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 Previous: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler |  Next: WRC-07 Conference Preparatory Meeting Under Way in Geneva |
By Fred Hamby, KI4EZC
ki4ezc@arrl.net
February 16, 2007
Once a ham, always a ham, right? What happens when a ham comes back to Amateur Radio after a 50 year absence? While not unlike riding a bike after some time away, relearning ham radio presents its own challenges and is just as fun (if not more so) as it was more than a half-century ago!
Figure 1--Who doesn't remember their first Novice station? Open wiring on 6V6 transmitter -- 110-400 V! Knight Ocean Hopper receiver is shown after alterations for ham work. I drew this from memory almost 50 years after I had this set-up. |
Here I am firing up my QRP rig, the Elecraft KX1, on a camping trip near Chattanooga. My wife Evie is at door of screen room and a friend is in the chair. [Ed Wennerstrom, Photo] |
Back in the 1950s
As a faithful reader of the Boy Scouts of America's magazine Boy's Life as a pre-teen and teen, I closely followed the articles and advertisements on Morse code and crystal radios. I built practice code buzzers and all sizes of crystal radios. Not long after, I was introduced to ham radio through classes provided by the Chattanooga Amateur Radio Club. The instructors only had a book, a blackboard and a code oscillator with a key. We went to class for several weeks, and at least six of us from City High got our coveted Novice ham license in 1955. My new call sign was KN4CPT (the "N" in the call sign indicated Novice).
The equipment I used as a novice ham was basic even for 1955. I built a three tube regenerative Knight Ocean Hopper (OH) receiver from a kit that I modified with vernier drives for the main frequency selection and band spread tuners. I also added a "Receive/Standby" switch (for you collectors, I know I messed up a collectable OH by drilling holes and making alterations).
I obtained a pre-WW II designed wooden rack mounted 6V6 transmitter plus a power supply (see Figure 1). After two long wire 80 meter antennas were installed in trees (one each for receive and transmit), I tuned the transmitter using a 40 W light bulb and started trying to fill my log with CW contacts. The 6V6 circuit was unstable with a tendency to key clicks and variations in oscillation. I worked 80 meters because that was the transmitter's standard configuration of tank coils, crystal and antenna. DX for me at that time was Tennessee to Michigan.
Novice hams in 1955 had to upgrade to General within one year or they lost their ticket. I had no way to measure my code speed -- I thought I was doing well toward 13 wpm within six months or so, but I probably missed by a mile. I didn't get a study guide for the General license and no classes were offered, so KN4CPT retired in 1956 after only one year of activity.
The Unlicensed Years: 1956-2004
I have no excuse for abandoning Amateur Radio during this time. I worked my adult priorities -- finishing a degree as a night student, keeping up a job as a computer programmer/analyst and spending as much time as possible with my young and slowly growing family. The electrical things I had learned as a ham were occasionally applied to troubleshooting, fixing the family car and appliance electrical problems. I know I missed out on a good hobby for a lot of years.
Toward the end of this period, people were predicting that I was not going to be happy as a retiree since my job had been so important to me. I needed help fast -- I needed to transfer my focus to something new and that something had not been exercised in a long time. My wife and I began to think about what we had enjoyed as young adults. During that process, we went camping in a cozy pop-up trailer and I got "re-bitten" by the ham radio bug.
2004 -- A Return to Amateur Radio
I wanted to pick up ham radio where I had left off, but the license and the code skills were gone. I asked around about some old call books, so I could get credit for passing the code previously, but I could not find one -- it was back to a scratch start. I rejoined the American Radio Relay League and ordered the Technician class licensing manual, Now You're Talking (The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual has since replaced this book). I got the ARRL code CDs and went to work seriously and hard. You need an attitude of "serious and hard work" to pursue what you want sometimes.
I set out a plan for how I would like to catch up and enjoy ham radio:
The best code band for day and night use for Technician with HF privileges is often 40 meters, but the interference from SSB stations from south of the border reduces its usefulness for me. These poor band conditions drove me toward license upgrades so I would be able to communicate in what I saw as the more productive portions of the bands.
