Foundations Of Amateur Radio

Foundations of Amateur Radio Recently I made a point of coming up with three different names for License Classes in Australia. I proposed Low Power, Medium Power and High Power and then went on to suggest that this could also be a mechanism to update the framework that is Amateur Licensing in Australia. As it turns out, I'm told that this idea is mostly already active in the United Kingdom. My idea started as a response to an increasing clamour for more privileges for Foundation Licenses. These calls include demands for digital modes and more power. I understand this demand, though I don't particularly share it. I think that licenses evolve and the world in which they operate changes and that digital modes are an example of that. I have a much bigger problem with the way that licensees are using their level of license to look down on those who have "only" achieved their Foundation or Standard call. I have personally been told that I should get rid of my silly license and upgrade and it's unusual to meet a

Foundations of Amateur Radio There is a time for everything. Mostly when it's most inconvenient, like in the middle of a rare contact, or while you're running a pile-up like you have never done before, or while you're getting a multiplier during a contest. For two years I've been using an antenna on my car that on occasion has the ability to remind you of it's presence. In this case, there is a lead, a so-called wander lead, that runs from the base of the antenna to one of the various connectors that are spaced along the length of the antenna. In case you're wondering, it's an Outbacker antenna and it's the first antenna that actually worked on my car. This lead has two banana-plugs on it, and those are connected to the lead with little screws which have an uncanny ability to come loose when you least desire it. This ability of an item connected to your radio to make itself known to you is not limited to my wander-lead. I've seen the same behaviour on microphone connectors, interface adapters, baluns, spe

Foundations of Amateur Radio For a long time I've struggled with the way we differentiate between the different license classes in Amateur Radio. In Australia, the three levels of license are Foundation, Standard and Advanced. In the United States, they're called the Technician, General and Extra. In the United Kingdom they're called Foundation, Intermediate and Full. These naming conventions convey that more and more is gained as you progress though the ranks, but they also convey that you are incomplete if you're not at the top of the food chain with an Advanced, Extra or Full license. This naming convention is not universal. The license classes in the Netherlands are called the N or Novice Class and F Class, but generally they're referred to as the N and F classes and in Germany they're called Class A and Class E. Of course if you're making a complaint about what something is called then coming up with a new name is one of the first things that you'll be asked and that has stopped me from even beginnin

Foundations of Amateur Radio A little while ago I had the chance to use a mobile radio with high power. I used it to learn about the coverage of our local repeater, but also to hear what the effects were when two local radios were both using the same repeater and high power at the same time. I made all manner of observations and wondered how much of what I observed was real and how much was a case of me adding two and two together and coming up with five. Immediately after I made those observations I received emails from around the globe explaining in great detail what was going on. Suffice to say that there was some disagreement among the emails, but overall they lead to a few new things that I'd not considered. One comment was that the two radios, not quite side-by-side, but in two cars nearby was similar to the operating environment of a repeater, that is a receiver and a transmitter sitting in close proximity. Initially I didn't cotton on to the analogy and it took several readings to understand, but

Foundations of Amateur Radio You know you've been at something for a while if you come across a topic that you want to dig into and discover that you already covered it in great detail a year ago. For me that topic was the "FM capture effect", which I covered in great detail a while back - the research says: "This happens, we know it happens, it happens under these circumstances, but precisely how, we're not sure." I finished off with a quote by Arthur C. Clarke who wrote in 1973: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -- by that definition, Amateur Radio and the "FM capture effect" is clearly magic. For me Amateur Radio is about the constant quest of learning, the ongoing pursuit of explanation and understanding, the relentless curiosity that burns a hole in my mind waiting to get filled with information and knowledge about anything and everything. In that same environment I am the holder of the beginner's license in Amateur Radio and that is the cause for some members of

