Amateur radio operator - A person named in an amateur operator/primary license grant in the FCC ULS database. An amateur radio station is a station in an Amateur Radio Service consisting of the apparatus necessary for carrying on radio communications. Hams provide a voluntary non-commercial communications service to the public, particularly in times of emergency. There are three classes of licenses, technician, general and amateur extra. Volunteer Examiners (VE's) give tests. You are given a CSCE upon successful completion of the test. These are good for 1 year (365 days). There is a minimum of 3 VE's required holding a general class or higher license to give the technician test. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) makes and enforces the rules for the amateur radio service. Two of the primary purposes of the amateur radio service are to increase the number of trained radio operators and electronics experts, and improve international goodwill. Any transmission that disturbs other communications is referred to as harmful interference. The ITU is the International Communications Union. Its primary purpose is to assist in the management of frequency allocations. The FCC assigns callsigns in a sequential order. You can select your own callsign, such as your initials through the vanity callsign program. Amateur radio clubs can request their own callsign by applying through a Club Call Sign Administrator. There are special use callsigns in a 1X1 format. Any licensed amateur may apply to use one on a temporary basis. You can operate in foreign countries when there is a reciprocal operating agreement between the governments. US callsigns start with the letters, K, W, N, AA-AL and have 1 or 2 letters followed by a number then 1 to 3 letters. Numbers used are 0-9. To be a control operator of an amateur radio station you must be named in the FCC license database or be an alien with a reciprocal operating permit. You may operate from anywhere the service is regulated by the FCC or is covered by a reciprocal operating agreement. You may only contact other amateur stations unless authorized by the FCC. There are occasions when frequencies are assigned on a secondary basis. What this means is you can operate on these frequencies providing you do not cause harmful interference to a primary user. One of the cool things about amateur radio is the ability to speak to hams in other countries. You can do this anytime unless either government prohibits communications. There are some communications that are prohibited by amateur radio. These are "communications on a regular basis that could be reasonably furnished alternatively through other radio services". You will receive an amateur station license from the FCC upon successful completion of the radio exam. You do not need a license to operate a citizens band or family radio service radio. Anyone can become an amateur licensee in the US EXCEPT a representative of a foreign government. There is no minimum age to be a ham. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grants amateur radio licenses. You may begin using your license to transmit as soon as your information appears in the FCC ULS database and is normally issued for 10 years. If your license expires you have up to 2 years to renew the license before having to retake the tests. You may not transmit during this grace period. You may begin transmitting again once the renewal information shows up in the FCC ULS database. Your responsibility as a licensee is to ensure your station is operated in accordance with FCC rules. The FCC requires you maintain your current mailing address on file with the ULS database. If mail is returned to the FCC as undeliverable the FCC may suspend or revoke the license. You must retain this address on file so as to receive mail delivery from the FCC by the United States Postal Service. There are some transmissions that are prohibited on the ham bands. An amateur station may NEVER transmit information for reception by the general public. Amateurs are prohibited from transmitting music except as incidental to an authorized rebroadcast of space shuttle communications. You cannot use codes or ciphers to hide the meaning of a transmitted message EXCEPT when transmitting controls to space stations or radio control craft. You may NEVER transmit false or deceptive signals. You must always identify your station except when sent FROM a space station or to control model craft. BROADCASTING is defined as transmissions intended for reception by the general as is prohibited in the amateur service. You may not transmit indecent or obscene language. An FCC licensed amateur station may not be compensated (paid) for use of the station EXCEPT in accordance with Part 97 rules. You may be compensated if your station sends bulletins or Morse code practice when that station makes those transmissions for at least 40 hours per week. Repeaters occasionally have telephone lines attached for autopatch use. You may NOT use the autopatch to call your employer requesting directions to a customer's office or any other communication that could be considered 'business'. You may discuss the sale of amateur radio equipment on the ham bands, provided it is not a recurring event. There is only one correct way to identify your station. That is