JOE AND THE OLD TIMER STORIES by Gary Wise, W4EEY
Scroll down to find a series of stories featuring Joe and Old Timer.
- Decibels
- Exam time -- Technician
- Exam Time -- General
- Exam Time -- Extra
- It's the Law
- Keeping a Log
- No Regrets
- Reactance and Impedance
- Resonance
- Side Bands and Modulation
- The Third Conductor
- Twenty Meters
- Why DX
DECIBELS
Joe, one of the new hams in the club, walked over to the Old Timer after the meeting was over. OT
could sense that something was amiss.
“What’s wrong Joe?”the Old Timer asked.
“I just don’t understand why we need decibels, they’re so confusing,”Joe said. “Why can’t we stick to
voltage and current and power. You know, Ohm’s law stuff. That’s hard enough as it is”.
The Old Timer looked at Joe and thought for a moment before speaking. “I understand that this is new
to you, and learning anything new can be hard. But there are good reasons why decibels are used, and
they can actually be easier to use in certain circumstances. Sit down and let me explain.”
They sat down, and OT continued, “So you know that radio deals with a large range of signals, some at
very low power and some at very high power. So Joe, what is the highest power an amateur can
transmit?”
“Ahh, that’s easy. We had that in the study guide. 1,500 watts output power,” said Joe.
“Right,” said the Old Timer. “And what kind of power level is there at the input antenna terminals of an
HF receiver?”
Joe looked confused. Power levels at a receiver input? Hadn’t they always talked about sensitivity in
microvolts? Joe spoke up, “Receivers have really low level signals coming into them. 1 microvolt or
less, right. But there’s no power there, right?”
The OT smiled. “You’re right, we do talk about receiver sensitivities in microvolts, but this can also be
expressed as a power level. You can do it using Ohm’s law and the Power formulas that you like so
much. Remember, Power equals the Voltage squared divided by the resistance. So with your 1
microvolt signal, it would be (0.000001 x 0.0000001) divided by the resistance.
“Receiver inputs have a resistance?” Joe asked.
“Yup,” the Old Timer answered, “Though we call it the input impedance of the receiver, it works the
same way as resistance in the formula, and most receivers have an input impedance of 50 ohms.”
“Hey, that’s the same as a transmitter’s output impedance,”Joe said.
“Yes, that’s right, and it will help us in our understanding when both have the same impedance,” said
the OT. “So the power level at the receiver input is (0.000001 x 0.000001) divided by 50.”
Joe pulled a scientific calculator out of his bag and punched in the numbers.
“Yikes!” said Joe. “That’s 2.0 x 10 to the minus 14th power. That would be 0.00000000000002 watts.
That’s not very big!”
“Or very easy to work with,” said the Old Timer. “Do you want to be punching that number into your
calculator all the time?”
“Heck no,”said Joe.
“So here is where decibels can be your friend. Remember that decibels express a ratio of power levels,
one to another. In radio we have standardized on a milliwatt to be a reference level, or more
specifically, a milliwatt across a 50 ohm load.”
“Like the standard input and output impedances,” said Joe.
“Correct,” said the OT. “So let’s try some different power levels. First, one milliwatt.”
“Hey, but you said that that was the standard,”Joe exclaimed.
“It is, so let’s plug that into the formula. Do you remember the formula?”
Joe pulled out his notes. “10 log P1/P2, where P1 is one power level and P2 is the other.”
“And the log refers to base ten,” the Old Timer injected.
“Right, base ten. Are there others?”Joe asked.
“Yes there are, but we only deal in base ten logs,” the OT explained.
“But if we put one milliwatt over one milliwatt, then the ratio of powers is 1. And the log of one is
zero! And ten times zero is still zero!”
“That is correct,” said the Old Timer. “You have just established your reference level. 1 milliwatt into
50 ohms = 0 dbm. See the m at the end. That means milliwatt. So any positive number means a power
level more than 1 milliwatt, and any negative number means a power level less than 1 milliwatt.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” said Joe.
“Let’s keep going. What was the maximum output power a ham can use?” asked the Old Timer.
“1500 watts,” replied Joe.
“So put that into the formula. You want the ratio of 1500 watts to 1 milliwatt.”
“Would that be 10 log 1500/1?,” asked Joe.
“No,” said the Old Timer. You have to keep them in the same units. So it should be
10 log 1500/0.001 so that both numbers are expressing watts.”
Joe punched the numbers in the calculator.
“I get 61.76,”said Joe.
“Almost right,” said the Old Timer. “But you forget to include the unit of measure. 1500 watts is equal
to 61.76 dbm. Another way you can say it is that it is roughly 62 db more powerful than a milliwatt.”
“OK, but what does that get me? I still like power levels. I can understand those,” said Joe.
“Stick with me. Now let’s look at the power level at the input of the receiver.”
“That’s tiny!” Joe looked at his notes. “That was only 0.00000000000002 watts. I have to put this
number in my calculator? I’ll be here all day.”
The Old Timer smiled. “See, working only in power levels is not always so easy. But lets do it. Put it
into the formula. 10 log 0.00000000000002/0.001”
After punching buttons for a long time, Joe exclaimed, “I can’t do it! My calculator won’t take a
number that small!”
“You’ll have to use Scientific Notation. Remember the answer you got before was 2.0 x ten to the
minus 14th power. You can enter it that way.”
They had to get the calculator’s instruction manual out to figure out how to do it.
“2.0 x ten to the minus 14th power divided by 0.001 equals 2.0 x ten to the minus 11th power. Take the
log of that and you get -10.699. And times 10, you get -106.99.” Joe was happy.
“That’s -106.99 dbm,” the Old Timer corrected.
“Oh yeah, I forgot the units.” Joe frowned. “But what good are these numbers?”
“They’re good, because they are actually at the heart of radio communication. They answer the
question, “Can I get a signal through? Let’s say you want to transmit a signal across the country. You
are using 1500 watts. At the other end is a receiver that needs at least a 1 microvolt signal for
successful reception. And you know from charts that the free space loss between here and there is 150
db (free space loss is the attenuation of the atmosphere). You can calculate success with simple math.
62 dbm Starting power output
-150 db free space loss
-88 dbm signal power at the far end
“Is this more or enough than the receiver needs?”asked the Old Timer.
“Hmmm, this is a trick,” said Joe. “The receiver needs at least -106.99 dbm. This shows -88 dbm. But
these are numbers referenced to a milliwatt. So -88 dbm is actually bigger than -106.99 dbm. So YES,
there is more than enough power to make a contact.”
Joe smiled. So did the Old Timer. Joe was catching on.
Gary Wise W4EEY - 2016
could sense that something was amiss.
“What’s wrong Joe?”the Old Timer asked.
“I just don’t understand why we need decibels, they’re so confusing,”Joe said. “Why can’t we stick to
voltage and current and power. You know, Ohm’s law stuff. That’s hard enough as it is”.
The Old Timer looked at Joe and thought for a moment before speaking. “I understand that this is new
to you, and learning anything new can be hard. But there are good reasons why decibels are used, and
they can actually be easier to use in certain circumstances. Sit down and let me explain.”
They sat down, and OT continued, “So you know that radio deals with a large range of signals, some at
very low power and some at very high power. So Joe, what is the highest power an amateur can
transmit?”
“Ahh, that’s easy. We had that in the study guide. 1,500 watts output power,” said Joe.
“Right,” said the Old Timer. “And what kind of power level is there at the input antenna terminals of an
HF receiver?”
Joe looked confused. Power levels at a receiver input? Hadn’t they always talked about sensitivity in
microvolts? Joe spoke up, “Receivers have really low level signals coming into them. 1 microvolt or
less, right. But there’s no power there, right?”
The OT smiled. “You’re right, we do talk about receiver sensitivities in microvolts, but this can also be
expressed as a power level. You can do it using Ohm’s law and the Power formulas that you like so
much. Remember, Power equals the Voltage squared divided by the resistance. So with your 1
microvolt signal, it would be (0.000001 x 0.0000001) divided by the resistance.
“Receiver inputs have a resistance?” Joe asked.
“Yup,” the Old Timer answered, “Though we call it the input impedance of the receiver, it works the
same way as resistance in the formula, and most receivers have an input impedance of 50 ohms.”
“Hey, that’s the same as a transmitter’s output impedance,”Joe said.
“Yes, that’s right, and it will help us in our understanding when both have the same impedance,” said
the OT. “So the power level at the receiver input is (0.000001 x 0.000001) divided by 50.”
Joe pulled a scientific calculator out of his bag and punched in the numbers.
“Yikes!” said Joe. “That’s 2.0 x 10 to the minus 14th power. That would be 0.00000000000002 watts.
That’s not very big!”
“Or very easy to work with,” said the Old Timer. “Do you want to be punching that number into your
calculator all the time?”
“Heck no,”said Joe.
“So here is where decibels can be your friend. Remember that decibels express a ratio of power levels,
one to another. In radio we have standardized on a milliwatt to be a reference level, or more
specifically, a milliwatt across a 50 ohm load.”
“Like the standard input and output impedances,” said Joe.
“Correct,” said the OT. “So let’s try some different power levels. First, one milliwatt.”
“Hey, but you said that that was the standard,”Joe exclaimed.
“It is, so let’s plug that into the formula. Do you remember the formula?”
Joe pulled out his notes. “10 log P1/P2, where P1 is one power level and P2 is the other.”
“And the log refers to base ten,” the Old Timer injected.
“Right, base ten. Are there others?”Joe asked.
“Yes there are, but we only deal in base ten logs,” the OT explained.
“But if we put one milliwatt over one milliwatt, then the ratio of powers is 1. And the log of one is
zero! And ten times zero is still zero!”
“That is correct,” said the Old Timer. “You have just established your reference level. 1 milliwatt into
50 ohms = 0 dbm. See the m at the end. That means milliwatt. So any positive number means a power
level more than 1 milliwatt, and any negative number means a power level less than 1 milliwatt.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” said Joe.
“Let’s keep going. What was the maximum output power a ham can use?” asked the Old Timer.
“1500 watts,” replied Joe.
“So put that into the formula. You want the ratio of 1500 watts to 1 milliwatt.”
“Would that be 10 log 1500/1?,” asked Joe.
“No,” said the Old Timer. You have to keep them in the same units. So it should be
10 log 1500/0.001 so that both numbers are expressing watts.”
Joe punched the numbers in the calculator.
“I get 61.76,”said Joe.
“Almost right,” said the Old Timer. “But you forget to include the unit of measure. 1500 watts is equal
to 61.76 dbm. Another way you can say it is that it is roughly 62 db more powerful than a milliwatt.”
“OK, but what does that get me? I still like power levels. I can understand those,” said Joe.
“Stick with me. Now let’s look at the power level at the input of the receiver.”
“That’s tiny!” Joe looked at his notes. “That was only 0.00000000000002 watts. I have to put this
number in my calculator? I’ll be here all day.”
The Old Timer smiled. “See, working only in power levels is not always so easy. But lets do it. Put it
into the formula. 10 log 0.00000000000002/0.001”
After punching buttons for a long time, Joe exclaimed, “I can’t do it! My calculator won’t take a
number that small!”
“You’ll have to use Scientific Notation. Remember the answer you got before was 2.0 x ten to the
minus 14th power. You can enter it that way.”
They had to get the calculator’s instruction manual out to figure out how to do it.
“2.0 x ten to the minus 14th power divided by 0.001 equals 2.0 x ten to the minus 11th power. Take the
log of that and you get -10.699. And times 10, you get -106.99.” Joe was happy.
“That’s -106.99 dbm,” the Old Timer corrected.
“Oh yeah, I forgot the units.” Joe frowned. “But what good are these numbers?”
“They’re good, because they are actually at the heart of radio communication. They answer the
question, “Can I get a signal through? Let’s say you want to transmit a signal across the country. You
are using 1500 watts. At the other end is a receiver that needs at least a 1 microvolt signal for
successful reception. And you know from charts that the free space loss between here and there is 150
db (free space loss is the attenuation of the atmosphere). You can calculate success with simple math.
62 dbm Starting power output
-150 db free space loss
-88 dbm signal power at the far end
“Is this more or enough than the receiver needs?”asked the Old Timer.
“Hmmm, this is a trick,” said Joe. “The receiver needs at least -106.99 dbm. This shows -88 dbm. But
these are numbers referenced to a milliwatt. So -88 dbm is actually bigger than -106.99 dbm. So YES,
there is more than enough power to make a contact.”
Joe smiled. So did the Old Timer. Joe was catching on.
Gary Wise W4EEY - 2016
EXAM TIME -- TECHNICIAN
Joe was all alone. He wished the Old Timer could be by his side, suggesting the right answers. But
instead the OT was outside, drinking coffee with the other old timers. Joe was taking his Ham Radio
exam this morning. He was more than nervous. At least he had gotten a good night’s sleep.
“Stay calm,”Joe told himself. “Take some deep breaths.” He was glad he had arrived early. The
Volunteer Examiners were friendly. They let him pick out a spot at a table in the middle of the room.
He had two forms of picture ID and cash in the correct amount to pay the Examiners. And he had his
scientific calculator (though the Old Timer had tried valiantly to teach him the art of approximation so
that he didn’t need to crunch numbers to the sixth decimal point).
The Old Timer was emphatic, “You can do this. You’ve studied all of the questions in the exam pool.
You put in the time and asked me questions. You’ve taken sample tests online. You are ready!”
Gosh, he sure hoped he was.
The Head Examiner was speaking. “Fill in all of the information on this application sheet. We will
check it and if something is missing we will ask you. Don’t worry if you mess up. We want you to
succeed today!”
Well at least they were on his side.