I soon appreciated the difference in the capabilities of my 1955 station. When I compare its one band-one frequency operation plus straight key to modern ham equipment with variable frequency tuning, digital signal processing and automatic memory keyers with their paddles and keyboards, there's no contest. It is a lot easier to operate successfully now with the advanced technology of ham station equipment, even in spite of the solar cycle situation.
Ham Radio Is Something Everyone Can Enjoy
All of these activities take time and study to earn the license privileges and the skill to put them to productive use. There is always a ham magazine or a manual waiting to be read, Morse code to practice, antennas to add or modify, a building project to continue or club business to perform. Because of these factors, ham radio is a very good option for a retirement hobby. There are endless directions to go. I can spend as little or as much time that I want to and get rewarded with a contact with a new or old friend, QSL cards, awards progress tracking or ham radio club interests.
A person moving toward retirement (at any age) or is in retirement and still wants to learn some new things should take a look at a hobby that is high technology, fun and friendly and almost as old as the hills of Tennessee. Current hams should encourage their non-ham friends to participate, too.
My Method for Taking Amateur Licensing Tests
There are, no doubt, as many methods for studying for the tests as there are people who have taken them. I can only say this method worked for me -- I never made a perfect score, but I passed each test the first time.
Start with the next license you need and get the related ARRL study guides one at a time since they can become obsolete. Read the study material, highlighting the interesting concepts. Turn to the question pool when you are prompted, and highlight the correct answer only. For those questions that require calculations, copy all the formulas from the text needed for each answer. Get a scientific calculator and use it repeatedly each time you review the question and get the indicated result.
After you have studied the whole element, and while working all the problems with the calculator, try taking the practice test at www.qrz.com. Shoot for at least 90 percent on the practice tests.
As I said before, taking and passing a Morse code test (Element 1) will no longer be required for any Amateur Radio license after February 23, 2007. That said, it is still a viable (and fun) mode of communicating. I learned Morse using some products that are readily available, including:
I have found these best for not only initially learning code, but for long term speed improvement exercises.
How to Learn Morse Code
Pick one or more of the above products for code practice -- you will be listening to perfectly sent code. You may need 30 minutes per day for several weeks to get the job done.
Here are some things that I did that helped me pass Element 1:
It has been my experience that it takes about two years to get to functionally comfortable at about 18-20 wpm (at my age, anyway). I am still working on several goals with my almost daily practice on the code tutor. You can get to the speed you want by pushing your practice speed upward in small stretch steps.
I don't see anything wrong with using a memory keyer and keyboard to work CW. This is the age of computers; let the computer assist you to become error-free and a better operator. I use the key instead of the keyboard at times -- this allows me to operate portable CW comfortably with minimal equipment components.
Try Morse Code As a Communication Option
Morse code allows you the practice and experience of operating the small and inexpensive side of ham radio using QRP (low power, usually Morse code transceivers). A QRP station is fun to take on a camping trip or to a beach house. I take along my Elecraft KX1 (the whole station including a simple vertical wire antenna) in a camera bag.
My favorite portable location is a rented beach house in Florida. My 4.5 W QRP rig punches out to South America, across the Atlantic and all over the USA and Canada from there when conditions are right. It is like going on a DXpedition on a shoestring budget. Is Field Day coming up? Are you tired of the noisy generator? A lawn mower battery will run one of these 12 V rigs for days.
I do not see anything wrong with using a memory keyer and keyboard to work CW. This is the age of computers; you can let the computer assist you to become a more error free and a better operator. I would use the key instead of the keyboard at times so you can comfortably operate portable CW with minimal equipment components.
Conclusion
I hope you can use this information to recruit new hams and that you received the encouragement to use more of the privileges of our great hobby. I also hope that that some of the higher license achievements seem more attainable to you. The effort is definitely worth the trip.
Fred Hamby, KI4EZC, has been re-licensed since 2004 and holds an Amateur Extra class license. Operating mostly CW, he likes to ragchew and make a rookie showing at contests, as well as build equipment for his home and field stations. Fred is active in the Scenic City Amateur Radio Society (SCARS) and serves as an ARRL VE. Retired after 44 years in the electrical utility industry, Fred and his wife Evie live in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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