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Monday, November 25, 2013

Steve Wozniak WA6BND




Steve Wozniak (born 1950) invented the Apple computer and helped found the Apple Computer Company. One of the wealthiest and most famous inventors in the U.S., Wozniak left behind the world of business to spend his time teaching children about computers.

Stephen Gary Wozniak was born on August 11, 1950 in San Jose, California, to Margaret Wozniak, a homemaker, and Jerry Wozniak, an electrical engineer. When he was eight, the family, including two other children, Leslie and Mark, moved to nearby Sunnyvale to be closer to his father's job at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. Wozniak became interested in mathematics when he was in the fourth grade. The recognition and encouragement of a teacher helped to improve his self esteem. Wozniak loved to read; his favorite books were about Tom Swift, Jr., a young engineer who worked with his father inventing airplanes and rocket ships. In the fifth grade, after reading a book about a ham radio operator, Wozniak built his own radio transmitter and receiver from a kit. At 11, he built a machine he called a "ticktacktoe" computer. He also played on an all-star Little League team and ran in races. In junior high, Wozniak received a letter for swimming.

At Cupertino Junior High School, Wozniak won a blue ribbon for the best electronics project at the Bay Area Science Fair. He designed a binary adding and subtracting computer. At Homestead High School, Wozniak was too advanced for the electronics and math courses. His electronics teacher sent him to Sylvania, a large electronics company, to program its computers. He won an award as the best math student at Homestead in 1966, attended seminars at the University of Santa Clara, and scored an 800 on his math Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Wozniak attended the University of Colorado his freshman year of college. There he preferred skiing to studying. Because his parents could not afford the high out-of-state tuition, Wozniak returned to California to attend DeAnza Community College. For his junior year, he went to the University of California, at Berkeley. There, with the help of a high school friend named Steve Jobs, who was later to be his business partner at Apple Computer, he designed a "little blue box," a device for making illegal free telephone calls. They sold them to fellow students for $150. Wozniak, who had a talent for mimicry, said he used the box to call the Vatican, where only a sharp-eared bishop prevented him from talking to the pope by stating, "You are not Henry Kissinger."

The Birth of Apple

At the end of his junior year, and short on money, Wozniak got a job at Hewlett-Packard (HP), an electronics company in Palo Alto, California. Within several months, he was a full engineer. At the center of the computer revolution, HP suited Wozniak because of its advanced technology and its laid-back atmosphere. The company allowed employees to work on their own projects at night. Doing so, Wozniak created some of the first graphics for computers and computer games. Steve Jobs, who worked at Atari, invited him to help design a spin-off of Pong called "Breakout." In four days, the two had designed it and split the $750 bonus offered by Atari. Wozniak learned many years later that Jobs had received substantially more money than he had. This discovery factored into the breakup of their friendship.

Wozniak and Jobs attended meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club where the Silicon Valley engineers exchanged ideas and showed off their inventions. These meetings led Wozniak to design an inexpensive personal computer. He decided that it should be easy to program, affordable, and fun. Wozniak also started a Dial-a-Joke service, where people could call for a joke of the day. One day he talked with Alice Robertson, a woman whom he married in January 1976.

Working at night at HP, Wozniak completed his computer design. When Jobs saw it, he thought it could be a commercial success and wanted to market it. While Wozniak would not leave his day job, he agreed to form a computer company with Jobs. According to Wozniak, "We never expected to make any money, but it was a chance to have a business once in our lives." Jobs came up with the name "Apple," because he had once worked in an apple orchard when he had experimented with vegetarianism in India. The Apple Computer Company was officially started on April 1, 1976. Having sold personal possessions to raise money, they decided to work in Jobs family's garage. By luck and determination, one month later they received an order for 100 computers for a total of $50,000. When he showed the computer at work, management decided that his personal computer did not match its business focus. The partners eventually sold 175 Apple I computers.

Apple II A Great Success

While Wozniak was still working for HP, he spent his nights improving the Apple, while Jobs figured out how to market it. Through contacts, Jobs recruited Mike Markkula, a marketing genius who had retired at age 33, to help run the company. After a short time, Wozniak's night-time efforts paid off in a much improved Apple II that was aimed at the average person rather than the electronic expert. It had sound, computer animation, high resolution images, and expanded game playing ability. The experienced Markkula wrote a business plan in which he anticipated sales of $500 million within ten years, and invested $250,000 of his own money in the venture. Finally, in October of 1976, Wozniak resigned from HP.

In January of 1977, the trio incorporated Apple Computer. The company moved to larger quarters twice, recruited an ever-growing staff, and acquired an eye-catching logo-a rainbow-colored apple with a bite taken out of it. The launch of the Apple II was scheduled to coincide with the first West Coast Computer Faire. Priced at only $1,298, the computer was a great success. By the end of its first year, the company had made almost three quarters of a million dollars in sales with a profit of $42,000.

At the same time that his business was taking off, Wozniak's marriage was floundering. His lack of social skills and his obsession with computers made his wife Alice feel increasingly isolated. Although they tried counseling for a year, they divorced after four years of marriage. Alice got one-third of Wozniak's Apple stock in a divorce settlement which quickly grew into a fortune.

After the initial separation, Wozniak became a workaholic. During this time, he developed a way to connect the Apple computer to a printer, thereby making it more useful. He also developed the floppy disk, a removable plastic disk with information on it that can be put into the computer memory for storage or for accessing without being stored. These innovations greatly increased the ability of average people to use the Apple computer. By the end of 1978, Apple sales had increased ten times, making Apple one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. Apple computers were now stocked by more than 300 dealers. By 1979, Apple employed one thousand people.

At this point, both Wozniak and Jobs were being eased out of the power structure by business people such as Markkula. Because Wozniak was so well known, he was frequently asked to give lectures and interviews with the press and television. While the Apple II was now the world's best selling computer, the company decided to plan ahead by developing the Apple III, a small business computer comparable to the IBM personal computer. Although it was priced at just under $3,000, the computer did not sell well because it experienced hardware failures, leading to bad reviews. Not much software was developed for it.

Away From Apple

Frustrated with Apple management, Wozniak took up flying, and started courting Candi Clark, a former Olympic kayaker and accountant at Apple. In December 1980, Apple stock went public and was sold out in minutes. Within a month, Wozniak was worth about $50 million. In February 1981, while flying Clark and other companions to Los Angeles, Wozniak crashed his plane, nearly killing everyone on board. He married Clark four months later and decided to take a leave of absence from Apple in order to return to college. Frustrations with Apple management and nearly losing his life made him reconsider his priorities. "The company had become big business, and I missed tinkering. I just wanted to be an engineer," Wozniak told People magazine.

Wozniak returned to Berkeley in 1981 to earn a computer science degree under the pseudonym of "Rocky Clark," the first name from one of his dogs, and the last from his new wife. Several credits shy of graduation, he left Berkeley, but received equivalency credits for work done at Apple. Wozniak was officially awarded a degree several years later, in 1986.

In 1982 and 1983, Wozniak produced two music concerts, called the US Festival, which combined the best music groups with the best computer stuff, a "hot tunes and high tech" event. Although he lost a lot of money on the festivals, he felt they were a success because both he and the concert goers had fun.

Returned to Develop the Macintosh

In 1982, Wozniak returned to the Apple II section of Apple Computers. In-fighting at the company was becoming bitter. Wozniak started designing a new computer called the Lisa, a cheaper version of which was later called the Macintosh. It had a mouse, folders, and pull-down menus and displayed pictures. However, the company had lost the camaraderie Wozniak liked so much. The development of the Macintosh led to more friction between the department led by Jobs and the Apple II department. There were strained relations between Jobs and Wozniak, who was hurt that the Apple II had not received its due recognition as a computer that had a billion dollars in sales by 1982. Jobs felt that the Apple II was obsolete. In February 1985, Wozniak left Apple for good.

Wozniak helped start a new company, CL9, to develop an infrared remote control device that would control household appliances. He continued to feud with Jobs, who felt betrayed because Wozniak had left Apple. When Wozniak discovered that Jobs had not evenly split the money earned from the development of the Breakout game, their relationship was further strained.

In 1989, Wozniak sold the unsuccessful CL9. Since then, he has spent most of his time donating money to various charitable organizations in San Jose, including the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Children's Discovery Museum, and the San Jose-Cleveland Ballet.

Wozniak and Candi Clark had three children, Jesse, Sara, and Gary; they were divorced in 1987. In 1989, he met Suzanne Mulkern, a mother of three, who shared his shyness, love of children, and sense of humor. They married in 1990. Wozniak now spends his time teaching children about the wonders of computers.

Further Reading on Steve Wozniak

Gold, Rebecca, Steve Wozniak: A Wizard Called Woz, Lerner, 1994.

