1.

Chapter 5A, Harris

CRYSTAL SETS TO SIDEBAND

© Frank W. Harris 2022, REV 15

Chapter 5A
GETTING ON THE AIR
Deciding what to do first
Earn an amateur license!
If you're going to build your own ham station, you will need a national government radio
station license to transmit. In the U.S.A. the Federal Communications Commission issues ham
licenses. In this country, committees of senior hams in our local areas give the tests rather than
government officials. The simplest first step is to contact a ham in your area. He or she will tell
you what to do. Failing that, if you are an American, contact the American Radio Relay League,
www.arrl.org. Most other countries have similar organizations of radio operators. They will fix
you up with study guides and point you to the nearest ham radio club where you can meet other
hams and take your test. Working on a license can be an interesting side project while you build
your receiver and transmitter.
Learning Morse code
If you’re going to build and operate a homebuilt transmitter, it will have to be a CW
(Morse Code) transmitter. Building a single sideband (SSB) voice transmitter or a VHF FM
transmitter is too difficult for beginners. Even for experienced guys, sideband or VHF takes
hundreds of hours of effort. Building an Amplitude Modulated (AM) voice transmitter isn't much
harder than CW. However, AM is practically extinct on the ham bands so there would probably
be nobody to talk to. If you're interested in how AM worked, there is a design for a relatively
simple 10 meter AM walkie-talkie in Chapter 17A.
Until recently, all nations required Morse code at 5 words per minute (WPM) speed or
more to earn a license for operating between 1.8 MHz and 30 MHz. That has changed and many
countries including the U.S. now issue licenses without Morse code skill. Fortunately Morse
code is not hard to learn for most people. Besides, it's fun! The average conversation on the air
takes place at roughly 10 to 15 WPM, but sometimes there are a few beginners poking along at 5
WPM. The senior hams at the bottom of the CW bands zoom along at 25 or 35 WPM. Don’t
feel bad if you can’t do that. I can’t either.
To practice code, you can listen to it with a shortwave receiver and you will also need to
practice sending with a key. In the U.S. the ARRL station W1AW broadcasts code practice
sessions on many bands. These sessions start at 5 words a minute then gradually increase the
speed. Scheduled times for these almost daily broadcasts can be found in the QST magazine.
A modern way to learn is www.morsecode.ninja. This marvelous site is run by Kurt
Zoglmann, ADØWE. He has thousands of hours of practice sessions laid out in increasing
difficulty. Most experts, like Kurt, suggest beginning by learning isolated letters at relatively high
speed, at least 15 Words Per Minute (WPM). A "received word" is defined as 5 letters. Therefore
15 WPM means about 75 characters per minute. The goal is to train our brains to recognize the
 2. Chapter 5A, Harris

sound of the whole letter or number as a "spoken word" and not as a series of dots and dashes.
Next you learn short 2 and 3 letter groups, then on to entire words and phrases at whatever speed
you can handle.
If I haven't been on the air for a while, I tune in the low end of the 40 meter or 20 meter
bands. I copy a few CW (code) stations to restore my speed and confidence before I start
sending. I still write down each letter as I receive it. The really skilled operators hear entire
words and don't write down anything except the call letters. I've never been that good. I spend
too much time soldering.
Planning your station
Most hams are content to buy one of those superb commercial transceivers. They plug it
into the wall, put up an antenna and start talking. In contrast, a growing number of hams are
building small, low power transmitters called QRP transmitters. QRP is an old Morse code
abbreviation meaning “turn down the power.” In modern usage QRP means a transmitter
delivering 5 watts of RF power or less. QRP guys are usually fellows who have been using
commercial rigs for years and want to try something more adventurous and primitive.
Most QRP enthusiasts buy tiny transmitter kits with pre-printed and pre-drilled circuit
boards. The assembly procedure consists of following a picture, plugging components into the
correct holes and soldering the leads. These kits teach soldering technique and you will learn
what the components look like. Unfortunately, if the kit is well designed, it offers little
opportunity to learn how the circuits work.
A few hams start with a circuit from the ARRL handbook or QST magazine. Following
the circuit diagram, they build their own version of the circuit out of individual components. The
components are bought or scrounged one at a time and rarely exactly match the components used
by the author of the article. A QRP like this usually doesn’t work properly without sweat and
rebuilding. This sounds frustrating, but the compensation is that now you’re learning something!
This kind of project is educational whether we planned on learning anything or not. Frustration,
persistence and triumph is what ham radio used to be.
Rules of the game
Scratch-building your own station is a kind of game. Our chief opponents are the
amount of free time we have and the modern frequency stability standards. The limitation of
free time is obvious. Frequency stability is a challenge because nearly all other hams are using
superb digital equipment which holds their transmitting frequency constant to within a few Hertz,
i.e., cycles per second. Their frequency stability is controlled by complex integrated circuits
containing hundreds of transistors. These circuits compare and adjust the operating frequency
using crystal references, like modern digital watches, but more complicated. The resultant
frequency is nearly always displayed digitally to one Hertz precision. When a homebuilt
transmitter frequency drifts more than about 20 Hz, the commercial equipment user will delight in
telling you all about your dreadful malfunction. Before the digital era, it was routine to drift a
hundred Hz or more. Contacts congratulated you if your transmitter DIDN'T drift hundreds of
Hertz. A modern homebuilder's goal is make contacts without hearing any complaints.
In my fantasy it would be neat to build all the components from raw materials and invent
and design totally new circuits from scratch. Unfortunately, those tasks are too much for me.
 3. Chapter 5A, Harris

Instead I use discrete parts I salvage from junk and components I buy through catalogs or local
electronics stores. For circuit design I borrow circuit blocks from examples in the ARRL
handbook, the Internet and other sources. Finally I assemble the circuit blocks into my project.
After I retired and had plenty of time, I got out my ARRL handbooks and studied plans
for homebuilt receivers and transmitters. I quickly encountered my other nemesis, integrated
circuits: Tracing the circuit diagram of a typical modern receiver, one finds that the antenna is
connected to a chip which is the “RF amplifier.” Then the signal goes to another chip called a
“mixer.” The mixer also receives a local oscillator signal from a large chip or complex, pre-
assembled module called “frequency synthesizer.” The synthesizer module often has the digital
frequency display built into it. The output from the mixer goes to a “crystal filter” sealed in a tiny
metal can and so on. You get the idea. Modern radios are just block diagrams soldered onto
printed circuit boards.
For me 1980 technology is usually a good compromise. Few integrated circuits appear in
the parts lists from that era. And if you’re a purist, most of the integrated circuits can be replaced
with discrete components. In summary, I try to use individual transistors and passive components
exclusively. This teaches me how the circuit works and I can still build equipment that is
reasonably modern. One compromise I have had to make is integrated circuit precision voltage
regulators. In order to hold the frequency constant, the voltage supplied to the oscillators must
be more stable than I have been able to build using discrete parts. Notice that the regulator also
needs to be temperature compensated which increases the difficulty of a scratch built regulator.
Another compromise I’ve made is the use of integrated circuit operational amplifiers. An
operational amplifier is an array of transistors that functions as though it were a “perfect
transistor.” It is usually easy to substitute discrete transistors, but you need to use many more of
them to get the same performance. After a while I became bored making the same complex
circuit again and again using individual transistors. So, my rule is that, if I have proved I can build
the equivalent of an integrated circuit with discrete parts, I feel I have “earned the right” to use
certain kinds of integrated circuits.
Your hobby and mine will almost certainly be different
The majority of HF hams own modern transceivers and many of them chase DX (distant
contacts) or they are contesters. There are contests every week to see who can work the most
stations operated by Boy Scouts or stations in Alabama or some other category of ham station.
Many contests just seem to be about working as many stations as possible in 24 hours. The
DXers are much the same. When they hear a distant station, they all compete in a frenzy for a
"contact." The contact is usually little more than hearing their call letters echoed from the far side
of the world. The DX station replies with a signal report of "599," says "Thank you," and then
calls the next contact. The signal reports are always 599 (best signal possible), so they have no
meaning. I'm in awe of the Morse code skill of these contest and DX guys. They send at speeds
that sound more like a modem than Morse code. To me, contact collecting seems strange and
frantic. But that's because it isn't my hobby!
Digital communication
The newest version of contact collecting is FT-8 and other digital transmitting modes.
The operator first tunes into a digital meeting frequency. These frequencies are obvious to the
 4. Chapter 5A, Harris

