Educational topic: Getting on the air
Two parts to this topic How to earn your Technician license Textbook, Classroom, Practice exams, Finding an Elmer What to do once you earn your license Essential equipment: Radio, power supply, antenna What frequencies can you use This information is on the CARE Wiki – find a link on the main page or search for Getting started in amateur radio www.coppellhams.org
How to earn your Technician license There are three license classes Technician General Amateur Extra The Amateur Extra license grants full operating privileges The other two have restrictions, with Technician having the most restrictions www.coppellhams.org
How to earn your Technician license Do you need to learn Morse code? Not anymore, for any license class While it used to be a requirement, it has slowly been lifted Learning Morse code does enable communicating with others, and because it’s a tone rather than voice, it can reach further www.coppellhams.org
Preparing for the Technician exam Some options include Textbook Classroom Practice exams Finding an Elmer www.coppellhams.org
Preparing for the Technician exam: Textbook ARRL’s Ham Radio License Manual is a first-choice for many hams-to- be Provides information on everything you will need for the Technician exam Serves as a reference as you continue building your amateur radio skills Make sure it’s current – the 4 th edition covers the July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2022 question pool www.coppellhams.org
Preparing for the Technician exam: Classroom Some find a classroom environment to be more helpful as there is an opportunity to ask questions Local amateur radio groups or clubs may offer classes CARE plans to start offering classes and exam sessions by the middle of this year The textbook is a useful companion to the classroom www.coppellhams.org
Preparing for the Technician exam: Practice exams You can find practice exams online There is no need to pay for practice exams Some will highlight the areas needing focus Search online for amateur radio practice exam, or search the CARE Wiki for practice exam www.coppellhams.org
Preparing for the Technician exam: Elmer An Elmer is an amateur radio operator that helps a non-ham through personal guidance and assistance Loosely, it also refers to an amateur radio operator that helps another amateur radio operator learn more about the hobby, again through personal guidance and assistance Elmering is an important part of amateur radio You can find an Elmer through your local amateur radio club, in online forums or social media, or even by talking to someone on the air Search the CARE Wiki for Elmer to find links to online forums and the CARE discussion group www.coppellhams.org
What to do once you earn your license Begin your financial journey into purchasing amateur radio equipment Start talking on the air Repeaters are a good place to listen and talk We have a list of area repeaters on the CARE Wiki: DFW area repeater list Continue learning www.coppellhams.org
What frequencies can you use as Technician All VHF All UHF Limited operation in certain HF frequencies Check the band plan (search the CARE wiki) for more information The Texas VHF-FM Society also has a band plan This plan is how we determined the repeater’s current frequency pair www.coppellhams.org
Essential amateur radio equipment • Radio (transceiver) • Antenna Minimum bar to get • Power on the air • A way to hook all of this together www.coppellhams.org
Essential amateur radio equipment It just so happens that a handheld (HT) has all those things in one www.coppellhams.org
What radio should you get Some hams really like… Some hams really don’t like… Baofeng/Pofung Baofeng/Pofung Yaesu Yaesu Kenwood Kenwood Icom Icom Alinco Alinco And so on… And so on… www.coppellhams.org
What radio should you get One that you like One that fits your budget www.coppellhams.org
Tips for selecting a radio Try them out Ham Radio Outlet in Plano has several units on display, connected and powered up for you to try out Look for one that offers an interface you can get used to If you buy a radio that’s too difficult to use, you won’t use it – you’ll hate it www.coppellhams.org
Should you get a handheld, mobile, or base? Handhelds are a great place to start Everything in one Gets you access to nearby repeaters Mobile radios are a great stepping stone Can serve as a base radio Later, can serve as a second base radio, or be placed in your car Consider a base radio for something more long-term www.coppellhams.org
Power supply Do not undersize Your radio will let you know Do not overload the circuit Your breaker will let you know This is more of a concern if you purchase an amplifier for HF, at which point you may need a dedicated 240V circuit You’ll probably get a switching power supply rather than linear Prices are lower, they’re lighter and smaller, and they work fairly well, but sometimes they can generate noise www.coppellhams.org
Antenna This is the most important part of your setup You can have the best radio ever, but a bad antenna will get you nowhere We could devote several talks to this subject and still have more to cover There are so many variables here, it’s best to ask for advice www.coppellhams.org
Hooking it all together Power cables are probably in the box If you do need to buy power cables, make sure they’re the right gauge to minimize loss You will need coax to connect your radio to the antenna There are all sorts of coax cable types (LMR-400, RG-58, RG-8X, RG- 213…) Each type has a different signal loss (called Attenuation ), and this can differ based on the frequency you’re using What to get depends on how far you need to run the cable, what frequencies you plan to operate on, your budget… No info on the wiki (yet) www.coppellhams.org
Additional accessories to consider Antenna tuner for HF If your radio has one in it, it may or may not be great SWR meter Almost an essential; you can use the radio’s SWR meter but be careful Antenna analyzer Anderson Powerpole connectors and kits This list could go on for quite a while… www.coppellhams.org
And keep learning! Operating on HF RTTY/FT8/other digital modes D-Star/DMR/System Fusion Morse code There is a lot to do in this hobby! www.coppellhams.org
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