I need an illustrator to do the cover for my updated Extra Class study guide. The fellow who did the covers for the latest Tech and General study guides has taken a full-time job and doesn’t have the time to do one for the Extra. Preferably, I’d like someone who could do it in a style similar to the current covers. If that’s you, or someone you know, email me.
Classes/Testing/Licensing
Random stuff: a little ham humor, handheld EMF meter, repeat customer
A little—and I do mean little—ham humor
I got this from /r/amateurradio:
What do you call an apology written in dots and dashes?
Re-Morse Code.
Handheld EMF meter
On the Tech test, question T0C06 reads:
Which of the following is an acceptable method to determine whether your station complies with FCC RF exposure regulations?
A. By calculation based on FCC OET Bulletin 65
B. By calculation based on computer modeling
C. By measurement of field strength using calibrated equipment
D. All these choices are correct
The correct answer is D. All these choices are correct.
When I teach classes, after giving the students the answer, I quickly qualify it by saying that calculation based on computer modeling is usually impractical because the software is generally pretty expensive and requires some expertise to use effectively. The same is true of measuring the field strength using calibrated equipment.
But, maybe it isn’t. I recently came across the HF-BG3 Triple-Axis HF RF Analyzer on Amazon. The product description says that is has a frequency range 50 MHz to 3.5 GHz and a measurement range of 38 mV/m to 20 V/m. If this meter cost $30, I would have bought one to play with, but at $165, it’s a little outside my “what the heck” range.
It’s still an interesting possibility, though. Have any of you ever purchased or used a similar instrument?
I love repeat customers!
I love getting feedback from readers and repeat customers. This message appeared in my inbox a couple of hours ago:
Hi Dan –
Last year we purchased 15 of your Tech guides to teach a class. We had three instructors, and did a 1-day tech license class. Of our 13 students, 12 are now licensed and have radios… and a good number of those are planning to operate during Winter Field Day with our club!
This year we’d like to help a few of those new hams move up to General by teaching a more extensive course.
How can we place an order for [15] of your No-Nonsense General Class License Study Guide?
First of all, it’s great that they had 12 of 13 pass the test, second that many of them want to get Generals, and third, they’re going to use my study guide to take the course! I replied that the deal is the same for the General Class study guide as it is for the Tech study guide. And that deal is that they can order as many copies as they’d like for $10 per copy, shipping included. If you have a class coming up, consider taking advantage of this deal yourself.
Anyone want to help with the 2024 Extra Class study guide?
As many of you know, the U.S. amateur radio license question pools get updated every four years. In 2024, it’s the Extra Class question pool’s turn. The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) released the new question pool on December 7, 2023, and surprisingly, I’ve already started on updating the No Nonsense Extra Class License Study Guide. I’m already done with the first three (out of ten) chapters.
What I’m looking for is some help with the proofreading and editing. In the past, I’ve hired professional proofreaders, but honestly, they didn’t do a very good job. One of them was even a licensed radio amateur.
The first part of the job would be to check that I’ve included all of the questions in the question pool for a particular chapter. Believe it or not, I’ve missed questions in the past. The second would be to critique the text to help ensure that I’m explaining the answer to a question properly.
I don’t expect you to do it for nothing, but I’m not sure what proper compensation would be. We can discuss this.
If you’re interested in helping me out, please email me at [email protected]. You could also leave a comment below. Thanks!
Things I’m working on and things I should be working on
As usual, I have a lot of projects that I’m working……and a bunch that I should be working on.
Projects that I’m currently working on include:
A chapter on POTA for the next edition of the RSGB Radio Amateur Operating Manual. I don’t have to write an entire book on the topic—it’s only going to be a few pages—but sometimes deciding what to include and what to leave out is harder than just writing more.
- Ham evangelist. What’s a ham evangelist, you ask? Well, I got a grant from ARDC, my former employer, to take my one-day Tech class on the road, brining amateur radio to places that should have more amateur radio. We’re in the process now of identifying those places.
- Raspberry Pi Pico version of the K3NG Keyer. I’m going to try to make a Raspberry Pi Pico do what the Arduino Nano does and more. Right now, I’m just focusing on learning Python.