operator by the wailing intermittent tones. The wailing is actually 10 or 20 stations contacting.
The audio output from the receiver is connected to an ordinary computer which displays the call
letters of all the stations written out on the screen. The hams then click on the call letters they
wish to contact. After a minute or so, the display displays the response from the station which
consists of the operator's call sign and an actual signal report in decibels of signal strength. FT-8
can't communicate names, conversation or any other data.
When the sunspots are few or absent, the HF frequencies become useless for ordinary
distant ham communication. The human ear can perceive nothing but static. In contrast, the
computer can often continue to decipher the digital signals and display them. Displayed on an
oscilloscope, the signal voltage can be as much as 1/10 the amplitude of the atmospheric static!
The FT-8 just transmits signal reports. However, other digital modes can communicate real
conversations but at extremely slow rates. This is how deep space probes manage to transmit
pictures and data back to Earth from low power transmitters well beyond Pluto. When a probe
flies past a remote planetoid in the Kuiper belt, it first transmits back a low resolution, blurry
picture. Then over the next few days it slowly sends pictures in high resolution.
Homebuilding hobbies
When we have "homebrew night" at the ham club, only a small minority bring in
homebuilt gear. Projects like mine are rare. Recent projects have included a computerized
satellite tracking system for pointing antennas at VHF and UHF relay satellites, a microwave
"transverter" for moving an HF transceiver up to 10 GHz microwave, a software defined receiver
and how to use antenna modeling software with practical examples. One fellow demonstrated
how he used parabolic light reflectors salvaged from old-fashioned, light-bulb traffic lights to
build first rate microwave antennas. Most homebuilders build gear requiring software and lots of
integrated circuits. These projects require learning how to mate the hundreds of arbitrary details
and programs into complex devices. The projects rarely teach any principles of physics. Most
modern electronic devices can't be built using my old fashioned technology. On the other hand,
few if any home builders (including me) have the knowledge to build integrated circuits, let alone
the clean rooms, complex machinery and exotic chemicals to make them. Occasionally someone
brings in a homebrew vacuum tube radio, much like my two projects described in Chapter 14. I
can relate to those fellows!
Back when I worked for a living, I spent years writing embedded software for micro-
controllers. I was often frustrated for days because I hadn't read the footnote on page 23 of the
data sheets for some integrated circuit. Yes, eventually I found my error. But ICs and their data
sheets drove me crazy. I have no interest in doing the software/ data sheet struggle unless I really
want to own the gadget and there is no other way to acquire it. My talking dynamometer project
in Chapter 17 is an example. In the modern world, we can buy practically anything at an
amazingly low price. There are very few modern electronic appliances that can't be purchased for
much, much less than the cost of the parts.
My rules for homebrewing have taught me how the circuits work. I’ve learned plenty.
And by golly, when I’m done, I really feel that I built it myself! Because I have struggled to
understand it and make it work, I rarely have the feeling I am using “magic.” You don’t have to
use my rules. Make up your own. If you’re having fun, those are the right rules.
 5. Chapter 5A, Harris

Planning your station

A simple receiver and a QRP transmitter are a great start on a homebuilt station. (See
Chapters 6 and 7) However, before you can go on the air with your transmitter, you will also
need:
 A ham radio license. Contact local hams in your area or, in the US, the American Radio
Relay League in Newington, Connecticut, (888) 277-5289 or simply go on-line.
 A 12 volt DC power supply for the QRP. (Chapter 8)
 An antenna (See Chapter 5B)
 An antenna tuner and tuning indicator (Chapter 9)
 A telegraph key for Morse code. (Chapter 9)
 Proficiency in Morse code and the abbreviations used to make contacts. (Chapters 1 and
5)
 Basic test equipment to ensure that your transmitter is operating correctly. (Chapter 9).
Equipment for later on:
 A VFO. (Chapters 10 and 11) As you’ll soon learn, being restricted in frequency
mobility by crystal control is awkward and you will eventually want to build a Variable
Frequency Oscillator to replace those clumsy and expensive crystals.
 A selective, sensitive, all-band amateur radio receiver (Chapters 13A and 13B)
 A Class B or linear amplifier. (Chapter 12) Although QRP is an adventure, you will
eventually probably wish that your signal were more powerful. With a strong signal more
stations will hear you without a struggle and your contacts won’t say “73” (good bye) so
quickly. There are two ways to achieve a bigger signal: Build a better, high-gain
(directional) antenna, high above the ground. The other way is to build a linear (or Class
B) amplifier to raise the QRP power from 5 watts up to 50 or more watts.
 A lowpass filter. (Chapter 9) If you have a high power Class B amplifier, it is a good
idea to build a low pass filter to make sure that harmonics of your signal are not
interfering with the neighbors’ cellphones and TV sets.
 A Single Side Band transmitter. (Chapter 15) After you have been a ham for a few
years, sooner or later you will want to get on phone (voice) so you can talk to the majority
of hams. Otherwise you'll be stuck talking to funny old Morse code geezers like me.
Hardly anyone ever builds their own SSB. If you get that far, you will have joined an
extremely exclusive club of homebuilding hams.
 VHF transmitters and receivers. (Chapters 16A, 16B & 16C) After your sideband
triumph, you might want to try building a 2 meter station. I found it quite difficult
because there were many principles of building and measuring that I had to learn over
many months of R&D, trial and error. Hardly anyone builds VHF radios from discrete
parts like this, so it feels like real pioneering.
 6. Chapter 5A, Harris

