Getting Started with Ham Amateur (Ham) Radio

[BassWrangler]

We have a few members here who are interested in Amateur (Ham) Radio. There are also several of us who are licensed ham radio operators, including @Bigun who has been active with the hobby for many years. I am starting this thread to give folks a place to ask questions and discuss the topic.

It's been 12 years since my last exam, but I'll try to answer any questions, and hopefully some of the folks more recently active in the hobby can fill in the gaps.

General Resources

The AARL (Amateur Radio Relay League) s the largest US association for amateur radio. They publish the study guides for the exams, and other reference material, and are sort of like the NRA for amateur radio: https://www.arrl.org/
HamExam.org has practice tests and flash cards that will help you prepare for taking the license exam: https://hamexam.org/
HamExam also has a page with links to the study guides for the different license tests: https://hamexam.org/study-materials
Repeater listings (good to find repeaters, but always try and confirm info with the web site of the repeater owner): https://www.repeaterbook.com/i
Unofficial callsign database: https://www.qrz.com/
RadioID.net: Where you would get an ID to transmit on a DMR radio: https://radioid.net/

(There are tons of resources - if you know of some good ones, post to the thread below and I will add them to this list)

Getting Licensed
To transmit or own a radio capable of transmitting on the US amateur radio bands, you will need to get a license from the FCC. There are three levels of license:

• Technician
• General
• Amateur Extra

As you go up in license, you are allowed to transmit on additional bands.

You can find a place to take the exam, along with some instructions on what you need to do ahead of time here: https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session
Many amateur radio clubs administer the exams, and it's a good idea to meet the people in the club. You can find the closest club here: https://www.arrl.org/find-a-club
I recommend checking into the clubs, seeing if there is a "Hamfest", or at least a club meeting, you can go to. You will find people there are happy to help beginners, and a Hamfest is a good way to take a look at equipment, and observe radio operation and procedures.

Equipment
There's a ton to say about Ham radio equipment, but I strongly recommend waiting to buy until you have your license. Your local radio club can help steer you in the right direction. I generally recommend people start out with a handheld radio. You can do a lot with just a handheld, including talking to other Hams via repeaters, listening to satellite transmissions, and there are even times where, with the right antenna, you can talk to the International Space Station. If you retain an interest in the hobby, you may eventually get a more powerful Mobile radio (which can be used in your car, or at home), or even a base station, fixed installation antennas, etc.

[Cyber Liberty]

 

[libertybele]

Thanks for the info on getting licensed @BassWrangler

[BassWrangler]

Here's some motivation for the seasoned citizens on the forum:



Elderly couple breaks out of Tennessee assisted living facility using Morse code
By Tamar LapinMay 2, 2021 | 3:48pm | Updated

A series of dots helped them make a dash for it.

An elderly couple used their knowledge of Morse code to escape from an assisted living facility in Tennessee, according to a report.

The husband and wife, who have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, were able to decipher and memorize the code to an electronic door lock at the Elmcroft of Lebanon home, the Nashville Tennessean reported.

They were missing for about 30 minutes on March 2 before a stranger found them walking about two blocks from the facility, according to state Department of Health documents obtained by the newspaper.

The husband said he had “previously worked with Morse code in the military” and used that experience to learn the code of an electronic keypad as staffers punched it in.

He and his wife were then able to unlock the door of the home’s secure memory unit — and make a break for it.

https://nypost.com/2021/05/02/elderly-couple-breaks-out-of-assisted-living-facility-using-morse-code/

[rustynail]

Buy used equipment.  Buying new may put you on a list. 

[Bigun]

Thanks @BassWrangler I'll do my best to answer any questions anyone may have in the future.

in addition to the information posted above, I highly recommend this site for your licensing preparation.

https://hamexam.org/

Totally free and it works!  Register and it will take up your study right where you left off the last time.

I recommend going through the full set of flashcards for whatever element you are prepping for (easier said than done as you will soon learn).  Once you have done that, take a few of the practice exams for that element and you will be ready to go.

[DB]

 

[Skull]

Had my General ticket from 1962-67 or so.  Suppose K3RSS is being used by someone else nowadays. 

Ah, good ole Morse -.-.  --.-  is about all I recall.  Over at Gab there are about seven Ham Groups & one of said Morse code is no longer required for any level of ticket.

