Aurora Stake Ham Class a success

I would like to thank everyone who came to the class yesterday. We had an overwhelming response of over 30+ people who attended the class. Hopefully I didn't overwhelm you too much with information?

If you missed this week's class, no worries, just show up next week. I plan on doing a mini-review next week (chapters 1-2) and then covering chapter 3 in the book. Also, we'll go over some of the sample test questions to help prep. you for the exam.

HRO - Radio Recommendations

If you're thinking about getting a ham radio here are some inexpensive recommendations. I preferred to make my first radio a mobile (so I can use in my car with high output power). Also, presumably a charged car battery is ALWAYS available in an emergency (not always the case with handheld AA batteries, unless you store them somewhere).

The price range is from $109-300 that I've quoted. You can probably find them online used through e-bay, craiglist, or some hamfest swapmeet type of thing for as low as $25.00 (I would recommend a 2m band radio at least, dual band is nice but not needed).

-- Adam
Radio recommendations:

You have 4 main options:
1) a single band (2m only)
2) a dual band (2m/440 MHz)

Then, two sub-options from that:
1a) 2m Handheld Transmitter (HT) - (up to 5 Watts power)
1b) 2m Mobile - (50-75 Watts power)

2a) 2m/440 Handheld Transmitter (HT) - (up to 5 Watts power)
2b) 2m/440 Mobile - (50-75 Watts power)

Recommendations by price and feature:
Both Yaesu and Icom are good brands (Kenwood and others are also good brands), but I prefer one of the first two.

I prefer one that has not only the frequency but a programmable Call Sign Indicator (i.e. KC0QZS)
for easy repeater identification of programmed frequencies.

1a) 2m Handheld Transmitter (HT) - Yaesu, or Icom
Yaesu VX-150 - $117.95 - 5 Watts
Yaesu VX-170 - $114.95 - 5 Watts

Icom IC-V82 - $139.95 - 7 Watts
Icom IC-V8-SPORT - $109.95 - 5 Watts

1b) 2m Mobile - Icom (or Yaesu)
Icom IC-2200H - $169.95 - 65 Watts, 2m
Icom IC-V8000 - $249.95 - 75 Watts, 2m

Yaesu FT-1802M - $134.95 - 50 Watts, 2m
Yaesu FT-2800M - $129.95 - 65 Watts, 2m

2a) 2m/440 Handheld Transmitter (HT) - Yaesu, or Icom
Yaesu FT-60R - $189.95 - 5 Watts
Yaesu VX-3R - $164.95 - 5 Watts
Yaesu VX-6R - $244.95 - 5 Watts (2m/ 220MHz / 440 MHz)

Icom IC-T7H-SPORT - $174.95 - 5 Watts
Icom IC-P7A - $239.95 - 5 Watts

2b) 2m/440 Mobile - Icom, or Yaesu

Yaesu FTM-10R - $299.95 - 50W/40W
Icom IC-208H - $309.95 - 50 Watts

Aurora Stk - Ham Radio Classes - Syllabus

Ham Radio Class Syllabus – Technician Class License

FCC Exam is 35 Multiple choice questions

http://errs-aurora.blogspot.com - class blog & links

Instructor: Adam Hiatt, Stake communications specialist, atom@byu.edu

Week 1 – Welcome, Intro, & Chapters 1-2 -- Welcome, Radio & Electronics fundamentals

Week 2 – Chapter 3 – Operating station equipment

Week 3 – Chapter 4 – Communicating with other “Hams”

Week 4 – Chapter 5 – Licensing regulations

Week 5 – Chapter 6 – Operating Regulations

Week 6 – Chapter 7– Radio safety practices

Week7 (possibly) – Review question pool w/ answers

Helpful pages:

1-5 Testing process

1-17 Test element breakdown by License class

2-3 Basic radio station

2-5 Ohm’s law (think “EIR”, E=I x R or “REI”, R=E/I)

(E) = Electromotive Force inVolts, (I) = Current in Amps, (R) = Resistance in Ohms

Resistance (resistors in series and parallel), Power, P = I² x R in Watts

2-7 Metric unit system (k, m, μ)

2-13 Electrical units (Volts, Watts, Ohm, etc.)

