East Coast Long Wire Association
Frequently Asked Questions
This document describes how to become a "ham" (amateur radio operator). It also answers some common questions about ham radio and about the East Coast Long Wire Association (KC2KAX).
Amateur Radio, also called "ham radio", is a non-commercial radio communication service whose primary aims are public service, technical training/experimentation, and communication between private persons.
Amateur radio operators are commonly called "hams". Hams often communicate with each other recreationally, but also provide communications for others at public events or in times of emergency.
Amateur radio is not the same as AM/FM radio. Besides other differences, amateurs don't "broadcast" to the general public or air music or commercials over their radios. As stated above, amateur radio is a service as well as a hobby.
While AM radio uses a "band" of frequencies around 1 Megahertz (MHz), and FM radio is around 100 MHz, ham radio has many different "bands". They are basically divided between VHF (very high frequency, 50 MHz and higher) and HF ("high" frequency, below 50 MHz) bands.
Morse code knowledge is no longer required for an amateur radio license. Read below for more about the license exam and ham bands.
KC2KAX is the East Coast Long Wire Association Amateur Radio Club Call Sign. Our organization is non profit and we support public service agencies including ARES, CERT, RACES, NTS and Skywarn.
KC2KAX meets monthly at the Cape May County Emergency Management Communiction Center in Cape May Court House, NJ. The club is affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for amateur radio.
The club has a weekly radio net, meets monthly, and conducts other activities such as:
You must earn your amateur radio license before you can transmit "on the air" with a ham radio. This means passing the license exam. To take the exam for any class of amateur radio license, there is a small charge ($14) to cover copying costs and running the exam sessions.
If you have had a basic Physics or Electronics class, you already know enough "theory" to pass the license exams. Whether you have or not, it won't take very much time to learn the material on your own. The license exam questions are all taken from a "question pool" that is publically available (including the exact questions and all the choices used on the actual exams). Learn enough of these multiple-choice answers, and you will pass the test!
There are also books available to help you learn the material - just make sure the book covers the current (dated) question pool! Local hams will also help you study if you want, occasionally holding study sessions to go through the material.
All the license exams are given by teams of three qualified Volunteer Examiners (VEs) who volunteer their time. KC2KAX tries to hold at least one exam session per year. Watch the Calander for announcements of dates and locations.
There is an exam session almost every weekend in one or more of the big cities nearby, given by their local clubs. A search engine of upcoming exam sessions is available on the ARRL website.
In the USA, anyone who is not a representative of a foreign government may hold an amateur radio license.
You do not have to be a citizen to obtain a license. You do have to pass an exam to get the license.
These requirements are similar in almost every country.
In the past, hams had to learn Morse code to get their first license. Current FCC rules do not require Morse code knowledge for the basic amateur radio license.
The story on Morse code would be incomplete without explaining ham license types, and the frequency bands they use.
First, the frequencies. Ham radio has many different frequency "bands". They are basically divided between VHF (very high frequency, 50 MHz and higher) and HF ("high" frequency, below 50 MHz) bands.
HF frequencies have a neat property - they bounce off a layer of the earth's atmosphere, back down to the ground. So, HF can bounce around the world! VHF cannot.
In the past, Morse code was the international "language" of worldwide HF ham communication. HF signals bouncing around the world don't care what country borders they cross - making ham a wonderful international hobby. Most countries required their hams to know some Morse code before the hams could be licensed to use (worldwide) HF bands and talk internationally.
Lately, new technologies are as popular in HF bands as Morse code is, including Single Sideband (SSB) voice communications and "digital" communications using computers with radios. More on that later.
Now, the ham license classes. There are currently three license classes in amateur radio: Technician, General, and Extra.
The class for new hams is Technician, which entitles the ham to use VHF and higher-frequency bands. To get a "Tech" license, you take the Technician license exam. The Tech license does not require Morse code knowledge (because it's VHF). Techs' transmissions won't be bouncing around the world, so no need to require the old "international language".
