Your Virtual Elmer
Trying to make a ham radio contact on HF means you might talk with someone in your neighborhood followed by someone half way around the world. Both kinds of contacts have a lot in common and before you earn DXCC or Worked All States you need your first! Jim goes through the basics in this video.
Related Videos
It was great to find this question from KD9SNP that was right up our alley. Some good responses on Reddit but Jim can expand on the basics of grid squares.
Links Mentioned:
Grid Square Locator: https://levinecentral.com/ham/grid_square.php
You had a great time at Field Day, but the job’s not finished until the paperwork is done. Here are the basics of submitting your entry for 50 Bonus Points!
More Info
Field Day Entry Page: http://field-day.arrl.org/fdentry.php
So you’ve decided you want to operate Field Day from your house. That’s awesome and you will have a lot of fun making contacts well into the night. This video will give you the basics of picking your operating class, things you should know if going to other sites to operate as well, plus some tips on logging and the always passionate discussion on “points!”
Want 200 quick bonus points for Field Day? This video has the tips!
Bonus Links
ARRL Field Day Site: http://www.arrl.org/field-day
If you are going to operate in ARRL Field Day the last weekend in June you are going to need to know what your exchange is. This video takes you through why “One Delta Georgia” is a lot different than “8 Alpha Alaska”.
See the Field Day playlist for other videos in this series.
HTL-11 The Basics of Field Day and HTL-12 The Basics of Field Day Rules are available now.
HTL-13 The Basics of Field Day from Home will publish on Tuesday, June 1
HTL-14 The Basics of Submitting a Field Day Log will publish on Thursday, June 3
There’s a lot that goes in to the 24 hours of operating that is ARRL/RAC Field Day. Which means the basics won’t fit into one video. So, I’m making four. Here’s when you can find them:
The first in a four-part series on ARRL Field Day. This video is a high level overview of what Field Day is, how find a site to get involved with, what you will see when you visit, and why you should jump in and go.
Extra Links
ARRL Field Day Site: http://www.arrl.org/field-day
ARRL Field Day Locator: http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
No amount of reading or prep will help if you never get active in the hobby. There are so many different ways to get started it might be overwhelming, but pick one and get started!
When people think of ham radio and public service they are usually focused on the great work hams do in times of crisis like storm spotting. But, hams enable a whole bunch of community groups to do so many events.
Bonus Links
ARRL Public Service Site
You don’t know it yet but a lot of people you meet in Ham Radio will be named “Elmer.” That’s a term for a teacher or helper or mentor to get you over some of the things that are new to you.
Related Video
Check out video HTL-6 “The Basics of Ham Radio Clubs and Social Media” to find some places where Elmers hang out.