Foundations of Amateur Radio The quest for the perfect antenna is likely to be one of the things that you'll carry with you during your entire Amateur life. In the past I've explained how the perfect antenna cannot exist and that the amount of variation inside just one antenna is infinite, so there is lots to choose from. One of my friends loaned me an antenna called an Alex-Loop. It's a so-called Magnetic-Loop Antenna and while the physics of the antenna is fascinating, I'm not going to go into it today. Suffice to say that there are hundreds of articles on the subject on-line and if you do dive in, read at least 20 or so before you decide that you understand how it works or how to build one. Until I used the Alex-Loop, I'd been using antennas that are set-up for a single band, or ones that require switching between bands, or using long-wire antennas with an SGC antenna matching unit. I've also used so-called antenna tuners, a topic worthy of discussion some other time. When you use your radio to pick a

Foundations of Amateur Radio There's a phrase that I use quite often, "Get on air and make some noise!" In terms of Amateur Radio that makes people think that I mean that they should turn on their radio, pick a band and call CQ, for hours. I can tell you now, if you're a QRP station, this is going to be a frustrating experience unless you're lucky or happen to be located in a place where other Amateurs want to talk to you, like an uninhabited island, or a low-tide reef, or some other place on the DXCC most wanted list. I liken operating a low power or QRP station to fly-fishing. To get a fish takes patience, skill and persistence. Would you start fishing in an industrial sewer in the hope that you catch something, or would you attempt to learn something about the fish that you're trying to catch, before seeking out its hiding place and throwing out a bait? Operating your Amateur Station should be more of the baiting and less of the industrial sewer. So what does this look like in your day-to-day operatio

Foundations of Amateur Radio The evolution of Amateur Radio is a constantly changing landscape. I've previously described the transition from spark-gap to surface-mount and the ongoing progression of inventiveness that brings this amazing hobby together with the leading edge of science and technology. If you think of software defined radio as a linear increment on the radio scale you'll end up where we see some of the manufacturers today are placing their bets. You'll find a radio that has knobs and buttons like a traditional radio, but behind the scenes there is a computer and a new way of accessing the radio spectrum. A little further along the scale is the proverbial black-box, often with a single button to power it on, a few connectors for antennas and a network connection to get information to a computer. The software on the computer often attempts to resemble a traditional radio with similar controls and the combination of the box and the computer with the software running makes for an Amateur statio

Foundations of Amateur Radio The hobby that we call Amateur Radio has been around for over a century. During that time we've seen it evolve from capacitors, inductors, through valves, then diodes and transistors, through to integrated circuits, chips and surface mount components. Along the way we collected a vast body of knowledge and experience which combine to make the hobby what it is today. You might have noticed that the progression of our hobby didn't stop with surface mount components, it's still evolving through software and the next frontiers are already tentatively being explored and offered for sale to curious amateurs. In my day job I'm a software engineer and I adopted Amateur Radio as my hobby of choice because it was technically diverse, had a rich history, a large community and had little to do with my day to day pursuits in computing and information technology. How wrong was I? This morning I started writing code to visualise audio, specifically in my case to make a video version of this

Foundations of Amateur Radio The other day I had the fortune of using a club station with an Advanced License whilst mobile using more than my usual 5 Watts. I was driving in convoy away from the main local 2m repeater and was interested in finding out what the coverage might look like and how high power might make a difference. When I say high power, that's 50 Watts FM on 2m. I learnt several things during my journey. First of all, line of sight is still true, even with more power, but there is more margin for error. Little obstacles that would cause a 5 Watt signal to be absorbed before it got to the other end are all but invisible with full power. Don't get me wrong, a hill is a hill and a radio signal won't go through it, but trees, houses, and all the other little things we humans build on the planet each obstruct a little bit of signal. Higher power gives you more margin and less effect on the resulting audio. The next thing I learned is that two cars, travelling in convoy can overwhelm each other w