When I was in USAF at Hamilton Field I got a chance to play with the Log periodic 20 element beam, on a 100ft tower atop a hill, plus a Collins S line.  Got confused with dipping the plate and peaking the grid or something and blew out the expensive Klystron tube on the KW amplifier.  The MARS operator was quite civilized about it, but no more playing with K6FCT, as the non-MARS call sign was.

Nowadays, just too old and stupid & poor to fuss with equipment.  Sometime I will bore you with how I nearly was killed putting up a  40 meter dipole.

[BassWrangler]

Had my General ticket from 1962-67 or so.  Suppose K3RSS is being used by someone else nowadays. 

Ah, good ole Morse -.-.  --.-  is about all I recall.  Over at Gab there are about seven Ham Groups & one of said Morse code is no longer required for any level of ticket.

When I was in USAF at Hamilton Field I got a chance to play with the Log periodic 20 element beam, on a 100ft tower atop a hill, plus a Collins S line.  Got confused with dipping the plate and peaking the grid or something and blew out the expensive Klystron tube on the KW amplifier.  The MARS operator was quite civilized about it, but no more playing with K6FCT, as the non-MARS call sign was.

Nowadays, just too old and stupid & poor to fuss with equipment.  Sometime I will bore you with how I nearly was killed putting up a  40 meter dipole.

Yes, that call sign is now owned by Ronald S Schilling, who apparently requested it as a vanity callsign.

When I unloaded most of my Ham gear about 10 years ago, I sold the little log-periodic that I had. That's one of the things that I regret selling. It broke down into pieces so you could move it. It was dual band, UHF/VHF, so much smaller than the one you used. But very useful for satellite comms.

[BassWrangler]

My wife is going through the ARRL book to get her license. I'll let you all know what her experience is. We're planning on leveraging the web site that @Bigun recommended.

Speaking of which @Bigun - do you know anything about Yaesu System Fusion? I hit a new Yaesu FT3DR HT, and was thinking of trying it out on a repeater that RepeaterBook says supports it, but I have no idea how it works.

[Bigun]

My wife is going through the ARRL book to get her license. I'll let you all know what her experience is. We're planning on leveraging the web site that @Bigun recommended.

Speaking of which @Bigun - do you know anything about Yaesu System Fusion? I hit a new Yaesu FT3DR HT, and was thinking of trying it out on a repeater that RepeaterBook says supports it, but I have no idea how it works.

@BassWrangler

All of our club repeaters are Yaesu and support System Fusion. My base station radio supports digital modes and I've played with it some but not really into it all that much.  You can connect to people all over the world via the WIRES system, but it seems not to be real radio to me.  I guess I'm just an old foggy. Some of our club members are wild about it.

Some of our club members are wild about it.

[Skull]

Just looked WIRES up:

WIRES stands for Wide-Coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System

So radio signals, 6 or 2 meter kinds? are repeated, but what means enhancement?

[Bigun]

Just looked WIRES up:

WIRES stands for Wide-Coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System

So radio signals, 6 or 2 meter kinds? are repeated, but what means enhancement?

Well, you do need a radio to access a WIRES enhanced repeater. Our club operates one.

You bring up the repeater which is connected to the internet via the WIRES system and get connected to another repeater of your choosing somewhere in the world.  The people on each end are talking to the local repeater via radio but everything in between is via the internet.

[Skull]

You bring up the repeater which is connected to the internet via the WIRES system and get connected to another repeater of your choosing somewhere in the world.  The people on each end are talking to the local repeater via radio but everything in between is via the internet.

Tnx Bigun. Sounds like WIRES is not pure radio for sure.  Resembles FaceTime or Skype without any picture.

[DB]

I have a Heath SB-1400 I bought in the eighties...

[BassWrangler]

@BassWrangler

All of our club repeaters are Yaesu and support System Fusion. My base station radio supports digital modes and I've played with it some but not really into it all that much.  You can connect to people all over the world via the WIRES system, but it seems not to be real radio to me.  I guess I'm just an old foggy. Some of our club members are wild about it.

Some of our club members are wild about it.