“Also, when you fill in the multiple choice answer sheet, make sure you darken in the square
completely using pencil. Don’t make check marks or X’s as we use those marks ourselves when
grading your exam. Are there any questions?”
Joe didn’t have any. He wanted to get this over.
Another examiner handed out the test booklet, a work sheet and his answer sheet. Joe immediately put
his name at the top of the answer sheet so he would get credit for his efforts. He also wrote down all of
the formulas he could remember on the work sheet (just in case he had a “brain fade” later on).
And there it was. The exam was before him. He looked down and immediately recognized the first
question. Maybe he could do this.
He heard the Old Timer’s voice in his head. “Take your time. If you don’t know an answer to a
question then skip over it (making sure you stay synchronized on your answer sheet). You can come
back to it later.”
What else had he said?
“Read through the entire test before answering any questions. It is quite likely that that some of the
questions may contain the answers to others. By reading through it, you can take advantage of this
fact.”
What else?
“The first answer you think of is probably correct. Many times people will go back and change their
answer only to discover they were right in the first place. And in the end, don’t leave a question
unanswered. Always answer a question, even with a guess. When in doubt, answer C.”
The test question before him had to do with frequency bands. The Old Timer had him memorize that
the 20 Meter band (wavelength) was 14 MHz (frequency). If he could remember the other bands,
great, but at least remembering this one band gave him a chance to calculate the others. Knowing that
they varied inversely meant that as one went down in value the other would go up proportionally. He
could divide 20 Meters by two and get 10 Meters while multiplying the frequency, 14MHz, by 2 giving
28 MHz. In this way he knew that 10 Meter frequencies were in the range of 28 MHz.
[Even easier: Remember that 300 divided by the frequency in MHz gives you the wavelength in
Meters.]
What else had the Old Timer said?
“Frequency is about where you tune your radio. Wavelength is about how big you build your antenna.”
So if asked how long a typical 20 Meter dipole was, Joe knew that it was one-half wavelength or ten
meters long. Converting the answer to feet gave him some trouble. But the Old Timer said to
approximate it at 3.3 ft to the meter. “You can remember 3.3 can’t you?” the Old Timer had asked.
“I guess so,” thought Joe.
The Old Timer had also reminded Joe to see the patterns in the test answers. He’d suggested that for
many of the answers, two of the four were often way off base. If the answer was looking for a
frequency in the ten meter band, the answers 14.250 MHz and 14.000 MHz were impossible. They
were just dead wrong. Some people call these answers "distractors". Knowing this simplifies the number
of possible correct answers to just two.
Joe took his time. He went back to questions he’d left blank and tried to reason through the correct
answer. In the end, he guessed at some. He knew that he would not have a perfect score. He just
needed to get 26 correct answers out of 35 questions to pass.
What was it the Old Timer had said? “What do they call the guy or gal in medical school that finishes
at the bottom of their class?” The answer, was “Doctor.”
You don’t have to get them all right to succeed.
Now go get ‘em!
Gary Wise W4EEY
instead the OT was outside, drinking coffee with the other old timers. Joe was taking his Ham Radio
exam this morning. He was more than nervous. At least he had gotten a good night’s sleep.
“Stay calm,”Joe told himself. “Take some deep breaths.” He was glad he had arrived early. The
Volunteer Examiners were friendly. They let him pick out a spot at a table in the middle of the room.
He had two forms of picture ID and cash in the correct amount to pay the Examiners. And he had his
scientific calculator (though the Old Timer had tried valiantly to teach him the art of approximation so
that he didn’t need to crunch numbers to the sixth decimal point).
The Old Timer was emphatic, “You can do this. You’ve studied all of the questions in the exam pool.
You put in the time and asked me questions. You’ve taken sample tests online. You are ready!”
Gosh, he sure hoped he was.
The Head Examiner was speaking. “Fill in all of the information on this application sheet. We will
check it and if something is missing we will ask you. Don’t worry if you mess up. We want you to
succeed today!”
Well at least they were on his side.
“Also, when you fill in the multiple choice answer sheet, make sure you darken in the square
completely using pencil. Don’t make check marks or X’s as we use those marks ourselves when
grading your exam. Are there any questions?”
Joe didn’t have any. He wanted to get this over.
Another examiner handed out the test booklet, a work sheet and his answer sheet. Joe immediately put
his name at the top of the answer sheet so he would get credit for his efforts. He also wrote down all of
the formulas he could remember on the work sheet (just in case he had a “brain fade” later on).
And there it was. The exam was before him. He looked down and immediately recognized the first
question. Maybe he could do this.
He heard the Old Timer’s voice in his head. “Take your time. If you don’t know an answer to a
question then skip over it (making sure you stay synchronized on your answer sheet). You can come
back to it later.”
What else had he said?
“Read through the entire test before answering any questions. It is quite likely that that some of the
questions may contain the answers to others. By reading through it, you can take advantage of this
fact.”
What else?
“The first answer you think of is probably correct. Many times people will go back and change their
answer only to discover they were right in the first place. And in the end, don’t leave a question
unanswered. Always answer a question, even with a guess. When in doubt, answer C.”
The test question before him had to do with frequency bands. The Old Timer had him memorize that
the 20 Meter band (wavelength) was 14 MHz (frequency). If he could remember the other bands,
great, but at least remembering this one band gave him a chance to calculate the others. Knowing that
they varied inversely meant that as one went down in value the other would go up proportionally. He
could divide 20 Meters by two and get 10 Meters while multiplying the frequency, 14MHz, by 2 giving
28 MHz. In this way he knew that 10 Meter frequencies were in the range of 28 MHz.
[Even easier: Remember that 300 divided by the frequency in MHz gives you the wavelength in
Meters.]
What else had the Old Timer said?
“Frequency is about where you tune your radio. Wavelength is about how big you build your antenna.”
So if asked how long a typical 20 Meter dipole was, Joe knew that it was one-half wavelength or ten
meters long. Converting the answer to feet gave him some trouble. But the Old Timer said to
approximate it at 3.3 ft to the meter. “You can remember 3.3 can’t you?” the Old Timer had asked.
“I guess so,” thought Joe.
The Old Timer had also reminded Joe to see the patterns in the test answers. He’d suggested that for
many of the answers, two of the four were often way off base. If the answer was looking for a
frequency in the ten meter band, the answers 14.250 MHz and 14.000 MHz were impossible. They
were just dead wrong. Some people call these answers "distractors". Knowing this simplifies the number
of possible correct answers to just two.
Joe took his time. He went back to questions he’d left blank and tried to reason through the correct
answer. In the end, he guessed at some. He knew that he would not have a perfect score. He just
needed to get 26 correct answers out of 35 questions to pass.
What was it the Old Timer had said? “What do they call the guy or gal in medical school that finishes
at the bottom of their class?” The answer, was “Doctor.”
You don’t have to get them all right to succeed.
Now go get ‘em!
Gary Wise W4EEY
EXAM TIME -- GENERAL
Joe was all alone. He wished the Old Timer could be by his side, suggesting the right answers. But
instead the OT was outside, drinking coffee with the other old timers. Joe was taking his Ham Radio
exam this morning. He was more than nervous. At least he had gotten a good night’s sleep.
It was funny. He wasn’t this nervous taking the Technician exam about a year ago. Back then he’d had
no expectations. If he passed, great. If not, he’d just try again later. But now he had expectations. He
was expected to pass, by himself and others. And it was freaking him out.
“Stay calm,”Joe told himself. “Take some deep breaths.” He was glad he had arrived early. The
Volunteer Examiners were friendly. They let him pick out a spot at a table in the middle of the room.
He’d remembered to bring a copy of his current license which also had his FRN number. For the
Technician exam he’s used his Social Security number, but now the FRN was required. He had two
forms of picture ID and cash in the correct amount to pay the Examiners. And he had his scientific
calculator (though the Old Timer had tried valiantly to teach him the art of approximation so that he
didn’t need to crunch numbers to the sixth decimal point).
The Old Timer was emphatic, “You can do this. You’ve studied all 456 questions in the exam pool.
You put in the time and asked me questions. You’ve taken sample tests online. You are ready!”
Gosh, he sure hoped he was.
The Head Examiner was speaking. “Fill in all of the information on this application sheet. We will
check it and if something is missing we will ask you. Don’t worry if you mess up. We want you to
succeed today!”
Well at least they were on his side.
“Also, when you fill in the multiple choice answer sheet, make sure you darken in the square
completely using pencil. Don’t make check marks or X’s as we use those marks ourselves when
grading your exam. Are there any questions?”
Joe didn’t have any. He wanted to get this over.
Another examiner handed out the test booklet, a work sheet and his answer sheet. Joe immediately put
his name and call sign at the top of the answer sheet so he would get credit for his efforts. He also
wrote down all of the formulas he could remember on the work sheet (just in case he had a “brain fade”
later on).
And there it was. The exam was before him. He looked down and immediately recognized the first
question. Maybe he could do this.
He heard the Old Timer’s voice in his head. “Take your time. If you don’t know an answer to a
question then skip over it (making sure you stay synchronized on your answer sheet). You can come
back to it later.”
What else had he said?
“Read through the entire test before answering any questions. It is quite likely that that some of the
questions may contain the answers to others. By reading through it, you can take advantage of this
fact.”
What else?
“The first answer you think of is probably correct. Many times people will go back and change their
answer only to discover they were right in the first place. And in the end, don’t leave a question
unanswered. Always answer a question, even with a guess. When in doubt, answer C.”
The test question before him had to do with frequency bands. The Old Timer had him memorize that
the 20 Meter band (wavelength) was 14 MHz (frequency). If he could remember the other bands,
great, but at least remembering this one band gave him a chance to calculate the others. Knowing that
they varied inversely meant that as one went down in value the other would go up proportionally. He
could divide 20 Meters by two and get 10 Meters while multiplying the frequency, 14MHz, by 2 giving
28 MHz. In this way he knew that 10 Meter frequencies were in the range of 28 MHz.
[Even easier: Remember that 300 divided by the frequency in MHz gives you the wavelength in
Meters.]
What else had the Old Timer said?
“Frequency is about where you tune your radio. Wavelength is about how big you build your antenna.”
So if asked how long a typical 20 Meter dipole was, Joe knew that it was one-half wavelength or ten
meters long. Converting the answer to feet gave him some trouble. But the Old Timer said to
approximate it at 3.3 ft to the meter. “You can remember 3.3 can’t you?” the Old Timer had asked.
“I guess so,” thought Joe.
The Old Timer had also reminded Joe to see the patterns in the test answers. He’d suggested that for
many of the answers, two of the four were often way off base. If the answer was looking for a
frequency in the ten meter band, the answers 14.250 MHz and 14.000 MHz were impossible. They
were just dead wrong. Some people call these answers distractors. Knowing this simplifies the number
of possible correct answers to just two.
Joe took his time. He went back to questions he’d left blank and tried to reason through the correct
answer. In the end, he guessed at some. He knew that he would not have a perfect score. He just
needed to get 26 correct answers out of 35 questions to pass.
What was it the Old Timer had said? “What do they call the guy or gal in medical school that finishes
at the bottom of their class?” The answer, was “Doctor.”
You don’t have to get them all right to succeed.
Now go get ‘em!
Gary Wise W4EEY
instead the OT was outside, drinking coffee with the other old timers. Joe was taking his Ham Radio
exam this morning. He was more than nervous. At least he had gotten a good night’s sleep.
It was funny. He wasn’t this nervous taking the Technician exam about a year ago. Back then he’d had
no expectations. If he passed, great. If not, he’d just try again later. But now he had expectations. He
was expected to pass, by himself and others. And it was freaking him out.
“Stay calm,”Joe told himself. “Take some deep breaths.” He was glad he had arrived early. The
Volunteer Examiners were friendly. They let him pick out a spot at a table in the middle of the room.
He’d remembered to bring a copy of his current license which also had his FRN number. For the
Technician exam he’s used his Social Security number, but now the FRN was required. He had two
forms of picture ID and cash in the correct amount to pay the Examiners. And he had his scientific
calculator (though the Old Timer had tried valiantly to teach him the art of approximation so that he
didn’t need to crunch numbers to the sixth decimal point).
The Old Timer was emphatic, “You can do this. You’ve studied all 456 questions in the exam pool.
You put in the time and asked me questions. You’ve taken sample tests online. You are ready!”
Gosh, he sure hoped he was.
The Head Examiner was speaking. “Fill in all of the information on this application sheet. We will
check it and if something is missing we will ask you. Don’t worry if you mess up. We want you to
succeed today!”
Well at least they were on his side.
“Also, when you fill in the multiple choice answer sheet, make sure you darken in the square
completely using pencil. Don’t make check marks or X’s as we use those marks ourselves when
grading your exam. Are there any questions?”
Joe didn’t have any. He wanted to get this over.
Another examiner handed out the test booklet, a work sheet and his answer sheet. Joe immediately put
his name and call sign at the top of the answer sheet so he would get credit for his efforts. He also
wrote down all of the formulas he could remember on the work sheet (just in case he had a “brain fade”
later on).
And there it was. The exam was before him. He looked down and immediately recognized the first
question. Maybe he could do this.
He heard the Old Timer’s voice in his head. “Take your time. If you don’t know an answer to a
question then skip over it (making sure you stay synchronized on your answer sheet). You can come
back to it later.”
What else had he said?
“Read through the entire test before answering any questions. It is quite likely that that some of the
questions may contain the answers to others. By reading through it, you can take advantage of this
fact.”
What else?
“The first answer you think of is probably correct. Many times people will go back and change their
answer only to discover they were right in the first place. And in the end, don’t leave a question
unanswered. Always answer a question, even with a guess. When in doubt, answer C.”