 FM modulation. (Chapters 13B, 16A and 16C) FM modulation is permitted at the high
end of the 10 meter HF band and higher frequencies.
 UHF receivers and transmitters. Most VHF and UHF experimenters use commercial
equipment, but some build large antenna arrays for satellite communication and
propagation by bouncing radio waves off meteor showers, aurora and even the moon.
UHF is much like VHF but even harder. Modern UHF components are expensive, tiny
and there are few simple ways to succeed in your basement. Curiously, the easiest way to
build UHF radios may be with old-fashioned vacuum tubes. I have never made a serious,
sustained effort to build UHF gear.
 LF - low frequency. Low frequency is communication below the AM broadcast band,
that, is, below 550 KHz. There are frequencies granted for experimenters at 138 KHz and
450 KHz. Chapter 13B describes an LF converter for an HF receiver. LF is mostly about
using computer signal processing to extract slow Morse code from atmospheric noise. It
allows hams to send very short messages around the world using miniscule power levels.
Microwave equipment is usually based on "transverters" that move commercial HF
transceiver signals up-to and down-from microwave frequencies such as 10,000 MHz. Such high
frequencies are impractical to send through even a few inches of wire so they are transmitted
through pipes and "waveguide" ducts as radio waves. The technology to manipulate microwaves
can be more like plumbing than electronics. Most of the projects I've read about involve
transmitting between mountain tops or across the surface of the ocean.
Divide and conquer
Building an entire ham radio station from discrete components is a huge project. The
secret to having fun is to build it in carefully planned pieces that can be used and enjoyed right
away. The difficulty of the challenge depends on where you start. If you’re a retired electrical
engineer like me, you begin by wandering down to the basement, dusting off the workbench and
getting started. If you are still working for a living, your free time for this effort may only be a
few hours a week. If you have never worked as an electronics technician or engineer and you
have no formal electronics training, your road to homebuilt ham radio will be lengthy. If you have
no electronic experience and little free time, then maybe buying a commercial receiver and a QRP
kit may be the best way for you to begin.
 7. Chapter 5A, Harris

The author’s 100% homebuilt station. It isn’t flawless and it isn’t the latest technology, but it
talks around the world and sure has been fun. Oh, by the way, the oscilloscope and frequency
counter are NOT homebuilt.
Many guys try to do too much too soon. This can easily result in many hours invested in
useless junk that does nothing except get hot and generate acrid smoke. A better plan is to focus
on small projects that can make you proud as soon as possible. Try to decide what it is about
ham radio that excites you and then zero in on those aspects. Your ambitions will always be
greater than the time you have to achieve your dreams. Plan carefully.

Pick an HF band
In the 1960s it was practical to build simple ham transmitters that tuned several bands.
Unfortunately today a ham transmitter must meet strict frequency stability standards. Actually,
your government is only interested in having you stay inside the hamband and radiating a
reasonably narrowband signal. However, other hams will probably complain about your signal if
you drift more than about 20 Hertz per minute. This degree of precision can be hard to achieve.
The easiest way is to start with crystal controlled frequency and build for one hamband at a time.
You can expand your capability later as your time, knowledge and enthusiasm permit.
There are 10 different HF bands, 2 LF bands and seventeen VHF, UHF and microwave
ham bands. In addition, a ham is free to operate anywhere he likes above 300,000 MHz, provided
output power is limited. As the frequency goes up, the basic principles are the same. However,
the construction methods change radically and the precision and craftsmanship needed soar with
the frequency. This book only considers the HF and VHF bands. Higher frequencies need
expensive test equipment and a good understanding of HF building principles. In other words,
walk before you run.
 8. Chapter 5A, Harris

40, 30 and 20 meters

In my experience, the easiest and most versatile frequencies to build for are the 40, 30 and
20 meter hambands. (7 MHz, 10 MHz and 14 MHz.) The signals on these bands are strong and
these bands are usually “open” throughout the year. For Americans, it’s easy to talk to hams all
across North America on all three bands. Talking around the world is relatively easy on 30 and
20 meters. Optimal antennas are relatively small. On 40 meters (7 MHz) a horizontal dipole is 66
feet long. On 20 meters (14 MHz) a dipole is only 33 feet long. A vertical antenna for 20 meters
is only 16.5 feet high. A typical suburban house is about 50 feet wide so it’s usually possible to
put up a 40 meter dipole somewhere on the property.
In the U.S.A. there are different classes of licenses, depending on the difficulty of the
license exam. These license classes have proportionate levels of operating privileges. In the
U.S.A. only the "Amateur Extra Class" can operate on all the ham frequencies and use all the
modulation modes. However, these distinctions about which class can operate on which
frequencies seem to change yearly. Modern commercial ham transmitters are so reliable and
frequency stable that an operator doesn't need to know anything about electronics to operate one
competently. In contrast, prior to the 1950s homebuilding was almost universal. It was hard to
build transmitters that didn't generate radio noise that interfered with the other services trying to
use the radio spectrum. Consequently, today license class distinctions are rapidly going away and
the license exams have become much easier.
Today amateur radio license tests are easy.
Since homebuilding has become rare, most governments no longer see the need for hams
to be competent radio technicians. Here are some typical ham radio license exam questions from
the 1950s: "Draw a schematic diagram of a class B dual pentode amplifier." "Explain the
procedure for neutralizing a class C triode amplifier." Another common question was, "A crystal
manufacturer specifies that his crystal frequencies are accurate to within 0.05%. You wish to
operate as close as possible to the low end of the 40 meter ham band. What frequency crystal
should you order?" Most of the questions required drawings, calculations or short written
answers. I should also mention that the exams used to be given by grim-faced federal government
officials wearing dark suits. Today the tests are given by smiling local hams and the questions
are multiple choice. You even get to study old test questions!
In the old days passing a Morse code test was required for all but the most limited
"technician" VHF license. The Novice license code test was only 5 words a minute and was given
by local hams. For the General, Advanced and Extra Class licenses, the code tests were 13 and
20 words a minute. The test consisted of sitting in a room wearing headphones while the FCC
official played 5 minutes of a U.S. Navy Morse code training tape. You had to copy at least one
minute perfectly. The machine sent sea-fairing sentences such as, "Primary desalinator on USS
Cleveland is down for repairs." It was hard because each sentence ended with about ten nonsense
characters, such as, "g,6z3/?qy." For the General Class exam you had to master at least two of
these gibberish barriers to copy one minute perfectly. As you can see, the difficulty of the exams
is no longer a valid excuse for not getting an amateur radio license.
40 meters (7.000 to 7.300 MHz )
This is a great band for CW contacts within about 2,000 miles (3,000 KM). The bottom
 9. Chapter 5A, Harris