Foundations of Amateur Radio There's a confession I'd like to share with you. Chatting on air is something I rarely do. When I'm working distant stations, so-called DX, my typical exchange is: AB0XYZ, you're 5 and 9. If the station has some questions to ask, I'll answer, but often times there is no conversation and I'll move on to the next one. Some of that can be explained by my initial training as an Amateur. I started working lots of stations in a contesting environment. I took to it as a duck to water and never looked back. No doubt I have lots to learn and I cannot guarantee that my callsign recollection is as good as I think it is, not to mention being able to detect an incorrect callsign, since I still have little knowledge in which callsign prefix, the first part, belongs to which country. Another explanation is that I'm often QRP and just very happy to be able to make the contact in the first place. I hear stations on-air having a great chat, a so-called rag-chew, but I never seem to find someth

Foundations of Amateur Radio The Amateurs Code, originally written in 1928 has been quoted for almost a century. A Radio Amateur is Considerate, Loyal, Progressive, Friendly, Balanced and Patriotic. There is something almost romantic about that, but in my short life as an Amateur I've been exposed to much that leaves that as just a sentiment, rather than a social code. I'm not alone in that. I have numerous emails from Amateurs around the planet who share their negative experiences, often being bullied by self-proclaimed experts with an axe to grind. Our 1928 Amateur Code brings with it a sense of decorum, etiquette, but other than some true Gentlemen I've had the pleasure to meet, there are aspects about our community that just don't translate into today, even if the Amateur Code could lead the way. Our community of Radio Amateurs represents an opportunity to engage with society, to attract new blood, to include new ideas and to lead the way in community engagement. As one path towards growth of our hobby

Foundations of Amateur Radio There is something magical about getting a new radio. I remember it well. Fondly even. I had done the research, consulted my bank account and picked my radio. It arrived in a courier delivery and I sat at the kitchen table, opening the box and marvelling at the parts that made up my first purchase as a radio amateur. I'd joined my local radio club a month earlier and proud as punch I took my shiny new box of joy to the club and showed it off to anyone who came near. I vividly remember one member's first comment: "Wow, that's an ugly radio!" I was heart broken, insulted, confused and didn't quite know what to do with that experience. My radio was beautiful, tiny, special. It was just what I wanted, it wasn't ugly and besides, it was mine. As irony would have it, several months later I saw their radio and thought that it wasn't something that I would like to bring home. Fast forward six years. The other week, I went to a local Ham-fest, it's a place, often a local hall with tab

Foundations of Amateur Radio The Hobby of Amateur Radio is a curious mix of technology, rules and people. If you're new to this you're likely to find yourself being swept up in the scale of the experience and more than I think is appropriate you'll find yourself at the pointy end of a barb by another member of the community. It's taken me over six years to begin to understand what is going on that is causing this. Let me start by saying that there is no place for bullies in this society. Correcting a mistake is one thing, but causing interference, transmitting insults, abusing people on air, ignoring new-comers or using social media to vent is just not appropriate. Bullying aside, after looking at posts on social media for a while, it occurred to me that much of what lies at the root of this behaviour is a fundamental mismatch between how licensing is achieved today, compared to how it was achieved historically. I see regular references to the type of examination. For example, historically examinations wer

Foundations of Amateur Radio One question I get asked regularly is: "What's the point of Amateur Radio?" Today I'm going to begin to answer this perennial question. As you know, this activity is a hobby, something you do for your personal enjoyment. People get pleasure from a vast range of undertakings and if you combine multiple such adventures into your life all the better. Amateur Radio is a hobby in and of itself, but it's also an enabling hobby. What I mean by that is it often can act as an excuse to do something else - under the guise of being Amateur Radio. For example, you can use an activity called SOTA to add some fun into your life. I've spoken in the past about SOTA, Summits On The Air. It's a way to enjoy being outdoors and climbing across the globe, as well as an excuse to participate from the comfort of your shack to encourage climbers and even as an unlicensed radio enthusiast, you can also participate. SOTA started in 2002 with the publication of the General Rules which outline all that t

