Overview

“Amateur Radio” (ham-radio) is a licensed radio service under authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Many modes of operation are possible within different portions of the radio spectrum assigned to the Amateur Service. These modes include:

telegraph
voice
television
digital           (real-time plain-text messages)
email            (non-real-time transport of text messages with attachments)

Amateur radio operators practice to develop and maintain skills in message handling and emergency coordination to be prepared for emergencies.

A brief description of emergency radio capabilities can be found at:

 CAUTION: The FCC routinely monitors amateur transmissions, and the amateur community actively polices the ham-bands with radio-direction-finding equipment to locate unlicensed operators.

Regulations
Enforcement (Example: read the footnote on page 1)

How to get started

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is one of the largest amateur radio organizations and is dedicated to education and operator training.  A variety of other resources are available on the web (example):

Technician License

The “Technician” license is the entry level amateur radio license and grants privileges that enable local communications. You must pass the Technician exam before you can upgrade to privileges of other licenses.

General License

The “General” license requires more radio knowledge and offers a big expansion in capability. The high-power and additional privileges in the High Frequency spectrum enable cross-country and worldwide communication.

Amateur Extra License

The “Amateur Extra” license requires a significant knowledge of radio theory, but grants privileges on all frequencies assigned to amateur radio (including certain frequencies reserved exclusively for this license).

Training Manuals (these may be included in cost of radio club classes – see clubs below)
Technician License Manual	General License Manual	Amateur Extra License Manual

On-line practice exams

Exams for amateur radio licenses are created by selection of questions from a question ”pool”.  All possible questions for each exam are in the public domain and are published in the appendix of the training manuals above.

Several amateur radio oriented web sites offer on-line practice exams.  These exams are constructed by random selection from the question pool, just like the actual exams (examples).

http://aa9pw.com/radio/
http://www.qrz.com/ham/
http://www.radioexam.org/

Equipment

Personal use

There is a tremendous variety of equipment, new and used, available in the market.  The best way to become familiar with equipment you might wish to acquire is through clubs and other radio operators.

The first radio purchase by a new Technician is usually a hand-held or a mobile (automobile) transciever.  The main difference is the portability / convenience of the hand-held vs the greater power / range of the mobile.  The hand-held radio is usually restricted to VHF / UHF operation (local area) where the mobile transciever may include HF capability that enables long distance communication.

Many radio clubs sponsor “ham-fests” which are like flea-markets.  Other conduct auctions at their meetings and on-the-air “trader nets”.  Used amateur radio equipment is sold on eBay.  Many reputable vendors have commercial web-sites.  Some vendors advertise on popular “ham” sites like www.qrz.com.

Shared infrastructure that belongs to others

The most common item of shared infrstructure is a ”repeaters” for the VHF or UHF band.  An amateur radio repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak or low-level amateur radio signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation.

The new hams’ guide to repeaters
Repeaters in the Triangle area (some info may be out of date)

Winlink, also known as the Winlink 2000 Network, is a worldwide radio messaging system that mixes internet technology and appropriate amateur radio RF technologies. The system provides radio interconnection services including: email with attachments, position reporting, graphic and text weather bulletins, emergency / disaster relief communications, and message relay.

Information about Winlink can be found at the site http://www.winlink.org/node/12.

Dedicated technical infrastructure

It is possible to build facilities for dedicated purposes that are not “open” to the general public.  Examples of such a facility might be a ”closed” repeater or a radio-enabled email server that requires a log-in password. 

Training

Open and Directed Nets

“Nets” refer to a “network” of amateur radio operators affiliated and working together to accomplish a specific task. 

An “open net” is one where stations call each other directly to pass messages or “traffic”. 

A “directed net” is one where a single amateur station coordinates the movement of message traffic among many radio stations.  Directed nets have a formal protocol for check-in and operations.

General information on “nets” can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_net. 

Local radio clubs publish information about general interest nets on their web sites:

http://www.rars.org/nets.php
http://www.dfma.org/index.php/content/view/118/45/

NC Freedom Nets will operate within our Triangle Region and state-wide across the NC Regions to prepare us for community-of-interest operations when other communications are unavailable. 

Details about our nets can be found on the NC Freedom Nets page.

Emergency Nets and Exercises

Amateur radio operators have formed affiliations based on the “community of interest” they serve. The following are examples of nets that meet regularly to practice specific skills:

National Traffic System (NTS)
Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES)
SkyWarn (for central North Carolina)

In addition to local and regional activities, the ARRL conducts an annual “Simulated Emergency Test” which is a training exercise involving the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and the National Traffic System (NTS), a message-handling service of amateur radio.

The Simulated Emergency Test is organized somewhat like a contest. Its primary purposes are to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in emergency preparedness and communications, and to demonstrate amateur radio to the public.

Clubs in the Triangle Region

Clubs are a good source of information and instruction.  Most clubs have a formal education program and all have friendly members who help folks prepare for exams and “get on the air”.

There are a number of long-established radio clubs in our area:

Cary Amateur Radio Club
Durham FM Association
Johnston Amateur Radio Society
Raleigh Amateur Radio Society
Triangle East Amateur Radio Association

New clubs are formed as communities grow and old clubs “splinter”, so the Club Search is a useful tool.

Club search

If you wish to search for a radio club outside the Triangle, or not on the list above, use this link:

http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/clubsearch.phtml

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