50 KHz is used almost exclusively for CW although CW is legal in the entire band. From about
7.050 to 7.125 the band is dominated by ham digital data stations. These fellows communicate
with radio teletype, ham slow-scan television (similar to FAX), FT-8 contact collecting and
various digital data systems that resemble "Tweeting."
When you hear digital signals on an ordinary receiver, they make distinctive musical,
rattling or buzzing noises, much like the old telephone modems. Until recently, most of 40 meters
above 7.125 was available for commercial shortwave broadcasts in Europe, Asia and Africa. This
meant that at night 40 meters was unusable for ham phone (Single Sideband - SSB voice
transmission). Today there are only a few commercial stations still broadcasting there. As a
result, 40 meters phone has become useful at night for long distance contacts. During the day 40
meters is good for local CW and phone (SSB) contacts. For example, in my state there is a noon
SSB net where guys around the state chat with each other. Finally, 40 meters is by far the most
common band for homebuilt QRP receivers and transmitters.
30 meters (10.10 to 10.15 MHz )
Thirty meters resembles the CW band on 40 meters. It’s only 50 KHz wide and no phone
is allowed. Typically with my receiver there are only 4 or 5 CW stations on the air. Day and
night and day there always seems to be loud FT-8 whining tones at 10.138 MHz. It’s a terrific
band for homebuilders. The power output on this band is limited to 200 watts worldwide, so it is
a good band for talking to DX (foreign stations). Nearly everyone on 30 is using comparable
equipment, so you won’t have to compete with kilowatt stations using giant, multi-element beam
antennas. Formerly, an advantage of 30 was that contesting did not happen on this band. Ham
organizations often hold weekend contests to see how many stations one can talk to in a 24 hour
period. All the bands, except 30, 17 and 12 meters, became packed with guys just exchanging call
letters as quickly as possible. It's pretty boring, if you aren't competing in the contest.
Unfortunately, lately the contesters have begun to appear on these bands too. I'm hoping this isn't
the new normal. It would be nice to have at least one or two sane bands on weekends.
20 meters (14.000 to 14.350 MHz )
Twenty meters is the single most popular HF band. It is large and, depending on the 11
year sunspot cycle, often usable 24 hours a day and “open” year round. It normally has dozens or
even hundreds of stations. In fact, 20 meters is often so crowded, you will need a receiver with
great selectivity to carry on a conversation. If you can copy fast Morse code, foreign CW stations
are easily heard at the bottom of the band. Distant stations are known as "DX." The term implies
an exotic location, like the other side of an ocean or the world. Hoards of relatively local stations
compete to talk to them. This results in what I call, "DX storms." You'll hear a faint little signal
from the far side of the world followed by 1/2 second of silence. Then there is a brief "storm" of
loud, local stations all frantically calling the DX guy. After a second or two pause, the DX fellow
answers the lucky winner, usually 5 KHz lower to escape the cacophony. Between about 14.050
MHz and 14.150 MHz CW is permitted, but the signals are mostly different forms of digital
transmission. The band above 14.150 MHz is filled with powerful stations on single side band
phone. It is hard to build a homebrew station that will compete on the 20 meter phone band.
17 meters (18.068 to 18.168 MHz )
Seventeen meters is a fine little CW and phone band. It’s mostly inhabited by single
 10. Chapter 5A, Harris

sideband phone stations. However, there are usually a couple CW stations at the bottom of the
band. When conditions are good, some of these stations are DX on the other side of the world.
It isn’t my first choice for a QRP CW transmitter, but other than scarce CW stations, there’s
nothing wrong with 17 meters.
15 meters (21.000 to 21.450 MHz )
Fifteen meters is slightly harder to build for than 20 meters, but it’s an excellent band for
beginners. 15 meters is a large band, 450 KHz wide. It’s not crowded but there are plenty of
stations. 21.040 to 21.060 MHz is where most of the QRP CW guys hang out. 15 meter QRP
transmitters are usually crystal controlled and locked into that frequency range. After your code
speed gets up over 20 WPM, you can move down to the bottom of the band where the DX
stations and high-speed, old-time CW operators hang out. On the other hand, every now and
then, a station on the other side of the world will answer your slow speed CQ. These are usually
the most memorable DX QSOs because the other fellow is obviously in no hurry to talk to anyone
else. Sometimes the other fellow will tell you about his exotic location - the local volcano, the
seal migration, his pet wallaby, the approaching typhoon, etc.
Extra care in construction and antenna tuning are needed as the frequency goes up. You
may find that your homemade receiver is slightly less sensitive than it was on 20 Meters and your
transmitter probably won’t produce as clean an output waveform as it did on 20 meters. On the
other hand, a 15 meter vertical antenna is only 11 feet tall and a horizontal dipole is only 22 feet
wide. Another reason for selecting 15 meters is that a 40 meter dipole or 40 meter vertical will
work well on both 40 meters and 15 meters.
Some hams successfully string 15 meter antennas in their attics or along the ceiling of a
large second story room. When I was in high school, a friend of mine, Al Beezer, KØKZL, had
his 15 meter dipole strung across the ceiling of his second floor bedroom. He attached
fluorescent light bulbs to each end of his dipole. The bulbs flashed every time he pushed the
telegraph key. Great show biz! Yes, Al’s signal would have been stronger if his antenna had been
10 feet higher outside in a tree, but his indoor antenna was adequate to make contacts all over
North America.
Open bands and sunspots
The disadvantage of 17 meters and higher bands is that these bands are often not “open.”
When the sunspots are few, the Earth’s upper atmosphere is minimally ionized. When the band is
“dead,” the radio signals pass through the ionosphere right out into space. The sunspots occur in
an 11-year cycle and 2020 happened to be one of those years when the upper bands were quiet.
15 meters is often closed for months at a time, especially in the summer. During these times all
you’ll hear is the hiss of static. On the other hand, 15 meters and above can be used for local
communications during these periods. The higher the frequency, the less often the bands are
open. Ten and 12 meters are even more erratic.
10 and 12 meters
I found building receiver converters for 10 and 12 meters was as easy as it was for 15
meters. However, building the transmitters was more difficult. My final amplifiers and antennas
were hard to tune. It took me several attempts and many modifications before I got more than a
few watts of power output on 10 meters. For example, my transmit-receive antenna relay had too
 11. Chapter 5A, Harris

much reflection (high SWR - Standing Wave Ratio) to work properly on those bands. It had too
much internal inductance. My first solution to the problem was to use a separate antenna for the
receiver. However, once I was able to transmit just two watts on 10 meters, I could easily talk to
other continents. From that perspective you could say that 10 meters is the best QRP band. But
sadly, months or even years go by when there is rarely more on 10 meters than static.
When I was in high school, several of my friends and I built handheld 10 meter walkie-
talkies. They were amplitude modulated (AM) which, unlike sideband, is easy to build. We
found the plans in the 1946 ARRL handbook. They put out 1/4 watt into a 2-foot long antenna
with a loading coil. One of my biggest thrills in ham radio was sitting on my chimney in Colorado
and talking to a guy in New Jersey - 3,000 kilometers away. That was nothing. My friend Bob,
(KØIYF, now NØRN), was walking down the street and talked to a fellow in Morocco. Fifty
years later he still remembered the call letters, CN8NN. Of course today, hardly anyone uses AM
and the frequency instability of those walkie-talkie transmitters would be totally unacceptable.
Today, if anyone talked to us at all, it would be to demand that we get off the air. Ah, ... the
good old days.
Those really were the good old days: Back in the 1950s sunspot numbers were often over
200! In recent 11-year sunspot cycles 50 sunspots is considered a high number and terrific
propagation. In modern times it takes much more than milliwatts and a puny antenna to talk to
other continents. On the other hand, today you can talk to other continents using an IRLP
Internet connection with your commercial 2 meter walkie-talkie. Maybe the hobby isn't so
different after all.
6 meters
Six meters is a huge band, 50 to 54 MHz. It closely resembles 10 meters in that a few
watts will talk around the world using high ionospheric propagation. Some years, on ham field
day at least, (the last weekend in June) it is crowded with signals from all over the world. The
catch is that 6 meter propagation is rarely “open.” You may have to listen for months or years
before you hear stations. With good craftsmanship, it’s barely possible to build homebrew
equipment for 6 meters using the technology discussed in this book. There are receiver
converters for 6 meters in Chapters 13B and 16C. Two designs for 6 meter transmitters are
presented in Chapter 16D. However, I don’t recommend it until you have become bored with 10
meters.
2 meters
2 meters is quite difficult to homebrew. Most communication uses wideband FM
modulation which requires different audio modulators and detectors. As usual, frequency stability
for the transmitter and receiver is a major challenge. I also found that generating more than 2 or 3
watts was surprisingly hard. The good news is that a simple whip antenna 46 CM tall is an
excellent all-directional antenna. Directional antennas resemble the old roof-top TV antennas.
They are only designed for one frequency and not the entire VHF/UHF TV spectrum.
Direct communication on 2 meters is very local, usually little more than line of sight. If
the receiving stations are on the other side of a mountain, they will almost never hear you. As a
result, most communication on 2 meters uses repeaters on hill tops to relay the signals. The relay
station receives signals on one frequency, then typically rebroadcasts it through a 100 watt
 12. Chapter 5A, Harris