by using your callsign. It should be stated CLEARLY and slowly. If you transmit without the use of an FCC assigned callsign you have created unidentified communications or signals. You must identify your station every 10 minutes and at the end of each communication. When 2 stations are in communications and the contact ends each station is required to transmit its' assigned callsign. Repeaters may use voice, Morse code or a video image conforming to applicable standards to properly identify the repeater station. Occasionally you may want to operate a special event station. If so you must identify your assigned callsign at least once per hour as well as identifying the special event callsign no less than every 10 minutes. Sometimes there are special contests or events where you would attach a special indicator to the end of your callsign. These indicators must not conflict with an indicator specified by FCC rules or with a prefix assigned to another country. An indicator assigned by the FCC would be AG (Authorized General) or AE (Authorized Extra). These would be used until your upgrade information appears in the FCC ULS database. Sometimes you may operate at a station whose license class might be less than yours. You would identify the station using his callsign followed by your callsign. However if you are operating only within that stations privileges you may use his callsign only. Every station, when operating, must have a control operator. There may be only ONE amateur operator/primary station license granted to one person. You may want to set up your own repeater station. You must have at least a technician license to be the control operator of a repeater station. As the control operator of any station YOU are responsible for the transmissions of that station. There must be a control operator whenever a station is transmitting. There is a place called the control point. This is the location where the control operator function is performed. There are some stations that are "automatically" controlled, such as repeaters on top of mountains, space stations. An automatically controlled station does not require the control operator to be at the control point. There are three types of station control permitted and recognized by FCC rules. They are local, remote and automatic control. Local control is where the control operator is actually at the radio, pushing the PTT button. Automatic control is in use on a repeater when the control op is not present. Remote control is used when the control op isn't physically at the transmitter but can make changes to the transmitter. The simplest definition of a control operator of an amateur station is an operator designated by the licensee to be responsible for the station's transmissions to assure compliance with FCC rules. If you transmit from another amateur's station both of you are responsible for the proper operation of the station. An amateur operating from a station with lesser privileges still retains his higher privileges, but must identify differently. However if you are operating as the control operator at a station with higher privileges you only retain the privilege of your license. THIRD party traffic is defined as a message sent between two amateur stations for someone else. When you are unlicensed and operating the radio you are operating as a third party. Club licenses may be issued to a group consisting of at least 4 members. You may operate onboard aircraft only with approval of the pilot in command and NOT using any of the aircraft's equipment. And remember the FCC may inspect your station at any time upon request. You always secure your equipment to ensure no unlicensed individual uses it. A good way to do this is to disconnect the power cable and microphone when the equipment is not in use. Even family members cannot use your station, unless they are licensed and able to be control operators. Operating techniques take some time to learn. Amateur radio for the most part uses common language but there are some subtleties. Using the letters CQ (calling any station) followed by your callsign a couple of times is a great way to find any station with which to talk. ALWAYS listen first to see if the frequency is clear. If you know the station with which you wish to speak use his callsign followed by your callsign. If you are answering a general call (CQ) you should state the other stations call followed by your call, preferably phonetically. You should always use the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) phonetic alphabet because the words are internationally recognized substitutes for letters. You should avoid using cutesy phrase or word combinations to identify your station. Some operators, especially hams from a different country or dialect, do not easily understand them. If you need to transmit tests of short duration to test antennas or equipment you must identify the station. You can do this in any acceptable way, voice, Morse code or digital. Failure to do so results in an 'illegal unidentified transmission'. The same ID rules apply for test transmissions, you must identify every 10 minutes and at the end of the transmission. Using repeaters is a slightly different procedure. Rather than calling CQ, just stating your callsign is adequate. We have the ability to use