Portable operation (amateur radio)

Last updated
Kamal Edirisinghe, 4S7AB, from Sri Lanka, operating a portable amateur radio station south of Stockholm, Sweden Sm0 4s7ab.jpg
Kamal Edirisinghe, 4S7AB, from Sri Lanka, operating a portable amateur radio station south of Stockholm, Sweden

Amateur radio operators take part in portable operations using radio equipment when traveling. "Portable" equipment indicates a configuration that allows for relatively rapid collection, transportation, and deployment of amateur radio gear. A portable station can be anything from a small QRP (Low Power) radio and antenna, to a large transceiver. On long-distance expeditions, such equipment allows them to report progress, arrivals and sometimes exchanging safety messages along the way. [1] [2]

Portable operations

Solar-powered amateur radio station on a bicycle Mark Allyn's Radio Bike.jpg
Solar-powered amateur radio station on a bicycle

'Portable' operation is usually signified by amateur radio operators appending the suffix '/P' to their callsign. Operating '/P' normally means that stations are operating away from their licensed station address.

The advantages of /P operation include the use of large empty spaces where full size beam and wire antennas can be erected on tall trailer mounted masts. If operating on VHF/UHF, this can mean a location on the top of a hill or cliff, with clear line of sight to the horizon. The main disadvantage is normally the power supply available. As normal mains grid power is unavailable, the /P operator may have to resort to batteries, portable generators, solar panels. [3] and wind turbines.

Operating amateur radio at sea is known as 'maritime mobile', as is signified by the suffix '/MM' on the call. Operating amateur radio from a vehicle is known as 'Mobile', as is signified by the suffix '/M' on the call.

A popular pastime for portable operation is the Summits on the Air programme, part of which involves portable operation from a worldwide list of over 73,500 summits.[ citation needed ]

Some countries allow the direct connection of amateur transceivers to telephone lines called "phone patching". [4] Thus, a traveler may be able to call another amateur station and, via a phone patch, speak directly with someone else by telephone. 


Notes

  1. Stuart Thomas (2018). Portable Operating for Amateur Radio: Everything You Need to Get on the Air in the Great Outdoors!. American Relay Radio League, Incorporated. ISBN   978-1-62595-080-2.
  2. H. Ward Silver (2 March 2018). Ham Radio For Dummies. Wiley. ISBN   978-1-119-45486-1.
  3. "Ham(Radio)ing it Up with Solar Power". KE2YK. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  4. "Phone Patch, Autopatch and HF/VHF/UHF Operating Guidelines". American Radio Relay League. Archived from the original on 2006-11-30. Retrieved 2007-01-10.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QRP operation</span> Low-power amateur radio

In amateur radio, QRP operation refers to transmitting at reduced power while attempting to maximize one's effective range. QRP operation is a specialized pursuit within the hobby that was first popularized in the early 1920s. QRP operators generally limit their transmitted RF output power to 5 Watts or less regardless of mode be it CW operation or SSB operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walkie-talkie</span> Hand-held portable two-way communications device

A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver (HT), is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, Henryk Magnuski and engineering teams at Motorola. First used for infantry, similar designs were created for field artillery and tank units, and after the war, walkie-talkies spread to public safety and eventually commercial and jobsite work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine VHF radio</span> Radios operating in the very high frequency maritime mobile band

Marine VHF radio is a worldwide system of two way radio transceivers on ships and watercraft used for bidirectional voice communication from ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, and in certain circumstances ship-to-aircraft. It uses FM channels in the very high frequency (VHF) radio band in the frequency range between 156 and 174 MHz, inclusive, designated by the International Telecommunication Union as the VHF maritime mobile band. In some countries additional channels are used, such as the L and F channels for leisure and fishing vessels in the Nordic countries. Transmitter power is limited to 25 watts, giving them a range of about 100 kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Base station</span> Type of radio station

Base station is – according to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR) – a "land station in the land mobile service."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autopatch</span>

An autopatch, sometimes called a phone patch, is a feature of an amateur radio repeater or base station to access an outgoing telephone connection. Users with a transceiver capable of producing touch tones can make a telephone call, typically limited by settings in the autopatch module to be only to flat-rate numbers, such as local calls or toll-free numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaesu (brand)</span> Japanese radio equipment company

Yaesu is a Japanese brand of commercial and amateur radio equipment, founded as Yaesu Musen Co., Ltd. in 1959 by a Japanese radio amateur Sako Hasegawa in Yaesu, Japan, a district of Tokyo.