Thanks, @Bigun. My wife and I drove up closer to the repeater to try it out - there's a really nice dog park (a huge open field with a fence around it) up there, so we took the dog too. I wasn't able to reach anyone via voice, which is not too surprising around here (lots of repeaters that are only active during nets). However, when I pressed the "X" button on my HT, it connected up and showed me a list that had one other repeater in it - one that's a fair distance away. I selected that, and was able to download and upload text messages, but I wasn't ever able to do that with voice. I guess I need to read more about it and try another repeater.

Unfortunately, the none of the repeaters reachable from my house via HT support YSF.

@Skull - I found this presentation which seems to be a good intro to YSF and WIRES-X:

[Bigun]

I have a Heath SB-1400 I bought in the eighties...

That's a good piece of equipment @DB and probably will bring more than you paid for it on the market today

I have owned a lot of Heathkit equipment over the years. Most recently an SB 220 which I picked up for very little at an estate sale.  Replaced the electrolytics, updated the keying circuit, and added a parasitic suppression kit before I sold it after obtaining the ALPHA 89 I now own.

[Bigun]

Thanks, @Bigun. My wife and I drove up closer to the repeater to try it out - there's a really nice dog park (a huge open field with a fence around it) up there, so we took the dog too. I wasn't able to reach anyone via voice, which is not too surprising around here (lots of repeaters that are only active during nets). However, when I pressed the "X" button on my HT, it connected up and showed me a list that had one other repeater in it - one that's a fair distance away. I selected that, and was able to download and upload text messages, but I wasn't ever able to do that with voice. I guess I need to read more about it and try another repeater.

Unfortunately, the none of the repeaters reachable from my house via HT support YSF.

@Skull - I found this presentation which seems to be a good intro to YSF and WIRES-X:

Cellphones, which are just radios, have really done a number on repeater usage all over @BassWrangler

[BassWrangler]

Cellphones, which are just radios, have really done a number on repeater usage all over @BassWrangler

For sure, and I guess a lot of people think it's a silly hobby for that reason. But that can be said of most hobbies...

[Skull]

@Skull - I found this presentation which seems to be a good intro to YSF and WIRES-X:

Both my browsers are in a panic and warn me not to open that link.  So I will not - for now.

[Bigun]

For sure, and I guess a lot of people think it's a silly hobby for that reason. But that can be said of most hobbies...

Yep!  Right up to the moment their cellphones quit working when a hurricane, or some other disaster strikes.

Try talking on your cellphone then!  (Don't tell them, but a text message will go through even when you can't even think about talking on one.)

[Bigun]

Both my browsers are in a panic and warn me not to open that link.  So I will not - for now.

Try this @Skull

http://systemfusion.yaesu.com/wires-x/

[BassWrangler]

Both my browsers are in a panic and warn me not to open that link.  So I will not - for now.

It's just a slide presentation from some HAM group in Kansas City

[BassWrangler]

Try this @Skull

https://systemfusion.yaesu.com/wires-x/

@Skull - I watched this video from Yaesu last night. It was a decent overview of YSF and Wires-X.


https://youtu.be/FiQcmAb_e70

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Yep!  Right up to the moment their cellphones quit working when a hurricane, or some other disaster strikes.

Try talking on your cellphone then!  (Don't tell them, but a text message will go through even when you can't even think about talking on one.)

Yeah but you don't need a HAM license for that. CB or FRS/GMRS radios will do in a pinch.

[verga]

 

[Elderberry]

Yeah but you don't need a HAM license for that. CB or FRS/GMRS radios will do in a pinch.

But how far can you communicate with those? And without a linear.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

But how far can you communicate with those? And without a linear.

CB radio is famously temperamental based on environmental conditions like skip, FRS and GMRS can go up to 30 miles in line of site, but way less under real world conditions. I watched a good video on it:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gyPC2AgIyQ

[Elderberry]

I may be going about this all backwards, studying for the Extra test first. I just took my first practice test and only missed 2 questions. It made me feel pretty good. I think I'll start studying General now.

[BassWrangler]

I may be going about this all backwards, studying for the Extra test first. I just took my first practice test and only missed 2 questions. It made me feel pretty good. I think I'll start studying General now.

If you have a background in engineering - especially electrical - you have a huge advantage over those who don't. I breezed through all 3 tests, but now I realize how much of that was due to the EE education; my wife is going through the book preparing for technician test, and even basic stuff like she metric units of measure prefixes (milli, micro, nano, etc.) are new to her.