General and Extra licenses require their own additional exams, but in exchange they grant privileges to use HF frequencies (which can be heard around the world). To answer this Frequently Asked Question, these two higher ham license classes do still require Morse code knowledge... for the time being...
| Amateur Radio License Classes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Class | Morse code required | Privileges |
| Technician | None. | All ham frequencies above 50 MHz; basically one can communicate statewide all the time, and further some of the time via amateur satellites or other methods. (Ever bounced a radio signal off the moon? Now you can.) |
| General | 5 WPM* | The above privileges, plus most of the ham frequencies below 50 MHz - reliable worldwide communication. With worldwide privileges come responsibility; the license exam for General requires both knowledge of Morse code and knowlege of how to operate radio across international borders. |
| Extra | 5 WPM* | All ham frequencies - typical Extras are building their own equipment and even advancing science, as hams have done throughout the last century. |
| * Words Per Minute - Though you need proficiency in code to transmit and receive at a speed of at least 5 WPM for the two higher exams, this rate is actually v-e-r-y s-l-o-w to the ear. The rates required on previous years' exams were four times faster. | ||
...but in the near future, the General class license is expected to lose its "code" requirement and keep the world-wide band privileges, as other countries have begun to do.
Remember the new technology that hams use on HF bands (SSB, digital, etc.)? The international community has begun to allow ham licenses that grant HF privileges without the Morse code requirement, so hams can use those technologies without memorizing the code.
Don't count Morse code out, though. Even in the worst interference, Morse code communications can get through when many other modes can't! For now, if you want worldwide privileges, you learn Morse code.
There is a giant loophole to all these "class privileges": if a ham of a higher class is present, they may allow lower-class hams (or even non-hams!) to transmit with the higher-class ham's privileges!
It costs some time and money to become a ham. How much depends on the individual.
The cost of a radio is really dependent on what you want to do. You could buy a single-band radio for less than $100. You can make your own "homebrew" gear for about as much money and some time; that's a great way to learn about electronics and radio. Or you can buy a new, multi-band multi-mode radio with all the whistles and bells for $300 on up. I'd suggest you learn more about ham radio, talk to local hams, and find out what you want to do with ham radio before you buy.
The club currently maintains an Yahoo Group for club announcements and general discussion.
You are also welcome to contact the club's officers directly. Their information is on the members page.
The club maintains a World Wide Web site at http://ECLWA.org (this site).
There is also a weekly club net on the club's 147.12 repeater. Nets are held every 2nd and 4th Monday night at 8:00 PM.
The club holds monthly or twice-monthly meetings. These meetings are held at the Cape May County Emergency Management Communications Center in Cape May Court House, NJ.
Everyone who is interested in amateur radio is welcome to come to the meetings. All licensed amateurs are welcome to check into the club net. You do not have to be a member to attend the meetings or join the net (though we encourage you to join)!
Joining is easy! Simply attend one of our meetings, or fill out a membership form online and mail it in!
Membership in the ECLWA is open to anyone interested in Amateur Radio. Voting members must hold a valid amateur radio license.
For more information, check out the How to Join page, or contact the Administrative Members.
There are so many things, it's a difficult question to answer, but here are some ideas:
The most important thing you can't do is transact business of any kind over ham radio (under new FCC rules, some types of personal business transactions are now allowed, but there are still major limitations).
Interference to other hams or services, as well as obscene, profane or indecent language is not tolerated and is illegal. Music and broadcasting messages to the general public are not allowed on ham radio.
Some personal conversations may not be appropriate for amateur radio. Do you really want the whole world to hear about Aunt Mabel's arthritis? Remember that anything you transmit may be heard by others.
This FAQ was originally designed and maintained by John Hamann - kc2dux. Portions of this FAQ are taken from the rec.radio.amateur.misc newsgroup's "Frequently-asked Questions" posting.
Amateur radio is an ongoing learning experience. While no individual knows everything about ham radio, you can find more information from places like: