Home-brew Antenna

When I picked up my FT-100, I had a problem… it requires an external antenna. I did the newbie thing at first, and shelled out some cash for an 8’ VHF antenna (it’s nice – I like it a lot). But they didn’t have an HF antenna available. For the first week or two, I was content just having VHF access. Had a great time, in fact, messing around trying out simplex (just couldn’t quite reach all the way to Santaquin – I think I had the power to go the distance, but there’s a big mountain in the way). But eventually I needed to try HF, and that meant I needed an antenna.

Ham radio is a lot like IT. You’re constantly faced with the decision of build vs. buy, of ‘make do’ vs upgrade. I’m pretty new when it comes to electronics and all things electrical, so I figured I ought to try to build just for the experience! I did a lot of research, and finally ended up with the $4 dipole antenna recipe. It’s a pretty simple dipole—the biggest challenges I faced were 1) the balun and 2) grounding it.

My alternative was a quick-and-dirty dipole from someplace like Ham City. They sell an MFJ all-band dipole for around $40 which would have been perfect for me. But you know, I had already chosen to build. ;) All-band would allow me to receive on 160, 80, 40, 20, 10 meters. My license only allows me to transmit on 10m, but I’ll be testing for my general license soon, so all-band is important. Remember my little FT-100 is an all-band radio.

Four Dollars Can Quickly Become $40

The author of the $4 antenna had it pretty easy. You see, he’s a long-term ham. He has a shed full of odds-n-ends. I do not. So my $4 antenna quickly jumped in price as I purchased

• some twin-lead ($18 at Radio Shack, because they only sell it in 100’ lengths now),
• PL-239 connectors, adapters, etc (another $15).
• #18 lamp wire ($5)

Soon my antenna had jumped to $30, then right on through the $40 mark. And that doesn’t include the hours spent driving to Home Depot and Radio Shack. By the way, Radio Shack doesn’t sell much along the lines of radio stuff anymore!

But It’s About the Learning

But OK, it wasn’t just about saving money (although that was the ultimate goal). It’s also about the experience! Soon I was hunched over a pile of wire on the kitchen table, madly splicing, cutting, and prepping. I build my antenna from two 35’ legs of #18 insulated lamp wire (it’s a dipole, after all), which meet up and connect to a coax splitter in the middle. The lamp wire and splitter needed a good stable base to connect on—nothing better than an old DVD! I cut some holes, threaded the lamp wire through, and tied knots in each end of lamp wire to hold them in place. I then cut a couple of slots in the DVD, through which I threaded the twin lead. I spliced the antenna and the twin lead with electrical tape. Finally, at the end of my twin lead, I attached a very standard coax splitter – twin lead feeds in, coax feeds out.

AT this point, I have to admit I was pretty crest-fallen. I mean, this is the ugliest antenna at the ball! It’s hacked together with duct tape and spit. I was convinced it was worthless, but I had $40 into it already – no sense in giving up!

Oh, and problem #1 had been solved, sort of… I simply ignored the lack of a balun. I figured this is just my first antenna and it’s going to be ugly. It probably won’t work well, but if I can even listen to one QSO somewhere, it’ll be worth the effort. Right?

Nothing Else Is Grounded In There

Remember problem #2 – how to ground the antenna? Yeah, so did I… So then I came up with the answer: nothing in my attic (speaker wire, CAT-5, etc.) is grounded either. I figured throwing the antenna up in the attic couldn’t hurt, and any lightening strikes should be picked up by the trees, lightening rod, or my nice new UHF antenna. Right? So in I went – crawled around in the attic, stringing up this antenna.

Wouldn’t you know it? My attic’s roof joists have a support in the middle of them. The rectangle formed by all these joist supports just happens to be… exactly… 70’ in diameter. In other words, I just built myself a rectangular antenna. Which, in fact, is a pretty impressive and productive antenna design! Sometimes, things just work out.

So after stringing it up, I ran a coax cable out of the attic into my radio desk. With a quick adapter in place, I connected up to the FT-100 and fired her up. For the first time ever, I started browsing the lower bands. And guess what? I started hearing things! As low as 160m I could listen in on QSO’s. I have to tell you, I was pretty excited about that.

