You may have heard the term “ham radio” before; in this chapter, we will explore what exactly amateur, or “ham,” radio is and how you can get involved in it.
What Is It?
The ITU’s designation of different regions of the world. Separate designations are created to facilitate management of the electromagnetic spectrum
An amateur radio “shack” with a variety of different radios and computers. Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mw0rkbshack.jpg
Another key part of amateur radio is that communications on amateur frequencies cannot be used for commercial purposes. This is why amateur radio is called “amateur.” Hams cannot be paid for their services on amateur radio bands, and there are very stringent requirements about the type of content that can be transmitted. These requirements include rules like “you can’t transmit music on amateur frequencies” and “very few communications can be encrypted.” The purpose of amateur radio is to allow for disaster communications, citizen communications, education, event organization, and more. These goals would not be achievable if ham bands were polluted with commercial traffic.
Frequency Allocations
Certain frequency slices are allotted to amateur radio operators across the entire radio spectrum. These slices are referred to as “bands,” and are generally classified by a band’s wavelength. Different bands are more suitable for different tasks, primarily due to the physical properties of lower- and higher-frequency radio waves that you’re already familiar with.
Lower-frequency bands such as 40-meter, 30-meter, 20-meter, and 10-meter are used to make long-distance contacts with large setups. These bands require large antennas that are generally not well suited for mobile operation. The 2 m and 70 cm bands are popular for newer operators, as much less equipment is necessary to transmit and receive on these bands. This comes at a cost, however, as the these shorter wavelengths only travel in the line-of-sight propagation mode.
A small section of the US frequency allocation chart
The dark-green sections are amateur radio bands, some of which are also used for amateur radio satellite communications (light green). Frequency allocations listed are from 18 to 30 MHz and from 154 to 300 MHz.
Uses of Amateur Radio
You now have a better idea of what bands are available to hams, but it’s amateur radio operators doing interesting things on these bands that makes amateur radio so special. The following sections provide a snapshot of some of the common use cases for amateur radio.
“Rag Chewing”
One of the primary uses of amateur radio frequencies is simply to have a conversation with other hams. Such conversations can be conducted over voice, Morse code, or another digital format. The interesting part about communicating on amateur radio frequencies is that you can communicate directly with individuals across the globe. There’s an incredibly satisfying feeling when making a direct or semi-direct contact thousands of miles away. It’s certainly possible to talk with individuals a great distance away using the Internet, but with amateur radio, you can use nothing but the electromagnetic spectrum and some equipment to make this connection rather than hundreds of server interlinks and thousands of miles of cable. Hams call these longer conversations “rag chews.”
As mentioned, amateur radio operators will often have a “shack” that holds one’s equipment and antennas. Large antennas and high-powered transmitters are generally required for long-distance communications. Almost all amateur radio operators also have a handheld transceiver (HT) for shorter-range and mobile communications. Some even have car rigs to enable “on-the-go” operations.
Contests
Hams also enjoy participating in various forms of contests. A common form of contest is to make as many contacts from as many cities, states, or countries as possible within a certain amount of time. Upon making a contact, each station would enter the other’s identifier (more on this later) to officially record the contact. Many individuals take pride in achieving extremely long-distance contacts, as this demonstrates radio prowess. Some hams attempt to make long-distance contacts using limited hardware, which makes the task even more challenging.
Other contests can be more local in nature. A particularly interesting one is where an individual hides a transmitter in an undisclosed location and others try and hunt the transmitter using directional antennas. The first individual to find the hidden transmitter is declared the winner.
A certificate issued to the Harvard Wireless Club for performing well in a national contest. The author was one of the operators of Harvard Wireless Club during this contest
Emergency Communications
One of the more practical uses of amateur radio bands is for communications during times of emergency. In fact, many amateur radio contests are designed to strengthen hams’ skills in the event that disaster strikes. Hurricanes, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks can result in a complete communications blackout. Direct radio links are often the only practical means of communication left in such scenarios, making amateur radio operators invaluable to disaster relief efforts.
Many hams are members of national and international amateur radio emergency organizations. These organizations put in place protocols that help hams quickly set up radio networks in the event of a disaster. Large relief organizations such as the Red Cross frequently ask these emergency communications organizations for help in areas with no access to the Internet.