Greenberg, Keith Elliot, Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak:Creating the Apple Computer, Blackbirch, 1994.

Kendall, Martha E., Steve Wozniak: Inventor of the Apple Computer, Walker, 1994.

Maclean's, May 11, 1992.

People, May 30, 1983. □

Mac OSX Network Stack Tweaks

Change those values in your /etc/sysctl.conf within root login on command line interface. Use sysctl -w
kern.ipc.maxsockbuf=4194304
kern.ipc.somaxconn=2048
kern.ipc.nmbclusters=2048
net.inet.tcp.rfc1323=1
net.inet.tcp.win_scale_factor=4
net.inet.tcp.sockthreshold=16
net.inet.tcp.sendspace=1042560
net.inet.tcp.recvspace=1042560
net.inet.tcp.mssdflt=1448
net.inet.tcp.msl=15000
net.inet.tcp.always_keepalive=0
net.inet.tcp.delayed_ack=3
net.inet.tcp.slowstart_flightsize=20
net.inet.tcp.blackhole=2
net.inet.udp.blackhole=1
net.inet.icmp.icmplim=50

Monday, November 18, 2013

Is Ham Radio Boring To You ?

Ham radio is an interesting activity to those who likes to explore and experimenting technologies. Being ham radio operator doesn't mean you need to be on air 24/7/365. You can do anything related to ham radio for example reading about coaxial cables or listening to shortwave broadcast.

Ham radio operator only permitted to transmit on amateur radio bands, but it doesn't mean that you cannot listen to other frequencies. Even though there are so many advanced communication technologies nowadays, ham radio still practical and reliable especially for emergency communications.

If you loose interest on 2 meters band communication, maybe you can start something new, high frequencies perhaps ?. Just remember that ham radio is the first social network before there is email, internet relay chat or facebook, ham radio build networking between ham radio operators around the world.

Ham radio is still relevant (http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131115/ENT/311159996), old school tech somehow proven to be the best backup. Being ham radio operator you need to be creative on the way you think.

Reading about ham radio on the internet or magazine is the way to make you think broader than you are now. Beware with ones you blend with. Friends somehow can make you strong and also make you weaker. Be positive and open your mind. Do not simply trust or follow ones style or habit, find your own.

Having an eyeball QSO once a week without any topics can make you bored. Try to find any interesting topics to discuss and plan your eyeball QSO. If you plan well, then your next activities will be more interesting.

To new comers, find your own path. Do not follow others. Ask, read and think before making any act. Old doesn't mean right and new doesn't mean wrong. The differences between ham radio operators is their experience and knowledge. There is no rank or caste in ham radio. We are just the same.




Friday, October 04, 2013

CW Iambic, Straight, Cootie And Bug Keyer

Iambic or paddle key

Straight key

Cootie or sidesweeper key

Bug or semi auto key


Many ham radio operators choose paddle instead of straight key, cootie or bug keyer. Most of modern transceiver supports iambic keying without any external circuits.

Iambic method of send is very useful for high speed operators. Default setting and default wiring will produce dits on thumb and dah on index finger for righthanded operators.

Straight key is one of the oldest method for sending cw messages. It works like simple circuit switch. Press to on, release to off. It don't need any extra circuits like iambic.

Cootie key looks like other iambic key but it doesn't produce iambic keying. Although it has 2 terminals, it wont produce any dits or dahs. You need to make it by sliding the single paddle to the left or right. Longer touch to the terminals will produce dahs sound. Vise versa. It don't nees any extra circuits.

Bug keyer is the first mechanical that can send continuous dits sound, also named as semi automatic keyer. Only continuous dits sound, not for dahs. You need to make dahs sound manually. It don't need any extra circuits.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

CW Abbreviations And Prosigns

To those who wants to make your first cw qso on the air, it is a good effort to learn about cw abbreviations and prosigns.

Most ham radio operator will use standard cw abbreviations in their cw qso. Some will use their own abbreviations based on their languages.

Standard cw abbreviations are:-

1. GM - good morning
2. GE - good evening
3. GA - good afternoon
4. GN - good night
5. DR - dear
6. OM - old man
7. GL - good luck
8. GDX - good dx
9. SRI - sorry
10. FB - fine business
11. PSE - please
12. ABT - about
13. R - roger
14. TKS - thanks
15. TU - thank you
16. FER - for
17. CFM - confirm
18. ANT - antenna
19. UR - you are
20. TX - transmit
21. RX - receive
22. 5NN - 599
23. HR - here
24. NR - number
25. ES - and
26. HIHI - laughing
27. XYL - wife
28. YL - a young lady/girl
29. TNX - thanks
30. WX - weather
31. TEMP - temperature
32. SIG - signal
33. HW - how
34. CPY/CPI - copy
35. HPE - hope
36. CUL - see you later
37. AGN - again
38. CUAGN - see you again


These are some prosigns that were used in cw qso.

1. AR - end of message
2. K - over/go ahead
3. DE - from/this is
4. BT - pause between transmission
5. BK - break
6. KN - over to specific station only and not allowing other station to interrupt
7. AS - please standby
8. CL - clear
9. SK - end of contact


just remember that prosigns must be send as signal letter sound. No spacing at all. for example, BT must be send as dadididida. Not dadididit dah.

But it is different for cw abbreviations since cw abbreviations observe interletter spacing just like normal words.

If you want to know more about cw abbreviations, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code_abbreviations

CW Sidetone Volume Adjustment

To adjust CW sidetone for yaesu transceivers is easy since it has adjustable value on its function mode.

You can adjust to your preferrable volume by tuning the dial knob to the left or right.

Elecraft has hidden function for this setting, you need to press the 3 function knob. just read the manual if you don't know.

I have tried icom ic706mk2g, the way to adjust cw sidetone for this transceiver is different. You need to turn the side yellow coloured screw on right side of that radio.

Speech processor gain also located beside the cw tone volume screw. some high end transceivers has their dedicated knob for cw sidetone adjustment.

Yaesu FT857 FT897 CW Message Memory

Yaesi FT857 and FT897 has their own memory for cw messages storage.

Button A B and C can be programmed to storage short lengthened messages for example, CQ CQ DE 9Μ2PJU, TNX FER QSO 73 or UR 5NN K.

For A button, we can use it as looping message useful for beaconing operation.
It can be set to automatically transmit for example once in a minute.

You can set it to send CQ call once in a minute. If you hear any station replying your call, you can either reply to his call manually using your keyer or by pressing B button which already programmed with reply message.

isn't is useful enough for you?

But if you want to send longer messages, better use 3rd party devices or your personal computer installed with cw interface.

CW Break In Function

I have tried icom, yaesu, sgc, kenwood, elecraft transceivers and their setting for cw break in is totally different.

For yaesu, icom and sgc, you need to be on cw mode and push on the break in button which usually named as BK.

for elecraft and icom, you need to switch to cw mode and push on the VOX function to make those transceiver to transmit on cw mode.

Without switching on the break in function, your transceivers will only making cw tone without transmitting.

It is important to read transceivers manual before operating. A good ham radio operator will always keep his transceivers manual beside his transceivers in their shack.

Rigtalk USB Dongle

Rigtalk from westmountainradio.com is a USB to TTL level interface for CI-V and CAT Radios. Supports most of radio from Icom, Tentec and also Yaesu with seperated cables.

It is Pocket Sized USB Dongle Design, supporting and Tested With Most Rig Control & Logging Software.

Compatible with computer that has USB 2.0 or Lower.

Great for dxers and contesters.

Malaysian Special Expedition Team On Practical Wireless Magazine

Wednesday, October 02, 2013

CW Phenomenon In Malaysia

CW operation not so popular here in Malaysia. although we still have cw examination here, the population of cw operator is still little compared to other countries. The most factor was ham radio population in Malaysia is not big as our neighbor, Indonesia.

But Malaysian ham radio operator is still the winner if we compare to Singaporean hams. But we lose if compared to Indonesian hams.

if you listen to 40 meters, you will hear Indonesian hams on almost range of freqs.

The popular freq for Malaysian hams was on 7130khz and 7043khz. Before 7043, I was told that 7040khz was favourite spot for Malaysian ham in year 90s.

Back to the topic, Some more reasons that Malaysian is still lack of CW operators were

1. Afraid to make first on air cw contact
2. Do not know cw prowords and abbreviations
3. don't have supportive friends
4. Do not have cw keyer
5. don't want to operate cw at all

In Malaysian cw test, there is only alphabet and numbers and only one or two character such as period and commas.

To be a cw operator, we need to learn cw prowords, punctual letters and also cw abbreviations.

for sure it takes time to learn all this, especially if we don't have any reading resources.

Friends can help friends, just find suitable and experienced friends and learn from them.

we need to learn walking before running.

