5-wpm Morse Code Exam, you will not have any HF Privileges, but you will still be required to know and understand the HF bands and the specific rules. Do not skip learning the HF frequency limits even if you never will be upgrading your license to a Tech. + Morse Code. You will be asked to know the frequencies of the HF bands on your Technician Class exam. Summary

1.) Study and memorize the frequency limits of the VHF/UHF and HF bands above. This is important since the test will contain questions where the frequencies may look similar but are incorrect. Next»

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1C Emissions Privileges Emission Privelages HF As a Technician Class operator with morse Code Upgrade, you have HF privileges in the following bands: CW only on 80,40, and 15 meters, and CW and data only on 10 meters from 28.1MHz to 28.3 MHZ. Also with SSB phone and CW only from 28.3 to 28.5 MHz. You do not have FM phone privelages on any of the HF bands. But you do have FM phone prielages on the VHF bands from 6 meters (50.1MHz and up.)

VHF Emission Privelages Both 6 and 2 meters have a "CW only" portion for the band.

6m

50.0 - 50.1 MHz

CW only

6m

50.1 - 54.0 MHz

Phone emissions allowed(FM included)

2m

144.0 - 144.1 MHz

CW only

2m

144.1 - 148.0 MHz

Phone Emissions allowed, FM included.

An example of a Slow Scan TV Image as received from the Mir Space Station via ham radio.

Image Transmissions Image transmissions are allowed on 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, and all other UHF bands above 70cm included. But beware! Image transmissions are not allowed within the "CW only" part of the 2m band. What are image transmissions? Image transmissions are transmissions of either moving pictures(video) or still images. Exaples of image transmission modes are: FAX, Slow and Fast Scan Television. In other words television or FAX methods. Many hams participate in slow scan or fast scan TV, and transmit video of themselves to other hams. Summary 1.) Tech. Class with Morse Code have priveleges in the HF bands, but no phone priveleges. They still keep their FM phone priveleges above 50.1MHz. 2.) Both 6m and 2m have a "CW only" portion of the band. 3.) Details about Emission privileges. 4.) Image transmissions allowed on 2m, 125 and 77cm and above. 5.) No image transmissions allowed in "CW only" portion of 2m band. 6.) Image emissions are instances where still or moving pictures are transmitted.

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1D Licensee Responsiblity Control Operator A station control operator is any licensed amateur who is responsible for a stations transmissions. If you are licensed and own a radio, then you are the control operator when you use the radio. The FCC requires that the control operator be at the control point when the station is transmitting. The control point of a station is the location where the control operator function is performed. The station licensee and the control operator can be two separate people. Any licensed amateur whom the station licensee chooses can be a control operator. Both the station licensee and the control operator are responsible for the station operation, but ultimately the station licensee is responsible for proper operation of the station in accordance with the FCC rules.

Terms You Should Know: Station Licensee:

The person who is licensed by the FCC to operate an amateur radio station according to FCC rules.

Control Operator:

The person who is operating(using) the radio equipment.

Control Point:

The control point is the point where the control operator operates his station.

Identification:

The FCC requires all radio amateurs to identify their transmissions with their station callsign's.

Callsign:

A short number and letter sequence issued to you by the FCC to be used for identifying your station. Examples: KG6XOR, WA1N, AC9QA, N7NA.

Identification When you have earned your license the FCC will issue you a callsign. What kind of callsign you get depends on which country you live in and which state you live in. This callsign is your ticket to the air. Without one you cannot operate legally. The FCC requires that you identify your station every ten minutes and/or at the end of your contact with your callsign. Each station must transmit its own callsign at the end of a contact. You may always use CW to identify your station.

An Oddball Question You May See On the Exam: If you are a Technician with a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination for Morse Code you do not need any special form of identification. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)

Control operator is the person at the control point. Control Point is the point where station is operated. Station licensee is responsible for station operation according to FCC rules. Station licensee can chose any licensed amateur to be the control operator. Station identification is required at the end of all transmissions.

6.) Both stations must identify after a contact even if the transmission is a little longer or shorter than 10 minutes.

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1E Third Party Third Party Third party communications is where a message is sent between two amateur stations for someone else. A "third party" is a person who is sent a message by way of two amateur stations relaying the message to them. The FCC's policy is that amateurs may never be paid for their communications third party or not."For example: Aunt Mary pays you to send a message to Uncle Bob, who is a ham radio operator." This behavior would be illegal. If you let a third party(like a friend) use your amateur station then you must closely monitor and supervise your third party's transmission.

Third Party International Third party messages to a foreign country may only be transmitted if the US has a third party agreement with that foreign government, or the third party is qualified to be a control operator. When a US station is sending third party communications internationally then the US station must transmit BOTH callsigns at the end of a contact.

Terms You Should Know: Third party Communications between two amateurs intended as a message for communications: another person who is a not a radio amateur.

Third Party:

The person who receives the communications through amateur radio, but is not a radio amateur. Can also be a friend who uses your radio equipment to talk to someone, while "you" the station licensee, supervise.

Summary 1.) Third party communications is where a message is sent between two amateur stations for someone else. 2.) A "third party" is a person who is sent a message by way of two amateur stations relaying the message to them. 3.) You may never be paid for your radio communications transmissions. 4.) A third party agreement must exist between the US and foreign country's government in order for third party transmission to be legal. 5.) Each station must state both station's callsign's at the end of a third party contact to another country.

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1F Spectrum Use, Repeaters, Power Limits, Data Transfer Sharing Frequency Spectrum On many frequencies above the 70cm band, amateur radio operators are not the only users of the band. Here the FCC allows more than one radio service to use the band. In these instances amateur radio operators share the band with the other radios services as secondary users. When amateurs are secondary users of a band, you must never interfere with the primary users of the band. If you hear another radio service using a frequency, you must leave and use another frequency which is not in use. This rule also apply's to fellow amateurs. You must not interfere (or transmit) when another amateur is using the frequency.

Repeater Coordination

Amateur Radio Repeater

If you wish to setup a repeater you must first obtain a recommendation from your local frequency coordinator. (The FCC doesn't recquire that you get a recommendation, but if there is a dispute, the FCC will side with the repeater that has received recommendation.) The Frequency Coordinator's job is to make sure your repeater will not interfere with nearby repeaters already established.

Repeater Interference If two repeaters are causing interference to one another, and one has been recommended by a frequency coordinator, and the other not, then it is up to the licensee of the un-recommended repeater to resolve the interference. In the case in which two repeaters are interfering and neither repeater has been recommended by a frequency coordinator, then both licensee's of the repeaters are responsible for resolving the interference.

LEGAL POWER LIMITS The FCC limits the power levels ham radio operators can use in terms of Peak Envelope Power, or PEP for short. This is a fancy term for "The average power applied to an antenna transmission line during one RF cycle at the crest of the modulation envelope." You need to understand this term because it will be used often to describe your radio and how much power your radio transmits one the airwaves. Source

Power Limits Maximum Power Output Technician for All VHF and UHF bands is 1,500 Watts PEP. Maximum Power Output allowed to Tech. with Morse Code Endorsement Operators on the HF bands is 200 watts PEP.

NOTE: You must always use the minimum amount of power necessary to communicate. If you only need a low amount of power to reach your buddy across town, then down turn on your amplifier. It would be illegal since the extra power from the amplifier is unnecessary.

Digital Communications Terms to Know! Data-

Telemetry, Telecommand, and computer emissions

RTTY-

Narrow-band direct-printing telegraphy emissions

Maximum A term used to indicate the speed of the transfer of digital Symbol information. Most often indicated in kilobauds or kilobytes.(As in 56-kilobytes per second(56kpbs). Rate-

Maximum Symbol Rate for the VHF Bands The maximum symbol rate allowed for digital communications on the 2 meter AND 6 meter bands is 19.6 kilobauds. Summary 1.) FCC Rule: Primary users of frequencies must not be interfered with by amateur radio operators. 2.) FCC Rule: You must never interfere with amateur radio communications. Everyone has an equal legal right to a frequency. 3.) Repeater frequencies and setup is organized through a frequency coordinator. 4.) Make sure to know the two repeater interference cases outlined above, well. 5.) PEP - Peak Envelope Power: The average power applied to an antenna transmission line during one RF cycle at the crest of the modulation envelope. 6.) Technician Class Power limits: VHF-UHF: 1,500 watts PEP. HF: 200 watts PEP. 7.) FCC Rule: Always use the least amount of power needed for a radio contact. [Don't run more power than you really need!] 8.) Make sure you know the above vocabulary terms and understand their meaning. Next»

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1G Space Communications, False Signals, Interference Space Stations

Amateur Radio Satellite An amateur space station is a station located 50 kilometers or more above the earth's surface. Any licensed amateur can be the licensee of an amateur space station, even a Technician. Getting your station or satellite into space is much more of a problem! Also, remember that 6 meters may not be used by earth stations for satellite communications.

False Signals False or deceptive amateur signals may never be transmitted. You may never fake an emergency by transmitting a "MAYDAY" call on the air. This is classified as a deceptive signal because you are transmitting a call for help in an instance where there is no emergency. Unidentified signals are illegal, except for transmissions from a space station or to control a model craft. You must always identify with your station callsign each time you transmit. For Example: Many times ham radio operators will transmit for a brief period of time to check if they can make it into a local repeater, without giving their station identification. This is illegal and classified by the FCC as an "Unidentified Transmission".

Interference You must always be careful to NEVER deliberately interfere with another stations communications. For Example: If another amateur repeatedly transmits on a frequency already in use by another group of amateurs, the interference case is illegal and classified as "Harmful or Malicious Activity". Any transmission which disturbs other communications is called "Harmful Interference". Summary 1.) An amateur space station is an amateur station located at least 50 kilometers above the earths surface. 2.) Any licensed amateur can be the licensee of an amateur space station. 3.) 6 meters may not be used by earth stations for satellite communications. 4.) You must never use the word "MAYDAY" on the air to FAKE an emergency . 5.) You must identify your transmissions every ten minutes or at the end of your transmission if it was less than 10 minutes long. 6.) Understand the terms: "False Signals", "Unidentified Signals", and "Harmful and Malicious Interference". Next»

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1H - Correct Language, Beacons, Radio Control Craft Correct Language If you're bilingual, and you speak another language other than English, then you're in luck! The FCC allows communications on amateur bands in languages other than English So long as you send your station identification(callsign) in English. In fact there are many German, Japanese, and Latino groups who meet to speak their language on the air.

Beacons On various bands, there are special transmitters which operate 24 hrs as and indicator to amateurs about radio conditions and propagation. All you have to do is tune to the beacon frequency and listen for the beacon's signal. If the signal is present, then you know that a radio communication path exists between your country and the country or continent in which the beacon is located in. As a limit, beacons are limited to only 100 watts PEP. Any licensed amateur with at least a Technicians license can setup and become the licensee of a beacon or repeater.

Radio Control To use a radio control transmitter on an amateur band, you must affix(attach) your station callsign, name, and address onto the transmitter. You may use up to 1 watt PEP of power for the tele-command(control) of your craft or vehicle. More than 1 watt would not be reasonable, because more than 1 watt would be enough to cause erratic operation of nearby radio controlled craft. Plus, 1 watt is enough power to control your craft or vehicle within mile of your location! Summary 1.) You may communicate on amateur radio frequencies using any language as long as you identify yourself with your callsign in English 2.) Beacons are transmitters setup as indicators of worldwide radio propagation conditions. 3.) Any license class(Technician or higher) may be the licensee of a repeater or beacon. 4.) Beacons are limited in power to 100 watts PEP. 5.) Radio control transmitters are limited to 1 watt. 6.) To operate a radio control transmitter, it is required that you attach your station callsign, name and address to the transmitter. Next»

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T1 Commissions Rules..T1I Emergency Communication, Indecent & Obscene Language Emergency Communications If you hear a distress call on the radio, you should always contact the person and get the proper authorities EVEN IF the signal is on a frequency outside your license privileges.