many different frequencies and modes of operation. If everybody did their own thing chaos would rule. Over the years, band plans have been designed by the amateur community and honored among many different countries. A band plan is a voluntary guideline, beyond the divisions of the FCC, for using different operating modes within an amateur band. They are voluntary guidelines for the efficient use of the radio spectrum. Even repeater frequencies are voluntarily coordinated, by amateurs for amateurs. Each part of the country has a recognized frequency coordinating body and they are in charge of the repeater band plan in your area. Their primary purpose is to reduce interference and promote proper use of spectrum. If a repeater station inadvertently retransmits transmissions in violation of FCC rules the transmitting station is responsible, not the repeater station. One way to reduce interference, not just on repeaters but everywhere, is to use the minimum power necessary to carry out the desired communication. Not only does this make sense, but also it's part of the rules! As a technician licensee you will see mode-restricted subbands on the 6, 2 and 1 1/4-meter bands. On 6 meters you may transmit CW (more code) only between 50 and 50.1 MHz. On 2 meters, you may transmit CW only between 144 and 144.1 MHz. If there are two or more stations talking and you need to jump in transmit your callsign between breaks and wait for acknowledgment. Remember always before operating on a repeater to monitor before transmitting and keep the transmissions short, identify legally and use the minimum amount of transmitter power necessary. Remember that no one has exclusive rights to a frequency. If two stations wish to use the same frequency, common sense and courtesy should prevail. Indecent and obscene language is prohibited because it is offensive to some, because children may intercept amateur communications with readily available receiving equipment and because such language is specifically prohibited by FCC rules. Amateur operators should always show the utmost courtesy when on the air. The use of ethnic or racial slurs reflects a poor image to the public and is offensive to some people. By the way there is no 'official' list of prohibited indecent or obscene words. One of the greatest assets of amateur radio is a good elmer, a ham who helps the newcomer and oldster alike. If you hear a newly licensed operator having some on the air trouble, you should contact them and offer to help with the problem. There are times when the rules and regulations don't cover a situation. When this happens, good engineering and amateur practices become the general operating standard. There are times when your equipment may cause interference. If you are advised that your station is interfering with adjacent operations you should check to see if possibly your equipment is generating spurious or off frequency emissions. If your neighbor is complaining about you interfering with TV reception, determine the problem. If the TV receiver is front end overloading it is the neighbor's responsibility to fix his TV. Front-end overload is caused by strong signals from a nearby source. However good amateur practice dictates lending a hand since most consumers don't understand how radio works. Telephone interference is commonplace also. Most telephones are not equipped with adequate interference protection when manufactured. If you interfere with another station's communications you should properly identify your station and move to a different frequency. You may NEVER intentionally interfere with another station's communications. There are several ways to reduce interference. One of the easiest and surest is to use a dummy load when testing your transmitter. Another source of interference quite often comes from cable service. A break in a cable TV line can allow your signals in to create TV interference when you are transmitting or you may experience interference from cable leakage. Remember even when operating under emergency communications NO ONE has exclusive rights to a frequency unless mandated by the FCC and FCC rules always apply. There are two groups that provide emergency communications, RACES (Radio Amateur Civilian Emergency Services) and ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service). Both organizations provide communications during emergencies. DEFINITIONS Electrical power is measured in watts. The flow of electrons in a circuit is called current and is measured in amperes. Current is measured by an instrument called an ammeter. Current that flows only in one direction is called direct current. Current that changes directions routinely is called alternating current. Frequency is how often something happens. It is measured in Hertz (cycles per second). Resistance is measured in ohms and is defined as the opposition to current flow in ordinary conductors such as wires. Automobile batteries start on direct current. The automobile battery normally supplies 12 volts. EMF (Electromotive force) is measured by a voltmeter. Electrical circuits need conductors to work. But they also need to be insulated from surrounding conductors. A good electrical conductor is copper while a good insulator is glass. The distance a radio wave travels during one complete cycle is called