[Elderberry]

If you have a background in engineering - especially electrical - you have a huge advantage over those who don't. I breezed through all 3 tests, but now I realize how much of that was due to the EE education; my wife is going through the book preparing for technician test, and even basic stuff like she metric units of measure prefixes (milli, micro, nano, etc.) are new to her.

Well yes. I was a Navy Radar tech for 4 years. And even though I was Radar, they sent me to R1051 Receiver school. After I got out, I changed my Major from Organic Chemistry to Electronics Technology, Majoring in Computer Hardware. While going to school I worked and learned transformer design, OJT. My main client was Schlumberger. Once I got my BSET, I never worked hardware. I spent 31 yrs as an integrator, tester, CM, and QA, supporting the Space Shuttle. 

Years after I had gotten my BSET, I walked across the street to the College of Engineering and talked to a counselor about going for a MSEE. Well they hit me with around 32 hrs of prerequisites. I took that course list and went right to the bookstore and looked up the course books for each class on the list. Turns out for almost every class on that list, I had taken a Technology course using the same textbook. Its hell when one college refuses to recognize the course work using the same books, but not from Their College. I never went back. I came close to going back in the Navy as an Officer, but I came to my senses.

[BassWrangler]

Well yes. I was a Navy Radar tech for 4 years. And even though I was Radar, they sent me to R1051 Receiver school. After I got out, I changed my Major from Organic Chemistry to Electronics Technology, Majoring in Computer Hardware. While going to school I worked and learned transformer design, OJT. My main client was Schlumberger. Once I got my BSET, I never worked hardware. I spent 31 yrs as an integrator, tester, CM, and QA, supporting the Space Shuttle. 

Years after I had gotten my BSET, I walked across the street to the College of Engineering and talked to a counselor about going for a MSEE. Well they hit me with around 32 hrs of prerequisites. I took that course list and went right to the bookstore and looked up the course books for each class on the list. Turns out for almost every class on that list, I had taken a Technology course using the same textbook. Its hell when one college refuses to recognize the course work using the same books, but not from Their College. I never went back. I came close to going back in the Navy as an Officer, but I came to my senses.

Yes, that is why I never went back and got my PhD. It's sort of worthless other than a personal point of pride, anyway.

[BassWrangler]

Am considering building an antenna similar to the one described here:


https://youtu.be/mH9_xW_QvVk

[Elderberry]

I took my first General practice test and didn't miss any. I'm off to studying Tech now.

[BassWrangler]

I took my first General practice test and didn't miss any. I'm off to studying Tech now.

Congrats!

For anyone else wanting to take course, my wife has signed up for the course here:

https://hamradioprep.com/

You can use code "jason20" for 20% off.

I think folks with a comms or engineering background don't need that, but my wife needed a little help to get going.

[BassWrangler]

Just did APRS for the first time. Pretty happy to see there is a lot of APRS activity around my house.

[Bigun]

Just did APRS for the first time. Pretty happy to see there is a lot of APRS activity around my house.

Back in the old days our local ARES group was regularly involved with search and rescue type operations in this area and often spent more time looking for the searchers than whatever we were originally called on to look for.  APRS has pretty much put an end to that.  These days we spend extraordinarily little time looking for searchers. @BassWrangler

[BassWrangler]

Back in the old days our local ARES group was regularly involved with search and rescue type operations in this area and often spent more time looking for the searchers than whatever we were originally called on to look for.  APRS has pretty much put an end to that.  These days we spend extraordinarily little time looking for searchers. @BassWrangler

Seems like a really useful technology.

I think my next fun radio project is going to be create a decoder and back-lit display for the 433MHz remote temperature sensor I have outside. Maybe with an RTL-SDR and a Raspberry Pi (massive overkill)

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Seems like a really useful technology.

I think my next fun radio project is going to be create a decoder and back-lit display for the 433MHz remote temperature sensor I have outside. Maybe with an RTL-SDR and a Raspberry Pi (massive overkill)

I just got my second rtl-sdr last week. They're pretty neat, and the FOS software you can get for it is awesome.

[BassWrangler]

I just got my second rtl-sdr last week. They're pretty neat, and the FOS software you can get for it is awesome.