Stupid friends and clever foes

you are living in a wonderful world if you have bunch of clever friends. Of course you will insist to have stupid friends along with you.

But if you were unlucky, you will have a bunch of stupid friends with bunch of clever foes.

if you do, Which side you will choose to listen? stupid friends or clever foes?

Base Station Operation

When operating from a base station, we usually don't use 9m2pju base as our callsign. Just simply tell them this is 9m2pju. We don't need any extra arguments after pronouncing our callsign

But if you listen to any 2m repeaters, there were some people telling that they are in their bases. Why bother? Just tell your callsign and it is enough to tell anyone that you are operating from your bases. I don't hear any dx stations saying that they were on their base on 20m or 40m yet.

Unless when they are operating from their mobile station or from temporary station.

How about cw operation? Do you send your callsign and base after your callsign? Like this, 9m2pju/base? Or 9m2pju/b?

don't be a laughing stock, b means beacon, not base. Just pronounce your callsign and that is enough to tell others that you are operating from your base station. Indeed.

Portable Or Mobile Station

We usually heard some station saying 9w2xxx portable or 9w2xxx mobile.

first he said that he is mobile and then when he stopped his car, he said that he is portable.

Did you know that mobile station is still mobile station. No matter on the move or not.

the correct term for a car that is not moving is stationary mobile. Not portable.
since portable usually used for a temporary station for example a station under a tent or a chalet that was not owned by the station himselves.

Second situation is when using a handytalkie. If we are walking from a to b while talking to a handytalkie, the correct term is walking mobile or pedestrian mobile. No matter what type transceivers we are using. usually battery powered devices. But if we use handytalkie inside our shack, It is still a base station. Do not use 9w2xxx portable on base. that is absolutely wrong.

Mobile doesnt mean moving by a car. Mobile definition is movable. Same like mobile phones. Phone that movable. Not physically wired to any link.

We need to learn basic of procedure words such as

1. Mobile
2. Stationary mobile
3. Portable
4. Walking mobile
5. Pedestrian mobile
6. Aeronautical mobile
7. Maritime mobile
9. Parachute mobile

Beginners 2 Meter Band Antenna

Congratulations if you passed you first amateur radio examination. If you just pickup your first ticket, and already have a handytalkie or any vhf transceiver, maybe you need to do something as your first ham radio project.

I suggesting 2 meter antenna brewing. There are lots of 2m antenna designs, but if if you already had one in your mind, just proceed with your selected design.

If you still wondering which one to build, I may suggest a few for you

1. Dipole
2. Quarter wave with ground plane
3. Slimjim
4. Zepp
5. quad
6. Halo

Mobile Station Rig

Since 2009, I own an ICOM IC-2200H on my mobile station. I have 2 antennas for it, a loaded quarter wave whip and a 5/8 whip.

I usually use it for simplex and repeater analog voice operation.

When I'm in urban area such a kuala lumpur, I always use my loaded quarter wave since it wont giving me any problem to enter any basement parking lots.

But when I'm in rural area I will use my 5/8 whip since it has better reception and transmitting performance.

I've made an air choke balun on the transmission cable, nearer to my rig and attached a ferrite core to it.

I use external speaker made by MFJ for better sound and tone quality.

I like my rig since i can listen to AM mode. Listening air traffic control tower talking to a pilot is fun when you are stucked in traffic jam.

How about your mobile station?

W5GI Antenna

I've been using G5RV antenna for at least. 3 years now. G5RV performs very well on 20 meters band. I've made contacts with 117 DXCC using only G5RV. Mine is junior sized.

I am thinking to try new antenna. My choice is still from wire antenna. Comparing G5RV with W5GI, I think W5GI is better since it has 6 radiation lobes on 20 meters band while G5RV only have 4 lobes.

I read about this antenna from ham radio magazine long time ago but had no chance to think about it.

Maybe it is time for a change.

How To Break Into Pile Up Call

When there is some rare dxpedition, many ham radio will try to work with that station.

if you hear on their operating frequencies, you will hear bunch of pile up call from around the world.

How to break into their pile up calls?

for CW or SSB operation, you can try to transmit a little bit higher or lower than their receiving frequency.

If you transmit higher, they will easily listen to you call because of your signal sounded a little bit narrow or higher pitch than others.

Depends on their receiver filterations too if they use narrow filter, your signal probably cannot be heard at all. The best technique is to have a bigger gun and higher gain antenna than others.

How To Handle Pile Up Call

When making CQ call on DX band, usually DX stations will answering our call continuously without any delay. We will hear bunch of audios from many countries.

This situation known as pile up call.

How to handle them?

First we need to know what is terminology of KISS method. Some will spell as keep it short and simple and some will say keep it short stupid!

Read sample of dialog below

A: cq cq this is a
B: a this is b
C: a this is c
D: a this is d

A: b stn, is it correct you are b?
B: yes this is b
A: ok b stn you are 59 over
B: thanks you also 59. Bye.

nothing's problem with dialog above, but if you are on that situation, you can make it faster than dialog above. For example

A: cq cq de a stn
B: a this is b stn
A: b stn you are 59 over
B: a this is b stn, you are 59 too.

See the differences?

if you are observant enough, of course you can tell other stations report by hearing their first call to you.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Defending A Stand

As a human, obviously we have our own stand. Stand made from beliefs, motivations and legacies.

Man should fights for his rights. Man should act louder than his talk, man should think longer than his age.

Nothing can beat man's stand unless that man himself. A man without a stand just like trees without its roots.

9M2TPT Buddystick

I remember back that 9M2TPT lend me his buddystick 2 years ago.

It was a loaded vertical antenna made by Budd W3FF.

It has a telescopic steel element, coil and also teflon coated wire to use as counterpoise.

I should setup the antenna like 2 meters long loaded radiator with quarter wave counterpoise.

I tried but I didnt make any contact with that setup. So I changed the radiator element with the counterpoise wire. I measured the wire to a half wave and I use the telescopic element as adjustable counterpoise. Coil needed for certain frequencies.

Made few contacts with that setup. As additional information, I erect the radiator element vertically and hang it to a tree.

Maintaining Communication

When making contact with other station, I usually ask about my signal report. This is the first important thing to know before making futher transmission.

For voice operation simply the readability and signal strength report. But for CW operation are readability, signal strength and tone.

Sometimes receiver station gave 59 plus 10db. When operating using limited power source, I usually reduce my power enough for maintaining communication only. 59 report is enough, 55 report also ok but if my signal is fading, ill increase my transmission power.

Report may vary from time to time, from place to place. Sun moves from east to west giving effect to ionosphere. Sun itself have its own activities.

Most of high frequencies will get better condition on the night than day.

To maintain communication, we need to know our transceiver technical spec. For example, How much current will our rig drains our battery while receiving or transmitting?

Eliminate Microphone's Interference

Today, microphone became part of the important component to our transceivers.

Most of ham radio operators like to use voice operation than CW operation.

Sometimes we received bad report about our audio quality, not the signal quality.

Stock mic sometime is the best mic for most modern transceivers. Usually hand mic.

Some people prefer desk mic and some might use 3rd party mic.

We need to know what is type of microphones that we are using.

For me, I use elecret condenser desktop microphone. For months I've been wondering where did the mic interference came from.

I noticed that when I touch the mic body, hum sound will noticeable.

After a few days, I realized that the built in preamp was not properly grounded and the elecret condenser element body touches the body.

I managed to open my desk mic and ended with setting up a proper ground and also I have done a simple isolation between the element and body.

Now the hum sound gone.

Oh, bytheway my desk mic polarity was omni directional. Not uni directional.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

How To Use Antenna Tuner

An antenna tuner, transmatch or antenna tuning unit (ATU) is a device connected between a radio transmitter or receiver and its antenna to improve power transfer between them by matching the impedance of the radio to the antenna. An antenna tuner matches a transceiver with a fixed impedance (typically 50 ohms for modern transceivers) to a load (feed line and antenna) impedance which is unknown, complex or otherwise does not match. An ATU allows the use of one antenna on a broad range of frequencies. An antenna and transmatch are not as efficient as a resonant antenna due to feedline losses due to the SWR (multiple reflections) and losses in the ATU itself. An ATU is an antenna matching unit, and cannot change the resonant frequency of the aerial. Similar matching networks are used in other equipment (such as linear amplifiers) to transform impedance.

For more info, visit


  1. http://www.hamuniverse.com/tuner.html
  2. http://www.arrl.org/antenna-tuner-operation

Monday, September 16, 2013

Variants Of Dipole Antenna

There is a variety of other important dipole antennas.