Projects that I should be working on or will shortly have to start working include:
- The 2024 edition of the No Nonsense Extra Class License Study Guide. The NCVEC has just published the updated question pool, and I’ll need to get started on that sooner or later.
- An outline for a book on microcontroller projects that I’ve been talking to the RSGB about.
- Lining up panelists for a forum at Dayton 2024 on different methods for learning Morse Code.
- Various projects around the house. There are enough of those to keep me busy for years.
Yes, learning about radio does matter
I received an email this morning from a reader who wrote:
By way of background, I’ve been a ham for decades, operate all modes (but mostly CW), and do a lot of Parks on the Air (POTA). I also spend a lot of time recruiting people into the ham radio hobby and mentoring new hams. It’s that last focus that prompts this question.
For a variety of reasons that I can’t put on my finger on, it seems like more and more hams don’t really care about how radios or antennas work, and don’t want to invest much time or effort into learning such things. They just want to turn it on and use it. How it works, and what’s going on inside of the box, aren’t important.
For example, I know of one guy—a General-class licensee—who decided his top-of-the-line Yaesu HT was “defective” because whenever he pressed the push-to-talk switch on one of the repeater frequencies, the radio transmitted on a different frequency. Ugh. Another guy I know thought that his hamstick “wouldn’t tune,” because the wire coil was installed upside down. As you’d guess, the hamstick tuned and worked just fine.
Some people say that we should get hung up on this. Get new hams into the hobby and they’ll learn as they go on. Except that doesn’t seem to be happening, at least not consistently. Even very experienced, highly educated hams can be clueless on very simple, fundamental radio concepts.
So, here’s the question: does any of this matter? I don’t know how my microwave oven works, and I don’t’ need to, and I don’t want to. All I want to do is push a button. So maybe it’s perfectly fine that hams don’t know about radio technology and we should stop pretending that any of this matters. Put ‘em through a “ham cram” and get them on the air. Or maybe amateur radio transceivers are different than microwave ovens and it does matter. I don’t know. I go back and forth on this and don’t really have a clear assessment in my mind.
Anyway, since this seems like the kind of thing you’ve already thought about and have some thoughtful insights, I thought I see what you make of all this. If you’re sitting around with nothing to do, I’d be curious to know what you think.
Yes, learning about radio does matter
In teaching Tech classes, I encounter many people who think this way. They just want to push buttons and talk on the radio. They say, “I’m only going to use it when I go off-roading with friends,” or “I’m only going to use it when my CERT team is activated.”
I always ask them what they’re going to do when something goes wrong—and we know that at some point, something is going to wrong. Without some basic knowledge of how radio works, how are they going to fix the problem or work around it? If they can’t do that, then they’re useless as a communicator and the experience is going to be very frustrating. So, the first thing that I try to get across that they’ll have a lot more fun with ham radio if they understand how the technology works.
The next question is how to get these people to be more curious about the technology and how to encourage them to learn more. I hope, for example, that when the guy complained about his Yaesu HT, that someone patiently explained how repeaters work. Sure, he should have known that already, but belittling him for not knowing this would only do more harm than good.
I don’t think that you can fault people for not knowing things, but you can fault them for not wanting to learn things. There’s a lot to learn in ham radio, and you can’t learn it all before you get a license. In fact, I’d argue that most things you can only learn after you get a license and start doing things.
Our challenge is to make ham radio a place where those that want to learn things can thrive. I think that we’re doing better at that. Look at all the YouTube channels where you can learn about just about anything that ham radio has to offer. The ARRL is getting in on this as well, with its “Learning Center.”
Finally, I’d say not to worry about those who don’t want to invest the time and effort. They’re not going to be hams for very long. They’re going to get frustrated when they can’t get things to work and drift off to something else. Let’s concentrate those who are curious and able and willing to invest the time and effort and make good hams out of them.
Amateur radio videos: A father and son get tickets, Slinky antenna, coiling cables
A software engineer and his father, a broadcast engineer, get their tickets and make their first contact. Thanks to Steve, N8GNJ, of Zero Retries for a pointer to this video.
When I first got back into ham radio, a friend of mine gave me a Slinky antenna. I used that antenna for quite a while, until it rusted….Dan
Learning how to coil cables properly can save you a lot of time when setting up a POTA or Field Day antenna.