It Won’t Fire If You Don’t Push the Button

So for about two weeks, I listened in now and again on QSOs. Some were pretty impressive – I heard folks in Michigan and Minnesota in a conversation down on 160m, as well as a bunch of various other unidentified locations. I picked up a lot of CW, too. I was experimenting with a bunch of signal processing and other filtering as well. Still, up to this point, I hadn’t fired anything up at all.

Well, one evening I was sitting around looking at the band plans and decided to give it a go at 10m. I figured I’d smell smoke before I burned the place down, and there was only one way to see if my antenna was going to work or not. So I flipped to the calling frequency on 10m, powered the radio up to 100%, and keyed up the mike. I called out “KF7DVJ CQ CQ CQ” and waited. Not five seconds later, I heard a response! We had a good, brief chat—and I found out my QSO was with a gut just east of Sacramento. That’s more than 600 miles from here!

My little home-brew antenna is fun. I admit, I spent more than what it would have cost to buy a commercial dipole (and there’s one under the Christmas tree anyhow), but I had a good time. I’ve got an antenna I can take places with me, if I want. I am still amazed at the success I’ve had with my homebrew antenna and my FT-100’s autotuner. To have reached as far as Sacramento on 100 watts and a home-brew dipole stuffed in my attic?

I’ll hang my Christmas dipole shortly—it’ll be outdoors, at a recommended height. I’ll probably pull in a lot more stations, but nothing can replace what I learned and the thrill I had with that little home-brew. I’ll continue experimenting with home-brew stuff (next is a little 2m Yagi, then a field day go-kit for my FT-100, a couple of batteries, and a solar panel), too. That’s what ham radio is all about – chatting and learning!

73’s and happy holidays.

My Second Radio: Yeasu FT-100

I am officially a member of the amateur fanatics—I own more than one radio! <GRIN>

As I’ve been contemplating accepting an offer to serve as the communications chair for Centerville City’s CERT committee, I have been thinking about my preparedness. I’ve also been encouraging an interest in amateur radio in my children (with varying degrees of success). All of this led me to conclude that I need to get myself a base station. So last week, I visited one of my Elmers (N7UPI) to check out his station and talk about local communications.

One of the big questions I had for John was how to select a base station. Contrary to outward evidence, I am TRYING to limit my investment. As we chatted, I told John I wanted a mobile station, so I could provide support for ARES. At the same time, I wanted a base station which would allow me to communicate around the world, in hopes that I would draw my sons’ interest. He picked the radio to do both—the Yeasu FT-100.

Let me preface that by explaining that you can drop a LOT of cows for a base station (probably five figures, if you looked really hard). And mobile stations are usually limited to VHF/UHF frequencies (2m and 70cm being the most prevalent). I was looking to pack a whole lotta radio into a small package; turns out, Yeasu beat me to it!

You probably need to understand that Yeasu has been building radios for years, and that the FT-100 has long since been retired. So I’m talking about a used radio here. The current standard produced by Yeasu is the FT-857D. For $900, you’re getting one heck of a radio. Powerful enough in terms of bands, features, and functionality that you can use it as a base station, yet it fits in a mobile situation. I was inclined to buy an 857D, but for the $400 I saved, I can buy myself quite a few antennas. So I’ve opted for the FT-100, trusting that, when I’m all set up and have some cash, I can easily upgrade and still get a fair price on reselling the FT-100.

You can read a review about the FT-100 here: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/ft100.html

So far, I found the learning curve to be steep but short. I was up and broadcasting within a few minutes of setting it up, but getting it programmed took a while longer.

Are You Seeking Power?

The biggest benefit – and challenge – to the FT-100 is its power. This little beast will push 100 watts on HF, and 50 watts on 2m. That kind of power doesn’t come for free though, with the radio drawing an incredible 22 amps. The little 10 am DC power supply I borrowed is, well, completely insufficient for the radio. The first time I keyed up the mic, everything just shut down.

So my current home setup is the FT-100, a car battery, and a 10-amp automatic charger. The car battery is stop-gap temporary, and there only because I couldn’t find anything powerful enough to use. I understand this battery won’t last me very long; the next step will be to pick up an RV/Marine battery, which is designed for these long, low-amp draws. But I just happened to have the car battery available, and I wanted to get on the air.

