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AMATEUR RADIO 
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AMATEUR
RADIO
"THE
POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS"
Australian
Communications & Media Authority (AR Licensing &
Information)
The
ACA issues Licenses and Certificates of Proficiency.
ACA AMATEUR
INFORMATION PAGE
A basic
description of Amateur Radio
If
you have read the "AMATEUR
RADIO COMMUNICATIONS EXPLORATION" Brochure that you can
download from the home page, these site's will give you yet another
perspective! THEIR ARE OVER THREE MILLION
LICENSED AMATEURS AROUND THE WORLD! THREE MILLION OF US CANT BE
WRONG - IT'S A GREAT HOBBY!
CLICK
ME
AN
OVERSEAS EXPLANATION
Amateur
Radio FAQ'S. An excellent site
A
more in depth look at the many and varied aspects of Amateur Radio. It
is TRULY a hobby that you can make of it what you choose!
CLICK
ME
NZ LINKS
on nearly every aspect of AR
NZ
LINKS (NZ INFO.)
NASA - "SO
YOU WANT TO BE AN AMATEUR" 
Their
are literally thousands of pages on NASA'S Web Site about Amateur
Radio. If you run out of material to read, just do a search for
"Amateur Radio" from www.nasa.gov
Web Site.
NASA'S
"SO YOU WANT TO BE AN AMATEUR" (US INFO.)
NASA'S
AMATEUR RADIO HOME PAGE
NASA'S
SAREX (SPACE AMATEUR RADIO EXPERIMENT)
ARRANGE FOR YOUR SCHOOL TO TALK TO THE ASTRONAUTS
ABOARD
THE ISS VK5ZAI'S WEB
SITE ARISS
"AMATEUR RADIO IN
SPACE" A TEACHERS GUIDE. With
activities
in
Science, Maths and Technology. An ARRIS Doc.
(3 MEG PDF)
A
CONTACT I HAD WITH MIKE FINKE ON THE
ISS July 20 2004
MP3 FILE
THE
ISS EARTHKAM PROJECT - (FOR SCHOOLS)
Just
Having Fun & Communicating
Amateur
Radio can be simple, cheap and entirely for fun, OR you can follow your
dreams and idea's and create and use sophisticated equipment for highly
useful, fun and fascinating purposes. "IT'S
COMPLETELY UP TO YOU"!
Well we have a lot of it, but not many
seem to write about it! Still searching!
AMATEUR
RADIO OPERATORS,
NASA and the
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
Check it out!
Did
you know that most Astronauts including Andy Thomas hold Amateur Radio
Licenses! Their is an Amateur Radio Station on the International Space
Station and the Astronauts regularly talk to other Amateurs and send Packet
and APRS (see APRS & Packet) data back to Earth! The vast
majority of Space Vehicles have had some type of AR Equipment aboard!
Check out this site ... MUST
SEE WEB SITES
ISS
COMMUNICATION RELAYS - VK5ZAI'S EXCELLENT WEB SITE
NASA'S
WEB SITE ON AMATEUR RADIO ABOARD
THEIR SPACE CRAFT
NASA'S
"SO YOU WANT TO BE AN AMATEUR" (US INFO.)
APRS
AND THE ISS (SEE APRS)
THE ISS EARTHKAM PROJECT - (FOR
SCHOOLS)
Experimenting
with Radio
Most
Amateurs will do some form of experimenting no matter how simple or complex
it is during their life in the hobby. From experimenting with the
many facets of AR, having fun talking all over the World, or maybe
exploring the many types of Radio Propagation their is or even building a
simple transmitter, - TO - building massive
Antenna Systems or even Radio Telescopes and other equipment for the many
fascinating and sometimes undiscovered area's of the Hobby. Amateur's
have invented many useful technologies while enjoying their hobby! It's
GOOD FUN!
AREG
- AMATEUR RADIO EXPERIMENTERS GROUP
DO YOU
HAVE A SCANNER
Listen
to these AR Repeater frequencies to get an idea of the camaraderie
and fun that can be had with everyone sharing a common hobby and interest.
