I enjoy ham radio! I started as a kid about 12 years old. My first license was WN8HZX, and I took the test under Ray Irelan K8TAA in 1961 when I was minister of the Christian Church in New Paris, Oh. When I moved to California I became WD6CSL. I've held a Amateur Radio Extra Class License - W6ALM - since 1972. From about 2000 till it disbanded, I was the Secretary/Treasure of The Santa Maria Amateur Radio Telegraphy and Telephony Association. SMARTA.
I am a certified Volunteer Examiner under the ARRL, W5YI, and Laurel. The FCC created the VEC system to provide initial licensing examination for prospective new hams and upgrade examination opportunities for those already licensed. FCC authorized VEC organizations oversee the work of their certified Volunteer Examiners (VEs) and serve as a liaison between the exam applicants and the FCC.
HCJB
I must have been about 13 when I built a receiver and discovered HCJB. I appreciated the wonderful Christian stories and music. So, one of my all time favorite stations has been HCJB “la voz de los andes” [HCJB “The Voice of the Andes.”]
HCJB aired its first program from Quito, Ecuador on Dec 25th, 1931. Radio Station HCJB was the first missionary radio station in the world, as well as the first radio station in Ecuador with daily programs. Unfortunately, HCJB ceased it’s shortwave broadcasting in April 2014. 75 Years of HCJB Shortwave
My hobby of Amateur Radio owes HCJB’s founder, Clarence Jones, a huge round of applause, because of innovative development of antennas that could handle high power and high altitudes. See also: Wikipedia.
Another very old Christian Radio program is “Unshackled,” a professional award winning broadcast by Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. PGM is a Rescue Mission to the outcasts of society. The Mission bought a beer hall named Pacific Beer Garden and changed the name to Pacific Garden Mission. The daily broadcasts are real life stories of people whose lives changed after they became a Christian…true stories that make you face yourself and think!
Gold Coast Net,
Monday 1900 hours. 145.140 (-) pl 127.3
HAM RADIO COFFEE
0830 AM Every Monday
Orcutt OASIS
Non-licensed welcomed. Learn about ham radio.
How to Become a Ham
Ham license in ONE day
Santa Barbara County
Tim Woolever kj6oil (at) arrl.net, (844)4KJ-6OIL
Practice Exams
Technician Questions
General Questions
Extra Questions
FCC RF Exposure. On 5/3/2021, the NEW regulations regarding RF exposure became effective. Hams must comply with the rules by 5.3.2023. The ARRL provides a simplified calculator to do most of the evaluations. CALCULATOR
- Local Clubs -
Santa Barbara County
Satellite Amateur Radio Club -
Santa Ynez Valley Amateur Radio -
Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club -
San Luis Obispo County
Estero Radio Club - Morro Bay
California Polytechnic State University Amateur (Ham) Radio Club
Paso Robles Amateur Radio Club
Amateur Radio Relay League -
Amateur Radio Callsign Lookup - QRZ
QRZCQ - The database for radio hams -
Amateur Radio EchoLink
ARRL Santa Barbara Section - Stay on top of things regarding ham radio on the Gold Coast! Browse all of the information-packed pages on the ARRL Santa Barbara Section Web site. The Santa Barbara Section covers the tri-counties of Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo.
Voice of Victory - The Hallicrafters BC-610 Story - How a ham radio saved the U.S. Military during WWII.
H. Ward Silver: Ham Radio For Dummies Cheat Sheet
US Band Allotments
https://qrznow.com/
Old Ham Radio Call Books 1906-1997 and ARRL Handbooks
https://www.qrzcq.com/
Sexism and Space Exploration - Yes, I know it’s not ham radio, but you need to read this and the next two articles!
The Women Behind the Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Another article by Natalia Hunt on the Women Computers of JPL. VERY WORTHWHILE READING!!!
Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars.
Watch the space shuttle fly over your location.
Voice of America. Since 1942 the VOA has kept the world informed of news event.
Some HELPFUL HAM sites
Four States QRP Group, devoted to low power (QRP) amateur radio building and operation. Check out then fabulous array of inexpensive, yet highly functional, kits.
https://www.hamuninverse.com/ N4UJW has created an encyclopedic website of helpful information.
https://secure.echolink.org/download.htm
EchoLink® software allows licensed Amateur Radio stations to communicate with one another over the Internet, using streaming-audio technology.
https://www.omnicalculator.com/: Amazing site! 2157 calculators. 59 conversion calculators. 322 math calculators. 299 physics calculators. I use this frequently.
https://winlink.org/tags/usgs
Winlink Global Radio Email is a network of amateur radio and authorized government-licensed stations that provides worldwide radio email using radio pathways where the internet is not present.