It’s Never Just a Radio

Unless you’re buying a 5-watt HT, you’ll quickly learn that it’s never just a radio… This is one thing I love about the FT-100: it’s nearly self-contained. The other key purchases are an HF antenna, a VHF/UHF antenna, and a couple of cables for each. So far, I have a VHF/UHF antenna and a 50’ cable. Saving up for next month, when I can afford an HF antenna and the fun really begins. I bought a short 8’ antenna which will eventually become my mobile antenna for field days and field deployments.

It could be a lot worse. Most base stations require you purchase an amplifier (to boost your signal), a tuner (to fine-tune your signal to your transmit frequency) and a bunch of other little things. I didn’t just save by going with a used radio, I saved by buying this all-in-one!

Next Steps

I’m already working on next steps. I want to build out my home station like this:

1. 35-amp DC power supply
2. Marine battery
3. HF-antenna and cable
4. (eventually) solar panel to recharge things

Going Mobile

Next step will be the acquisition of a Yeasu ATAS antenna. This antenna covers HF/VHF/UHF frequencies and mounts to a car. I’ll pick up the antenna, two mounts, and two cables and get things mounted up in my Jetta and my Jeep. Then I’ll be truly mobile.

Field Box

Finally, I’ll be putting together a field box. Next year the family will be participating in the Timpanogos Emergency Response Team. I’ll be at the high camp with my HT; my family will be staffing a trailhead station. As such, they’ll also need a radio. Rather than buying another HT, I think we can set up a field box, which is pre-wired for batteries, meters, etc. My field box will have:

1. Solar input panel
2. Inbound amp meter
3. A second amp meter to measure draw
4. Small speaker
5. Radio and necessary cabling
6. Several UPS batteries
7. Integrated iPod charger
8. 12v LED light
9. 12v outlet

The Dreaded Exam

OK, it’s not THAT bad, but no one really likes to take a test, right? Let’s talk about it, though. Amateur radio is a critical service as well as a fun hobby, which is why so few countries limit their citizens’ right to transmit and receive on amateur bands. At the same time, that right to transmit and receive comes with some responsibilities. Hams need to transmit in such a manner as to not cause interference to others. The ham bands should never be used for commercial gain. And, because international communication is core element of amateur radio, operators need to be aware, polite, and appropriate in their use of the frequencies. To help ensure these responsibilities, most countries have some form of training and testing which, upon successful completion, attest to an operator’s knowledge of the science and etiquette behind amateur radio.

In the United States, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is responsible for all frequencies in the communications spectrum. They have delegated authority for the ham bands to the ham community itself – the tests are written, administered, and graded by hams. I suppose that, if the ham community abused this trust, the FCC would eventually pull that authority back. But that abuse doesn’t (and shouldn’t) happen, so the trust relationship between hams and government continues.

In the US, there are three current levels of licensing:

• Technician: this is the entry-level to ham radio. The exam consists of 35 questions, and the applicant must correctly answer 27 or more to pass the test. Technician privileges are limited to a few bands.
• General: the next step up from technician is the general license. The General exam is longer and much more technical than the technician exam. General privileges cover all bands and nearly all frequencies within each band.
• Technician Extra (generally referred to as ‘extra’): the exam for extra encompasses questions from the technician and general exams, but is obviously more demanding than the those exams. Extras operate in the same bands as generals, but are afforded special “Extra-only” frequencies within many bands.

For more information on licensing in the US, see http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/license-requirements.html.

Preparing For Exams

To prepare of an exam, you have a variety of options:

1. Most amateur radio clubs offer occasional prep courses. They generally charge a modest fee, and the courses are taught across multiple weeks. For a classroom learner, this is the best option.
2. There are a few courses available online. ARRL (http://www.arrl.org) offers online training, as do a number of independent hams.
3. There are also book options, for the reading learner. Of course, ARRL offers books for each license. Frankly, even if you’re using other methods to prepare, you should purchase a copy of the ARRL book for your license. It’s indispensable as a reference guide—and it’s probably the only form you can read in the bathtub!
4. iPhone: on the iPhone, you can use the “Amateur Radio Exam Prep” series to prepare for your test. These applications are affordable, and they include automatic test grading, historical test statistics, and study sessions.

The secret to these exams is understanding that there is a fixed pool of questions, which only changes every 5 or 10 years. For the Technician exam, for example, there are only 120 questions. A good memorizer can prepare for the exam in a week or less. The challenge is that the exam taker may know the correct answer to each question, but will have no background to the answer. Hams are torn about this approach – many new hams have grown in the hobby, to become contributing members. Many new hams, however, either grow disillusioned or even difficult to deal with on the airwaves. Whatever your motivation, preparation mode, and interests, be sure to work on understanding the material rather than just memorizing it.