The test question before him had to do with frequency bands. The Old Timer had him memorize that
the 20 Meter band (wavelength) was 14 MHz (frequency). If he could remember the other bands,
great, but at least remembering this one band gave him a chance to calculate the others. Knowing that
they varied inversely meant that as one went down in value the other would go up proportionally. He
could divide 20 Meters by two and get 10 Meters while multiplying the frequency, 14MHz, by 2 giving
28 MHz. In this way he knew that 10 Meter frequencies were in the range of 28 MHz.
[Even easier: Remember that 300 divided by the frequency in MHz gives you the wavelength in
Meters.]
What else had the Old Timer said?
“Frequency is about where you tune your radio. Wavelength is about how big you build your antenna.”
So if asked how long a typical 20 Meter dipole was, Joe knew that it was one-half wavelength or ten
meters long. Converting the answer to feet gave him some trouble. But the Old Timer said to
approximate it at 3.3 ft to the meter. “You can remember 3.3 can’t you?” the Old Timer had asked.
“I guess so,” thought Joe.
The Old Timer had also reminded Joe to see the patterns in the test answers. He’d suggested that for
many of the answers, two of the four were often way off base. If the answer was looking for a
frequency in the ten meter band, the answers 14.250 MHz and 14.000 MHz were impossible. They
were just dead wrong. Some people call these answers distractors. Knowing this simplifies the number
of possible correct answers to just two.
Joe took his time. He went back to questions he’d left blank and tried to reason through the correct
answer. In the end, he guessed at some. He knew that he would not have a perfect score. He just
needed to get 26 correct answers out of 35 questions to pass.
What was it the Old Timer had said? “What do they call the guy or gal in medical school that finishes
at the bottom of their class?” The answer, was “Doctor.”
You don’t have to get them all right to succeed.
Now go get ‘em!
Gary Wise W4EEY
EXAM TIME -- EXTRA
Joe was all alone. He wished the Old Timer could be by his side, suggesting the right answers. But
instead the OT was outside, drinking coffee with the other old timers. Joe was taking his Ham Radio
exam this morning. He was more than nervous. At least he had gotten a good night’s sleep.
It was funny. He wasn’t this nervous taking the General exam about a year ago. Back then he’d had no
expectations. If he passed, great. If not, he’d just try again later. But now he had expectations. He
was expected to pass, by himself and others. And it was freaking him out.
“Stay calm,”Joe told himself. “Take some deep breaths.” He was glad he had arrived early. The
Volunteer Examiners were friendly. They let him pick out a spot at a table in the middle of the room.
He’d remembered to bring a copy of his current license which also had his FRN number. For the
Technician exam he’s used his Social Security number, but now the FRN was required. He had two
forms of picture ID and cash in the correct amount to pay the Examiners. And he had his scientific
calculator (though the Old Timer had tried valiantly to teach him the art of approximation so that he
didn’t need to crunch numbers to the sixth decimal point).
The Old Timer was emphatic, “You can do this. You’ve studied all the questions in the exam pool.
You put in the time and asked me questions. You’ve taken sample tests online. You are ready!”
Gosh, he sure hoped he was.
The Head Examiner was speaking. “Fill in all of the information on this application sheet. We will
check it and if something is missing we will ask you. Don’t worry if you mess up. We want you to
succeed today!”
Well at least they were on his side.
“Also, when you fill in the multiple choice answer sheet, make sure you darken in the square
completely using pencil. Don’t make check marks or X’s as we use those marks ourselves when
grading your exam. Are there any questions?”
Joe didn’t have any. He wanted to get this over.
Another examiner handed out the test booklet, a work sheet and his answer sheet. Joe immediately put
his name and call sign at the top of the answer sheet so he would get credit for his efforts. He also
wrote down all of the formulas he could remember on the work sheet (just in case he had a “brain fade”
later on).
And there it was. The exam was before him. He looked down and immediately recognized the first
question. Maybe he could do this.
He heard the Old Timer’s voice in his head. “Take your time. If you don’t know an answer to a
question then skip over it (making sure you stay synchronized on your answer sheet). You can come
back to it later.” Joe had brought a ruler to place on the answer sheet so he wouldn’t lose his place.
What else had the OT said?
“Read through the entire test before answering any questions. It is quite likely that that some of the
questions may contain the answers to others. By reading through it, you can take advantage of this
fact.”
What else?
“The first answer you think of is probably correct. Many times people will go back and change their
answer only to discover they were right in the first place. And in the end, don’t leave a question
unanswered. Always answer a question, even with a guess. When in doubt, answer C.”
The test question before him had to do with frequency bands. The Old Timer had him memorize that
the 20 Meter band (wavelength) was 14 MHz (frequency). If he could remember the other bands,
great, but at least remembering this one band gave him a chance to calculate the others. Knowing that
they varied inversely meant that as one went down in value the other would go up proportionally. He
could divide 20 Meters by two and get 10 Meters while multiplying the frequency, 14MHz, by 2 giving
28 MHz. In this way he knew that 10 Meter frequencies were in the range of 28 MHz.
[Even easier: Remember that 300 divided by the frequency in MHz gives you the wavelength in
Meters.]
What else had the Old Timer said?
“Frequency is about where you tune your radio. Wavelength is about how big you build your antenna.”
So if asked how long a typical 20 Meter dipole was, Joe knew that it was one-half wavelength or ten
meters long. Converting the answer to feet gave him some trouble. But the Old Timer said to
approximate it at 3.3 ft to the meter. “You can remember 3.3 can’t you?” the Old Timer had asked.
“I guess so,” thought Joe.
The Old Timer had also reminded Joe to see the patterns in the test answers. He’d suggested that for
many of the answers, two of the four were often way off base. If the answer was looking for a
frequency in the ten meter band, the answers 14.250 MHz and 14.000 MHz were impossible. They
were just dead wrong. Some people call these answers "distractors". Knowing this simplifies the number
of possible correct answers to just two.
Joe took his time. He went back to questions he’d left blank and tried to reason through the correct
answer. In the end, he guessed at some. He knew that he would not have a perfect score. He just
needed to get 37 correct answers out of 50 questions to pass.
What was it the Old Timer had said? “What do they call the guy or gal in medical school that finishes
at the bottom of their class?” The answer, was “Doctor.”
You don’t have to get them all right to succeed!
Now go get ‘em!
Gary Wise W4EEY
instead the OT was outside, drinking coffee with the other old timers. Joe was taking his Ham Radio
exam this morning. He was more than nervous. At least he had gotten a good night’s sleep.
It was funny. He wasn’t this nervous taking the General exam about a year ago. Back then he’d had no
expectations. If he passed, great. If not, he’d just try again later. But now he had expectations. He
was expected to pass, by himself and others. And it was freaking him out.
“Stay calm,”Joe told himself. “Take some deep breaths.” He was glad he had arrived early. The
Volunteer Examiners were friendly. They let him pick out a spot at a table in the middle of the room.
He’d remembered to bring a copy of his current license which also had his FRN number. For the
Technician exam he’s used his Social Security number, but now the FRN was required. He had two
forms of picture ID and cash in the correct amount to pay the Examiners. And he had his scientific
calculator (though the Old Timer had tried valiantly to teach him the art of approximation so that he
didn’t need to crunch numbers to the sixth decimal point).
The Old Timer was emphatic, “You can do this. You’ve studied all the questions in the exam pool.
You put in the time and asked me questions. You’ve taken sample tests online. You are ready!”
Gosh, he sure hoped he was.
The Head Examiner was speaking. “Fill in all of the information on this application sheet. We will
check it and if something is missing we will ask you. Don’t worry if you mess up. We want you to
succeed today!”
Well at least they were on his side.
“Also, when you fill in the multiple choice answer sheet, make sure you darken in the square
completely using pencil. Don’t make check marks or X’s as we use those marks ourselves when
grading your exam. Are there any questions?”
Joe didn’t have any. He wanted to get this over.
Another examiner handed out the test booklet, a work sheet and his answer sheet. Joe immediately put
his name and call sign at the top of the answer sheet so he would get credit for his efforts. He also
wrote down all of the formulas he could remember on the work sheet (just in case he had a “brain fade”
later on).
And there it was. The exam was before him. He looked down and immediately recognized the first
question. Maybe he could do this.
He heard the Old Timer’s voice in his head. “Take your time. If you don’t know an answer to a
question then skip over it (making sure you stay synchronized on your answer sheet). You can come
back to it later.” Joe had brought a ruler to place on the answer sheet so he wouldn’t lose his place.
What else had the OT said?
“Read through the entire test before answering any questions. It is quite likely that that some of the
questions may contain the answers to others. By reading through it, you can take advantage of this
fact.”
What else?
“The first answer you think of is probably correct. Many times people will go back and change their
answer only to discover they were right in the first place. And in the end, don’t leave a question
unanswered. Always answer a question, even with a guess. When in doubt, answer C.”
The test question before him had to do with frequency bands. The Old Timer had him memorize that
the 20 Meter band (wavelength) was 14 MHz (frequency). If he could remember the other bands,
great, but at least remembering this one band gave him a chance to calculate the others. Knowing that
they varied inversely meant that as one went down in value the other would go up proportionally. He
could divide 20 Meters by two and get 10 Meters while multiplying the frequency, 14MHz, by 2 giving
28 MHz. In this way he knew that 10 Meter frequencies were in the range of 28 MHz.
[Even easier: Remember that 300 divided by the frequency in MHz gives you the wavelength in
Meters.]
What else had the Old Timer said?
“Frequency is about where you tune your radio. Wavelength is about how big you build your antenna.”
So if asked how long a typical 20 Meter dipole was, Joe knew that it was one-half wavelength or ten
meters long. Converting the answer to feet gave him some trouble. But the Old Timer said to
approximate it at 3.3 ft to the meter. “You can remember 3.3 can’t you?” the Old Timer had asked.
“I guess so,” thought Joe.
The Old Timer had also reminded Joe to see the patterns in the test answers. He’d suggested that for
many of the answers, two of the four were often way off base. If the answer was looking for a
frequency in the ten meter band, the answers 14.250 MHz and 14.000 MHz were impossible. They
were just dead wrong. Some people call these answers "distractors". Knowing this simplifies the number
of possible correct answers to just two.
Joe took his time. He went back to questions he’d left blank and tried to reason through the correct
answer. In the end, he guessed at some. He knew that he would not have a perfect score. He just
needed to get 37 correct answers out of 50 questions to pass.
What was it the Old Timer had said? “What do they call the guy or gal in medical school that finishes
at the bottom of their class?” The answer, was “Doctor.”
You don’t have to get them all right to succeed!
Now go get ‘em!
Gary Wise W4EEY
IT'S THE LAW
Joe was trying to like Ohm’s Law. He really was. He knew that it was fundamental to the understanding of electricity. But memorizing formulas was just not his “thing”.
The Old Timer had shown him the triangle with E at the top and I R at the bottom. The OT said, “Just cover the thing you want to find with your thumb and you’ll have the equation that you need.” But remembering that E meant volts and that I meant current added further confusion to the process.
The Old Timer was certainly patient. He’d explained that E stood for Electric Potential or Electromotive Force and that I had to do with the French phrase intensité de courant, meaning current intensity. R was self-explanatory – resistance. He’d further explained to Joe that Ohm’s Law was a scientific law based on repeated experimental observations. It had stood the test of time.
“You might be over thinking this,” the Old Timer told Joe. “The equations are not that hard. Simple multiplication or division, that’s all.”
Joe agreed.
“Let’s try a few problems and see if we can’t get you more comfortable with the process,” the OT said in a kindly voice.
“So if you have a current of 10 amps flowing through a resistor of 10 ohms, what will be the voltage across the resistor?” the Old Timer asked.
Joe drew the circle, putting E at the top and I R next to each other on the bottom. Then he covered the E with his thumb as he’d be taught.
“This leaves I and R next to each other. I guess this is the same as I times R. So 10 amps times 10 ohms equals 100 volts, right?” Joe asked, not really sure.
“Correct!” said the OT proudly. “So what if we keep I at 10 amps and double R to 20 ohms?”
Joe pondered this for a moment. “It’s still the same equation. So I times R, or 10 times 20 equals 200.”
“Volts,” said the OT. “The answer isn’t complete without the unit of measure.”
“200 volts,” Joe corrected himself.
“Correct!” said the mentor. “And what this tells you is that it takes a force of 100 volts to push 10 amps of current through a 10 ohm resistor, and it takes twice the amount of force, or 200 volts, to push the same amount of current through a 20 ohm resistor.”
Joe was beginning to understand.
“So tell me the resistance of a resistor that has a voltage of 25 volts across it and a current of 2 amps running through it.”
Joe went back to his circle. This time he covered the R with his thumb.
“This leaves E on top of I which I guess is the same as E divided by I. So that means 25 volts divided by 2 amps. 12.5 volts?” Joe was unsure.
“Correct again,” said a smiling OT. “You see, this is really not that bad. Nothing to be afraid of.”
Joe was feeling better. But then a thought occurred to him.
“What about the Power Formula?” He asked the Old Timer. “There’s that circle with P on the top and I E on the bottom. Does it work the same?”
“Exactly the same as with Ohm’s Law. You are just looking at the relationship between Power (P), Current (I) and Voltage (E).”
“But our teacher had a slide with a bigger circle that showed a bunch of other formulas. He said they were all derived from Ohm’s Law and the Power Law circles. I remember one said P equals I squared R. We have to know squares of numbers too?” Joe was beginning to worry again.
The Old Timer just laughed. He knew the slide that Joe was talking about.
