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Amateur (Ham ) Radio
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KC9SNB
Extra class license
     For some years, I had been coasting along with a technician class ham license, the lowest grade of ham, but it was a start. With this rating, I was mostly limited to the "Local" VHF frequencies, and am, mainly on 2 meter, at the moment. Technicians have very limited privileges on HF, and are usually confined to CW (Except on 10 meter).
        I have recently upgraded to general (not at all difficult, if you put forth a bit of effort), and can now talk all over the world. Even more recently I have taken the final step and upgraded to extra - the highest license in amateur radio. I am now considering getting my GROL, which is the commercial radio operator's license.
        I have always been a big fan of short-wave, CB radio, police, and air band scanners. The addition of the more sophisticated, powerful, and long range gear available to the licensed ham should greatly enhance some of my boating and outdoor activities. This section should grow as I mature in the hobby. In the meantime, I have provided some links, and set down some of what little I know. I do eventually want to put up some frequency charts, and try to give a better idea of the rewards of this fascinating hobby.
     Notice the gentleman ham operator to the right. He is wearing a tie, and sitting in his comfy chair. It is after work, and he is about to relax with a beer, kindly brought in by his wife. It just shows you how times have changed. This is not how I operate my ham radios. For one thing, most of my operations take place in the wee hours of the morning, and I tend to be bleary eyed, unshaven, and slouching at the mike in front of my desk. I do not wear a tie. Sometimes I do not wear pants. Amateur radio is a hobby that you can enjoy in your underwear. It is also a great hobby for middle aged guys like myself, because it can largely be done while sitting down, and requires no great physical strength or stamina - though it is amazing how long some guys can talk without having to take a breath.
     While I have poked a little fun, the picture is accurate in a couple of respects. Ham radio operators tend to be gracious, helpful, and responsible. Most are conservative, intelligent, and technical or professional. The hobby draws a large number of engineers and technicians. Sadly, they also tend to be older. There are not a large number of younger people in the hobby at the moment. There is a traditional, even old fashioned, aspect to the hobby. This may be part of its draw.
     Gentlemen of the airwaves existed in the twenties, thirties and forties. Radios were developed by men who wore suits to work and labored in workrooms filled with brass and wood. When working a difficult problem, these men rolled up their sleeves and went to work. These days, there are no sleeves to roll up, as we all go to work in polo shirts, sweats or scrubs.  Ocean liners had wireless rooms were highly trained operators kept contact with civilization from the far parts of the Earth.
     Today, everyone is involved with computers, and there is little elegance about it. A computer is a plastic box, containing electronics about which most users know little to nothing. Where ham operators were always tweaking, adjusting, rebuilding, or enhancing, most computer hobbyists are not technically astute. Though amateur radio operators call themselves ham radio operators, none would suffer the indignity of being referred to as a hacker. The whole hacker and computer hobby culture is very much a thing of the late seventies and early eighties. Ironically, ham operators were one of the earliest groups, back in the 70's and 80's to get really involved with computers.
     Though I have been a computer hobbyist for decades, I have to admit that the computer version of the photo above would consist of a younger guy in a sloppy t-shirt, unshaven and surrounded by junk food, in the midst of a cluttered room. His girlfriend (or possibly his mother) would be bringing him another two liter bottle of Mountain Dew. Instead of maps and contact cards on the walls, there would be Star Trek posters. He would be in his 18th straight hour of on-line gaming, and will probably call in sick for work again. Such is the nature of what we now call progress.
    The table below shows some, but by no means all, of the frequencies available. The ranges given are not allowed to all users. Transmission on some frequencies, or in some modes, may require the General, or Extra ratings. I have not shown the extremely high frequency ranges, since most hams do not use them, and I am not yet certain what their ranges or limitations are. I also have not listed power levels for VHF and UHF, because they are often determined by region or area. I plan on going into more detail on these as I add to my knowledge. In the meantime, I direct the curious to my links section. A very good general guide to the frequencies available and the types of emissions allowed is at http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Hambands_color.pdf .