Taking The Exam

On exam day, you’ll want to bring a couple of pencils (yup, just the like SAT) and arrive early. Bring two forms of identification, also. There will be three VEs (volunteer examiners) to administer and grade your exam. It’ll be informal, they’ll explain to you how the test will work, and then they’ll let you at it. Good luck!

After the Test

It generally takes a week or so for your results to be submitted to the FCC. You can look on several sites and watch for your call sign to appear. When I got my Technician call sign (KF7DVJ), I was thrilled!

Once the test is complete, the learning really gets going. It’s different actually building a radio, setting up an HT, and communicating! It’s one thing to read about it, and a whole other thing doing it. But the best way to learn is to dive in feet-first and learn. The ham community, for the most part, is polite and patient. They’ll point out where you’re doing things wrong, but they’ll coach you through how to do it right, too.

I’ve been involved in various open source software projects. The open source community is generally friendly and supportive, but nowhere near like the ham community. Soon you’ll have friends all over the world! For a hobby which usually takes place indoors, late at night or early in the morning, you’ll be amazed at how many face-to-face relationships you develop in such a short amount of time!

Centerville CERT Disaster Exercise

OK the big day came a couple weeks back, and I got to participate in our ARES portion of Centerville’s disaster simulation. We pretended half our mountain slid down into the town (not far-fetched – in ‘82 this very thing happened; a boulder the size of a house ended up in the center of town – 15 blocks from the edge of town!).

ARES was called in to provide communications. My team (I was paired up with an Elmer, Joe) was assigned to a CERT station where 20 CERT volunteers were to treat 25 simulated victims. Check out this photo from the Deseret News: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705341154/Mock-disaster-eye-opening-for-Centerville-responders.html?pg=1

We got there a bit early and were quickly set up and running. I had a few issues – first of all, the organization was using multiple signs for us. Sometimes we were Island View Park, sometimes Island View ARES, sometimes ARES, sometimes Island View CERT and sometimes just CERT. Toward the end of the exericse I asked and got clarification: we were simply CERT. That would be fine except that, in a real emergency, there’s bound to be multiple CERT stations.

Here’s my log (I logged 90% of my calls) just for your interest:

0820	CERT leader requested 20 CERT volunteers (simulating a newly-discovered cache of victims)
0822	ELC confirmed request of 20 CERT volunteers
0840	2 CERT volunteers arrived
0845	1 more CERT volunteer
0850	Confirmed to ELC 2 volunteers and 1 more CERT volunteer arrived
0900	Confirmed arrival of 3 more volunteers. Agreed with ELC to call in every 5 min rather than at the arrival of every volunteer
0905	2 more cert have arrived
0905	Notified ELC that the CERT volunteers were given wrong instructions (map wrong)
0910	12 cert, of a requested 20
0915	CERT ran out of blankets. 25 victims total. ELC asked me to confirm – was the request for more blankets real, or part of the simulation (most of the victims were mad when I told him we needed more blankets for real, but for the simulation we could do without—they were cold)
0915-0945	Various calls answering status
1000	Simulation declared over, Net shut down

My Elmer was fantastic—Joe just stepped to the side and walked me through things, but he let me run the show. I learned a lot. The CERT leader and I chatted afterward and realized that he and I should be joined at the hip (much like on the field of battle – radio man needs to be RIGHT THERE at ALL TIMES).

The feedback we put together for CERT:

• No one had a backboard. Most of the injuries discovered were of a nature that they required a backboard, but no one came ready. There are, apparently, some 30 CERT backboards somewhere in the city.
• Insufficient supplies, especially sleeping bags.
• CERT people requested medical refresher courses
• Also requested a flipchart. There’s no hierarchy in CERT (because it’s all voluntary and you never know who’ll respond). A flipchart of steps to take (picking a leader, setting up a triage arrangement, etc.) would be great.
• CERT leader forgot to put his strip of tape on his hat—makes it difficult to locate him.
• ARES needs to be ID’d, I probably should have asked for the CERT leader and identified myself.
• Send people out to search for victims, but keep a few back to triage as they come in.
• The city called out the reserve medical corps, but when the volunteers arrived at the check-in point, they were sent home (they ‘did their part). CERT would have loved to have their feedback on how to treat, etc.