CLICK
ME
Amateur
Repeaters
Their
are literally thousands of AR repeaters around the world on hills,
mountains, and even on our own Satellites on 28 MHz, 50 MHz, 144 MHz, 420
MHz and 1.2 GHz and above. Repeaters are located on high hills or
mountains and "repeat" the signal so far greater distances can be
covered. Amateurs even experiment by sending voice repeaters up in to
the sky on balloons to try and make long distant contacts. In
Amateur Radio, you can do just about ANYTHING - what ever you dream
up. IT'S ABOUT EXPERIMENTING AND HAVING FUN AT THE SAME TIME!
VK3YE'S
AMATEUR REPEATER'S BASICS
All About Propagation
The
ability of Radio Signals to travel far greater distances than is normally
the case. Probably one of the most fascinating phenomenon that hook
Amateurs to their hobby for life is "Chasing the DX Propagation"
(DX=Long Distance). Their are about 10 main types of Radio Frequency
Propagation, all with very different characteristics, and particular to
certain frequencies or bands. Some bands like the 6 Mtr band (50.000
MHz) can have around 5 or 6 types of propagation making it fascinating
trying to "chase" the long distance contacts. Just one type
is Meteor Scatter, where RF signals scatter
off the debris in the tails of meteors entering our atmosphere to return to
earth to be received by a distant station. - learn about the basics here.
HF
& THE
SUN SPOT CYCLE
Learn all
about VHF (145 MHz) & UHF (430 MHz) FM & SSB Tropospheric Ducting
Long Distance Comm's.
One
of many types of Propagation allowing signals that normally travel 50-100
KM, to travel thousands of KM's. This type of propagation comes about
when temperature and\or moisture inversion's occur close to ground
level. Don't miss Leigh's excellent explanation and pictures of
Inversion Layers, where Tropospheric "Ducts" occur causing the RF
signals to get "trapped", to be picked up interstate or
overseas! Check it out at Leigh's - VK2KRR's
Excellent Web Site.
LEIGH'S
HOME PAGE
All
about TROPOSPHERIC DUCTING
CHECK
OUT LEIGH'S TEMPERATURE INVERSION PIC'S
AUST.
NATIONAL VHF DX GROUP
VHF\UHF
PROPAGATION LOGGER
Click
this link and log in using "GUEST" to see the real time text
messaging of Amateur Stations while they are working V\UHF "DX",
be it voice modes or digital modes from Meteor Scatter to Moon
Bounce. YOU MUST BE AN AMATEUR OR PROSPECTIVE
AMATEUR to "Log" (send) a message to those on-line,
as all users are monitored. PLEASE RESPECT THIS
WEB SITE.
VHF\UHF
LOGGER
Digital
Communications
Learn
about the many and varied types of Digital Communications Amateurs
use. IF YOU LIKE COMPUTERS, YOU WILL LIKE THIS!
A
GREAT SITE FOR ALL AMATEUR DIGITAL MODES
RTTY
An Old Digital Mode
WSJT
- DX DIGITAL MODES S\W
All about
IRLP "Internet Radio Linking
Project"
IRLP
is where Amateurs link FM Voice Repeaters via the Internet to other
Repeaters all around the world. Talk to the world with you Hand Held
Transceiver any time!
IRLP
HOME
VK3YE's
ARTICLE ON IRLP
ECHOLINK
- A More Internet based Amateur Communications System
Echolink
is similar to IRLP and allows Amateurs to communicate from computer
to computer, and everything in between, to linking repeaters like IRLP.
You can easily set up an EchoLink "Node" at home so you have your
own communication's with the world where ever you are!
ECHOLINK
HOME PAGE
Satellite
Communications
Amateurs
world wide have launched many of their very own Satellites in to space for
their own World Wide Satellite Communication's Systems. Some Satellites
allow you to talk internationally with not much more than a 'Hand
Held" transceiver! Their are Low & High Earth Orbit
Satellites that relay many Modes including voice and many types of digital
data. Not bad for a HOBBY!