MAYDAY and SOS The words "MAYDAY" and SOS are only to be used as a distress call and transmitted only in a case of life or property threatening emergency. False alarms where life or property are not threatened are illegal.

Disasters When disaster strikes an area and severely disrupts normal communications systems [such as police, fire, and gov'mt radio, telephone and cellphone systems], the FCC may step in and declare a "Temporary State of Communications Emergency". This results in the restriction of the types of transmissions that radio amateurs may make. Only transmissions that are necessary to meet essential communications needs to facilitate relief actions. Any special rules to be observed during the emergency are posted in the FCC Declaration of a Temporary Communications Emergency.

Broadcasting Broadcasting is never allowed for any amateur of any license class Technician or not. It is illegal according to FCC Rules to transmit material intended for the general public. WHY? - Because amateur radio service was not intended for broadcasting. Words to Know Broadcasting: Transmissions intended for reception by the general public, either direct or relayed.

Indecent and Obscene Language You may never transmit obscene or indecent language from your amateur station because: 1.)It is offensive to some individuals. 2.)Because young children may intercept amateur communications with readily available receiving equipment. 3.)Because such language is specifically prohibited by FCC rules. The FCC does not publish a list of prohibited words. The FCC says: "If you beleive a word is questionable, don't use it in your communications." In other words, use common sense. Most everyone knows what type of words are indecent in todays society. Summary

1.) In an emergency situation it is legal to transmit outside your license privileges for emergency purposes, 2.) MAYDAY and SOS may only be used in an instance where life or property is threatened. 3.) During disasters the FCC may limit amateur communications to only transmissions that "Are necessary to meet essential communications needs to facilitate relief actions. 4.) FCC may post special rules for amateurs to follow in a declaration of communications emergency. 5.) It is illegal to broadcast material for the general public. 6.) It is illegal to transmit indecent and obscene language.

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T2 Operating Procedures..T2A Operating Rules and Procedures Overview This part of the test contains questions regarding basic operating rules. These are rules you should know to be able to go on the air and use a repeater or be prepared to handle emergencies. Most of these rules are not set by the FCC, but are common knowledge that every radio amateur should know in order to operate his station properly.

Preparing to Transmit Before transmitting ALWAYS listen to make sure others are not using the frequency. If you don't follow this rule, you won't make many friends in amateur radio, and you will make yourself look like a fool. If you are conducting a lengthy transmitter test, or loading up procedure, it is best to use a dummy load. Dummy loads are standard equipment in a ham shack. Read the following caption for more info. Dummy Load A dummy load is a large Emergencies resistor capable of dissipating the radio energy If you are in contact with another station and you hear a call for help on frequency what from your transmitter as should you do? In this case you should stop your QSO (conversation with someone) and heat into the air. This take the emergency call. Emergencies are always priority traffic. Just like fire engines capability is necessary and ambulances have the right of way in traffic on the road, emergency traffic on the during the testing and repair of radio gear. When radio has priority over all other traffic on the airwaves. repairing the transmitter of a radio is often required to transmit for a short time in order to diagnose the problem. But instead of transmitting an unnecesary test signal live on the air, technicians connect a dummy load to the To minimize interference on HF bands capable of long-distance communication, it is antenna jack. This allows them to transmit a test best to stick to VHF and UHF frequencies for local amateur communications. radio signal that is absorbed in the dummy load.

Basic Operating

Also, during commuter rush hours, third party repeater nets are always discouraged. During this time a lot of mobile hams will be using the repeater, and nets (which are formal gatherings on the radio) are discouraged to allow mobile hams access to the repeater.

Morse Code You should always send your Morse code calls at a speed at which you can also receive. It is not wise to send Morse code faster than you yourself can copy. Many hams on the air will be heard using the procedural sign "DE". This is a word which means "From" or, "This is". For example: KG7IKL de AD6XS ...means.... KG7IKL, this is AD6XS. This is a very commonly used sign in HF conversations, especially ones using CW(Morse code). Although secret codes and ciphers are illegal, procedural signs like "DE" are not classified as a code because they are understood by most everyone and are used to make Morse code transmissions simpler to send. Summary

1.) Before transmitting you should always listen first to make sure the frequency is clear and open to use. 2.) A dummy load is used when a an amateur desires to test or tune his radio transmitting equipment without transmitting an audible signal on the air. 3.) Emergency traffic always has priority orver all other radio traffic. 4.) IF you hear an emergency call while speaking on the air with another amateur you should always stop and assist the distressed party. 5.) HF bands should not be used for local communications. VHF-UHF bands shoudl be used instead. 6.) The morse code procedural sign "DE" is a short-cut way of saying "this is". Next»

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T2 Operating Procedures..T2B Simplex; Communication modes; Q-Signals; Procedural Signs Operating Rules Simplex Operations What does the term "simplex operation" mean? Simplex operation is where a station is transmitting and receiving on the same frequency. Remember, repeaters received and transmitted on different frequencies. Simplex operation should be used instead of repeaters when communication with the intended station is possible without using the repeater. This is recommended because it will reduce traffic on repeaters and prevent it from being tied up unnecessarily. But if you are on a repeater talking with another station, how can I tell if I can communicate using simplex instead? The answer is simple. Most radios let you switch to the frequency that your friend will be"transmitting" on. This is the frequency that is called the "input frequency" because here your friends signal is being received by the repeater. If you listen on the "input" and you can hear your friend's voice clearly, then simplex "one on one communication is possible. Next you can switch back to the repeater and suggest that you switch to simplex operation.

Ham Stuff RST Reports: An RST report is a report from another station on the quality and strength of your stations radio signal. Here is what it means:

R Readability - On a scale of 1 to 5, the readability of your signal. In other words the ability of the other operator to understand what you are saying. S Strength - On a scale of 1 to 9, indicates how strong your stations signal is. T Tone - Used for morse code signal reports. Indicates on a scale of 1 to 9 the quality of the tone of the morse code "beeps". From a "pure tone" To an ugly "60 cycle harsh tone". For example: a report of "599" means the following: The five mean your signal is easy to understand. The first nine means your signal registers a about nine on their signal strength meter. The second nine (only included if you are using morse code) means your CW tone has a nice pure tone. In some cases people may tell you: your signal is five nine plus twenty dB... In this case the twenty db part indicates that your signal is so strong that it goes off the standard 1 through 9 signal strength dial by twenty decibels. This would mean that you are putting out a REALLY strong signal!

Calling CQ Used very commonly on the HF bands, the sign "C-Q" means: calling any station. Say "CQ" three times, followed by "this is," followed by your call sign spoken three times. Answering a CQ call. To answer a CQ call, say the other stations callsign once, followed by "this is", then your callsign given phonetically.

QSL Cards

A QSL card is a letter or postcard sent as proof that two amateur stations have engaged in an actual radio-chat. For example: Bob uses his station in Pennsylvania to talk to a ham in Brazil. As proof of his achievement Bob, and the Brazilian operator exchange a card describing the details of their contact(like the time, date, frequency, and power).

Full Quieting This term is used to indicate that your signal is strong enough to over come ALL receiver noise. This term is used primarily on FM simplex and repeater use to indicate your signal strength. (RST reports are usually not used.) Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.)

What is simplex operation? How can you tell if simplex operation is possible while conversing on a repeater? The RST reporting system and how it works. Understand what is meant by the following "20 dB over nine". Calling CQ, and what it is used for. What QSL cards are for. The meaning of the term "full quieting". Next»

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T2 Operating Procedures..T2C Distress Calling; Emergency Drills; RACES operations Emergencies Distress Calls Distress calls are only to be used when there is a threat to life or property. Otherwise, a fake distress call is expressly forbidden on any frequency amateur or not.

Phone - (SSB or FM) MAYDAY several times CW - (morse code)

S-O-S, then send your callsign.

On Repeaters

Say "BREAK" twice, then your callsign.

Tactical Callsigns During emergencies you may hear tactical callsigns like "Command Post" or "Weather Center". These are used because they are more efficient and help coordinate public-service communications.

Types of Messages During Emergencies Only messages concerning "Health and Welfare" traffic related to the emergency are sent.

Your Emergency Station Components Good accessory to have for a small hand-held radio in an emergency is several sets of charged batteries. A good choice for a portable HF emergency station is a dipole antenna.

RACES RACES is an organization which is part of amateur radio emergency communications. RACES works in conjunction with law enforcement and local governments in a large scale disaster. They are trained emergency professionals who provide emergency communications when a disaster occurs. They also do all their work for no cost. The maximum hours allowed for RACES drills is one hour. During a RACES Drill you must identify your messages as drills or test messages. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.)

Distress calls(Mayday, BREAK, and SOS. Tactical Callsigns and emergency "Health and Welfare" traffic. Critical Components of a good emergency station. Who the RACES are. The duration of RACES drills (1 hr.). Identification of RACES drill messages.

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T2 Operating Procedures..T2D Phonetics - Packet Terms - Remote Control - RTTY - Station Address International Phonetics To make your self better understood, it is always recommended to use the International Phonetics for each letter of your callsign. To see a table listing the phonetic alphabet click on the following link- Phonetics Table.

VOCABULARY TERMS The terms below are to be memorized. There are questions referring to each one of them concerning their meaning or definition. Don't miss out. Learn them! PACKET RADIO TERMS Connected

Two packet stations are connected to each other. The receiving station reply's that the information has been received correctly.

Monitoring Means a receiving station is displaying all the messages on frequency and is not replying to any message. Digipeater A packet-radio-station that only re-transmits data that is marked to be re-transmitted. Network

A way of connecting packet-radio stations so data can be sent over long distances.

Operating a Packet Station Packet operation is never to occur on simplex frequencies. Digital operation should be avoided on simplex voice frequencies.

Radio Tele-Type Radio tele-type is one of the earliest types of digital transmission used on the radio. it was used to a very large extent as a message transmitting system. It is still a very commonly used way of communicating on the ham radio bands. The following will help you get familiar with questions on the exam about RTTY.

Answering a CQ When using the RTTY mode, always use the same speed to reply to a CQ as the sending station. Remember, CQ means a call for any station. This means any amateur sending a CQ is saying in effect "I am on the air and I would like to talk to any other radio amateur that can hear my signal."

Modes of Operation for Technicians with No Code Technicians without morse code are not allowed to operate CW or SSB on the HF bands. Only Technicians WITH morse code endorsement, General, and Extra Class operators are allowed to operate in the HF frequency spectrum.

Aircraft You may have wondered if it is legal to operate your ham radio station aboard an aircraft. Especially a commercial airline flight. Well, you may be disappointed to hear this but, ham radio signal often interfere with the flight radio systems. This means that most airlines

will not allow you to use your personal hand-talkie on the flight. The rule is you can operate on a commercial aircraft only with the pilots specific permission and not while the aircraft is operating under Flight Instrument Rules.

Operating Outside Your Station Address You can operate your amateur radio station anywhere in the U.S. other than your the address written on your license. This means you can operate anywhere, not just from home. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.)

Distress calls(Mayday, BREAK, and SOS. Tactical Callsigns and emergency "Health and Welfare" traffic. Critical Components of a good emergency station. Who the RACES are. The duration of RACES drills (1 hr.). Identification of RACES drill messages.

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T2 Operating Procedures..T2 X-1 Special Repeater Tutorial Repeaters What Are Repeaters? In most cases propagation on the VHF-UHF bands are line of sight. This means that VHF and UHF signals tend to travel in a straight line, and cannot travel as far as HF signals can. Amateur radio operaters in the early days found that VHF signals were easily blocked by mountains and hills, even trees could cause a significant reduction in signal levels. To help amateurs communicate on the VHF and UHF bands, ham radio operators invented a special machine called a "repeater". A repeater consists of special radio equipment and antennae on top of a high point where it can relay weak VHF signals from far away and improve VHF-UHF communications.