Take-aways for me:

• That ready kit had better be ready
• It was difficult to keep pulling off my glove to write – maybe have warm gloves for a winter response, but have a right glove I can write with
• Keep watch on the surface so I can see
• Small notebook was a good log, but the notebook was too big. Need a smaller one
• Multiple pens. I had two, one died. Many CERT people showed up w/o pens—shoulda had something to loan.
• Put a flag on my antenna. I have a tall (30”) antenna which sticks out of my camelbak, which is my ready kit. A flag on the end of it would help people find me.
• I messed around with the lock on my radio – I set it to lock everything, so I wasn’t able to transmit. In the ‘rush’ of getting going, I then enabled Internet mode on my radio, so every time I keyed the mike, I sent tones. Had to turn that off too! Be familiar with your radio, and have the lock settings where they’re useful.

All in all, this was a really cool experience. I hope there’s never an emergency I have to respond to, but I am glad I’ll be ready if there is one. You never know when you’re going to respond—all those nets, all that time on the air broadcasting can serve to help.

For instance, because I was familiar with my radio and no longer very shy, I was able to render assistance about 6 weeks ago when I was climbing on Mt. Timpanogos. I’ll post an article about that experience shortly, but suffice it to say that all of the Timp Emergency Response Team had left for the day (for the season, in fact) when a young guy sliced his toe to the bone. Not only were my hiking partner and I prepared with first aid kits, I had my radio and I had already asked about the frequency. We were able to patch the guy up AND keep TERT up to date on the incident.

So get out there and get busy. Use your radio, get familiar with it. Learn as much as you can, so when you’re needed, you’ll be ready.

JOTA 2009

This posting is a bit out of order – I originally intended to post in chronological order, detailing my immersion into ham radio. However, I had such a great time with JOTA this weekend that I had to just get it all written down.

The Scout district to the north of us collaborates with my club (Davis Count Amateur Radio Club, or DCARC) to hold a JOTA camping activity. Scouts from all over Northern Utah came together for a Friday evening and Saturday morning of learning about amateur radio. In fact, everyone who paid attention earned the Radio merit badge, one of the least earned merit badges in scouting.

We met Friday evening at Hooper Park. After setting up camp and eating a quick dinner, we gathered together for orientation. By that time, it was getting dark. My group started out at a station operating at 50 M SSB (Voice). We heard a couple of other JOTA people (in California) but we couldn’t pull them in. After that station, we moved to the electronics station where we learned about resistors, capacitors, etc. Finally, we wrapped up in the DCARC ‘War Wagon’.

Saturday morning started off with us working several contacts on 2 meters. All local – most of these contacts were part of the DCARC in fact. Following that, we moved to a station where we learned about propagation. At the next station we learned more about propagation and about radios themselves. Following that, we hit the 73cm station where we made contacts with folks in Pleasant Grove, UT and Las Vegas. At the final station, we spent time learning about the various ham licenses, Q-codes, and the phonetic alphabet.

Throughout the camp, we worked on merit badge workbooks related to Scouting. We made a mistake and used the standard Radio merit badge worksheet (found on meritbadge.com), while the DCARC had prepared a ‘streamlined’ workbook available here. Next time, we’ll be more prepared!

Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard to pull off JOTA. If you’ve got any involvement in Scouting, reach out to the local troop and get them involved in their local JOTA event.

JOTA: Jamboree On The Air: Boy Scouts of America has an annual jamboree which is held entirely over the air. Ham radio enthusiasts around the country, and around the world, open their base stations to all Scouts of all ages to operate.

Buying a Radio – What I Wish I’d Known

I was very lucky… My best friend (Fred, KE7JBA) is my Elmer. Fred had already researched and purchased a hand-held radio, so I just went with whatever he said. And I’m glad I did!

