What is Amateur Radio?

Amateur Radio is a hobby which started with Guglielmo Marconi's discovery that
messages could be transmitted through wireless means by radio waves. This event
occured at the turn of the 20th century, but it so inspired and fired up the imaginations
of many other electronic enthusiasts that by 1917 the United States came up with legal
regulations on the use of the air waves. We might say that this was the formal start of
amateur radio.
Since then up to the present, the population of radio enthusiasts has grown by leaps
and bounds. Millions of "hams" all over the world continue with their
experimentations to improve wireless communications. Every contact made between
"hams" of different countries builds bridges of friendship across this earth.
The worth of amateurs has been proven many times in war as well as during
occurences of disasters and calamities. Governments of different countries have duly
recognized and rewarded the amateurs for their assistance during emergencies.
Amateurs have often spearheaded rescue assistance immediately after hurricanes,
earthquakes, fires and other calamities. It has been primarily because of these
voluntary and courageous services that international conferences ultimately allocated
certain frequencies for the sole use of the amateurs.
The hobby is non-pecuniary and thus, is not to be used for business purposes.
Amateur is coined from the latin word "amatore" which means "for love of " and it is
for love of radio that hams all over the world zealously protect their frequencies from
"intruders". In spite of their determination to fight for their rights, the "hams" are
friendly persons who love to teach and dessiminate the hobby to friends and young
people. This is especially manifested in their cooperation with the Boy Scouts the
world over.
The hobby is particularly interesting in the sense that many "hams" may talk to each
other as extra special friends for years without ever having met. Joy may be defined as
the time when two "hams", who have talk to each other for many years, finally see
each on "eyeball" for the first time.
The dream of many "hams" is to save a life through the use of his equipment. It has
been known that hams have actually initiated the rescue of sinking ships. Some ham
doctors have saved the lives by giving medical instructions to people through ham
radio. This dream, plus the fact that contatcting exotic places is as exhilirating as ever,
insures that continuing popularity and growth of amateur radio.

In the Philippines, ham radio was introduced by the Americans. American and
Filipino amateurs formed the "Philippine Amateur Association, Inc., in 1932. From a
handful of amateurs 70 years ago, the "ham" population of the Philippines has grown
to more than seven thousand today.
How To Be A Radio Amateur Operator?
Each country has its own laws, rules and regulations pertaining to becoming an
Amateur Radio Operator. Here in the Philippines, the following are required before
anyone can be called a real ham.
The general qualification being considered is being a legal citizen of the Philippines,
at least 12 years of age, good moral character and ability to understand and speaks
messages either in Pilipino or Tagalog, or any of the Philippine dialects, English,
Spanish or any other foreign languages.
Examinations pertaining to International Morse Code, Philippine amateur radio rules
and regulations embodied in Republic Act (RA) 3846, fundamentals of electronics
and electricity, amateur radio practice, signals, frequencies and emission, circuit
components, operating procedures, practical circuits, antenna and transmission lines
and radio wave propagation are given by the National Telecommunications
Commission to aspiring applicants to enhance their skills and knowledge in the proper
operation of their individual radio stations. This examinations serves as a gauge in
classifying in which of the existing amateur class an oprating belong.
The International Phonetic Alphabet
One of the fundamental step to study as a good ham oprator is to memorize the special
lingo of amateurs, the International Phonetic Alphabet.
For voice ham radio, special procedures for pronouncing letters and numbers are
required to avoid confusion and errors. The phonetic alphabet, rather than letters of
the alphabet, is used to reduce the change of error. The phonetic alphabet is not a
code.
A - Alpha
B - Bravo
C- Charlie
D - Delta
E - Echo
F - Foxtrot
G - Golf
H - Hotel

I - India
J - Juliet
K - Kilo
L - Lima
M - Mike
N - November
O - Oscar
P - Papa
Q - Quebec
R - Romeo
S - Siera
T - Tango
U - Uniform
V - Victor
W - Whiskey
X - X-ray
Y - Yankee
Z - Zulu
Operating A Radio Station:
1. Listen
The first rule states: "If you don't hear them, you won't work them. Therefore, you
must listen on the band you propose to transmit on. The strongest reason for listening
is so that you don't interfere with someone already using the frequency.
The second reason for listening is that it can tell you a great deal about the state of the
bands. Although a band may be "dead" by popular consent at a particular time,
frequent openings will occur, which you can take advantage of ir you are around at the
right time.
2. Keep it short:
Of course, if we all listened and never called, the bands will be even deader than they
are now. So, if after listening, you have not made contact, call "CQ". Rules for calling
CQ are:
a. Use your CALLSIGN frequently
b. Keep your call short, listening often
If replying to someone else's CQ, the rules are:

