Getting on the Air: HT “I just got my license, now what?” By The Salvation Army & MDARC.

Getting on the Air: HT

“I just got my license, now what?”

By The Salvation Army & MDARC

Presented by:

Jim Siemons

CCRA

Congratulations,You’re a Ham!

* 738,000+ New Friends in the US alone

* Remember – THIS IS A HOBBY! (have fun!)

* You get to decide what you want to do.

So, what can I do?

Where is the playground?

• Did you know in the US amateurs have access to approximately:

• 3.75 MHz of HF (160m-10m) spectrum

• 67 MHz of VHF/UHF (6m-33cm) spectrum

• 24.095 GHz of microwave (23cm-300GHz) spectrum

A few of my favorite things…

PSK31 waterfall

How do we communicate?

• We communicate Point-to-Point• We communicate over Repeaters• We communicate over the Internet

(VoIP)

• And combinations of the above!

Can you find the repeater?

VHF / UHF

• 6 Meters (50 MHz)• 2 Meters (144 MHz)• 1-1/4 Meters (222 MHz) {220}• 70 cm (420 MHz) {440}• 33 cm (902 MHz) {900}• 23 cm (1240 MHz) {1200}

What’s on a ham radio?

HT Keypad

Using Your HT

• What mode is the radio in?• What is the radio frequency?• What is the status of the battery?• On and Off switch and volume• Dial knob (VFO knob)• Squelch Control• PTT

Using Your HT

• Number Keys – Set a Freq & Setup a Function• V/M Key• F W Key• Power Level – low/medium/high (.5, 2, 5w)• Select VFO Mode• Select 2 meters• Turn Off WIRES – Yaesu, this means you!

Simplex Operating

• Listen, Listen, Listen• Say you call sign +

“monitoring”• Call another station• Answer another station

Repeater Operating

• Listen, Listen, Listen• Lots more folks are listening to you!• If joining a net – listen and follow the

instructions of the “Net Control”• “Clear” when you are done

Equipment

“Top Shelf” Gear

ICOM 92AD

Kenwood TH-F6A

Yaesu VX-7R

Yaesu VX-8R

Best Value Gear

Yaesu FT-60R

Icom IC-80AD

Yaesu VX-6R

Time to go out and operate?!

The Camp Shack

“Honey, it’s just a clock radio…”

Phonetic Alphabet

It is a fine business to use the international phonetic alphabet! Don’t let other operators think of you as a lid!

RST Signal ReportT = TONE1 -- Sixty cycle a.c. or less, very rough and broad2 -- Very rough a.c. , very harsh and broad3 -- Rough a.c. tone, rectified but not filtered4 -- Rough note, some trace of filtering5 -- Filtered rectified a.c. but strongly ripple-modulated6 -- Filtered tone, definite trace of ripple modulation7 -- Near pure tone, trace of ripple modulation8 -- Near perfect tone, slight trace of modulation9 -- Perfect tone, no trace of ripple or modulation of any kind

R = READABILITY1 -- Unreadable2 -- Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable3 -- Readable with considerable difficulty4 -- Readable with practically no difficulty5 -- Perfectly readable

S = SIGNAL STRENGTH1 -- Faint signals, barely perceptible2 -- Very weak signals3 -- Weak signals4 -- Fair signals5 -- Fairly good signals6 -- Good signals7 -- Moderately strong signals8 -- Strong signals9 -- Extremely strong signals

Keeping a Log

• Hams are no longer required to keep a log book – but it is a really good idea to do so!

• Three main ways to keep a station log: paper, using computer software or keep it in the “cloud” such as LoTW or QRZ.com

Keeping a Log

Battery Management

• Use it or lose it!• Secondary vs. Primary• Do not charge Alkaline Cells!• Do no overcharge batteries!• Periodically check condition of batteries on

standby• Power save mode/low TX pwr/Auto Off

Other Topics…

• Crossband Repeaters – Awesome!• APRS• EchoLink and IRLP• SSTV• Fastscan TV – ATV Rules!• Apps for your phone!

Thanks for Coming!!!