Jimmy Bob
the Ham Radio
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The Glossary
141 words hams use, in plain English. Ain't nobody born knowin' these.
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141 terms
2 meters
The 144-148 MHz amateur band, the most popular local FM band
70 centimeters
The 420-450 MHz amateur band, used for local FM and repeaters
73
Best regards; the standard friendly sign-off
88
Love and kisses; used among family and close friends
AM
Amplitude modulation, where voice changes the strength of the signal
Amateur radio
A licensed, noncommercial radio service for personal communication, experiments, and public service
Antenna
The device that sends radio energy into the air and catches it
Antenna tuner
A device that matches the antenna's impedance to the radio
ARES
Amateur Radio Emergency Service, volunteers who provide emergency communication
ARISS
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
Balun
A transformer that connects balanced antennas to unbalanced coax
Band
A range of frequencies set aside for a use
Band plan
A voluntary agreement on where each mode operates within a band
Bandwidth
How much spectrum a signal occupies
Basis and purpose
The opening section of Part 97 explaining why amateur radio exists
Bonding
Connecting all station equipment to one common ground
Break
A word reserved for interrupting with urgent traffic
Call sign
A station's unique on-air identifier
Capacitor
A component that stores energy in an electric field
Check-in
Announcing yourself to a net so net control can call on you
Clear
Said when you are finished and leaving the frequency
Coax
Coaxial cable, the shielded cable that connects radio to antenna
Contest
A timed event to make as many contacts as possible
Control operator
The licensed person responsible for a station's transmissions
CQ
A general call meaning "any station, please answer"
CTCSS
Subaudible tone that opens a repeater, often called a PL tone
Current
The flow of electricity, measured in amperes
CW
Continuous wave; Morse code transmission
D layer
The lowest ionosphere layer, which absorbs low HF signals by day
D-STAR
A digital voice and data mode
dBd
Antenna gain compared with a dipole
dBi
Antenna gain compared with an isotropic antenna
Decibel (dB)
A logarithmic unit comparing two power levels
Dipole
An antenna of two equal conductors fed in the center
Directed net
A net where net control decides who transmits
District
The digit in a call sign showing the region where it was issued
DMR
Digital Mobile Radio, a digital voice mode
Doppler shift
Frequency change caused by a moving satellite
Downlink
The frequency a satellite transmits on
Duplex
Transmitting and receiving on different frequencies
DX
Distant stations or long-distance contacts
DXCC
An award for confirmed contacts with 100 countries
DXing
Chasing distant and rare stations
Elmer
A ham who mentors new operators
EME
Earth-Moon-Earth; bouncing signals off the moon
Exchange
The information traded in a contest contact
F layer
The ionosphere layer that reflects most long-distance HF signals
FCC
Federal Communications Commission, which licenses US amateurs
Feed line
The cable carrying signals between radio and antenna
Ferrite choke
A magnetic bead or core that blocks RF on cables
Field Day
ARRL's annual June emergency-style operating event
FM
Frequency modulation, where voice varies the signal's frequency
Frequency
Cycles per second of a radio wave, measured in hertz
FT8
A digital mode for weak signals using 15-second cycles
Fuse
A protective part that breaks a circuit when current is too high
Gain
How much an antenna concentrates energy in a direction
Gray line
The twilight band around Earth where propagation is often enhanced
Ground
A connection to earth for safety and noise reduction
Ham
A licensed amateur radio operator
Handheld (HT)
A portable walkie-talkie style radio
Harmonics
Unwanted signals at multiples of the operating frequency
Hertz
One cycle per second
HF
High frequency, 3-30 MHz
Impedance
Total opposition to AC, combining resistance and reactance
Impedance matching
Making the load look like 50 ohms to the transmitter
Inductor
A coil that stores energy in a magnetic field
Ionosphere
Charged layers of the upper atmosphere that reflect HF
Isotropic
A theoretical antenna radiating equally in all directions
ITU
International Telecommunication Union, which coordinates global spectrum
ITU region
One of 3 world regions with their own allocations; the US is Region 2
Lightning arrestor
A device that diverts lightning surges to ground
Log
A record of contacts
LoTW
Logbook of The World, ARRL's online contact confirmation system
Low-pass filter
A filter that blocks frequencies above a cutoff
LSB
Lower sideband, used for voice below 10 MHz by convention
Meteor scatter
Bouncing signals off meteor trails
Morse code
Letters sent as dots and dashes
MPE
Maximum permissible exposure to RF energy
MUF
Maximum usable frequency between two points
Net
A scheduled on-air meeting
Net control
The station that runs a net
NTS
National Traffic System, which relays formal messages
NVIS
Near vertical incidence skywave, for regional HF coverage
Offset
The difference between a repeater's input and output frequencies
Ohm's law
E = I × R, relating voltage, current, and resistance
OSCAR
Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio
Over
"Your turn to talk"
Part 97
The FCC rules governing US amateur radio
Phonetic alphabet
Code words for letters, such as Alfa, Bravo, Charlie
Pileup
Many stations calling one station at once
Polarization
The orientation of a radio wave, vertical or horizontal
POTA
Parks on the Air, operating from public parks
Power
Energy per second, measured in watts; P = E × I
Privileges
The frequencies and modes a license class may use
Propagation
How radio signals travel
QRM
Man-made interference
QRN
Natural noise such as static from lightning
QSL
"I confirm receipt"; also a confirmation card
QSO
A two-way contact
QSY
Change frequency
QTH
Location
RACES
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, tied to government emergency management
Radials
Wires that form the ground half of a vertical antenna
Radiogram
A formal message in standard format
Ragchew
A long, relaxed conversation
Reactance
Opposition to AC from capacitors and inductors
Repeater
A station that retransmits signals for wider coverage
Resistance
Opposition to current, measured in ohms
Resonance
When inductive and capacitive reactance cancel
RF exposure
Absorption of radio energy by the body
RFI
Radio frequency interference
Rig
A ham's radio
RST
Readability, Strength, Tone signal report
RTTY
Radioteletype, an early digital text mode
Simplex
Transmitting and receiving on the same frequency
Skip
A signal's jump via the ionosphere
SKYWARN
NWS weather spotter program
SOTA
Summits on the Air, operating from mountaintops
Splatter
Distorted signal spreading beyond its bandwidth
Squelch
A control that silences the receiver when no signal is present
SSB
Single sideband, the main HF voice mode
Station identification
Giving your call sign as required
Sunspot cycle
The roughly 11-year cycle of solar activity
SWR
Standing wave ratio, a measure of antenna match
Third-party traffic
Messages passed for someone who is not licensed
Transceiver
A radio that transmits and receives
UHF
Ultra high frequency, 300-3,000 MHz
Uplink
The frequency sent to a satellite
USB
Upper sideband, used for voice above 10 MHz by convention
UTC
Coordinated Universal Time, used for logging
VEC
Volunteer Examiner Coordinator, which organizes exam teams
Velocity factor
How fast signals travel in a cable compared with free space
Vertical
A single-element antenna mounted upright
VHF
Very high frequency, 30-300 MHz
Voltage
Electrical pressure, measured in volts
Volunteer Examiner
A licensed ham who administers license exams
WARC bands
30, 17, and 12 meters, where contests are not held
WAS
Worked All States award
Waterfall
A scrolling display of signals across frequency and time
Wavelength
The distance one cycle travels; meters = 300 / MHz
Yagi
A directional beam antenna with several elements
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