What is HAM?​

Amateur radio (ham radio) is the use of specific radio frequency bands for non-commercial communication, experimentation, and emergency support. Some consider this a hobby, but enthusiasts are prevalent across the globe!

Is HAM Expensive?​

• Exam session: $15 (pass or fail)
• FCC license: $35 (includes license, renewals, or upgrades)
• Study materials: $0–$75 (varies by preference)
• Beginner equipment: $35–$300+ (available new or secondhand)

How to Start?​

Study Resources​

• HAM Manuals
  Available in softback, hardback, and digital formats via:
  ARRL Shop or Amazon.com

• Study Apps
  Download to phone or computer:
  HAM Radio Prep, Ham Exam, or Ham Study

• Classes
  In-person, hybrid, or online:
  Find an Exam Session

FCC Licensing Requirements​

You must pass each level before advancing:

• Technician (Tech)

  • Limited amateur band operation
  • Pass 26 of 35 questions (74% minimum)
  • First license level

• General

  • Full amateur band operation worldwide + HF privileges up to 1,500 watts
  • Pass 26 of 35 questions
  • Requires Tech license

• Extra

  • Full privileges on all amateur bands and modes + additional HF segments
  • Pass 37 of 50 questions
  • Requires General license

Testing can be taken in person or virtually in a controlled environment.

Additional Resources​

• hotarc.org — Heart of Texas Amateur Radio Club
• ARRL.org — American Radio Relay League
• FCC.gov — Federal Communications Commission
• QRZ.com — Popular amateur radio database and logging tool
• POTA.app — Parks on the Air

Not Ready to Get Certified?​

Try LoRa Radio or GMRS

LoRa Radio​

LoRa Radio uses license-free sub-gigahertz radio frequency bands. With devices from Heletc, Meshtastic, RAK, and others (prefab or self-build), you can create your own local communication grid — or “hop” with other mesh devices to communicate miles away.

Is LoRa Radio Expensive?​

• Beginner devices: $25–$100+
  • What we are using
• Note: At least 2 devices required to start a closed mesh network
• In rural, tree-dense, or hilly areas, additional antennas may be needed — connectivity is largely “line-of-sight”

Software Options​

• Meshtastic
  Open-source, community-driven project enabling long-range off-grid communication using inexpensive LoRa radios. Ideal for areas without reliable infrastructure.

• MeshCore
  Multi-platform system for secure text-based communications using LoRa hardware.
  Use cases: Off-grid comms, emergency response, outdoor activities, tactical security (law enforcement, private security), and IoT sensor networks.
  Watch founder Andy’s videos to learn more!

GMRS​

The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is a licensed radio service that uses channels around 462 MHz and 467 MHz. The most common use of GMRS channels is for short-distance, two-way voice communications using hand-held radios, mobile radios and repeater systems.

Is GMRS Expensive?​

• Licensing: $35 via FCC.gov
• *Beginner Equipment: $35+ per set
  • Our most recent purchase
• Note: At least 2 devices required to start line-of-site unless using a repeater
• [Future Blog]

Get the cable info​

Plugged in the usb data connection cable that comes with the radio into a up-to-date raspberrypi 3.

Attempt to identify the devide in linux:

Since, I already know it's a usb and the command lsusb returns the Prolific driver I expect, I can see how the device registered in the OS.

I then take the tty device returned and see if it has a serial number and what other capabilities / attributes the device or cable has. This can make it easier to name and identify later or if multiple similar devices are attached.

Picocom​

Here is a screen shot of the process and the command used to start picocom: picocom -b 9600 /dev/ttyUSB0

Here are more command line options and args that can be passed to the picocom command.

picocom v3.1

Compiled-in options:
  TTY_Q_SZ is 0
  HIGH_BAUD is enabled
  USE_FLOCK is enabled
  LINENOISE is enabled
  HISTFILE is: .picocom_history
  USE_CUSTOM_BAUD is enabled

Usage is: picocom [options] <tty port device>
Options are:
  --<b>aud <baudrate>
  --<f>low x (=soft,xon/xoff) | h (=hard) | n (=none)
  --parit<y> o (=odd) | e (=even) | n (=none)
  --<d>atabits 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
  --sto<p>bits 1 | 2
  --<e>scape <char>
  --<n>o-escape
  --e<c>ho
  --no<i>nit
  --no<r>eset
  --hang<u>p
  --no<l>ock
  --<s>end-cmd <command>
  --recei<v>e-cmd <command>
  --imap <map> (input mappings)
  --omap <map> (output mappings)
  --emap <map> (local-echo mappings)
  --lo<g>file <filename>
  --inits<t>ring <string>
  --e<x>it-after <msec>
  --e<X>it
  --lower-rts
  --raise-rts
  --lower-dtr
  --raise-dtr
  --<q>uiet
  --<h>elp
<map> is a comma-separated list of one or more of:
  crlf : map CR --> LF
  crcrlf : map CR --> CR + LF
  igncr : ignore CR
  lfcr : map LF --> CR
  lfcrlf : map LF --> CR + LF
  ignlf : ignore LF
  bsdel : map BS --> DEL
  delbs : map DEL --> BS
  spchex : map special chars (excl. CR, LF & TAB) --> hex
  tabhex : map TAB --> hex
  crhex : map CR --> hex
  lfhex : map LF --> hex
  8bithex : map 8-bit chars --> hex
  nrmhex : map normal ascii chars --> hex
<?> indicates the equivalent short option.
Short options are prefixed by "-" instead of by "--".

It's not pretty, but it shows us APRS packets that my station has recieved and I can transmit from the radio. The output shows a direct APRS message I sent from the radio to KG5PTE and the ack03 reply that I got.

Mixing QRP radio waves with camping stays and hiking days with this little antenna build!

