Ham Radio Crash Course on HRCC Wiki

Amateur Radio Licensing

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 16:46:11 +0000

Amateur Radio Licensing#

No matter where you reside, you will need a license and issued callsign in order to operate on the Amateur Radio bands. Each country has differing regulations, so you may need to do some research into the process and requirements.

Most participating countries belong to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), or the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC).

United States#

Canada#

United Kingdom#

Australia#

New Zealand#

…#

SSTV

Sat, 16 Jul 2022 00:58:12 +0000

SSTV#

Slow-scan Television#

Slow-scan Television is a modulation mode that allows for the transfer of images on amateur radio frequencies. SSTV is classified as a phone transmission, and as such is transmitted on frequencies located in the phone portions (LSB/USB/FM) of the bands.

Frequencies#

IARU Region 1 - Africa, Europe, Middle East, Northern Asia#

IARU Region 2 - The Americas#

Band	Frequency (MHz)	Mode
160m	1.890	LSB
80m	3.845	LSB
40m	7.171	LSB
20m	14.230	USB
17m	18.117	USB
15m	21.340	USB
12m	24.975	USB
10m	28.680	USB

VHF/UHF

Shortwave Listening

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 19:25:52 +0000

Shortwave Listening (SWL)#

DX#

QSL Cards

Radios#

Tecsun
Eton
CCRANE
CountyComm
Sangean
Grundig
Belka DX
Radioddity

Relevant HRCC Videos#

HRCC How to Get Started in Shortwave Listening

Other Resources#

Antennas

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 12:51:12 +0000

A good Antenna system is a critical component in any amateur radio station. There are many different types of antennas and each type has its benefits and drawbacks.

Compromise Antennas#

Don’t panic and dont dwell too much on this one!

The only non-compromise antenna is an isotropic radiator in free space (which is impossible to actually build, so don’t even try). Every other antennas sytem makes some number of compromises for any of a number of reasons. Directional antennas sacrifice wide area coverage for gain in a particular direction. NVIS (Near-Vertical Incidence Skywave) antennas sacrifice low takeoff angles to achieve good “close in” performance. Coil loaded ,or otherwise shortened antennas, trade efficiency for compactness. With this in mind, don’t worry so much about making your antenna setup “perfect” or “ideal” but, rather, try to make the best out of whatever bundle of constraints (budget, available space, available materials, HOA restrictions, etc. etc) you find yourself operating under.

FT8 and More

Sat, 16 Jul 2022 05:55:10 +0000

FT8/FT4 Digital Modes#

Frequencies#

Band	FT8 (MHz)	FT4 (MHz)
160m	1.840	-
80m	3.573	3.575
60m	5.357	-
40m	7.074	7.0475
30m	10.136	10.140
20m	14.074	14.080
17m	18.100	18.104
15m	21.074	21.140
12m	24.915	24.919
10m	28.074	28.180

VHF/UHF

Band	FT8 (MHz)	FT4 (MHz)
6m	50.313	50.318
2m	144.174	144.170
1.25m	222.065	-
70cm	432.174	-
23cm	1296.174	-

Applications and Resources#

WSJTX
GridTracker

Top 6 Tips For Digital HF Ham Radio, WSJT-X, FT8, JS8CALL

Family Radio Service

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 19:48:16 +0000

Family Radio Service (FRS)#

FRS is an unlicensed low power two-way radio communication option, available in the United States. These radios are short range, limited power, and limited functionality, but generally inexpensive and easy to access. These radios are not legal outside of the US, and there is not generally an equivalent in most places.

What To Look For in a Radio#

Radio Brands#

Resources#

web sites

GMRS

Sat, 16 Jul 2022 04:28:19 +0000

GMRS#

The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is a land-mobile FM UHF service designed for short-distance two-way communication and authorized under FCC Part 95 in the United States.

GMRS licenses can be obtained from the FCC Universal Licensing system for the cost of $35. Licenses are valid for 10 years, and can be used by the licensee as well as their immediate family. Proper identification is required in 15 minute intervals and at the end of the conversation.

HRCC HF Net

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 20:00:01 +0000

HRCC HF Net#

This is a casual directed net, run by volunteers of the HRCC community. This net meets on Fridays at 9:30PM Eastern, 6:30PM Pacific, 0130 UTC. The net usually meets on the 40m band, operating Single Sideband (SSB).

Since conditions are not always ideal, there will often be stations attempting to relay the far reaches of North America back to Net Control.

Often times, after the official net, participants may move to smaller coordinated contact groups using other bands or other modes.

HRCC Digital Net

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 20:52:05 +0000

HRCC Digital Modes Net#

This is a weekly digital mode net, run by volunteers from the HRCC community. The net utilizes the HRCC Reflector, an actual piece of hardware that connects the supported digital modes together. See the HRCC Link site for details.

The net meets weekly on Thursdays at 9:30PM Eastern, 6:30PM Pacific, 0130 UTC.

Supported Modes#

Digital Mobile Radio(DMR)#

D-Star#

Yeasu System Fusion (YSF)#

Wires-X#

M17#

Take A Test

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 12:57:53 +0000

Testing for your Amateur Radio license#

Who does the testing?#

Beginning in the 1980’s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) delegated the responsibility for administering Amateur Radio license tests to 14 organizations known as Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs). These organizations operate independently from each other, and are responsible for arranging volunteers to administer exams, maintaining records of exams given, and submitting applications for new licenses or upgrades electronically to the FCC.

Memes and Jokes

Sat, 16 Jul 2022 03:41:51 +0000

Memes#

HRCC, like most communities, has developed its share of memes and inside jokes. Some originating on the air, others from Josh’s videos or live streams, and yet more from the Discord server.

Text#

“If you want the frequency, just show up earlier.” -Connor
“You can’t DX on a Random Wire” -Rob
The origin of “whipgrease”:
Back in the very early days of the HRCC discord, circa 2018.
There was a very energetic Canadian Ham that was instrumental in the original HRCC Link system.
He used to spend a lot of time in the Livestream afterchats and he always had jokes about how to improve his antenna performance. I believe he was the first to coin the term WhipGrease in HRCC, and it was his nickname on the server and YouTube for awhile.
One time he left a voice chat to “go chase a polar bear off the vertical antenna”.
The joke perpetuated to the point he even set up a fake website and twitter profile for this product, which is akin to “blinker fluid” but for antennas.

Emotes#

someone add all the hosh reactions from Discord

First Church of 'Feng

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 00:22:38 +0000

First Church of ‘Feng#

An organization dedicated to the idea that access-to and the creation-of electromagnetic wigglies is a human right.

The Feng’s Prayer#

Baofeng Father
Who art in California
Josh be his name
Deliver us from spurious emissions
Forgive us our QRM, as we forgive those who QRM us
And deliver us from common mode
For thine is the net frequency
Forever and ever

The Bands’ Prayer#

Now I tune my amp to beep
I pray the bands my spurs to keep
If I should jam before I wake
I pray the bands my license to take