transmitter on another frequency. Usually, the repeater can only be activated if your transmission
begins with 1/2 second of a specific frequency code, such as 88 Hz or 100 Hz. Homebrewing for
2 meters is discussed in Chapters 16A, 16B and 16C.
80 and 160 meters
80 meters (3.5 to 4.0 MHz) and 160 meters (1.8 to 2.0 MHz) are large, lightly used bands.
Building transmitters for 160 and 80 meters is easier than any other band. Circuit inductance and
transistor switching speed are relatively insignificant at these low frequencies. There are plenty of
SSB phone stations on 80 meters at night, but relatively few CW stations on these bands.
Building good receivers for these bands is difficult because the atmospheric noise is so heavy that
it takes a sophisticated receiver to pull signals out of the static. Crashing static noise from
lightning is especially bad in the summer. Also, if your homebuilt receiver isn’t well filtered, it
may be overwhelmed by local standard broadcast AM stations which are located just below 160
meters. A modern commercial high-end transceiver can often hear dozens of stations while a
simple homebuilt receiver might only hear a few. During the day, these bands buzz with noise and
are usually only good for across town. Sometimes at night, if the thunderstorm static isn’t too
bad, there are lots of stations from all over the continent. It also helps to live out in the country,
far away from power lines, plasma TVs, grow lamps and auto ignitions. Heaven only knows what
else causes the background static that we hear in the city.
Another barrier to 80 and 160 meters is that a large antenna is needed for good
performance. On 80 meters a basic vertical antenna must be about 66 feet high and a dipole
antenna is 135 feet long. For 160 meters, ideal antennas are twice those sizes. In my opinion 160
is the noisiest and least popular band. Yes, you can get on 80 and 160 with small antennas
equipped with “loading coils” and antenna tuners. Unfortunately, in my limited experience, if you
don't have a big antenna, you will rarely get out of town. On the other hand, once you have an
adequate antenna, I was surprised to discover that QRP transmitters can talk across the continent
on 80 meters.
My friend Bob, NØRN, has achieved a life-long dream. He now lives far out in the
country and has a first rate receiver, a kilowatt transmitter and huge antennas. The last I heard he
had worked 124 countries on 160 meters! I said something snarky implying that he was cheating
with all those advantages. He replied that good equipment doesn't make it easy. The CW signals
he hears on 160 are usually way down in the noise. To the untrained ear, they are scarcely
audible, let alone decipherable. Bob is one of those guys who understands 30 words a minute
Morse code. He doesn't write down anything, except to type the contact into his station log.
60 meters
Since July 4, 2003 American hams have been allowed to transmit single sideband phone
(USB SSB) on five discrete channels, 5.332, 5.348, 5.368, 5.372 and 5.405 MHz. Since March
2012 Americans are now also allowed to transmit CW and data on these channels. This band is
noisy and is shared by several services. Each channel is like an old time party-line phone on which
everybody tries to talk at once. Moreover, at any one time, you will find that two or three of the
channels are occupied by commercial teletype (RTTY) stations. It's interesting, but frankly it isn't
worth the trouble for a beginning ham. (See Chapter 17B)
To summarize, I recommend starting off with CW on 40 and/ or 15 meters. A 40 meter
 13. Chapter 5A, Harris

dipole works well on both bands and the equipment is relatively easy to build. Both bands will let
you talk all over your local continent with ease. On 15 meters you will have the chance to work
foreign stations even with simple equipment and minimal code skill.
Phone (voice) transmissions
For a homebrewer in the modern world, building an SSB phone transmitter is a difficult
project. Actually, amplitude modulation (AM) voice transmitters, like those used by standard
broadcast radio, are relatively easy to build and are still legal for ham radio. To convert a CW
transmitter into an AM transmitter, all you have to do is impress an audio voice signal onto the
direct current power supply line going to the transmitter’s last stage of amplification. In recent
years I have occasionally heard AM ham stations on 10, 20, 80 and 160 meters. But in general,
AM is rarely used by hams.
The modern replacement for AM is single sideband (SSB) phone. SSB is similar in
principle to AM phone, but it takes up about a third of the bandwidth of an AM signal. Sideband
can be thought of as AM radio with half of the signal bandwidth plus the carrier wave removed
with precise filters. This allows more stations to share the band and makes your transmitted
power three times more effective. The SSB signal is usually generated at a fixed frequency then
translated up or down to the desired frequency using mixer technology. To maintain the purity of
the signal, all of the amplifiers along the chain must operate perfectly in linear mode so that the
speech is not distorted.
Multi-band sideband transmitters are described in Chapter 15 of this book. Scratch-built
sideband phone is definitely an advanced project. To be honest, I found mine hard to get working
and spent many months on the project. I rebuilt some stages of the transmitter several times.
Perhaps homebuilt single sideband should be something to look forward to when you have loads
of free time. After you have worked on an SSB transmitter for a while, you may decide that good
old Morse code isn’t so bad after all!
On the other hand, receiving single sideband is easy. Any receiver that can receive CW
can also receive sideband. For example, the simple CW receivers described in Chapters 7A, 7B
and 7C receive sideband adequately. The homebuilt receiver described in Chapters 13A and 13B
works great for SSB. It uses a filter made from a single, off-the-shelf, microprocessor crystal to
receive clear, interference-free speech.
FM phone communication
Wide-band FM voice modulation is legal on 6 meters and above. Narrow-band FM
modulation is legal on the high end of 10 meters. Using crystal control and technology discussed
in Chapter 16, a 10 meter FM receiver and transmitter would be relatively easy to construct. That
is, it is much easier than 2 meter wideband FM. I have read that 10 meter FM is commonly used
in Japan but is rarely used here. 2 meter FM homebrewing is discussed in Chapter 16. I found
that building functioning 2 meter FM equipment with good audio fidelity was even harder than HF
Sideband. It is especially hard if you expect to access repeater relay stations. I don't recommend
it unless you are looking for an extreme challenge.
Instant high quality communications
Perhaps you have read all of the above and decided that your primary goal is to talk to
 14. Chapter 5A, Harris

people by radio as soon as possible. For you, building equipment is a secondary interest. If that
describes you, you should probably buy a modern high frequency (HF) transceiver then begin
work on your ham license as soon as possible. Modern commercial ham stations are usually
“transceivers” that combine the transmitter and receiver in one unit. Many of the circuit blocks in
transmitters and receivers are almost identical. Logically enough, the transceivers use many of the
same circuits for both send and receive. The model below has two separate receivers so that you
can listen on two frequencies at once - very helpful for working exotic DX stations.