No Nonsense General Class Study Guide now available in print
Last year, when I did the Tech study guide, I said to myself, “Self, next time do the print version first.” Of course, I neglected to do that, and produced the electronic versions first. Then, in reviewing the proof for the print version, I decided to make a lot of changes, which then had to be made to the PDF and Kindle versions. And, of course, the changes I made resulted in a slightly bigger book, which then mean that I had to modify the cover. De;spite all that, it’s finally up on Amazon.
The study guide is also available in PDF and Kindle versions. Click here to get all of my “No Nonsense” study guides.
ICQ Podcast Episode 405 – CW Innovations
In this episode, I joined Martin Butler M1MRB, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss:
For this episode’s feature, I interviewed Glenn, W4YES, and Terri, KO4WFP, of CW Innovations. CW Innovations doesn’t teach Morse Code classes, but rather they offer classes that they say will teach you how to learn Morse Code. The key to CW Innovations’ method is that they focus on instant character recognition, which they say is to getting better at Morse Code. The feature starts at the 1:02:00 mark.
2023 Online Ham Bootcamp, Saturday, May 13, 2023
I don’t normally do this, but I think that this “boot camp” is so good that it’s worth promoting it. This notice originally appeared on the ARRL website….Dan
The Nashua Area Radio Society’s spring 2023 online Ham Bootcamp will be held on Saturday, May 13, from 10 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Access to the session will be provided via Zoom.
Ham Bootcamp includes a series of demonstrations and tutorials designed to help newly licensed Technician-, General-, and Extra-class license holders get on the air. Ham Bootcamp is also a great opportunity for hams who are interested in seeing what the hobby has to offer.
The online Ham Bootcamp program is available to all licensed and prospective amateur radio operators. You can register for the next Ham Bootcamp session here. For additional information, contact Anita Kemmerer, AB1QB, of the Nashua Area Radio Society at [email protected].
The Nashua Area Radio Society is an ARRL Affiliated Club.
100, 50, and 25 years ago in QST: 100 meters, 10-meter tips, build your own rubber duck
Here are some interesting articles from the March 1923, March 1973, and March 1998 QST. To find and download the articles, go to http://www.arrl.org/arrl-periodicals-archive-search. Note that you do have to be an ARRL member to make use of this service…..Dan
March 1923: “Exploring 100 Meters.” This article describes some of the work going on to induce amateurs to operate on wavelengths of 100 meters and below. That’s 3 MHz and up, frequency-wise. That was “short wave” back in the day. Activities described included a 100-meter CQ Party and weekly “short-wave tests.”
The March 1923 issue also included a couple of other interesting articles:
- “What the Department of Commerce Things of our A.R.R.L. Voluntary Lid” is a compilation of letter extracts describing agreements between amateur and broadcast stations.
- 1XM, the radio station at the Massachusetts Institute of Techology is showcased in the “Who’s Who in Amateur Wireless” column.
March 1973: “Beginner and Novice: Tips on Ten.” In 50 years time, amateur radio has gone from its first steps into the shortwave region to operating on 10 meters. And, now that we’re headed towards the peak in the sunspot cycle, 10 meters will be plenty active again. In this article, Ed Tilton, W1HDQ, gives some great advice on the propagation modes that you can take advantage of on 10 meters and covers a wide variety of antennas that you can use for this band.
Another great article in this issue is “The W2FMI Ground-Mounted Short Vertical” by Jerry Sevick, W2FMI. In addition to writing the book on baluns and ununs, Sevick did quite a bit of work on short verticals. The example in the article is a 6-ft. vertical for 40 meters.
March 1998: There are a number of interesting articles in this issue, including:
- “What is Good Amateur Practice?” by Dave Sumner, K1ZZ. Specifically, K1ZZ addresses the issue of good amateur practice as it relates to band planning.
- “Helping New Hams Get Started” by Dennis Agosta, KB0RFA. This is a nice article on how to engage new hams.
- “Understanding UTC” by Gary L. Trice, K4xxx. This is a one-pager on what UTC is, and how to use it.
- “Make Your Own ‘Rubber Duckies'” by Paul Stump, N0LRF. Paul writes, “You can build a replacement antenna that delivers a lower SWR and more RF output than the one that came with your radio—and you can do it for $10 or less and a couple hours of fun!”