[Elecraft] The Technical Side of Ham Radio

[Jim Brown]

Ham radio is a hobby for those who are willing to learn about how radio 
works. To obtain a license, we must pass a test that shows we know the 
fundamentals of radio and electronics. Some don't bother to do that, but 
instead cram by memorizing answers to a lot multiple guess questions. I 
view that as cheating. If they don't know anything when they're done, 
that's their own fault.

Last I looked, ARRL license study material taught the fundamentals of 
electronics and radio, and at least a third of the ARRL Handbook is 
specifically written for those just beginning to learn it. I'd bet that 
the vast majority of those who put us on the moon, and a generation 
later a lander on Mars, first learned electronics from the ARRL Handbook!

As hams, we are responsible for producing a reasonably clean signal and 
operating within the FCC Rules. Operators in other services like CB, 
commercial 2-way, and so on are not permitted to modify equipment, but 
we are!

I also do my best to produce tutorial materials to share what I've 
learned. I AM an EE, but I also taught for five years (at DeVry in 
Chicago), and my goal has always been to try to make complicated things 
easier to understand. Like many OTs on this reflector, I passed my 
General exam in my first year of high school, and the Extra exam the 
summer after high school.  All that study (and on air activity) made me 
want to study EE. :)

All of these study materials require STUDY, not casual reading. Some of 
the concepts take a while to sink in, and with my work on RFI and 
ferrites, took me a LONG time to figure out. It is a combination of my 
own research and work with colleagues on the AES Standards Committee's 
Working Group on EMC.

I have some nice test gear, but nothing even close to the $100K range -- 
much of the work I've done on clean transmitters has been with a 
P3/SVGA, and I'm planning to increase my measurement capabilities next 
year with one of the new under $1K  ANAN radios. My VNWA cost $769, with 
shipping and a calibration kit.

You don't have to set this stuff up and measure it yourself -- there's 
plenty of data on my website you can download and study. There's an 
excellent Power Point, mostly by K6XX, an EE at Elecraft, that shows 
virtually everything that's been discussed here in the thread on 
transmitter distortion. I've posted these links several times. There's a 
summary of ARRL measurements on transmitters that makes it easy to 
compare them. You and others can learn a lot by downloading and studying 
them.  I learned a lot by doing the work to prepare them!

CAPS added for emphasis. :)

73, Jim K9YC

On Thu,10/29/2015 8:35 PM, Rich wrote:
> For those of us who do not have 100K in test equipment and a EE,  I am 
> starting to feel like I should not even get on the air.   I get the 
> concept, but the best I can do is make good clean connections, do not 
> overdrive my audio and hope for the best.  I have to have faith in the 
> equipment builders or find a new hobby.