Ham Radio For Dummies. H. Ward Silver

Squares Interference and Noise Connector Parts Solar and Geomagnetic Activity Chapter 18: Technical Fundamentals Electrical Units and Symbols Ohm’s Law Power Decibels Attenuation, Loss, and Gain Bandwidth Filters Antenna Patterns Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) Battery Characteristics Satellite Tracking Chapter 19: Tips for Masters Listening to Everything Learning How It Works Following the Protocol Keeping Your Axe Sharp Practice to Make Perfect Paying Attention to Detail Knowing What You Don’t Know Maintaining Radio Discipline Make Small Improvements Continuously Help Others and Accept Help from Others

      10  Index

      11  About the Author

      12  Connect with Dummies

      13  End User License Agreement

      List of Tables

      1 Chapter 3TABLE 3-1 Hosts and Directories for Ham Radio ReflectorsTABLE 3-2 Regional General-Interest EventsTABLE 3-3 Themed Conventions

      2 Chapter 4TABLE 4-1 Privileges by License ClassTABLE 4-2 Relative Populations of U.S. License Classes

      3 Chapter 7TABLE 7-1 Call Signs Available by License Class

      4 Chapter 8TABLE 8-1 Activity Map for the HF BandsTABLE 8-2 Day/Night HF Band Use

      5 Chapter 9TABLE 9-1 ITU Standard PhoneticsTABLE 9-2 Common Q-SignalsTABLE 9-3 Reporting Signal QualityTABLE 9-4 VHF/UHF CW and SSB Calling FrequenciesTABLE 9-5 Repeater Channel Spacings and Offsets

      6 Chapter 11TABLE 11-1 Digital Mode Software ResourcesTABLE 11-2 RTTY ResourcesTABLE 11-3 APRS ResourcesTABLE 11-4 Popular DX Awards ProgramsTABLE 11-5 Popular Contests for BeginnersTABLE 11-6 Contest CalendarsTABLE 11-7 Popular Contest Logging SoftwareTABLE 11-8 North American QRP HF Calling FrequenciesTABLE 11-9 QRP and Portable Operating Resources

      7 Chapter 12TABLE 12-1 Relative Cost ComparisonsTABLE 12-2 Relative Cost and Loss of Popular Feed LinesTABLE 12-3 Tower ManufacturersTABLE 12-4 Antenna Tuner Manufacturers

      8 Chapter 16TABLE 16-1 Common Adapters

      List of Illustrations

      1 Chapter 1FIGURE 1-1: The FlexRadio Systems Maestro combines traditional operating contro...FIGURE 1-2: Students from the New Jersey Institute of Technology club (K2MFF) o...

      2 Chapter 2FIGURE 2-1: A typical mobile FM station and a handheld transceiver with some co...FIGURE 2-2: A typical HF (shortwave) station and a station set up to use digita...FIGURE 2-3: As a radio wave travels, its fields oscillate at the frequency of t...FIGURE 2-4: The radio spectrum extends over a wide range of frequencies and wav...

      3 Chapter 3FIGURE 3-1: QST, On The Air, QEX, and NCJ cover nearly every aspect of ham radi...FIGURE 3-2: The world-famous W1AW station in Newington, Connecticut.FIGURE 3-3: Derek Cohn (WBØTUA) had a blast while activating his first Park On ...FIGURE 3-4: These young hams from Europe, Africa, and Asia gathered in Bulgaria...FIGURE 3-5: CQ Communications publications cover just about every style and int...FIGURE 3-6: University of Washington students designed and built HuskySat-1, la...FIGURE 3-7: Sean Kutzko (KX9X) shows that satellite operation can be easy!FIGURE 3-8: The QRP ARCI publishes this excellent quarterly magazine featuring ...

      4 Chapter 4FIGURE 4-1: ITU region map showing the world’s three administrative regions for...FIGURE 4-2: Hams are allocated “bands” of frequencies across the radio spectrum...

      5 Chapter 7FIGURE 7-1: The ARRL VEC version of a CSCE form.FIGURE 7-2: The NCVEC Form 605 that is filed with the FCC. This version was rel...

      6 Chapter 8FIGURE 8-1: The 80 meter band sub-band plan showing the privileges for each cla...FIGURE 8-2: Handheld (left) and mobile (right) transceivers for the VHF/UHF ban...FIGURE 8-3: Drake R-4C (left), top of the line 1970s analog receiver. The Kenwo...FIGURE 8-4: The SDRuno receiving software simultaneously showing several 20 met...FIGURE 8-5: The DXMAPS website displays contacts as soon as they are reported. ...FIGURE 8-6: Repeater directories are available online, as books, or as apps for...FIGURE 8-7: AM, USB, and LSB signals. Following the usual convention, the USB s...FIGURE 8-8: The OpenSPOT2 hotspot communicates locally on the 70 cm band and ov...FIGURE 8-9: The fldigi display with received text and a waterfall-style signal ...

      7 Chapter 9FIGURE 9-1: The basic repeater system.FIGURE 9-2: Repeater input and output frequency pairs.FIGURE 9-3: Repeater allocations on the five primary VHF/UHF bands (frequencies...FIGURE 9-4: An RT Systems setup table.FIGURE 9-5: The basic IRLP system. The EchoLink system is very similar.FIGURE 9-6: An overview of the D-STAR system.FIGURE 9-7: An overview of the WIRES-X system.FIGURE 9-8: An overview of the DMR system.FIGURE 9-9: The general operating conventions on the HF bands.FIGURE 9-10: A PSK31 QSO using DigiPan software.

      8 Chapter 10FIGURE 10-1: A typical personal go kit. FIGURE 10-2: An ICS-213 General Message form.FIGURE 10-3: Winlink mailbox stations using WINMOR as of September 2020. FIGURE 10-4: Elements of a typical AREDN network.

      9 Chapter 11FIGURE 11-1: The WSJT-X windows during FT8 operation on 20 meters.FIGURE 11-2: RTTY tuning indicators of the MMTTY software. FIGURE 11-3: WA1LOU’s position reported by APRS.FIGURE 11-4: The WB8ELK Skytracker balloon tracked via APRS. FIGURE 11-5: An azimuthal-equidistant map centered on the Midwestern United Sta...FIGURE 11-6: DX QSL cards from (clockwise from upper left) Reunion Island, Soma...FIGURE 11-7: Participating in a contest can result in an attractive certificate...FIGURE