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Australian Amateur Radio FAQ

Operating an amateur radio station

Information on operating an amateur station is available from the amateur section of the Australian Communications Authority website. To contact other people, amateurs may issue a general call (CQ) with the hope of getting a response, call another station who they suspect may be listening, respond to another amateur's CQ call, or 'tail-end' a contact that has just concluded.

Detailed articles on operating an amateur radio station can be found here and here.

DX

DX means "long distance" and naturally the further away the other station is, the greater the achievement. Some countries are rarely heard on air (usually because they have few amateurs), and snaring the "rare DX" is the holy grail for many amateurs.

Other countries don't even have an amateur radio service, and often a group of amateurs will mount a "DXpedition" to that country giving amateurs from around the world to an opportunity to work a country that they normally would never get the chance to work.  News of DXpeditions is provided in magazines such as Amateur Radio, CQ and QST. 

The Internet is another excellent source of up to the minute information for the DXer.  'DX clusters' operating via internet or packet radio, can provide early warning of the appearance of a particularly sought-after station.   Other examples of the internet providing assistance to DXers is the provision of online propagation information through the Ionospheric Prediction Service  and the publication of DX station logs, so stations can confirm that they have been worked by a DX station before sending off their QSL card. 

QSLing

It is often said that the final courtesy of an amateur radio contact is a QSL card.  Newcomers are likely to request cards for their first several contacts.  Later when the novely wears off, many people only collect QSL cards for contacts that are special achievements, for instance contacts made with very low power, the first contact with a particular country, the first on a particular band, or contacts that count towards an award. 

A QSL card is a postcard sent between amateur radio stations.

A QSL card is a postcard sent between amateur radio stations.  Its purpose is to confirm that the contact claimed actually took place.   As such, it is very important to claim many of the amateur radio awards that are on offer.  Information on QSL cards includes callsign of station worked, date, time, band, mode, signal strength and station details.  QSLing tends to be more prevalent amongst HF operators than those who operate VHF/UHF only.

If every amateur posted a QSL card for each contact made, amateur radio would become a very expensive pastime.  To save on QSL postage costs, the WIA and some radio clubs provide QSL Bureaus for members.  These services send QSLs to foreign countries periodically in parcels rather than sending them individually. Through a network of bureaus, they receive incoming QSLs for their members in the same way. Though much slower than posting direct, the savings are substantial.   Electronic QSLing via the internet is another way amateurs save on postage.  Though it is growing in popularity, electronic QSLing was yet to be accepted as credit for awards.  Until this happens, paper QSLing will remain popular with DXers.

Awards

Awards, usually in the form of certificates, are offered by the WIA and by many Australian radio clubs, to amateurs who have made contact with a given number of stations in a certain geographical region (for example, a state or continent). Some recognise proficiency in certain communication modes, such as Voice, teletype or morse. Others focus on the bands used to make the contacts. Some awards require written proof of the contacts, usually in the form of a QSL card for each contact, signed by the operator of each station contacted.

The best known and most respected award is probably the DX Century Club award, or DXCC. This recognises the achievement of contacting stations in one hundred different countries. The DXCC can be endorsed for achievement on specific bands or modes. To achieve the DXCC award on each HF band requires good equipment and antennas, a competent operator and lots of patience. Another popular award is Islands of the Air, which requires contacts with amateurs operating on islands around the world. The WIA has its own series of awards for contacts with Australian amateurs.  These are listed in the WIA Callbook.   Awards generally have no time limit, allowing the operator to accumulate the required contacts over any period of time.

Contests

Contesting is a popular activity amongst many radio amateurs. Various contests are held throughout the year, with the aim of promoting communications using a particular mode or band, or with a specific group of amateurs. The usual aim of a contest is to make contact with as many stations as possible, in the allocated time. Some contests attract thousands of hams from all over the world, all trying to log brief contacts with each other. The amateur bands can sound like bedlam on a popular international contest weekend.   Most major contests run for 24 or 48 hours. However some include sections which allow the operator to operate for a shorter time. 

In some contests, groups of amateurs to work together from their club station, each using a different band. This would be a multi-operator contest station.   Most contests have sections for multi-operator stations.

There are also contest weekends when amateurs are required to operate "in the field", as practice for a real emergency. This gives them the experience of using power from alternators, batteries or other sources. To encourage innovation and reward lower powered stations, some contests have separate categories for different types of power, as well as separate categories for single-operator and multi-operator stations.

Unlike sporting competitions, where you need to lodge and entry in advance and pay a fee, you can participate in a radio contest without "entering" it. You just make short, quick contacts, exchanging signal reports and a cipher such as a serial number, your output power or a geographical code.

Australian amateurs participate in international, national and local contests.   Most national and international contests are run by national amateur radio societies, such as the WIA.   Rules and results are published in magazines such as Amateur Radio.  Clubs and special interest groups run their own contests.  Amateurs have a huge variety from which to choose.   The CW Operators QRP Club runs one-hour long CW 'scrambles' on various HF bands.  A New South Wales club offers a 'CQ Repeater' event for contacts via repeaters.  Melbourne's Moorabbin & District Radio Club organises an event called Radio on Rails, which promotes activity from trains and trams around Melbourne.  Then there are non-contest activity days, such as the Jamboree of the Air and the Lighthouse Weekend.

And what if you're "not in the contest"? Recall the comparison with a sporting competition above. In the case of radio contests there is no formal entry process before the contest. You can join in as a participant, at no notice and with no obligation to make any number of contacts. It is up to you to decide whether you want to join in the fun. So if you hear stations wanting contacts in a contest, don't hold back, give them a quick contact. They will be grateful. It takes no longer to say "your number is 59 123" than to say "sorry, I'm not in the contest".

Ragchewing

Some contest or DX-oriented amateurs may only ever have contacts that last for a few seconds. Others find pleasure in conversing for an hour or more. These long contacts ('or ragchews') may be at an appointed time with old friends or the result of a random CQ call.

Ragchews on the amateur bands cover many topics. There could be the detailed technical discussion on equipment or antennas. Or it could be someone assisting a beginner. Others may discuss some other topics; possibly a shared hobby or a description of a place travelled to. Ragchewing is most popular on bands that favour local communication, such as 160/80/40 metres and VHF/UHF.

Low power operation (QRP)

Some amateur operators enjoy the challenge of using low power. With just a few watts of output power (or even less for the more dedicated), a good operator can even make international contacts. There are special interest groups supporting QRP operators, and many enthusiasts design and build their own equipment, some quite compact. The keys to successful low power operation are good antennas, good operating techniques, effective use of radio propagation conditions and reliable equipment.  Because of its superior efficiency, most QRP contacts are made with the CW mode, though SSB QRP can also be very rewarding. 

The CW Operators QRP Club supports QRP activity by running contests and nets, publishing a quarterly magazine (Lo-Key), issuing awards and making hard to obtain parts available to members.   There exists a mailing list for QRPers in Australia and New Zealand.   Information on subscribing to this list and Australian QRP in general can be found on  the Australian QRP Home Page. 

Morse Code

The oldest of all radio communication modes, Morse Code (CW) has its devotees who delight in making contacts during times when voice communication does not get through. Morse Code is widely used for international contacts, particularly with countries in which English is not widely spoken.

For this reason, even the latest radio transceivers include facilities for transmitting and receiving morse code signals, including narrow and variable bandwidth filters and electronic keyers with multiple memory recording and playback facilities.

Morse code is the mode that requires the simplest equipment and lowest power to get a signal from A to B, and it is not hard for the novice to construct a morse transmitter. For this reason, morse is a good mode for portable operation with lightweight gear. The more proficient operators use abbreviations to speed message transfer and normally "read" morse signals in their heads, rather than writing received text onto paper. Seasoned CW devotees operate at speeds of 20 to 30 words per minute, slowing down if signals are poor. They also tend to adjust their transmitters so that they can listen in between letters sent. This feature (called 'break-in' or QSK) is useful if interference crops up, as the receiving station can quickly advise the transmitting station of the interference. 'Break-in' is also good for rapid to-and-fro sessions between operators - similar to VOX on SSB.

Most morse contacts are one-on-one contacts, though morse nets also exist.  Perhaps the most successful is the Sunday morning net on 7.025 MHz.  The operation of this net is unique.  Stations call into a control station on 7.025 MHz.  The control station arranges a contact with another station on frequency and suggests a frequency to move to.  The stations have their contact, and may return to 7.025 MHz to be paired with another station for another contact.  Stations can have as few or as many contacts as they like.  There are no long waits (as with nets with many participants), activity is spread over the whole band, and stations are spared having to call CQ to get contacts. 

Further information on learning and using Morse can be found here.

AM

AM, or amplitude modulation, was once the dominant voice mode. Today it has largely been replaced by SSB, for its better weak-signal performance, and FM, for its better suppression of noise.