  1. The bow-tie antenna is a dipole with flaring, triangular shaped arms. The shape gives it a much wider bandwidth than an ordinary dipole. It is widely used in UHF television antennas.
  2. The G5RV Antenna is a dipole antenna with a symmetric feeder line, which also serves as impedance match for connecting it to a 50-ohm transceiver.
  3. The Doublet Antenna is a dipole antenna with a resonant symmetric feeder line.
  4. The Sloper antenna is a slanted dipole antenna used for long-range communications or in limited space.
  5. The AS-2259 Antenna is an inverted-V dipole antenna used for NVIS communications.

9M2PJU CW QSO With WB6QQR, JJ5IZX And K7XB On 20 Meters



Thanks to JJ5IZX for the record.

What is carrier frequency?

A carrier frequency is a single radio frequency with steady amplitude.
Alone, it would sound like silence on a receiver.
This is the frequency that a radio receiver is tuned into.
To be of use in communication, this carrier wave has to be changed in time with another signal (usually audio), called 'Modulation'
It can be turned on and off using a Morse key.
It can be changed by shifting the frequency, FM.
It can be changed by varying the amplitude, AM.
It can be changed by adding or subtracting audio to the carrier. Single Side Band.
It can have data applied by shifting between two carrier frequencies. FSK. (Frequency shift keying.)

It's called a carrier, because it is the carrier of information without necessarily being the information itself.

Modes And Modulations

Modulation is the process by which voice, music, and other "intelligence" is added to the radio waves produced by a transmitter. The different methods of modulating a radio signal are called modes. An unmodulated radio signal is known as a carrier. When you hear "dead air" between songs or announcements on a radio station, you're "hearing" the carrier. While a carrier contains no intelligence, you can tell it is being transmitted because of the way it quiets the background noise on your radio.
The different modes of modulation have their advantages and disadvantages. Here is a summary:

Continuous Wave (CW)

CW is the simplest form of modulation. The output of the transmitter is switched on and off, typically to form the characters of the Morse code.

CW transmitters are simple and inexpensive, and the transmitted CW signal doesn't occupy much frequency space (usually less than 500 Hz). However, the CW signals will be difficult to hear on a normal receiver; you'll just hear the faint quieting of the background noise as the CW signals are transmitted. To overcome this problem, shortwave and ham radio receivers include a beat frequency oscillator (BFO) circuit. The BFO circuit produces an internally-generated second carrier that "beats" against the received CW signal, producing a tone that turns on and off in step with the received CW signal. This is how Morse code signals are received on shortwave.

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

In amplitude modulation, the strength (amplitude) of the carrier from a transmitter is varied according to how a modulating signal varies.

When you speak into the microphone of an AM transmitter, the microphone converts your voice into a varying voltage. This voltage is amplified and then used to vary the strength of the transmitter's output. Amplitude modulation adds power to the carrier, with the amount added depending on the strength of the modulating voltage. Amplitude modulation results in three separate frequencies being transmitted: the original carrier frequency, a lower sideband (LSB) below the carrier frequency, and an upper sideband (USB) above the carrier frequency. The sidebands are "mirror images" of each other and contain the same intelligence. When an AM signal is received, these frequencies are combined to produce the sounds you hear.

Each sideband occupies as much frequency space as the highest audio frequency being transmitted. If the highest audio frequency being transmitted is 5 kHz, then the total frequency space occupied by an AM signal will be 10 kHz (the carrier occupies negligible frequency space).

AM has the advantages of being easy to produce in a transmitter and AM receivers are simple in design. Its main disadvantage is its inefficiency. About two-thirds of an AM signal's power is concentrated in the carrier, which contains no intelligence. One-third of the power is in the sidebands, which contain the signal's intelligence. Since the sidebands contain the same intelligence, however, one is essentially "wasted." Of the total power output of an AM transmitter, only about one-sixth is actually productive, useful output!

Other disadvantages of AM include the relatively wide amount of frequency space an AM signal occupies and its susceptibility to static and other forms of electrical noise. Despite this, AM is simple to tune on ordinary receivers, and that is why it is used for almost all shortwave broadcasting.

Single Sideband (SSB)

Since so much power is wasted in AM, radio engineers devised a method to transmit just one sideband and put all of the transmitter's power into sending useful intelligence. This method is known as single sideband (SSB). In SSB transmitters, the carrier and one sideband are removed before the signal is amplified. Either the upper sideband (USB) or lower sideband (LSB) of the original AM signal can be transmitted.

SSB is a much more efficient mode than AM since all of the transmitter's power goes into transmitting useful intelligence. A SSB signal also occupies only about half the frequency space of a comparable AM signal. However, SSB transmitters and receivers are far more complicated than those for AM. In fact, a SSB signal cannot be received intelligibly on an AM receiver; the SSB signal will have a badly distorted "Donald Duck" sound. This is because the carrier of an AM signal does play a major role in demodulating (that is, recovering the transmitted audio) the sidebands of an AM signal. To successfully demodulate a SSB signal, you need a "substitute carrier."

A substitute carrier can be supplied by the beat frequency oscillator (BFO) circuit used when receiving CW signals. However, this means that a SSB signal must be carefully tuned to precise "beat" it against the replacement carrier from the BFO. For best performance, a SSB receiver needs more precise tuning and stability than an AM receiver, and it must be tuned more carefully than an AM receiver. Even when precisely tuned, the audio quality of a SSB signal is less than that of an AM signal.

SSB is used mainly by ham radio operators, military services, maritime and aeronautical radio services, and other situations where skilled operators and quality receiving equipment are common. There have been a few experiments in using SSB for shortwave broadcasting, but AM remains the preferred mode for broadcasting because of its simplicity.

Frequency Modulation (FM)

In CW, AM, and SSB, the carrier of the signal will not change in a normally operating transmitter. However, it is possible to modulate a signal by changing its frequency in accordance with a modulating signal. This is the idea behind frequency modulation (FM).

The unmodulated frequency of a FM signal is called its center frequency. When a modulating signal is applied, the FM transmitter's frequency will swing above and below the center frequency according to the modulating signal. The amount of "swing" in the transmitter's frequency in any direction above or below the center frequency is called its deviation. The total frequency space occupied by a FM signal is twice its deviation.

As you might suspect, FM signals occupy a great deal of frequency space. The deviation of a FM broadcast station is 75 kHz, for a total frequency space of 150 kHz. Most other users of FM (police and fire departments, business radio services, etc.) use a deviation of 5 kHz, for a total frequency space occupied of 10 kHz. For these reasons, FM is mainly used on frequency above 30 MHz, where adequate frequency space is available. This is why most scanner radios can only receive FM signals, since most signals found above 30 MHz are FM.

The big advantage of FM is its audio quality and immunity to noise. Most forms of static and electrical noise are naturally AM, and a FM receiver will not respond to AM signals. FM receivers also exhibit a characteristic known as the capture effect. If two or more FM signals are on the same frequency, the FM receiver will respond to the strongest of the signals and ignore the rest. The audio quality of a FM signal increases as its deviation increases, which is why FM broadcast stations use such large deviation. The main disadvantage of FM is the amount of frequency space a signal requires.

Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK)

Like FM, frequency-shift keying (FSK) shifts the carrier frequency of the transmitter. Unlike FM, however, FSK shifts the frequency between just two separate, fixed points. The higher frequency is called the mark frequency while the lower of the two frequencies is called the space frequency. (By contrast, an FM signal can swing to any frequency within its deviation range.)

FSK was originally developed to send text via radioteleprinter devices, like those used by the TeleType Corporation. The shifting of the carrier between the mark and space was used to generate characters in the Baudot code, which can be thought of as a more elaborate version of the Morse code. At the receiver, the Baudot signals were used to produce printed text on printers and, later, video screens.

As technology improved, FSK was used to transmit messages in the ASCII code used by computers; this permitted the use of upper and lower case letters and special symbols. The introduction of microprocessors made it possible to use FSK to send messages with automatic error detection and correction capabilities. This is done by including error checking codes into messages and allowing the receiving station to request a retransmission of a message if the message and its error checking code are in conflict (or if the code is not received.) Among the most common such FSK modes are amateur teleprinting over radio (AMTOR) and forward error correction (FEC).

FSK is the fastest way to send text by radio, and the error-correcting modes offer high accuracy and reliability. The frequency space occupied depends on the amount of shifting, but typical FSK signals occupy less than 1.5 kHz of space. The big disadvantage of FSK is the more elaborate receiving gear required.

Special receiving terminals and adapters are available to let you "see" FSK modes. Many of these work in conjunction with personal computers.

Digital Modes

The same technology that makes it possible for you to view this Web site is also being used on the air. Digital modes can organize information into packets that contain address fields, information about the transmission protocol being used, error detection code, a few hundred bytes of data, and bits to indicate where each packet begins and ends.

