Getting into ham radio

Well, at the start of the last solar cycle, when I was becoming a lot more active in radio, someone in the US, quite rightly, said to me: 'it's a great time to come into the hobby!'

And if you are arriving at this blog, curious as to whether amateur radio is for you, we're at that improving phase of the solar cycle yet again.

Today's sun.  More sunspots means more fun on the ham radio bands!  Image: NASA/SDO.

 

Ham radio can appear to be limited to shouting down a microphone and having a really boring conversation with someone you've never met, and isn't interested in what you are.  And, sometimes, it is like that!

But there are an almost limitless set of possibilities and interest avenues to follow, once you decide to get involved.  I really encourage you to do so!  Computing and digital communications are now all the rage, and of particular interest to younger age groups.  They offer the daily-realised potential of global communications at low power, and with less-than-perfect antennas.

And remember: those adverts in magazines, which give you the impression you need a mortgage to come into the hobby, are to be ignored!  I started the hobby by spending about £350 on a good, second-hand transceiver, £100 on a matching unit, and some wire. You can almost certainly do even better than that.

Back in early 2011. I started with a copper-tube 28MHz dipole, and a very low multiband wire dipole beneath it.  Very far from ideal, though the environment was very good, and I had a lot of fun with it!

Here's what you can do with just a triangular piece of wire (a 'delta loop' antenna), strung up on your house at the moment, up at the upper reaches of HF, at 28MH.  You can of course do the same, or better, with a copper tube dipole, just like I had all those years ago!

 

 

Starting in amateur radio

If you've hit this blog by wondering and searching about amateur radio, then welcome!  

It's a great time to start getting yourself organised to pass a fairly straightforward test, or series of tests, to obtain your licence!

Why?

Because the Sun has, over the past month, swung from a deep sleep state into a waking state.  The number of sunspots has risen in October to around 15, up dramatically from the previous month's number of 1.  For the next few years, the Sun will rise to full activity before, somewhere in the early 2030s, going to sleep for a while once more.

In tandem with this is a background reduction in the number of days when there are no sunspots:

Number of days without sunspots, by year.  2020 clearly shows solar cycle 25 has begun in earnest.

 

More sunspots means better conditions for propagating your radio signals from here to there, especially at the higher HF bands (see PE4BAS' recent post about long-distance contacts at 10m), where the smaller wavelength means antennas are smaller and easier to erect.

This solar cycle also brings to the bands more digital (computer-based) signal modes than ever before.  This opens up opportunities to capitalise on very brief and borderline conditions where signals are able to cross large distances.  

So effective are these computer-based modes that no longer is there a strict requirement to put up a huge antenna or use enormous amounts of power; simple wires and a few Watts are all that are needed to enjoy global communications, provided you also exercise some effort and patience - this is not a 'switch-on-and-instantly-succeed' hobby.

A great educational hobby where computers and radios mix.  We really do need more young people, females, and those from minority backgrounds to come into the hobby, and all are very welcome!

 

Also, if you don't really have the time or inclination to have a 30-minute chat, maybe with an older person on the other end - which most young people, in particular, find very offputting - then there is absolutely no need to do so.  Digital modes let you make a contact that can be simply something like scoring a simple hit for a logbook, or something more meaningful, such as a keyboard-to-keyboard, internet-like exchange in real time.

If you want to pick up a magazine, Practical Wireless is a great publication that isn't stuffy and exclusive in its approach, but practical and friendly.  Even though it, like all other magazines carries adverts for sometimes very expensive equipment, you can get an effective new radio for about £650, or significantly less if you carefully opt for a used item.  All you then need is a power supply unit and some cheap wire to get started.  

And for even less money, you can talk to someone far away via a space satellite!  At the moment, radios of low power that will allow you to make some contacts this way are selling for just £19.99.

So, if you are thinking of joing in the fascinating, educational hobby that is amateur radio, search online and get in touch with your local club and ask about any training they provide.  This is one advantage of the Covid era - more clubs are now offering live or recorded lessons online for all, usually at little or, like this very popular site, no cost!

My view on why radio is great?  Your mind, if not your body, rides along with your radio waves to far away places you may never even have heard of, and learn about the world.   And there is a lot of world to learn about...