a. Use your CALLSIGN frequently. The chap you're calling knows his own callsign -he wants to know yours.
b. Keep it short. Either he has heard you or he hasn't. Either way, it's a waste of time
giving a long call. If conditions are bad, use phonetics, keep it short. A very bad
practice can be observed in "pileups" of the calling stations carrying out what amounts
to an endurance exercise - the station who gives the longest call gets the contact,
purely because is the only one the DX station can hear clearly. This is definitely
alligator behavior, and should not be considered - wait your turn in the pileups.
Whe you have made contact, again keep it short. Conditions can change very rapidly,
and long overs become tedious to the listener. When operating via repeater, this rules
is very important. (Repeaters have their own problems, and will be considered
separately.)
3. Do unto Others.....This rule, if faithfully applied, would make the crowded VHF
bands far more bearable.
a. Don't interfere with another station for any reason whatever (except in dire
emergency).
b. Don't use full power to tune your aerial to resonance - dont tune the transmitter on
the air at all.
c. Keep your power down to the minimum required to make the contact.
d. Don't overmodulate. Don't shout to the microphone and maintain 3 inches distance.
Standard Ham Abbreviations:
AA ............. all after
AB ............. all before
ABT .......... about
AGN ......... again
ANT .......... antenna
BCI ............ broadcast interference
BCNU........ be seeing you
CK ............. check
COPI ......... copy
CQ ............ calling any station
CUD ......... could
CUL ..........see you later
DX ............ distance; foreign countries
ES ............. and
FB ............ fine; excellent

GB ........... goodbye
GE ........... good evening
GM ......... good morning
GN ......... good night
GUD ....... good
HI ........... the CW laugh; high
HR ......... here
HW ....... how is
NR ......... near; number
NW ....... now
OM ....... old man
OP ........ operator
PSE .......please
PWR ..... power
RX ........ receiver
RFI ....... radio frequency interference
RIG ...... equipment
RPT ...... repeater
SRI ....... sorry
TNX ..... thanks
TKS ...... thanks
TVI ....... television interference
UR ........ your
VY ........ very
WKD .... worked
TX ......... transmitter
XTAL .... crystal
XYL ....... wife
YL ......... young lady
73 .......... best regards
88 .......... love and kisses.

Q Codes:
Q, signals were created in the early days of wireless communication to overcome
language problems in international transmission and to convey frequently need
information with brevity and clarity. The Q signals below are those of greatest use to
Ham and CBer's. Q means question:

Qcode

Question

QRA What is the name of your

station?
QRB

Information
The name of my station is...

How far approximately are you The approximate distance between our
from my station?
stations is ... nautical miles (or ... kilometers)

QRG Will you tell me my exact

frequency (or that of ... )?

Your exact frequency (or that of ...) is ... Khz

(or Mhz)

QRH Does my frequency vary?

Your frequency varies.

QRI

How is the tone of my

transmission?

The tone of your transmission is 1=good

2=variable 3=bad

QRK What is the readability of my

signals?

The readability of your signals is 1=bad

2=poor 3=fair 4=good 5=excellent

QRL

I am busy

Are you busy?

QRM Are you being interfered ?

I am being interfered with: 1=nil 2=slightly

3=moderately 4=severely 5=extremely

QRN Are you troubled by static?

I am troubled by static: 1=nil 2=slightly

3=moderately 4=severely 5=extremely

QRO Shall I increase transmitter

power?

Increase transmitter power.

QRP

Decrease transmitter power.

Shall I decrease transmitter

power?

QRQ Shall I send faster?

Send faster (or ... words per minute).

QRS

Shall I send more slowly?

Send more slowly (or ... words per minute).

QRT

Shall I stop sending?

Stop sending.

QRU Have you anything for me?

I have nothing for you.

QRV Are you ready?

I am ready.

QRW Shall I inform ... that you are

calling him (on ... Khz)(or ...
Mhz)?.

Please inform ... that I am calling him (on ...

Khz)(or ... Mhz)

QRX When will you call me again?

I will call you again at ... hours (on ... Khz)(or

... Mhz)

QRY What is my turn?

Your turn is number....(or according to any

other indication).

QRZ

Who is calling me?

You are being called by ... (on ... Khz)(or ...

Mhz)).