When buying your first radio, you really need to start by thinking about what you’re going to do with it:

• Hand-held, local, emergency and public service: some hams are really into helping in the community, and boy are hams useful in the local community! My club (DCARC, Davis County Amateur Radio Club) is active pretty much year-round. Every July we assist with the Independence Day parade. This October we’re assisting the Centerville City with their disaster drill. Also in October, we’re helping with the Davis Cup (battle of the high school bands) during which 35 different high school bands will shuttle through Davis High. We provide logistical support for all of this. I’m also volunteering next year with TERT (Timpanogos Emergency Response Team), providing rescue and other services to hikers on Mt. Timpanogos. All TERT communications is done on amateur bands (2 meter, to be precise). For this kind of service, a hand-held amateur radio is critical—also known as a handie-talkie or HT.
• Long and distance voice and community support, non-mobile: if you’re interested in helping with various logistics but don’t have an HT, you can still help out. You need a good station with headphones and a microphone. You’ll also need an antenna, tuner, and reliable power source. Many parades end up setting up with a stationary base station, coordinating the efforts of mobile volunteers. With the right equipment (antenna, tuner, and amplifier) you can make voice contacts in other states as well as overseas, too. It gets pretty interesting!
• Long distance morse: finally, you can use your base station to broadcast morse code signal (CW, or continuous wave) to make really long distance contacts—like half-way around the earth.

I bought my radio (Yeasu VX-7R) based on Fred’s recommendation. I needed a radio for backcountry communications because I was taking a group of scouts on a long hike through Utah’s Uinta mountains and I wanted a reliable source of communications in the event of an emergency. I’m glad I picked the hand-held – I have learned that I can make contacts locally as well as world-wide, using a series of repeaters and IRLP frequencies. So I get the best of both worlds – the portability and availability of an HT, with the long-distance communications of a powerful base station. I’ll be the first to admit the HT is average at everything – average distance, average broadcasting ability, etc. Unlike my friend Bob (N7XJ), I won’t ever contact Japan from a high mountain peak in Utah, but so far I have made contacts from Rocky Sea Pass, Lewiston Peak, and Mt. Timpanogos.

So the first step in buying a radio is to assess your ambitions. Based on that, make your radio selection. Frankly what I’m learning is that it really doesn’t matter what you buy as your first radio; you’ll probably buy a radio in another ‘category’ soon enough. That having been said, the nice points of an HT are that they are self-contained (you don’t need to buy a radio, tuner, amplifier, headphones, microphone and antenna) and you get a great taste of the flavor of amateur radio, with less investment – both in terms of time as well as money.

My purchase included the VX-7R (and I’ll review that in a later article), a AA-battery adapter for emergency power, and a Diamond quad-band antenna because the stock antenna (called a rubber duckie) just doesn’t have the broadcast range I needed. To prepare for my exam, I bought a copy of the Technician class test bank for my iPhone – it was invaluable!

Upcoming purchases (very soon) include a second rechargeable battery and a microphone, for my local event and disaster support. Down the road, I’m sure I’ll be building a true base station with an antenna tuner, amplifier, and all the bells and whistles.

In addition to commercial purchases, I’ve been planning to build two hand-held ‘backcountry’ antennas. My friend Bob (N7XJ) has been helping—he’s a very experienced backcountry transmitter, with CW contacts all over the world from the peaks of various Utah mountains. Over the winter, I plan to build a quad and a Yagi antenna for 2m voice transmission.

• HT or Handie-Talkie: portable batter-powered radio capable of transmission and reception on amateur bands. Most often used in conjunction with a repeater.
• Repeater: a signal broadcaster – you connect to it with your low-power radio on one frequency, and it re-broadcasts your transmission on another frequency at a much higher power.
• IRLP: Internet Radio Linking Project is an effort to link amateur radio systems via the Internet. On my local IRLP repeater, I am connecting to the Western Reflector, and have personally heard enthusiasts from all over the United States (Texas, Arkansas, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, New Jersey and Delaware come to mind) as well as from Germany, England, and New Zealand.
• CW: Continuous Wave or Morse code. This is communication in the form of short and long tones. Because this is ‘binary’ communication (on or off) the signal holds up over long distances and despite interference. It’s easy to make a CW connection around the world – you just need to understand the language.
• Quad: an antenna with four elements—the first two elements are ‘driven’ or powered – these carry the signal transmission. The others are reflectors. When the driven and reflector elements are sized correctly, they form constructive interference and boost the power of a signal.
• Yagi: a form of antenna similar to the quad. I have a recipe for a backcountry Yagi made of tape measures and PVC pipe. It ain’t pretty, but it’ll be light.