However, AM continues to attract interest, and has even undergone something of a revival. In Australia there are regular AM nets on 160 and 80 metres. AM is also heard on 40 metres from time to time. AM devotees appreciate the mode's superior voice quality compared to SSB. They also find that AM offers the opportunity to use vintage equipment - often homebrewed or modified ex-commercial equipment. Listeners are particularly attracted to 160 metres AM - the mode can be monitored simply by retuning many AM broadcast radios to cover up to 1.8 MHz. For this reason, WIA Divisions and clubs in some states still use 160m AM as one frequency for their weekly broadcasts.

HF digital modes

Have you ever chatted via keyboard to people over the Internet? If so, you have a fair idea of what it's like to operate via digital modes such as radio teletype, AMTOR and PSK-31. The main difference is that instead of using a phone line, you're using a radio link.

Smart software and sound-card equipped PCs has made it possible for one to link computers to transceivers without needing a sophisticated modem box in between. The result of these developments has been a tremendous growth in modes such as PSK-31. Digital modes take up very little space on the band and are much more efficient than voice communication. This makes it possible for amateurs with low power and restricted antennas to achieve communications not possible with voice modes. PSK-31 is so efficient that an American kit manufacturer has developed a two-watt transmitter that allows world-wide communication from almost anywhere when plugged into a laptop computer. Most PSK-31 activity is around 14.070 MHz, but the mode also has potential for weak signal VHF/UHF work. PSK-31 is most suited for one-on one keyboard communication.

Modes such as AMTOR and PACTOR are other digital modes popular on HF. These are also effective weak signal modes (much more so than packet radio). PACTOR bulletin board systems on HF linked to VHF bulletin boards using packet radio allow stations beyond the reach of VHF packet radio to send and receive messages. An example of such a system is the VK5BAR station operated by the Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society.

Low frequency operation

A growing number of amateurs are becoming interested in operation at low frequencies, well below the AM broadcast band.  Unlike in some other countries, Australian amateurs do not yet have an allocated band at these frequencies.   However at the time of writing, the WIA is seeking frequencies in the 160 to 190 kilohertz area for amateur use.   Nevertheless, the lack of a formal amateur band has not stopped some experimenters from obtaining an ACA experimental licence to conduct transmitting tests.  Many communications receivers owned by amateurs cover these frequencies, and only require a good antenna to operate effectively.

Low frequencies offer many challenges to the radio experimenter, particularly those with limited room for antennas.  Full-size antennas are hundreds of metres long.  Noise is always a problem with reception, particularly in urban areas.  The available bandwidth at low frequencies is small, so there is much scope for experimentation with narrow band digital modes, receiving techniques and antennas. 

Experimenters co-ordinate tests on-air or via a mailing list.  A very comprehensive website on Australian low frequency activity  is maintained by VK2ZTO. 

Slow-scan television (SSTV)

Proof that amateurs do more than talk into microphones can be found by tuning to 14.230 MHz - the international amateur slow scan television frequency. Here amateurs can often be heard swapping colour pictures to each other around the world. The pictures are not moving, but rather a series of stills - like a slide show. Some amateurs set their SSTV stations up as automatic repeaters (normally above 14.230 MHz) as a service to stations normally out of range.

Slow-scan television previously required expensive cameras and interface boxes. This is no longer the case. Like with many digital modes, anyone with a 16-bit soundcard and a reasonably modern computer can transmit and receive pictures with a minimum of extra equipment. Again software for SSTV (eg ChromaPix) is easily obtainable via the internet.

Not quite slow scan, but still able to be transmitted on the HF amateur bands is narrow definition television.  This is low definition television similar to that achieved by John Logie Baird.   More information can be found at the British Amateur TV Club  website. 

Mobile operating

Amateurs planning long trips, or who have long commutes often install radio equipment in their vehicles. This has been made easier in recent years with the development of compact mobile transceivers that cover all commonly used HF/VHF and UHF amateur bands. Mobile VHF/UHF operation via repeaters is most popular. However international and interstate contacts are an everyday reality for the HF mobile operator. The secret tosuccess is antenna system efficiency - especially critical on the lower HF bands.

As well as operating from their own vehicles, Australian amateurs also operate from trains, trams and buses. Use is made of the 144, 432 and 1296 MHz bands for this purpose. Most contacts are via terrestrial repeaters, but communication has also been achieved via amateur satellites.  Here are some Hints on antennas and techniques.

