Ham Radio For Dummies

Respond to the call of ham radio

Despite its old-school reputation, amateur radio is on the rise, and the airwaves are busier than ever. That's no surprise: being a ham is a lot of fun, providing an independent way to keep in touch with friends, family, and new acquaintances around the world--and even beyond with its ability to connect with the International Space Station! Hams are also good in a crisis, keeping communications alive and crackling during extreme weather events and loss of communications until regular systems like cell phones and the internet are restored. Additionally, it's enjoyable for good, old-fashioned tech geek reasons--fiddling with circuits and bouncing signals off the ionosphere just happens to give a lot of us a buzz!

If one or more of these benefits is of interest to you, then good news: the new edition of Ham Radio For Dummies covers them all! In his signature friendly style, longtime ham Ward Silver (Call Sign NØAX)--contributing editor with the American Radio Relay League--patches you in on everything from getting the right equipment and building your station (it doesn't have to be expensive) to the intricacies of Morse code and Ohm's law. In addition, he coaches you on how to prepare for the FCC-mandated licensing exam and tunes you up for ultimate glory in the ham radio hall of fame as a Radiosport competitor! With this book, you'll learn to:

• Set up and organize your station
• Communicate with people around the world
• Prep for and pass the FCC exam
• Tune into the latest tech, such as digital mode operating

Whether you're looking to join a public service club or want the latest tips on the cutting edge of ham technology, this is the perfect reference for newbies and experts alike--and will keep you happily hamming it up for years!

Auteur

Ward Silver, NØAX, has been a ham since 1972 when he ear­ned his Novice license. Ward is the lead editor for the ARRL Radio Handbook and the ARRL ­Antenna Book. He is the author of the ARRL License Manuals and several other books on ham radio topics.

Texte du rabat

Respond to the call of ham radio Despite its old-school reputation, amateur radio is on the rise, and the airwaves are busier than ever. That's no surprise: being a ham is a lot of fun, providing an independent way to keep in touch with friends, family, and new acquaintances around the world--and even beyond with its ability to connect with the International Space Station! Hams are also good in a crisis, keeping communications alive and crackling during extreme weather events and loss of communications until regular systems like cell phones and the internet are restored. Additionally, it's enjoyable for good, old-fashioned tech geek reasons--fiddling with circuits and bouncing signals off the ionosphere just happens to give a lot of us a buzz! If one or more of these benefits is of interest to you, then good news: the new edition of Ham Radio For Dummies covers them all! In his signature friendly style, longtime ham Ward Silver (Call Sign NØAX)--contributing editor with the American Radio Relay League--patches you in on everything from getting the right equipment and building your station (it doesn't have to be expensive) to the intricacies of Morse code and Ohm's law. In addition, he coaches you on how to prepare for the FCC-mandated licensing exam and tunes you up for ultimate glory in the ham radio hall of fame as a Radiosport competitor! With this book, you'll learn to: Set up and organize your station Communicate with people around the world Prep for and pass the FCC exam Tune into the latest tech, such as digital mode operating Whether you're looking to join a public service club or want the latest tips on the cutting edge of ham technology, this is the perfect reference for newbies and experts alike--and will keep you happily hamming it up for years!

Contenu

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

My Assumptions about You 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Getting Started with Ham Radio 5

Chapter 1: Getting Acquainted with Ham Radio 7

Exploring Ham Radio around the World 8

Tuning into Ham Radio 9

Using electronics and technology 10

Joining the ham radio community 12

Radiosport - Competing with Ham Radio 15

Communicating through Ham Radio Contacts 16

Ragchews 17

Nets 17

Citizen Science and HamSCI 18

Chapter 2: Getting a Handle on Ham Radio Technology 21

Getting to Know Basic Ham Radio Gear 21

Building a Basic Ham Radio Station 23

Basic stations 23

Communication Technologies 26

Understanding the Fundamentals of Radio Waves 28

Frequency and wavelength 29

The radio spectrum 30

Dealing with Mother Nature 32

Experiencing nature affecting radio waves 32

Overcoming radio noise 33

Chapter 3: Finding Other Hams: Your Support Group 35

Finding and Being a Mentor 36

Interacting in Online Communities 37

Social media and blogs 37

Videos, podcasts, and webinars 38

Email reflectors 39

Online training and instruction 40

Web portals 41

Joining Radio Clubs 41

Finding and choosing a club 42

Participating in meetings 44

Getting more involved 45

Exploring the ARRL 46

ARRL benefits to you 47

ARRL benefits to the hobby 48

ARRL benefits to the public 49

Taking Part in Specialty Groups 50

On the Air - IOTA, SOTA, and POTA 50

Young Hams - YOTA 51

Competitive clubs 51

Handiham 52

AMSAT 53

TAPR 54

YLRL 55

QRP clubs 56

Attending Hamfests and Conventions 57

Finding and preparing for hamfests 57

Buying equipment at hamfests 58

Finding conventions and conferences 59

Part 2: Wading through the Licensing Process 63

Chapter 4: Understanding the Licensing System 65

Getting Acquainted with the Amateur Service 66

FCC rules 66

Ham radio frequency allocations 67

Learning about Types of Licenses 69

Technician class 70

General class 70

Amateur Extra class 70

Grandfathered classes 71

Getting Licensed 72

Studying the exam questions 72

Taking your license exam 72

Volunteer examiner coordinators 73

Volunteer examiners 73

Receiving Your New Call Sign 74

Call-sign prefixes and suffixes 74

Class and call sign 75

Chapter 5: Preparing for Your License Exam 77

Getting a Grip on the Technician Exam 77

Finding Study Resources 78

Licensing classes 79

Books, websites, and videos 80

Online practice exams 82

Locating Your Mentor 82

Chapter 6: Taking the Exam 85

Types of Exams 86

Public in-person exams 86

Remote exams 86

Exams at events 87

Exam sessions in homes and online 87

Finding an Exam Session 88

Registering with the Universal Licensing System (ULS) 88

Getting to Exam Day 90

What to have with you 91

What to expect 91

What to do after the exam 93

Chapter 7: Obtaining Your License and Call Sign 95

Completing Your Licensing Paperwork 95

Finding Your Call Sign 98

Searching the ULS database 98

Searching other websites for call signs 99

Printing your license 100

Identifying with your new privileges 101

Picking Your Own Call Sign 101

Searching for available call signs 102

Applying for a vanity call sign 103

Maintaining Your License 104

Part 3: Hamming It Up 105

Chapter 8: Receiving Signals 107

Learning by Listening 107

Finding out where to listen 108

Understanding how bands are organized 109

Using Your Receiver 110

Tuning and scanning with channels 112

Continuous tuning with a knob 113

Software-controlled tuning 114

Listening on VHF and UHF 115

Listening on HF 116

Using beacon networks and contact maps 118

Receiving Signals 121

Receiving FM voice 121

Receiving SSB voice 125

Receiving d…