-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- _____ _____ The | @ | Hogs of Entropy | @ | /\__^__/\ present... /\__^__/\ BUUUURP BUUUURP The Beef on Ham ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <<-HoE->> By, Jeager Release Date: 09/10/94 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Hey, you Turkey! Listen up!: Amateur Radio: What it is, what you can do with it, and how to get into it. Hello all, I have received a great deal of e-mail on the subject of Amateur "Ham" Radio and many people wanted to have a quick into on what the heck "Ham" was. To save time (and hard disk space), I'm going to post this little article on the HoE line of wonderful, great, fun-loving, superior documents that will be SO meaningful that the world will never be the same again. Oh, and hopefully this will answer some of your questions, too. Ham...(besides a great snack)...What it is: Amatuer Radio is a way to communicate! By talking, tapping a morse code key, typing at a keyboard(something most of you can handle I think), or even looking into a video camera, you can communicate with people two blocks away or some where in Europe!! Too easy you say? There must be a catch, right? Well, kinda. You need a liscense to talk on the Ham Bands. But, AH-HA!, you will find out (if you don't hit the Esc or Control C key) the fact is that the liscense is really easy to get! Yeah HOH! The Ham Bands are divided you into three parts: HF, VHF, and UHF. (Got that now?) When you get the basic, no-morse-code-required-to-operate liscense, you get FULL prividleges on the VHF and UHF (Local) bands, but you get no prividleges on the HF (worldwide) bands. When you pick up your 5 words-per-minute (wpm) code test, you get some prividleges on the HF bands. More about this later. (Oh yeah: even though you might not have the HF bands, you can still talk to people worldwide. More about that later, too. Also later, more about how to kill small animals.) What you can do with it: There are many ways to communicate over the Amatuer Bands. Here are just a few of the most interesting: (Basic information: the signal that you transmit when you do nothing to it (like not speaking into the microphone or when you don't hit the morse code key) is the carrier. You modulate the carrier with your voice or your morse code signal. Now was that hard? You catching it already!) Morse Code/CW: This is communication via the ol' morse code. It is very easy to learn with some software for your machine and some spare time. I like this mode because it is much easier to hear a beep than a voice in poor band conditions. Alot of people still use this mode on HF. AM and SSB: This are the two most commonly used voice modes on HF today. Remember what I said about modulation and carriers? AM is when you modulate the top and bottom of the carrier. (If you looked at it on an oscilloscope (sp), you will see a bar in the middle with two sine waves, one on the top and one on the bottom. SSB (Single SIde Band) is similar. Instead of modulating both the top and bottom, it modulates just one of the two (Upper Side Band or Lower Side Band) side bands. FM: Just typical FM. You probably listen to it every day on 93.3mhz or 103.9mhz. The sound quality is great, and it is the most common mode on VHF and UHF. Packet: This is the mode you want to try!! It's like doing BBSing over the radio! Imagine: getting your e-mail without a phoneline! Full and FREE access to the INTERNET!!!! (yes, it's one of the perks offered to us by the US Goverment... Imagine that.) Talking to people all over the world REAL TIME through node hopping. (I have been talking to people in Britan alot lately.) AND THIS IS ON VHF!!! ATV: Yes, you can send full color and full motion broadcast quality pictures over the airwaves. Well, shit. What else is there to say about it? Now some of the rules: - No talking about politics * Get all the jokes out now: * "POTATOE!" * It wouldn't be wise to threaten anyone's life or safety either. - No talking about religion * It's not a place for political or religious debates! - No jamming people's signals * A mean thing to do, anyway. - You must identify every 10 minutes and at the end of every QSO (conversation) * Needed for security - You must have a liscense * Key. - No cursing (You can't imagine how fucking hard that is for me.) * You know what a curse is, poop head! And, finally, the liscensing process.... Step 1 - Go to Radio Shack and buy either the book NO CODE PLUS (Gordon West) or NOW YOUR TALKING (ARRL). They cost $10 and $20, respectively. The difference is that N.Y.T. tells you much more on how to build antennas, which radios to buy, and things like that, while N.C.P. tells you more about the test questions themselves. I recommend the former (N.C.P), since that is what helped me ace my two tests. Step 2 - Read the book. There are 300 multiple choice questions in the first part which you must know. They are really, really easy, and you will breeze through that section. The first test consists of 30 questions picked from the pool. The second part consists of 275 questions and the second test is 25 questions. That's about it. Step 3 - Take the test. They are given at many different locations. Look in the back of your study manual for phone numbers or these locations. (To Philadelphia people: the most popular site to take this test is at the Franklin Institude. The test is given on the first Thursday of every month. If you are going to be there, be there between 6:00 and 6:30pm. The volunteers lock the doors to the room a 6:30 SHARP! Call the club station anytime at (215) 448-1139. Bring $5.75 for the test taking fee. (I think that is the cost now. Call the number I gave you to make sure.) Step 4 - Tell me, that would be nice. Step 5 - Wait for your liscense. During the mean time, I'll try to get you set up with some used equiptment so you can listen to the way people operate on the air. You can't transmit until you get your call letters from the FCC (That took about two months for me, but now the wait time is down). Okay, there is a HELL of alot more, like antenna design and disaster communications that you can get into, that I didn't tell you about. Make sure you check your local radio club, too. (You know hat number I told you about before? (Philly People again: Call that number to join PhilMont Mobile Radio Club. That's the club I belong to. They run the test sessions and also have a station down at the Franklin Institute. It's a good club!) Have fun and peace! :-) J Jeager e N N3RCS a 3 Internet: XTL00014@DUVM.OCS.DREXEL.EDU g R Packet: N3RCS@KE3CZ.#EPA.PA.USA. e C or gimme E-Mail on Mogel-Land r S -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- (c)opyspamisthebest Porkductions Inc.