How Does a Repeater Work? A repeater works the following way: 1.) A repeater setup on a high hill or building RECEIVES a weak signal from Kevin's small low powered FM handi-talkie ( a small hand held VHF transceiver) on its INPUT frequency. 2.) The repeater takes the weak signal, amplifies it and re-TRANSMITS it on a new frequency called the OUTPUT frequency, several kilohertz or megahertz above OR below the transmit frequency. 3.) Several amateurs at a nearby hobby convention receive Kevin's signal on the repeater's output and decide to respond to his call. End Result: Kevin's weak low-power radio with only a range of a mile or two, now is able to use a mountain-top repeater which can extend the range of his radio to cover more than a hundred square miles of distance. WOW! That's what ham radio is all about! There are several important things to note about repeaters.

OFFSET - The difference between the input and the output of a repeater is called the offset. Example: On the Two Meter Band the standard repeater offset is 600kHz. A repeater output on the 2m frequency of 146.000MHz will have a standard offset of +600kHz this means that you should set your receiver to transmit on the input at 146.600MHz . Vise-versa, an offset of -600kHz would mean you would have to transmit at 145.200MHz. INPUT - The frequency your transceiver is programmed to transmit on whenever you press the transmit button on your radio. (this is the frequency the repeater listens on.) OUTPUT - This is the frequency your radio is programmed to, to recieve the repeater's signal after you release the transmit button and finish speaking. (this is the frequency the repeater simultaneously re-transmits your signal on.) AUTOPATCH - Some repeaters also have a special ability called an autopatch. An autopatch is a device which allows radio users to access the public telephone system. If you have permission from the owner of a repeater, any ham radio operator can make a telephone call through the autopatch using special radios equipped with telephone touch tone keypads. (Most VHF transceivers come standard with this numerical key-pads) PL-Tones - Many repeaters across the country have PL-Tones® also called a "CTCSS" Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System. A PL-Tone is a sub-audible (humans can't hear it) tone which rides along your radio signal and tells a repeater to allow or deny you access. If you have the wrong Pl-Tone programmed into your radio, or if you have no Pl-tone at all, these repeaters will reject your signal. In effect your voice will not be heard by anyone using the repeater. Open Repeaters - Open repeaters are those which are free for use by any licensed ham. Most repeaters are this type, and are maintained and paid for by local area ham clubs. Some repeaters are closed systems. This means you must be a member of the organization which maintains the repeaters. Often these repeaters have something to offer like better coverage, or an autopatch for telephone calls, or a linked repeater system. Time-Out Timers - Time-out timers are timers which are set on a repeater to cut short transmissions longer than the timer's limit. The timer is set off when a operator transmits a transmission longer than the timer limit. When this happens the repeater goes silent for a minute or so after which it is reset, and the repeater can be used once again. The timers are used to make sure hams shorten their transmissions to allow others to break in and use the repeater. Courtesy Tones - A courtesy tone is a sound used to indicate when a transmission is complete. Repeaters make a special beep when you let go of a microphone key to let you know your transmission has been completed. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.)

What a repeater is. Understand what an "offset", "Pl-tone", "courtesy tone", and "autopatch" are. Understand in detail how a repeater works. Understand what is needed to be programmed in your radio to use the repeater.(OFFSET, and PL-TONE.)

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T2 Operating Procedures..T2 X-2 Special Repeater Tutorial Repeater Operation

Etiquette Repeaters are places where there are certain accepted rules for communications. For example, don't make an autopatch** call while two ham friends are talking, using the repeater. Here are some accepted rules you must learn for the exam: Pause briefly between transmissions, to listen for anyone wanting to break in. Keep your transmissions short, because a long transmission may prevent someone with an emergency from using the repeater. The proper way to break into a conversation on a repeater is to say your call sign in between transmissions. Make sure that you listen to the repeater before making a transmission, to prevent interrupting a conversation already taking place on the repeater. To call another station you call another station say the stations callsign then identify with your station with your own callsign.

Input/Output Frequency Separation of Repeaters Because repeaters "listen" on one specified frequency and "broadcast" the information they hear on Repeater Offsets another separate frequency, a standard was set for each VHF/UHF band for the amount of frequency shift Two Meters 600 kHz between the"input" and the"output" of the repeater. You must memorize this repeater information, because it may possibly be on the test.

1.25 Meters

1.6 MHz

70 Centimeters 5.0 MHz Summary 1.) Know the repeater etiquette, and guidelines. 2.) Know from memory all the repeater input/output frequency separations for each band.

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T3 Radio-Wave propogation ..T3A Line of Sight; Reflection of VHF/UHF Signals; Ionosphere VHF Signal propogation Line of Sight VHF and UHF radio signals tend to travel in straight lines going all directions out from the source. VHF and UHF signals can travel large distances as long as major obstructions are not present. But once an obstruction (like buildings or trees) gets in the way, the signals are stopped, or weakened. A problem occurs when we wish to use a VHF/UHF signal to contact someone beyond our horizon. Since VHF/UHF signals tend to travel in straight lines, and the surface of the Earth is curved, the signal will not bend around the curvature of the earth, instead it will continue in a straight line forever going out into space. Thus, the distance VHF signals can travel is severely limited, by the curvature of the Earth's surface. VHF propogation can be described in most instances as line of sight propogation. This is because they travel as far as the human eye can see to the horizon. Because of the earth's surfaces curvature, signals leave the earth's surface beyond the horizon. In summary, VHF/UHF signals can be described as having a point to point propogation which travels outward in a straight line from the radio transmitter to the receiver in a straight line called "line of sight propogation".

Radio Signals and Metal Buildings Although VHF/UHF signals travel in straight lines out from their source, they also tend to reflect off of metal objects. The larger the metal surface the greater the amount of reflected signal. Usually large metal objects such as aircraft and buildings reflect VHF/UHF signals the best. Sometimes this special characteristic of VHF/UHF signals is used as an advantage in large cities where many buildings can block other signals.

Ionosphere Getting Familiar with the Ionosphere The ionosphere [EYE-ON-OH-SFIHR] is a layer of atmosphere miles above the Earth's surface on the edge between space and life. It is a region of the Earth's upper atmosphere upon which all of High Frequency and Medium Frequency long-distance radio propogation depends. In this region high above the earth, the ionosphere reacts to the ionizing radiation of the sun's Ultraviolet rays. These ultraviolet rays strike the ionosphere and leave "charged particles" behind called ions. When the ionosphere is charged by the sun's radiation, these particles refract or "bend" radio signals back down towards Earth. These ion particles form charged layers within the ionosphere, which are responsible for the amazing signals you can hear from distant lands on the amateur radio bands.

The Layers Within the Ionosphere The ionopshere's charged particles form four distinct regions or layers within the earth's atmosphere. These layers can be further grouped into two additional categories. Ones which exist only while the Earth's surface is in view of the sun, and ones which exist only while the earth's surface is hidden from the sun (in darkness). Daylight Regions Night-time Regions F1 F2 E

F Layer [F 1+ F 2 Combined]

D The two F layers, the F1 and F2 combine during darkness into one layer. The E and D layers rapidly disappear as the earth enters into darkness.

The F Layers The "F" Layer is the layer most responsible for world wide amateur radio communications. Radio signals strike this layer and are bent back at a angle towards earth with little signal loss. During the daytime, the F layer splits into 2 layers called the F1 and F2. The F2 layer is the outermost layer, and is the one which refracts signals the most during daylight hours.

E Layer Th E layer exists in between the F and D layers, and forms only during daylight. Some radio refraction occurs in the E-layer at very high frequencies (VHF). This phenomenon is called Sporadic-E, because of it is very sporadic in nature.

D Layer The D layer is the closest layer to the earth's surface, and also forms only during daylight hours. This layer is a layer which instead of refracting signals to earth, absorbs them. The D layer absorbs high frequency and medium frequency radio signals. In fact, sometimes, D layer absorption can grow so great that all radio communications by way of the ionosphere are wiped out for a short period. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.)

What type of propogation does a VHF/UHF signal generally exhibit? What happens if a VHF/UHF radio wave encounters a metal building? What is the ionosphere? What type of solar radiation cause it to form? What are the four layers which make up the layer? At night? During daylight? Why is the D layer bad for radio communications? Next»

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T3 Radio-Wave Propagation..T3B Tropospheric Ducting; Amateur Satellite and EME VHF Signal Propagation Tropospheric Ducting Tropospheric ducting or ('tropo' for short) is a special type of radio wave propagation which occurs in the VHF and UHF frequency range. This propagation occurs up high in the atmosphere in a layer called the troposphere. This type of propagation occurs when a large temperature inversion forms. When the weather conditions are right, ham radio signals are "ducted" along trapped below a warm airmass unusually large distances. The inversion traps the radio waves (which would otherwise bleed out into space) and guides them along the surface of the earth. A temperature inversion is where warm air higher up in the atmosphere forms over a cooler airmass close the surface of the earth. They occur most often near the ocean where cool seabreezes create a temeperature inversion over the coast. A temp. inversion most often happens over large parts of the nation in the summertime when a large stable high pressure systems forms. It also occurs over the Pacific and allows signals from California to make the trip to Hawaii. Hams often take advantage of this special communication opportunity by organizing VHF "contests" where hams compete for the most number of contacts on the VHF/UHF bands. You can generally tell "tropo" is occurring when you are operating on a VHF/UHF band and suddenly you are able to make contacts long distances away. Another important fact to consider is that signal losses or path loss through the troposphere increases as the frequency increases.

Earth Moon Earth What is EME? EME is the term for Earth-moon-Earth. This is an amazing part of amateur radio communications where hams direct their powerful signals toward the moon and attempt to contact fellow hams across the world with their moon-echoes. This type of communication requires very sensitive receiving equipment with high powered amplifiers and large antenna systems. This is because lots of the signal is lost in the trip to the moon and back. When the echoes return to earth, they are extremely faint. This occurrence is called path loss. A good choice for an EME antenna system would be a high-gain array of yagi antennas. For a description of yagi antennas go to Section T9.

Satellite Questions on the exam ask a few questions regarding satellites. A few of them concern power levels needed for satellite communications. The rule to remember is: Always use the minimum amount of power needed to use the satellite. But, when the satellite is low to the horizon it will be necessary to increase power. This is logical because when a satellite is near the horizon the satellite is the farthest from you. When the satellite is farther from earth = increase power. How do you know if you can communicate with another station by way of a satellite? Well, it's simple. Both your station and the other station must be in view of the satellite at the same time. Vocabulary Terms

Definition

Path Loss

The signal loss occurring along the signals path to the receiving location.

Tropospheric Ducting Where a signal in the VHF/UHF range is ducted over a large distance through the troposphere. Perigee

The farthest point of a satellites orbit from the earth.

Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.)

What is tropospheric ducting? What causes 'tropo' to occur? In what frequency range does tropo most commonly occur? How do you know if tropo is occurring? What is path loss? What type of antenna system is recommended for an EME station? Why must you increase power when a satellite is near your horizon? Next»

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T3 Radio-Wave Propagation..T3C Ionosphere; Sunspots; MUF, Skip Zone, Sky Waves Ionosphere Sunspots The sun's sun spots directly correlate to the ionization of the atmosphere. The number of the sun's solar spot's are a strong indicator of the amount of solar activity on the sun's surface. When the sun spots increase, the amount of solar energy increases dramatically causing the ionosphere to become heavily charged. The sun goes through a cycle called the Sun Spot Cycle. The sun spot cycle lasts a period of about 11 years. About every 5.5 years the sun reaches a low in sunspots where the surface of the sun has almost no spots. In another 5.5 years the sun's surface is dotted with hundreds of the dark sunspots. This is called the peak of the sunspot cycle. When sun spot numbers are high, HF propagation becomes increasingly improved through out the world. Hams especially await with anticipation for the peak of the sunspot cycle for the experience of enhanced amateur radio propagation on the HF bands.

