For some odd reason, the question pool committee deleted the question about special event station callsigns and replaced it with another question about IRLP. Not only that, they added a few more questions about IRLP to this section. I think they should have kept the question about special events and eliminated the gateway question (T8C11) instead…Dan
There are many different ways to have fun with amateur radio. Contesting, for example, is a popular operating activity that involves contacting as many stations as possible during a specified period of time. (T8C03) When contacting another station in a radio contest, a good procedure is to send only the minimum information needed for proper identification and the contest exchange. (T8C04)
In VHF/UHF contests, stations often send each other their grid locators. A grid locator is a letter-number designator assigned to a geographic location. (T8C05)
One fun activity that is very practical is radio direction finding. You would use radio direction finding equipment and skills to participate in a hidden transmitter hunt, sometimes called a “fox hunt.” In addition to participating in this kind of contest, radio direction finding is one of the methods used to locate sources of noise interference or jamming. (T8C01) A directional antenna would be useful for a hidden transmitter hunt. (T8C02)
Some amateurs get licensed because they like to build and operate radio-controlled models, including boats, planes, and automobiles. The maximum power allowed when transmitting telecommand signals to radio controlled models is 1 watt. (T8C07) In place of on-air station identification when sending signals to a radio control model using amateur frequencies, a label indicating the licensee’s name, call sign and address must be affixed to the transmitter.(T8C08)
If the only radios that you have are VHF or UHF radios, you might want to look into EchoLink and the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP). The Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) is a technique to connect amateur radio systems, such as repeaters, via the Internet using Voice Over Internet Protocol. (T8C13) Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), as used in amateur radio, is a method of delivering voice communications over the Internet using digital techniques. (T8C12)
Stations that connect to EchoLink or IRLP are called nodes. One way to obtain a list of active nodes that use VoIP is from a repeater directory. (T8C09) You access an IRLP node by using DTMF signals. (T8C06) To select a specific IRLP node when using a portable transceiver, use the keypad to transmit the IRLP node ID. (T8C10)
Sometimes nodes are also called gateways. A gateway is the name given to an amateur radio station that is used to connect other amateur stations to the Internet. (T8C11)
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