Handheld Ham Radio

Ham Radios are actually pretty simplistic in their operation. They depend on radio waves to get their message out.

Radio Frequencies

Hams use a variety of radio frequencies to communicate.  Non-hams can hear what is being transmitted via their own receivers or scanners, but cannot participate in the action without a transmitter or a license.   The ham operator can only use certain radio frequencies to transmit from these frequencies are allocated by the FCC for amateur use. Hams may operate from just above the AM broadcast band to the microwave region, in the gigahertz range. Most of the Ham Bands are found in the frequency range that goes from above the AM radio band (1.6 MHz) to just above the citizens band (27 MHz). Certain bands are dedicated during certain times of the day. The day time hours find 15 to 27 MHz is used for long distance transmission. During the night time hours 1.6 to 15 MHz is used for long distance transmission.

The bands are called “short wave” bands which are unlike frequencies used by FM radio stations and TV stations. FM radio and TV stations use what is known as line of sight bands, these bands only travel 40 or 50 miles. Short waves use the airwaves to bounce the signal off the ionosphere from the transmitter to the receiver's antenna. The higher the frequency is, the “shorter” the wavelength is.

Generally hams get their beginning on VHF FM, using small hand-held transceivers which transmit on one frequency than receives on a different one.

They use FM repeaters that have been put in place by local radio clubs. The repeaters typically use space that is owned by local Television stations. These repeaters are set up on large antennas that the TV station uses to transmit its signal. The repeaters uses transmit and receive pairs to relay information back and forth. Frequency pairs are set up by Ham Radio groups and are kept at a long enough distance from each other not to cause interference.

There is new cutting edge technology that is coming more and more into use. Instead of using these repeaters to catch a signal and send out communications, some hams are able to use satellites.

Equipment

Historically Ham Radios depended on a series of tubes and electrodes to send out and receive a signal, some amateur radio aficionados still use this system but the majority have moved into the digital age and largely no longer use radio tubes to transmit and receive.

There can be a couple of different ways that Ham Radio is able to transmit. The oldest form of Ham Radio that is still widely in use today is to have two separate parts, a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver pulls in the signal from other hams and the transmitter sends the signal out. There are also transceiver’s these send and accept signals in one unit. This type of equipment is usually found as hand held’s and mobile units.

Most serious Ham’s prefer the two separate units with a separate antenna, to reach longer distances. Antennas of course play a huge roll is Ham operations. The most used 146-MHz (2-meter) antenna is a 19-inch quarter-wave whip. It has a wavelength of 146 MHz approximately 2 (300 divided by 146) meters, and a quarter wave of 2 meters is about 19 inches (50 cm).  Hams have devised some unusual antennas and revel in finding one that works.

How to Communicate

In some cases the ham will speak into either a stationary microphone that sits on a surface and looks much like the type of device that singers use, some choose the handheld microphone that has the buttons on the side to send their voice out over the airwaves.

In some cases the ham operator will use Morse code to communicate, while it is not necessary to know Morse code when using a ham radio it is beneficial to know it. Morse code can often be detected when the radio waves are not strong enough to carry the complex inflexion of voice but can efficiently carry the beep tones of Morse code.

Ham Radio operation is a very basic form of communication, although simplistic in its design it takes years to master.

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