wavelength. Radio waves vary in frequency and are measured in Hertz. Radio waves are generally considered those waves that oscillate more than 20,000 times per second. Remember radio waves travel through space at the speed of light. One of the hardest things to remember is that the shorter the wavelength is the higher is the frequency. The formula for converting frequency to wavelength in meters in wavelength in meters equals 300 divided by the frequency in megahertz. Radio waves are designated by their meter band, so this formula is one you definitely want to remember. Sound waves are very similar in their behavior as radio waves, but their frequency range is from 300 to 3000 Hertz. Remember these: 2 meter band in the US 144-148 MHz 6 meter band in the US 50-54 MHz 70 centimeter band in the US 420-450 MHz An amateur radio consists of two primary components, a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver is used to convert radio waves into the sound waves we hear. The transmitter is used to convert sounds from our voice into radio signals. If these two components are in one box it is called a transceiver. All radios utilize energy differently than is supplied from the wall. The device used to convert the alternating current from the wall outlet into low voltage direct current is the power supply. Other sources of low voltage direct current are batteries. Currently the longest lasting small batteries are lithium ion. One of the most common however, primarily due to cost, is the nickel-cadmium battery. Nominal voltage for a fully charged Ni-Cad is 1.2 volts. You will also run across carbon-zinc batteries.. These are designed for one use and are not designed to be recharged. Rechargeable batteries are great to have but need to be maintained. Inspect batteries for physical damage and replace if necessary. They should be stored in a cool, dry location. A refrigerator works well for this and they must be given a maintenance recharge every 6 months or so. For a battery to maintain a long life current should be drawn from the call at the slowest rate needed. Ohm's law is the most commonly used formula in electronics. It states that current (I) equals voltage (E) divided by resistance (R) I=E/R. You can determine resistance and voltage by moving the parts around as appropriate. Resistance equals Voltage divided by current R=E/I and voltage equals current multiplied by resistance. E=IR (Power (P) = Voltage (E) multiplied by current (I). For instance if the current in a circuit is 3 amperes through an unknown resistor at 90V the resistance would be 90V (E) divided by 3 amperes current (I) equals 30 ohms. Milli = 1/1000 Mega = 1 million Giga = 1 billion Micro = 1/1,000,000 Kilo = 1000 A microphone connects to your transmitter and is used to convert the sound waves of your voice to electrical impulses that can be transmitted on the air. The radio speaker is connected to your receiver and is used to convert the electrical impulses received by the receiver to audio you can hear. If the speaker and microphone are too close together they can create audio feedback. A replacement for the radio speaker is a good set of headphones. These help you hear in noisy areas. There are many extra pieces of equipment necessary to make your station safer and better. One of those necessary items is a good regulated power supply. This helps protect your equipment from voltage fluctuations. A good high pass, low pass, or notch filter is used at the transmitter to reduce spurious emissions. Notch filters are quite often used on TV receivers to prevent RF overload (the TV's inability to reject powerful nearby signals). A terminal node controller (TNC) can convert your station into a digital station, capable of sending an receiver digital signals such as SSTV (Slow scan television) RTTY (radioteletype) PSK (phase shift keying) and Packet. Using digital communications, such as packet, does not require a microphone. Today's computers provide sound card inputs and outputs and can be connected to your radio to produce data (digital) transmissions. RIT - Receiver Incremental Tuning Repeaters - Repeaters are devices that can extend the range of mobile and/or low power stations. They occasionally use a 'courtesy' tone so others know when your transmission is complete. The most important thing to know before attempting to use a repeater is the input and output frequencies of the repeater. You should always pause between transmissions to listen for others that may need to break in or wish to join the conversation. The input frequency of a repeater is the frequency upon which you transmit, the output frequency of the repeater is where you listen. When you listen and transmit on the same frequency it is referred to as operating simplex. You should operate simplex when possible to avoid tying up a repeater. You can determine if simplex operation is practical by listening to the repeater input. If you can hear the other station simplex operation might be possible. Linked repeater systems tie many repeaters over large areas together. They can provide coverage for thousands of square miles and sometimes many different states. Repeaters are also required to be coordinated so as to minimize interference between repeater systems. Also as a repeater owner you may limit access to your