Instead of transmitting messages in continuous streams, packet modes break them into packets. At the receiving end, the different packets are re-assembled to form the original message. If a packet is missing or received with errors, the receiving station can request a retransmission of the packet. Packets can be received out of sequence or even from multiple sources (such as different relaying stations) and still be assembled into the original message by the receiving station.

While packet modes have mainly been used to send text, any information that can be converted into digital form---sound, graphics, video, etc.---can be transmitted by digital modes.

Another advantage of packet modes is that packets can be addressed to specific stations in the address field of each packet. Other stations will ignore packets not addressed to them.

The big disadvantage of packet modes is the complexity of the necessary receiving and transmitting gear. The frequency space occupied is directly proportional to the speed at which messages are transmitted, and radio digital modes are very slow compared to their Internet equivalents. The slowest Web connection via the Internet is 14,400 baud (14.4K), while the maximum practical digital mode rate via radio is 9600 baud (9.6K). On frequencies below 30 MHz, it is even slower; rates are usually restricted to just 300 baud (0.3K)! As a result, digital modes via radio today deliver performance far short of their potential.

Special receiving adapters for packet modes are available, and these usually work in conjunction with personal computers. Most offer FSK receiving capabilities as well.

Another form of digital modulation is known as spread spectrum. Most other modulation methods pack all of the transmitter's output power into a bandwidth of only a few kHz. (Even in FM, the carrier doesn't occupy much bandwidth, although its frequency may be deviated over a wide range.) Spread spectrum literally "spreads" the carrier over a frequency range that may be as much as 10 kHz on frequencies below 30 MHz. (Spreading over 100 kHz or more is common on the VHF and UHF bands.) This spreading is usually done via a "spreading code" contained in an internal microcontroller chip.

When heard on a conventional receiver, spread sprectrum sounds like random noise or "gurgling" water. A receiver equipped with a microcontroller having the matching "spreading code" is necessary to properly receive the spread spectrum transmission. Advantages of spread spectrum include a high degree of privacy and freedom from intereference, since the spread spectrum receiver will reject any signal not having the proper spreading code. Almost all users of spread spectrum below 30 MHz are various military and government services.

SSB - Single sideband modulation

a summary, information or overview describing what is SSB modulation, and how single sideband modulation works as well as details of SSB receiver, SSB, transmitter, and SSB transceiver circuits and how it is used for two way radio communication.

Single sideband modulation is widely used in the HF portion, or short wave portion of the radio spectrum for two way radio communication. There are many users of single sideband modulation. Many users requiring two way radio communication will use single sideband and they range from marine applications, generally HF point to point transmissions, military as well as radio amateurs or radio hams.

Single sideband modulation or SSB is derived from amplitude modulation (AM) and SSB modulation overcomes a number of the disadvantages of AM.

Single sideband modulation is normally used for voice transmission, but technically it can be used for many other applications where two way radio communication using analogue signals is required.

As a result of its widespread use there are many items of radio communication equipment designed to use single sideband radio including: SSB receiver, SSB transmitter and SSB transceiver equipments.

What is single sideband modulation?

Single sideband, SSB modulation is basically a derivative of amplitude modulation, AM. By removing some of the components of the ordinary AM signal it is possible to significantly improve its efficiency.

A more complete explanation of the way amplitude modulated signals are formed and work can been seen on the pages relating to AM. These can be accessed via the "Related Articles" links that can be found on the left hand side of the page below the main menu.

It is possible to see how an AM signal can be improved by looking at the spectrum of the signal. When a steady state carrier is modulated with an audio signal, for example a tone of 1 kHz, then two smaller signals are seen at frequencies 1 kHz above and below the main carrier.

If the steady state tones are replaced with audio like that encountered with speech of music, these comprise many different frequencies and an audio spectrum with frequencies over a band of frequencies is seen. When modulated onto the carrier, these spectra are seen above and below the carrier.

It can be seen that if the top frequency that is modulated onto the carrier is 6 kHz, then the top spectra will extend to 6 kHz above and below the signal. In other words the bandwidth occupied by the AM signal is twice the maximum frequency of the signal that is used to modulated the carrier, i.e. it is twice the bandwidth of the audio signal to be carried.

Amplitude modulation is very inefficient from two points. The first is that it occupies twice the bandwidth of the maximum audio frequency, and the second is that it is inefficient in terms of the power used. The carrier is a steady state signal and in itself carries no information, only providing a reference for the demodulation process. Single sideband modulation improves the efficiency of the transmission by removing some unnecessary elements. In the first instance, the carrier is removed - it can be re-introduced in the receiver, and secondly one sideband is removed - both sidebands are mirror images of one another and the carry the same information. This leaves only one sideband - hence the name Single SideBand / SSB.

SSB receiver

While signals that use single sideband modulation are more efficient for two way radio communication and more effective than ordinary AM, they do require an increased level of complexity in the receiver. As SSB modulation has the carrier removed, this needs to be re-introduced in the receiver to be able to reconstitute the original audio. This is achieved using an internal oscillator called a Beat Frequency Oscillator (BFO) or Carrier Insertion Oscillator (CIO). This generates a carrier signal that can be mixed with the incoming SSB signal, thereby enabling the required audio to be recovered in the detector.

Typically the SSB detector itself uses a mixer circuit to combine the SSB modulation and the BFO signals. This circuit is often called a product detector because (like any RF mixer) the output is the product of the two inputs.

It is necessary to introduce the carrier using the BFO / CIO on the same frequency relative to the SSB signal as the original carrier. Any deviation from this will cause the pitch of the recovered audio to change. Whilst errors of up to about 100 Hz are acceptable for communications applications including amateur radio, if music is to be transmitted the carrier must be reintroduced on exactly the correct frequency. This can be accomplished by transmitting a small amount of carrier, and using circuitry in the receiver to lock onto this.

Receiving SSB

There are several types of two way radio communication that it is possible to listen to legally. Radio amateurs form a large group that short wave listeners can listen to quite legally, and the transmissions are easy to find as they are all contained within the amateur radio band allocations - see the section of this website on ham radio.

In view of its popularity it is necessary to know how to tune an SSB signal and receive the SSB signal in the best way to ensure that the best copy is obtained. Although it is slightly more difficult to tune than an AM or FM signal, with a little practice, it is easy to become used to tuning them in.

When receiving SSB it is necessary to have a basic understanding of how a receiver works. Most radio receivers that will be used to receive SSB modulation will be of the superheterodyne type. Here the incoming signals are converted down to a fixed intermediate frequency. It is at this stage where the BFO signal is mixed with the incoming SSB signals.

It is necessary to set the BFO to the correct frequency to receive the form of SSB, either LSB or USB, that is expected. Many radio receivers will have a switch to select this, other receivers will have a BFO pitch control which effectively controls the frequency. The BFO needs to be positioned to be in the correct position for when the signal is in the centre of the receiver passband. This typically means that it will be on the side of the passband of the receiver. To position the BFO, tune the SSB signal in for the optimum strength, i.e. ensure it is in the centre of the passband, and then adjust the BFO frequency for the correct pitch of the signal. Once this has been done, then the main tuning control of the receiver can be used, and once a signal is audible with the correct pitch, then it is also in the centre of the receiver passband.

Tuning an SSB signal with the BFO set is quite easy. First set the receiver to the SSB position or the BFO to ON, and then if there is a separate switch set the LSB / USB switch to the format that is expected and then gradually tune the receiver. Adjust the main tuning control so that the pitch is correct, and the signal should be comprehensible. If it is not possible to distinguish the sounds, then set the LSB / USB switch to the other position and re-adjust the main tuning control if necessary to return the signal to the correct pitch, at which point the signal should be understandable..

With a little practice it should be possible to easily tune in SSB signals.

Single sideband power measurement

It is often necessary to define the output power of a single sideband transmitter or single sideband transmission. For example it is necessary to know the power of a transmitter sued for two way radio communication to enable its effectiveness to be judged for particular applications.

Power measurement for an SSB signal is not as easy as it is for many other types of transmission because the actual output power is dependent upon the level of the modulating signal. To overcome this a measure known as the peak envelope power (PEP) is used. This takes the power of the RF envelope of the transmission and uses the peak level of the signal at any instant and it includes any components that may be present. Obviously this includes the sideband being used, but it also includes any residual carrier that may be transmitted.

The level of the peak envelope power may be stated in Watts, or nowadays figures quoted in dBW or dBm may be used. These are simply the power levels relative to 1 Watt or 1 milliwatt respectively. As an example a signal of 10 watts peak envelope power is 10 dB above a 1 Watt signal and therefore it has a power of 10 dBW. Similar logic can be used to determine powers in dBm.

Single sideband modulation variants

There are many variants of single sideband modulation that are used, and there are several different abbreviations for them. These are explained below.