Event Coordination
Volunteers at the finish line of the 2019 Boston Marathon, with a few amateur radio volunteers in the mix
Education
NASA astronaut Col. Doug Wheelock operating amateur radio equipment on the International Space Station
Remote Communications
A CubeSat being launched from the International Space Station. Many CubeSats utilize amateur radio frequencies to send science and telemetry information back to Earth
Licensing
As briefly mentioned before, one must be licensed in order to transmit on amateur frequencies. This helps ensure that amateur bands stay clean of the pollution that occurs with unlicensed bands such as the 2.4 GHz used for many home devices. Licensed users are much more likely to follow rules about fair use of spectrum, ensuring that amateur bands can be used for the purposes for which they’re intended. Having a license also makes you part of a global community of licensed amateur radio operators. All licensed hams are assigned a callsign by their licensing body. Callsigns serve as a way to identify others on the air and as a way to prove that you actually are licensed.
An FCC amateur radio license, with personally identifying information removed
Technician
Technician license, or “tech,” is the lowest level of license one can attain. Passing the technician licensing test is relatively simple, as it requires only a cursory knowledge of radio theory and restrictions imposed by the FCC. Upon obtaining your technician license, the FCC issues you a six-character callsign that allows you to operate on amateur bands above 30 MHz. You do not have full privileges to operate on all these bands as a technician-class licensee—the data transmission format is limited by the FCC.
General
The general test is harder to pass than technician. It has more possible questions about FCC restrictions and asks many more questions relating to operation of lower-frequency bands. A general-class license grants you limited privileges to operate on all amateur bands, although general license holders are still somewhat limited in how information can be transmitted.
Amateur Extra
The extra-class licensing test is harder still to pass, but upon successful completion of the test, you can use all amateur bands with every communications mode allowed by the FCC. Additionally, holding an amateur extra license makes you eligible for the shortest possible callsigns allowed by the FCC.
The Technician Test
Passing the technician licensing exam is by no means assured, but with a little bit of studying on top of the information contained in this book, you should be more than capable of achieving a satisfactory score. The test contains 35 questions, all of which are drawn from a publicly accessible pool of a few hundred questions. It’s perfectly feasible to go through all the questions and see the answers ahead of time so you’re fully prepared for the test, although this is generally not necessary in order to pass. A passing score for the test is 26 questions correct out of the 35. Getting extra questions correct on top of the 26 will not grant you additional privileges.
In the next section, I've provided some samples to give you a good idea of the type of questions you’ll see on the test. I highly recommend additional studying on top of this—there are many questions on FCC restrictions and laws that you will not be able to answer by making an educated guess; you simply have to see the question first. www.HamStudy.org is a fantastic resource for studying, as it has detailed explanations of the answers to most of the questions in the testing pool.
Sample Questions
- 1.What is component 2 in Figure T-1?
- A.
Resistor
- B.
Transistor
- C.
Indicator lamp
- D.
Connector
- A.
- 2.What do the initials LEO tell you about an amateur satellite?
- A.
The satellite battery is in Low Energy Operation mode.
- B.
The satellite is in a Low Earth Orbit.
- C.
The satellite uses Light Emitting Optics.
- D.
The satellite is performing a Lunar Ejection Orbit maneuver.
- A.
- 3.In which of the following circumstances may the control operator of an amateur station receive compensation for operating that station?
- A.
When the communication is related to the sale of amateur equipment by the control operator's employer.
- B.
When the communication is incidental to classroom instruction at an educational institution.
- C.
When the communication is made to obtain emergency information for a local broadcast station.
- D.
All of these choices are correct.
- A.
- 4.What should you do if something in a neighbor’s home is causing harmful interference to your amateur station?
- A.
Work with your neighbor to identify the offending device.
- B.
Politely inform your neighbor about the rules that prohibit the use of devices that cause interference.
- C.
Check your station and make sure it meets the standards of good amateur practice.
- D.
All of these choices are correct.
- A.
- 5.What should be done when using voice modes to ensure that voice messages containing unusual words are received correctly?
- A.
Send the words by voice and Morse code.
- B.
Speak very loudly into the microphone.
- C.
Spell the words using a standard phonetic alphabet.
- D.
All of these choices are correct.
- A.
- 6.What is the voltage across each of two components in series with a voltage source?
- A.
The same voltage as the source.
- B.
Half the source voltage.
- C.
It is determined by the type and value of the components.
- D.
Twice the source voltage.
- A.
- 7.Which of the following describes the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES)?
- A.
A radio service using amateur frequencies for emergency management or civil defense communications.
- B.
A radio service using amateur stations for emergency management or civil defense communications.
- C.
An emergency service using amateur operators certified by a civil defense organization as being enrolled in that organization.
- D.