AMSAT
VISIT
HAM RADIO AND IRLP TOP SITES - CLICK GRAPHIC TO VOTE FOR THIS SITE!
Meet
AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS
John
- VK5NJ CLICK
ME
Building
your own Gear
Many
Amateurs choose to build a massive range of equipment, including antennas,
electronic equipment, computer interfaces, antenna tuners, electronic kits,
just about anything to save money, because you cant buy it or just for fun!
VK3YE'S
AMATEUR PROJECTS
MOON
BOUNCE - (EME - Earth Moon Earth)
Moon
Bounce is where Amateurs bounce Radio Signals off the moon, where they
return to Earth over the other side of the World to be received by distant
Amateur's Station's. Check Out Moon Bounce Here.
CLICK
ME
Check out
APRS -
"Automatic Position Reporting System"
APRS
is where Amateurs use Packet Radio (see Packet Radio) (Like your computer
modem, but connected to a transceiver) and GPS units to send digital data
over the Radio Waves so you can see travelling vehicle's locations, their
speed, altitude and direction,- repeater and house locations, weather
station data, well just about anything - from your local area to all over
the world!. You can even see a pass of the International Space
Station in real time on your computer screen APRS maps. APRS is also
"ported" to the Internet so you can get an idea of what it is
like by checking out one of the links below! . You can even send
Internet Email from a RF Radio Packet Station! The possibilities of
APRS are numerous! Like Packet Radio, APRS Signals are
"repeated" by other APRS Stations, Packet Repeaters etc. and even
the International Space Station. Being a fairly new innovation,
Amateur's are constantly coming up with new idea's and uses for APRS. Don't
steal an Amateurs car because it NEVER GETS LOST! Either does the
Amateur! (-:)
VK5AH
- TONY'S APRS WEB SITE
APRS.NET.AU
vk2.aprs.net.au
vk3.aprs.net.au
vk5.aprs.net.au
APRS AND THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
Talking
all over the world on HF (High Frequency)
Every
Amateur Band - MF, HF, VHF, UHF and SHF have completely different
characteristics, and unique and varied propagation types. The HF Bands
include (approx) 1.800-1.875 MHz, 3.500-3.800 MHz, 7.000-7.300 MHz,
10.100-10.150 MHz, 14.000-14.350 MHz, 18.068-18.168 MHz, 21.000-21.450MHz,
24.890-24.990 MHz, 28.000-28.700 MHz and mainly rely on the charging of the
Ionosphere by the suns rays, causing the RF
signals to reflect off the Ionosphere Layer to return to Earth, allowing
far greater distances to be covered than the RF would normally
travel. HF is great for continental and world wide communications.
The main modes used on HF are Single Side Band (SSB), Slow Scan TV (SSTV),
other Digital Modes and Frequency Modulation (FM) (29.000-29.700 MHz)
Learn about the fun you can have talking to the World with HF here.
HF
EXPLAINED
HF
& THE
SUN SPOT CYCLE
Amateur
TV
Amateurs
World Wide transmit Broadcast Quality TV signals, and most City's have
their own TV Repeaters allowing their TV signals to be received all over
the City and beyond. Amateurs use TV for "Video Phone"
communications,
broadcasting programmes, experimenting and just for fun. Have
you ever wanted your own TV Station? Amateurs even transmit DX
(Long Distant) TV to distant stations, usually portable from high area's.
Gladesville
Amateur Radio Club
CLICK
HERE
The 6 Mtr
(50 MHz) Amateur Radio Band
Called
the "Magic Band" due to the many
types of fascinating propagation allowing world wide contacts.
VK5KK's
50 MEG
PAGE A
6 MTR STORY
Wireless
Institute of Australia - LINKS
The
Wireless Institute of Australia is the main representative body for
Amateurs, and is run entirely by Amateur Volunteers.
