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So You Want to Learn Morse Code ? Here Are Some Tips

Like music, some people seem to have a natural talent to learn the Morse code effortlessly.  During World War II it was common practice to gather a few hundred military recruits into a hall, introduce them to the World of "dahs and dits," and wash out the majority within two weeks.  Those remaining "geniuses" became the wireless Aces of the War.

For most students, gaining control over the flow and rhythm of the sounds proved to be an arduous and fearsome task.  Code practice machines used at this time consisted of paper rolls about an inch wide that ran past a light source.  The rolls were perforated to create, from the electric eye, an almost perfectly sounded string of Morse code letters, numbers and messages.  The student was systematically introduced to the character sound, as the instructor called out the letter's name.  Soon another string of dots and dashes was added and another until a dizzying array of dahs and dits swam in the student's head.   Since the practice sessions often lasted several hours or more, errors were practiced over and over and then when the paralyzing test was given, anxiety ran high with frustration and failure common.

Over the years, most students try to learn Morse code in just this same manner. It is no wonder that when the FCC decided to eliminate the code testing for amateur radio licenses that a great sigh of relief came from many long frustrated "would-be" hams.  

However, another method appears to have gained many adherents.  In the English speaking countries and in other language parts of the world, Morse code is being taught using a mnemonic system that mimics the sound of the code in the language of the learner.  The dahs and dits can be heard as simple words and phrases instead.  With this method and only forty characters to learn, a high percentage of students succeed at mastery.

It appears that the brain is capable of learning language quite readily when meaning is attached to sounds.  Without meaning in the sounds themselves, the brain has no handles to make an attachment, causing the symbols to become hopelessly mixed.  A mnemonic  device is defined as:  "any learning technique that aids memory.  Commonly, mnemonics are verbal (such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something) but may be visual, kinesthetic or auditory. (Wikipedia.com) Mnemonics rely on associations between easy-to-remember constructs which can be related back to the data that is to be remembered. This is based on the principle that the typical human mind much more easily remembers spatial, personal, surprising, sexual, humorous or otherwise meaningful information than seemingly arbitrary sequences."  The seemingly random string of dahs and dits of the letter take on meaning from the associated mnemonic.   Thus the letter "D" might be more readily remembered as "Dog did it"      instead of "Dah di di."  Attach a picture of a hapless canine and "presto" the symbol is forever remembered.

Persons learning the Morse code this way find that they can master the code in a matter of days instead of months and that there really can be a lot of pleasure in acquiring and using this universal foreign language skill.

Frs, Gmrs, Marine Vhf, 900 Mhz Radios - Which One Can I Use?

The General Mobile Radio Service the Family Radio Service and the relatively new 900 MHz handies that have come on the scene, are all capable radios that can have the same purpose: personal or business short range communication.  VHF Marine radios are different.  More on VHF Marine later.

The least expensive of these three personal short-range radios are the Family Radio Service (FRS) handies.  The FRS radios are limited to 500 mW output or half a watt. Realistically they are good for anywhere up to 1 mile depending on terrain. The FRS handies are license free, which is a big advantage.  These handies have 14 channels available.  CTCSS tone encoding could lessen interference in large urban areas, but they still only have 14 channels.  The CTCSS does not add channels.

FRS was introduced by the FCC in 1996 as an inexpensive and license free mode of communication for personal and business use.  Interestingly, the only way you can now get a new FRS radio is to buy new old stock (NOS), as no manufacturer builds an FRS-only radio anymore.  Any new radio sold for this service is a combination of GMRS and FRS.  

The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) handies are more expensive.  They have a higher output, typically 1 to 4 watts, although some top-of-the-line GMRS handies have so-called power boost options which brings them up to 5 watts output. That's about the limit that you can get out of the handie battery.   In case you think 5 watts isn't much output, think again! The vast majority of Amateur (ham) radio Handies also have a maximum output of 5 watts. Anything more than this, and the batteries will drain very rapidly during transmit! The GMRS handies do have a further range but don't believe the hype about 20, 28, 34 miles and so on. In reality you'll get about 10% of that. So you are doing well if your GMRS handy reaches 3 to 4 miles. Of course, if you're on a mountaintop or out on the lake on a boat, you'll get further range because there are no obstructions.

GMRS was introduced in the 1960s by the FCC. At that time they called it the class a citizen's radio service.

