Amateur Radio
April 12th, 2008
I’ve been saying I should become a licensed amateur radio operator for longer than I care to admit. Hurricane Katrina reinforced the need, and last week we had an extended power outage thanks to a tornado in the area.
I finally did it. I took and passed the technician exam, and I’m currently reviewing for the general class exam.
You don’t need to be an electrical engineer or rocket scientist to pass these tests, the electrical calculations are not that difficult or plentiful.
Some good manuals can be found at kb6nu.com, good practice tests can be found at qrz.com. Test times and locations can be found on the ARRL website.
The whole point of this stuff is the ability to operate a radio on various 2m and 70cm bands, most areas have emergency nets operating on amateur frequencies. Amateur operators have a long history of providing communication assistance during disasters. Here is one example.
Off to study some more, and shop for an HT. Currently looking at the Yaesu FT-60R
April 14th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I attended a few classes… but I never had the patience to learn Morse code. Is it still a requirement?
April 14th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Morse is gone! The 5wpm code element was removed when the Technician cert was introduced several years ago. Last year, code was removed from all levels.
You’ll still find guys who bang Morse, but most people these days are using other methods, like RTTY (Radio Teletype). StationID is acceptable in Morse everywhere, so you’re likely to hear it from time to time.
I would imagine if you run through the tech section on qrz.com/testing.html, you’ll be surprised with what you know. The main thing is “be nice”, then some basic electrical stuff. If you know what Amps, Volts, and Watts are, you’re well on your way.
I’m currently experiencing the hard part - waiting for the FCC database to tell me my callsign! (wireless.fcc.gov/uls)
June 20th, 2008 at 4:34 am
[…] we had an extended power outage thanks to a tornado in the area. I finally did it. I took and pashttp://blogs.tech-recipes.com/abanks/2008/04/12/amateur-radio/K5KJ&39s Ham Radio PageAll amateur radio Clubs welcome visitors and many offer training classes to […]