Ham Radio Technician Class Licensing Course

1. Ham Radio Technician Class Licensing Course Columbia Amateur Radio Association David Morrisson, W7OR Instructor http://www.colemer.org/

2. Introductions • State your name and a little about yourself. • Why are you taking this course? • What do you know about ham radio? • What expectations do you have for yourself and your instructors?

3. Expectations • Class will start and end on time. • Instructor will be prepared to teach. • Students are expected to read assigned material before each class session and be prepared to learn. • Ham radio is not a spectator sport, active participation during class discussions is vital to success in obtaining your Technician Class License (ticket). • a

4. Course Outline

5. Let’s Get Started • Our goal during this class is for each of you to achieve the Technician Class Amateur Radio License! • The license will authorize you to operate an Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) transmitter.

6. What can you do with a Technician Class License?

7. What can you do with a Technician Class License? • Emission Privileges:

8. What can you do with a Technician Class License? • Power limits. • Use the minimum power required to get the job done. • Up to 1500 watts peak envelope power (PEP). • Will generally require an external amplifier to achieve these power levels. • Some special cases where power is restricted.

9. Primary and Secondary Allocations • Some authorized amateur frequencies are shared. • Primary Users. • Secondary Users.

10. Amateur Radio - Internationally • International Telecommunication Union (ITU). • Regions 1, 2 and 3. • CONUS hams are in Region 2. • Reciprocal operating authorizations. • There are times when there are restrictions on certain countries that we can contact.

11. Call Signs • US call signs begin with: K, N, W, and A. • US call sign districts: 0-9

12. Call Signs • Portable – operating away from primary station location. • If in the different call sign district add: • “portable 6” if voice. • /6 if Morse code or digital. • Not required, just nice to do. • If recent upgrade add “AG” or “AE.”

13. Special Call Signs • Club and special event call signs. • Vanity call signs.

14. Steps to Obtaining Your Ticket • Study the material in the Ham Radio License Manual. • Review the questions in the back of the book • Take interactive practice exams. • Pass a proctored 35-question multiple choice test. • Questions pulled directly from the question pool. • Need to answer 26 questions correctly. • No Morse code is required.

15. What is Amateur Radio? • Amateur (or Ham) Radio is a personal radio service authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). • To encourage the advancement of the art and science of radio. • To promote the development of an emergency communication capability to assist communities when needed. • To develop a pool of trained radio operators. • To promote international good will by connecting private citizens in countries around the globe. • Through ham radio, you will become an ambassador for your community and your country.

16. What Do Hams Do? • Communicate • Participate • Experiment • Build • Compete • Serve their communities • Life-long learning

17. What Makes Ham Radio Different? • There are many unlicensed radio services available. • Ham radio is authorized: • Less restrictions. • More frequencies (channels or bands to utilize). • More power (to improve range and quality). • More ways to communicate. • It’s free to operate your radio.

18. With More Privileges Comes More Responsibility • Because ham radios are much more capable and have the potential of interfering with other radio services. • Because ham radios have unlimited reach. They easily reach around the globe and into space. • FCC authorization is required to ensure the operator is qualified to operate the ham radio safely, appropriately and within the rules and regulation – that is why you are here.

19. So Let’s Begin Your Ham Radio Journey • We have touched briefly on what ham radio is. More detail will follow in the weeks to come. • Reading assignment: Introduction and Chapter 1 – this covers materials presented in the first hour already. • Chapter 2.

20. Technician License CourseChapter 2 Radio and Electronics Fundamentals Equipment Definitions

21. Basic Station Organization • Station Equipment • Receiver • Transmitter • Antenna • Power Supply • Accessory Station Equipment • Repeaters

22. What Happens During Radio Communication? • Transmitting (sending a signal): • Information (voice, data, video, commands, etc.) is converted to electronic form. • The information in electronic form is attached or embedded on a radio wave (a carrier). • The radio wave is sent out from the station antenna into space.

23. What Happens During Radio Communication? • Receiving end: • The radio wave (carrier) with the information is intercepted by the receiving station antenna. • The receiver extracts the information from the carrier wave. • The information is then presented to the user in a format that can be understood (sound, picture, words on a computer screen, response to a command).

24. What Happens During Radio Communication? • This sounds pretty simple, but it in reality is pretty complex. • This complexity is one thing that makes ham radio fun…learning all about how radios work. • Don’t be intimidated. You will be required to only know the basics, but you can learn as much about the “art and science” of radio as you want.