GMRS has a total of 22 channels.  However, FRS and GMRS share 7 UHF channels, so your handie will automatically switch to low power (500 mW) when you transmit on certain channels.  Like FRS, GMRS handies are also available with CTCSS tone encoding.

The GMRS handies require a license from the FCC, which ain't cheap at .  However, you will be in contravention of federal laws if you operate a GMRS radio without a license.

The 900 MHz handies, which are relatively new on the market, use one watt output and are license free. They operate with a technology called frequency hopping spread spectrum.  This technology is similar to cell phones but remember these handies do not use cell phone repeaters. The range of these handies would be comparable to a GMRS radio with 1 to 2 watt output.

Marine VHF is strictly for marine use!  If you don't have a boat, don't use these radios.  The FCC has (and will again) fine people for unauthorized use.  Just do a short search on the net and you'll see!  There's plenty of information on the FCC website about rules and regulations pertaining to VHF Marine frequencies... they (and the Coast Guard) take unauthorized use of these frequencies very seriously.  Very recently, Cobra has introduced a handie-talkie with both GMRS and Marine VHF frequencies.  These may make a great addition to your boating activities.

You can purchase any of these radios at the big box department store, Amazon, Ebay, and many other sources.  Expect to pay anywhere from around for the low end handies, up to well over 0 for top of the line models.

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History of Radio

Many of us take the radio for granted. But the concept of being able to listen to music over the radio has only been a phenomenon of this century. And radio on the Internet even newer.

The radio itself and its technology came about due to the contribution of numerous people and their inventions over the years. There are varying disputed claims about who invented radio, which in the beginning was called “wireless telegraphy”. Names like Marconi, Tesla, and more come to mind when one thinks of this phenomena. Marconi first equipped ships with lifesaving wireless communications and established the first transatlantic radio service while Tesla developed means to reliably produce radio frequency electrical currents, publicly demonstrated the principles of radio, and transmitted long distance signals.

It wasn’t until 1904 that the U.S. Patent Office awarded Marconi a patent for the invention of radio, possibly influenced by Marconi’s financial backers in the States, who included Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie. This also allowed the U.S. government (among others) to avoid having to pay the royalties that were being claimed by Tesla for use of his patents.

The invention of AM radio or amplitude-modulated came from Reginald Fessenden and Lee de Forest. Having AM radio allowed radios to transmit more than one station. An AM receiver detects amplitude variations in the radio waves at a particular frequency. It then amplifies changes in the signal voltage to drive a loudspeaker or earphones. Fessenden gave his first broadcast on Christmas Eve of 1906 and used the concept of AM radio to transmit small-scale voice and music broadcasts up until World War I.

In America in 1909, Charles David Herrold, an electronics instructor in San Jose, California constructed a broadcasting station that used the spark gap technology where now music was broadcasted. By March 8, 1916, Harold Power with his radio company American Radio and Research Company (AMRAD), broadcast the first continuous radio show in the world from Tufts University under the call sign 1XE (it lasted 3 hours). The company later became the first to broadcast on a daily schedule, and the first to broadcast radio dance programs, university professor lectures, the weather, and bedtime stories.

Eventually, numerous radio stations began to appear across the nation, from small towns with amateurs giving it a shot to major electrical firms getting into the business.

Some of the first radio programming included evening readings of short stories and amateur talent.
As radio broadcasting continued in popularity, questions were asked about the types of stations and types of programming should be offered.

Radio’s ability to conquer distance helped reduce the isolation of sparsely populated regions. With this popularity grew the need for programming and creative license by those operating the phonograms or records. These people were given the name Disc Jockey or DJ. The DJ’s would decide what music to play and when – who to feature and how. Later, this evolved into a new industry where only the forty best-selling singles (usually in a rack) as rated by Billboard magazine or from the stations own chart of the local top selling songs, were played.

In addition to playing the “Top 40” radio stations would punctuate the music with jingles, promotions, gags, call-ins, and requests, brief news, time and weather announcements and most importantly, advertising.

Radio as we know it then evolved into Internet Radio. The growth of Internet radio came from a small experimenter’s toy in the mid-90s and then grew into to a huge phenomenon allowing both small do-it-yourselfers and large commercial stations to make their offerings available worldwide People began discovering the many advantages of Internet radio which included more variety, lack of censorship, greater choice, a more eclectic approach to format programming, and static-free digital sound quality.

The idea of one-size-fits-all programming began dissipating as listeners and their diversity of musical tastes took over the scene.

Radio, while somewhat new in the spectrum of history, is here to stay and as long as the people continue to love their music and desire more and more of it in their life.