A modern, top-of-the-line HF transceiver – the Yaesu Mark V Field, FT1000MP

I recommend buying a transceiver that can tune all ten high frequency bands. If you buy a
modern, quality used transceiver, the price can be well under $1,000. This will give you a
(nearly) complete station that is more sophisticated than you or I could build with years of effort.
Even if you don’t have your license yet and can’t transmit legally, you should buy or borrow some
kind of receiver as soon as you can. That way you can at least listen to shortwave radio. Really,
listening is more than half the fun. Many commercial transceivers or receivers can receive the
entire shortwave spectrum from 1.8 to 30 MHz. This includes all the commercial broadcast,
foreign stations and time and weather stations. Listening will make studying for your ham license
much less theoretical. If you want to experiment with the built-in transmitter, you may not
transmit on the air without a license. However, you can practice loading a “dummy load” instead
of an antenna. If you have an antenna tuner, it’s fun to load up an ordinary filament lightbulb as a
dummy antenna and watch the light pulsate as you talk or send Morse code. See Chapter 9.
Even if you are an avid home builder, owning a first rate, modern transceiver is useful for
testing and monitoring your homebuilt equipment. By shorting out the antenna input of the
transceiver, you can listen to your home made transmitter running into a dummy load - a fake
antenna. That way you will hear what your home built signal would sound like on the air from
hundreds of miles away. Similarly, the precise calibration of a modern receiver makes it a useful
frequency meter.
Occasionally I consider buying a modern transceiver like the one above. These
transceivers are “easy” in the sense that they can instantly perform virtually every feature and
communication mode you have ever heard of. For example, when the new 60 meter band opened,
it was possible to reprogram the Yaesu FT1000MP to cover 60 meters just by pushing the right
combination of buttons. And, as you might expect, those first days most guys on 60 meters were
using an FT1000MP. The bad news is that the instruction manuals make operating your video
recorder look like child’s play. All those buttons, menus and operating modes are enough to drive
you to drink.
 15. Chapter 5A, Harris

Yes, I occasionally think about buying one, but for me, it wouldn’t be satisfying. As soon
as I had read the manual and tried out the features I was interested in, the transceiver would
become boring. I can name several hams who have superb transceivers gathering dust in their
home stations. They haven’t turned them on in months or even years. On the other hand, if your
ham radio bliss is working all the 341 call signs in the world, then you will need the best possible
equipment. Building your rig yourself is going to slow you down for many years or decades.
Maybe that’s a good thing. You decide!
Pursuing a dream
When I was in high school during the 1950s, television was “exotic.” Although black and
white TV receivers became common in our living rooms, almost no one could afford a TV
camera. Because I couldn’t afford a camera, their unavailability made them fascinating. I spent
hundreds of hours building and experimenting with TV cameras. Only one of my five camera
projects actually worked properly. (See Chapter 17B.) Later when I was grown, my wife bought
me a fantastic TV camcorder which today is a big yawn. Because camcorders and cell phone
cameras are routine today, for me the camcorder was just another way to take baby pictures. I
have hardly done a thing with it. Familiarity and ease of acquisition produce boredom.
VHF/ UHF Hand-helds
The simplest and cheapest kinds of commercial ham transceivers are FM VHF hand-held
walkie-talkies for 2 meters (144 MHz ) and/or 70 centimeters (420 MHz). These walkie-talkies
are slightly more adventurous than a cellphone, but in my opinion they usually aren’t as useful or
interesting unless you are using IRLP, described below. Hand-helds also require a ham license.
However, in the U.S. at least, a "technician" ham license is adequate and requires the easiest test.
Another limitation of hand-helds is that the communication is basically line-of-sight. In other
words, if you are behind a mountain and want to talk to the other side of the mountain, you need
a relay station (a repeater) that just happens to be on top of the mountain or in some location that
is visible to both you and the guy you’re talking to. In my city the local ham club has a repeater
on a nearby mountain and the club has weekly round-table chats on 2 meter FM.
In my opinion the best feature of hand-helds is IRLP. This is an Internet-connected
network of VHF and UHF repeater relay stations or "nodes." The idea is that you use your
handheld transceiver to key in codes into your local repeater node. The repeater uses the codes to
connect you via the Internet with other nodes anywhere in the world. The repeater node in
Boston, Tokyo or Berlin then rebroadcasts your VHF signal as if it were local. Guys in those
distant cities hear you and reply as if you were located in their own town. This system is mostly
used for rag-chewing and isn't burdened with contests and guys who are just interested in
collecting call letters and QSL cards.
 16. Chapter 5A, Harris

A 2 meter hand held transceiver - (walkie-talkie) with a spare battery pack.

I use my 2 meter walkie-talkie to join in the weekly ham club net. I installed a 2 meter
vertical antenna on my roof and have a coax cable leading down into my basement. It's quite
adequate for contacting the relay station on the mountain. One of our club members, Uli,
KB9TTI, now lives in Switzerland but still checks into our local net using IRLP.
I also use the walkie-talkie as an emergency radio for hiking. I once participated in the
rescue of a back country skier who used his ham radio 2 meter handy talkie to call for help after
he broke his leg three miles from the nearest road. 2 meter hand-helds generally have about 5
watts output and large AA batteries. In contrast, cell phones have tiny batteries. Cell phones
operate at very low power, milliwatts, when they are close to the cell tower. However, they
automatically switch to several watts of power when they are far from the nearest cell tower. Our
local mountain rescue group is often contacted by cellphones from remote places. Unfortunately,
the tiny cell phone batteries usually go dead almost immediately. Finding the injured or lost
person is difficult when there is only the initial call for help. My friend Bob carries a large battery
backup for his cellphone while hiking. Even with big batteries, 2 meter handhelds and cellphones
usually must be on a ridge or mountain top to talk to anyone.
Like me, most owners of VHF walkie-talkies use them like citizens band radios to talk
around town. 2 meter and 70 centimeter walkie-talkies are so small and cheap, that it isn't
surprising that almost no one builds 2 meter stations. In general, the quality and range of the
commercial ham radio hand-helds is far superior to citizens band radios. On the other hand,
citizens band and the "Family Radio Service" (FRS) are an easy way to get on the air without a
license.
If you buy a hand-held, be sure to buy an extra battery pack or two. To make mine
reliable in an emergency, I replaced the rechargeable batteries inside the battery packs with
alkaline batteries. Although they aren’t rechargeable, alkalines store several times more energy.
They also tolerate cold temperature much better than rechargeables. I found that the original
NiCads went dead almost immediately when I was skiing.
Beware of modern handheld software complexity
The frequency switching on my ancient 2 meter handheld (pictured above) became
 17. Chapter 5A, Harris

