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| leaflet [2021/09/02 20:22] – created m0tzo | leaflet [2022/01/16 15:57] (current) – m0tzo |
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| ====== What on Earth is this guy doing? ====== | ====== What on Earth are you doing? ====== |
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| If you're reading this, chances are that you've bumped into me out doing my hobby of Amateur Radio a.k.a. "ham radio". I might be taking part in a radio contest, up on top of a hill or by the coastline to get a good take-off for radio signals, or I might be just enjoying some time playing with radios and antennas. | If you're reading this, chances are that you've bumped into me out doing my hobby of **Amateur Radio a.k.a. "ham radio"**. I might be taking part in a radio contest, up on top of a hill or by the coastline to get a good take-off for radio signals, or I might be just enjoying some time playing with radios and antennas. |
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| ===== Sorry if I’m busy… but stick around if you like! ===== | ===== Sorry if I’m busy… but stick around if you like! ===== |
| I’d love to answer any questions you’ve got but I might not be able to respond immediately. If I haven’t got a chance to talk right now it’s probably because I’m in the middle of talking with someone else on the radio who might be in a distant country… or I might be listening to/ tapping out Morse code which takes a bit of concentration! Yes, it seems a bit antiquated but Morse code is still a really effective way of squeezing the most distance out of radio and equipment for Morse code can be simple to build too. | |
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| ===== What is he saying? Who is he talking to? ===== | **I’d love to answer any questions** you’ve got but I might not be able to respond immediately. If I haven’t got a chance to talk right now it’s probably because I’m in the middle of talking with someone else on the radio who might be in a distant country… or I might be listening to/ tapping out **Morse code** which takes a bit of concentration! Yes, it seems a bit antiquated but Morse code is still a really effective way of squeezing the most distance out of radio and equipment for Morse code can be simple to build too. |
| If I’m using a voice radio you might hear me talking a stream of letters (in the phonetic alphabet, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) and numbers that sounds like nonsense. I’m probably in contact with someone like me on another hilltop. In a radio contest people are trying to contact as many different stations in a certain amount of time and scores might be given for both the quantity and the distance of contacts. The letters and numbers I’ll be saying are usually my callsign (G7UHN), a signal report for the other operator to know how well they are being received (very often “Five and Nine” for a good strong signal) and my location as a Maidenhead grid reference (e.g. India Oscar Nine Zero November Whisky). | |
| | ===== What are they saying? Who are they talking to? ===== |
| | {{:locator-g7uhn.png?480 |}} |
| | If I’m using a voice radio you might hear me talking a stream of letters (in the phonetic alphabet, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) and numbers that sounds like nonsense. I’m probably in contact with someone like me on another hilltop. In a radio contest people are trying to contact as many different stations in a certain amount of time and scores might be given for both the quantity and the distance of contacts. The letters and numbers I’ll be saying are usually **my callsign** (<color red><insert own callsign></color>), **a signal report** for the other operator to know how well they are being received (very often “Five and Nine” for a good strong signal) and **my location** as a Maidenhead grid reference (e.g. India Oscar Nine Zero November Whisky (//IO90NW//)). |
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| ===== Ham radio? Does anyone still do that? ===== | ===== Ham radio? Does anyone still do that? ===== |
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| Amateur Radio has many aspects like using radios to communicate around the world, building and modifying equipment, Morse code, satellites, computing, learning new skills and much more - even bouncing signals off the moon! At the heart of my hobby, when I get a chance to play, I just really like putting pins in the map! As an example, here’s a snapshot of my map of contacts I’ve made: | Amateur Radio has many aspects like using radios to communicate around the world, building and modifying equipment, Morse code, satellites, computing, learning new skills and much more - even bouncing signals off the moon! At the heart of my hobby, when I get a chance to play, I just really like putting pins in the map! As an example, here’s a snapshot of my map of contacts I’ve made: |
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| | {{ :map-g7uhn.png?800 |}} |
| ===== Interested? ===== | ===== Interested? ===== |
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| Want to find out some more? Have a search around the Internet with terms like “ham radio”, “portable” and “contest”. There are local clubs around the country (e.g. search “hampshire amateur radio club”) and have a look at the Radio Society of Great Britain website www.rsgb.org where there is some good introductory information and videos. | Want to find out some more? Have a search around the Internet with terms like “ham radio”, “portable” and “contest”. There are local clubs around the country (e.g. search “hampshire amateur radio club”) and have a look at the Radio Society of Great Britain website www.rsgb.org where there is some good introductory information and videos. |
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| Or you can drop me a line if you like. You can email me, Andy, at radio@ALLOUTPUT.com or find me on Twitter @G7UHN | Come and visit our Community at [[https://oarc.uk|oarc.uk]] and join us on our Discord Server. |
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| Thanks for stopping and have a great day! :-) | Thanks for stopping and have a great day! :-) |
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| | //The idea of this page came from Andy G7UHN on this Tweet, and permission was sought!// [[https://twitter.com/G7UHN/status/1433453647803949062|What on Earth is this guy doing |
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