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Radio Sports for Die-hard Hobbyists

Radiosport as a term is sometimes used as two separate words, or as a single word. It refers to the use of amateur radio equipment or the "ham", in short, as a part of playing some sort of game. It might be group event or a single person event. It can involve other competitors in real time like a race or like a performance or achievement over a given time frame.

The contests are usually sponsored events, and can last anywhere between a few hours and 2 days, the world wide contests being two days usually. It can be local in a specific region, or may involve traveling a long distance. It can be a cumulative contest taking place over many weekends, or a sprint contest which lasts only a few hours. The rules are specific for the event and they include which stations (which regions) may participate and the like.

This is usually called radiosports. This can be any of the following.

Dx-Contest: This is when stations are to make two way contact with as many stations as possible over the longest distance possible. This is called the International DX-Contest today. Awards may be given for the following accomplishments. The "Worked All States Award" if the entrants make contact with someone from every state in the USA. The "Worked All continents Award" is given for making contact with someone from every continent. "Worked All Zones Award" is the same concept with time zones. Other awards include the DX Century Club award, and the UHF/VHF Century Club award.

Another event is an Amateur Radio Direction finding using radios. A specific number of transmitters needs to be found from a specific region in a map before reaching the end line. This relies on the athletic ability of the ham operator as well as some direction finding skill with radios.

Fox Oaring or Bunny hunting: This is similar to the previous contest but involves more short range equipment of the hams, and so it relies more on the direction finding skills of the contestant rather than the athletic ability. It's more technical in nature than the previous contest, and the radio can detect signals only 100 meters or so away, so the contestant must locate the transmitter hidden in an area of 200 meter radius.

A more severely restricted game than the Fox Oaring is the Radio orienting contest in compact areas. This requires very high technical skills.

There is another form of the amateur radio direction finding, or bunny hunting, that utilizes transportation with vehicles over long distances. The hams have to travel in their vehicles to the specific region and find the transmitter. Whoever finds the transmitter first and reaches the finish line is the winner. A variation is that the one to find a specific number of transmitters hidden in different places first is the winner. This relies on the traveling skill, orientation skill and the equipment efficiency too.

These events are called ARDF contests, which is short for Amateur Radio Direction Finding Contests. Contests or radiosports are just a part of the hobby activity. Entering contests is not a requirement, but there are many who pursue this almost obsessively, and collect winning certificates by the dozen in fact. On the other extreme are those that are equally passionate about being a ham, but do so purely for communication and satisfaction. The significant thing about hams that needs to be mentioned here is that the hams can and do make regular contact with space stations. Many astronauts are licensed amateur radio operators and use their radios for educational purpose as well as an emergency backup.

So what was once spanning a small region locally in the beginning now has penetrated into space! What was once only Morse code based has now evolved into greater variations involving voice, digital transmission and so on. It is exciting to see how much radio transmission has changed in recent years.

ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an Amateur Radio Operator (Arrl Ham Radio License Manual) (Arrl Ham Radio License Manual)

Get your FIRST ham radio license! Easy-to-understand bite-sized sections. Use this book, and pass the 35-question license test. Includes the latest question pool with answer key, for use beginning July 1, 2006. Designed for self-study and for classroom use. Intended for all newcomers, instructors and schoolteachers.This is the most popular introduction to Amateur Radio! The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual is your ticket to joining the ranks of amateur radio operators.Use this book to discover the appeal of ham radio. The Amateur Radio Service offers a unique mix of technology, public service, convenience and fun. Some hams enjoy communicating across the country and around the globe, making new friends over the airwaves. Others like to build and experiment with electronics, experiencing cutting edge technologies. Some use their radios and skills during emergencies or disasters when all else fails. And, today's ham radio gear offers possibilities for getting started at any level. Your first radio station might be at home, in the car, or small enough to take with you on the go.

List Price: $ 24.95

Price: $ 59.98

ARRL's General Q&A

Upgrade to General and enjoy the thrill of high-power communications on all HF bands!

ARRL's General Q & A is your authoritative guide to every question in the General Class question pool--everything you need to pass your General Class Amateur Radio license exam! Using ARRL's General Q & A is the best way to review for the exam with confidence.