The ham bands (and some other services)
Band Frequencies Power allowed Modes Used Usage
13 cm 2.3ghz -2.45ghz     local
23 cm 1.24ghz- 1.3ghz     local
33cm 902mhz-928mhz
AM,SSB,FM,voice,cw,fstv Local
70cm** 420mhz-450mhz
AM,SSB,FM,voice,cw Local
1.25 meter** 219mhz-225mhz     local
2 meter** 144mhz-148mhz
AM,SSB,FM,voice,cw,digital,sattelite Local
4 meter 70mhz-70.5mhz   Not a US ham band local
6 meter** 50mhz-54mhz
AM,SSB,FM,voice,cw Local, DX
10 meter** 28.0mhz-29.7mhz 2kw AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax Local, DX
12 meter** 24.89mhz-24.99mhz 2kw AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax Local, DX
15 meter** 21.0mhz-21.450mhz 2kw AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax Local, DX
17 meter** 18.068mhz-18.168mhz 2kw AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax Local, DX
20 meter** 14.0mhz-14.35mhz 2kw AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax Local, LR, DX
30 meter** 10.1mhz-10.15mhz 200 watts AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax Local, LR, DX
40 meter** 7.0mhz-7.3mhz 2kw AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax Local, LR, DX
60 meter** 5.3mhz -5.4mhz 50 watts USB Local, LR, DX
75/80 meter** 3.5mhz-4.0mhz 2kw AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax LR
160 meter** 1.8mhz-2.0mhz 2kw AM,SSB,voice,cw,sstv,fax LR
630 meter 500 KHz (472–479 kHz?) 1 - 25 watts? pending 2.1 - 0.2 khz bandwidth? pending LR
11 meter** (CB) 26.965-27.405 mhz 4watts(am)12watts(SSB) AM, SSB voice Local (CB radio)
FRS** 462.5625-467.7125mhz 500mw (FM) FM voice Local, short range
AM Radio .530mhz-1.7mhz 250w to 50kw  AM voice Local,LR,DX
FM Radio 88.1mhz-107.9mhz 6kw-100kw FM voice Local
Television (VHF) 54mhz-216mhz
FM fstv Local
Television (UHF) 470mhz-806mhz
FM fstv Local
GMRS**
460mhz
5 - 50 watts
FM
Local
MURS
151.82 - 154.6 mhz
2 watts
FM voice Data
Local
The Shortwave Bands
90 Meter (3.2-3.4) 144 feet (A) 31 Meter (9.4-9.9) 48 feet (A)  
75 Meter (3.9-4.0) 118 feet (B) 25 Meter(11.6-12.1) 39' 6" (B)  
60 Meter(4.75-5.06) 91 feet (C) 19 Meter (15.1-15.8) 30' 6" (C)  
49 Meter (5.9-6.2) 79 feet 16 Meter (17.48-17.9) 24 feet  
41 Meter(7.2-7.45) 65 feet 13 Meter 19 feet  
Marine Radiotelephone (SSB)
150 meters 2.0 MHz - 2.9999 MHz   LSB,voice,cw,fax LR, DX
75 meters 4.0 MHz - 4.9999 MHz   LSB,voice,cw,fax LR, DX
50 meters 6.0 MHz - 6.9999 MHz   LSB,voice,cw,fax LR, DX
37 meters 8.0 MHz - 8.9999 MHz   LSB,voice,cw,fax LR, DX
25 meters 12.0 MHz - 13.9999 MHz   LSB,voice,cw,fax LR, DX
18 meters 16.0 MHz - 17.9999 MHz   LSB,voice,cw,fax LR, DX
14 meter 22.0 MHz - 22.9999 MHz   LSB,voice,cw,fax LR, DX
Marine VHF
1.75 meters 156 MHz - 174 MHz 25 watts FM voice Local


The Citizens Band Services
Some of the Citizen's Band Radio Services can be confusing. They go by discreet channels, rather than being tunable by frequencies. The table below shows the channels and power levels allowed. GMRS, and FRS, are particularly confusing, due to the sharing of some frequencies, and the split channel operation of part of the GMRS. You might note that FRS/GMRS are rather near the 70cm amateur frequencies, while CB is rather near the amateur 10 meter frequencies, and MUR is rather near the 2 meter ham frequencies. It is possible, and sometimes legal, to extend the range of some amateur radios and use them with these other services. In the golden age of CB radio, many users would set up amateur 10 meter radios, or 10 meter linear amplifiers to use far more than the maximum legal power allowed on CB.
Service
Channels
Mode
Power
GMRS
Split Frequencies
Designator  Lower Frequency  Upper Frequency 
"550"           462.550 MHz      467.550 MHz
"575"           462.575 MHz      467.575 MHz
"600"           462.600 MHz      467.600 MHz
"625"           462.625 MHz      467.625 MHz
"650"           462.650 MHz      467.650 MHz
"675"           462.675 MHz      467.675 MHz
"700"           462.700 MHz      467.700 MHz
"725"           462.725 MHz      467.725 MHz

Simplex Frequencies
Designator                     Frequency
"5625" or "FRS 1"      462.5625 MHz
"5875" or "FRS 2"      462.5875 MHz
"6125" or "FRS 3"      462.6125 MHz
"6375" or "FRS 4"      462.6375 MHz
"6625" or "FRS 5"      462.6625 MHz
"6875" or "FRS 6"      462.6875 MHz
"7125" or "FRS 7"      462.7125 MHz

FM Voice
5 to 50 watts
License
MURS
    151.820 MHz
    151.880 MHz
    151.940 MHz
    154.570 MHz
    154.600 MHz
FM Voice, Data
2 watts
No License
FRS
    1. 462.5625
    2. 462.5875
    3. 462.6125
    4. 462.6375
    5. 462.6625
    6. 462.6875
    7. 462.7125
    8. 467.5625
    9. 467.5875
    10. 467.6125
    11. 467.6375
    12. 467.6625
    13. 467.6875
    14. 467.7125
FM Voice
500mw
No License
Classic
Citizens
band
(CB)

1. 26.965          15. 27.135        28. 27.285
2. 26.975          16.  27.155       29. 27.295
3. 26.985          17. 27.165        30. 27.305
4. 27.005          18. 27.175        31. 27.315
5. 27.015          19. 27.185        32. 27.325
6. 27.025          20. 27.205        33. 27.335
7. 27.035          21. 27.215        34. 27.345
8. 27.055          22. 27.225        35. 27.355
9. 27.065          23. 27.255        36. 27.365
10. 27.075        24. 27.235        37. 27.375
11. 27.085        25. 27.245        38. 27.385
12. 27.105        26. 27.265        39. 27.395
13. 27.115        27. 27.275        40. 27.405
14. 27.125
AM, SSB, Voice
4 Watt
12 Watt P.E.P.