repeater. A restricted repeater is referred to as a closed repeater. Fundamental overload is interference caused by a strong nearby source. These can cause telephones to act as radio receivers. One of the ways to reduce or eliminate interference is the use of an RF filter on the telephone. Televisions occasionally cannot reject strong nearby signals. If someone tells you your signals are interfering with their TV you should first check to ensure your station is operating properly and it is not interfering with your television, making sure your station meets the standard of good amateur practice. There are several ways to correct a radio frequency interference problem. Among them are the use of snap on ferrite chokes, low and high pass filters, and notch and band pass filters. Part 15 devices, sometimes called incidental radiators, cannot cause interference. If you have interference from a Part 15 device, say from your neighbor's home, you should work with your neighbor to identify the device. Politely inform your neighbor of the rules requiring him to stop using the device, if it causes interference, and check to make certain your station meets the standards of good amateur practice. Other forms of interference on your signal could be pick up from your cars electrical system, RF energy getting into the microphone circuit of your transmitter, being slightly off frequency, being in a bad location or something as simple as the batteries in your HT being low. Digital communications are sometimes better than analog signals because of the error correction ability of digital modes. There are even amateur stations that can connect you to the internet. These are called gateway stations. One of the programs used to connect stations via the internet is called Echolink. One of the cool things about Echolink is the possibility of DX stations such as Russian stations showing up on your local 2-meter repeater, an internet linked DX station. Another internet protocol is called IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project). This is a way to link two or more stations together via the internet. Both IRLP and Echolink are VOIP (Voice over Internet) protocols. Any licensed amateur may operate via Echolink. Repeater directories and the internet are great places to find actives nodes using VOIP. Voice transmission by radio is referred to as phone transmission. There are many modes. The most common is SSB (single side band), closely followed by FM (frequency modulation) and lastly by AM (amplitude modulation). FM is most commonly used on UHF/VHF frequencies and repeaters. For weak signal voice work on VHF/UHF SSB is the most common mode. Of the most common forms of modulation (CW, FM voice and SSB), CW has the narrowest bandwidth. SSB has one advantage over FM. The SSB signal uses less bandwidth, approximately 2-3 kHz. An FM signal on the other hand has a bandwidth between 5 and 15 kHz. TV signals, referred to as FSTV (fast scan TV) have a bandwidth of 6 MHz. Over the years a practice has emerged to use certain side bands on certain frequencies. On frequencies of 14 MHz and above USB or upper side band is used. For frequencies below 14 MHz LSB or lower side band is used. Digital communications modes - packet, RTTY (radioteletype), AMTOR, Clover, PSK (phase shift keying). All use digital protocols to communicate a message. A rapidly growing mode of communications is APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System). This interfaces your radio equipment with a GPS (Global Positioning System Receiver). There are amateur gateways that get your information to the internet and websites such as findu.com to see where everyone is. Another acronym you will likely encounter is NTSC (standard fast scan color television signal). This is what you see at home on your regular television. PSK31 is a fairly new digital protocol. It is a low rate data transmission that works well in noisy conditions. The first digital form of communication and still the only one able to be copied by ear is CW (Morse code). Sending and receiver Morse code should be done at a speed no faster than you can reliably receive. Learning Morse, even though no longer required, is a great idea. It connects you with the history of radio and lets you recognize repeater ID's, when they identify in Morse. One thing that has crept into our amateur language is Q codes. Originally designed for use on CW as abbreviations for common questions or statements, some have become part of our hamspeak. One neat thing about Q signals on CW.... no matter what language each operator spoke, the Q signals got the message through easily, almost like a universal translator from Star Trek! Some common Q signals are QRM (interference from other stations), QSY (changing frequency), QSL (message received), QRZ (who's calling?), QTH (location), QRN (natural or man made noise). Adding a question mark (?) to the Q signals changes the meaning from a statement to a question. One thing hams are called upon to do from time to time is to provide emergency or special event communications. Many things are needed to successfully complete these ventures. If you're using a hand held radio, having a spare battery pack or two is a great idea. Also using a portable antenna increases your HT's efficiency over the rubber duck antenna