2-16 Radio waves c= f x λ (lambda), Speed of light(c) = Frequency (f) x wavelength (λ)

2-17 Freq. Spectrum (VHF, UHF, HF, etc)

2-23 Antennas & feed lines, Yagi, Cubical Quad & Coax vs. twin lead

2-26 SWR (Standing Wave Ratio, 1:1 is perfect match)

2-28 Radio Wave propagation

2-29 Earth’s atmospheric layers (D, E, F₁, F₂) & “skipping”

3-1 Radio Equipment, buttons, knobs, modes, bands, mic, keyer

3-8 Repeater operation

3-15 Directional antennas, yagi, quad, loops, sat. dishes

3-21 Antenna supports, masts, towers, trees, rooftops

3-25 Power supplies & batteries, AA, C, D, etc. (NiCd, NiMH, Lion)

3-29 RFI Interference (“it’s your neighbor’s problem, not yours”)

4-2 Phonetic Alphabet

4-3 RST (Readability, Signal Strength, Tone) System (S1-S9)

4-4 “Q Signals” QRM – Interference, QSY – Change freq. 88

4-5 73 = Bye, 88 = “Hugs & kisses”(i.e. XOXOX)

4-9 2m “band plan”, various modes, CW, OSCAR, simplex, repeater

4-15 Repeater use, operation & etiquette

4-17, 4-18 Repeater phone patch, IRLP, EchoLink

4-20 Nets, social, emergency & public service

4-22 Net traffic & msg. headers

4-24 Emergency communication, RACES vs. ARES

4-31 OSCARs (Orbiting Satellites Carrying Ameteur Radio)

4-33 Digital nets, APRS, winlink, Video, Radio Control

4-36 EME (Earth Moon Earth) – Using the moon as a natural permanent satellite to communicate

5-4 FCC License Classes & test elements

5-7 FCC ULS (Univ. Licensing System) website

5-11 Frequency spectrum

5-13 Emission types (CW, Data, image, phone, RTTY)

5-16 ITU region chart

5-18 10 U.S. Call sign districts (0-9)

5-19 FCC Call Signs (1x2, 2x2, 2x3, A,K,N,W “Alaska North West”)

6-3 ID Requirements (every 10 mins. & at end)

6-8 3^rd party comm.. (other countries)

6-11 Prohibited Communication

7-2 Electrical safety (100 mA can kill, 30V dangerous)

7-4 Wire size & current capacity chart & current safety chart

7-8 FCC MPE charts (Maximum Permissible Exposure) limits

7-11 RF exposure evaluation (50W max for 2m band)

7-15 putting up your own Antenna tower (wear a hardhat & gloves)

CW (Carrier Wave a.k.a. Morse Code) Abbreviations

Test Element Breakdown

(4) T1 FCC Rules, station license responsibilities

(4) T2 Control operator duties

(4) T3 Operator practices

(5) T4 Radio & electronic fundamentals

(4) T5 Station Setup and operation

(3) T6 Communication modes & methods

(2) T7 Special operations

(3) T8 Emergency & Public Svc. Communications

(3) T9 Radio Waves, propagation, and antennas

(3) T10 Electrical & RF Safety

-------------------------------------

(35) Questions total

Northglenn Stk - Antenna Building Class - Jan 2009

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/errs-denver/message/420

Antenna Building Class

Choose to construct either a Twin Lead J-pole or Three Element Yagi Tape Measure Antenna

Saturday, January 24, 2009, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

100 East Malley Drive
Northglenn, CO 80233

* For any of the above classes, contact Angee at ac0ew1@...

* Classes are free and open to all, but it is requested that youth be accompanied by an adult.

* Students will want to purchase a textbook for the Technician or General classes, and reimburse instructors for materials used in the Antenna Building class. Contact Angee at ac0ew1@... for book information.

* Pre-registration is requested for the Antenna Building class by January 10, 2009, to insure sufficient materials are available.

Northglenn Stk - General License Class - Jan 2009

General License Class

Fridays, January 9 through February 27, 2009, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

3501 Summit Grove Pkwy
Thornton, CO 80241

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/errs-denver/message/420

* For any of the above classes, contact Angee at ac0ew1@...

* Classes are free and open to all, but it is requested that youth be accompanied by an adult.

* Students will want to purchase a textbook for the Technician or General classes, and reimburse instructors for materials used in the Antenna Building class. Contact Angee at ac0ew1@... for book information.

* Pre-registration is requested for the Antenna Building class by January 10, 2009, to insure sufficient materials are available.

Northglenn Stk - Technician Class - Jan 2009

Technician License Class

Saturdays, January 10 through February 14, 2009, 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

100 East Malley Drive
Northglenn, CO 80233

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/errs-denver/message/420

* For any of the above classes, contact Angee at ac0ew1@...

* Classes are free and open to all, but it is requested that youth be accompanied by an adult.

* Students will want to purchase a textbook for the Technician or General classes, and reimburse instructors for materials used in the Antenna Building class. Contact Angee at ac0ew1@... for book information.

* Pre-registration is requested for the Antenna Building class by January 10, 2009, to insure sufficient materials are available.