Maximum Usable Frequency Why do the sun spots cause such increased propagation on the HF bands? This is a likely question someone can ask. The reason is that the sun's Ultra-Violet and other forms of radiation into the upper atmosphere increase during the peak of the sunspot cycle. Thee radiation charges the atmosphere, raising the maximum usable frequency. The maximum usable frequency is a term used to describe the highest frequency that can be bounced off of the ionosphere at a particular time. Because most High Frequency signals generally cannot bounce off of the atmosphere, a higher maximum usable frequency means these HF frequencies on the HF bands will also be reflected. The important thing to note, is that the MUF increases with sunspot/solar activity, and it allows better ham radio communication on the HF bands.

But why is it a good thing if the "M.U.F." is higher than normal? Because higher frequencies skip off the ionsphere at a much lower angle than lower frequency ones do. Thus, the lower angles allow the singlas to travel farther along the globe without weakening. This at the peak of the sunspot cycle incredible distances can be covered with a very small radio and poor antennas.

Skip Zones, Sky Waves, and Ground Waves A sky wave is a signal which travels up toward the ionosphere and is reflected back down to earth many thousands of miles away. A ground wave is a signal that tends to hug the ground. It extends out from the antenna for a few miles. It is a limited signal, which allows for short distance communication. The skip zone is the gap between the two forms of radio propagation. The sky waves bounce over the skip zone, and the ground wave doesn't quite make it far enough to fill in this gap in signal coverage.

Scatter Propagation Only one question in the Technician Class Element T-3 Section T3C concerns scatter. Scatter propagation often fills in this gap in the coverage called the skip zone. It is most often weak, faint, and distorted, coming in on a frequency very close to the maximum usable

frequency. Vocabulary Terms Definition Sunspots

A darker spot on the sun; used as an indicator of increased solar activity and unusual radio conditions.

Sunspot Cycle

A cycle of sunspots from peak to minimum lasting about eleven years.

Sky Wave

A signal returned to Earth by the ionosphere.

Ground Wave

A signal which travels along the surface of the earth.

Scatter

A propagation type which occurs on a frequency very close to the maximum usable frequency. It produces a weak, and distorted signal.

Maximum Usable Frequency

The highest frequency signal that will reach its intended destination.

Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.)

How long is the solar cycle? What does an increase in solar activity mean for a radio amateur? What does the term MUF or maximum usable frequency mean? What do the terms skip zone, scatter, and ground wave respectfully mean?

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T4 Amateur Radio Practices.. T4A Lightning Protection - Antenna Safety - Grounding Safety Lightning Damage To best protect your antenna investments and prevent a disaster, you should ground your antennas when not in use. If a storm approaches, quickly turn off all station equipment, disconnect your antenna cables, and hook them to ground.

Station Safety Grounding - To prevent accidental electrical shock, you should ground all your station equipment. High Voltage Power Supplies - Because high voltage power supplies contain deadly voltages inside their cabinets, manufacturers are required to place interlock switches in the power supply cabinets. The interlock switches will automatically disconnect all AC power to the supply, when you open the cabinet for repairs. *This is done for your safety to prevent accidental electrical shock. Antenna Safety - If you are on the ground helping someone work on an antenna tower, be safe! Wear a hard hat or helmet and goggles to protect your head from something dropped from the tower.

Additional Antenna Safety Many hams use a slingshot or bow and arrow and weight system to shoot a line over a tree for an antenna support. Because this is such a common practice, there are some exam questions concerning the safety of this procedure.

Make sure the line you are using is strong enough to withstand the shock of shooting the weight. You must ensure that the arrow or weight has a safe flight path if the line breaks. Make sure no one is standing in the way of the shooting arrow or weight.

Antenna's + Powerlines = Hazard Always be sure that both your antenna and your feedline are clear of any powerlines. Use my following guideline: "If there is any possible way for the antenna or feedline to come in contact with a power line, it will happen, eventually."

Dummy Loads Dummy loads are used in place of antennas during transmitter testing, so that no signal is radiated. This allows transmitter testing to be done off the air. For more on dummy loads see Element T2 Page A. Dummy Loads are rated by the watts continuous. If you have a transmitter that can put out 100 watts of power, then obviously you will need a dummy load rated at 100 watts continuos. Otherwise, a dummy load rated below 100 watts will overheat when you apply 100watts to it and cause a hazard. In the old days, old-timers used light bulbs tune up their vacuum tube rigs. This was fine for vacuum tube radios,

but with today's semiconductor technology, it would be very dangerous to use a light bulb as a dummy load. The reason for this is because as soon as you apply power to the light bulb, the filament heats up, the impedance changes, resulting in an impedance mismatch and a potential problem. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.)

How can an antenna best be protected from lightning damage? Why must you ground your station equipment? What kind of safety gear should a person assisting someone on a tower wear? What does a safety interlock switch do? What is a dummy load? Why should you not use a light bulb as a dummy load? Next»

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T4 Amateur Radio Practices.. T4B - Electrical Wiring - Voltages - SWR Measurements - Meters

Safety Dangerous Voltages You may be surprised to know that as little as 30 Volts is enough to kill a human. Although such cases are rare, in the correct situation, 30 volts can be enough. This knowledge may save your life the next time you work around high voltages. Even as little as 1/10 of an Ampere of electrical current running through your body can be enough to kill you. The body part most affected by electricity is the heart. Such voltages or currents mentioned above are enough to deliver the a fatal blow to your heart.

SWR What is SWR? SWR is an indicator of a mismatch between an antenna and the radio. The word SWR stands for Standing Wave Ratio. When a mismatch between the radio and antenna occurs, some of the power sent to the antenna reflects back down the feedline to return to the SWR meter and radio. The ratio between the voltages sent out to the antenna and the voltages reflecting back give you an SWR reading. If there is a mismatch, it can cause problems with your radio and antenna, and somewhat degrade performance.

Understanding SWR Readings SWR Readings are given in the following format: 1:1 - A 1 to 1 ratio is the best reading you can get. (The best impedance match has been attained.) 1.5:1 - A fairly good SWR match. 2:1 A good SWR reading. 2.5:1 - An "OK" SWR reading. 3:1 - Poor SWR reading. 4:1 - Bad SWR reading. 5:1 - Very bad SWR reading. Time to fix your antenna.

Understanding SWR Readings SWR readings indicate the impedance match between your radio and the antenna. A bad impedance match will give you a reading of 5:1. A good impedance match will give you a reading between 2:1 and 1:1. A 1:1 is an ideal reading. It means you have a perfect impedance match between your radio and the antenna. This also means you are getting no power reflected from the antenna.

Fixing a Bad SWR Reading A very high SWR reading means the antenna is the wrong length, or there may be an open or shorted connection somewhere along the feedline. Make sure to check that there aren't any incorrect connections or shorted components of the antenna. If there aren't any, then it is time to lengthen, or shorten the antenna. Here is the rule for tuning the antenna length for a good SWR match: Transworldradio SWR Rule

Lengthening:

The antenna is too short and must be lengthened if: the SWR reading at the low end of the amateur band is 5:1 and decreases to 2.5:1 at the high frequency end of the same band.

Shortening

The antenna is too long and must be shortened if: the SWR reading at the low frequency end of the amateur band is 2.5:1 and increases to 5:1 ant the high frequency end of that same band.

Using an HF SWR Meter for VHF Readings An HF SWR meter is not recommended for VHF use, but if it calibrates to full scale in the set position, the readings may be accurate. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)

What does an SWR reading of 1:1 mean. How about 5:1, or 3:1? What is SWR? How can you fix your antenna if you get a bad SWR reading? What is the minimum voltage dangerous to humans? What is the minimum current dangerous to humans? What body organ is most affected by electrical current?

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T4 Amateur Radio Practices.. T4C - Meters and their Placement in Circuits - Ratings of Fuses/Switches

Meters and Measurements Voltmeters Voltmeters are meters used to measure the amount of voltage in a portion of a circuit under test. To measure voltage accurately, place the voltmeter in "parallel" across the circuit. The term parallel indicates the voltmeter is placed across the circuit. One probe hits the part of the circuit you want to measure the voltage at, and the other probe touches the negative or "ground" lead, or part of the circuit.

Ammeter Ammeters measure the amount of current in a circuit under test. Ammeters got their name from "Ampere" the unit of measurement for current. To correctly find the amount of current flowing through a wire in a circuit, it is necessary to cut a wire open and insert the ammeter in place. The ammeter is placed in "series" with the circuit. Series is a term meaning the meter is "in line", or inserted into the circuit.

RF Meter Placement An RF Wattmeter measures the amount of RF or Radio Frequency Energy coming out of your radio. RF energy is measured in Watts. This is why it's called a Wattmeter. For an accurate reading an RF Wattmeter is placed at the transmitter output connector. Also, RF wattmeters generally operate at 50 Ohms line impedance. You will generally find that on most all ham equipment, from radio's, coax, to meters, 50 Ohms will be a standard for impedance. Remember that number! Directional Wattmeter: A directional wattmeter is used to measure forward and reflected power. This has more to do with SWR. When there is a mismatch between the antenna and your radio, some power gets reflected down the feedline back to the wattmeter. The wattmeter shows the amount of power going in the direction toward the antenna, and the power coming back in your direction(towards the radio). Peak Reading Wattmeter A peak reading wattmeter reads the Peak Emitted Power, or PEP of your station. This type of meter is used to make sure your station is in compliance with the power output authorized for your license class.

Multimeter A multimeter is a meter designed to give you voltage, current, and resistance readings in one single meter. These little meters are handy and can be helpful in troubleshooting problems with your ham radio gear. DESTROYING YOUR MULTIMETER: What Will Happen If I.... Switch the multimeter to measure Resistance while having it connected to measure voltage? Result: This action will destroy the multimeter's circuitry. Switch the multimeter to read microAmps and connect it into a circuit drawing 5 Amps, what might happen?

Result: DON'T DO IT! It will destroy your multimeter's circuitry.

Fuse Ratings A fuse is a protection device. Most radios and power supplies, have a built in fuse. If an accident happens, or the equipment malfunctions and it starts to draw to much electrical current, the fuse overheats, melts and cuts off power to the circuits, thus preventing further damage or fire. When the equipment has been repaired, or the situation has been improved, the fuse can be replaced, restoring the equipment to proper operation. The rule when a fuse gets blown, always replace it with a fuse rated at the same current (Amperage) rating. Never replace it with a fuse rated at a lower rating than the previous one. For example: What would happen if a transceiver blows a 5 Amp fuse, and you replace it with a 30 Amp fuse? The transceiver can draw more than the 5 Amps it needs and a fire could occur. If you replace a fuse with one of a lower rating, the fuse will get blown everytime you replace it. If you replace the fuse with one of a higher rating, the fuse won't blow in the case that the device malfunctions, risking fire, injury, and death. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.)

How is a voltmeter connected into a circuit under test? How is an ammeter connected into a circuit under test? What is an RF directional wattmeter? What does an RF wattmeter do? What is the standard line impedance of RF wattmeters? How can you destroy a multimeter? What is the rule on replacing a blown fuse?

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T4 Amateur Radio Practices..T4D - RFI and its Implications RFI - Radio Frequency Interference Receiver Overload Receiver overload occurs when someone nearby is transmitting a very strong signal. Even if you are not even listening close to the other station's transmitting signal, your receiver will be overloaded by the sheer power of the other station. Sometimes, your amateur radiation can cause receiver overload in T.V's stereos, and telephones. In these cases, your station's signal overloads the receivers in these consumer products. Often the cause of this problem is because of poor manufacturing design in these consumer products.