List Price: $ 9.99

Price:

Learn tips on ham radio licenses, why we need them and what they are used for in this free CB radio video. Expert: sledge Bio: Kurt Glaser, callsign of N7QJM, has been an active ham since the early 90's. He built his first ham radio in 1970. N7QJM operates out of his 'ham shack' on the All Emergencies channel. Filmmaker: kurt glaser
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Used Ham Radio Equipment

Your standard amateur radio is really a transmitter and a receiver, usually bought as one piece of gear, called a transceiver. Most new gear is quite advanced, and takes some time obtaining used to. Some hams, particularly outdated timers, prefer the old analog transceivers that have knobs and needle meters instead of digital readouts. Amateur radio enthusiasts use different kinds of equipment for communication. Some use base stations, some use handheld radios. Some use systems installed in vehicles. Depending on your interests in ham radio, you might want to try all different sorts of stations.

The ham radio can fit inside your pocket, or take up all of the space in your garage, or sit in your car- it's all as much as you, and it's essential to work out what interests you have. Several new operators begin off with tiny handhelds, and work their way up to large shortwave installations on the countryside. Several are on a extremely restricted budget, and may join a ham society to get access to equipment. Ham radio clubs have a lot to offer, including meetings, equipment such as transceivers, antennas and books. These clubs exist nearly all over the world, and are usually well known in the local community.

If you want professional transceivers for business use, with or without license, you will find lots of hand held sets at a good sale price for great high quality. You'll find products of all the well-liked brands, such as Icom, Kenwood, Motorola, some electronics tuned out-of-band for ham club activities, some all the way between 137-174 mHz and around the 70cms band. There are new outlet listings each and every day of new and used HF rigs, marine radio, air band & VHF UHF scanners and software. There's even a CB section for the rest!

For more information about Used Ham Radio Equipment, please visit our site.

Its interesting what people choose as their hobby. Ham radio is one of them. Once a it was a staple of Government communications, it has slowly been relegated to use by amateur enthusiasts.

No one knows who first coined the term Ham radio but it’s beginnings no doubt were influenced by its military uses. Messages can be transmitted in several forms but Morse code has to be one of the more well known. A perfect example of this is sending a SOS signal. This call for help is universally understood world wide. In emergencies ham radio operators can help relaying a SOS messages where newer forms of communications like cell phones don’t work

You’d be surprised how diverse the back grounds of Ham radio enthusiasts are given the overall number world wide. It’s a tight nit group of individuals sharing a common interest. Any one with a passion to communicate to someone unknown in a far away place can find refuge as a Ham radio operator. Local radio clubs are filled with men and women and of every background, age and occupation.

There is a program called Amateur Radio on the International Space Station or ARISS for short. Astronauts have actually spoken with other operators on Earth while in orbit aboard the space station.

To operate a Ham radio you must acquire a FCC License. Operating without out a license can result in a fine. At present, there are 35 questions given for the Technician Class exam. You have to get 26 questions correct to pass. If you are interested in more information you can find an abundant source of information and tutorials via the internet. Also another good source of information is your local club. There you will find other enthusiasts to share your passion and help you pass your exam. Once you pass you can then apply for your call sign from the FCC.

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Are you ready to get started? Find great prices on used ham radio equipment here.

Operating Your Ham Radio

Ham or amateur radio as a hobby involves some hard work in the form of getting licensed, and acquiring knowledge of the technical details. The hobby itself starts in the first step by one getting the ham device. Selection of a good ham radio is best done under the guidance of a person who knows about the radios well. More than that, one must know the local laws and rules with respect to the ham operation.

Getting to know your ham:
It is important to know about hams and, to know about your own ham as soon as you feel the urge to buy / assemble one. If you want to know about the ham, then again, internet, books and other hobbyists are all good places to start with. If you know no technical details of the electronics but find yourself fascinated by the idea, then it is time to learn a bit of jargon in the field.

So, if you do not know something, you should come out and seek answers either from those who might know or from resources like the library or the internet. One must spend some time and effort to learn about the hobby that one wants to pursue. Just a wish is not a good enough reason to pursue a hobby. One needs more than just a wish to be able to pursue an activity as a hobby. So, recognition of the hobby and the right kind of activity that suits you is important.

Ham operation can be taxing and sometimes it can be tiring in spite of the modern equipment that does the scanning on its own. It is like the astrophysicist searching for some communications from aliens. If that idea grabs your attention, then this hobby will be to your liking since the activity is virtually the same, except for the helpful fact that we know there is someone who exists for sure, and one gets more than just "radio signals of unknown nature". You get interaction from real people, from out there in the world, who live in flesh and blood as you do.

Your choice of equipment depends on how involved you are, and what your budget is that you can afford to invest in a ham equipment. There are good stores out there that sell ham radio at a reasonable cost. Again, as usual, it's wise to chat with those who are ham radio operators, and also to visit and know the prices from various shops that sell ham radios to be able to select the best deal.

The cost of the radio equipment that can connect to longer distances will be higher than the ones that have a lesser range. Moreover, the recent advancements like digital voice transmission and such can be more costly than the simple Morse code wireless telegraphing model.

Getting licensed is the next hurtle. The amateur radio operator license exam does not require Morse code proficiency any more as it is has been allowed to be dropped as agreed in 2003 in the World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva. The test will include the knowledge of ham etiquette, the communication laws that apply internationally as well as in your region and such. Once licensed, one is free to use the allotted bandwidths and is allowed to change or modify the equipment within the limits imposed by "spurious standards".

So...what are you waiting for? Go get a ham and get your license: get going!

3 Simple Steps to Choosing the Right Radio Frequency

When the RC frequency spectrum was first introduced to provide controlled facilities for radio control (RC) modelers, it was limited to a set of just six. These frequencies were not labeled with channel numbers as they are today, but were represented by multi-colored flags; purple/white for 72.320 MHz (megahertz), red/white for 72.240 MHz, etc. Having only 6 frequencies to choose from was quite restrictive and meant a lot of RC airplane pilots had to be grounded, waiting to take their turn on a given frequency.

The RC model airplane frequency spectrum today is much broader, consisting of a much larger batch of 50 channels in the 72 MHz band in the USA, a similar batch in the 35Mhz band in the UK and other bands according to country. In addition, there remain a few 27 MHz channels shared across many uses including for 'park flyer' model airplanes, and a handful of other more specialized channels reserved for licensed amateur radio operators. For convenience, I'm just going to refer to the 72Mhz band as the band allocated for model airplane use in the USA. You will need to read that as the band allocated for model airplane use in your own country.

So now you've decided to buy your RC model and radio equipment you also need to decide which radio frequency you are going to operate on. Unlike most other features of the sport, choosing a popular channel which is used by lots of other people is not a good idea. Choosing a standard 72 MHz frequency for your radio can be as simple as going to the local hobby store and

purchasing one with a standard radio setup. But randomly choosing a channel can result in a problem if you don't do a little investigation first.

Firstly, decide whether you are going to be a park flyer using 27 MHz or going for a more advanced setup on 72 MHz. The 27 MHz channels are primarily dedicated to what are considered "park flyers". These pre-packaged systems usually come with everything you need to get up and flying and are intended for the casual flyer that just wants to get out, get in the air, and not mess with the higher cost of a more complex airplane and radio setup. Choosing a RC model airplane park flyer package with a pre-set frequency needs little to no investigation since you have little choice as the packages give you a choice of only 3 or 4 channels, some FM, some AM. Channel conflicts in a RC park flying situation are less common due to the large number of parks and flying areas available to the casual pilot. But if you do invest in a park flyer then be aware that there may well be other pilots out there in the park using the same frequency as you - and that can mean expensive trouble when you lose control of your airplane, or even worse if some stranger accuses you of causing his airplane to crash.

Second, if you are going for 72 MHz then visit your flying field and find out what other people are using. Imagine arriving to your favorite RC model airplane flying field only to find someone else already using the channel you have just paid out good money for. Some clubs have rules pertaining to what happens in this situation. As only one pilot can operate at a time on a given frequency this usually means pilots having to switch off and take turns using the frequency - and some means of the club controlling the changeover process either by physically taking control of the transmitter or just having a procedure written into the club rules. If you are flying at a busy site that is not a sanctioned flying club with rules and bylaws, you might find yourself sitting out and unable to fly for the day.

The smartest way to choose an RC frequency for your radio is to do some legwork first. Visit the field where you will do most of your flying. Investigate what channels are already in use and which channels are seldom used. Finding one that is infrequently used or not used at all will allow you to buy, secure in the nowledge that you will be able to fly with minimum interruption.

Third, make sure you can change the frequency after you have bought the equipment. If you take care to check before you buy whether the system will allow you to do a manual crystal replacement then if you run into a problem you can change later to a channel which is less busy. Some crystal changes you can do yourself while others have to go back to the factory to have the work done. Regardless of your current situation, if you already have an RC radio setup, or just thinking about getting one, doing a little footwork up front can go a long way.

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