unreliable, so I bought a brand new modern Icom analog-modulated handheld. I hoped it was
essentially the same as my old Kenwood. The good news is that it's mechanically and electrically
first rate. No one complains about its signal strength or voice quality. The bad news is that its
software is so complex, I have to handle it as though it were about to explode. If I brush against
any button other than "Push-to-Talk," it abruptly puts me in some other mode - perhaps 440
MHz, a weather alert channel or some mysterious stored frequency from an alternate memory
bank. But usually I discover that it's suddenly in an esoteric operating mode. To escape from my
blunder, I have to search the 87 page manual. No setting or adjustment is obvious.
Why is it so complicated, you ask? If you have deft, tiny little fingers, know the software
perfectly and practice constantly, this little radio could manage the entire emergency response for
a massive Gulf Coast hurricane. You can preprogram and name dozens of stations on 144 and
440 MHz on multiple memory banks, assign private channel numbers displays and automatically
receive weather alerts. You can perform sub-audible DTCS squelch code scans (whatever those
are) for arrays of memorized repeater stations, clone data and transmit it to another station,
program scans for your memory selections to interrupt when stations appear on other frequencies,
transfer memory bank contents, and dozens of other arcane modes and adjustments.
I apologize for being a sarcastic, grumpy OLD LUDDITE, but really! They could at least
offer a model for us old guys with fuzzy brains and arthritic, fat fingers. I talked to 3 other guys
in the ham club with modern handhelds. They all had this same complaint. One fellow with a
shiny new Yeasu handheld told me it was so frustrating, he gave it away. The new digital
modulated units are probably worse - but they cost twice as much!
HF versus VHF and UHF ham radio
Among serious hams, the spectrum is generally divided into two halves, “High Frequency”
(HF = 1.8 to 30 MHz) and “Very High Frequency” (VHF = 50 MHz and 144 MHz ) extending up
to Ultra High Frequency (UHF = 220 MHz and above). Above UHF are the microwave bands
with frequencies measured in gigahertz and wavelengths in centimeters. Most HF hams like long
distance communication with either CW or voice. There are also HF packet-radio modes and
slow speed picture transmission which resembles e-mail or fax with a slow modem. RTTY and
PSK-31 are modes that resemble instant e-mail messaging on the Internet.
There are two kinds of VHF/UHF guys. The vast majority of them just own hand-helds,
but a few UHF hams are extremely technical and do high tech experimentation. This can be ham-
television, exotic voice modulation like spread-spectrum and transmissions using satellites. The
microwave guys often have fun trying to see how far they can communicate between mountain
tops. Super-high frequency microwave signals, such as 10,000 MHz, can also skim along the
surface of the ocean. The present amateur record for this mode of communication is about 2,500
miles.
Much like my effort to build a TV camera, what you do with great effort is more
rewarding than buying a gadget and copying the crowd. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that, for the
technical UHF guys, a lot of the fun is organized around trying to talk to distant stations using
ionosphere substitutes like satellites, or bouncing radio waves off the moon or even the aurora
and falling meteors. Instead of using repeater relay stations, these guys get their kicks by using
these exotic substitutes.
 18. Chapter 5A, Harris

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Morse Code conversations and abbreviations

While you are studying for your ham license, you can practice receiving Morse code. The
basic Morse code vocabulary for letters, numbers and punctuation was explained at the beginning
of Chapter 1, but I didn't cover code abbreviations for words. When you copy CW on the
hambands, you will hear lots of arcane code short cuts. They resemble "OMG" and "LOL" which
are used for texting on cellphones. Unfortunately, hams rarely use the same abbreviations. There
are two kinds of abbreviations: They are "Q codes" and contractions of words or sentences.
Contractions often correspond to English words, but not always.
Conversation format
Call letters are issued by our national governments. We are expected to use them to
identify ourselves at least once every 10 minutes. American call signs begin with K, W, N or A.
Other countries have different beginning letters - X for Mexico, D for Deutschland, G for Great
Britain, etc. Ham call letters always have at least one number, 0 through 9, and in some parts of
the world, two numbers. The numbers usually refer to the region of the country where they were
issued, but not always. Call signs are 4 to 6 digits long. For example, my call letters are KØIYE.
The "Ø" stands for "zero" to prevent confusion with "O." In the U.S.A., the "Ø" call area is the
west-central part of the country. The exceptions occur when a ham moves to another part of the
country but doesn't bother to request a new call sign. You can look up any call letters that you
hear at www.QRZ.COM. Here you will find the ham operator's name, location and often detailed
information about his station.
Morse code conversations usually begin with "CQ," which means "calling any station."
DE = "This is station ... " For example, "CQ DE KØIYE K".
K = "Please respond, any station."
Keep your CQ calls relatively short. I like 3 CQs followed by 2 station call signs. I repeat this
sequence twice and then listen for a response.
For instance, "CQ CQ CQ DE KØIYE KØIYE CQ CQ CQ DE KØIYE KØIYE K"
If there is no response, I repeat the double call.
Suppose W2SOU hears my CQ and responds:
"KØIYE KØIYE DE W2SOU W2SOU AR"
AR = Please respond. The underlined letters mean that this is sent as if it were a single Morse
code letter. AR is used after a call to a specific station before contact is established.
KN = Also means "please respond." KN refers to a particular station after contact is established.
Once communication has been established, there is a standard format to exchange basic
information quickly:
The first long transmission usually contains the other station's signal report, your
name and station's location. Don't be wordy! Here's a typical example: "W2SOU DE KØIYE
GA TNX FER CALL. UR RST 579 579 HR IN BOULDER, CO. BOULDER, CO. NAME IS
 19. Chapter 5A, Harris