I was thinking I would have some work ahead of me to reverse engineer the protocol for these temp sensors. But I discovered this program, rtl_433, that already does this. I stuck it on a Raspberry Pi, plugged in an RTL-SDR, and now it's spitting out my temp sensor readings (along with that of some neighbors).

Just need to figure out how best to display it.

[Elderberry]

I've been using this temp and humidity sensor setup for a couple of years now.

https://www.instructables.com/Raspberry-PI-and-DHT22-temperature-and-humidity-lo/

[BassWrangler]

I've been using this temp and humidity sensor setup for a couple of years now.

https://www.instructables.com/Raspberry-PI-and-DHT22-temperature-and-humidity-lo/

That would work for me, but I already have a Thermopro sensor outdoors, as well as one in my 3D printer cabinet, and so it's convenient to just add another way to view those.

[BassWrangler]

@Bigun - you might find this amusing. I have one of those little SDR devices, and the other evening I saw this strange signal on 4.785 MHz. It was a sawtooth shaped frequency sweep, like radar, but with the low frequency, I didn't think it was radar. Well, some folks at work helped me identify it, and turns out it is CODAR, which is used for monitoring ocean waves and currents.

But that's not the funny part. What's funny is that tonight I tuned back to this area of the spectrum to see if the signal was still there (it was) and noticed what looked like a strong AM signal nearby (4.840 MHz). I tuned to this and it was the MyPillow guy! Seems like he was talking about the election.

[Bigun]

@Bigun - you might find this amusing. I have one of those little SDR devices, and the other evening I saw this strange signal on 4.785 MHz. It was a sawtooth shaped frequency sweep, like radar, but with the low frequency, I didn't think it was radar. Well, some folks at work helped me identify it, and turns out it is CODAR, which is used for monitoring ocean waves and currents.

But that's not the funny part. What's funny is that tonight I tuned back to this area of the spectrum to see if the signal was still there (it was) and noticed what looked like a strong AM signal nearby (4.840 MHz). I tuned to this and it was the MyPillow guy! Seems like he was talking about the election.

 

[Cyber Liberty]

@Bigun - you might find this amusing. I have one of those little SDR devices, and the other evening I saw this strange signal on 4.785 MHz. It was a sawtooth shaped frequency sweep, like radar, but with the low frequency, I didn't think it was radar. Well, some folks at work helped me identify it, and turns out it is CODAR, which is used for monitoring ocean waves and currents.

But that's not the funny part. What's funny is that tonight I tuned back to this area of the spectrum to see if the signal was still there (it was) and noticed what looked like a strong AM signal nearby (4.840 MHz). I tuned to this and it was the MyPillow guy! Seems like he was talking about the election.

Spurious emissions from a commercial radio station?

[Bigun]

Spurious emissions from a commercial radio station?

Ain't no AM stations operating legally at that frequency in the USA.

[Cyber Liberty]

Ain't no AM stations operating legally at that frequency in the USA.

A spur is a harmonic emission at some multiple of the frequency of the original broadcast.  I worked at an AM station at 1260 Khz, and one could go up quite a few multiples and still pick up the station.  2520 Khz, and so on.  4.8 Mhz would only be a few generations and not unheard of.  The FCC cites stations that have too many.

[BassWrangler]

A spur is a harmonic emission at some multiple of the frequency of the original broadcast.  I worked at an AM station at 1260 Khz, and one could go up quite a few multiples and still pick up the station.  2520 Khz, and so on.  4.8 Mhz would only be a few generations and not unheard of.  The FCC cites stations that have too many.

@Bigun @Cyber Liberty

It's not a harmonic. It's WWCR-3:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWCR

[Bigun]

A spur is a harmonic emission at some multiple of the frequency of the original broadcast.  I worked at an AM station at 1260 Khz, and one could go up quite a few multiples and still pick up the station.  2520 Khz, and so on.  4.8 Mhz would only be a few generations and not unheard of.  The FCC cites stations that have too many.

Yep! Has to be.

[BassWrangler]

Yep! Has to be.

BTW, I was surprised they are licensed to operate at that frequency too - at least in the US. When I heard it there, after confirming with someone else that it wasn't a modulation harmonic in my receiver (I.e. That they were hearing it too), I assumed it was an overseas station. But a search on 4.84 MHZ turned up that Wikipedia article. I haven't checked the FCC FRN to confirm, but I assume it's correct.