All of these choices are correct.
- A.
- 8.In which direction does a half-wave dipole antenna radiate the strongest signal?
- A.
Equally in all directions
- B.
Off the ends of the antenna
- C.
Broadside to the antenna
- D.
In the direction of the feed line
- A.
- 9.What kind of hazard might exist in a power supply when it is turned off and disconnected?
- A.
Static electricity could damage the grounding system.
- B.
Circulating currents inside the transformer might cause damage.
- C.
The fuse might blow if you remove the cover.
- D.
You might receive an electric shock from the charge stored in large capacitors.
- A.
- 10.Which frequency is within the 6 m amateur band?
- A.
49.00 MHz
- B.
52.525 MHz
- C.
28.50 MHz
- D.
222.15 MHz
- A.
Answers
- 1.
B. Many of the questions on the test check your knowledge of general electrical engineering concepts. Numerous questions ask you to identify the components in this picture.
- 2.
B. Some of the questions test your knowledge of more niche topics in amateur radio such as communications with objects in space. In this case, LEO refers to objects in Low Earth Orbit, which is generally considered to be orbits with a maximum altitude below 2,000 km.
- 3.
B. This question demonstrates one of the core purposes of amateur radio: education. Hams are not allowed to receive compensation for their services in amateur radio, but this restriction could be problematic for teachers wishing to educate students about radio and amateur radio. Therefore, exemptions to this rule exist in special circumstances such as this one. The general idea of this question is more important than its content: make sure you understand the purpose of amateur radio and its goals.
- 4.
D. Some questions test your knowledge of general operating procedures. This question also happens to be part of a large subset of questions that can be answered with common sense—if all of the answers are very reasonable, and there are no specific laws or rules in question, chances are all of them are correct.
- 5.
C. This is another example of a commonsense question. You may not know the exact law, but speaking loudly into the microphone is obviously not correct, which removes B and D. C is more plausible, and it happens to be correct!
- 6.
C. This question tests your knowledge of core electrical engineering concepts. I recommend doing further research into basic electrical engineering principles, as it will help further your knowledge of radio in general. This specific question can be answered with a basic knowledge of Ohm’s law and the behavior of components connected in series.
- 7.
D. A few questions contain information about amateur radio organizations and emergency capabilities of amateur radio. You’ll generally need to see these questions ahead of time or know something about the organization in question to get them correct. All of the answers sound basically the same here, so D would be a solid guess if you didn’t know.
- 8.
C. The technician test also contains questions about radio and antenna theory, which this book can help you answer! Recall the radiation pattern of a dipole antenna: it radiates around the face, which can be described as “broadside.”
- 9.
D. Safety is important in amateur radio, as you may oftentimes deal with large voltages and currents. Knowing the hazards of electrical components is important to safe operation. For this question, knowing that capacitors store energy would help you choose the correct answer.
- 10.
B. This is part of a broad class of questions for which you need to calculate the answer. From the chapter on radio theory, you should be familiar with how frequency and wavelength are related. An easy way to calculate this in your head is to perform all the calculations in units of 1 million. The speed of light is roughly 300 million meters per second, and we’re looking for a frequency in megahertz. The frequency of a wave is its speed divided by its wavelength, so 300/6 = 50 MHz.
Finding a Test
The best way to find a license test center is to simply search “Ham radio license test locations” online. Most medium-size cities have clubs that offer tests on a regular basis, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find a place to get licensed. Your test will be administered by VEs, or volunteer examiners. Chatting with your VEs and other individuals before and after the test is a great way to learn more about the hobby and hear others’ experiences, so don’t be shy! After you take and pass your test, your callsign will appear in your government’s database within a few days or weeks. At this point, you’re fully licensed to be on the air.
Summary
Amateur radio is a versatile hobby that allows you to contact others in interesting ways while learning about radio in the process. Amateur radio operators, or “hams,” utilize specially allocated regions of the electromagnetic spectrum for their communications. These regions are usually dedicated only to amateur radio, but are sometimes shared for military or other purposes. Regardless of your country of residence, you will need to acquire a license to transmit on amateur radio frequencies. One can obtain a license through a licensing test, generally administered by the body of your government responsible for regulating communications.
A key restriction of transmissions on amateur radio frequencies is that they cannot be commercial in nature. Opening up amateur frequencies to commercial activity would render them useless for the purposes of amateur radio. These purposes include civil emergency communications, education, event coordination, general communications, and more. In the next chapter, you’ll learn how to operate amateur radio equipment and contact others.