that is standard. Keeping an external antenna, several feet of connecting cable (feedline), cable and clips for connection to an external battery and a listing of repeater and net frequencies in your area are very useful additions to your TO GO pack. Also, if your operations will be in a noisy environment, a combination headset/microphone would be a good addition. One of the games hams play is called foxhunting (hidden transmitter hunting) or DF'ing (direction finding). The techniques used here are the same when trying to locate noise interference or even intentional jamming. A directional antenna is a most useful device for these ventures. Another popular activity is called contesting. These are organized events that put many stations as possible on during a specified period of time. Contests can help you develop that HF ear, the ability to pick signals out of the noise, help improve the efficiency of your station by exposing strong and weak points in your antenna system, and meet some of the best operators in amateur radio. Some of the contest exchanges require you to send and receive grid squares. A grid square is a letter-number designator assigned to a geographic location. Another fun and informative operation is a special event station. These are temporary stations that operate in conjunction with an activity of special significance, such as the KY Derby, Dayton Hamvention etc. Usually the sponsoring group offers a special QSL card or certificate for the contacts. Another fun aspect of amateur radio is the use of RC (radio control) of aircraft, boats, cars etc. A maximum of 25 watts is allowable to transmit telecommand controls. No on air ID is required, however a label indicating the licensees callsign and address must be affixed to the transmitter. Did you know that ham radio operators build and launch satellites. They're whizzing overhead as we speak and hams are communicating through them. Any ham can operate on any satellite providing your license class allows you to operate on the uplink frequency. Satellites are sensitive to power use so you should use the minimum amount of power necessary to complete the contact. Not only is that good for the satellite, it's also one of our rules. And there are hams from other countries that you can talk with through satellites. There are even hams on the space shuttle and any technician class operator or higher may talk to the shuttle astronauts. Satellites also transmit beacons. These contain information about the satellite. The easiest way to determine when you can access an amateur satellite is to use a satellite-tracking program. One of the unusual things about communicating through satellites is Doppler shift. Doppler is a change in frequency caused by motion through space. AMSAT is the name of the group that coordinates the building and/or launch of the majority of amateur satellites. Satellites are not in use in all parts of the amateur spectrum. They are limited to subbands (a portion of the band where satellite operation is permitted) For instance in the 70cm band the subband is 435-438 MHz. One of the fastest satellites whizzing around are called LEO's (Low Earth Orbit) While we get to play on the radio most of the time, a big reason we exist is to provide emergency and public service communications. The FCC will occasionally issue a temporary state of communications emergency declaration. This is the legal requirement to restrict a frequency for emergency use only. These contain any special conditions and rules to be observed during the emergency. As an amateur operator you should avoid these special frequencies until the emergency is over, unless of course you are participating in the emergency operation. You can even contact stations that are not amateur operators during an emergency or when specially authorized by the FCC. You may even be talking to someone and an emergency break into your conversation. You should immediately stop your conversation and take the emergency call. Remember though that no one has exclusive right to any frequency unless the FCC says so. In a long-term emergency, like a hurricane or tornado, you can even use 'tactical' callsigns. You might be Hospital One or Rescue Three. This is more efficient and helps coordinate public service. MAYDAY repeated 3 times is the correct way to transmit for an emergency. If you hear an emergency call you should assume it is real and act accordingly. Making a false emergency call is no laughing matter either. You could have your license revoked, fined a large sum of money or be sent to prison and possibly all three. Remember, EMERGENCY communications always have priority in the amateur radio service and you may only transmit SOS or MAYDAY when there is an immediate threat to human life or property. Hams are called many times to serve others in emergencies. It's a main reason we exist as a service. You should be 'ready' to go if needed. You should check at least twice a year to make sure you have all of your emergency response gear and you know where it is. You should have a way to run your gear in case of a power failure in your area and you should participate in drills that test your ability to set up and operate in the field. Remember also no idle chatter on the emergency frequency. This may interfere with important