1. Equipment Definitions
Technician License Course Module Two Radio and Electronics Fundamentals
Equipment Definitions

2. Basic Station Organization
Station Equipment
Receiver
Transmitter
Antenna
Power Supply
Accessory Station Equipment
Repeaters
Go over with the students the basic outline of the material to be presented during this lesson. This lesson is deceptively simple because there is a lot of preparation required to make this lesson effective. You should try to set up an operative station to give some demonstration contact. Use some care that you don’t set up a station that will intimidate the students on the first day, try to set up a station that would be typical of the type of station that they might set up in the beginning of their ham radio careers. Don’t spend a lot of time at this point demonstrating all the exotic modes available to the students, there will be plenty of time to do that later in the course. I would suggest a basic two meter set up and give demonstration contacts on repeaters and simplex. Then have a simple HF station and make one or two phone and one CW contact. Some advice on contact…don’t depend on a CQ being answered, it may or may not happen. I would suggest you have a few “planted” contacts from your club. These planted contacts are standing by on the frequency ready to step in and make a contact just in case your CQ goes unanswered. Try to get planted contact operators who are good at drawing out conversations on the radio. New operators are intimidated by radio and sometimes need to be prodded to say more than yes or no answers to questions. 2

3. What happens during radio communication?
Transmitting (sending a signal)
Information (voice, data, video, commands, etc.) is converted to electronic form
The information in electronic form is attached or imbedded on a radio wave (a carrier)
The radio wave is sent out from the station antenna into space

4. What happens during radio communication?
Receiving end:
The radio wave (carrier) with the information is intercepted by the receiving station antenna
The receiver extracts the information from the carrier wave
The information is then presented to the user in a format that can be understood (sound, picture, words on a computer screen, response to a command)

5. The basic radio station

6. The Receiver and Controls
Main tuning dial for received frequency (or channel) selection
Frequency display
Volume control
Other accessory controls for mode (kind of information to process), filters (to mitigate interference), etc.

7. The Transmitter and Controls
Main tuning dial for transmitted frequency (or channel) selection
Frequency display
Power control (transmitted signal strength)
Other accessory controls for mode (kind of information to process), etc.

8. The Transceiver
You will notice that many of the controls of the transmitter and receiver are the same
Many modern transmitters and receivers are combined in one unit – called a transceiver
Saves space
Cost less
Many common electronic circuits are shared in the transceiver

9. Transceiver Controls Some are physical knobs that you manually adjust
Some are controlled by computer and you control the settings with keypad entries that program a computer in the transceiver

11. Antenna The antenna exposes your station to the world
Facilitates the radiation of your signal into space (electromagnetic radiation)
Intercepts someone else’s signal
Many times the transmitting and receiving antenna are the same antenna
Connected to your station by a connecting wire called a feed line

12. Transmit/Receive (TR) Switch
If the station antenna is shared between the transmitter and receiver, the TR switch allows the antenna to be switched to the transmitter when sending and to the receiver when receiving
In a transceiver, this TR switch is inside the unit and requires no attention by the operator

13. Power Supply Your radio station needs some sort of power to operate
Battery
Household current converted to proper voltage
Alternative sources

14. Power Supply
Most modern radios operate on 12 volts direct current (DC)
A power supply converts household current to the type of current and the correct voltage to operate your station
Could be internal, might be external
You are probably familiar with common “wall-wart” power supplies

15. Basic Station Accessories
Human interface accessories
Microphones
Speakers
Earphones
Computer
Morse code key
TV camera
Etc.
Station performance accessories
Antenna tuner
SWR meter (antenna match checker)
Amplifier
Antenna rotor (turning antenna)
Filters
Etc.

16. Accessory Equipment

17. Special stations you will use (Repeaters)
Repeaters are automated stations located at high places that receive and then retransmit your signal - simultaneously
Dramatically improves range
The basic components of a repeater are the same as your station: receiver, transmitter, antenna, and power supply

18. Repeaters
But, repeaters are transmitting and receiving at the same time using the same antenna
This requires a very high quality and specialized filter to prevent the transmitted signal from over-powering the receiver
This specialized filter is called a duplexer

20. Repeater

21. VEC Question Pool
Module Two

22. T1F09
What type of amateur station simultaneously retransmits the signal of another amateur station on a different channel or channels?
A. Beacon station
B. Earth station
C. Repeater station
D. Message forwarding station

23. T1F09 (C)
What type of amateur station simultaneously retransmits the signal of another amateur station on a different channel or channels?
A. Beacon station
B. Earth station
C. Repeater station
D. Message forwarding station

24. T7A02 What is a transceiver? A. A type of antenna switch
B. A unit combining the functions of a transmitter and a receiver
C. A component in a repeater which filters out unwanted interference
D. A type of antenna matching network

25. T7A02 (B) What is a transceiver? A. A type of antenna switch
B. A unit combining the functions of a transmitter and a receiver
C. A component in a repeater which filters out unwanted interference
D. A type of antenna matching network

26. End
Module Two