QSA

What is the strength of my

The strength of your signals (or those of ...) is

signals?

... 1=scarcely perceptible 2=weak 3=fairly

good 4=good 5=very good

QSB

Are my signals fading?

Your signals are fading

QSD

Is my keying defective?

Your keying is defective

QSG

Shall I send ... messages at a

time?

Send ... messages at a time

QSK

Can you work break in?

I can hear you between my signals; break in

on my transmission

QSL

Can you acknowledge receipt?

I acknowledge receipt.

QSO

Can you communicate with ...

direct?

I can communicate with ... direct (or by relay

through ... )

QSP

Will you relay to ... ?

I will relay to ...

QST

Is there any message for hams?

Calling all hams

QSU

Shall I send or reply on this

frequency (or on ... Khz)(or ...
Mhz)?

Send or reply on this frequency ? (on ...

Khz)(or ... Mhz)

QSV

Shall I send a series of V's on

Send a series of V's on this frequency (or on
this frequency (or on ... Khz)(or ... Khz)(or ... Mhz)
... Mhz)?

QSW Will you send on this frequency I will send on this frequency (or on ...
(or on ... Khz)(or ... Mhz)?
Khz)(or ... Mhz)
QSX

Will you listen to...?

I am listening to ... (call sign) on ... Khz (or

Mhz).

QSY

Shall I send on an other

frequency ?

Transmit on an other frequency (or on ...

Kkhz)(or ... Mhz)

QSZ

Shall I send each word/group

more than once?

Send twice, or send ... times

QTA

Shall I cancel message number

... ?

Cancel message number ...

QTB

Do you agree with my word

count?

(Answer negative)

QTC

How many messages have you

to send?

I have ... messages for you.

QTH

What is your position?

My position is ...

QTR

What is the correct time (in

UTC) ?

The correct time is...(in UTC)

QTX

Will you keep your station open I will keep my station open . . .

for further traffic from me?

QUA Have you had news of ... ?

News of ... is ...

Operating Procedures:
Courtesy is synonymous to amateur radio. Amateur operators are expected to strictly
adhere to the correct procedures on the use of radios since they operate on common
frequencies with all other hams in their locality, their country, and the world.
Enumerated below are some guidelines in the use of the frequencies allocated to the
amateur bands.
1. Hams all over the world use the "Q" code in transmission. The Q-code are
extensively used in CW, but has been, to a limited extent, adopted and accepted in the
phone band. Actually, only ordinary language is required in conversation in the phone
mode.
2. Do not tune your units on frequencies being used. Always see to it that the
frequency is clear before you tune your units. Tuning is recommended to be done on a
dummy load so as not to disturb other users. When tuning antennas however, be sure
that no one is using the frequency at that time.
3. Always listen in a few seconds, a minute if necessasry, before calling for a "CQ" on
frequency. This will avoid your stepping on a weak signal. The short wait will assure
you that no one is using the frequency since you do not hear anyone.
4. In breaking in an existing conversation, it is recommended to break in with your
call sign during "pauses" of the QSO. Though it is allowable to hoin with the "break"
the call sign may be better because it saves time since the other users do not have to
call for a QRZ.
5. On the use of "break" ..... it is understood that one "break" is ussed ordinarily to
join into an on-going conversation. Two breaks, or "break, break" is used when there
is urgency or priority traffic or messages that has to be pushed through because of
time constrainst or because of its importance. The tripple, or "break, break, break" is
used to extreme emergencies, or a matter of life and death. When anyone breaks, in
with a "break, break, break", all stations are requested to stand-by and assist the
emergency call.
6. After calling for a certain station, give another three calls to make certain that he is
not on stand-by. Do not give more than these number of calls. . . . because for
practical reasons, if he was there and heard you, he would have answered already.