Harmonic Radiation Harmonic radiation is an unwanted type of radio radiation coming from your radio. The word harmonic means "a multiple of a given wave; an overtone." Thus harmonic radiation in the radio world is the radiation of multiples of your signal above and below your transmitting frequency.

Removing Harmonic Radiation Often harmonic radiation occurs from a bad transmitter. The transmitter transmits copies of your signal all over the radio spectrum on frequencies which are multiples of the "fundamental" or original frequency. (The one you are really transmitting on.) The answer to this problem, is to use a filter, which prevents the harmonic radiation from bleeding into the antenna system. For harmonic radiation, you must use a "low pass filter". Low pass filters let lower frequencies "pass" through, yet block higher harmonic frequencies.

Responsibility for Interference The first step in a neighborhood interference case, is to determine if the interference is a harmonic, or receiver overload type. If the neighbor indicates that you are interfering with his television EVERY TIME YOU OPERATE your station, then it will be a RECEIVER FRONT-END OVERLOAD case. This means regardless of what ham radio band you operate on, you are still overloading the television. Remember receiver overload occurs regardless of frequency. Once this has been determined, the law says you are not at fault. It is the NEIGHBORS fault because he has a cheap television, which can't filter out the ham signals from its circuitry. After all, you are transmitting properly, its just his T.V. is getting overloaded. If the neighbor indicates that he only gets interference when you operate your station on the fifteen meter HF ham band, then it is a HARMONIC INTERFERENCE case. This is because the harmonics of the frequency you are transmitting on, are appearing on the television band. What this means is that you are transmitting on the same channel as the Television Station is. Your signal happens to be stronger, so the T.V. picks up your station. Once this has been determined, the law says YOU are at fault. Because your station is transmitting out of the frequency limits of the amateur ham bands,(in the television portion) you are transmitting illegally interfering with your neighbor's television set. It will be your job to fix the problem by installing a filter, or buying a radio which doesn't have a problem with harmonic radiation.

What's The Difference Between The Two Cases? Well, so what's the difference between the two cases of interference? To most people there doesn't seem to be much a difference at all. But to the FCC there is a whole lot of difference. In the first case, of receiver overload, you are operating within the law. You're

transmiting within the ham bands, but your neighbor has a TV that can't handle the high power electromagnetic fields that your station is creating and is causing it to become overloaded. In the other harmonics case, your transmitter has a serious problem that is causing it to spread harmonics (or multiples) of your signal all over the frequency spectrum. This means that your transmitter is not only transmitting on the frequency shown on the dial, but on thousands of other nearby frequencies called harmonics. One of these harmonics just happens to fall onto the TV channel and your neighbor is picking it up. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)

What is front-end receiver overload? What is harmonic radiation? How can harmonic interference be corrected? Who is responsible in a harmonic interference case? You, or the neighbor? Who is responsible in a front end overload case? You or the neighbor?

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T5 Electrical Principles.. T5A Metric Prefixes - Current Voltage - Insulators/Conductors - Open and Short Circuits

Metric Prefixes Units of Frequency All frequencies are described in units of hertz. If a ham tells you that he is going to have a contact on 24.941 MHz, you should know that: 1.) This is a frequency. 2.) It is a equal to 24,941,000 Hertz. 3.) This frequency is in the 12 meter band. 4.) This frequency is in the General and Extra Class only portion of the Single Sideband Part of the 12 meter band. Frequencies on ham bands will always be expressed in kilo(thousand Hertz), Mega(Million) Hertz, or Giga(Billion) Hertz. To state a frequency simply in Hertz would in most cases mean reciting a six digit number. Instead of such a system, hams use metric prefixes to show that the frequency is really a much larger number. Here is a list of common frequency prefixes: Metric prefix Mathematically Numerically Example: kilo

thousand

1,000

7.200 kilohertz

Mega

million

1,000,000

24.940 megahertz

Giga

billion

1,000,000,000 1.2 gigahertz

Calculations

MATH PROBLEM: If an ammeter is marked in amperes is used to measure a 3,000-milliampere current, what would it show? 1.) What is this problem asking me to do? It wants you to figure out how many amperes 3,000 milliamperes is. So you have to convert 3,000-milliamperes to Amperes 2.) Conversion The prefix "milli" means 1,000 th or 1/1,000. The mathematical formula is "milli" X 1/1000 = Amperes 3.) Set up the Problem Insert the numbers into the equation.

"3,000 milliAmperes" X 1 / 1000 = 3 Amperes

4.) Solution The solution is 3,000 milliamperes equals 3 Amperes. Units

of Measurement

The above list indicates for which electrical principle you can use what meter. To measure voltage, you use a voltmeter and make measurement in terms of volts for example.

Term

Unit

Measuring Instrument

Voltage

Volt

Voltmeter

Current

Ampere Ammeter

Resistance Ohm

Ohmmeter

RF Power Watt Electro-Motive Force = EMF. EMF is a term for electrical potential. In other words electrical potential is a word which is used to mean voltage. A voltmeter is used to measure EMF.

Wattmeter

EMF Electrical Potential

Electrical Insulators Almost all non-metals are electrical insulators. Insulators are materials which cannot conduct electricity. If you were to replace the wiring in your flashlight with rubber string instead, the flashlight would not light. Why? because rubber would not let electricity flow from the battery to the bulb. It is an insulator. Some Common Insulators are: Glass, air, plastic, paper, porcelain, rubber, wood, and cloth fabric. TIP: Most all non-metals are insulators. (Those materials which do not contain metals)

Conductors Conductors are materials through which electricity passes readily. All metals are good conductors. Remember the previous flashlight example? The copper wire we removed and replaced with rubber string is a conductor. Copper is a very good conductor of electricity. That's why it is used most commonly in all electrical wiring. Some common conductors: Gold - Used in wiring, in computer chips. Plating on connectors. Silver - Used in plating connectors. Copper - Used in wiring Aluminum - Used in Wiring Steel

Short Circuits A short circuit is the opposite of an open circuit. Since in an open circuit, there is no current flowing, the short circuit has too much current flowing. In this case all the electricity is flowing through the short circuit because it is a shorter and easier path for the electrons to travel. Thus, in the diagram, the battery would die quickly as the current rushes out of the battery though the shorter part of the circuit.

In common applications, if you short a 12-volt battery, you will see sparks fly, as large surges of current leap from the battery terminals. Short circuits are bad, generally causing radios to malfunction as the large amounts of current surging through ham radio equipment will cause electronics components inside to burn causing a bad odor.

Open Circuits An open circuit has no current flowing in it. The path for electricity is broken. In order for electricity to flow through a circuit, there must be an un-broken path from the positive terminal to the negative terminal. Because in this case there is no complete path from the positive terminal of the battery to the negative terminal, the light bulb in the circuit cannot light.

Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.)

What is frequency measured in? Can you convert a frequency from kiloHertz to Hertz? Why must you ground your station equipment? What are electrical conductors? Can you name four examples? What are electrical insulators. Can you name four examples? What is an open circuit? Does current flow in an open circuit? What is a short circuit? How current flow in a short circuit? Convert milliamperes to Amperes. Know what an Ohmmeter, Voltmeter, Wattmeter, and Ammeter are and what they measure.

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T5 Electrical Principles.. T5B Electrical Components - Practical Applications

Electrical Components and Applications Resistance Resistance opposes the flow of electrons. Example: Think of a household plumbing pipe. Normally water would flow quite easily through the pipe. Now what if you took a hammer and put a big dent in that pipe. All the faucets in the house after the pipe with the dent in it would barely have water flowing out of the spigot. Why? Because the dent in the pipe places a resistance to the water flow inside the pipe, thus restricting water from reaching the faucets. A resistor works just like the dent in the water pipe does. The resistor presents resistance to the electron/current flow within the circuit, restricting current from reaching its destination.

Resistors Resistors are used in electronic applications to control the flow of electricity for a particular voltage. The higher the resistance, the less the amount of current can flow in a circuit. The basic unit of measurement for a resistor is the Ohm. Definition of New Term Ohm

The resistance of a circuit in which one Ampere current flows when 1 volt is applied.

Inductors Inductors are coils of wire wound in a spiral coil shape, which have the ability to store electrical energy in a magnetic field. They can restrict the flow of alternating current (A.C.) and R.F. (radio frequency energy) while letting DC (direct current) through freely. (Inductors are like small AC resistors. AC can't get through all the resistance the inductor creates. But DC just passes right through the inductor as if it wasn't even there!)

Capacitors Capacitors have the ability to store electrical energy in an electrical field. They are used in electronics applications to block D.C. (direct current) while allowing AC (alternating current) to pass through. (Capacitors are like small open circuits. DC cannot jump across the tiny break in the connection. But AC can!)

Calculations Resistance Total resistance if two resistors are in series. R 1+R 2 = R Total

If two resistors are in series, their values are added together. This means their total resistance will be sum of the two resistors. Inductance Total inductance if two inductors are in parallel. L 1 + L 2 / L 1 + L 2 = L Total If two equal value inductors are connected in parallel their total inductance will be half the value of one of the inductors. Capacitance Total capacitance if two capacitors are in Series: C 1 X C 2 / C 1 + C 2= C Total The total value of two "equal-value" capacitors connected in series is half the value of either capacitor. Summary Remember the following: 1.) Definition of resistance. Resistance restricts current flow in a circuit. 2.) Definiton of Ohm: The resistance of a circuit in which one Ampere current flows when 1 volt is applied. 3.) Inductors: They can restrict the flow of alternating current (A.C.) and R.F. (radio frequency energy) while letting DC (direct current) through freely. 4.) Capacitors have the ability to store electrical energy in an electrical field. They are used in electronics applications to block D.C. 5.) If two resistors are in series, their values are added together. This means their total resistance will be sum of the two resistors. 6.) If two equal value inductors are connected in parallel their total inductance will be half the value of one of the inductors. 7.) If two equal value capacitors are connected in parallel their total inductance will be half the value of one of the inductors.

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T5 Electrical Principles..T5C Ohms Law, Power Ohm's Law - A special lesson in electronics Ohm's law is a special law that demonstrates the relationship between the three most important constants in a circuit. All electrical circuits contain these three variables: voltage, current and resistance. When either one of these three variables, voltage, current, and resistance, is changed in a circuit, the other two will react correspondingly in a predictably in a mathematical way. Ohm's law is a law which describes the relationship between those three parts of a circuit. All electrical circuits contain these three basic principles: Current - "Imagine water flowing through a pipe. All the water flowing through the pipe represents electricity flowing through a wire. This volume of electricity flowing is current. " Resistance - "Now imagine that same water pipe with a kink in it. Now how much water do you suppose can flow through it now? The simple answer is, not much. Now imagine that same pipe was a wire and the water flowing through it is electricity. The kink in it is a resistor. The resistor presents a stoppage in the wire that restricts the electrical current flow so that less electricity would pass through it than could normally flow." EMF - "Electro-Motive Force, or Voltage. Voltage is like water pressure in a weird sense. The water pressure in a water pipe forces water from the public utilities pump station into the plumbing of your home. Electricity behaves in a similar way. Negatively charged electrons are attracted to the positive. This attractive force is the force that pushes and pulls electricity through electrical circuits. We call this electro-motive force or voltage."

Magic Circle The magic circle is a simple tool which can be used to quickly solve Ohm's law problems on the exam. It is very simple to use, and once learned can be used to solve complex electrical problems. The magic circle uses three simple letters to represent Ohm's Law. "E" represents EMF, or voltage. "I" Represents Current, in Amperes-(Amps) "R" Represents resistance in Ohms.

O n the exam there will be questions asking you to solve for one of the above terms, resistance, voltage, or current in a circuit. The examiners will not give you a copy of the magic circle. Instead you will have to memorize it. The easiest way to remember it is to say "E over I times R".