Quick Summary​

Main Topic: Pictures and steps from my experience building this qrp antenna from k6ark.
Key Features: Super tiny components and a rookie at soldering what could go wrong?
Outcome: Multi-band resonate low power antenna that is lightweight and easily deployable.

🛠 [Low Power? But, why?]​

Let's be honest, with my knees, I am not peaking many summits. So why build a low power qrp antenna?

Well, because I still like to go on hikes and the lighter the better, plus I think it will help motivate me to continue practicing CW for field operations.

📈 [Building the QRP 49:1 EFHW Antenna]​

Inspired by the excellent instructions provided by K6ARK, I decided to take on the challenge of picking up an iron to build a QRP End-Fed Half-Wave antenna.

Here's a step-by-step recount of my progress, complete with photos.

Materials and Tools​

Before getting started, I gathered all the materials and tools listed in the guide. The clear and concise instructions made it easy to ensure I had everything I needed.

A clean workspace makes this process much smoother.

Step 1: Wind the transformer​

The first step I did was wind the toroidal transformer as described in the documentation and pictured.

Intersting how these windings effect the resonance.

Step 2: Soldering the Components​

Next, I soldered the components onto the PCB. Attention to detail here is key to a reliable build.

Steady hands and patience are essential for soldering! And readers helped me a bit :)

Step 3: Assembling the Enclosure​

With the components soldered, I moved on to assembling the enclosure and ensuring all parts fit snugly.

The enclosure helps protect the components from the elements.

Step 4: Final Testing​

After assembly, I tested the antenna using an antenna analyzer to confirm everything was functioning as expected.

The readings looked great!

Step 5: Deployment​

Finally, I deployed the antenna in my backyard for its first real-world test. The performance exceeded my expectations!

Up and running! The QRP EFHW in action.

Lessons Learned and Final Thoughts​

This project was incredibly rewarding, and I learned a lot along the way. Following K6ARK's guide made it achievable, even for a beginner like me.

Conclusion​

If you're considering building your own QRP EFHW, I recommend checking out K6ARK's guide. The process is straightforward, the results are satisfying, and you'll have a portable, high-performing antenna for your QRP operations.

73 de W5AWW

Having been moved out of the city and back to my roots in the country, I've been finding a few minutes here and there to work on and build up my QTH VHF/UHF station.

Not having the high noise floor of the suburbs and more options on gaining height out in the country of central Texas, I was curious of the terrain limitations and was pointed towards the HAAT caclulator on the ARRL site.

Individual "Radial HAAT" Values, in meters
                    0°    27.4 m
                   45°    45.6 m
                   90°    51.1 m
                  135°    41.6 m
                  180°    15.8 m
                  225°   -12.6 m
                  270°   -12.4 m
                  315°    -2.3 m

Summer 2022 is almost here and I've been hearing about the 'Magic Band' and how 6 meters can be used to make regional contacts as opposed to just local contacts I usually make on 2  meter simplex.  So that means fun in the short term, but long term operating on 6 meters can come in handy during emergency situations.  

I have a TYT TH-9800D Quad band radio that can rx/tx on 6 meters pushing up to 50 watts, all I need now is an antenna.  What I have to work with is 50 feet of RG-58 coax cable and here is how I made my 6 meter antenna using that cable.

Determine total length of half-wave antenna for 50Mhz​

This is the formula used to determine how long to make the radiating elements of the antenna: 

Length = 468 / freq Mhz 

So for 50 Mhz, the total length of my antenna will be 9.4 feet when rounding up... longer is better for tuning, because you can always shorten later.  Now converting the feet to inches, we have a total of 112 inches. 

Determine length of wire to unshield​

Now that we have the length of the antenna portion(112 inches), we can divide in half to find the length of each end of the dipole.  Taking half, which is 56 inches, I stripped the insulation and coax shielding off the end, leaving the 56 inches of the end of the coax cable exposing the inner bare wire.  

Note: Leaving the clear insulated cover on the inside of the shielding is ok.

At this point, I measure another 56 inches from the exposed wire and marked my cable with a piece of tape, totaling 112 inches from the end of the cable.  This gives me, 56 inches of exposed wire and 56 inches of shielded wire, the total length of the antenna is 112 inches.

Create choke​

To make this work, I need to make a choke where I placed my tape marking the end/beginning of my antenna.    We need the choke to stop the outside shield current, essentially creating a feedpoint for the antenna.

For coax with an impedence of 50ohms, I need to create a choke that has an inductance of 200ohms.  This formula will return the nanohenrys we need to determine how many turns we need to create >200ohms inductance.

nH = 31800 / freq Mhz

This returns to me 636 nanohenrys.  I took this value and input into the calculator on translatorscafe along with the diameter of my coax to get the number of turns I need for my size former.  I just used a half inch piece of pvc.

Being recently licensed and still getting used to talking on the radio I started working on setting up a base station to practice checking into local Nets on 2 meters. In the DFW area there are nets multiple times a day I could potentially check-into.

I'm also able to work from home currently and with gas prices almost $4 a gallon and high temps breaking records, portable and mobile operations are minimal. Also, generally I just enjoy monitoring VHF/UHF national calling frequencies.

I decided to research my signal coverage and found Radio Mobile Online by ve2dbe and plugged in my antenna information.

The first image attempts to show the areas in green that would have a signal strength of at least S4 when I'm using base station at 25watts and the receiving station has an antenna around 2 meters high, which is average mobile antenna height.

Areas in yellow, especially if outside of the metroplex, may still get great reception at s2 or s3 however, within my neighborhood the noise level is often right at s3

The second image below shows signal coverage if I transmit at 50watts and the receiving station has a raised antenna at least 10 meters high. Again, in this scenerio the green areas are greater signal strenth at s4 and higher.