“Joe,” the OT said, “It is just a matter of substitution and multiplication. Think of it this way. P equals I time E from the Power Formula. And E equals I times R from Ohm’s Law, right?”
Joe looked at his circles and confirmed that what the Old Timer said was true.
“Right,” Joe replied.
“So we can then say that P equals I times the expression for E found in Ohm’s Law, or P equals I times I times R.”
“And I times I is the same as I squared,” Joe stated.
“You got it. You can use the two circles and substitution to come up with any special equation that you might need.”
Joe nodded his head. This might not be so bad after all
Gary Wise W4EEY
KEEPING A LOG
“So, should I keep a log?” Joe asked the Old Timer. They were enjoying another bull session at the
local coffee shop. Joe was just starting out on the HF bands and things were different from what he was
used to.
“Absolutely!” replied the Old Timer. “You should keep a record of every contact that you make on the
High Frequencies. On HF your contacts are usually point to point. You are talking directly to the other
ham’s radio. Its not like using your HT and talking through a repeater. And you know that logging
transmissions used to be required by the FCC.” The Old Timer’s gaze drifted upwards as he thought of
the old times.
“But if I don’t have to, why would I want to?” said Joe, thinking about taking the easy way.
“Why do you want to work HF?” the OT asked his friend.
“To work other countries!” was Joe’s immediate reply.
“And how will you know how many countries you have worked and on what bands?”
Oh oh, Joe thought. He has me there.
“But writing all of the information down in a log book is a pain,” Joe continued to stall.
“Who said anything about writing things in a book?” the Old Timer responded. “You do have a
computer in your shack don’t you?”
“Sure,”said Joe.
“There are a number of good Amateur Radio logging programs available for most every operating
system,” said the OT. “Some are free and some you have to pay for.”
“So what is the best logging software?”
“Ah, that is a question akin to asking, what is the best religion or who is the prettiest girl,” replied the
Old Timer. “Every ham has his own preferences. The thing is to pick something that works for you in
your situation. The good thing is that your new radio is easy to connect up to your computer.”
“Why would I want to connect my radio to my computer?” Joe was not very computer savvy. He
remembered how hard it was to get his WiFi printer to work correctly. Hooking up to a radio could be a
nightmare.
“Well, think how nice it would be if the log filled out itself,” said the Old Timer.
“What do you mean?” asked Joe.
“Well, the log has a number of fields that record the frequency of operation, the mode, the power and
so forth. If the logging software talks to your radio it can gather this information automatically.”
Well that sounded good to Joe. Less work.
“Another good thing about most logging software is the ability to connect to the Internet,” noted the
Old Timer.
“Why is that?” asked Joe.
“One thing is the ability to look up call signs kept in online databases. If you hear DL1QQ calling CQ
on twenty meters and type the call sign into your logging software it can go out on the Internet and fill
in the fields for Name, Country, Location and even tell you if they are members of Logbook of the
World.”
“Logbook of the what…?” Joe was not sure he understood.
“You do understand that you only get official credit for stations worked and confirmed, for awards and
bragging rights, don’t you?”
“Confirmed? How do you confirm a contact with another station?” Joe was beginning to see more work
ahead.
“In the old times,” the Old Timer gazed upwards again, “We sent postcards called QSL cards to stations
that we worked. And in turn, the other station sent us their QSL card. In that way we confirmed the
contact was made.”
“Do you still do that?” asked Joe.
“Sometimes, if its a confirmation that I really need. But nowadays there is online confirmation using
the Logbook of the World.”
“What is that?”
“Logbook of the World, or LOTW as it is sometimes called, is a secure online database administered by
the ARRL. After you have an LOTW account you can use your logging software to upload a copy of
your current logbook to LOTW. If the other ham, say DL1QQ, uploads her log to LOTW, the two
submissions can be compared and matched. And if they match, you get credit for the contact. It is
confirmed online.”
“Her?” Joe blurted. “DL1QQ is a girl?”
“You bet! Sandy is a world class Dxer and Contester. You can be sure that she keeps her logs on a
computer and uploads regularly to LOTW.”
Joe could see that he was going to be installing a logbook program and interfacing his computer with
his radio. It was a good thing that the Old Timer was there to help.
And he wondered if he would ever hear DL1QQ on the bands?
Gary Wise W4EEY
local coffee shop. Joe was just starting out on the HF bands and things were different from what he was
used to.
“Absolutely!” replied the Old Timer. “You should keep a record of every contact that you make on the
High Frequencies. On HF your contacts are usually point to point. You are talking directly to the other
ham’s radio. Its not like using your HT and talking through a repeater. And you know that logging
transmissions used to be required by the FCC.” The Old Timer’s gaze drifted upwards as he thought of
the old times.
“But if I don’t have to, why would I want to?” said Joe, thinking about taking the easy way.
“Why do you want to work HF?” the OT asked his friend.
“To work other countries!” was Joe’s immediate reply.
“And how will you know how many countries you have worked and on what bands?”
Oh oh, Joe thought. He has me there.
“But writing all of the information down in a log book is a pain,” Joe continued to stall.
“Who said anything about writing things in a book?” the Old Timer responded. “You do have a
computer in your shack don’t you?”
“Sure,”said Joe.
“There are a number of good Amateur Radio logging programs available for most every operating
system,” said the OT. “Some are free and some you have to pay for.”
“So what is the best logging software?”
“Ah, that is a question akin to asking, what is the best religion or who is the prettiest girl,” replied the
Old Timer. “Every ham has his own preferences. The thing is to pick something that works for you in
your situation. The good thing is that your new radio is easy to connect up to your computer.”
“Why would I want to connect my radio to my computer?” Joe was not very computer savvy. He
remembered how hard it was to get his WiFi printer to work correctly. Hooking up to a radio could be a
nightmare.
“Well, think how nice it would be if the log filled out itself,” said the Old Timer.
“What do you mean?” asked Joe.
“Well, the log has a number of fields that record the frequency of operation, the mode, the power and
so forth. If the logging software talks to your radio it can gather this information automatically.”
Well that sounded good to Joe. Less work.
“Another good thing about most logging software is the ability to connect to the Internet,” noted the
Old Timer.
“Why is that?” asked Joe.
“One thing is the ability to look up call signs kept in online databases. If you hear DL1QQ calling CQ
on twenty meters and type the call sign into your logging software it can go out on the Internet and fill
in the fields for Name, Country, Location and even tell you if they are members of Logbook of the
World.”
“Logbook of the what…?” Joe was not sure he understood.
“You do understand that you only get official credit for stations worked and confirmed, for awards and
bragging rights, don’t you?”
“Confirmed? How do you confirm a contact with another station?” Joe was beginning to see more work
ahead.
“In the old times,” the Old Timer gazed upwards again, “We sent postcards called QSL cards to stations
that we worked. And in turn, the other station sent us their QSL card. In that way we confirmed the
contact was made.”
“Do you still do that?” asked Joe.
“Sometimes, if its a confirmation that I really need. But nowadays there is online confirmation using
the Logbook of the World.”
“What is that?”
“Logbook of the World, or LOTW as it is sometimes called, is a secure online database administered by
the ARRL. After you have an LOTW account you can use your logging software to upload a copy of
your current logbook to LOTW. If the other ham, say DL1QQ, uploads her log to LOTW, the two
submissions can be compared and matched. And if they match, you get credit for the contact. It is
confirmed online.”
“Her?” Joe blurted. “DL1QQ is a girl?”
“You bet! Sandy is a world class Dxer and Contester. You can be sure that she keeps her logs on a
computer and uploads regularly to LOTW.”
Joe could see that he was going to be installing a logbook program and interfacing his computer with
his radio. It was a good thing that the Old Timer was there to help.
And he wondered if he would ever hear DL1QQ on the bands?
Gary Wise W4EEY
NO REGRETS
Joe walked into the classroom and found a seat at the back. Here he was going back to Ham Radio
class for the third and hopefully final time. He’d made it through Technician OK. The General class
that followed was much harder and took him considerably more effort to get through. Now here he
was, reaching for the last rung on the ladder, the Amateur Extra Class.
His Elmer, the Old Timer, had encouraged him. No that wasn’t right. He had insisted!
Joe was reluctant because he didn’t see such a big difference in the privileges between General and
Extra as there had been between Technician and General.
With the OT’s help, Joe had set up a pretty effective HF station and was working DX regularly. He’d
achieved DXCC within the first six months. He enjoyed the hobby and the people in it. And it still
thrilled him to hear his call sign come back from a distant station.
“So why should I go through the trouble of this final upgrade?” Joe had asked.
The Old Timer put the answer plainly.
“You won’t feel complete until you get this done,” stated the Old Timer.
“First of all, you know that the best DX is to be found in the Advanced and Extra portions of the HF
bands. Until you upgrade, these frequencies are off limits.”
Joe had to agree. A recent Dxpedition stayed only in the Advanced portion of 20 Meters (his favorite
band). They never moved up into the General class segment at all. They didn’t have to. The pile ups
were immense. Joe could only listen with frustration and a rare DX opportunity was lost.
“Second,” the Old Timer continued, “You know how to operate but you still don’t know the why
behind it.”
Joe had to agree again. He knew how to adjust his antenna tuner in order for his transceiver to output
full power for example, but exactly why it all worked was still a bit foggy.
“Third,” the OT went on, “If you don’t do it it you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
Joe had gulped at that one. Heavy. A lifelong regret? Wow.
But the more Joe thought about it, the more he realized that the Old Timer was right (wasn’t he
always!). The Amateur Extra class would be hard. It would be confusing. It would be frustrating. There
was so much more to learn. Just lifting the thick course book told him that. But if he didn’t at least try
he would regret it, never knowing if he could have made the grade.
And the Old Timer had reminded him, “Don’t be afraid, the instructors are on your side! They want
you to succeed. They will do their part to present the information that you need. You just have to do
your part to pick it up. And you also have me to help you through any rough spots.”
So Joe had signed up. As he looked around the classroom he was reminded of something else the Old
Timer had said.
“Amateur radio is not just a hobby, it is an adventure. Something that someone sets out to do with no
guarantee of success,” the Old Timer explained. “We do things and understand things that others can’t
comprehend.”
“Some people climb mountains, some people run marathons. Radio guys and gals set out to be the best
that they can be. Some of this happens in the field and some in the classroom. So be an adventurer! You
can do it!”
Joe figured he was about to find out if he really could.
Gary Wise W4EEY
class for the third and hopefully final time. He’d made it through Technician OK. The General class
that followed was much harder and took him considerably more effort to get through. Now here he
was, reaching for the last rung on the ladder, the Amateur Extra Class.
His Elmer, the Old Timer, had encouraged him. No that wasn’t right. He had insisted!
Joe was reluctant because he didn’t see such a big difference in the privileges between General and
Extra as there had been between Technician and General.
With the OT’s help, Joe had set up a pretty effective HF station and was working DX regularly. He’d
achieved DXCC within the first six months. He enjoyed the hobby and the people in it. And it still
thrilled him to hear his call sign come back from a distant station.
“So why should I go through the trouble of this final upgrade?” Joe had asked.
The Old Timer put the answer plainly.
“You won’t feel complete until you get this done,” stated the Old Timer.
“First of all, you know that the best DX is to be found in the Advanced and Extra portions of the HF
bands. Until you upgrade, these frequencies are off limits.”
Joe had to agree. A recent Dxpedition stayed only in the Advanced portion of 20 Meters (his favorite
band). They never moved up into the General class segment at all. They didn’t have to. The pile ups
were immense. Joe could only listen with frustration and a rare DX opportunity was lost.
“Second,” the Old Timer continued, “You know how to operate but you still don’t know the why
behind it.”
Joe had to agree again. He knew how to adjust his antenna tuner in order for his transceiver to output
full power for example, but exactly why it all worked was still a bit foggy.
“Third,” the OT went on, “If you don’t do it it you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
Joe had gulped at that one. Heavy. A lifelong regret? Wow.
But the more Joe thought about it, the more he realized that the Old Timer was right (wasn’t he
always!). The Amateur Extra class would be hard. It would be confusing. It would be frustrating. There
was so much more to learn. Just lifting the thick course book told him that. But if he didn’t at least try
he would regret it, never knowing if he could have made the grade.
And the Old Timer had reminded him, “Don’t be afraid, the instructors are on your side! They want
you to succeed. They will do their part to present the information that you need. You just have to do
your part to pick it up. And you also have me to help you through any rough spots.”
So Joe had signed up. As he looked around the classroom he was reminded of something else the Old
Timer had said.
“Amateur radio is not just a hobby, it is an adventure. Something that someone sets out to do with no
guarantee of success,” the Old Timer explained. “We do things and understand things that others can’t
comprehend.”
“Some people climb mountains, some people run marathons. Radio guys and gals set out to be the best
that they can be. Some of this happens in the field and some in the classroom. So be an adventurer! You
can do it!”
Joe figured he was about to find out if he really could.
Gary Wise W4EEY
REACTANCE AND IMPEDANCE
Joe walked into the Old Timer’s garage carrying a cardboard box.
“What do you have there?” the Old Timer asked.
“I have these old speakers and I want to see if one of them will work with my new radio,” Joe
answered. “The radio manual says that the speaker used should have an 8 Ohm impedance, but I can’t
see any writing on any of these speakers. Can we just measure them with an ohmmeter?”
The Old Timer smiled. “Yes we can, but before we do I think we’d better talk about impedance so that
we are clear on a few points.”
Joe groaned. Here comes another lesson, he thought.
“First, what is impedance and how does it differ from resistance?” the Old Timer asked Joe.
Joe scratched his head. “Well, as I recall, resistance is the opposition to direct current flow in a circuit
and impedance is the opposition to AC current. Is that right?”
