Physics 401

Physics of Ham Radio – Spring 2013

Patricia Reiff, W5TAR, Physics & Astronomy Dept,
Rice U
Text: “Ham Radio License Manual” from ARRL

With help from members of….

And the VE team

Figures in this course book are

reproduced with the permission of the
American Radio Relay League. This
booklet was compiled by John P.
Cross AB5OX
Modified by Patricia Reiff W5TAR
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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Why be a Ham?
•  Radio is fun
•  Radio is not expensive
•  Radio is a great hobby
•  You can help in disasters
•  You can talk for free to
people around the world
•  New friends can help
you get jobs
•  You can help the
community in service
projects (MS150, etc)

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
But isn’t a cellphone better?
•  Cellphones cost per minute to use
•  If you’re not within 10 miles of a highway, your
service can be bad (camping, hiking, in the boonies)
•  Ham can get you new friends with common
interests
•  In emergencies, cellphones are busy or not
functional (on Sept 11, only ham communication got
thru in New York City; in Tsunami- and hurricane-
ravaged areas, only hams can communicate!)

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
But isn’t the internet better?
•  Internet lets you leave a message when they are
asleep. (But you can do that too with ham packets)
•  Many foreign hams don’t have computers.
•  Can be used while camping or sailing!
•  Can be used in power outages or in emergencies
•  No monthly charges
•  Can be linked to computers
•  Morse code is a universal language (QST)
•  Meet new people with similar interests without
dangers of a chat room

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 CB’s and Family Radios
•  CB’s and Family Radios allow only local communication -
range only a few miles
•  Lot of traffic on the bands… crowded and unfriendly.
•  No license needed - easy to get into, but no control
over users who hog the airwaves or make rude
comments

With a minimum
“technician” ham radio
license, you can talk to
astronauts in space
like Frank Culbertson
KD5OPQ!

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 This semester’s schedule
Tentative: check the website frequently:
http://space.rice.edu/PHYS401/ all classes 6:15 - 9:15 pm

• Monday Jan 7- General introduction, Welcome to Ham radio, light

and spectroscopy, speed of light and wavelengths (Ch 1, 2a)
• Monday Jan 14- Electrical principles, practical electronics (Ch 2b, 3a)
• Monday Jan 21 - : Operating Equipment, Propagation and Ants (Ch 3b,
4)
• Mon Jan 28 - Basic circuit Lab: electrical circuits, capacitors,
resistors, multimeters, etc.
• Mon Feb 4: Equipment (5) and Communicating (Ch 6)
• Mon Feb 11: Licensing and Operating Regulations (Ch 7 & 8); Safety
(ch 9)
• March 23: Field trip to Houston HamFest (Rosenberg)
• TBD: Midterm test (VE exam)

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 To earn your ham License
We will have a special “technician” FCC ham license test, in class
or at the Red Cross (date TBD). VE’s (Volunteer Examiners) will
come and give the test, as a courtesy.

You are required to try the test. You are NOT required to pass it
(but you’d better!). If you can’t be in class that day, you can take
makeups in Tomball or at the Red Cross. (price to take the exam,
either place and each time: $15, given once a month).

Morse code test: no longer needed (but encouraged!)

General Test: Can be taken after passing the tech test. Anyone
interested? If so, we might delay the test for a week or so.
Cost: another $15.

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 The Basics of Radio
Radio Wave Propagation
Book, introduction; Chapters 1-2A

-•-• --•-
CQ means I’m Seeking You

Figures in this course book are

reproduced with the permission of
the American Radio Relay League.
This booklet was compiled by
John P. Cross AB5OX

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
Frequency and Wavelength
•  Frequency is measured in cycles per
second.
•  The unit of frequency is Hertz (Hz)
•  Audio frequency is 20 Hz to 20,000
Hz (20 kHz)
•  Radio frequency is above 20,000 Hz
(20 kHz)
•  Radio frequency and wavelength are
related:
–  c = f (Hz) x λ (meters)
–  c (speed of light) = 3 x 108 m/sec
–  λ (meters) = 300 / f (MHz)

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
Electromagnetic Spectrum

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
Radio Spectrum

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Types of Radio Signals
•  “AM”: Amplitude modulation: The strength of the signal is varied.
(amplitude of the carrier) (600- 1500 KC is US band).
•  “Short Wave”: AM at higher frequencies (2 MHz - 25 MHz). Travels
very long distances, used for international broadcasts (e.g., BBC, Voice
of America, mostly at night)
•  “FM”: Frequency Modulation: The information is carried by changes in
the carrier frequency. (88 - 108 MHz is FM broadcast band)
•  “SSB” - Single sideband - uses a sideband of AM to reduce noise and
increase range. Used for HF radio transmission
•  “CW” - Continuous wave. The signal is on or off, and letters are sent in
Morse Code. (“let the Morse be with you!”). Longest range. (Why?)