Using the Magic Circle

MATHEMATICS TUTORIAL The following tutorial on using the Ohm's Law Magic Circle teaches you to perform the simple algebraic mathematical problems on the Tech. Class Exam. To begin, you need to Save the following copy of the Magic Circle to your Hard Drive and Print it out. To do this on Internet Explorer, Right Click with your mouse on the image, and select "Save Picture As..." For Netscape 4.x users, Right Click on the image and Select "Save Image As". Then print it out from your hard drive. If you don't have a printer, then simply follow along.

Step 1 - Solving for E

A problem asks you how much voltage is running through a circuit if the circuit contains 3 ohms resistance and 2 Amps current. A.] Identify the value the problem is asking for. Looking at the problem you can see that the problem is asking for the voltage in the circuit. B.] Place your thumb on the letter "E" (Voltage). The letters "I" and "R" are still visible. The rule to remember is left - to - right multiply. I and R are to the left and right of each other so they are multiplied. This means E=I * R (Voltage equals Current times Resistance). C.] To solve the problem, multiply the 3 Ohm resistance (R) and 2 Amp Current (I) to get the answer of 6 volts voltage.

Step 2 - Solving for I

Next the problem asks you to find the current, with 6 volts voltage and 30 Ohms resistance. A.] Identify the value the problem is looking for. In this case it is Current or I. B.] Place your thumb on the letter I. The two letters E and R remain visible. Since E is on top, you must divide E by R. I=E / R. (Current equals voltage divided by resistance.) C.] Divide the voltage (E) of 6 volts by the resistance (R) of 30 Ohms to get the answer of 0.2 Amperes of Current.

Step 3 Solving for R

Lastly the problem will ask to find the Resistance if the circuit has 6 volts of voltage and 3 Amps of Current. A.] Identify what the problem is asking for. Easy, it's asking for the resistance represented by the letter "R". B.] Place your finger on the letter R on the Magic Circle. The letters "E" and "I" still show. Again, since the letter "E" is still on top, it means division. Divide "E" by "I". R = E / I, or Resistance equals voltage divided by current. C.] To solve the problem use the above equation, by replacing E with 6 volts and I by 3 amps to get the answer. R = 6 / 3. Answer: Resistance = 2 Ohms.

Summary 1.) What is Ohms Law used for? Ohms Law is used to show the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance. It is also useful in solving electrical calculations. 2.) What are the three Ohm's law equations? E=I * R, I=E / R, R = E / I. 3.) Can you use the magic circle to solve a simple Ohms Law problem? Yes, of course you can, because it is on the exam! 4.) What is resistance? Resistance is a restriction in the flow of current through a circuit. 5.) What is current? Current is the amount of electricity flowing through a given point in a circuit. 6.) What is voltage? Voltage is Electro Motive Force. It is the force that pulls electrons through a circuit.

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T5 Electrical Principles..T5C Power - Wavelength - DC - AC Electrical Components and Applications Power In electronics the term power is described in terms of Watts. Power is a term which describes how fast electrical energy is used. The faster electrical energy is used the more power there is in a circuit. You may have heard the word watts already. It is used most often to describe light bulbs, and kilowatts per hour for home electrical utilities. In this case a 100 watt light bulb uses more electrical power at a faster rate. Thats why they burn brighter and cost more per hour to run in your home. When the electrical bill comes in the mail it also describes the power your home uses per month in terms of kilowatts. The faster your home uses up the electricity the more power your home requires. This way the utility company charges you more because of your higher rate of power consumption. In ham radio power is used to describe the RF Power coming out of the radio and the electrical power contained within a circuit. The equation most often used to get the power in a circuit is: P (power)= I (current) x E(voltage)

Wavelength The question is "What happens to a signal's wavelength as its frequency increases?" The answer is simple but before I explain, there is a special rule to remember in this case. Frequency Higher = Wavelength Shorter. Frequency Lower = Wavelength Longer. Now with this rule in hand, what is the answer to the question I asked above? Yes, as the frequency gets higher signal wavelength gets much shorter. This also affects the size of antenna's. For example: Cellphone's operate at a very high frequency, in fact they operate in an area close to the Microwave region. Here the frequencies are very high and the wavelengths very short. Look at the cellphone antenna, how long is it? Yup, its very short. This can be an advantage for hams, especially on the VHF and UHF bands where antennas are generally a foot to just a few inches long.

AC and DC AC stands for Alternating Current. DC stands for Direct Current. These are the 2 basic forms of electricity in your home. AC comes out of the outlet in your home. AC also is shaped like a wave. It is a type of current which flows back and forth, first in one direction and then in the opposite direction. (remeber this on the test) DC or Direct current is a more simpler form. This type of current flows in only one direction. DC is the type of electricity that all your appliances and radios use. Batteries, solar panels, and special generators create Direct Current. Problem is How do all your appliances work if they are hooked up to the AC in the wall? The answer is that they all have built in converters which convert the AC in the wall into DC for them to use. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)

What is the definition of power? What is the term used to describe power? If the frequency of a signal increases what happens to the wavelength of that signal? What is alternating current(AC)? What is Direct Current(DC)?

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T6 Circuit Componenets .. T6A Schematic Symbols - Power Ratings - Color Code - Fuses - Switches

Resistors There are 2 major types of resistors, the Fixed and the Variable type. Fixed resistors are one value of resistance, and they cannot be changed. The variable resistor on the other hand has a knob built in to change the resistance. Their resistance is "variable" it can be changed by turning the knob. The knob moves a slide or contact across the resistive material to change the value of the resistance. Looking at the table of symbols(scroll down the page) can you identify which one is a fixed resistor? If you can't its the one labeled symbol 3. Symbol number 2 is variable resistor.

Resistor Color Bands Most all fixed resistors have color bands to label their value, and tolerance rating. The first three color bands indicate the value of the resistor. The last band indicates its tolerance rating. The tolerance rating indicates how accurate the value stamped on the resistor is to the actual value. For example if you took a resistor and read the value on it to be 300 Ohms resistance. Next you took an Ohm meter and found the value of the resistor to really be 320 Ohms. The tolerance rating tells you the resistor's value should be within 10% of the value stamped on it.

Resistor Power Ratings When current runs through a resistor it generates a certain amount of heat. The more power running through a resistor the hotter the resistor gets. Usually resistors don't get that hot, but in special cases, special resistors are needed to keep the heat level down. To solve this resistors of larger size are used. The larger size of the resistor allows for greater power dissipation.

Other Symbols The remaining items are symbols for some other circuit components on the exam. You might be asked to identify these symbols on the exam. They will not be named for you, you will be given the name of a component and list of 4 choices. Battery The battery is symbol number 4. It has a positive and negative side. The symbol look kind of like a capacitor. Fuse A fuse is used to create an open circuit when there is too much current in a circuit. It is symbol Number 1. It looks like 2 circles with a wiggly line between them. Switches A single pole single throw switch can be identified by looking for a picture with 1 pole and one contact.(Symbol #1) A double pole single throw switch has 2 poles with only 1 contact for each pole. (Symbol #3) A doubel pole single throw switch can be used to to switch two inputs at the same time, one input to one output, and the other input to the other output. Yes, its a bit confusing, so look at the picture of it and see if you can understand it.

Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.)

Identify the symbols for a variable and fixed resistor. Use of larger resistors for power dissipation. Understand the color bands and tolerance ratings of resistors. Identify all the symbols for each component introduced in this chapter.

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T6 Circuit Componenets ..T6B Schematic Symbols - Transistors - Capacitors - Inductors Transistors What is a transistor? Transistors are tiny components which amplify small signals using low voltages. They are critical to the development and operation of computers, digital and radio technology. There are two basic types of transistors you must become familiar with. That is the NPN and PNP transistor. On the exam you may be asked to identify one of these two transistor's symbol. The simplest way to remember is:

NPN Not not pointing in, in fact it is is pointing out. PNP Pointing i N P The PNP transistor's arrow points in.

Pointing i N The arrow in the symbol for an NPN transistor is

More Symbols The antenna radiates radio energy. Its symbol looks like a bird footprint in the sand. Symbol number 7. An earth ground is used to ground radio equipment to the earth for better reception. It's symbol is number 8. A fixed value capacitor has a symbol with 2 plates with wires leading away from each. Its symbol is number 1, in the picture below. A variable capacitor has an arrow going through it, because its capacitance value can be changed easily. It is symbol number three in the diagram below.

Capacitors and Inductors A capacitor stores energy electrostatically and opposes a change in voltage.(Remember this for the exam) When a voltage is placed across a capacitor, the 2 plates of the capacitor develop a charge across them. This charge can later be discharged sending a voltage back into the circuit. A capacitors value depends on the following: The material between the plates, the area of one side of the plate, the number of plates, and the spacing between the

plates. If either one of the last items is changed for a given capacitor, its capacitance will change. An inductor on the other hand stores energy electromagnetically and opposes a change in current. Inductor's value can be increased if an iron core is inserted into the coil. The symbols for an inductor are shown in the above figure. Figure T6-2. Symbol number 2 is a variable inductor, and symbol number 4 is an inductor with an iron core. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.)

Identify both a NPN and PNP transistor symbol. What a transistor is. Know how an inductor and capacitor stores energy Know what happens if an inductor has an iron core inserted inside a coil. Know what determines the value of a capacitor. Know the symbols for all above mention electrical components. Next»

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T7 Practical Circuits..T7A Station Components - Block Diagrams Station Components Antenna Switch If you had 2 antennas and wanted to switch between them what would you use? An antenna switch of course. The antenna switch allows you to own several antennas and switch between them when desired. Feedline A feedline connects your radio (transceiver) to the antenna. Without one your antenna would be useless. Power Supply Many mobile transceivers are designed to run off of the 12 volts in your car. If you where to use the radio in your home it would not run off of the 120v AC power. What do you do? Get a power supply. A power supply would take the 120v AC from your home and convert it to 12v Dc to make your mobile transceiver happy. Antenna Tuner An antenna tuner matches the output impedance (50 ohms) to the antenna system impedance. This would help reduce SWR to a reasonable level for the radio to be happy. Microphone A microphone is used to connect to a transceiver for voice operation on the FM, and SSB modes.

RTTY and Packet Operation For RTTY operation the following equipment is needed: A transceiver, modem, and a teleprinter/computer system. For packet operation a terminal node controller is required, or TNC for short. This is the brain of the packet station. The transceiver and computer hooks into the TNC. The computer gives the TNC the information, and the TNC formats it into radio information and sends it to the transceiver to be transmitted.

Block Diagrams

Introduction: This section of the exam makes sure you understand the layout of a basic amateur radio station and understand what all the switches, bells, and whistles do. To do this the exam will supply a diagram showing the layout of a station where each part connects. One of the parts of the diagram will not be identified. Based on the multiple choices given, you will have to decide what the unknown component should be. The questions are simple, and there is a logical process to figuring them out. We have explained them all for you in the following paragraphs... 1.] [T7A05] In Figure N7-1, if block 1 is a transceiver and block 3 is a dummy load, what is block 2? A. A terminal node switch No such a thing exists. B. An antenna switch. Correct answer. An antenna switch can be used in this case in block 2. C. A telegraph key switch.No such a thing exists. D. A high pass filter. Exists, but it is wrong because a high pass filter can't have both a dummy load and antenna hooked to it.

2.] [T7A06] In figure N7-1, if block 1 is a transceiver and block 2 is an antenna switch what is block 3?

A. A terminal node switch No such a thing exists. B. An SWR meter Yes, this could be an answer, but SWR meters generally are hooked up only to an antenna, not to an antenna switch. C. A telegraph key switch No such a thing exists. D. A dummy antenna Correct, this problem s very similar to the last one.