Wireless for the Warrior
https://m0ukd.com/
https://www.w8ji.com/ Charles T. "Tom" Rauch, Jr., in Barnesville, GA has one of those "Go To" websites, filled with ham info. Can you envision a 200 ft rotating tower? He has it!
https://www.qsl.net/va3iul/Homebrew_RF_Circuit_Design_Ideas/Homebrew_RF_Circuit_Design_Ideas.htm#RF%20Power%20Amplifiers
https://indianhams.com/
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF HAMS (IIH) was established as a registered trust in 1993 for promoting Amateur (HAM) Radio in India, has reached yet another milestone of completing 25 years of continuous service. IIH is founded by Dr. Sathyapal, VU2FI and Sri. R.J.Marcus VU2VTM.
IIH is actively associated with Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Government of Karnataka having established Ham Radio Station and training centre at Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium, Kasturba Road, Bengaluru -560 001, India. Indian Institute of Hams is affiliated to National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR), Hyderabad and Institutional Member, Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI).
AmSat - Amateur Radio satellite
SmartDraw - Create Printed Circuit Boards
HamSphere “Everything you wanted to know about Amateur Radio” HamSphere® is a virtual Ham Radio Transceiver. Once installed, you will be able to communicate with thousands of Amateur Radio operators and Radio Enthusiasts in over 320 DXCC countries around the world. You can even use HamSphere without a Ham Radio license by using a special HamSphere call sign. HamSphere is a highly realistic shortwave simulation based on SDR (Software Defined Radio) technology.
Reflect on this: your airplane has crashed at sea. You are perched in a lifeboat and you need to call for help. Today you might reach for a satellite phone, but in World War II you would more likely turn a crank on a special survival radio. The survival radio used by the United States was the SCR-578 and its transmitter, the BC-778
https://hackaday.com/2021/05/12/historical-hackers-emergency-antennas-launched-by-kite/
https://hackaday.com
https://www.eham.net
https://sites.google.com/view/kn9b/home
https://hamwaves.com/index/en/index.html
https://vk6ysf.com/index.htm
https://www.w8ji.com/
Howard Hughes 5YC - life stye- millionaire-film-producer
{Caution: After the interesting article on 5YC, the content may be offensive}
https://www.qsl.net/ve6yp/. Tony Field has some excellent downloadable files for the active ham.
Remember the Russian Woodpecker?
https://hackaday.com/2021/05/11/the-russian-woodpecker-official-bird-of-the-cold-war-nests-in-giant-antenna/
Nikola Tesla
We hams actually owe a lot to the experimenter Nikola tesla. Tesla held over 200 patents worldwide. Tesla often experimented with high frequencies. Even Marconi used Tesla's frequency patents to gain his reputation in radio propagation.
Tesla Universe is a ham’s delight. Check it out!
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Tesla.
And, even though Tesla didn't study the frequency of the earth and the human brain, I want to share this rather fascinating article: Human Frequency and Schumann Resonance (7.83 Hz).
Antennas and Balans
A Practical NVIS Antenna, by DX Engineering
A simple NVIS antenna
Bushcom antennas
The Giant Book of Amateur Radio Antennas
Practical Antenna Handbook, 4th edition, Joseph J. Carr
HF Antennas
Basic antennas, ARRL
Radio antennas and how they operate, Doug DeMaw W1FB
Simple & effective antennas for amateur radio operators, John Dawes VK5BJE
Impossible antennas and impossible propagation, Mike Underhill G3LHZ
Understanding antennas for the non-technical ham, Jim Abercrombie N4JA
Baluns, Roy Lewallen W7EL
baluns-what are they and do you need one
Duoband yagi 2m/70cm
Beginner and Novice. Choosing an Antenna, Lewis W1ICP
An overview of the underestimated magnetic loop HF antenna, Leigh VK5KLT
Dipole calculator, Heath VK3TWO
Understanding and building the OCF dipole, Ron VK2DQ
Ground/radial systems
Radial systems for vertical antennas
What is a 22good ground 22
The Ozipole Mk II, Bob VK5AFZ
Construction of the largest SteppIR yagi stack in the world at K9LTN
Understanding SWR by example, Darrin K5DVW
Simple 1/4 wave 40m vertical, by Andy VK4TH
A winning antenna, Len K4IWL
A guide to building your own portable station' by Alex VK2HAS
High performance common-mode chokes' by Steve Hunt G3TXQ
are they and do you ned one?
The simple Z match tuner simplified - Lloyd Butler VK5BR
In the US, the electrical grid is based on a highly stable 60-hertz (60 Hz) signal, meaning it cycles 60 times per second. In the US, household electrical power is based on a single-phase, 120-volt ac power supply. Compare these frequencies:
