Where Am I ?

We all know where we are at any given time but we need a good universal system to better pinpoint our location for others. The Grid Locator System has been developed to help hams exchange global positions by use of only a few characters. On the VHF band most QSO’s include an exchange of grid locators. I know that most HF CW operations use city and state but their grid locator is on their QSL cards.
Grid locations are one degree latitude by two degrees longitude. These are not small areas and a grid locator in the center of the U.S. is about 68 by 104 miles. This area can be further reduced to as little as a few miles by the addition of two more characters. Each locator has a unique two letter/two number indicator. The two letters identify one of 324 world wide fields. There are 100 locators in each field which are identified by the two numbers. Exactly 32,400 grid locators cover the entire earth. My grid locator for northern Ohio is EN81.
There are many ways to find your grid locator number. The ARRL operating manual lists tables by which you can locate your own grid. You will need a good map that has latitude and longitude on it. Also, ARRL publishes a colorful grid locator map of the United States and Canada. The map sells for $15.00 and you can order it online at www.arrl.org/catalog.
Grid locations are important and even necessary for some amateur awards. There is also a computer program, GRIDLOC, which can determine your grid location from your latitude and longitude. It is always good to know where in the world you are.

Hide And Seek

Once again this great hobby of amateur radio gives everyone an opportunity to try something different. Whatever your interests or talents may be, there is something here for you. Detective work of sorts is required for success in Radio Direction Finding (RDF). RDF is also known as foxhunting, rabbit hunting, and hidden transmitter hunting.
The trial, or run, usually starts at a club meeting where one member is chosen to be the “rabbit”. This rabbit hides a transmitter in the woods, a park, or any place of his choosing. This transmitter is usually just a small self contained unit set to transmit a signal at appropriate intervals, or the rabbit could be sitting in his car pushing the button on his hand held set. He must not move, however. Because of the need for portability, this is usually restricted to VHF/UHF or FM radios.
Those trying to find the rabbit are equipped with their direction finding equipment and each tries to be the first to find the hidden transmitter. Most of this equipment is either home made or relatively inexpensive. In the beginning, you can join a team and learn and have fun. RDF also has a serious side. The FCC uses RDF to locate illegal transmitters and they occasionally call on the amateur operators to assist. Locating a hidden transmitter is challenging and is an art form. The next time you have an opportunity to participate in a foxhunt, take advantage and have fun while building your direction finding skills for the real thing.

Send Me To The Moon

EME (earth-moon-earth) moonbounce method of communication for amateur radio is rapidly gaining popularity, mainly due to advances in technology. This is another example of the diversity in the hobby and perhaps one in which you may become interested. It is also a way to encourage and advance the use of Morse code. CW is used a lot in EME because of its efficiency.
The idea of using the moon as a passive communications satellite goes back to 1940. In 1946 the U.S. military successfully received “echoes” off the moon. A teletype link was made between the naval base at Pearl Harbor and Naval Headquarters in Washington D.C… This was revolutionary because it was communication over long distances without the usual problems of ionosphere propagation. Amateur radio started experimenting with EME in 1953.
At that time, and until recently, rather expensive equipment and much complicated antenna systems were needed. Today, due to advanced technology and the increasing interest, it has become within the affordability range of many hams. EME is the ultimate VHF/UHF DX medium today. Distance is limited only by the diameter of the earth. Any two stations that can simultaneously see the moon may be able to work each other with EME. Because there is much power loss during the 770,000 kilometer round trip to the moon and back, and the moon’s poor reflective surface, this technique is limited to VHF and above. It is now possible to make EME contacts with fairly moderate equipment.
To learn more, put EME in your favorite search engine. The ARRL operator’s manual also discusses EME. I am sure that you are glad to learn that the moon is not just for romance anymore.

Can You Hear Me Now?

The many amateur radio bands available to you all have different qualities of transmission or reception. A lot of elements come into play which influences the way you send or receive signals. Some are easily understood such as static from a nearby thunderstorm, or QRN (naturally made interference), or by electrical appliances or motors, QRM (man made interference) is also easily understood because it means that someone else is transmitting on or near your frequency. We like to think that all hams are polite and that he simply can’t hear you so he thinks the frequency is clear. It is, however, very difficult to copy or understand your contact with all of this noise going on.
Other factors which can cause difficulty with the success of your conversation, Morse code or voice, are sun spot cycles, solar flares, time of day, time of year, frequency and type of antenna you are using. I will try to cover these in a later post. Talk with the more experienced ham friends in the amateur radio club and they will be glad to help you understand these natural propagation problems and what time of day or year is best for which bands. There is no set rule as Mother Nature is very unpredictable. The ARRL publishes an operator’s manual that can be used as a guide. This manual also lists the RST signal report and what the numbers mean. There are ways to try to help situations where interference makes copy difficult. Here is another “Q” signal, QSY, which means please change frequency. The QSO (conversation) may go something like this:
CQ CQ CQ DE K8ASA K8ASA K (over)
K8ASA DE N7ICE N7ICE K
N7ICE DE K8ASA GM (good morning) tnx fer call. Ur rst (signal report) 349 much QRM QTH (my location) Ohio name Jack so hw cpy N7ICE DE K8ASA K
K8ASA DE N7ICE rr (roger) ur (your) rst 449 wid QRM es (and) QSB (signal fading) pse (please) QSY (change frequency) up 5 BK(break)
BK de K8ASA rr QSY up 5 BK
Both stations move up the band five kilocycles
K8ASA DE N7ICE OK Jack Hw Cpy Nw (how do you copy now)
N7ICE DE K8ASA FB (fine business) on cpy clr sig BK
BK DE N7ICE OK Jack ur rst 579 QTH Oregon Op Jim
And the conversation goes on without any interference. The amount of frequency change is arbitrary and is usually checked out for a clear spot before requesting the QSY. It is always nice to work with a clear signal.