Under construction
AMATEUR RADIO
What is amateur radio?
Amateur radio (often called ham radio) is a hobby in which people communicate with and experiment with radio.
The ability to experiment with radio is an important distinction between amateur radio and other ways in which members of the public
are allowed to use radio such as Citizens' Band ( 27MHz) and PMR (446 MHz).
Because radio amateurs are allowed to experiment with radio, they are required to pass tests or examinations
to prove a level of technical competence before being granted a license.
For other types of radio license no tests are required, but experimentation is not permitted and users
may only use approved types of equipment with limited power and simple antennas
in order that they do not unknowingly cause interference to other radio users.
The ability to experiment also provides an important justification for reserving valuable frequency bands for use by radio amateurs.
In Belgium, radio amateurs are granted a license for the purpose of training themselves in wireless communication.
Amateur radio allows you to learn skills valuable for a career in engineering and
provides the country with a pool of skilled radio operators for use in times of war.
Radio amateurs are permitted to build and modify the equipment and antennas that they use on the air.
For many, that is the main interest. Others may do no building or experimenting at all.
But because amateur radio equipment can operate on many different frequencies and amateurs are permitted to assemble
their own stations using a variety of equipment and use high power, a considerable level of technical knowledge is still required.
The main distinction between amateur radio and other radio services is therefore that
amateur radio is a hobby for people who are interested in radio.
If you simply want to communicate using radio and have no interest in knowing how it works then
CB or PMR radio will be more suitable for your needs.
An important distinction between amateur radio and CB is that radio amateurs are not allowed
to use amateur radio for communications of a commercial nature.
So you could not use amateur radio to pass messages related to a business activity
even if everyone involved had passed the tests and obtained amateur radio licenses.
The origin of the term ham radio is the subject of much debate, but it is a term that has been in use for decades.
One suggestion is that it derives from the Cockney slang 'hamateur'.
Amateurs of all kinds have been called 'hams' for a long time - for example, the term 'ham actor'.
Some radio amateurs dislike the term as they feel it has connotations of incompetence and amateurishness.
About the only thing that is true of all radio amateurs is that they hold a license that allows them to use and experiment with radio.
There is an almost unlimited number of different ways in which they may choose to use this privilege.
The following examples are merely a few of the most popular activities.
· Communicate with others having similar interests.
Radio amateurs may use their equipment to converse with other radio amateurs, locally or worldwide.
In this modern era of cheap phone calls, Skype and the internet, there are now many ways to achieve this that don't involve the use of radio.
The randomness - never knowing quite who you will talk to, due to the vagaries of radio propagation - is part of what makes ham radio interesting.
· Collect operating awards and compete in contests.
Many radio amateurs compete to collect operating awards or certificates,
which are awarded for achievements such as making confirmed contacts with 100 different countries.
The interest is in the thrill of the chase, hunting down rare locations and making that contact.
Hams also compete in contests where the aim is essentially to make the greatest number of contacts
with different locations during a set period.
Assist with emergency communications.
For some radio amateurs their main reason for being involved in the hobby is to be able to provide
a voluntary communications service during local emergencies.
The flexibility afforded by the amateur radio license allowing the use of different frequency bands
and high power means that amateurs can often provide
communications into locations where professional radio systems fail to do so.
· Experiment with different communications modes.
Amateur radio is not just about speaking to people.
Many radio amateurs like using morse code, a mode of communication that requires much less power
than would be needed to converse using voice over the same distance.
They also enjoy perfecting their skills in sending and receiving morse, practising to reach ever-higher speeds.
Radio amateurs are allowed to connect a computer to the radio and use digital modes,
which allow text-based chat and even the exchange of pictures using radio.
The challenge of doing this using radio and seeing how far you can get is
what makes this more interesting than doing the same thing using the internet.
· Build and operate their own equipment.
Many radio amateurs get most of their enjoyment from building radios and trying them out on the air.
A low power morse code transmitter is one of the simplest electronic circuits you can make
and it is an enormous thrill to use such a simple transmitter to make a contact with someone hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Making simple receivers is also a lot of fun.