traffic. There are two main amateur organizations that operate during emergency. The first is RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). There are restricted to serving local, state or federal emergency management agencies. To operate with a RACES unit you must register with the responsible civil defense organization. The other is ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and this group supports agencies such as Red Cross, Salvation Army and the National Weather Service. Being prepared sometimes means being creative. You might have to use the battery in your truck, a bicycle generator or portable solar panel for power. Lastly remember you can operate on any frequency, in any service in a genuine emergency. During emergencies you will get all kinds of requests. For instance if a reporter asks you to use your equipment to make a news broadcast you should politely advise him that FCC rules prohibit such use. Some equipment can be modified to operate places not originally designed. These devices are not type accepted by the FCC and cannot be legally used on other frequencies. However, in a genuine emergency you may use any means at your disposal to call for help on any frequency. An organized group of amateurs on a particular frequency is referred to as a net. Emergency traffic always has priority on a net. Once you have checked into the net you should not transmit again unless called by net control or you have emergency traffic. You should NEVER transmit personal information concerning victims over the air. When passing emergency traffic you should always include the name of the person originating the message. If you need to 'hide' information from casual listeners you can pass the traffic using non-voice modes such as packet or Morse code. The net control station should have a strong and clear signal. If someone breaks into the net with emergency traffic the net control station should stop all net activity until the emergency is handled. If you happen to be 'first on the scene' of a large scale emergency and no net control station is available you should immediately open the emergency frequency and begin taking check-ins. until a stronger station can act as net control. Messages are formatted to facilitate movement and reduce errors. The preamble is the information needed to track the message through the amateur traffic handling system. The check is a count of the number of words in the message. It is highly recommended that the text of an emergency message never exceed 25 words. Of course we can't communicate without antennas. One antenna hams use is called a beam antenna. It concentrates signals in one direction. Other examples of directional antennas are the dish, quad and yagi. Another very common antenna is a vertical. It is a single element mounted perpendicular to the earth's surface. A simple dipole antenna is an example of a horizontal antenna. And of course the larger the antenna the better. The 'rubber duck' antenna so common on HT's does not transmit or receive as effectively as a full sized antenna. The duck is also 10 to 20 times weaker when used inside a car as when standing outside. A good antenna to use on your car is a magnetic mount antenna. It can be easily removed and installed. A 1/4-wave antenna for 146 MHz is only 19 inches long. A 6-meter dipole is approximately 112 inches long. Dipoles are probably the most common antenna for HF. As the frequency in use increases the size of the dipole shortens. Another vertical antenna in use is the 5/8 wave vertical. It has a small advantage over the 1/4 wave by concentrating the radiation pattern at a lower angle. One very important station feature is the dummy load. It reduces on the air interference when conducting tests or tuning up older tube type gear. The earth helps our signals propagate. VHF/UHF signals are not normally heard over long distances because the ionosphere usually does not reflect these signals. However occasionally you will hear some sporadic E reflection. We also deal with a thing called the radio horizon. This is the point that the signals between two points are blocked by the curvature of the earth. VHF/UHF signals are in constant use around us. Occasionally your receiver may make weird noises, such as burst of tones or fragments of different conversations. These are caused by strong signals overloading your receiver. Also if you're talking with someone on your HT and your signals were clear but now are weak or distorted, you may be a victim of multi-path fading. Moving a few feet usually will clear up the issue. And believe it or not UHF works better in an urban environment than do the longer wavelength VHF signals. The shorter UHF signals more easily penetrate urban areas and buildings. HT's use vertical antennas and so do repeaters. If you're trying to reach that distant repeater try to keep your HT antenna as vertical as possible will help you make the trip. Polarity of antennas is very important at UHF/VHF. If antennas are of opposite polarity on a line of sight communication, signal strengths could be 100 times weaker. Another trick when your signals are blocked by buildings or terrain is to use a directional antenna, like a yagi or dish and find a place where you can reflect a signal into the repeater. Quite often you'll hear a