25. The Basic Radio Station

26. The Receiver and Controls • Main tuning dial for received frequency (or channel) selection. • Frequency display. • Volume control. • Other accessory controls for mode (kind of information to process), filters (to mitigate interference), etc.

27. The Transmitter and Controls • Main tuning dial for transmitted frequency (or channel) selection. • Frequency display. • Power control (transmitted signal strength). • Other accessory controls for mode (kind of information to process), etc.

28. The Transceiver • You will notice that many of the controls of the transmitter and receiver are the same. • Most modern transmitters and receivers are combined in one unit – called a transceiver. • Saves space • Cost less • Many common electronic circuits are shared in the transceiver.

29. Transceiver Controls • Some are physical knobs that you manually adjust. • Some are controlled by computer and you control the settings with keypad entries that program a computer in the transceiver.

30. Antenna • The antenna exposes your station to the world. • Facilitates the radiation of your signal into space (electromagnetic radiation). • Intercepts someone else’s signal. • Most times the transmitting and receiving antenna are the same antenna. • Connected to your station by a connecting wire called a feed line.

31. Transmit/Receive (TR) Switch • If the station antenna is shared between the transmitter and receiver, the TR switch allows the antenna to be switched to the transmitter when sending and to the receiver when receiving. • In a transceiver, this TR switch is inside the unit and requires no attention by the operator.

32. Power Supply • Your radio station needs some sort of power to operate. • Battery • Household current converted to proper voltage • Alternative sources

33. Power Supply • Most modern radios operate on 12 volts direct current (dc). • A power supply converts household current to the type of current and the correct voltage to operate your station. • Could be internal, might be external. • You are probably familiar with common “wall-wart” power supplies.

34. Basic Station Accessories • Human interface accessories: • Microphones • Speakers • Earphones • Computer • Morse code key • TV camera • Etc. • Station performance accessories: • Antenna tuner • SWR meter (antenna match checker) • Amplifier • Antenna rotator (turning antenna) • Filters • Etc.

35. Accessory Equipment

36. Special Stations You Will Use (Repeaters) • Repeaters are automated stations located at high places that receive and then retransmit your signal – simultaneously. • Dramatically improves range. • The basic components of a repeater are the same as your station: receiver, transmitter, antenna and power supply.

37. Repeaters • But, repeaters are transmitting and receiving at the same time using the same antenna. • This requires a very high quality and specialized filter to prevent the transmitted signal from overpowering the receiver. • This specialized filter is called a duplexer.

38. Repeater

39. Technician License CourseChapter 2 Radio and Electronics Fundamentals Basic Electricity

40. Fundamentals of Electricity • When dealing with electricity, what we are referring to is the flow of electrons through a conductor. • Electrons are negatively charged atomic particles. • The opposite charge is the positive charge • A conductor is a material that allows electrons to move with relative freedom within the material.

41. Fundamentals of Electricity • In electronics and radio, we control the flow of electrons to make things happen. • You need to have a basic understanding of how and why we control the flow of electrons so that you can better operate your radio.

42. Basic Characteristics of Electricity • There are three characteristics to electricity: • Voltage • Current • Resistance • All three must be present for electrons to flow.

43. Basic Characteristics of Electricity • The flow of water through a hose is a good analogy to understand the three characteristics of electricity and how they are related.

44. Characteristics of Electricity are Inter-related • Voltage, current and resistance must be present to have current flow. • Just like water flowing through a hose, changes in voltage, current and resistance affect each other. • That effect is mathematically expressed in Ohm’s Law.

45. Ohm’s Law • E is voltage • Units - volts • I is current • Units - amperes • R is resistance • Units - ohms • R = E/I • I = E/R • E = I x R

46. Moving Electrons Doing Something Useful • Any time energy is expended to do something, work is performed. • When moving electrons do some work, power is consumed. • Power is measured in the units of Watts.

47. Power Formula • Power is defined as the amount of current that is being pushed through a conductor or device to do work. • P = E x I • E = P/I • I = P/E

48. Two Basic Kinds of Current • When current flows in only one direction, it is called direct current (dc). • Batteries are a common source of dc. • Most electronic devices are powered by dc. • When current flows alternatively in one direction then in the opposite direction, it is called alternating current (ac). • Your household current is ac.

49. The Electric Circuit:An Electronic Roadmap • For current to flow, there must be a path from one side of the source of the current to the other side of the source – this path is called a circuit. • There must be a hose (conductive path) through which the water (current) can flow. • The following are some vocabulary words that help describe an electronic circuit.

50. Series Circuits • Series circuits provide one and only one path for current flow.