“Well, almost,” said the OT. “Resistance will oppose the flow of DC current like you said. But it also
opposes the flow of AC current just the same. A resistor acts the same in a DC or AC circuit.”
“So how is that different than impedance?” Joe asked, thinking if he kept the old man talking he
wouldn’t have to answer any more questions.
“Before I answer that, let me point out that in a resistor, the amplitude of the voltage across, and the
current through the resistor, are what we call “in-phase”. That means as the voltage goes up, the
current goes up. As the voltage goes down, the current goes down.”
Joe thought about that for a moment. “So you mean if I apply a DC voltage to a resistor and measure
the current, and then increase the voltage, I will see an increased current?”
“Yes, that’s part of it. But think about an AC voltage, a sine wave specifically,” said the Old Timer.
“An AC signal is always changing in amplitude. So as the AC voltage goes up to the peak of the sine
wave, the current in a resistor will go up too. Voltage peaks and current peaks will happen at exactly
the same time.”
“Well, that’s logical. You’d need a time machine to change one or the other,” said Joe.
“A time machine might be a bit off track here. So tell me, what makes up impedance?” asked the OT.
Drat, Joe thought. Another question. He stalled for time trying to think of the answer. But it wouldn’t
come. “I’m not sure,” Joe answered.
“OK,” said the Old Timer, “Impedance has two parts. Resistance is one of them. And the other comes
when you add either a capacitor or an inductor, or both to the resistance. So what do we call the
opposition to AC current flow in either a capacitor or an inductor?”
“Hmmm...it starts with R doesn’t it?”Joe answered.
“Yes it does,” said the OT, “But I’m surprised at your reaction to the question?”
“My reaction?”Joe was confused.
“Yup,” said the Old Timer. “And that was a hint by the way.”
Joe was puzzled for a moment, then it hit him. React! “I know, Reactance!”
“You got it,”said the OT. A capacitor and an inductor react to flow of AC current in different ways.
Different from each other and different than a resistor. The opposition to AC current flow in either a
capacitor or inductor is called reactance, and is measured in Ohms.”
“The same Ohms as on an ohmmeter?” Joe asked.
“Well, no,” said the Old Timer. “The reason for the difference is that both a capacitor and inductor
have the ability to briefly store energy when current starts to flow into them. Come over to the
whiteboard,” directed the OT.
“Let’s look at the inductor first,” said OT. He drew an inductor coil on the whiteboard. “You see, when
current starts to flow into an inductor, nothing comes out the other end for a brief period of time.”
Joe looked confused. “Where does it go?” he asked.
“It is used by the coil to first build up a magnetic field around the coil. After the field builds up, then
current will start to flow out of the inductor. The pressure (voltage) is on the coil from the start. But
current flow lags the voltage because of the time it takes to build the magnetic field. If you apply a sine
wave AC voltage to the inductor, the voltage peak and the current peaks will happen at different times
because of the building of the magnetic field and the collapsing of the field in the opposite direction as
the sine wave changes polarity.”
“So it’s a time machine for electricity!” exclaimed Joe. “So what about a capacitor? It doesn’t generate
a magnetic field does it?”
“No,” said the Old Timer. “It stores energy in an electrostatic field. In a capacitor, current flows
immediately through it when the circuit is closed. Current flows until all of the electrons are pushed
away from one of its plates by the charge on the opposite plate. Then current will diminish and the
voltage at the input of the capacitor will come up. In the case of a capacitor we say that current leads
voltage.”
“And current peaks and voltage peaks occur at different times in a capacitor when you apply an AC
signal?”Joe asked.
“Exactly! By jove, I think you’ve got it!” The Old Timer smiled.
But Joe wasn’t so sure.
“But what about impedance?” Joe asked.
“Impedance is a combination of resistance and reactance. They can be in series or in parallel. So a
resistor in series with an inductor is one kind of impedance. And a resistor in series with a capacitor is
another kind of impedance,”explained the OT.
Joe’s head was spinning.
“Why would you want to put a resistor in series with an inductor anyway?” Joe wondered aloud.
“Ah. Why did you come in here today?” reminded the Old Timer.
“To check my speaker!”
“And you might remember that a speaker consists of a long length of wire wrapped in a coil and glued
to a paper diaphragm that sits next to a permanent magnet,” said the OT. “Does that long length of thin
wire have resistance?”
“Sure,”replied Joe.
“And does a coil of wire have inductance?” asked OT further.
“That’s the definition of an inductor. A coil of wire,” replied Joe. “So the wire resistance and the coil’s
reactance make up the speaker’s impedance.” Joe was happy that he finally understood.
“So we just add the two values of resistance and reactance together and we get impedance, right?”said
Joe.
“Not quite,” said the Old Timer. “Because voltage and current are out of phase in the inductor, we
can’t use simple addition. We have to use Trigonometry to add them together.”
Joe turned white. Trig was his worst subject in High School.
“We won’t do it now,” said the OT. Just know that the Inductive Reactance is 90 degrees out of phase
with the Resistance. And if we know both values we can calculate impedance either using a formula or
on graph paper. It is what is known as a vector sum.”
“So what about my speakers?”Joe brought back the original point.
“Well, I’ll let you in on a secret,” said the OT. “Us old guys figured out a long time ago that in a
speaker, the resistive value is always much bigger than the inductive reactance. So a simple test with
an ohmmeter can usually identify which are 8 ohm speakers and which are 4 or 16 ohm speakers.”
“Just with an ohmmeter!” Joe exclaimed. “You mean we could have used the meter all along?”
“Yup,”said the OT with a smile. “But then, you wouldn’t know about impedance. Oh, and I didn’t tell
you everything. There’s a special case when you have both capacitors and inductors together. But let’s
talk about that later. First let’s find which of these is an 8 ohm speaker. Now where is my meter?”
Gary Wise W4EEY
“What do you have there?” the Old Timer asked.
“I have these old speakers and I want to see if one of them will work with my new radio,” Joe
answered. “The radio manual says that the speaker used should have an 8 Ohm impedance, but I can’t
see any writing on any of these speakers. Can we just measure them with an ohmmeter?”
The Old Timer smiled. “Yes we can, but before we do I think we’d better talk about impedance so that
we are clear on a few points.”
Joe groaned. Here comes another lesson, he thought.
“First, what is impedance and how does it differ from resistance?” the Old Timer asked Joe.
Joe scratched his head. “Well, as I recall, resistance is the opposition to direct current flow in a circuit
and impedance is the opposition to AC current. Is that right?”
“Well, almost,” said the OT. “Resistance will oppose the flow of DC current like you said. But it also
opposes the flow of AC current just the same. A resistor acts the same in a DC or AC circuit.”
“So how is that different than impedance?” Joe asked, thinking if he kept the old man talking he
wouldn’t have to answer any more questions.
“Before I answer that, let me point out that in a resistor, the amplitude of the voltage across, and the
current through the resistor, are what we call “in-phase”. That means as the voltage goes up, the
current goes up. As the voltage goes down, the current goes down.”
Joe thought about that for a moment. “So you mean if I apply a DC voltage to a resistor and measure
the current, and then increase the voltage, I will see an increased current?”
“Yes, that’s part of it. But think about an AC voltage, a sine wave specifically,” said the Old Timer.
“An AC signal is always changing in amplitude. So as the AC voltage goes up to the peak of the sine
wave, the current in a resistor will go up too. Voltage peaks and current peaks will happen at exactly
the same time.”
“Well, that’s logical. You’d need a time machine to change one or the other,” said Joe.
“A time machine might be a bit off track here. So tell me, what makes up impedance?” asked the OT.
Drat, Joe thought. Another question. He stalled for time trying to think of the answer. But it wouldn’t
come. “I’m not sure,” Joe answered.
“OK,” said the Old Timer, “Impedance has two parts. Resistance is one of them. And the other comes
when you add either a capacitor or an inductor, or both to the resistance. So what do we call the
opposition to AC current flow in either a capacitor or an inductor?”
“Hmmm...it starts with R doesn’t it?”Joe answered.
“Yes it does,” said the OT, “But I’m surprised at your reaction to the question?”
“My reaction?”Joe was confused.
“Yup,” said the Old Timer. “And that was a hint by the way.”
Joe was puzzled for a moment, then it hit him. React! “I know, Reactance!”
“You got it,”said the OT. A capacitor and an inductor react to flow of AC current in different ways.
Different from each other and different than a resistor. The opposition to AC current flow in either a
capacitor or inductor is called reactance, and is measured in Ohms.”
“The same Ohms as on an ohmmeter?” Joe asked.
“Well, no,” said the Old Timer. “The reason for the difference is that both a capacitor and inductor
have the ability to briefly store energy when current starts to flow into them. Come over to the
whiteboard,” directed the OT.
“Let’s look at the inductor first,” said OT. He drew an inductor coil on the whiteboard. “You see, when
current starts to flow into an inductor, nothing comes out the other end for a brief period of time.”
Joe looked confused. “Where does it go?” he asked.
“It is used by the coil to first build up a magnetic field around the coil. After the field builds up, then
current will start to flow out of the inductor. The pressure (voltage) is on the coil from the start. But
current flow lags the voltage because of the time it takes to build the magnetic field. If you apply a sine
wave AC voltage to the inductor, the voltage peak and the current peaks will happen at different times
because of the building of the magnetic field and the collapsing of the field in the opposite direction as
the sine wave changes polarity.”
“So it’s a time machine for electricity!” exclaimed Joe. “So what about a capacitor? It doesn’t generate
a magnetic field does it?”
“No,” said the Old Timer. “It stores energy in an electrostatic field. In a capacitor, current flows
immediately through it when the circuit is closed. Current flows until all of the electrons are pushed
away from one of its plates by the charge on the opposite plate. Then current will diminish and the
voltage at the input of the capacitor will come up. In the case of a capacitor we say that current leads
voltage.”
“And current peaks and voltage peaks occur at different times in a capacitor when you apply an AC
signal?”Joe asked.
“Exactly! By jove, I think you’ve got it!” The Old Timer smiled.
But Joe wasn’t so sure.
“But what about impedance?” Joe asked.
“Impedance is a combination of resistance and reactance. They can be in series or in parallel. So a
resistor in series with an inductor is one kind of impedance. And a resistor in series with a capacitor is
another kind of impedance,”explained the OT.
Joe’s head was spinning.
“Why would you want to put a resistor in series with an inductor anyway?” Joe wondered aloud.
“Ah. Why did you come in here today?” reminded the Old Timer.
“To check my speaker!”
“And you might remember that a speaker consists of a long length of wire wrapped in a coil and glued
to a paper diaphragm that sits next to a permanent magnet,” said the OT. “Does that long length of thin
wire have resistance?”
“Sure,”replied Joe.
“And does a coil of wire have inductance?” asked OT further.
“That’s the definition of an inductor. A coil of wire,” replied Joe. “So the wire resistance and the coil’s
reactance make up the speaker’s impedance.” Joe was happy that he finally understood.
“So we just add the two values of resistance and reactance together and we get impedance, right?”said
Joe.
“Not quite,” said the Old Timer. “Because voltage and current are out of phase in the inductor, we
can’t use simple addition. We have to use Trigonometry to add them together.”
Joe turned white. Trig was his worst subject in High School.
“We won’t do it now,” said the OT. Just know that the Inductive Reactance is 90 degrees out of phase
with the Resistance. And if we know both values we can calculate impedance either using a formula or
on graph paper. It is what is known as a vector sum.”
“So what about my speakers?”Joe brought back the original point.
“Well, I’ll let you in on a secret,” said the OT. “Us old guys figured out a long time ago that in a
speaker, the resistive value is always much bigger than the inductive reactance. So a simple test with
an ohmmeter can usually identify which are 8 ohm speakers and which are 4 or 16 ohm speakers.”
“Just with an ohmmeter!” Joe exclaimed. “You mean we could have used the meter all along?”
“Yup,”said the OT with a smile. “But then, you wouldn’t know about impedance. Oh, and I didn’t tell
you everything. There’s a special case when you have both capacitors and inductors together. But let’s
talk about that later. First let’s find which of these is an 8 ohm speaker. Now where is my meter?”
Gary Wise W4EEY
RESONANCE
Joe had been meaning to ask the Old Timer a question for quite some time, but he hesitated only because he wasn’t sure that he would understand the answer.
“Sir,” Joe said to the OT. This got his attention. The Old Timer knew that when Joe addressed him formally, a question was sure to follow.
“Yes?” said the Old Timer.
“Remember when you showed me how to find the impedance of a loudspeaker, and we talked about the Resistive and the Reactive parts of Impedance?”
“Sure,” the OT replied.
“You said that there was a special case, when both capacitors and inductors are in a circuit together. What did you mean?” Joe asked with an inquisitive look.
“Ah, that’s a very good question,” replied the OT, “and it gets to the very heart of how radio works.”
The Old Timer sat down in his comfortable chair. They were in his ham shack and the glow of the radio dials and the warmth of the amplifier tubes made it a very comfortable classroom indeed.
The Old Timer continued, “So do you remember how an inductor stores energy?”
“In a magnetic field,” replied Joe.
“Correct! As current flows into an inductor, it starts to build a magnetic field due to its coil shape. All of the current entering the inductor is at first used to build the field. Current goes in, but very little current comes out as the field builds. That’s why we say that Current lags Voltage in an Inductor.”
“In a resistor, don’t the voltage and current go up and down together?”
“Right,” said the OT. “A resistor does not store energy. So as voltage goes up, current through a resistor will go up. With a reactive device like an inductor, they don’t go up and down together. That’s the difference.”
Joe remembered talking about this. “Current eventually flows through an inductor though, right?”
