Amateur radio

Indian amateur radio operator on the air

Amateur radio is hobby or pastime enjoyed by many, but with readily available cell phone, it is now usually practiced by an enthusiast rather than a professional, that includes communicating world-wide by two-way radio and can include striving for "DX" receptions that are challenging, usually because of distance.[1]

Obtaining a license

Obtaining a license to operate an amateur radio station requires passing an examination covering technical topics and operating procedures. The exact nature of the assessment varies in each country and by the class of amateur radio license the applicant is seeking. In many countries there are different classes of amateur radio license with different privileges.

Amateur radio licensing by country

United States

License classes

The items listed above are the exams you must take and pass to be amateur radio operator. They must be taken in that particular order: technician first, then General second, and finally, extra. In the United States, a person may take and pass all three exams in one setting.

United Kingdom

License classes

Operating on popular amateur bands

To operate on different bands you need different antenna and radios.

Data on bands and antennas is taken from arrl.org.[2]

ITU radio band frequency ranges
  • Extremely low frequency : 3 Hz – 30 Hz.
  • Super low frequency : 30 Hz – 300 Hz
  • Ultra low frequency : 300 Hz – 3 KHz
  • Very low frequency : 3 KHz – 30 KHz
  • Low frequency : 30 KHz – 300 KHz
  • Medium frequency : 300 KHz – 3 MHz
  • High frequency  : 3 MHz – 30 MHz
  • Very high frequency : 30 MHz – 300 MHz
  • Ultra high frequency  : 300 MHz – 3 GHz
  • Super high frequency  : 3 GHz – 30 GHz
  • Extremely high frequency  : 30 GHz – 300 GHz

Here are standard antenna lengths for 1/2 wavelength long dipole antennas and 1/4 wavelength long vertical antennas for some of the popular amateur bands:

Band   Frequency type   Frequency range                 Antenna length
Dipole Vertical
160m Medium 1.8 – 2.0 MHz 234 ft 117 ft
80m High 3.5 – 4.0 MHz 117 ft 58.5 ft
40m High 7.0 – 7.3 MHz 64 ft 32 ft
30m High 10.10 – 10.15 MHz ?? 46 ft 23 ft
20m High 14.00 – 14.35 MHz ?? 32 ft 16 ft
17m High 18.07 – 18.17 MHz ?? 26 ft 13 ft
15m High 21.00 – 21.45 MHz ?? 22 ft 11 ft
12m High 24.89 – 24.99 MHz ?? 18 ft 9 ft
6m Very high 50 – 54 MHz 8 ft 4 ft
2m Very high 144 – 148 MHz 3 ft 1.5 ft

Equipment

Antennas

  1. Unidirectional propagation
  2. Omnidirectional propagation

there are two basic types of antennas, antennas that propagate equal in one direction eg."Unidirectional propagation", or antennas that propagate in all directions eg. "omnidirectional propagation"

Readings

Texts

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/amateur_radio
  2. ↑ http://arrl.org

Categories

Subject classification: this is an engineering resource .
Subject classification: this is a technology resource .
Educational level: this is a non-formal education resource.
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