Reddit reviews ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an Amateur Radio Operator
We found 8 Reddit comments about ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an Amateur Radio Operator. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Used Book in Good Condition
This is an interesting reddit, just got linked here from a square sidebar ad...
If you are in USA, there are three levels of radio license- Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. Tech is pretty easy to get, General is a bit harder and needs a bit more studying, and Extra is the hardest. With each increasing level of license, you get privelages on more radio frequencies.
Hams have frequency allocations as low as 1.8 MHz all the way up to above 10 GHz. Each allocation or 'band' has different characteristics in terms of signal propagation, range, type of equipment and antenna required to operate, and who you'll find on the other end. Bands are often named by their approximate wavelength, for example 1.8 MHz is part of the 160 meter band, because radio waves at 1.8 MHz have a wavelength of 160 meters. Radio waves in the 144 MHz band have an approximate wavelenth of 2 meters, thus 144MHz is part of the 2 meter band.
However to keep things simple for a newcomer, there are really two things to think about- HF and VHF+. HF covers 1.8 thru 30 MHz (160 meters through 10 meters). HF (High Frequency) requires larger, somewhat more expensive radios and larger antennas to correspond with the larger wavelength. HF radio signals will (depending on your location, which band you're on, time of day and sunspot activity) bounce off or be conducted by the atmosphere and thus will propagate significantly farther than line-of-sight. Using HF radio transmissions, it's possible to communicate with people on the other side of the world! Also when you see ham radio depicted in movies, this is usually what you see, and they usually get just about everything about it wrong.
VHF+ (Very High Frequency) generally refers to 50MHz (6 meters), 144MHz (2 meters), and above that is UHF (Ultra High Frequency), including 440MHz (70cm). While 6 meters will sometimes propagate, 2 meters and 440 generally won't which limits their range to line-of-sight communications, as in not over the horizon. However they can be used with smaller, less expensive radios (a basic new 2m radio can be had for under $100) and smaller antennas. Portable radios (walkie-talkie type) are common in VHF+.
In 2 meters and 440 you'll find almost all the ham radio repeaters that are on the air. A repeater listens on one frequency, then when it hears a signal it re-transmits it in real time on a different frequency. When you want to use a repeater, you program both the TX and RX frequency into your radio, so it automatically changes to the 'input' frequency when you push the transmit key, and switches back to the 'output' frequency when you let go of the transmit key. Many repeaters are mounted in high places such as radio towers or buildings, and often employ back-up power and other such disaster proofings. A repeater will usually be maintained by a local amateur radio club, and also serves as a sort of meeting place for that club. Much like we come to Reddit to talk about things, or to a specific subreddit to talk with a particular group, hams will go to their local repeater to talk with other local hams.
It's here that most of the radio-over-IP stuff comes into play. The majority of radio-over-IP installations are connected with a repeater. So that way a computer-based user can connect their computer to the repeater and communicate from his computer headset with radio users on the repeater, or vice versa. A repeater user can also use DTMF tones and the keypad on his radio to command that repeater to make an IP connection to another repeater. Once this happens the two repeaters, which may be a large distance apart, are linked over IP so whatever anyone says on either repeater comes out the other repeater.
It's also important to note that with radio, and with radio-over-IP by extension, only one person can talk at a time. This means some etiquette is required, as well as a way to easily disconnect IP links when they are no longer desired.
Now on the theme of survival... If you're into survival and disaster prep type stuff you'll probably like ham radio as a hobby, because a lot of hams are into that sort of thing and much effort is spent creating redundant/portable systems that can function with little or no outside support. To that end, IP links as a concept are considered non-reliable by the ham radio community at large. For an RF (radio) link to work, you just need the radios at each end working. For an IP link to work, all kinds of random stuff has to be operating, including the servers for that IP linking network, internet connections to and from them, internet connection to both repeaters' ISPs, etc. So while hams have a lot of fun with IP links, we don't rely on them for anything other than fun.
As far as computers- almost any radio can interact with a computer in one way or another, often using an external interface like a West Mountain Radio RIGBlaster. At a basic level these let a computer transmit and receive sound from the radio (which can be used for a data connection). With a more advanced connection, the computer can talk to the radio's computer, change frequencies, set modes, etc.