Operating portable

Many amateurs like to combine their love of the outdoors with their radio interests. Others find that antenna restrictions and interference from power lines, computers and pay television make operation from home difficult. For both these groups of amateurs, taking their equipment outdoors allows enjoyment of amateur radio.

Well-organised amateurs have put together a station that can be assembled and taken portable at a moment's notice. A station may consist of a compact HF or VHF transceiver, sealed lead acid batteries (or lead acid batteries if the site is accessible by car), and a telescopic antenna mast (eg a squid pole). Alternatively one can use fishing line and sinkers to throw wire antennas high into a convenient tree. A good portable location can be a pleasure to operate from, with low noise levels on receive, and a favourable position on transmit. The good results capable with low power (QRP) along with the small batteries needed make QRP and portable operation a natural combination.

Fox hunting or amateur radio direction finding

Also known as hidden transmitter hunts, fox hunting tests the skills of its participants by requiring the competitors to locate a hidden transmitter in some defined area. Using directional antennas and other direction-finding equipment, you can find the direction the transmitted signal is coming from.

Hunts can take place either on foot, or in vehicles, or both, and also have practical applications in developing skills for locating interference (intentional or otherwise) to communications. Amateur Radio Direction Finding (or ARDF) has grown to become a worldwide sport, particularly strong in China and Eastern Europe.

Home made, or "homebrewing" radio equipment

To some, this is the core of what amateur radio is all about. The home construction of transmitters, receivers, power supplies, modems, antennas and other station accessories is one of the most rewarding aspects of amateur radio today, particularly when you turn it on for the first time, and it works! In particular, the exhilaration of making your first contact on a transmitter you put together yourself is a very special thrill that you won't easily forget. Contrary to popular opinion, it has never been easier, cheaper or simpler than right now to construct homebrew equipment. Both the WIA's Amateur Radio magazine, and Lo-Key (produced by the CW Operators QRP Club) are good sources of circuit ideas and projects for the homebrewer. Numerous circuits are also available on the web - click here for a comprehensive list of links.

Public Service

There are two main areas in which Radio Amateurs provide public services -- communications support for public events, and emergency communications. The former often serve as message-passing exercises for the latter, aside from the immediate public service they provide.  Examples where amateurs provided emergency communication include Cyclone Tracy, the Newcastle earthquake, the 2001 floods in New South Wales and the 2001 Indian earthquake.

The importance of the public service facet of amateur radio cannot be over-emphasised. Aside from the warm inner glow one receives from helping people communicate in times of need, there is another (possibly more selfish) reason for helping others with our communications skills.

Although public service agencies have access to better communications facilities than in the past, amateur radio can (and does) still fulfil an important role during times of emergency. Amateurs have access to a wider range of operating frequencies than any other organisation (with the exception of the military), and more importantly, the knowledge with which to put these frequencies to best use in a given situation.

As amateurs, we have access to parts of the radio frequency spectrum which commercial interests would be willing to pay millions of dollars for on a yearly basis. Our token licence fees come nowhere covering the market value of the spectrum space which we can use, and by providing public service communications when its needed, we're at least giving the rest of society some return for the consideration given us.

WICEN ?

One of the most visible ways in which amateurs can provide public service, is through the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network (WICEN). WICEN is a group of trained amateur radio operators, which provides communications support for the emergency services during times of disaster.

Because WICEN operators are radio amateurs, the organisation has at its disposal more bandwidth, and a wider variety of frequencies, than any public safety agency, with the exception of the military. As such, WICEN can often provide a communications link between locations whose situation precludes the use of the communications equipment normally at the disposal of these agencies.

WICEN conducts many exercises throughout the year, by providing communications for community events such as fun runs and rallies. Aside from the immediate public service rendered by the communications provided, they also serve to train operators in message passing procedures. These exercises also give WICEN (and amateur radio in general) some much-needed PR exposure.

Some events in NSW which utilise WICEN communications in their running are the Sun-Herald City-to-Surf race in Sydney, the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic, and the annual VRA (volunteer rescue association) cave rescue exercise at Bungonia caves. In Victoria, amateurs provide communications support for a variety of sporting and public events, such as marathon races, canoe races and car rallies. Each year in Canberra, the WICEN group supports the FAI Canberra Rally, a major event in the Oceania rally circuit. Similar activities occur in all states of Australia.

Further information on WICEN appears in the Australian Amateur Radio Callbook. Also weekly amateur news broadcasts have items of WICEN news from time to time. WICEN's website is http://www.wicen.org.au