Amateur Radio for Beginners

A Practical, What-You-Need-to-Know Guide to Getting on Echolink Echolink is a powerful system for linking the worlds of amateur radio and the Internet. You can link your PC, Android, iPhone, iPad or handheld radio to repeaters, individuals, or conferences located anywhere in the world, quickly and easily. And because it's all digital, you get crystal clear, digital sound. If you are a licensed Amateur Radio operator (ham), now you can communicate with other hams directly over the Internet, using streaming audio technology. Complex interfacing isn't necessary to get started with Echolink. All you need is either a Windows PC with a microphone or an Apple iOS or Android device (iPads, iPods, Nexus, iPhone, Samsung, etc.). Yes, all you need to start is an app on your smartphone, there are no other costs involved. This short book gives you a practical, step-by-step walkthrough of all the options to set up your Echolink "Station." From registering your call sign with Echolink to installing the software on your PC, Android, or Apple device and making your first calls to individuals, ham repeaters, or conferences. This book covers everything you need to get started. The book boils down the vast amount of unnecessary technical information that can be found on the Echolink website (and other websites). It really is all-you-need-to-know. This new edition now adds a new chapter, "Sysop Mode," which covers basic interfacing between your computer and a radio. It uses the example of connecting up a Baofeng UV-5R radio with a SignaLink device to use as an Echolink node. This step-by-step example works easily for this common radio, and is easily modified to suit other radios. Inside you'll find step-by-step tutorials on how use your radio or dongle to: • Install and configure the software • Connect to Conferences, the "Chat rooms" of Echolink • Link to distant amateur radio repeaters repeaters • Link to individuals without knowing their location • Setup a linked radio to allow you to access Echolink from your handheld radioThis short book gives you a simple step-by-step walkthrough of all the options to set up your Echolink station using dozens of screenshots and many examples. The whole process is detailed, from registering your call sign with the Echolink network to installing the Echolink software on your PC or mobile device and making your first calls to individuals, ham repeaters, or conferences.

OK, that's probably a slight exaggeration, but radios were a lot simpler in the "distant" past, when everything was station-to-station, and most communications were some flavor of HF. Nowadays, we have HF, VHF, UHF, digital modes, CW/SSB/AM/FM/MW, repeaters with offsets, repeaters with tones, User IDs, reflectors, talk groups, and who-knows-what coming down the road for next year. There are a lot of modes, tones, offsets, and little nit-picky details that have to go into our radios before we can even make a call. On the other hand, radios, especially handheld models, continue to get smaller, lighter, and generally have fewer physical buttons and controls. This is good in that it keeps costs down, adds to durability, and allows for waterproofing, but it doesn't make programming them any easier. Fortunately, we have computers to handle all the programming stuff for us. Just hook the radio up to the computer, enter in all your information, transfer the frequency and channel data into the radio, and you're good to go. Sounds simple, doesn't it? The problem is that radio manufacturers aren't necessarily good software designers. God forbid you try to program a radio on an Apple or Linux computer using manufacturer's software. None of the companies that make radios include software for these two very common operating systems. None. Even Windows users aren't in the clear. What happens when you try to use the software that came with your radio, when the radio was sold in 2007 and the software was made for Windows XP? Or maybe your radio came with a state-of-the-art serial port connector. That was great... back when all computers had serial ports, now, those are hard-to-find options or require an adaptor. And even though many ham operators enjoy tinkering with computers, there are many who still haven't embraced computers. These things just aren't that simple. Fortunately, there is CHIRP, a free, multi-platform software that works with a large number of common amateur radios. CHIRP even has database tools for setting up local repeaters, National Calling frequencies, MURS, FRS, GMRS, and Marine frequencies- you may not even need to look anything up! If you're already comfortable with using programming software from RT Systems, or have no trouble working with whatever software that came with your radio, than maybe this book isn't for you. If you aren't good with computers, or you're having trouble with the basic process, don't know what all those columns mean, or are otherwise pulling your hair out trying to get your radio programmed, then this book is for you! We'll walk through getting the software installed and set up, connecting your radio with an appropriate cable and communications port, reading template data from the radio, editing that data, and writing that data back out to the radio.

A practical, what-you-need-to-know guide to getting started making amateur radio contacts via FM radios and satellites. All that's required to begin is a good handheld radio, an inexpensive antenna, and a smartphone. Of course, you can get complicated (and expensive) in this area of the hobby, but we're going to keep it to the basics here. Inside you'll find step-by-step tutorials on finding out where, when, and how to connect to the various "Amsat" satellites that can be accessed by amateur radio operators. The same information can be used to look up hundreds of other non-ham satellites that you can visually spot or listen to with a radio. The sky has never been more accessible! This short book gives you a simple step-by-step walkthrough of all the options to make long-distance contacts through an inexpensive Yagi antenna using mostly free software available on the Internet and includes many screenshots and examples. The whole process is detailed, from buying (or making) an antenna to programming your radio and adjusting for Doppler shift. Once you know a few simple procedures, you can start making your first calls to individuals, ham repeaters, or world-wide talk groups.

I think we need a new crystal for this thing.-Scanner guy from the 70s. Scanners were a lot simpler in decades past, when everything was analog, had a fixed frequency, and was unencrypted. Nowadays, we have those old analog stations as well as digital, trunking systems, protocols, sites, talk groups, and who-knows-what coming down the road for next year. There are a lot of frequencies, systems, groups, codes, and little nit-picky details that have to go into our radios before we can even pick up a single call. On the other hand, radios continue to get more and more powerful, and unfortunately, more complicated to handle all the new options. This doesn't make programming them any easier. Fortunately, we have computers to handle all the programming stuff for us. Just hook the radio up to the computer, find your location on a website, transfer the frequency and channel data into the radio, and you're good to go. Sounds simple, doesn't it? If you've tried to program a digital trunking system, you know how complicated these things can get, and just how unhelpful the manuals can be. Wouldn't it be nice to just have someone go through the process and just "get the damned thing working" without all the theory? Fortunately, there are a combination of tools that you need to master to even begin. FreeSCAN is free software that works with a large number of common scanners and works for both analog and digital systems. FreeSCAN even has tools to import and set up all the frequencies automatically. If you're already comfortable programming digital trunked systems through the number pad, or have no trouble working with whatever software came with your radio, then maybe this book isn't for you. If you aren't good with computers, or you're having trouble with the basic process, don't know the difference between a talk group, site, and system, or are otherwise pulling your hair out trying to get your radio programmed, then this book is for you! We'll walk through getting the software installed and set up, connecting your radio with an appropriate cable and communications port, reading data from the radio, downloading and fine-tuning new frequency data, setting quick keys and locking out extraneous frequencies, and writing that data back out to the radio.