Now back on the subject of licensing- if you understand the basics of how a radio works, getting the Tech license won't be hard, you can probably study for it in a day or three. Tech lets you get on all VHF+ but not much HF. If you want HF, get General, you can get almost all of HF with a few small exceptions, and the studying isn't that hard. Whichever level you choose, you have to pass the levels underneath it too. So to get a General license, you first have to take and pass the Technician test.
I suggest a book called the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. That will give you everything you need to get your Tech. Then for general you need the General Class License Manual.
There are also a lot of sites online that let you take practice tests.
Feel free to reply or PM me if you have any questions...
I'd start reading on sites like QRZ.com. Try a book like Ham Radio for dummies (really! that's where I started). Then move up to an official ARRL book for technician class license. (That's the first one). After you've covered a bit of material, take some practice quizzes. Don't get discouraged if you fail a few at first. You get familiar fairly quickly if you're technically inclined, or have any electronics background. If you don't, this is the perfect place to get started.
I read this one:
http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/0872599639
Then took these Practice tests:
http://www.qrz.com/exams
All in all, I passed after studying for a little under a month on and off. I have know a bit about electronics and waves though for a while.
Also, I'd start looking for a used handheld. Or new if you'd like. As a tech, you'll mostly be on 2m and 70cm bands (read to learn!) so a dual band radio from yaesu never dissapoints. A solid cheap radio is:
http://www.wouxun.com/
Good luck, and don't mind asking more questions!
Well, step one is hitting the license books.
Free
Not Free
License Exam Prep: Hamstudy created by fellow /r/amateurradio-ians.
The guts and glory of Emag theory (including antennas, propagation, transmission lines, and the mechanics of it all) don't come in until the General and Extra classes. You can find that on the KB6NU guides and the Hamstudy exam prep, and of course, the Amateur Radio entry on Wikipedia.
Our own /r/amateurradio wiki has some useful info as well, especially for starters like yourself!
___
Bands are usually talked about in terms of their wavelength. They're rounded to the nearest "even and pretty" number like 40, 80, 12, 2, and 70cm, instead of 41.26, 76.22, 2.02...etc.
wavelength = speed of light (3x10^8 m/s) / freq
As an example, the band between 144 and 148 MHz is the 2 meter band because it has a wavelength between 2.08 and 2.02 MHz (respectively), hence 2 meters.
Hamshacks
Here's a little collection of youtube videos with some shacks. A typical hamshack has an HF rig, VHF/UHF rigs, multimode/band rigs, 12VDC power supplies, antenna tuners, amps and computers.
Typical
Most Organized
Stupidly Cluttered Hamshack (shameless plug)
Most Portable
The ARRL is the biggest national association for ham radio operators. They have a good book which will prepare you for the test. There's some info here, too.
Here is my sure fire way of getting to the beginning because honestly it is VERY confusing and FORGET learning HF without a mentor.
or a mobile Wouxon dual band 2m
8 scan them from 7-9pm
FROM there.. the sky is the limit. You will find a mentor at one of those meetings. After that it is cake.
I posted this a few days ago but it has some good information on hon to start in the hobby. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer any!
The ARRL which stands for American Radio Relay League. They are an association of amateur radio enthusiasts. They are involved heavily in the hobby. They put out a set of books which walk you through what you need to know. http://www.amazon.com/ARRL-Ham-Radio-License-Manual/dp/0872599639
There are also a bunch of videos on youtube. Www.ke0og.net/training Www.hamwhisperer.com
Sample tests: Www.Eham.net
Nothing beats the books though if you want to learn the material. It seems you are a n00b in the ways of radio and the whole subject. I can tell you in 95% of the cases hams are great people that want to teach and learn. Feel free to send me questions you may have I'm no expert but there are plenty of people who are.
assuming you are in the US
I would get this book first.
Practice some example tests here.
Once you understand the material and are consistently passing the exams, go here to book a test session for your Technician exam.
There are three levels of licenses, the Technician, the General and the Extra license.
The ARRL will allow you to pay a single test fee, $15 IIRC, and take multiple tests. Don't waste anyone's time and take a test you haven't studied for, but if you wanted to do two or all three tests in a day it's possible. I ended up taking all three in the first sitting, I passed them all too. :-)
The Technician license is obviously going to be recommended for someone just starting out.
73
ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an Amateur Radio Operator
Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid - Denis Leary
I Hate Your Guts - Jim Norton