LSB:   This stands for Lower Sideband. This form of single sideband modulation is formed when the lower sideband only of the original signal is transmitted. Typically this is used by radio amateurs or radio hams on their allocations below 9 MHz.


USB:   This stands for Upper Sideband. This form of single sideband modulation is formed when the upper sideband only of the original signal is transmitted. Typically this form of SSB modulation is used by professional users on all frequencies and by radio amateurs or radio hams on their allocations above 9 MHz.


DSB:   This is Double Sideband and it is a form of modulation where an AM signal is taken and the carrier is removed to leave the two sidebands. Although easy to generate, it does not give any improvements in spectrum efficiency and it is also not particularly easy to resolve. Accordingly it is rarely used.


SSB SC:   This stands for Single Sideband Suppressed Carrier. It is the form of SSB modulation where the carrier is removed completely as opposed to SSB reduced carrier where some of the carrier is left.


VSB:   This stands for Vestigial Sideband. It is a form is signal where one sideband is completely present, and the other sideband that has been only partly cut off or suppressed. It is widely used for analogue television transmissions. It comes in useful because the baseband video signal is wide (typically 6 MHz). To transmit this using AM would require a bandwidth of 12 MHz. To reduce the amount of spectrum used, one sideband is transmitted fully, whereas only the lower frequencies of the other are transmitted. The high frequencies can be later enhanced using filters.


SSB reduced carrier :   In this form of SSB modulation one sideband is present along with a small amount of the carrier. For some applications, a small amount of carrier is kept. This may be used to provide a reference signal for accurate demodulation.

SSB advantages

Single sideband modulation is often compared to AM, of which it is a derivative. It has several advantages for two way radio communication that more than outweigh the additional complexity required in the SSB receiver and SSB transmitter required for its reception and transmission.

As the carrier is not transmitted, this enables a 50% reduction in transmitter power level for the same level of information carrying signal. [NB for an AM transmission using 100% modulation, half of the power is used in the carrier and a total of half the power in the two sideband - each sideband has a quarter of the power.]


As only one sideband is transmitted there is a further reduction in transmitter power.


As only one sideband is transmitted the receiver bandwidth can be reduced by half. This improves the signal to noise ratio by a factor of two, i.e. 3 dB, because the narrower bandwidth used will allow through less noise and interference.

The summary of this is that SSB modulation offers a far more effective solution for two way radio communication because it provides a significant improvement in efficiency.

Summary

Single sideband modulation, SSB is the main modulation format used for analogue voice transmission for two way radio communication on the HF portion of the radio spectrum. Its efficiency in terms of spectrum and power when compared to other modes means that for many years it has been the most effective option to use. Now some forms of digital voice transmission are being used, but it is unlikely that single sideband will be ousted for many years as the main format used on these bands.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Katy Perry - Thinking Of You (Guitar Cover)

First try, Enjoy!


SSB QSO With YF1CRR

My friend of mine. From Bandung, Indonesia. Knowledgeable person. Very kind and willing to answer any questions related to ham radio. He made lots how to design antennas video and uploaded them to youtube.

My name is Roosdiarto Rooskandar. My nickname is Arrie. I live here in Bandung City, Indonesia, about 110km South East Jakarta (capital). My residence altitude is about 900m above sea level, so temperature here is running cool, from 15-20° Celcius along the year. From 1985-1994, I studied in Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). My study was Industrial Engineering focused on Industrial Management. My studies from Junior High School up to 1994 were fully subsidized by President Mr. Soeharto government, as rest of youths studied in governmental schools. From 1997-2005, I studied in private university named ST-INTEN Bandung. My study was Wireless Telecommunication Engineering. From this university, I have my degree on Wireless Telecommunication Engineering. At 2010, my age would be 44, and still single. My hobbies are electronic and wireless telecommunication researches, amateur radio, sports, musics, and sight seeing.
My favourite singers, and bands include Coco Lee, Laura Pausini, Luis Miguel, Mezzoforte, Incognito, Casiopea, and many others. Between national musicians, I like Ruth Sahanaya, Candra Darusman, and many others. My musical flow tends to Fusion (between Jazz and Rock).
My researches include designing VHF FM transmitter, designing HF AM transmitter, designing effective antennas, propagation, atmosphere ionization, effect of Sun to radio propagation and weather, etc.. My callsign in Amateur Radio is YF1CRR. I DX (communicate internationally) on 7, 14, 21, and 28 MHz CW and Phone. I've joined ORARI (Indonesian Amateur Radio Organization) since 1990.
Since very beginning, my interest is on research of Telecommunication, and in future, I hope to establish my own industry, design and produce Amateur Radio equipments. And with my products, I hope I could relate everyone in Earth and Universe easily, cheaply, conduct friendship and peace between Nations, and communicate science and technology Worldwide to boost World's economy. May God realizes.
If you like to contact me or have questions, use:
Bukit Dago Utara II/3, Bandung, Indonesia 40135 (home)
To see my home from satellite: Latitude: 6.86825°S Longitude: 107.61776°E: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=-6.86825,107.61776
Ph: +62-22-2503241
Mobile: +62-852-20056566(SMS)
Webs: http://arriesite.blogspot.com/ , http://facebook.com/arrieweb, http://www.qrz.com/db/yf1crr , http://www.youtube.com/user/arrieweb
E-mail: arrieweb@gmail.com
ORARI National QSL Bureau: PO Box 1096, Jakarta, Indonesia 10010
West Java QSL Bureau: PO Box 1042, Bandung, Indonesia 40010
Or try to find list of IARU QSL Bureaus: http://www.iaru.org/iaruqsl.html
Or call me on high frequencies



Saturday, September 14, 2013

Are you a LID?

                                                                    Are you a LID?

Are you a lid? Good question, after reading this you can ask yourself does this sound like me?

Let us define what a LID is.


  1. In earlier telegraphy days a LID was referred to a operator that used a Prince Albert can lid to hear the Telegraph sounder easier. Usually these operators were new and sometimes slow and would slow down the whole Telegraphy system because of the operator that was slow or making many mistakes.
  2. A LID now of days is referred to any Ham operator that is a poor operator.
  3. Defined by a friend of mine a LID is some one that does not change there ways even after being corrected.


Why should I care about LIDS?


  1. Amateur Radio can be and will be received by Hams and non hams alike from local level to world level communications. If hams sound like a bunch of morons on the air with out any type of social order , what type of impressions do you think we give to non hams?
  2. Why would some one want to have a bad label put upon them.
  3. Not letting the quality of the Hobby/Service go to the same route as C.B. radio FCC mistake.


Lets look at some of the common mistakes we see ALL across ham radio and in EVERY class level.