More advanced constructors enjoy the challenge of building radios capable of voice communication
and using higher power, or constructing an entirely home-built radio station.
These are just some of the things that radio amateurs do.
But there are many more activities too numerous to mention.
Some people like experimenting with ultra-high frequency communication, operating from hilltops
to get the best distances using line of sight propagation.
Some like to push the boundaries of communication by bouncing their radio transmissions off meteor trails or even the Moon.
Others make contacts using satellites that have been built by radio amateurs and sent into orbit especially for ham radio use.
There are easier ways to communicate with someone if that's all you want to do.
But if radio - with its unpredictable behaviour and different properties at different frequencies - interests you,
or if the idea of making contacts with rare, distant locations - perhaps using low power or equipment you made yourself -
excites you, then amateur radio is a great hobby that will provide you with a lifetime of interest
RADIO COMMUNICATION
Broadcast-DX
Broadcast-DX is the oldest
form of DXing second to telegraphy transmissions.
The majority of our listeners undoubtedly know that the term DX stands for 'distance' or long distance.
It means listening to radio stations over a long distance.
This happens mostly on shortwave since this is the frequency range most suitable to bridge long distances.
Not all radio hobbyists call themselves DXers.
People who listen to large international stations like BBC World Service, Voice of America
fit into the category of 'shortwave listeners'.
It's a very interesting part of the hobby, which often brings knowledge of news items never mentioned
on the local stations or even the news giants like CNN or BBC world.
Shortwave always guaranties the 'free
flow of information'.
DXers on the other hand make it a sport to hunt for small or
weak stations in the most remote parts of the planet.
These are mostly broadcasts not even meant to be received in our parts of the world.
They are usually local programs from faraway places which, through a fluke
of the laws of nature, get lost and arrive at our aerials.
The reception quality is considered a challenge rather than an obstacle.
These programs from such exotic places are more often than not in a totally strange and unintelligible language for us.
This adds a language barrier to the challenge.
In spite of all these factors it's usually possible to identify the transmitting station.
Often a good contact with other hobbyists is crucial for this process and this is where the internet has become an important tool.
A serious hobbyist will use very sophisticated equipment in order to get good results, and aerials
get their share of attention. Interfering stations can often be suppressed by experimenting with directional aerials.
Since the beginning of radio it has been a custom to ask for
reception reports in order
to determine the quality of reception in a target area.
As a sign of appreciation a so-called QSL-card would be send back.
These were usually beautiful cards on which the station confirmed the particular reception.
This practise is still followed by the majority of the stations, even though with today's very advanced techniques
such a remotely operated receivers,
reports are less vital as they used to be.
A few decades ago, utility DX was limited to the reception of CW telegraphy, as well as listening to
maritime or aeronautical communications or so-called point-to-point stations.
These last ones however, mainly used for intercontinental phone lines, have almost all disappeared to be replaced by satellite links.
Listening to ships, aircraft and Morse stations is still a fascinating thing for the utility listener.
Quite often you need to be well acquainted with the typical jargon used in this sort of radio traffic.
In the mean time, a whole new array of possibilities and modes appeared in the world of utility.
Already in the seventies you could get a facsimile weather map or newscasts from press agencies in Radio Teletype modes,
but it was often very difficult to get the bulky equipment (which was sometimes to be found in ex-army dumps) working.
On top of that, they were so noisy in operating that you didn't make yourself
very sympathetic with the people you shared your house with.
In the beginning of the eighties, things dramatically changed with the appearance of the Tono 350.
This blue miracle managed to put Morse and RTTY signals on your monitor screen without any noise whatsoever.
A new world opened, and this new form of DXing got very attractive.
New possibilities for the reception of fax-weather maps became available, and a whole generation
of easy-to-built diagrams were published in various magazines.
But the evolution went on.
Utility services developed always better systems of data transmission with internal fault correction
to counter the unreliability of shortwave propagation
The serious hobbyist followed the new developments closely.
The personal computer got a fixed place in the radio corner, and hobby software started to appear.
Those who didn't want to spend fortunes
on buying computer programmes wrote their own software.
Even if the utility DXer is known for surrounding himself
with lots of knobs and flashing lights, recently it's back
to basics.
