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ARRL Products:
Circuit Design(More)
Experimental Methods in RF Design -- Immerse yourself in the communications experience by building equipment that contributes to understanding basic concepts and circuits.
ARRL's Hands-On Radio Experiments -- Now Shipping!
-- Over 60 basic electronics experiments from the pages of QST!
Power Supply Handbook -- Gain the knowledge and confidence you need to build and use power supplies. A must have for your bookshelf!
Discrete-Signal Analysis and Design -- Now Shipping!
-- A clear, step-by-step approach to practical uses of discrete-signal analysis and design, especially for communications and radio engineers.
Digital Signal Processing Technology -- Essentials of the Communications Revolution. An understandable presentation and reference on DSP in contemporary communications technology.
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Using Your Equipment
Introduction
This page contains articles to help you get the most out of your equipment. There are hints for both the beginner and the seasoned amateur--from setting up your station to adjusting your receiver's selectivity and measuring your antenna system's characteristics.
Back to Basics is a good place to begin for an overall picture on maximizing your new station. See also the list of other articles on using your equipment.
Additional resources
The ARRL has an extensive catalog of books and materials related to Amateur Radio.
Articles
Note: Some of the following articles are in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. To view and print these files, you'll need a copy of Adobe's Acrobat Reader program. (Version 3.0 or later required). More information here.
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Back to Basics (27,626 bytes, PDF file)
QST August 1995, pp. 67-68
Advice on topics from shopping for your first radio to putting up your first antenna.
- Setting Up Your Station (296,252 bytes, PDF file)
QST July 1984, pp.16-19
Some hints and How To for putting together an operating table, getting coax through walls and windows, switching antennas and more.
Feedback: The diameter of the coils used in the "brute-force" line filter is omitted. They may be anywhere from 1 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter.
- Feeding Your Station (1,743,425 bytes, PDF File)
QST December 1983, pp. 20-23
Fat coaxial line, skinny cable, open-wire feeders or 300-ohm ribbon line - the correct choice can save the beginner a few dollars while helping to ensure maximum performance.
Feedback: QST April 1984, p. 51. There is an error in Table 1. The capacitance of RG-11A/U is 20.5 pF/ft, not 0.5 pF/ft as shown.
Feedback: The first formula in note 1 should read m = ft x 0.3048
- Coaxial Cables: Their Construction And Use (204,866 bytes, PDF file)
QST November 1984, pp. 19-21
Here is some background information to help us understand coaxial cable and use it more effectively.
- Learning to Use Field-Strength Meters (1,103,024 bytes, PDF file)
QST March 1985, pp.26-30
A field-strength meter is essentially a small receiver with an indicating device, such as a sensitive dc meter. This simple instrument is very useful during antenna experiments and adjustments.
Feedback: M1 of Fig. 3 should be a 0-1 mA meter.
- Antenna Tuner Operation
Adapted from questions in The Doctor, QST
Answers the question, "How do I use my antenna tuner?"
- Does Your Solid-State Transceiver Reduce its Power Output Power with Rising SWR Because it's Solid-State?
QST June 1989, pp. 42-43
- Improving and Using R-X Noise Bridges (462,466 bytes, PDF file)
QST August 1989, pp. 27-32, 52
A noise bridge can be used to measure antenna impedances, coaxial cable losses and characteristic impedances, etc. This article shows how to improve your measurement accuracy.
Feedback: QST January 1990, p. 27
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What Your Frequency Display Really Tells You--Part 1 (1,395,975 bytes, PDF file)
QST August 1991, pp.28-32
How close to the band edge can you operate?
Feedback: QST June 1992, p. 64 (included in article)
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What Your Frequency Display Really Tells You--Part 2 (2,105,365 bytes, PDF file)
QST September 1991, pp. 26-31
- Improved Dynamic-Range Testing (899,952 bytes, PDF file)
QEX Jul/Aug 2002, pp. 46-52
- What Can You Do with a Dip Meter? (111,113 bytes, PDF
file)
QST May 2002, pp.65-68
The dipper is one piece of test equipment that can replace a whole shelf of
expensive gear.
- An Inside Picture of Directional Wattmeters (362,340 bytes, PDF file)
QST April 1959, pp. 24-28
What they do and how they do it
- Evaluation of Antenna Tuners and
Baluns-An Update (1,256,112 bytes, PDF file)
QEX, Sep/Oct 2003, pp 3-14
How to have high confidence in your
measurements.
Note:
Contact information for suppliers mentioned in the above articles should first be confirmed using TIS Address Database Search.
Bibliography (Members Only)
ARRL Periodicals Index Search - This database contains the QST index from 1915 to the present and the QEX index from 1981 to the present. For QST issues from 1970 to the present, and some selected articles back to 1922 (when construction articles featuring tubes began in earnest), identifying keywords have been added to the technical articles. By entering keywords (ANTENNA) or combinations of keywords (CONSTRUCTION ANTENNA VERTICAL HF) into the Title words: field, you may create dynamic bibliographies.
Technical article KEYWORD list. Hints for more successful searching
Suggested keywords for more articles like the ones on this page are: TUTORIAL PRIMER
Web Links
Article Reprints:
You can get a photocopy of any ARRL published article for $3
($5 for nonmembers) for each article requested. Contact the ARRL Technical
Department (reprints@arrl.org ),
1-860-594-0390) if you wish to get photocopies.
This information was prepared as a membership service by the American Radio Relay League, Inc., Technical Information Service, 225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111 (860) 594-0214. Email: tis@arrl.org (Internet). ARRL HQ is glad to provide this information on the Web free of charge as a service to League members and affiliated clubs.
If you have any questions concerning the reproduction or distribution of this material, please contact:
TIS Coordinator
American Radio Relay League
225 Main St., Newington, CT 06111
Tel: 860-594-0214 Fax: 860-594-0259
(email: tis@arrl.org)
Page last modified: 09:12 AM, 13 Aug 2003 ET
Page author: tis@arrl.org
Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