“Right! Once the magnetic field is built, DC current can flow through. That’s why we say that an inductor passes DC current.”
“But what about a capacitor?” Joe asked.
“Remember the example in the Technician book that showed a capacitor in series with a battery and a lamp? If you close the circuit, do you remember what happens?”
Joe scratched his head. “I think that the bulb will light briefly, and then it goes out.”
“Correct,” said the Old Timer. This shows that current will flow immediately through a capacitor when it is connected, but after a short time, current flow stops. Do you know why?”
Joe shook his head.
“Capacitors store energy in an electric field. This means that as current flows into a capacitor, electrons pile up on one of the plates. This causes holes (the absence of electrons) to form on the opposite plate of the capacitor due to repulsion. This continues until there’s no more room for electrons and holes to form on the plates and then current flow stops. Because of this we say that Current leads Voltage in a Capacitor.”
“So what happens if we put a capacitor and an inductor together?” asked Joe.
“Whoa,” said the OT. “I’m not done explaining.” The OT gave Joe a stern look and then continued. “These were examples of DC current flowing into the components. Things change when you change the voltage source to alternating current.”
“How so?” Joe was back on track.
“Remember that with AC the polarity of the signal is always reversing. With a sine wave this is gradual, with rounded voltage peaks and valleys.”
Joe nodded.
“If an AC signal is applied to an inductor, a magnetic field will be created as before, but as the polarity of the voltage reverses, the polarity of the magnetic field will also collapse and reverse. This goes on continuously, with the magnetic field building and collapsing at the rate of the frequency of the AC signal source.”
Joe now remembered why he was so reluctant to ask this question a few moments before. He wasn’t sure he understood. But he pressed on. “So what about a capacitor?”
“In a capacitor,” the Old Timer continued, “the Electric Field builds and collapses in the same way. Remember the lamp circuit? If we replace the battery with an AC current source, will the bulb be lit or not?”
Joe felt a familiar pressure building in his head. “I don’t know,” he replied.
“Because current will flow through a capacitor while the electric field is building, and with an AC source, the field is always building and collapsing in one direction or the other, AC current will flow through a capacitor. So the bulb will light up. Actually the bulb turns on and off at the rate of the AC source. That’s why we say a capacitor passes AC current but blocks DC current.”
Joe remembered this from class but hadn’t really put it together in this way before.
Timidly Joe asked, “So if we put a capacitor and inductor together….?”
“Let’s consider the case of an inductor and capacitor in parallel connected to a DC source,” said the OT. We know that the inductor will resist current flow at the start while it builds a magnetic field, but that the capacitor will allow current flow as it builds its electric field. So most of the current will flow through the capacitor until its plates are saturated with electrons.”
Joe could picture the electrons marching from the source and dividing between the inductor and capacitor.
“If we remove the DC source after just an instant, but after enough time for both the magnetic and electric fields to form, guess what happens?” the Old Timer asked his student.
“I have no idea,” Joe replied.
“The fields have to collapse. They can’t stay formed. The magnetic field in the inductor will look to discharge. Because of the way coils work it will discharge in the opposite polarity of its charge which just so happens to be able to flow backwards through the capacitor by pushing electrons into where holes have formed on one of the plates. The capacitor will charge in the opposite polarity until a new electric field is formed.”
“Then what happens?” Joe was eager to know.
“Well, the electric field can’t stayed formed for long, so after a brief time it collapses and sends electrons back through the inductor rebuilding the magnetic field.”
“How long can this go on?” Joe wondered out loud.
“In a perfect world this would go on forever,” the Old Timer said with a satisfied look.
“Forever! But that’s not possible,” Joe exclaimed.
“Correct. There are energy losses due to resistance in the inductor wire and dielectric losses in the capacitor. But the oscillation of energy back and forth between capacitor and inductor is what we call a tuned or resonant circuit. A tuned circuit is the basis for frequency determination in oscillators, filters and other radio circuits. So you see, this really is the heart of how radio functions.”
Joe was scratching his head again. “You say frequency determination. What do you mean?”
“The oscillation of energy between an inductor and capacitor happens naturally at only one frequency called the resonant frequency. Just like a pendulum in motion moves back and forth at a constant rate (and that rate can be changed by making the pendulum longer or shorter) the energy transfer in a resonant circuit occurs at a rate determined by the size of the inductor and the size of the capacitor.
Joe’s head was swimming. He knew this was important to understand but he wasn’t sure that he did.
The Old Timer looked at Joe knowingly. “Don’t worry if this isn’t clear yet. Just know that electrical resonance exists and that we use it every day in most every radio circuit. Later I’ll teach you the formulas you can use to calculate resonant frequency and the component values to use.”
Joe realized that, once again, he had a lot to learn.
Gary Wise W4EEY
“Sir,” Joe said to the OT. This got his attention. The Old Timer knew that when Joe addressed him formally, a question was sure to follow.
“Yes?” said the Old Timer.
“Remember when you showed me how to find the impedance of a loudspeaker, and we talked about the Resistive and the Reactive parts of Impedance?”
“Sure,” the OT replied.
“You said that there was a special case, when both capacitors and inductors are in a circuit together. What did you mean?” Joe asked with an inquisitive look.
“Ah, that’s a very good question,” replied the OT, “and it gets to the very heart of how radio works.”
The Old Timer sat down in his comfortable chair. They were in his ham shack and the glow of the radio dials and the warmth of the amplifier tubes made it a very comfortable classroom indeed.
The Old Timer continued, “So do you remember how an inductor stores energy?”
“In a magnetic field,” replied Joe.
“Correct! As current flows into an inductor, it starts to build a magnetic field due to its coil shape. All of the current entering the inductor is at first used to build the field. Current goes in, but very little current comes out as the field builds. That’s why we say that Current lags Voltage in an Inductor.”
“In a resistor, don’t the voltage and current go up and down together?”
“Right,” said the OT. “A resistor does not store energy. So as voltage goes up, current through a resistor will go up. With a reactive device like an inductor, they don’t go up and down together. That’s the difference.”
Joe remembered talking about this. “Current eventually flows through an inductor though, right?”
“Right! Once the magnetic field is built, DC current can flow through. That’s why we say that an inductor passes DC current.”
“But what about a capacitor?” Joe asked.
“Remember the example in the Technician book that showed a capacitor in series with a battery and a lamp? If you close the circuit, do you remember what happens?”
Joe scratched his head. “I think that the bulb will light briefly, and then it goes out.”
“Correct,” said the Old Timer. This shows that current will flow immediately through a capacitor when it is connected, but after a short time, current flow stops. Do you know why?”
Joe shook his head.
“Capacitors store energy in an electric field. This means that as current flows into a capacitor, electrons pile up on one of the plates. This causes holes (the absence of electrons) to form on the opposite plate of the capacitor due to repulsion. This continues until there’s no more room for electrons and holes to form on the plates and then current flow stops. Because of this we say that Current leads Voltage in a Capacitor.”
“So what happens if we put a capacitor and an inductor together?” asked Joe.
“Whoa,” said the OT. “I’m not done explaining.” The OT gave Joe a stern look and then continued. “These were examples of DC current flowing into the components. Things change when you change the voltage source to alternating current.”
“How so?” Joe was back on track.
“Remember that with AC the polarity of the signal is always reversing. With a sine wave this is gradual, with rounded voltage peaks and valleys.”
Joe nodded.
“If an AC signal is applied to an inductor, a magnetic field will be created as before, but as the polarity of the voltage reverses, the polarity of the magnetic field will also collapse and reverse. This goes on continuously, with the magnetic field building and collapsing at the rate of the frequency of the AC signal source.”
Joe now remembered why he was so reluctant to ask this question a few moments before. He wasn’t sure he understood. But he pressed on. “So what about a capacitor?”
“In a capacitor,” the Old Timer continued, “the Electric Field builds and collapses in the same way. Remember the lamp circuit? If we replace the battery with an AC current source, will the bulb be lit or not?”
Joe felt a familiar pressure building in his head. “I don’t know,” he replied.
“Because current will flow through a capacitor while the electric field is building, and with an AC source, the field is always building and collapsing in one direction or the other, AC current will flow through a capacitor. So the bulb will light up. Actually the bulb turns on and off at the rate of the AC source. That’s why we say a capacitor passes AC current but blocks DC current.”
Joe remembered this from class but hadn’t really put it together in this way before.
Timidly Joe asked, “So if we put a capacitor and inductor together….?”
“Let’s consider the case of an inductor and capacitor in parallel connected to a DC source,” said the OT. We know that the inductor will resist current flow at the start while it builds a magnetic field, but that the capacitor will allow current flow as it builds its electric field. So most of the current will flow through the capacitor until its plates are saturated with electrons.”
Joe could picture the electrons marching from the source and dividing between the inductor and capacitor.
“If we remove the DC source after just an instant, but after enough time for both the magnetic and electric fields to form, guess what happens?” the Old Timer asked his student.
“I have no idea,” Joe replied.
“The fields have to collapse. They can’t stay formed. The magnetic field in the inductor will look to discharge. Because of the way coils work it will discharge in the opposite polarity of its charge which just so happens to be able to flow backwards through the capacitor by pushing electrons into where holes have formed on one of the plates. The capacitor will charge in the opposite polarity until a new electric field is formed.”
“Then what happens?” Joe was eager to know.
“Well, the electric field can’t stayed formed for long, so after a brief time it collapses and sends electrons back through the inductor rebuilding the magnetic field.”
“How long can this go on?” Joe wondered out loud.
“In a perfect world this would go on forever,” the Old Timer said with a satisfied look.
“Forever! But that’s not possible,” Joe exclaimed.
“Correct. There are energy losses due to resistance in the inductor wire and dielectric losses in the capacitor. But the oscillation of energy back and forth between capacitor and inductor is what we call a tuned or resonant circuit. A tuned circuit is the basis for frequency determination in oscillators, filters and other radio circuits. So you see, this really is the heart of how radio functions.”
Joe was scratching his head again. “You say frequency determination. What do you mean?”
“The oscillation of energy between an inductor and capacitor happens naturally at only one frequency called the resonant frequency. Just like a pendulum in motion moves back and forth at a constant rate (and that rate can be changed by making the pendulum longer or shorter) the energy transfer in a resonant circuit occurs at a rate determined by the size of the inductor and the size of the capacitor.
Joe’s head was swimming. He knew this was important to understand but he wasn’t sure that he did.
The Old Timer looked at Joe knowingly. “Don’t worry if this isn’t clear yet. Just know that electrical resonance exists and that we use it every day in most every radio circuit. Later I’ll teach you the formulas you can use to calculate resonant frequency and the component values to use.”
Joe realized that, once again, he had a lot to learn.
Gary Wise W4EEY
SIDE BANDS AND MODULATION
The Club Meeting had just concluded and Joe was still sitting at his seat, staring intently at the ARRL
Amateur Radio Bands chart in his hand. The Old Timer couldn’t help but notice the puzzled look on
Joe’s face.
“What is it Joe?” asked the Old Timer.
“I’m having trouble understanding what my Instructor is talking about,” Joe answered. “For example,
he always talks about the side bands, upper and lower, but I don’t see them anywhere on this band
chart.”
The Old Timer smiled. He was trying to put himself back to the time where Joe was now. Radio had its
own language and sometimes it could be confusing, especially to a beginner.
“Well, there are bands and then there are bands”, the Old Timer said.
“Huh?”
“The bands on the color chart are the frequency allocations for Amateur Radio operators in the United
States. These are the frequencies that we can use to communicate. We communicate using different
modes of modulation. Amplitude modulation is one of those modes”, the Old Timer was getting
warmed up. “Side bands are a result of the modulation process. They are just slices of radio frequency
energy that exist next to the radio frequency carrier.”
“That’s another thing I don’t understand,” Joe said. “The Instructor says that we add information to a
radio frequency carrier. But then he says that we take the carrier away when we create Single
Sideband. How can you take away the thing that is carrying the information and expect the signal to go
anywhere?” Joe was shaking his head.
The Old Timer sat down to be more comfortable. This might take some time.
“You covered Mixers in your ham class, didn’t you?” the Old Timer asked.
“Yes, that’s where you convert a signal coming in to a different frequency.”
“And what is that mixing process called?” asked the OT.
Joe scratched his head. “Heterodyning, I think.”
“That’s right,” the Old Timer beamed. “And what are the outputs that come from a Mixer? There are
four.”
Joe scratched his head again. “The original frequencies of the signal and the local oscillator plus the
sum of the frequencies and the difference between the frequencies.”
The Old Timer was relieved. This might not be so hard after all.
“OK. So let’s look at an Amplitude Modulator like a Mixer. You have a Radio Frequency carrier signal
on one input and the Audio signal on the other. There are four outputs from the Modulator, just like a
Mixer. One, the original RF Carrier. Two, the original audio signal. Three, the frequency sum. And
four, the frequency difference. An Amplitude Modulator is in fact a type of Mixer.”
Joe had never heard it put this way before.
“So the outputs are like a Mixer?”
“Yes. The original Audio signal is blocked by the RF Tuning network. The LC circuit doesn’t have a
pass band that is wide enough to pass audio frequencies. But it will pass the Carrier, the Sum and the
Difference signals. And do you know what the Sum and Difference signals are called?”
Joe was wearing a hole in his head with his scratching.
The Old Timer went on, “The Sum is the Upper Side band and the Difference is the Lower Side band.
Each Side band is a range of frequencies that are as wide as the original audio signal. So if you put a
3KHz wide audio signal into the Modulator, each of the Side bands will be 3 Khz wide as well.”
“So side bands are radio frequencies?” Joe asked.