Wait another five minutes and give him three calls again if you would wish to really
raise him up. Do not give continual calls. It would just be useless and the frequency
may not be used by other amateurs. Make your call as short as possible.
7. Always make your conversations as short as possible, especially on calling
frequencies. In the Philippines, calling frequencies on 40 meter band is 7.045 MHz
LSB and on two meter band, 145.000 MHz.
8. On checking in to the nets, always check-in or break in with your call sign. This
avoids further waste of time by not having the net control call for a QRZ anymore.
9. The word "contact" is used during net time especially to break in after the station
(who you may want to contact) has just check-in.
10. Do not entertain or try to reply or threaten a jammer. A jammer or a heckler finds
satisfaction when he is answered or when he is able to get you mad, or gets your goat.
You win, if you pretend that he is not there at all. If everybody adheres to this
procedure, the "jammer" population should decrease.
11. In using repeater systems, always see to it that QSO are short. Repeater
frequencies are usually common to members, and are primarily calling frequencies.
Do not use the repeater, if you can go on simplex. It will prolong the life of the
equipment, and also afford other stations to use it.
12. A repeater is privately owned. We realize that any license holder has the right to
use the frequency, however, since a repeater is privately owned, it would be better to
ask permission from the owners prior to using the repeater. This is common courtesy,
and should be observed in order to avoid any conflicts. It is common practice
however, that in cases of emergencies all owner of repeaters allow their equipment to
be used
Classes of Amateur Radio Operators:
Class A - Advanced Class
Class B - General Class
Class C - Technician Class
Class D - Novice Class
Privileges of each class of licenses:
Class A: licensee shall be authorized to operate a HF fixed and/or mobile radio station
with an output power not to exceed 1 kilowatt on a continuous wave on a continuous

wave (CW) or two kilowatts peak envelope power (PEP) single side band suppressed
carrier and state of the art on VHF/UHF fixed, mobile or portable station.
Class B: licensee shall be authorized ot operate on HF fixed radio station with an
output power not exceeding five hundred watts on CW or one kilowatts PEP on single
side band suppressed carrier and state of the art VHF/UHF fixed, mobile or portable
station.
Class C: licensee shall be authorized to operate on HF fixed radio station with an
output power not exceeding 100 watts on CW or 200 watts PEP on SSB suppressed
carrier and 100 watts on VHF fixed, portable or mobile station.
Class D: licensee shall be authorized to operate on VHF base, mobile or portable with
100 watts maximum output power.
Examination Requiremetns of Each Class of Licensee:
Class A: Element I (International Morse Code) 12 words per minute, Elements VIII,
IX & X
Class B: Element I (8 words per minute), Elements V, VI & VII
Class C: Element I (5 words per minute), Elements II, III & IV
Class D: Failure of Element I but passed Elements II, III & IV
Amateur Call Sign
DU - Philippine Assignment / Class A - C
DY - Philippine Assignment / Class D
DX - Philippine Assignment / Club Station
4F - Philippine Assignment / Special Call / Class "A" only
Philippines is divided into 9 districts
District 1 - National Capital Region / Region IV comprising Metro Manila, Rizal,
Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Aurora, Quezon, Marinduque, Romblon, Mindoro Oriental,
Mindoro Occidental and Palawan.
District 2 - Region I, comprising Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, La Union, Mt.
Province, Benguet and Pangasinan and Region 2 comprising the provinces of
Cagayan, Isabela, Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino
District 3 - Region III comprising the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija,
Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales

District 5 - Region V comprising the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines

Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon.
District 6 - Region VI comprising the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Camiguin, Capiz,
Iloilo and Negros Occidental
District 7 - Region VII comprising the provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and
Siquijor
District 8 - Region VIII comprising the provinces of Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte,
Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Western Samar.
District 9 - Region IX comprising the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga
del Sur; Zamboanga Sibugay, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao comprising
the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur & Tawi-Tawi; Region X
comprising the provinces of Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental and
Misamis Oriental; Region XI comprising the provinces of Davao del Norte,
Compostela Valley, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental; Region XII comprising the
provinces of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato & Sarangani.
Suffix - two or three letters (NTC assignment)
Frequency Band
VLF - Very Low Frequency - Below 30 KHz
LF - Low Frequency - 30 - 300 KHz
MF - Medium Frequency - 300 - 3,000 KHz
HF - High Frequency - 3 - 30 MHz
VHF - Very High Frequency - 30 - 3,000 MHz
UHF - Ultra High Frequency - 3 - 30 GHz
SHF - Extra High Frequency - 30 - 300 GHz
EHF - Super High Frequency - 300 - 3,000 GHz
The RST System or Signal Report
Readability or Quality of Audio
1 - Unreadable
2 - Barely readable, occasional words distinguishable
3 - Readable with considerable difficulty
4 - Readable with practically no difficulty
5 - Perfectfly readable

Signal Strength
1 - Fainty signals barely perceptible
2 - Very weak signals
3 - Weak signals
4 - Fair signals
5 - Fairly good signals
6 - Good signals
7 - Moderately strong signals
8 - Strong signals
9 - Extremely strong signals
Meter Reading:
S-1 to S-9 to full scale