Welcome to Ham Radio 101 & 201

Transcription

1 Welcome to Ham Radio 101 & 201 Sponsored by

2 HF Operating David W6DTW Sponsored by

3 Basic Bands and Propagation New Bands! 630 meters 2,200 meters Requires application and approval

4 Basic Bands and Propagation Band 160m 80m 40m 20m 17m 15m 12m 10m DX Night in winter months Local day, further at night DX Night, local day DX Day & Night DX Day & Night Daytime Daytime Daytime Worldwide during sunspot high

5 Basic Bands and Propagation Solar Cycle

6 Basic Bands and Propagation Solar Cycle

7 Basic Bands and Propagation - Tools PSK Reporter SolarHam DX Cluster ebook: Understanding LF & HF propagation

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9 That Band Plan again CW RTTY Packet NCDXF Beacons CW SSB SSTV SSB Calling Freq

10 Making your first QSO Calling CQ Find an open frequency Check band-plan CQ CQ CQ W6DTW calling CQ and standing by May not get a response. Don t take it personally

11 Making your first QSO Answering CQ Caller calls CQ or QRZ? QRZ means who s calling me? Make sure you are on frequency Tune until the caller sounds normal W6DTW

12 Making your first QSO Arrange a Sked A Scheduled Contact Work with a friend or club Useful for testing problems in setup

13 Making your first QSO The Exchange Location Country, City Maidenhead Grid Square Signal Report RST Readability 1-5 Signal strength 1-9 Tone (CW only) 1-9 Weather Station Details

14 Logging Software Ham Radio Deluxe Log4OM N1MM HamLog MacLogger RUMlog and dozens more

15 Morse Code Why? No longer required for license More popular than ever before More Miles per Watt 10 db gain over SSB Low signal to noise Very narrow bandwidth Quiet operation Need transceiver and Key Need to learn new language

16 Morse Code How to Learn? Online PC Smartphone Tapes & CDs Broadcasts W1AW transmissions

17 HF Digital Modes David W6DTW Sponsored by

18 Why Digital?

19 Why Digital? The Bands are Dead! People stop calling on voice If no-one calls, no-one responds Lots of hams turn to digital in down times Good for high noise QTH Digital modes operate on spot frequencies No need to tune around More with less power Perfect for Remote Operation Can operate from your desk at work during lunch ;-)

20 Digital Modes Conversational RTTY, PSK31, Olivia, MFSK, Throb etc.. Conversational mode Take turns to type Cross platform, Open Source Software FLDigi

21 Digital Modes - Weak Signal JT65, JT9, FT8 WSPR Structured long overs Not great for conversation Great for DX Chasing More Miles per Watt JT65 : 10 db better than CW JT9 : Less margin, less BW Cross platform software WSJT-X

22 Digital Modes Packet Radio type FSQ Fast Simple QSO Good for group chats Like IRC or ICQ chat Set up relays or hops Software FLDigi FSQCall

23 Digital Modes Weather FAX WeFAX Download Weather forecast maps Great for remote sailors Software FLDigi

24 Digital Modes - WINLINK Yes, over HF! Very slow Not private Be careful about Part 97 regulations

25 FLDigi Decode Signal Browser Sent Macros Panadapter

26 WSJT-X Panadapter Signal Browser Macros

27 Equipment Transceiver Low Power OK, especially on JT Modes Radio should be frequency stable Any modern rigs

28 Equipment Computer Desktop/Laptop Windows, OSX, Linux Anything modern Tablet/Phone Android/IOS Raspberry Pi Model 3

29 Interface - Audio Get Audio from computer to radio Does your rig have a USB connector? Mic by speaker (audio coupling) Not Recommended Audio cable Cheap option Can be noisy Dedicated Rig Interface Signalink or RigBlaster Include isolation transformers Knobs help set audio levels

30 Interface Rig Control Computer control Change Frequency PTT Serial Port CAT /CI-V Does your rig have a USB connector? Be sure to use an RF choke on your cable!

31 JT Modes - Timing Computer timing is critical Decoder is very time sensitive FT8 has a 2 second turn-around time PC Clock Sync Don t use Windows sync Dimension 4 software BktTimeSync Offline in the field? USB GPS Puck GlobalSat BU-353-S4 Works with BktTimeSync (via NMEA msgs)

32 Audio Settings Don t be a Lid! Disable Windows sounds Turn OFF AGC & transmit compression Set Input or Mic Gain so ALC not engaged Depends on radio see manual Set Radio to maximum power Set Tx power with audio level from PC/Rigblaster You don t want to look like this:

33 Getting Started Start with RTTY, PSK31 or JT65 ARRL Book Getting on the Air with HF Digital YouTube PSK31 Tutorial FT8 Tutorial Ask Questions

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35 Welcome to Ham Radio 101 & 201 Sponsored by