•-- •- -•-- -•-• --- --- •-•• !

W A Y C O O L

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
Propagation - How Signals Travel
•  Radio waves travel to their destinations by three
ways:
–  line-of-sight, typically above 30MHz. What you
see is what you get.
–  ground-wave propagation, travels along the
surface of the earth, even over hills.
–  Sky-wave propagation (skip), refracted back
from the ionosphere.
•  Other variations are the result of atmospheric
phenomena and occur randomly.
•  Weird things can happen - listen and learn!

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Line-Of-Sight Propagation
•  Radio signals travel in a straight line from
transmitting to receiving antennas.
•  This is the mode of propagation for VHF, UHF and
microwave frequencies.
•  FM radio and TV are also propagated in this
manner.
•  As far as antennas are concerned, the higher the
better (limited by the curvature of the Earth).
•  Direct communications with the space shuttle
during SAREX contacts is line-of-sight.
•  Reflections can also occur: they may be stronger
than the direct signal some times. They also cause
“picket fencing”.

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Repeaters Extend Range
National simplex:
146.52 MHz

NARS repeater broadcasts 146.660 MHz; listens 146.060

Repeaters have a “shift” between the frequency they listen to and
the frequency they transmit. (NARS also requires a “tone” 103.5
Hz) PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
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 Ground-Wave Propagation
•  Waves follow the ground, over hills and along the
curvature of the earth.
•  This is relatively short range propagation.
•  AM broadcast stations propagate by this method.
–  High end (1600 kHz) carries less than 100 miles
during the day.
–  Low end (540 kHz) will carry about 100 miles.
•  Amateur bands are higher frequency and
propagate even less distance during the day.
•  More on night time propagation later.

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Sky-Wave, The Cool Stuff!
•  Upper atmosphere (25 to 200 miles) is where the
Sun’s UV and X-rays strip electrons, ionizing the gas.
•  The ionosphere can refract (bend) radio waves at low
frequencies, bouncing them back.
•  The determining factors for sky-wave propagation are
the frequency in use and the degree of ionization.
•  The highest frequency at which the ionosphere will
bend radio waves is called the maximum useable
frequency (MUF).
•  When there are many sunspots, the Sun gives off
more UV light, which results in a denser ionosphere, so
a higher MUF!

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Sunspots - 11 Year cycle
•  More ionization means that MUF is higher.
•  We are approaching sunspot maximum after a very
low minimum
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 I hope we haven’t peaked!
•  More ionization means that MUF is higher.
•  We are approaching sunspot maximum.

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
Sky-Wave Propagation

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 •  D Region
•  ions don’t last very long and
ionization reaches peak at noon.
•  Doesn’t refract, it absorbs 160, 80
and 40 meters.
•  E Region
•  ions don’t last long, peaks at noon.
•  can refract radio waves.
•  maximum skip is 1250 miles.
•  sporadic E skip works on VHF
•  F Region
•  most responsible for long range
communications.
•  ions last a long time, some all
night.
•  two regions during the day F1 and
F2.
•  F2 is primarily responsible for sky-
wave propagation
•  one hop is a maximum of 2500
miles

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Other Propagation Modes
•  Scattering can be caused by the ionization trail of a meteor
or by the atmosphere. The signals are weak and distorted.
•  Tropospheric bending and ducting are caused by wide area
temperature inversions. These bend radio waves because of
differences in air density. This occurs in the VHF range
(and higher sometimes).
•  Amateur satellites are a popular way of communicating over
long distances.
–  Doppler effects must be compensated for by proper
tuning. (Higher frequency approaching, lower leaving)
–  Circularly polarized antennas help reduce fading from
spin.
–  More power is needed (better antennas) at the horizon.
•  Earth-moon-earth (EME) or moon-bounce requires high gain
antenna arrays and lots of power.

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
International Morse Code

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Morse Code
“COIN”
(flow chart)
(used by
railroad
telegraphers)

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio
 Useful links:
Repeater directory/map/search:
http://www.artscipub.com/repeaters

Lookup of Ham by callsign:

(also practice tests, online or offline)
http://www.qrz.com/

ARRL organization (many resources, pubs):

http://www.arrl.org/

IRLP Directory (internet hop): http://status.irlp.net/index.php

local IRLP’s: 444.300,

Echolink (from your computer or iPhone): http://www.echolink.org/

local echolinks: 145.17 (node 5551); 443.000

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PHYS 401 Physics of Ham Radio