3.] [T7A07] In figure N7-2, if block 1 is a transceiver and block 3 is an antenna switch, what is block 2? A. A terminal node switch Incorrect, no such a thing exists. B. An dipole antenna Incorrect, a dipole antenna cannot be placed before an antenna switch, it beats the purpose. C. An SWR meter Correct answer. An SWR meter could be placed in block 3 to make accurate measurements on all the antennas. D. A high pass filter Could be a high pass filter, but not very likely. Meant to confuse you.

4.] [T7A08] In figure N7-3 if block 1 is a transceiver and block 2 is an SWR meter, what is block 3. A An antenna switch Incorrect. An antenna switch needs at least 2 antennas to hook up to it. In this case there is only 1 antenna. B. An antenna tuner Correct, an antenna tuner could be placed here. C. A key click filter Incorrect, a key click filter is used in a morse code(CW) station. D. A terminal node controller Incorrect, a TNC is used together with a computer. There aren't any computers in this example.

Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.)

Understand what an antenna tuner, power supply, and antenna switch are good for. Understand the layout of both an RTTY and Packet Station. Understand the block diagrams. Identify all the symbols for each component introduced in this chapter.

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T7 Practical Circuits..T7B Receiver/Transmitter Block Diagrams - Filters Filters Filters are used to block unwanted radio energy of a certain frequency, but allow other radio signals of a different frequency to pass through. There are 3 main types of filters: High pass, low pass, and band pass. Most modern transceivers have a built in low-pass filter in their output circuits to reduce harmonic radiation. The low pass filter allows the transmitted frequency to "pass" through but the higher frequency harmonics are filtered out. A high pass filter is the opposite of the low pass filter. It blocks signals lower in frequency but allows "higher" frequencies to "pass". A band pass filter is even more selective. This type of filter allows only a very small "window" or "band" of frequencies to pass through. All other signals are blocked. This type of filter is often used in the IF section of receivers to block energy outside a certain frequency range.

Receiver and Transmitter Block Diagrams FM Receivers All FM receivers contain a frequency discriminator and a limiter. If any of the questions ask what kind of a receiver contains EITHER ONE OF THESE 2 CIRCUITS it is an FM receiver. None of the other choices will be correct. This is the easiest way of memorizing this. If you want to know what a frequency discriminator or limiter is, then here we go... A limiter is used in FM receivers to reject AM signals. It gets rid of the amplitude variations contained in an frequency modulated(FM) signal so that the received audio is crisp. A frequency discriminator is the term used for the detector in the FM receiver. This circuit's job is to detect if an FM signal is present and convert it to an audio signal. Example: Look at the diagram. Can you see the block labeled limiter? This automatically gives it away. Only an FM receiver has a limiter. This whole diagram must be about an FM Receiver. Its as simple as that.

Transmitters

Introduction: If block 1 is a variable frequency oscillator then what kind of circuit is the diagram showing? Easy, a VFO-controlled transmitter. Now, what if block 1 was a crystal oscillator? Then it would be a crystal-controlled transmitter. Simple as that. You know its a transmitter because the diagram has a telegraph key. They are used to transmit morse code. The diagrams are simple, no technical

knowledge is needed to get them correct on the exam.

Product Detectors Product detectors are used only in CW and SSB receivers. Once you see the term "product detector, "SSB/CW receiver" should automatically pop into your mind. So here we have a practice question to help you memorize the terms. The following diagram poses the question: What type of circuit does Figure T7-2 represent of block 1 is a product detector? Well.....? You should know the answer by now. It is a Simple CW and SSB receiver.

Detectors What circuit function is found in all types of receivers? If you where observant thoughout the last few diagrams showing receivers, you may have already noticed the answer. A detector is always found in all types of receivers. After all, a receiver must "DETECT" if a signal is present in order to successfully decode it.

Duplexer A duplexer allows you to connect a dual-band antenna to a mobile transceiver which has separate VHF and UHF outputs. Most mobile transceiver manufacturers include the 2 meter and 70cm antenna connectors separately. If you buy a dual band antenna, you'll need a duplexer to operate on both bands interchangeably. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.)

Understand Understand Understand Understand

what a detector is. what a duplexer is used for. that a discriminator and limiter is used only in FM receivers. that product detectors are used only in SSB/CW receivers.

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T8 Signals and Emissions..T8A RF Carrier - Modulation Methods - Solving Splatter - Harmonics Radio Wave Modulation Often you may have wondered how a radio REALLY works. How come, by talking into a microphone some of your voice comes through another radio's speaker? In this section of the tutorial, this very subject will be discussed. Modulation describes the process of combining an information signal with a radio signal. By itself radio waves aren't very useful to us. All radio signals do is they can travel large distances and go through or bounce around solid objects. In order for radio signals to be useful to humans, they must contain information, and that same information must be converted into a format we can understand such as sound. In order for modulation to occur, there must be a carrier. A carrier radio signal will "carry" the information we put on it to its destination. The next step in the modulation process is to put the information we want to transmit on the carrier. The following are four different modes of modulating an RF (radio frequency) carrier.

Morse Code Modulation In short, morse code is the simplest form of modulation. Morse code involves turning on and off an RF carrier to transmit a simple code alphabet. Morse code is also more commonly known as CW for short, meaning "Continuous Wave".

Bandwidth Radio signals take up space on the band. The more people using a certain band, the more crowded it gets. Bandwidth describes how much space a certain type of signal carrying information takes up. It is measured in kiloHertz. The larger the bandwidth of a signal the more information it contains, and the more room it takes up in an amateur radio band 1. CW - Morse Code Signals take up the least bandwidth. 2. RTTY - Signals are also very narrow and many signals can fit in a band. 3. SSB Voice - Take up between 2 - 3 kHz of frequency space. They are the most efficient voice mode. 4. FM voice - Take up between 10 - 20 kHz of frequency space (bandwidth) they are wide and can easily crowd other signals out. FM signals generally have higher voice quality to them than SSB signals.

Splatter You can cause splatter when talking too loud or too close to your microphone. Splatter is where you are over modulating your transmitter. Splatter is illegal, because it causes interference to others on adjacent frequencies. Splatter also makes your signal sound like garbage. Don't do it! On FM, splatter is more commonly called "over-deviation". Hear what splatter sounds like! » Splatter WAV File If you change the type of microphone you use for your radio, make sure you do an "on-the-air" radio check to ensure the quality of your signal.

Harmonics Transmitting a signal containing harmonics above the FCC levels is illegal. Harmonics are exact multiples of your signal two or three or more times the desired frequency.

Grounding

Good Station grounding is needed when connecting your computer to your transceiver to minimize stray noise in the radio receiver. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.)

Understand what an RF carrier is. Understand what modulation is. Know what the term bandwidth means. Know what splatter is and how to fix it. Know what harmonic radiation is. Understand the purpose of grounding your computer system.

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T8 Signals and Emissions.. T8B RF Carrier - Emissions - Overdeviation - Chirp - Data Emissions

Data Emission Types Packet Radio: Sends burst of digital information in "packets" at high speed across a radio frequency. RTTY - Radio Tele-Type: A high speed data transmission system which shifts the frequency of the RF(radio frequency) carrier between two frequencies. Also called "frequency shift keying". One frequency representing the number "1" and the other the number "0". By shifting between these two frequencies, RTTY sends a pattern of ones and zeros. Ths digital information is received and decoded into data at the receiving end. Advantages to modern data transmission techniques are high speed and reliability.

Phone Emissions Types SSB - Single Sideband: A narrow band phone emission used commonly on HF for weak signal work. There are two types of SSB. Upper Sideband(USB) and Lower Sideband(LSB). LSB is commonly used on all the bands between 160Meters and 40Meters. All the HF bands above 40Meters including 20M, 15M, and 10M use USB. FM - Frequency Modulation - A type of phone used for general local contacts on bands above ten meters.

Overdeviation Overdeviating occurs on an FM signal if you talk too close ot the microphone. This makes your voice sound harsh and garbled, unintelligible. To fix the problem, just back away from the microphone. FM is normally used for repeaters.

Chirp Chirp is a small change in the frequency of the transmitted signal every time the transmitter is keyed. Chirp occurs on CW(morse code) signal. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.)

Understand what an RF carrier is. Understand what modulation is. Know what the term bandwidth means. Know what splatter is and how to fix it. Know what harmonic radiation is. Understand the purpose of grounding your computer system. Next»

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T9 Antennas and Feedlines..T9A Dipole Antennas - Antenna Length

Dipoles A dipole is the simplest form of an antenna. It consists of 2 long segments of wire and a transmission line. Look at the illustration to see what it looks like.

Creating your own Dipole Antenna A dipole is a 1/2 wavelength antenna. To create a dipole you must determine the following: 1st.) What frequency band you want to use it on. 2nd.) What the wavelength of a signal is at that frequency. 3rd.) How long a 1/2 wavelength is in feet or meters at that frequency.

Calculations

Step 1.) Determine frequency band. OK we'll pick the 6 meter band. Look it up on a frequency chart and see that it extends from 50.0MHz to 54.0MHz. Lets use a number in the center of the band... (52.0MHz)

Step 2.) Calculate. OK the equation is 468 / Frequency in MHz = Length in Feet Calculate: 468 / 52 = ?? Step 3.) Find the answer. Answer is nine feet! This means that you will need 9.0 feet of wire to construct the antenna. This also means that a 1/2 wavelength at 6 meters or 50MHz is about nine feet long.

Vertical Antennas A vertical antenna is a 1/4wave antenna and is half the size of a dipole. It is very widely used because of its space saving characteristic. It is found everywhere from the antenna on your FM Stereo system to your walkie-talkie or cellphone antenna.

Parts of a Vertical A Vertical antenna has 3 parts to it. A vertical radiator which radiates the radio energy, a groundplane, and a feedline.

Creating a Vertical Antenna

Step 1.) Determine frequency band. OK we'll pick the 70 centimeter band. Look it up on a frequency chart and see that it extends from 420.0MHz to 450.0MHz. Lets use a number in the repeater segment of the band... (440.0MHz)

Step 2.) Calculate. OK the equation is 234 / Frequency in MHz = Length in Feet Calculate: 234 / 440 = ??

Step 3.) Find the answer. Answer is 0.530 feet! This means that you will need a half foot of wire to construct the antenna.This also means that a 1/4 wavelength at 70cm or 440MHz is about half a foot long.

Antenna Length Relationships What happens to the resonant frequency of an antenna if you make it a bit longer? Or shorter? The basic rule is "Longer the wire, the lower the resonance,shorter the wire the higher the resonance."

Practice Problems 1.) Length of antenna for a 1/2wave dipole at 28MHz 2.) Length of antenna for a 1/2wave dipole at 144MHz 3.) Length of antenna for a 1/4wave vertical at 1296MHz 4.) Length of antenna for a 1/4wave vertical at 21MHz 5.) If I shorten an antenna what will happen to its resonant frequency? 6.) Lengthening an antenna will do what to its resonant frequency?

Antenna Calculator 468

+

-

x

/

^

28

= 0

[Add ,subtract, or divide the 2 numbers.] Use this calculator to practice the mathematics for the above problems. Do not choose to skip this part, because with out practice you will not succeed on the exam!

Summary 1.) Calculating the length of verticals and dipoles. 2.) Understand the relationship of lenghtening or shortening an antenna. Next»

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T9 Antennas and Feedlines.. T9B - Multiband Antennas - Directional Antennas - Quads and Yagis Multiband Antennas Since dipoles will only work on or near the frequency you design it for, how can you solve the problem of space. Not everyone has the space to make a dipole for each band they want to operate on. Multiband antennas solve this problem. They allow you to use one antenna on many bands with reasonable performance. They are mostly made for the HF bands.

Advantages of a Multiband Antenna 1.) Allows you to use one antenna for many bands with reasonable performance. 2.) Space Saver. Instead of constructing an antenna for each band you want to use, a multiband antenna will work well on all the bands in one package.