  1. Saying out loud on voice when trying to be funny and say HI HI , Hmmm why not just laugh? Would that not be much easier and sound a little more human like. Are you trying to impress someone that you know what HI HI means on CW? Is there really a need for it on phone?
  2. Using "Q" Codes on phone..i.e. QSL, QRT,QSY ... Is there really a need for this on Phone why not just say to your friend "Hey, Jim change frequency to 146.675" Q codes was made for shorthand for CW and adopted on Digital modes for a efficient shorthand. Also a LID should always use Q codes when stations have a strong signal and clear and can speak your native tongue very well.
  3. Using really snazzy phonetic I.D.'s ... Why not use the Primary or Secondary ITU Phonetics? Every one is expecting to hear certain words with certain letters, Does it make sense to use some off of the wall word like example KZ4ZPC Kangaroo Ziggi Four Ziggi Popcorn Candy. When the other operator especially in a bad conditions might think you want to eat some candy popcorn or something.
  4. Use the wrong terminology like on FM say something like " Hey, Jim turn up your modulation(or even worse your Mod). Last time I looked FM Deviates not modulate. Also, using the wrong word for Class C type of amplifiers as :"linear" ,which they are not linear. Which lots of FM Amps are Class C and thus are not linear.
  5. When giving your call sign always say after the call sign For ID , That is a little redundant don't you think?
  6. When communicating with some one always give them dis-honest information. (Sarcastic here) Always tell someone that their audio is sounding very good, (when there audio is extremely basses and mushy or very distorted sounding over driving the transmitter). Tell someone they are full quieting into a repeater when there is a HISS in the background. Always tell someone they are 59 or 599 depending on mode and then ask them to repeat what they said. Or even better you are 599 with deep QSB hmmm, would that not be like hmmm 499 or 399 or something like that??
  7. To be a good lid they must always tune up on the air and to make it even better they must choose the frequency that the DX station is using and key up on top of him , while other stations are trying to work the DX station.
  8. Always call for the DX station even when you can not hear them. Example the DX station is saying something to the effect "DE BP4RR UP 2" The LID must then never put the radio into spilt mode to work the DX station because he can NOT HEAR them saying UP 2! And should be calling for him on his calling frequency and while the DX station is keyed up as well!
  9. Always work a DX station and then at the same time give your signal report and name etc... before the DX station even told you to go ahead, that would be like me going to the bank and jump the line and tell the teller I am here for you to serve my needs. Why not just give your call sign out and wait for the DX station to tell you to go ahead.
  10. Always continue to throw out your call sign even though the DX station is working another station at that time period.
  11. Always speak in third person .i.e. "We are sitting here talking on the radio", "We are clear"
  12. Use words that do not make any sense or do not even exist. like "negoitary" , "destinated"
  13. Always sign onto a repeater with your call sign and that is all, When someone hears a call sign they have NO clue what you are doing, are you listening? are you clearing out? are you ordering pizza or what???
  14. When in a mobile or portable never tell anyone you are mobile or portable, let them just guess at it especially when that is important information.
  15. Never listen to a repeater before you key down or any frequency.
  16. When using a repeater always use .. Hey your signal sounds great over here nice and strong!! , OH never mind that the repeater is probably on a high hill or tower etc and that is retransmits what it hears and the other station signal in lots of cases never comes to you directly.
  17. Always use the word "there" a whole lot like 20 times in one key up. People listening might start wondering where in the heck is "there" at.
  18. Always use the term 73s ,so you can make a plural stament even sound more plural 73 means "best regardS" do you want to say "best regardses"??
  19. Always try to use your "rubber ducky" on your nifty HT when you are many miles away from the repeater or not so good terrain especially on a every day circumstance , so every body will always try to guess what you are talking about.
  20. Always get way into the microphone and see how distorted your audio can get and also to listen to uvula dance around. And if some one tells your audio is too loud or hot then just ignore them and the problem will magically disappear. Always make sure the mic gain is very high to make it sound like you are doing a wind tunnel test in your vehicle.
  21. When going to simplex always choose the national call frequency to hold a conversation on.
  22. In general conversation always break into a conversation with a off of the wall comment or off the subject topic.
  23. Always complain about how the repeater is not working well or how you are not receiving it well.
  24. When a station tells you to stand by just continue to give your information to him ( seen that happen)
  25. Always break into a conversation and say "May I call another Station...kz4zzz this is kz4fff" Not much of a chose there was it? Yea the repeater is a community type of resource , but why jump in between a conversation to do what you want to do. That would be like going to hardware store and see a person that works there helping a customer, do you walk up to person working and demand them to help you? If you say this is normal then this is just right down RUDE!
  26. When working a station and the other station says "Hey Jim my name is Charlie" a LID then should key up and say "Nice to meet you Andrew" Just because QRZ says his first name is Andrew , You know some people do have middle names or even have a shorter name like Bill for William etc...
  27. When a LID always seek out stations that are Calling "CQ contest" or a rare DX station , Make sure you can work them and tell the other station that your name is such and such, you live on this street in this town and you are using such and such equipment and that you really enjoy Kenwood radios etc.. I think you get the point... For one thing that station does not really care too much on all the frivolous information. They are interested in quick contacts!
  28. When signing out with another station that controls the frequency and the stations returns it back to the LID station for his final and the LID gives his farewells and 73 and then the other stations gives his 73. The LID stations must be compelled to key back up and say 73 again or something to that effect. Even though the other station gave the green light for other stations to call him. And all the LID is doing is creating chaos.
  29. When signing portable always use redundancy when signing in , like i.e. de xx4xxx/4 We already know you are in 4th call area why tell it twice? Proper way would be xx4xxx/m or xx4xxx/p or xx4xxx/mm etc if outside the call area then use xx4xxx/5 which is no longer a rule , but is helpful for stations with beams and propagation like programs.


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The Art of Communications

The practice of great communication is the door to success to many aspects in life such as financial endeavors, legal endeavors and loving relationships. This trait is not correctly taught much in life. Usually all senses are used to help communicate your intent to others like when you are mad or when you are sad via verbally or shown through body jesters or even a physical change in the body like faces becoming red or tears coming from the eyes. When we can uses all of our senses communications are more easily processed in the brain. When some of the senses are taken away it becomes even harder to interpret others intentions or desires. In Ham radio we are at a disadvantage of not being able to see the person live in most cases.
For me I am just a simple man and bound to make mistakes in life and try to learn from my mistakes and strive to be more perfect which never can be achieved, but yet I try. My grammar is not the best in the world, grammar is a ongoing learning experience to me. Hopefully this will be helpful to some people and I hope you can use this as a stepping stone to grow into something even better.

BASIC COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION

Interpersonal communication includes at least the following elements:

The Transmitter person - Someone who wants to convey a thought verbally or non-verbally to someone else they are interested in a conversation with.
The receiver person -  Someone who interpret the thought or action from another person.
A message - Information in some form i.e. written, spoken, body language.
Noise -  Anything that interferes or causes the deletion, distortion or generalization of the exact replication of information being transmitted from the mind of the transmitter to the mind of the receiver.
Feedback - Both the sender and receiver constantly elicit verbal and nonverbal feedback to the other person consciously or unconsciously.

Replication - The duplication of understanding in one person that is in the mind of another person. Replication is an approximate goal and philosophically not perfectly possible, though desired.
Understanding - An approximation of what the message means to the sender by the receiver.
Excellent communication is the ability to transmit a message by the sender to a receiver and have that message replicated in the receiver's mind. Excellent communication is the ability to receive a transmitted message by the sender and have the receiver be able to replicate the form and intent of the message in the receiver's mind. If the receiver is uncertain about some aspect of a communication, it is the responsibility of the receiver to clarify the communication through the artful use of questions (or you will just go through life not ever clearly knowing an answer to a question for example). The transmitting communicator also accepts the responsibility for the result of a communication (example OH ok let me put it a different way to see if you understand easier). This means the transmitter must be certain to code a communication so it is received in a manner that is understandable to the receiver. A complete communication would need a message transmitted to the receiver, if the question is not completely understood , then the transmitter will try again to make it better understood with a different angle, perspective or different choices of words for example. When the receiver has completely understood the message then the receiver should give the transmitter feedback that is understood.

Now that we have defined what communicating consents of now lets look into ham radio.
Sense we can not see facially gestures , body language, body stance i.e. (leaning forward or away from someone, crossed arms etc...) in most cases. But we can sense tone of voice, choice of words, instructions/commands to help clarify what your intent is and how you want to accomplish a task.
Here is some examples of bad practices I have heard on the radio is... (it is implied that emergencies happen and can not be foreseen)

1. When asking or making a statement etc.. you do receive a response, when you do not receive a response for no apparent reason , It could make the sender start wondering, That the receiver does not want to talk with you or does not answer your question because it is stupid and deserves no answer. (which is many cases this practice is just plain rude)

2. When someone is getting off the radio to do something else they do not tell anyone. So this leaves the other person on the other end guessing where you went to and wondering did I do or say something wrong to offend them or something to the like in nature? Which if this is done in ignorance then it is portraying rudeness. Example, if you were talking to someone in person and the other person decided just to leave and turn around and walked away with them saying nothing to you, what does the other person suppose to think? maybe Is there something wrong with me? Is that other person a rude person? Or is that person crazy and can't help it?

3. Some people do not communicate there intentions to well. (Like when someone is going to get off the radio , should you go silent and not say a word? No you should always tell what your intent is so, the other people involved know what is going on, A simple statement such as I have arrived at my location and I need to leave the radio so this is AC4M out. Using descriptive signs is helpful to convey your intent to all. Like when I am in my vehicle. I use this is statement "AC4M mobile" as a description what I am doing and this might explain to some people that this is why I could have a weak signal and do not freak out if I fade in and out of a repeater or I have much noise on my signal. When I get onto a repeater I could say "This is AC4M mobile monitoring", This is telling the ham community, who I am , what I type of situation I have going on for a radio setup and I am looking for any one to talk with that is available on the repeater.

4. When there is a conversation happening about a subject that is interesting in-between two people. I have heard people many of times come into a fairly deep conversation about a particular subject and make a off the wall comment or statement with something that does not even pertain to the subject at hand. (example: Me- "What do you think about the weather today Jim?" Jims says, "I hope it does not rain today", Breaking station - xx4xx ,ME: "Go ahead station", Breaking station: "What do you all think of the color yellow?" ) Why doesn't the breaking station want to be apart of the conversation?( Unless there is something serious a going on like an emergency). Put this into a eye ball to eye ball conversation perspective : if two gentlemen are having a conversation , do you come up to them and just say something that is not even remotely related to the conversation? The proper thing to do is to wait for a breaking moment or when two parties decided they have exhausted conservation on the subject at hand. If you broke into a conversation especially when you add statements or question and that way off topic that can come across as rude or the other two people may say this person is just crazy and can not help it.It also could portray that your conversation does not matter what I have to say is more important and I do not have to wait a turn, It Almost same thing as in going to a bank and walking up to the front of the line to the teller window to be served , ignoring all other people in line.

