From the ARRL: Amateur Radio (ham radio) is a popular hobby and service that brings people, electronics and communication together. People use ham radio to talk across town, around the world, or even into space, all without the Internet or cell phones. It's fun, social, educational, and can be a lifeline during times of need.

That could be a lot to take in. In addition, several of my Technician class instructors also referred to licensees as "ambassadors" of ham radio to the world. How does that all look in real life?

amsat.org Copied Mission Statement: "AMSAT’s goal is to foster Amateur Radio’s participation in space research and communication. The Organization was founded to continue the efforts, begun in 1961, by Project OSCAR, a west coast USA-based group which built and launched the very first Amateur Radio satellite, OSCAR, on December 12, 1961, barely four years after the launch of Russia’s first Sputnik. Today, the “home-brew” flavor of these early Amateur Radio satellites lives on, as most of the hardware and software now flying on even the most advanced AMSAT satellites is still largely the product of volunteer effort and donated resources. Though we are fond of traditions our designs and technology continue to push the outside of the envelope."

aprs.org Copied Mission Statement: "The Automatic Packet Reporting System was designed to support rapid, reliable exchange of information for local, tactical real-time information, events or nets. The concept, which dates back to the mid 1980's, is that all relevant information is transmitted immediately to everyone in the net and every station captures that information for consistent and standard display to all participants. Information was refreshed redundantly but at a decaying rate so that old information was updated less frequently than new info. Since the primary objective is consistent exchange of information between everyone, APRS established standard formats not only for the transmission of POSITION, STATUS, MESSAGES, and QUERIES, it also establishes guidelines for display so that users of different systems will still see the same consistent information displayed in a consistent manner (independent of the particular display or mapping system in use). "

Education: Dave Casler
Log: eqsl.cc
ARRL: Logbook of the World
SW: Ham Radio Deluxe
DX Summit
DX Watch
FindU
TangerineSDR a TAPR Modular Scientific Software Defined Radio Project
TAPR Tucson Amateur Packet Radio

amateur-radio-station-design-and-construction ideas

from various sources:
• Keep the back end of the operating bench(es) far enough away from the wall that you can walk behind them.


• Use an entrance panel that's grounded, and tied to your service panel ground.


• And use deep operating bench(es) if you ever work CW, so the key(s) can be 24" or so back from the front edge, so you can rest your entire arm on the bench.


• I've found for my height bench(es) about 28-30" above the floor are perfect. Lower is lousy, and so is higher; although if I were very tall, possibly higher might work better (like for basketball players).


• Putting stuff against a wall makes changes and servicing very inconvenient.


• Put the HF radios on the table, so you could tune 'em and operate a key (very important)


• make sure you have grounding for your rigs and your RF cables (including surge suppression (polyphaser type))


• keep your RF, Power and data lines separate, when routing them in your shack.


• HF radio near the desktop surface so you can rest your arm on the desk while tuning across the bands.


• External speakers at ear level.


• Something comfortable and ergonomic cause you will be sitting there for many hours.


• Items you use often in front of you or to the side opposite your dexterity ( right or left handed). You may want or need to write while operating the radio, room for a notepad to copy down calls, times, etc... for your log.


• You'll need room for the radio, 6 inches or so of space behind it for coax, wires, etc..., a keyboard, mouse, and writing surface. Some of this will be offset to the side, but you'll NOT want your keyboard right up against the radio if you can help it.


• Also remember that your keyboard is usually about 4 inches from the edge of the desk to give your wrist a place to rest.


• Going vertical with meters, clocks, switches, and smaller radios keeps everything within reach without cluttering up the desktop.