Foundations of Amateur Radio To sign or not to sign, that is the question. Last week I spoke about operating with low power, or QRP which sparked a lively discussion which evolved into a conversation about adding bits to your callsign to indicate some extra information. For example, some stations will add stroke QRP to their callsign when they're operating low power when others don't. Other examples are adding stroke Portable or stroke Mobile. Let me start by saying that I'm not familiar with the rules in countries outside Australia, but I'd be surprised if they're much different, since callsigns follow a global standard, but check your local laws before you start getting on-air to make noise. In Australia the rules, the Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Amateur Licence) Determination 2015, commonly referred to as the LCD has nothing to say about any such addition to a call sign. There is no mention of low power operation, mobile operation, marine operation or any such thing. The reference to portab

Foundations of Amateur Radio A phrase I hear regularly is "life's too short for QRP" and today I think that it's appropriate to start a conversation about that sentiment. When propagation is poor the high-power amplifiers get on air and use it to prove that you need power to get out and about. Far be it for me to deny another amateur the pleasure of working a thousand stations at the same time, a so-called pile-up. It's a thrill. I've done it during contests. It's fun. You call CQ and the biggest problem you're faced with is deciding on which station to pick. In the past I've mentioned that I've made a contact with Cuba, about 18,000 km away using 5 Watts. Over the weekend I managed just under a third of the distance, Perth to Tuvalu, 7,000 km with a wire and 5 Watts. You could take away from this that I like bragging about my contacts and it's true that I'm proud of having achieved those things, but that's not actually what I want to talk about. Amateur Radio is a lot like fishing. You can go out and thr

Foundations of Amateur Radio Last week I was casually asked "What is a resistor?" Now if you're into electronics like many radio amateurs, you'll instantly have a picture of a little blob with two wires with pretty colours painted on the outside, the size of a grain of rice and if you're not into electronics, you now know what a resistor looks like. Before I talk more about resistors, I'm going to talk about a stick. If you pick up a stick and poke something with it, some interesting stuff is actually happening. You move your hand at one end and the other end moves at the same time. Obvious right? It's a stick. On a molecular level something else is happening. The atoms under your hand inside the stick move back and forth with your hand as you move it. The atoms next to those atoms do the same thing. The atoms next to that, all the way to the end, also do the same. Now you likely have a picture in your mind of a solid stick. On a molecular level, this isn't solid at all. Instead of a solid stick, imagine

Foundations of Amateur Radio The other day I managed to achieve a little personal milestone. I heard myself on-air. Before you get all misty-eyed, yes, I've heard myself on-air before - probably on thousands of occasions over the years, but that's not what this was. This was my own transmitter, in my shack, transmitting my voice via SSB and it being received and me hearing it. In broadcast radio this is a common thing. Every radio station I've ever been in pipes the audio from a normal radio receiver into the studio, so you can confirm that your transmission is in fact going to air as expected. There are funny stories associated with experts who decided that they didn't need to wear headphones and promptly broadcast silence because their microphone volume was turned down or not plugged in - gotta love the helpful announcer in the previous shift. So, what was so special about hearing myself this time? Well, for the first time I heard my SSB voice. Not AM, not FM, SSB. I'd tried this before using two radios

Foundations of Amateur Radio There's a quote from a television show that speaks greatly to me. "If they're shooting at you - you know you're doing something right!" I've been producing this weekly recording since May of 2011. It started life as "What use is an F-call?" and the first episode was recorded in response to an Amateur who bemoaned their transmitter power restrictions associated with their beginners license - when I used the same power to speak to a station 15,000km away the week before. I named the segment after the common term for my license - a Foundation License - in Australia known as an F-call. It's the so-called beginner's license, something you can get by spending a weekend with a book and passing a test that introduces you to the hobby of Amateur Radio. Since that first recording I've produced 296 different episodes, it was renamed to "Foundations of Amateur Radio" and I started putting the recording online as a podcast. In those episodes I've covered many different topics, from what to