Disadvantages of a Multiband Antenna 1.) Performance may decrease somewhat. 2.) It can radiate unwanted harmonics.

Directional Antennas What is a directional antenna? A directional antenna is a type of antenna which focuses or "directs" the radio energy in a certain desired direction. This type of antenna can increase your signal strength in a direction at the cost of reduced signal in the opposite direction. Look at the diagram. The antenna is pointing north. Most of radio energy is focused north in a long lobe. A small lobe exists toward the south. If you think about it, you can see that directional antennas direct the energy forward at the cost of reduced signal levels in the rear. Because of this characterisitc, stations in the south will report a weak signal. Stations to the north will report a stronger signal.

Parasitic Antennas Most directional antennas fall under the parasitic category. The two most common types are the "Yagi" and the "Quad". The definition of a "parasitic beam antenna" is: An antenna in which some elements obtain their radio energy by induction or radiation from the driven element.

Focus on the Yagi In this case we have an example of a Yagi antenna. For a very basic explanation a yagi is an antenna which has many dipoles each of succeedingly shorter length. For your exam you must understand and be able to point out the different parts of a yagi. Be ready to identify these three main parts: 1.) The Driven element 2.) The Reflector 3.) The Director or Directors when there is more than 1. The driven element is the only part of the antenna which is directly connected to your radio. The feedline can be seen in red leading away from the driven element. A reflector is behind the driven element and is always noticeably longer. It is the longest piece. The directors are shorter and are in front of the driven element. They get shorter the farther they are from the driven element. Knowing this you should have no trouble identifying the different parts to the antenna on the test.

Yagi's and Cubical Quads Both Yagi's and 'cubical' quad antennas are parasitic antennas. Don't spend to much time trying to understand how the antennas work. You can learn that after passing the test if you are interested. For now, just remember the following definitions, since they may appear as a question on the exam.

Concept Definitions Parasitic Antenna:

An antenna in which some elements obtain their radio energy by induction or radiation from the driven element.

A Yagi consists of:

Two or more straight parallel elements are fixed in line of each other.

A Cubical Quad antenna consists of:

Two or more parallel four-sided wire loops , each approximately oneelectrical wavelength long.

Summary 1.) Understand what a directional antenna is. 2.) Understand what a parasitic antenna is and its definition. 3.) Know what a yagi and quad antenna is and their definitions. Next»

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T9 Antennas and Feedlines..T9C Feedline Types - SWR - Baluns Transmission Lines Since no one can have their radio right at the feedpoint of an antenna there has to be a way to carry radio energy from the radio equipment to the antenna to be transmitted or vise versa for radio reception. In order to solve this problem transmission lines were invented.These lines or cables carry the radio energy efficiently(without significant loss of power) to the radio antenna for transmission. There are two main categories of transmission lines. One category is an unbalanced type of line, the other being a balanced type of line. Unbalanced lines are normally coaxial cables. Balanced lines are ladder lines or ribbon cables like the type used for television. The difference between balanced lines and unbalanced lines are that unbalanced lines like coax have only one wire carrying the signal, with the addition of a metal braid or shield. A balanced line has two wires in parallel carrying the radio signal.

Coaxial Cable's Advantages Coaxial cable has some significant advantages as an antenna feedline over balanced feedlines. Coax matches the impedance of most commercially made ham radios. (50 Ohms) And it can be placed near metal objects without problems because of its shield. It is also quite weather proof.

Balun What is a balun? The word Balun stands for BALanced to UNbalanced. or BAL-UN. A balun allows a transfer from an unbalanced transmission line to a balanced one. Since most antennas like dipoles and yagis/quads are of the balanced variety, how does a person feed them with coax which is an unbalanced line? The solution is a balun. A BALUN is CONNECTED in BETWEEN a COAX and the ANTENNA.

Standing Wave Ratio Standing Waves occur when there is a mismatch between an antenna and the transmission lines impedance. When this happens significant losses occur and much of the transmitted signal is reflected back down the transmission line to the radio. This can cause severe voltages to be sent into your radio, possibly resulting in damage. It is important to know that there will always be "some" mismatch at the antenna, because it is very hard to get a perfect match. Most radios can tolerate a significant amount of SWR being reflected.

Standing Wave Ratio

: The ratio of maximum and minimum voltages on a feedline. *Remember: SWR involves voltage.

SWR meters are used to determine the level of voltages being reflected back down your transmission line into your radio system. A 1:1 level on your meter means "zero" voltage is reflected. All of your radio energy is being absorbed and transmitted. A 2:1 SWR means that

a small amount of voltage is being reflected back to your radio. A 3:1 or above means "You better check your antenna out, because you've got problems!!"

Man Made Noise All radio energy has a polarity. A vertical antenna will transmit radio waves in the vertical plane, and the same for a horizontally placed antenna. The problem is that most made noise you pick up in a receiver"the loud buzzes and static" is vertically polarized. This means that a vertically positioned antenna generally picks up more man made noise. (Most man made noise occurs in the HF region)

Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)

Understand what a transmission line or feedline is. Advantages of coax over other feedlines. Memorize definition of SWR (standing wave ratio) Know what a balun is and where to install it. Know what polarity man made noise is.

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T0 RF Safety ..T0A RF Safety Fundamentals - Terms and Definitions Maximum Permissible Exposure Limits The FCC sets standards for the amount of RF (radio frequency energy) humans can be exposed to in a certain period of time. These limits are set to ensure a safe environment for amateurs, their families and neighbors, since high fields of RF can cause dangerous affects to the human body. The FCC Maximum Permissible Exposure levels are not uniform throughout the radio spectrum because the human body absorbs RF energy differently at various frequencies. The FCC MPE(Maximum Permissive Exposure) limits are based on the SAR(whole-body Specific Absorption Rate).

Microwaves Can Kill!

[There is a story of a man who was working during the Thanksgiving weekend at a telephone relay station. There were number of satellite antennas at the place, and on this cold winter night he found Because RF energy can be absorbed by the body it is a good idea to adhere to the FCC Rules for that it was warmer in front of one of the satellite dishes. The next using minimum power needed with your handheld radio. Higher power settings increase the day, one of the men stopped by the amount of RF radiation to your head. Lower power settings significantly reduce this potentially station and smelled the smell of harmful radiation. cooked meat. Horrified, he found his coworker cooked alive in front Microwave of the dish! The story goes that the You may have often seen the standard home microwave telephone company had upgraded oven in action. The oven uses high levels of microwave the power of the dish to handle the radio energy to heat food. RF in the upper part of the surge of holiday calls that weekend. radio spectrum near the microwave region behaves Unbeknownst, the man had been similarly. That's why the FCC imposes stringent cooked alive by the high energy Regulations for the frequencies between 30 and 300 microwave signals.] MHz. The most affected part of the body is the eye. When the eye is exposed to high levels of RF it can heat, causing cataracts. A question on the exam will ask you why should never be looking into the open end of a microwave horn antenna similar to the one in this picture. The answer should be obvious: You are exposing your body to more than the maximum permissible exposure of RF. (In a way you would be frying your self slowly by doing this). Lesson: Be careful around any antennas.

Field Strength The field strength in the near field of an antenna varies based on the type of antenna being used. In the far Horn Antenna field, as the distance from the source increases, the power density is proportional to the inverse square of the distance. Summary 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.)

Understand what the maximum permissible exposure is, and why it is required for hams to follow their rules. Understand why the maximum permissible exposure levels are not uniform across the ham bands. Understand how the Maximum Permissible Exposure levels are set by the FCC. Be familiar with the term "whole body Specific Absorption Rate". What happens to the eye when exposed to microwaves. Why not to look down the barrel of a microwave feed horn antenna. How field strengths vary in the Near Field. How the power density varies in the Far Field.

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T0 RF Safety ..T0B RF Safety Rules - Duty Cycles RULES COMPLIANCE All amateur radio stations are required to comply with the requirements for RF Radiation exposure. But how can you comply if you don't know the rules? The Federal Communications Commission outlines the rules in Part 97. You as an amateur radio licensee are required to comply with the rules, regardless of your stations power. You agree to understand and comply with the rules on the application for an amateur radio license.

UNCONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT Your neighborhood is considered an uncontrolled environment. Anyone outside your property lines is part of an uncontrolled environment, because they don't have a say in your operating habits. Most of them don't even know that you are even exposing them to RF energy. They have no control over the energy you are exposing them to. In order to protect unknowing citizens, the FCC sets special limits for the strengths of the RF fields you expose people to. The FCC averages the safe MAXIMUM Exposure Levels in an uncontrolled environment over a time period of thirty (30) minutes.

CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT The controlled environment is the environment over which you and your household have "control" over. Those in your house are knowingly subject to the RF fields you generate as you transmit. Because they can stop or "control" your transmission habits, and because fields in the controlled environment are of much higher strength than in the uncontrolled environment,the FCC treats the controlled environment differently. The FCC calculates safe exposure levels for a controlled environment over a period of time of 6 minutes.

DUTY CYCLE The exposure limits for both controlled an uncontrolled environments vary with frequency because the body's ability to absorb RF energy varies with frequency. Exposure limits also vary with the Duty Cycle. Different transmission modes: SSB, FM, CW, RTTY, television, have different duty cycles. SSB, and CW have relatively low duty cycles compared to FM and TV modes. Lower duty cycles translate into lower RF fields averaged over the same period of time. So operating a mode with a lower duty cycle lowers the minimum safe distance separating an antenna and the neighboring environment. A lower duty cycle means a shorter compliance distance, and a lower duty cycle subjects the environment to lower radio frequency cycles. Summary 1.) By signing your application for an amateur radio license, you agree to comply with the rules for RF Radiation Exposure. 2.) All amateur radio stations are required to comply with the RF Radiation Exposure rules; No one is exempt. 3.) The property over which you do not have control over is the uncontrolled environment. 4.) The FCC averages the maximum permissible safe exposure levels (MPE levels) for an uncontrolled environment over a period of 30 minutes. 5.) The controlled environment is the environment over which you have control. 6.) The FCC averages the Safe MPE levels for a controlled environment over a period of 6 minutes. 7.) Under stand how a the duty cycles of different transmission modes factors into exposure levels.

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T0 RF Safety ..T0C - Routine Station Evaluation - VHF/UHF Applications Compliance Reading the previous page T0B you have read the rules for RF safety and understand the difference between an Uncontrolled and Controlled environment. But you may be asking the question: "How do I know if my station is in compliance with the rules?" Are there some mathematical calculations you need to find out? Or do you need some RF power density meters in your station? The answer is NO. All you need is to look up some of the methods in Amateur supplement FCC OET Bulletin 65.

Safety Handhelds Handhelds transmit high powered Radio Frequency energy very close to your head. It is best to keep the antenna away from your head to reduce the exposure. Antennas

Any type of antenna, UHF, VHF, and HF should be kept away from people. You should make sure no one can get near your antenna/ antenna's while you are transmitting for two main reasons. 1.) If an antenna is touched while you are transmitting, the person touching the antenna will receive a severe RF burn. 2.) Because the person near the antenna can be subject to high level RF fields. Car antennas should be placed on the roof of the car to expose the passengers to the least amount of RF radiation.

Amplifiers Before removing the shielding on any amplifier, make sure that the amplifier cannot be accidentally turned on because you can receive an extremely high voltage electrocution from circuits inside the power supply. Electrocution from a high voltage is generally not fun, and can be fatal.(You can die.)

Summary 1.) Understand that you do not need any special equipment or mathematical calculations to ensure your compliance with FCC RF Exposure Regulations. 2.) Handhelds should be kept away from the head. 3.) Antennas should be out of the reach of people. 4.) Car antennas should be located on the roof to reduce RF exposure to passengers. 5.) Amplifiers and power supplies can contain high voltages; Make sure there is no way the equipment can be turned on while you are working on it.

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