“Yes!” the Old Timer exclaimed. “And they are radio frequencies that can be radiated from an
antenna.”
“But what about Single Side Band?” Joe inquired.
“Single Side band uses special circuits. Either a Balanced Modulator, which is a Mixer that only
outputs the Sum and Difference signals or a Phasing arrangement that cancels all but either the Sum
and Difference. So an Amplitude Modulator in a transmitter is very much like a Mixer in a receiver.”
“So I won’t find the side bands on this chart?” Joe held up the Radio Bands chart.
“Nope. Side bands aren’t amateur radio bands at all. They are the result of the modulation process. And they are radio frequencies that can be radiated from an antenna, with or without the original carrier.”
Joe shook his head. “I thought I understood English, but this radio stuff is a whole new language.”
“Indeed it is,” nodded the Old Timer. “Indeed it is.”
Gary Wise W4EEY
Amateur Radio Bands chart in his hand. The Old Timer couldn’t help but notice the puzzled look on
Joe’s face.
“What is it Joe?” asked the Old Timer.
“I’m having trouble understanding what my Instructor is talking about,” Joe answered. “For example,
he always talks about the side bands, upper and lower, but I don’t see them anywhere on this band
chart.”
The Old Timer smiled. He was trying to put himself back to the time where Joe was now. Radio had its
own language and sometimes it could be confusing, especially to a beginner.
“Well, there are bands and then there are bands”, the Old Timer said.
“Huh?”
“The bands on the color chart are the frequency allocations for Amateur Radio operators in the United
States. These are the frequencies that we can use to communicate. We communicate using different
modes of modulation. Amplitude modulation is one of those modes”, the Old Timer was getting
warmed up. “Side bands are a result of the modulation process. They are just slices of radio frequency
energy that exist next to the radio frequency carrier.”
“That’s another thing I don’t understand,” Joe said. “The Instructor says that we add information to a
radio frequency carrier. But then he says that we take the carrier away when we create Single
Sideband. How can you take away the thing that is carrying the information and expect the signal to go
anywhere?” Joe was shaking his head.
The Old Timer sat down to be more comfortable. This might take some time.
“You covered Mixers in your ham class, didn’t you?” the Old Timer asked.
“Yes, that’s where you convert a signal coming in to a different frequency.”
“And what is that mixing process called?” asked the OT.
Joe scratched his head. “Heterodyning, I think.”
“That’s right,” the Old Timer beamed. “And what are the outputs that come from a Mixer? There are
four.”
Joe scratched his head again. “The original frequencies of the signal and the local oscillator plus the
sum of the frequencies and the difference between the frequencies.”
The Old Timer was relieved. This might not be so hard after all.
“OK. So let’s look at an Amplitude Modulator like a Mixer. You have a Radio Frequency carrier signal
on one input and the Audio signal on the other. There are four outputs from the Modulator, just like a
Mixer. One, the original RF Carrier. Two, the original audio signal. Three, the frequency sum. And
four, the frequency difference. An Amplitude Modulator is in fact a type of Mixer.”
Joe had never heard it put this way before.
“So the outputs are like a Mixer?”
“Yes. The original Audio signal is blocked by the RF Tuning network. The LC circuit doesn’t have a
pass band that is wide enough to pass audio frequencies. But it will pass the Carrier, the Sum and the
Difference signals. And do you know what the Sum and Difference signals are called?”
Joe was wearing a hole in his head with his scratching.
The Old Timer went on, “The Sum is the Upper Side band and the Difference is the Lower Side band.
Each Side band is a range of frequencies that are as wide as the original audio signal. So if you put a
3KHz wide audio signal into the Modulator, each of the Side bands will be 3 Khz wide as well.”
“So side bands are radio frequencies?” Joe asked.
“Yes!” the Old Timer exclaimed. “And they are radio frequencies that can be radiated from an
antenna.”
“But what about Single Side Band?” Joe inquired.
“Single Side band uses special circuits. Either a Balanced Modulator, which is a Mixer that only
outputs the Sum and Difference signals or a Phasing arrangement that cancels all but either the Sum
and Difference. So an Amplitude Modulator in a transmitter is very much like a Mixer in a receiver.”
“So I won’t find the side bands on this chart?” Joe held up the Radio Bands chart.
“Nope. Side bands aren’t amateur radio bands at all. They are the result of the modulation process. And they are radio frequencies that can be radiated from an antenna, with or without the original carrier.”
Joe shook his head. “I thought I understood English, but this radio stuff is a whole new language.”
“Indeed it is,” nodded the Old Timer. “Indeed it is.”
Gary Wise W4EEY
THE THIRD CONDUCTOR
“So tell me, how many conductors are there in a coaxial cable?” The Old Timer sipped his coffee,
sitting in his favorite diner with his young friend Joe.
“Ah, that’s easy,”said Joe. “There’s the center wire and the shield. That’s two.”
They got together often for breakfast and to talk radio. The Old Timer got a lot out of their discussions.
Seeing things with fresh eyes always aided his understanding.
“OK, what you’ve said is true,” replied the OT. “But let me rephrase the question. How many
conductors are there in a coaxial cable at radio frequencies?” They’d been discussing one of their
favorite subjects, antennas. Joe had wondered why he was unable to get a good match on his new 40
Meter dipole.
Joe scratched his head. Center conductor. Shield. There weren’t any more wires in the cable. “I still
say two.”
“Actually, the answer is three,” said the Old Timer.
“I don’t understand,”said Joe.
“Remember we talked about radio frequency energy and how RF current flows on the surface of a wire.
We called it skin effect.”
Joe nodded.
“That’s why copper coated steel wire is a good RF conductor, as good as solid copper wire. All of the
RF current flows on the surface of the wire and not in its core,” continued the Old Timer.
Joe remembered talking about this but it apparently it hadn’t sunk in.
“So what are the three conductors in a coaxial cable?” Joe asked.
“You identified the center conductor. RF current flows on the outer surface of this wire. RF current
also flows on the inside surface of the shield. It is these currents that make up our primary signal for
transmit and receive.”
“And the third conductor?” Joe asked impatiently.
“Ah, the third. The third conductor is the outer surface of the shield, the one facing the plastic outer
jacket,” said the Old Timer smiling.
“But aren’t they the same wire!?” Joe exclaimed. “If I put an ohmmeter on the inside and the outside of
the shield it will measure a direct short!” Joe thought he had the OT.
“Ah, but that’s at DC. At radio frequencies, because of skin effect, there are actually two separate
surfaces. The inside and the outside. Remember RF current doesn’t flow through the core of a wire.”
“OK, I’ll take your word for it,” said Joe, though he hardly believed it. “So how does that explain why
my antenna SWR is higher than it should be?”
“Well, you put some work into calculating how long the dipole antenna should be and cutting it exactly
to length, right?” asked the OT.
“I just used the formula 468 divided by the frequency in MHz to get the length in feet. 468 divided by
7.15 MHz is roughly 65 feet,” said Joe. “I did lay the wire on the ground and used my long measuring
tape to make sure that each side was the correct length.”
“And how long is the coaxial feed line that you are using to feed the antenna?” asked the Old Timer.
“I don’t know exactly,” said Joe. “I just made it long enough to go between the antenna center point
insulator and the ham shack.”
“Exactly. So remember the third conductor in the coax. By directly connecting your coax to the dipole
wires, center conductor to one side and shield to the other, you have also connected a random length of
RF conductor, the outer shield, to one side of your antenna.”
Joe felt his head swimming. “So how do other people get their dipoles to work?” he asked.
“Sometimes they get lucky when using a direct connection,” answered the OT. “Sometimes the length
of coax doesn’t cause a problem. But to guarantee this, you should block RF current flow on the third
conductor.”
“How do you do that?” asked Joe, now very interested.
“You install a balun, more specifically a current balun, at the antenna feed point. The balun blocks RF
current flow on the third conductor, and ensures that all of the RF energy goes into the antenna. In this
way the feed point impedance is not changed by some random length of wire hanging onto one side.”
“Where can I get a balun?” asked Joe.
“Any of the ham stores have commercially manufactured baluns. You want a one-to-one current balun.
The one-to-one means that the impedance on each side of the balun is the same. But you don’t have to
buy them. You can make one.”
“How do we do that?” asked Joe, hoping that his emphasis on “we” wouldn’t go unnoticed.
“The simplest is to make a coil of coaxial cable with multiple turns at the antenna feed point. You’ll see
hams do this all the time though many don’t know why they do it. The thought is that this creates an
inductive reactance on the shield at that point, which will inhibit RF current flow. But in my
experience this may not be enough. Better is to use a ferrite toroid or rod, and wrap multiple turns of
coax either through or around the ferrite material. Type 31 ferrite is a good choice for HF. Yet another
way is to string ferrite beads on the outside of the coax. Many of the commercial baluns are built this
way. The ferrite provides higher inductive reactance and chokes out RF current flow on the outer
shield.”
“So we have to lower the dipole antenna again,” said Joe. Is that why you insisted that we first raise a
pulley up in the tree and then raise the antenna using a second rope running through the pulley?”
“It is indeed,”answered the Old Timer. “Dipole antennas usually require adjustment once they are in the
air.”
“So you knew this was coming?” asked Joe incredulously.
“I thought it might,”replied OT smiling.
“Why couldn’t you have told me about baluns before?”
“Well, you might not have needed one. But the real reason is that now you won’t forget it. My Elmer
taught me exactly the same way.”
“Tradition. Invisible third wires!” exclaimed Joe. “This is too much!”
Gary Wise W4EEY
sitting in his favorite diner with his young friend Joe.
“Ah, that’s easy,”said Joe. “There’s the center wire and the shield. That’s two.”
They got together often for breakfast and to talk radio. The Old Timer got a lot out of their discussions.
Seeing things with fresh eyes always aided his understanding.
“OK, what you’ve said is true,” replied the OT. “But let me rephrase the question. How many
conductors are there in a coaxial cable at radio frequencies?” They’d been discussing one of their
favorite subjects, antennas. Joe had wondered why he was unable to get a good match on his new 40
Meter dipole.
Joe scratched his head. Center conductor. Shield. There weren’t any more wires in the cable. “I still
say two.”
“Actually, the answer is three,” said the Old Timer.
“I don’t understand,”said Joe.
“Remember we talked about radio frequency energy and how RF current flows on the surface of a wire.
We called it skin effect.”
Joe nodded.
“That’s why copper coated steel wire is a good RF conductor, as good as solid copper wire. All of the
RF current flows on the surface of the wire and not in its core,” continued the Old Timer.
Joe remembered talking about this but it apparently it hadn’t sunk in.
“So what are the three conductors in a coaxial cable?” Joe asked.
“You identified the center conductor. RF current flows on the outer surface of this wire. RF current
also flows on the inside surface of the shield. It is these currents that make up our primary signal for
transmit and receive.”
“And the third conductor?” Joe asked impatiently.
“Ah, the third. The third conductor is the outer surface of the shield, the one facing the plastic outer
jacket,” said the Old Timer smiling.
“But aren’t they the same wire!?” Joe exclaimed. “If I put an ohmmeter on the inside and the outside of
the shield it will measure a direct short!” Joe thought he had the OT.
“Ah, but that’s at DC. At radio frequencies, because of skin effect, there are actually two separate
surfaces. The inside and the outside. Remember RF current doesn’t flow through the core of a wire.”
“OK, I’ll take your word for it,” said Joe, though he hardly believed it. “So how does that explain why
my antenna SWR is higher than it should be?”
“Well, you put some work into calculating how long the dipole antenna should be and cutting it exactly
to length, right?” asked the OT.
“I just used the formula 468 divided by the frequency in MHz to get the length in feet. 468 divided by
7.15 MHz is roughly 65 feet,” said Joe. “I did lay the wire on the ground and used my long measuring
tape to make sure that each side was the correct length.”
“And how long is the coaxial feed line that you are using to feed the antenna?” asked the Old Timer.
“I don’t know exactly,” said Joe. “I just made it long enough to go between the antenna center point
insulator and the ham shack.”
“Exactly. So remember the third conductor in the coax. By directly connecting your coax to the dipole
wires, center conductor to one side and shield to the other, you have also connected a random length of
RF conductor, the outer shield, to one side of your antenna.”
Joe felt his head swimming. “So how do other people get their dipoles to work?” he asked.
“Sometimes they get lucky when using a direct connection,” answered the OT. “Sometimes the length
of coax doesn’t cause a problem. But to guarantee this, you should block RF current flow on the third
conductor.”
“How do you do that?” asked Joe, now very interested.
“You install a balun, more specifically a current balun, at the antenna feed point. The balun blocks RF
current flow on the third conductor, and ensures that all of the RF energy goes into the antenna. In this
way the feed point impedance is not changed by some random length of wire hanging onto one side.”
“Where can I get a balun?” asked Joe.
“Any of the ham stores have commercially manufactured baluns. You want a one-to-one current balun.
The one-to-one means that the impedance on each side of the balun is the same. But you don’t have to
buy them. You can make one.”
“How do we do that?” asked Joe, hoping that his emphasis on “we” wouldn’t go unnoticed.
“The simplest is to make a coil of coaxial cable with multiple turns at the antenna feed point. You’ll see
hams do this all the time though many don’t know why they do it. The thought is that this creates an
inductive reactance on the shield at that point, which will inhibit RF current flow. But in my
experience this may not be enough. Better is to use a ferrite toroid or rod, and wrap multiple turns of
coax either through or around the ferrite material. Type 31 ferrite is a good choice for HF. Yet another
way is to string ferrite beads on the outside of the coax. Many of the commercial baluns are built this
way. The ferrite provides higher inductive reactance and chokes out RF current flow on the outer
shield.”