A few years ago it was said worldwide that all stations transmitting in CW Morse would be halting their activities as from January 2000.
Lots didn't, but the attention was drawn once again on this form of utility, and the hunt for them is open!
Radio beacons, often with very low
power, form a target for specialists.
FM-DX
Lots of FM DXers will surely
recognize this: you're an enthusiastic SW or MW DXer and
you're intrigued
by the logs of distant FM stations in your favourite DX magazines.
How can this be possible? Can you really receive Spanish stations in Western or Central Europe,
or Scandinavia and vice versa?
Moreover these stations are received in stereo and with RDS,
even on your car radio.
It's very fascinating and before you know it you've bought your very first FM aerial and
connected it to a portable receiver or to an old tuner and then the fun begins.
After reading some articles on FM DX you know distant FM reception is possible through tropo (temperature inversion),
Sporadic E (reflections from ionised layers), and even meteor scatter, (reflections from the trials meteors leave behind for a few seconds).
Stations from over 2000 km away are heard. It's not uncommon to hear FM stations from Spain, Morocco, Finland
and many other countries here in Western Europe.
What do you need to start dxing the FM band?
Of course a good directional aerial, preferably with 5 or more elements, is needed.
It will help you identify stations on the same frequency but coming from different directions.
The tuner can be an ordinary commercial
one. You can use better IF filters to improve the
selectivity.
Nowadays most tuners come with a RDS readout and that's of
course a big aid in identifying the station you're listening
to.
With some minor modifications to the tuner and RDS decoder
and by using appropriate computer software,
even more RDS data can be extracted from the incoming signals.
Should you really go on a buying spree and get some brand new equipment?
Of course not. Lots of distant FM stations have been received on car radios and on portable receivers only using a whip antenna.
The next job is to familiarise yourself with your local FM Stations on the band.
When you know your local FM dial perfectly you'll be able to tell straight away
as soon as something extraordinary is
going on.
Of course you should keep an eye on your local weather and
the weather maps.
Also keep in touch with other FM DXers in your area.
This will help you to predict good reception conditions and with the help of your friends not many DX openings will be missed.
What's the fun of DXing the FM band?
Ask this any SW or MW DXers and you'll surly get the same answer.
It's a thrill hearing stations you shouldn't be able to hear.
It's pure magic when suddenly that distant station appears.
Unexpectedly your computer starts decoding RDS data from a station located at some distant holiday resort.
What more can you want: a nice evening, a cool drink and a distant station booming in?
If you're looking for some great DX, interesting chats with other FM enthusiasts, lots of fun building
and testing new aerials, tweaking RDS software, then go for this small but fantastic branch of the DX tree.
DX-Antwerp
OFFSHORE RADIO
You might wonder why people have put radio stations on ships, forts and other structures.
Ever since radio started, governments have wanted to control it and claim the airwaves for themselves.
Unfortunately for governments, radio signals do not recognise national boundaries,
and while they may be able to control broadcasting from their own territory,
it has proved difficult for them to
control signals from neighbouring countries.
Many governments, especially in Europe, decided that the
population
would hear what the government wanted them to hear, rather than the other way around.
State broadcasting tended to be staid, dull and boring.
A number of entrepreneurs soon realised they could get around this, by broadcasting from one country into another.
During the 1930's, a number of English language stations, based in France, broadcast popular programmes to Britain.
The only problem with this was that a
friendly neighbouring country was needed.
The next logical step was to go the "no mans land" of
international waters, outside a countries boundaries.
The offshore radio stations of the
1960's and since, have used this method.
The offshore radio stations, popularly known as "pirate"
radio stations, by broadcasting
from international waters were not illegal.
They were simply outside of the law of the countries to which they broadcast.
Offshore radio refers to the practice of radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters.
Offshore pirate stations have operated off the coasts of Belgium,Denmark,Israel, The Netherlands,New Zealand,
Sweden, TheUntited Kingdom and even (on rare occasions) The United States.
SATELLITE
SPACE
CYCLING
OUTDOOR & TRAVEL
MOTORCYCLING