This radio ham is operating on 2 meters. Why is her hair so funny? Why is her ham shack so cluttered? Why all the cameras?
She is an Astronaut on the International Space Station talking on 2 meters with hams on Earth. Hair goes wild in Zero gravity.
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• Can I talk with the ISS? Well... Yes. Kind of. • How do you do that? We have a local expert. • Does the ISS have a heavy braided copper strap connecting everything to earth ground? Huh? • Are there ham repeaters in the sky? Yes, they're called satellites. • Hams have been bouncing RF off our first satellite for many years. It's known as "the moon." • Other bouncing modes include meteor scatter and aurora scatter. Fun stuff. • Where can I transmit? This LINK shows where you may transmit as a Technician, General, and Extra. • Always be alert to where the band edges are for your license, and stay back 3 or more kHz. • On HF, the trick is to learn which bands will work at what times of the day. • Do I need an antenna tuner? If you have full sized antennas, cut to the bands you are on, no. • Many rigs have tuners built-in. That will work fine with antennas that aren't too far from tuned. • If you are using a compromised or strange antenna, or one with traps, maybe yes. • Antenna tuners don't tune the antenna. They fool the transmitter into thinking it's a perfect match.  • Can I get a Vanity call with my initials, like you? Yes, if one is available. Ask K8RAR or N4JGR. • How about a cool call? KO4VVV, KO4XXX, KO4YYY, KO4ZZZ? Yes. Grab it before it's issued! • My guess is after KO4, the FCC will skip over KP (VI, PR) and go to KQ4 like KQ4AAA. • You can also go back through the Ws, Ks, Ns, AAs, as long as you qualify with license class. • Hint: your call is like your name. Once you get used to it you may not want to change. • Is it free? Yes, BUT that is changing. Don't wait. The FCC will SOON be charging $35. • Here is the Process to apply for a Vanity call. • Finding out about another ham - location - etc. www.QRZ.com. Put your own call in. Top left. • Then try mine: W4GAL. Then try my Puerto Rico call: KP4MM, or try VK6/W4GAL in Australia. • Active hams use this constantly. I'm always surprised when soneone is not taking advantage of it. • You can see how many times people are looking for information about you: Lookups: ___ • Can I edit my own QRZ page? Yes. Is it fun to build your page? Yes. Is it free? Yes. Let's talk. • Yes, it's free. But if you pay for the service like I do, there is no advertising. Ha. • Is it a good time to upgrade to the next license? Yes. • Go to www.W4GAL.net • Do we have a lot of camaraderie within the amateur radio community? Yes. On and off the air. • W7DMM is my longest ham-friend. We met in 8th grade study-hall. We were both 13. • We discovered our mutual interest because we were reading the same ham radio catalog! • I was a Novice, he was ready to take his Novice exam, and now we're both turning 80. • To build camaraderie, attend ham gatherings, and get involved. Help others. That's a hint! • Should I know more Q signals? Yes, the Technician license only tests for three. • QRP or QRO? It's your choice (power level). QRX (hang on a minute, I'll be right back). • Here's a list of common Q Signals on an ARRL page. Actual usage can be slightly different. • How do I learn the proper or accepted way of communicating and identifying? Listen. A lot. • What are QSLs? Paper postcards used for the last 100+ years to confirm a QSO. Examples. • Would you like to get some QSLs for your new call? Cheap QSLs. Or KB3IFH QSLs. • Are there other ways of QSLing? Yes, eQSL and LoTW at ARRL to name two. • Do I have to log my QSOs? No, but you might wish you had, later. At least logging early days. • When first on, I thought that I needed to log everything. Pages of CQs with no one coming back. • I still have all my old logs. Now I use a logging program: N3FJP.com. There are many others. • Should I make my own antennas? Yes. It's more fun and it's cheaper. • Is a dipole a good antenna? A properly cut dipole is an excellent antenna. • A multi-element beam ( Yagi ) is really a dipole with helpers. • How about a full sized flexible whip to extend the range of my hand-held 2 meter transceiver? Yep! • How about putting a home-brew antenna in the attic and connecting to my hand-held? Sure! • What are the frequency bands and names? • MF Medium Frequency .3 mHz to 3 mHz. Includes the AM Broadcast Band and 160 meters. • HF High Frequency 3 mHz to 30 mHz. 80 60 40 30 20 17 15 12 10 meters. • VHF Very High Frequency 30 mHz to 300 mHz. 6, 2, and 1¼ meters. • UHF Ultra High Frequency 300 mHz to 3 gHz. 440 mHz (70 cm), 902 mHz (33 cm) + 3 more. • SHF Super High Frequency 3 gHz to 30 gHz. 4 more bands. • EHF Extra High Frequency 30 gHz to 300 gHz. 6 more bands. • Then come the Infrared and Visual Spectrum, Ultraviolet, X-Rays, Gamma Rays, etc. • What's a Grid? Am I in a Grid square? Yes, it's an international system for locating ham stations. • Mine is EL98qb in Melbourne. When I'm operating remote from Croatia, it's JN85gv. • Want to find yours? HERE. • When I was licensed as a 13 year old, I was told to never talk about three subjects on the air: • Politics, Religion, and Sexual Innuendos. I still don't today. Much better left unsaid. • If it happens, I find another QSO. I don't stick around. Or I move the power switch to off. • Should I learn morse code? Yes - from a few letters to competence. You're part of history. • Many of the CW examples on YouTube use visual memory. WRONG. Let's talk about this one. • Should I buy lots of equipment? You can if you want. It's an enjoyable part of ham radio. • Are there ways around that? Yes. Or you can buy used gear. Make sure it works first. • Do ham clubs have stations set up that I could use? Some do: PCARS & VBARC. • If you are at a military installation like Patrick, see if there is a MARS station. • Can I operate a remote station? Yes. And you can remotely control your own station. • You can also operate remotely through www.RemoteHams.com to many stations for free. • You can also operate remotely through www.RemoteHamRadio.com. It's not free. • What is DX? Distant stations. • How far away is that? It depends somewhat on the frequency/band. • On HF, It could be Europe, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, or Australia. • On SHF, it could be a mountain top you can see from the mountain top where you are. • Can I interface my computer with my station? Oh, yes. In so many ways. • Who is the control operator at my station? Raise your right hand... • Are there mentors available to help me? Yes. |
