Welcome to Ham Radio 101 & 201 Sponsored by
HF Operating David W6DTW Sponsored by
Basic Bands and Propagation New Bands! 630 meters 2,200 meters Requires application and approval
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
Basic Bands and Propagation Solar Cycle
Basic Bands and Propagation Solar Cycle
Basic Bands and Propagation - Tools PSK Reporter http://www.pskreporter.info SolarHam http://www.solarham.net DX Cluster http://dxheat.com/dxc ebook: Understanding LF & HF propagation http://g0kya.blogspot.com
www.pskreporter.info
That Band Plan again 14.000 CW 14.070 RTTY 14.095 Packet 14.100 NCDXF Beacons 14.112 CW 14.150 SSB 14.230 SSTV 14.286 SSB Calling Freq 14.350 http://www.arrl.org/band-plan
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
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
Making your first QSO Arrange a Sked A Scheduled Contact Work with a friend or club Useful for testing problems in setup
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
Logging Software Ham Radio Deluxe Log4OM N1MM HamLog MacLogger RUMlog and dozens more
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
Morse Code How to Learn? Online PC www.lcwo.net www.g4fon.net Smartphone Tapes & CDs Broadcasts W1AW transmissions
HF Digital Modes David W6DTW Sponsored by
Why Digital?
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 ;-)
Digital Modes Conversational RTTY, PSK31, Olivia, MFSK, Throb etc.. Conversational mode Take turns to type Cross platform, Open Source Software FLDigi http://www.w1hkj.com/
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 https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html
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 http://www.qsl.net/zl1bpu/mfsk/fsqweb.htm
Digital Modes Weather FAX WeFAX Download Weather forecast maps Great for remote sailors Software FLDigi
Digital Modes - Email WINLINK Yes, EMAIL over HF! Very slow Not private Be careful about Part 97 regulations http://www.winlink.org/
FLDigi Decode Signal Browser Sent Macros Panadapter
WSJT-X Panadapter Signal Browser Macros
Equipment Transceiver Low Power OK, especially on JT Modes Radio should be frequency stable Any modern rigs
Equipment Computer Desktop/Laptop Windows, OSX, Linux Anything modern Tablet/Phone Android/IOS Raspberry Pi Model 3
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
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!
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 http://www.thinkman.com/dimension4/ BktTimeSync http://www.maniaradio.it/en/bkttimesync.html Offline in the field? USB GPS Puck GlobalSat BU-353-S4 Works with BktTimeSync (via NMEA msgs)
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:
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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