Ham Radio for Dummies

387 Pages·2004·8.71 MB·English

by  Ward Silver

Ham Radio
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Ward Silver

Ham Radio
FOR
DUMmIES
‰

Ham Radio
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Ward Silver
Ham Radio For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Copyright © 2004 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Author

Ward Silver NØAX has been a licensed ham since 1972 at the age of 17. Ward’s
experiences in ham radio contributed greatly to a 20-year career in broadcast­
ing and as an electrical engineer and programmer, developing instrumentation
and medical electronics. In 2000, he turned to teaching and writing as a second
career. He is currently adjunct faculty with Seattle University’s Electrical and
Computer Engineering department, concentrating on laboratory instruction.
You can find his monthly columns and articles in QST magazine and in the
biweekly e-mail newsletter, “The Contester’s Rate Sheet.” He is the author of
the ARRL’s online course, “Antenna Design and Construction.” His ham radio
interests include multi-operator and low-power (QRP) contesting, DX-ing,
and antenna design. He is the author of “NØAX’s Radio Puzzler” (a collection
of quizzes and puzzles), and co-author (with K7LXC) of “HF Tribander
Performance - Test Methods & Results” and “HF Vertical Performance - Test
Methods & Results.” He is the winner of the 2003 Bill Orr Technical Writing
Award.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my all-ham family — my wife Nancy W7FIR and sons
Webster KD7FYX and Lowell KD7DQO — who frequently see little of Dad except
the back of his head as he hammers away at the keyboard creating another arti­
cle or chapter. And dedicated as well to my own ham radio Elmers: Bill KJ7PC,
Randy WB9FSL, Jerry WAØACF, and Danny K7SS who helped me turn “Can I?”
into “I did!” Thanks, one and all!
Author’s Acknowledgments

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the American Radio
Relay League for providing a number of excellent graphics and for its exten­
sive Web site that provides so much value to many hams around the world.
I also thank the administrators of eHam.net, QRZ.com, and AC6V.com Web
portals for providing many useful links and extensive archives. All these orga­
nizations and the creators of the many other Web sites referenced in this
book exemplify the best of ham spirit.
Also supporting me in many ways were the members of the Western
Washington DX Club W7DX, the Vashon-Maury Island Radio Club W7VMI, and
many great friends all over the world that share a deep friendship and appre­
ciation of the magic of radio; you know who you are.
Thank you and Very 73.