5. Using words that just does not make any sense. I have heard people use words such as destinated, negatory and of like--- How is this helpful on communicating? I think in my opinion just causes more confusion and makes oneself sound silly. What If I made up words like zooom too frookeee , would this help people? If you want to look as a fool on the radio that is your own business, but in my opinion , the FCC does not have to lets us have bands to operate on if our quality of service goes down then what reason does the FCC have with Hams? Also this practice makes the public think they are just a bunch of CB'ers. Remember simply little things can always explode into bigger thinks if left unchecked. Some of the history of CB is a good witness to this theory.

6. When in a structured net on the radio in emergency type of situations, The information people need is the information that does not waste time and that will efficiently communicate all the information needed to be expressed across the radio for the listener to completely understand the information that is sent. Knowing what type of information to send is very helpful to know in advanced as well(makes it easier to format your message). Giving information that is not very helpful. Like Being vague about your information is not very helpful, example ( someone say "I have hail" Now all we know is that they have hail , this was not very helpful, because now we must go back to you to try to get more complete information such as what size hail? Where is the hail happening at? etc etc. IF the sender would have said something to the effect of
I have hail here at my house 5 miles south of Church Hill, Tn with hail stones estimated at baseball size at 3PM and is still happening OVER , Then I should be very clear what is happening and where it is happening at and when is happening or happened. )

7. Words are not cheap , Say what you mean and then mean what you say. Some choices of words can be hurtful in a conversation or a person background makes them sensitive . I am not saying to be politically correct , but when you get to known some one you will find certain subjects are a little sensitive to people. It is always a good idea to try to make things clear that will not offend someone or be mis interpreted especially with people you do not known to well. Also it is good idea to make corny jokes when people seem to be sad or serious etc etc. I mean if you are a joking type of person, do you not want to give jokes to people that will easily accept it? In other words trying to be funny at inappropriate times is not too cool, or it can go the other way as well. When people are joking around do you make comments that are sad? Try to become part of the conversation not kill the mood.

8. When a station is telling you they are having a hard time communicating with you, then you must try to make it easier for them to understand you and in the propagation world, radio is not a landline conditions , the propagation can change and can be lots of noise effecting the receiver of the radio. So when some one is in a situation where they are not receiving you well , you can give the information two times to them to give a better chance of actually being heard, also spelling out letters if it is a short message is helpful to understand the letters easier. i.e. Alpha, Bravo Delta etc...If you are a mobile station is not too great of practice to send a message while you are in low lands of a valley, If you know you are way far from the repeater , wait till you can give your chance to be able to produce a stronger signal to the repeater, such as wait till you get out behind a hill or wait till you have more elevation. Think in RF terms , What might block my signals?
9. Always give feed back that the message has been completely understood.

10. When changing a subject in a conversation try to get the listener ready for the change ie. (speaking about rain and weather)Speaking about the weather that reminds me of the hurricane plane.-- now you can precede into the next subject and not having the listener playing catch up. Like they do not have to wonder to there self , How does a plane relate to this conversation?

11. on the technical side of things. When you have a situation where it is going to be hard to hold a conversation because you decided that your rubby duck is suffice. And other stations are straining there ears to hear you , or piecing together parts of sentences together where the station is falling in and out of the repeater. Would it not be a good idea to wait to you are in a better situation i.e. on top of a hill in the clear? Or make or buy a better antenna to attach to the HT? I have never really understood this concept to well especially from the station you must tell almost daily we not understand what you are saying. Why would a person want to become nuisance to other users that have to strain away on trying to converse with you? In certain situations this can not be avoided but in everyday same situations this is entirely different.

12. It is always good practice to answer a question that has been giving to you. IE Like example station Did you all receive a warning for a tornado?-- ME: No I did not receive a warning from the NWS office. station Ok I did on my phone --ME: What time did you receive it? station I get warnings from the NWS in Morristown( they did not answer the question). --- ME: What time did you receive the warning?? - station I do not remember I deleted it.

13. Also if I am spelling my name to a station in say like in India high my name is Craig as in Carrots Radish Alpha Indigos Grapes, would he know what that means? Now I am not saying all hams know the ITU primary phonetics but the hams that do , that is what they are expecting to hear if I say my name is Craig as in Charlie Romeo Alpha India Golf, then that station will be able decipher my phonetics a whole lot easier than using some type of fancy phonetics and stuns people when they hear it.

14. In ham radio especially on propagation paths that are great and steady we should use plain language like what you would do on a phone I am not saying like not to say mobile, out , roger etc.. but for the conversation part... in Ham radio there is no need to say I am QSY , or do you hear QRM , it is not really needed since Q codes was first designed for CW mode for shorthand, There is really no need for short hand on a local repeater. It gets even more ridiculous when a station station use two or three Q codes in a conversation , like my QTH here is Church hill, my QRA is Craig, do you have QRM and QRN at your place? well I must go QRT now and QSY to bed. Does it make them feel they are impressing someone ??
15. I have heard this happen many times as well, When asked a question and the receiver did not understand the question, They sit there and will not ask the sender to repeat or they did not understand, thus forcing the transmitter to try to guess if the receiver actually heard you or even understood, It is the responsibility of the receiver to ask to say again etc... just not sit there and do nothing

16. When signing off with another station it is always great practice to tell them you are leaving and you are turning it back to them for there final (or final statements) then afterwards you can sign off, this give the other station a chance to ask any additional question to you if needed and a chance to say there good byes and best wishes etc.. if this chance is given to you , it is bad practice to give a additional good bye after you had the chance, especially on simplex because there might be other stations that are calling the other station for an example on HF when you are working DX when you sign with one station and give him the chance to give his 73 then after this I say my 73 to him , this is a queued signal for other station to know I probably am free to be worked unless I say I am QRT( shutting down)  or QSY( going to another frequency of xxx) or something to the like.  If you do not do this you are making yourself look like you are the only station in the world and there could not possible be any other signals in the world that you can not hear. If the person does not give the other a person a chance to say good bye on a final , then it is impossible for other stations to know exactly when you are finished with your conversation.

17. When you first get on a repeater and you have listened for awhile and you do not hear anything , it is always always a good idea to give your call sign with a additional descriptive monitoring or listening. Now if you did not add monitoring or something like that and just said this is ac4m, to the listener that was half way paying atenttion does not know if you are QRV(active), QRT (shutting down) or listening and probably has no clue what you are doing.

18. To help clarify what a suffix or a prefix of a call is. I have seen this mistake many times before.( the sender ask for the prefix of the call sign and the receiver gives the complete call sign again, which is your call sign which is ok , but in certain situation it is better to only send the prefix only if the sender requests it, they have a reason to request it. examples where this comes in handy is when there is lots of noise and you can not hear the prefix well if conditions are very bad it is desirable to send only the prefix and maybe repeat the prefix two or three times.) If someone asks for your prefix of your call sign this means the letter that come before the number in the call sign. If some one ask for your suffix this means all the letters after the number in the call sign. On the international seen you may come across call signs such as 4z4zz the prefix in this situation would be 4Z the suffix then would be 4ZZ

The lack of good communications can add many problems in a relationship. The trust factor starts to decrease because of this and hard feelings can be introduced to the relationship. When the the intent is not effectively communicated it forces the other parties involved to try to guess what the intentions are because we are not using all senses that may have added more information. When there is a break down in communication is also causes the self esteem of the sender to go down because they can become frustrated on not knowing if there message is understood or absorbed by the receiver. If the sender is not very descriptive if puts the receiver at a disadvantage on understanding the message as well. Which more than likely will cause more time to try to get the message communicated because of the lack of information in the first place. Remember on radio we can not use all of our senses, so many people are at a disadvantage, When we are trying to explain something for example, we need to paint a picture in the receivers mind, not ever assuming they know what you are talking about . The more effectively descriptive you are the better off everyone is. Try to choose the words or analogies etc carefully to be more effective to be able to get the receiver to understand completely, You do not want to choose words that are not effective and cause some one boredom were they do not want to listen anymore.

As a side note it is always a good idea to pick interesting subjects that can get many people involved in a conversation or pick a subject that helps people grow. Hams have been known to be intellegent in electronics and of the like. Speaking about Antennas, Radio, circuits, coaxials etc etc are pretty sound subjects. The concept of Ham radio is listed in Part 97 of the FCC rules and regs.
The rules and regulations in this Part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:

(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
(b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
(c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communications and technical phases of the art.
(d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.
(e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.

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