“So we have to lower the dipole antenna again,” said Joe. Is that why you insisted that we first raise a
pulley up in the tree and then raise the antenna using a second rope running through the pulley?”
“It is indeed,”answered the Old Timer. “Dipole antennas usually require adjustment once they are in the
air.”
“So you knew this was coming?” asked Joe incredulously.
“I thought it might,”replied OT smiling.
“Why couldn’t you have told me about baluns before?”
“Well, you might not have needed one. But the real reason is that now you won’t forget it. My Elmer
taught me exactly the same way.”
“Tradition. Invisible third wires!” exclaimed Joe. “This is too much!”
Gary Wise W4EEY
TWENTY METERS
“Twenty Meters!” was the emphatic answer from the Old Timer.
Joe was meeting him once again for coffee. He’d asked his mentor why he should upgrade his ham
radio license from Technician to General. It seemed like a lot of work.
“The Twenty Meter band is open to somewhere in the world nearly every moment of every day. You
can chase DX to your hearts content. SSB phone, CW, RTTY, the digital modes like FT-8. There is so much to
do – and this is just one band! You’ve got to upgrade!” the Old Timer exclaimed.
Joe had to admit that while he enjoyed talking with the locals on the radio repeaters, he hadn’t really
done much with the High Frequencies. He’d invested in a slightly used Icom 7300 HF radio but the Ten
Meter band (the only band where he had voice privileges) was dead dead dead. Something about
sunspots.
“Do you know why Ham Radio is the best hobby in the world?” the Old Timer asked Joe.
“Well, I know that you say that all the time,” said Joe, “But no, I guess I really don’t.”
“Because this hobby, when you are using the High Frequency Bands, really is ‘in the world’. Your
signal travels to the four corners of the Earth. You can be talking to Sandy, DL1QQ in Germany one
moment and Tom, YB1DNF in Indonesia the next. You see our hobby is literally in the world like no
other hobby can be!”
Joe thought for a moment before replying.
“But the material covered in the General book is harder than that in the Technician class. I’m not an
Electronics Engineer. And I’m afraid. Not only of the course material, but I’m not sure that I would
have the courage to speak to someone from another country. I only speak English!”
“Well, good thing for you then, that the International language of Ham Radio is English,” the OT
replied. “You need to fire up that new radio of yours and just listen to the HF ham bands for awhile. I
think you’ll discover that you can understand most everyone very well. Try it this weekend. There’s a
contest on.”
“A contest?” Joe was puzzled. “People win prizes?”
“Not that kind of contest, though there is certainly recognition of achievement. This weekend is the
Worked All Europe Single Sideband Contest put on by the German Amateur Radio Club. You’ll hear
stateside stations trying to work as many Europeans as they can. This is what they call Radiosport. The
amateur that works the most stations wins his section. You can find the rules online.”
Joe made a mental note to listen this weekend. But he still wasn’t sure about upgrading.
“Do you know Joe the biggest reason to upgrade?” the Old Timer asked?
“No, what?”
“You have fun and you learn something along the way. These days we need some happy and smart
people in the world, don’t you think?”
Joe couldn’t argue with that. Happy and smart. Oh boy. Ready or not, he guessed he’d be upgrading.
Let the fun begin!
Gary Wise W4EEY
Joe was meeting him once again for coffee. He’d asked his mentor why he should upgrade his ham
radio license from Technician to General. It seemed like a lot of work.
“The Twenty Meter band is open to somewhere in the world nearly every moment of every day. You
can chase DX to your hearts content. SSB phone, CW, RTTY, the digital modes like FT-8. There is so much to
do – and this is just one band! You’ve got to upgrade!” the Old Timer exclaimed.
Joe had to admit that while he enjoyed talking with the locals on the radio repeaters, he hadn’t really
done much with the High Frequencies. He’d invested in a slightly used Icom 7300 HF radio but the Ten
Meter band (the only band where he had voice privileges) was dead dead dead. Something about
sunspots.
“Do you know why Ham Radio is the best hobby in the world?” the Old Timer asked Joe.
“Well, I know that you say that all the time,” said Joe, “But no, I guess I really don’t.”
“Because this hobby, when you are using the High Frequency Bands, really is ‘in the world’. Your
signal travels to the four corners of the Earth. You can be talking to Sandy, DL1QQ in Germany one
moment and Tom, YB1DNF in Indonesia the next. You see our hobby is literally in the world like no
other hobby can be!”
Joe thought for a moment before replying.
“But the material covered in the General book is harder than that in the Technician class. I’m not an
Electronics Engineer. And I’m afraid. Not only of the course material, but I’m not sure that I would
have the courage to speak to someone from another country. I only speak English!”
“Well, good thing for you then, that the International language of Ham Radio is English,” the OT
replied. “You need to fire up that new radio of yours and just listen to the HF ham bands for awhile. I
think you’ll discover that you can understand most everyone very well. Try it this weekend. There’s a
contest on.”
“A contest?” Joe was puzzled. “People win prizes?”
“Not that kind of contest, though there is certainly recognition of achievement. This weekend is the
Worked All Europe Single Sideband Contest put on by the German Amateur Radio Club. You’ll hear
stateside stations trying to work as many Europeans as they can. This is what they call Radiosport. The
amateur that works the most stations wins his section. You can find the rules online.”
Joe made a mental note to listen this weekend. But he still wasn’t sure about upgrading.
“Do you know Joe the biggest reason to upgrade?” the Old Timer asked?
“No, what?”
“You have fun and you learn something along the way. These days we need some happy and smart
people in the world, don’t you think?”
Joe couldn’t argue with that. Happy and smart. Oh boy. Ready or not, he guessed he’d be upgrading.
Let the fun begin!
Gary Wise W4EEY
WHY DX
“So why DX?” asked Joe.
The Old Timer paused. He took a sip of his coffee and pondered the question. He’d been Elmering his
friend Joe on the finer points of amateur radio and had generally been successful in answering his
questions. But now, the Old Timer was at a loss. Why DX indeed!
The OT put down his cup and looked to his friend. How could he put the answer in a way that Joe
might understand?
“You know that ham radio is the greatest hobby in the world, right?” the Old Timer asked his friend.
“I know that you say that,” said Joe. “And I like it a lot. But others might say that about their hobbies
too.”
The Old Timer struggled to come up with the right words. “Ham radio is more than a hobby. Ham
radio is an adventure. Like mountain climbing is an adventure.”
Joe wondered about his friend. He appreciated the OT’s guidance. He’d learned a lot from his Elmer.
But sometimes he thought the Old Man went too far.
“What do you mean? Ham radio is an adventure? We just hook up our radios to our antennas and
make contacts. There’s nothing adventuresome about that,” said Joe.
The Old Timer took a breath.
“Would you agree that mountain climbing is an adventure?” asked the OT.
“Yes, of course,” replied Joe.
“Well what makes it an adventure?”
Joe thought about that for a few moments. “Well, there’s the danger that goes along with those
activities. People prepare for a long time before being ready to climb. They have to prepare
themselves, get the right equipment and gain the knowledge they need in order to be successful.”
“And don’t we hams have to do all of that too?” asked the OT.
“Yeah, but its not the same. Mountain climbing is a sport,” said Joe.
“Radio is a sport too,” noted the Old Timer. “Look at the World Radiosport Team Championship.
Look at Contesting. There are many sporting activities in radio.”
Joe thought about that. The Old Timer had a point. But adventure?
“I don’t see how ham radio is an adventure.”
“I submit that an adventure is a human endeavor that maps the progress of man. It is part of man’s
striving to be better. To achieve more. To measure himself or herself against existing standards and to
go further. And here’s the key – with no guarantee of success. You rise and fall on your own efforts
and abilities. Sometimes you make it and sometimes you don’t. Not everyone can climb the
mountain,” said the Old Timer.
“OK, I can see how radio sport might have some of those characteristics. But is a ham really an
adventurer sitting in his chair in his ham shack?” Joe asked.
“Ah, but you’re leaving out all of the preparation. You can’t just sit down at a rig and be successful.
You have to gain knowledge and understanding. To do this you have to motivate yourself. This is just
as hard as a climber who works to motivate himself to train and get ready to climb. You have to learn
about the mountain range. What paths are likely to be successful and how weather and other variables
can impact your success. The adventure starts long before one sets foot on the mountain. The
adventure is testing yourself and taking the steps necessary to achieve your goal.” The Old Timer was
on a roll.
“And don’t forget, there is real physical danger in ham radio. That’s why we teach safety. There’s the
climbing aspect if you want to put antennas high up on towers. There’s shock hazards in dealing with
high voltages. And there’s RF radiation that can impact you and others.”
Joe was beginning to see the Old Timer’s point about radio sport. But was it relevant to his original
question?
“But what about DX?”
“Making contact with distant stations is the zenith of our hobby and results from all of the efforts of a
Dxer. The Dxer is an adventurer. He or she has set their sights on a high mountain. Their goal is to
reach the top. To do so they must prepare themselves and their station. They are always seeking to
improve. They measure their progress against themselves and others, while maintaining friendships
with like minded adventurers who are on the same quest. Dxing is the pinnacle of achievement in
amateur radio. It isn’t easy. A Dxer pays a cost in order to move ahead. And like other adventurers
there is no guarantee of success. But they are driven to move ahead, to progress and to achieve.”
“Wow, I had no idea!” exclaimed Joe.
“A Dxer uses all aspects of the ham radio hobby in order to achieve. And that takes time. Dxing is
slow motion radio sport, with progress measured contact by contact. And it is never ending. There’s
always a new mountain on the horizon. New contacts to be made, new improvements to install. New
bands, new modes and on and on.”
As great amateurs have said since beginning: DX is! (and always will be!)
Gary Wise W4EEY
The Old Timer paused. He took a sip of his coffee and pondered the question. He’d been Elmering his
friend Joe on the finer points of amateur radio and had generally been successful in answering his
questions. But now, the Old Timer was at a loss. Why DX indeed!
The OT put down his cup and looked to his friend. How could he put the answer in a way that Joe
might understand?
“You know that ham radio is the greatest hobby in the world, right?” the Old Timer asked his friend.
“I know that you say that,” said Joe. “And I like it a lot. But others might say that about their hobbies
too.”
The Old Timer struggled to come up with the right words. “Ham radio is more than a hobby. Ham
radio is an adventure. Like mountain climbing is an adventure.”
Joe wondered about his friend. He appreciated the OT’s guidance. He’d learned a lot from his Elmer.
But sometimes he thought the Old Man went too far.
“What do you mean? Ham radio is an adventure? We just hook up our radios to our antennas and
make contacts. There’s nothing adventuresome about that,” said Joe.
The Old Timer took a breath.
“Would you agree that mountain climbing is an adventure?” asked the OT.
“Yes, of course,” replied Joe.
“Well what makes it an adventure?”
Joe thought about that for a few moments. “Well, there’s the danger that goes along with those
activities. People prepare for a long time before being ready to climb. They have to prepare
themselves, get the right equipment and gain the knowledge they need in order to be successful.”
“And don’t we hams have to do all of that too?” asked the OT.
“Yeah, but its not the same. Mountain climbing is a sport,” said Joe.
“Radio is a sport too,” noted the Old Timer. “Look at the World Radiosport Team Championship.
Look at Contesting. There are many sporting activities in radio.”
Joe thought about that. The Old Timer had a point. But adventure?
“I don’t see how ham radio is an adventure.”
“I submit that an adventure is a human endeavor that maps the progress of man. It is part of man’s
striving to be better. To achieve more. To measure himself or herself against existing standards and to
go further. And here’s the key – with no guarantee of success. You rise and fall on your own efforts
and abilities. Sometimes you make it and sometimes you don’t. Not everyone can climb the
mountain,” said the Old Timer.
“OK, I can see how radio sport might have some of those characteristics. But is a ham really an
adventurer sitting in his chair in his ham shack?” Joe asked.
“Ah, but you’re leaving out all of the preparation. You can’t just sit down at a rig and be successful.
You have to gain knowledge and understanding. To do this you have to motivate yourself. This is just
as hard as a climber who works to motivate himself to train and get ready to climb. You have to learn
about the mountain range. What paths are likely to be successful and how weather and other variables
can impact your success. The adventure starts long before one sets foot on the mountain. The
adventure is testing yourself and taking the steps necessary to achieve your goal.” The Old Timer was
on a roll.
“And don’t forget, there is real physical danger in ham radio. That’s why we teach safety. There’s the
climbing aspect if you want to put antennas high up on towers. There’s shock hazards in dealing with
high voltages. And there’s RF radiation that can impact you and others.”
Joe was beginning to see the Old Timer’s point about radio sport. But was it relevant to his original
question?
“But what about DX?”
“Making contact with distant stations is the zenith of our hobby and results from all of the efforts of a
Dxer. The Dxer is an adventurer. He or she has set their sights on a high mountain. Their goal is to
reach the top. To do so they must prepare themselves and their station. They are always seeking to
improve. They measure their progress against themselves and others, while maintaining friendships
with like minded adventurers who are on the same quest. Dxing is the pinnacle of achievement in
amateur radio. It isn’t easy. A Dxer pays a cost in order to move ahead. And like other adventurers
there is no guarantee of success. But they are driven to move ahead, to progress and to achieve.”
“Wow, I had no idea!” exclaimed Joe.
“A Dxer uses all aspects of the ham radio hobby in order to achieve. And that takes time. Dxing is
slow motion radio sport, with progress measured contact by contact. And it is never ending. There’s
always a new mountain on the horizon. New contacts to be made, new improvements to install. New
bands, new modes and on and on.”
As great amateurs have said since beginning: DX is! (and always will be!)
Gary Wise W4EEY