WIA
FEDERAL DIVISION - LINKS
Antennas
Most
Amateurs end up building an Antenna or 20. It saves a heap of cash
and is not quite as hard as you may think! From a "Rubber
Ducky" to a Satellite Dish - You would be amazed
at the things Amateurs build! I'm amazed and I'm an Amateur!!
CLICK
ME
WIRELESS
NETWORKING AND ANTENNAS FOR THE SHF (GIGAHERTZ BANDS)
Scouts
& Guides and Amateur Radio
Every
Year, Scouts and Guides of all ages get together for the "Jamboree of
the Air", where Amateur Radio Operators set up stations at their camps
to allow them to try the many facets of AR for themselves. THEY
LOVE IT!
THE
S.A. JOTA WEB SITE
SCOUT
RADIO ACTIVITIES GROUP - VK5BP'S WEB SITE
SCOUT RADIO
& ELECTRONICS SERVICE UNIT (VIC)
Space
Communications
Their
are many types of SPACE COMMUNICATIONS amateurs get in to. From
talking to the Astronauts aboard the International Space Station, talking
and using digital modes on their array of Amateur Satellites, to bouncing
signals of the Moon including Voice, Morse Code and an array of Digital
Modes decoded by computers.
APRS
and the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (SEE
SATELLITES, APRS)
Amateurs
and Astronomy
Amateurs
use their own Radio Telescopes to search the heavens! Most Amateurs
also have interests in Astronomy and many other types of Science! THE
POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!
CLICK
ME
SOCIETY
OF RADIO ASTRONOMERS
Amateurs
and the Community - WICEN & EMERGENCIES!
WICEN
stands for the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency
Network. Amateurs are ready to assist the community in any
Emergency's when they are called on to help from varied Government
Departments. As Amateurs have extensive communications systems and
skills, and are also equipped to set up remote communication stations at
very short notice - wether for local or World Wide Communications, Amateurs
are well placed to assist. Amateurs assistance could be especially
vital if our community's "normal" communications systems were
disrupted. When Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin and they were without any
communications, it was an Amateur Operator that put out the call for help
allowing the outside world to know of the disaster!
Their
is a fun side to WICEN too, - to allow them to keep their communication
skills up, WICEN Volunteers often assist in supplying the communication
system infrastructure and operators for eg. the World Rally Championship,
where the "Amateur Rev Heads" get a free ticket to the event and
supply the events communication needs. It's
GREAT FUN.
WICEN
CLICK ME
US VIDEO about AR Emergency
Assistance during Hurricane "Catrina"
(Widows Video File ... 6
Megs.)
Amateurs
& their involvement with SETI
Some
Amateur Radio Operators are part of the SEARCH for
EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE and use their own Radio Telescopes (DISH's)
to search for life in our vast Universe. Check it out here.
CLICK
ME
Contesting
Exactly
as the name implies, contests usually involve the number of contacts we
make on certain bands within a specified time limit. The contest type and
rules vary greatly, with the main aim having fun and meeting new people .
Amateur Radio groups hold hundreds of contests locally and world wide every
year.
CONTESTING
RTTY
DIGITAL MODE CONTESTING
Packet
Radio (Also see APRS)
Packet
Radio is similar to the Web where you have your Modem connected to the
phone line and your computer, except we connect a Terminal Node Controller
(TNC) (which is like a Modem) to our computers, and use a Transceiver
instead of the Phone Line. This allows us to have real time "IRC"
type keyboard chats around the world, use APRS (see above), send messages,
use message boards, transfer files and even send Email to the Internet and
MORE! This is all done over Radio and repeated by other stations,
"digepeaters" (Packet Repeater's), Amateur Satellites and even
the International Space Station! The signals are also ported through
"IGates" over the Internet! Check our Packet Radio here!
SAPUG
US LINKS
CLICK
ME
VISIT
HAM RADIO AND IRLP TOP SITES - CLICK GRAPHIC TO VOTE FOR THIS SITE!
This
Page was Last Updated on Saturday, 18 March 2006 