FRANK FRANK. HW CPY? KN" Many stations end the first exchange by asking "HW CPY?" -
How copy? Repetition of the key words is the usual format. Propagation conditions often
change quickly, so be brief. Atmospheric noise, competing stations or fading propagation will
often end your contact before you would like.
Abbreviations of words and phrases are often based on English, but some are not.
Most abbreviations are obvious, but many must be learned by rote.
GM, GA and GE = Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Evening.
UR = "Your" or "you are ..."
RST = Readability, Strength and Tone. A signal report for a Morse signal. The Readability
scale is 0 to 5, Strength, 0 to 9 and Tone, 0 to 9. The tone should be a clear, pure,
consistent audio whistle, not a harsh buzz.
HR = Here
C = Chirp, as in "UR RST 579C." This means the CW tone is chirping like bird. In other
words, the audio tone is changing during a dot or dash. This is not a complementary
signal report.
X = Crystal controlled signal - as in "UR RST 579X." Rarely heard today because hardly anyone
drifts today like the old fashioned transmitters. Praising a station's frequency stability is
usually unnecessary ... unless of course it's homebrew - HI !
HI = Laughing, equivalent to LOL
N = "9" Signals are often strong and modern CW tones are nearly always pure. So operators
often just send "UR RST 5NN" DX (distant) stations are frequently harassed by a crowd
of people calling them. So they just give everyone "5NN" reports.
OM = Old Man - an endearing name for the fellow you're talking to. e.g., "GE OM TNX FER
CALL."
TNX = Thanks
FER = For. ("FER" is shorter to send than "FOR".)
OP = Operator. Often used as an abbreviation for "my name," as in, "OP IS JIM."
Morse code punctuation is usually limited to period, "." comma "," "?" and "/" The
slash mark is used to attach a modifier to station call letters. for example, "KØIYE/QRP"
means the station KØIYE is operating QRP. "/M" means the station is mobile, usually mounted
in a car. "KØIYE/6" means that the station, which is licensed in area "Ø," (Ø = zero, the
western-central United States) is operating remotely in license area "6." In the U.S.A. area 6 is
the state of California.
The second exchange usually starts by acknowledging the other fellow's name, describing
your transmitter (rig), power level, the antenna you are using and how high off the ground it is
mounted. You might also give a brief local weather report.
R = Roger, message received. For example, after receiving the first long transmission from a
station, if I copied every word, I might say, "W2SOU DE K0IYE R R."
 20. Chapter 5A, Harris

SLD CPY = "Solid copy," the same as R.

FB = "Fine Business," meaning, well done! e.g., "FB ON UR HMBREW QRP."
RIG = Equipment being used during contact, as in, "RIG HR IS HOMEBREW XISTOR RNG
5 WTS."
RNG or similar contractions = running, transmitting so many watts.
WTS = Watts
XISTOR = Transistor
ANT = Antenna. e.g., "ANT IS DIPOLE 30 FT UP."
WX = Weather. e.g., "WX HR IS 40 DEG F, PTLY CLDY, WNDY", etc.
The third exchange can branch out any way you like. Often hams compliment the other
fellow's station and signal. They often give their age, how long they have been a ham and what
they do for a living. After that it is like any other conversation with a new acquaintance.
Here are some more abbreviations:
CW = "Continuous wave," a Morse Code signal. (Morse is unmodulated and continues for as
long as the key is depressed.)
V = Testing. Used while tuning up a transmitter.
ES = "And". "ES" is shorter to send than "AND".
BT = Pause. Sometimes means, "I'm thinking about what to say next." Some operators use BTs
like periods at the end of sentences.
BK = Break. Sometimes hams just say BK to turn the conversation over to the other fellow.
Other times BK is used to interrupt another's conversation. "Break" is more
commonly used during phone conversations than with CW.
AS = Wait - A temporary interruption of transmission to let the cat out, etc.
DX = distant stations, usually on some other continent.
PSE = Please
RPT = Repeat
SRI = Sorry
YL = Young Lady
XYL = Former Young Lady, i.e., the operator's wife.
LID = A lousy radio operator. Use with discretion! If you can't say anything nice, ....
GL = Good luck
73 = Best regards. Usually sent at the end of a conversation.
88 = Love and kisses. Rarely used, but universally understood.
TNX = Thanks
 21. Chapter 5A, Harris

CUAGN = See you again.

SK = Clear. Used after last transmission. Ready to talk to another station. Another meaning for
SK is "Silent Key," a deceased ham radio operator. However, this meaning isn't often
used on the air.
CL = Closing down. Last transmission, station is going off the air and will not respond to further
calls.
TU = Thank you. Commonly heard at the end of (extremely) brief contest contacts.
EIGHT DOTS - ........ = Error. If you send a letter or word incorrectly, send 8 quick dots and
start over
ESE (pause) EE = The sender transmits "ESE" and then the other station responds with "EE."
This is short for "Shave and a haircut - two bits." * It is sometimes sent just for fun at the
end of a conversation.

Q codes
You have already met several Q codes such as QRP and QSO. There are about three
dozen Q codes altogether. Most of them are only used for formal message handling or they are
no longer in common use. Many of them have had their common meaning changed over the
years. Here are some Q codes often used for ordinary CW contacts:
QRL = Is anyone using this frequency? Polite hams send QRL and wait for a response before
they begin sending CQ.
QRP = Reduce power. Today it usually refers to a transmitter using less than 5 watts power.
QRO = This can mean a transmitter running more than 5 watts. It can also mean, "Please
increase your power." That is, "You're too weak, I can barely hear you!"
QRS = Please send more slowly. This is useful for a beginning CW operator!
QSB = Signal fading. A common occurrence during QSOs - The fellow you're talking to fades
into the background noise.
QRM = Interference from other stations. For example, "SRI OM QRM ES QSB. PSE RPT."
QRN = Interference from noise.
QSO = A conversation or contact. A station might send, "TNX FER QSO."
QSY = Change frequency. For example, "SRI QRM. PSE QSY UP 5 KHZ."
QRX = Please wait a moment, e.g., "Wait a minute while I let the cat back in," etc.
QRZ = Who is calling me? If there was a response to your CQ, but you weren't able to copy the
call letters, you can say "QRZ" and have him try again. This is often used by DX stations
that have attracted a mob of stations calling them. When they finish with one station,
they often just send "QRZ" which means, "Who's next?"
QRH = Frequency is drifting. I have never heard this on the air. But if all hams were
homebrewers, it would be in common use. Modern guys just tell me, "UR DRIFTING."
 22. Chapter 5A, Harris

QSL = Confirming a contact or it can mean a message has been correctly received. Today it
usually refers to a real postcard sent to confirm that you talked to that particular ham.
Homemade QSL cards are discussed at the end of Chapter 9.
QTH = Location. For example, "MY QTH IS PARIS, FRANCE."
QST = "Calling all radio amateurs." Used by the American Radio Relay League station W1AW.
"QST" is also the name of the ARRL monthly magazine.
QRV = "Are you ready to receive?" or "I am ready to receive." I don't remember ever hearing
this used by modern hams in everyday contacts. However, the ARRL station W1AW
uses it during their daily CW practice and propagation reports on 20 and 40 meters.
W1AW is a good resource for improving your Morse code.
What about an emergency?
Personally, I have never sent a distress signal. However, if I had a genuine emergency, I
would send the good old "SOS SOS" - Save Our Ship. SOS would be understood by practically
anyone listening. If the distress call were using voice I would say, "May Day, May Day!" Then
I would add a few words to explain the nature of the emergency. Until the Titanic sinking, the
universal distress call was CQD, but few people would understand that today. The Titanic radio
operator sent out both CQD and SOS just to make sure.
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* ESE (pause) EE = "Shave and a haircut ... two bits" often concludes a QSO. Over a century
ago there must have been a popular song that contained this catchy phrase. "Two bits" was
American slang for a quarter dollar, 25 cents. Today a simple haircut often costs $25. Yes, a
little currency inflation is necessary for a healthy economy, but 100 times is still shocking! "Pieces
of eight," or fragments of Spanish dollars were a common hard currency used in America during
the 18th century. Two bits refers to Spanish silver dollars chopped into 8 pieces to make small
change. A bit of early American history survives in 21st century ham radio.
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