Why I Got into Amateur Radio

I started in amateur radio in 2009, because I was planning a 50-mile hike through Utah's Uinta mountains. Taking kids through the backcountry can be a dangerous activity, and several parents expressed concern about the lack of communications and the near-impossible extraction in the event of a serious injury. Having heard that amateur radio can broadcast where nothing else can, I put together a really quick study and testing plan.

Lucky for me, I wasn't completely alone. My first Elmer was my good friend Fred (KE7JBA). Fred had encouraged me to get into amateur radio years ago when he got his ticket as part of some American Red Cross volunteer work. So he was the first person I turned to when I started to ask questions. He recommended a hand-held radio (same radio he has, the Yeasu VX-7R) and also recommended a fantastic iPhone application which helped me learn the answers to the amateur radio examination!

Ironically, I was not able to make reliable contact during my backcountry visit. I believe most of this is due to a lack of experience. If you're planning a trip like this, and you want to use an amateur radio for communications, get some experience. Figure out how to transmit, experiment with different antennas and on different frequencies, etc. I got my ticket a week or two before I left, and I had two, maybe three contacts under my belt - that's just not enough to be successful. I knew very little about the frequencies to use, about the antenna I should use, etc. But it was enjoyable anyhow, and I did have one very successful backcountry contact, which was quite rewarding.

Now that I have an entire three months of experience under my belt, I'm even more interested in nailing backcountry telephone communications. In fact, there are several things I'm working on right now, which drive me to learn more, experiment, and get better range and predictability:

1. Joining ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services): ARES organizations provide radio support in case of emergency or local events. I'm joining DCARES (Davis County ARES) here in Utah and will be participating in a regional ARES training in November.
2. Continued backcountry communications: hey, just 'cause the 50-miler is over, I'm not quitting! There are more hikes to take, and I want to be ready at all times.
3. Utah's 8 "Peaks of Prominence": Utah has 8 very tall peaks of prominence. My middle son and I have set a goal to climb them all. He's done Nebo, and I've done Timp. I also have a goal to successfully broadcast from the summit of each mountain. So far, I'm 1:1, having successfully contacted from the top of Timp.
4. Timpanogos Emergency Response Team (TERT): thanks to being prepared, I was able to administer first-aid and provide communications on behalf of a young man who injured himself at Mt. Timpanogos' Emerald Lake. TERT is an organization which provides all sorts of emergency support, and due to my involvement in this incident I've been invited to join TERT. Next year I'll be working Timp's high camp (10,380 feet above sea level), twice over the summer. Hopefully I won't have to apply my first aid, climbing, and communication skills, but I plan on being able to if they're needed.
5. My children: finally, I'm hoping that the amateur radio hobby brings some knowledge and electrical engineering experience to my children. I've got three kids at home, and as a father I want them to be successful and find a rewarding career. Oddly enough, many very successful individuals have a background in amateur radio. It offers a planning, do-it-yourself, and troubleshooting experience kids can't get anywhere else (no, figuring out that the batteries in your wireless XBOX controller is NOT troubleshooting!). Being an amateur enthusiast will hopefully encourage them to get involved and learn first-hand. Our first challenge will be to build a light-weight, portable backcountry antenna.
   

I believe everyone has a different reason for being involved in amateur radio, but I also believe everyone needs a little push to get started. Give yourself that chance - look up your local amateur club (best accomplished by googling your county name with "amateur radio"), head to a meeting and see what happens!

NOTES

• Elmer: an experienced ham radio volunteer who shares info and provides training. Amateur radio is FULL of Elmers--they're everywhere! Seriously they are more helpful than even the open-source programming community (and that's saying A LOT).
  
• Ticket: amateur radio slang for the license each amateur operator receives. In the US, this license is issued by the Federal Communications Commission.
• Telephone: amateur radio term for using your voice for communications. An alternative is CW, which means Morse Code. CW is a lot easier for low-power, long-distance communications. But it's just not as cool, in my book!
  

Welcome to KF7DVJ!

Welcome to my blog about getting into amateur radio (also known as ham radio). Hopefully this will serve as a virtual elmer to other new hams over time. Feel free to post questions (and answers) as comments and I'll try to get to them as soon as possible.

If you're interested in technology, check out my other blog - thoughtsonqa.blogspot.com. I haven't been very active for a while, given that I've accepted a new job which is very demanding! But I'll pick it back up.