Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society Intermediate Course 8 Operating Practice

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Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society Intermediate
Course(8) Operating Practice
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Q-Codes

• Q-Codes are a form of abbreviation used during a
  CW contact. However some have come into use for
  normal voice contacts.
• A question mark after a Q-Code means a question.
• For international and amateur means see table in
  Book/Handout. Recall the meaning and the reason
  for use of the Q codes
• QRL, QRM, QRN, QRP, QRT, QRZ, QSB, QSL, QSO, QSY,
  QTH.

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Abbreviations
CQ GENERAL CALL TO ALL STATIONS DE FROM (THIS
IS) DX LONG DISTANCE R RECEIVED RST READABILTY,
SIGNAL STRENGTH, TONE SIG SIGNAL UR YOUR WX WEAT
HER Very subjective - assume any place
outside of my continent
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RST Signal Reporting
RST- Readability Strength Tone READABILITY 1 U
nreadable 2 Barely Readable, occasional word
distinguishable 3 Readable with Considerable
difficulty 4 Readable with practically no
difficulty 5 Perfectly Readable
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Signal Reporting-2
SIGNAL 1 Faint, Signals barely
perceptible 2 Very Weak Signals 3 Weak
Signals 4 Fair Signals 5 Fairly Good
Signals 6 Good Signals 7 Moderately Strong
Signals 8 Strong Signals 9 Extremely Strong
Signals
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Signal Reporting-3
TONE 1 Extremely Rough Hissing Noise 2 Very
Rough Note. No Trace of Musicality 3 Rough,
low-pitched note. Slightly Musical 4 Rather
Rough note. Moderately Musical 5 Musically
modulated note 6 Modulated note. Slight trace of
whistle 7 Near Good Note. Smooth ripple 8 Good
Note. Just a trace of ripple 9 Purest Note
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Operational Advantages of Transmission Modes

• CW (Continuous Wave) usually Morse. CW mode
  has a narrow bandwidth and greater range for a
  given transmitter power. CW will in 99 of cases
  make a contact in poor conditions when other
  modes fail.
• SSB (Single Side Band) Good for voice
  transmission over long distance. Ensure that on
  the receiver that the bandwidth is set for SSB
  reception - 2.0kHz or 2.4kHz filter.
• FM. (Frequency Modulation). Has the shortest
  range and maximum (Wide) bandwidth. For shorter
  range transmissions it offers high quality speech.

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Set-ups for Other Modes
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Other Operating Modes

• PSK31 is a narrow band transmission mode suitable
  for either data or text on HF similar modes are
  PACTOR, AMTOR, and RTTY. Look for these modes
  around .070 to .100 on the 14 or 21 MHz bands.
• SSTV Slow Scan Television is like facsimile and
  can transmit pictures over a HF or VHF voice
  channel, with a 2.4kHz bandwidth. The pictures
  are generated either by computer or video camera.
  Look for these around .230.
• FSTV Fast Scan TV needs a wide bandwidth and is
  therefore only suitable for VHF or UHF - mainly
  on 23cms now.

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QTH QSL Information

• The starting point for UK stations is the RSGB
  Callbook which lists most UK calls.
• Country prefixes can be found in the Callbook or
  the useful prefix guide published by the RSGB.
• Overseas callsign information can be found either
  on QRZ.com, or Buckmaster, which are USA Internet
  sites.
• There is a very good CD The Flying Horse
  Callbook which is available from the RSGB.

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QSL Cards

• Sending and Receiving QSL cards-
• QSL cards are known as the final courtesy of a
  QSO.
• Most stations like to send and receive cards.
• If you become interested in awards then you are
  required to be in possession of the cards
  confirming the contacts.
• NOTE e-QSLs are not accepted for most awards.
• Two routes are available to exchange cards - via
  a QSL Bureau, OR Direct to the station.

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QSL Card Bureau
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Common Country Prefixes

• Country prefixes were allocated by international
  conference in 1923.
• There may be more than one prefix per country.
• Remember-
• EI Eire - Irish Republic
• F France
• I Italy
• JA Japan
• PA Netherlands
• VE Canada
• VK Australia
• W or K USA
• ZL New Zealand

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Contests and Awards

• Love them or loathe them Contests are here to
  stay.
• HINT Use contests to help with awards.
• Awards DXCC is the top award followed by IOTA
• DXCC basic is 100 countries confirmed by receipt
  of QSL card.
• IOTA (Islands On The Air) award administered by
  the RSGB.
• IOTA was created over 30 years ago
• IOTA is an amateur radio award programme
  requiring contacts with island stations
  world-wide.
• About 18 separate awards are available, which
  also require cards.

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Amateur Satellites

• Most Amateur Satellites orbit the earth in a
  short timespan. ie. less than 24 hours. Thus each
  one will complete several orbits per day.
• Depending upon the relative position of the
  satellite to earth each appearance above the
  horizon will be of a short duration
• Some satellites have elliptical orbits to
  maximise time above the horizon.
• To communicate with the satellite each station
  shall have a clear line of sight path.
• Satellites have limited power, derived from solar
  panels. Excessive Uplink Powers can result in
  wasteful and unfair use of the satellites limited
  power

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Satellite Operating
ONE WAY PATH

• Uplink and downlink frequencies are often in
  different amateur bands.
• For example uplink on 70cms, and downlink on 2m.
  
• Transmitting Stations need to receive both up and
  downlink frequencies.
• Movement of the satellite in relation to earth
  will cause the Receive frequency to change. This
  is called Doppler Shift, and has to be allowed
  for.