rapid fluttering sound on mobile signals. We refer to this as picket fencing. One last note, VHF/UHF waves travel about 1/3 further than the earth's curvature should allow. For some reason the earth's atmosphere seems less curved to radio waves than to light. You'll hear many terms bantered around in amateur radio. One of the most misunderstood is SWR (standing wave ratio). This is simply a measure of how well a load is matched to a transmitter. A 1-to-1 ratio indicates a perfect match. If you notice erratic changes in the SWR readings it may indicate a loose connection in your antenna or feedline. Solid state gear is much more susceptible to SWR issues than the good old tube gear of the day. The protection circuits in solid state gear usually engage at a reading of 2 to 1 or higher. A directional wattmeter (a meter that shows forward and reflected power) is a good alternative to use if an SWR meter is not available. Remember though all that energy is used somewhere. The energy reflected is wasted as heat in the feedline. Coaxial cable is the most common feedline in use today because it requires few special installation considerations and is easy to use. It is important to maintain a match between cable and load to allow the efficient transfer of power and to reduce losses. Also protect your coax from water. The leading cause of coaxial cable failure is moisture contamination. Most coax in use in the amateur service is 50 ohms and has a black outer covering. This protects the coax from ultraviolet light damage. Sun and water can cause significant losses in coax over the years. We are dealing with electricity and as such need to be aware of the many safeguards necessary to stay healthy and alive. The most commonly accepted value for the lowest voltage that can cause a dangerous electric shock is only 30 volts. The lowest amount of current running through the human body that can cause death is only 100 milliamps. So hooking things up correctly and the same everytime will help keep electricity where it belongs. On a three wire electrical plug the green wire is connected to ground. Remember green for grass. We use fuses in circuits to interrupt power in case of an overload, to protect equipment and to prevent things such as fires. If you were to replace a 5-amp fuse with a 20 amp the resulting excess current could cause enough heat to catch fire. A great way to prevent electrical shock at your station is to use 3-wire cords and plus for all AC powered equipment, connect all AC powered station equipment to a common ground and use a ground fault interrupter at each electrical circuit. A last safeguard is an emergency-disconnect switch. The most important thing about this switch is that everyone needs to know where it is and how to use it. One of the leading causes of equipment damage and fire is lightning. Precautions that can be taken are to disconnect antenna cables from the station and move them away from equipment, unplug all power cords from AC outlets and stop using your radio equipment and move to another room until the storm passes. The most important reason for a lightning protection system is to prevent fire. One of the backup means to power your station is a 12 V battery. But how do I charge my battery if the power is out. One way is to connect your battery to your car battery with jumper cables and run your car engine. Special considerations are needed though when dealing with batteries in the house. They contain dangerous acids that can spill and cause injury, short circuits can damage wiring and possibly cause a fire, and explosive gases can form if not properly vented. You also need to consider the proper discharge rate of the battery. If the battery is discharged too quickly it can overheat and give off a dangerous gas, or possibly explode. Power supplies are to be respected as well. They can hold a large charge for quite a while after being unplugged. You can receive quite the electric shock from the stored charge in large capacitors. Antennas need to be high and clear to work their best. So as hams many of us put up towers. You should always wear a hardhat when around the base of the tower, just in case something falls from the worker above. You should always wear safety goggles and a safety belt when climbing a tower. Be sure these are in place and secured before you climb. You should also arrange for a helper or observer, inspect the tower for damage or loose hardware and make sure there are no electrical storms nearby. You should make certain your tower remains clear of any overhear power lines and if you have an airport nearby, be certain that your tower height meets the requirements for proximity to an airport. When your antennas are installed they should be where no one can accidentally come into contact with it. Guy wires should be installed per the tower manufacturer's instructions. If you have power lines in the area the tower should be constructed so that if it fell it would come no closer than 10 feet from the power line. Your tower should be adequately grounded. A suitable ground is considered one 8-foot ground rod for each leg, bonded to the tower and to each other. You should never climb a crank up tower unless it is fully lowered. And use stainless steel parts. They are less likely to corrode than other common metals.