The 2-meter amateur radio band is a portion of the VHF radio spectrum that comprises frequencies stretching from 144 MHz to 148 MHz in International Telecommunication Union region (ITU) Regions 2 and 3 and from 144 MHz to 146 MHz in ITU Region 1 . The license privileges of amateur radio operators include the use of frequencies within this band for telecommunication, usually conducted locally with a line-of-sight range of about 100 miles (160 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Improved Mobile Telephone Service</span> Early mobile telephone standard

The Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS) was a pre-cellular VHF/UHF radio system which linked to the public telephone network. IMTS was the radiotelephone equivalent of land dial phone service. Introduced in 1964, it replaced Mobile Telephone Service (MTS) and improved on most MTS systems by offering direct-dial rather than connections through a live operator, and full-duplex operation so both parties could talk at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile radio telephone</span> Family of pre-cellular PSTN wireless communication technologies

Mobile radio telephone systems were mobile telephony systems that preceded modern cellular network technology. Since they were the predecessors of the first generation of cellular telephones, these systems are sometimes retroactively referred to as pre-cellular systems. Technologies used in pre-cellular systems included the Push to Talk, Mobile Telephone Service (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone Service (IMTS), and Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS) systems. These early mobile telephone systems can be distinguished from earlier closed radiotelephone systems in that they were available as a commercial service that was part of the public switched telephone network, with their own telephone numbers, rather than part of a closed network such as a police radio or taxi dispatching system.

DXing, taken from DX, the telegraphic shorthand for "distance" or "distant", is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two-way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens band radio or other two-way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to obtain written verifications of reception or contact, sometimes referred to as "QSLs" or "veries".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime mobile amateur radio</span> Amateur radio in maritime applications

Most countries' amateur radio licences allow licensed operators to install and use radio transmission equipment while at sea. Such operation is known as maritime mobile amateur radio. In most cases the operator's call sign needs to be extended by adding the suffix "/MM" when transmitting at sea.

Amateur radio frequency allocation is done by national telecommunication authorities. Globally, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) oversees how much radio spectrum is set aside for amateur radio transmissions. Individual amateur stations are free to use any frequency within authorized frequency ranges; authorized bands may vary by the class of the station license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur radio station</span> Amateur radio station

An amateur radio station is a radio station designed to provide radiocommunications in the amateur radio service for an amateur radio operator. Radio amateurs build and operate several types of amateur radio stations, including fixed ground stations, mobile stations, space stations, and temporary field stations. A slang term often used for an amateur station's location is the shack, named after the small enclosures added to the upperworks of naval ships to hold early radio equipment and batteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur radio emergency communications</span> Fallback service

In times of crisis and natural disasters, amateur radio is often used as a means of emergency communication when wireline, cell phones and other conventional means of communications fail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur radio repeater</span> Combined receiver and transmitter

An amateur radio repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak or low-level amateur radio signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. Many repeaters are located on hilltops or on tall buildings as the higher location increases their coverage area, sometimes referred to as the radio horizon, or "footprint". Amateur radio repeaters are similar in concept to those used by public safety entities, businesses, government, military, and more. Amateur radio repeaters may even use commercially packaged repeater systems that have been adjusted to operate within amateur radio frequency bands, but more often amateur repeaters are assembled from receivers, transmitters, controllers, power supplies, antennas, and other components, from various sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur Radio Emergency Communications</span>

Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (AREC), formerly the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps, is a service provided by the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) which provides trained radio communicators and communication systems for emergency situations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amateur radio</span> Use of radio frequency spectra for non-commercial purposes

Amateur Radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communications. The term "amateur" is used to specify "a duly authorized person interested in radioelectric practice with a purely personal aim and without pecuniary interest"; and to differentiate it from commercial broadcasting, public safety, or professional two-way radio services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal radio service</span> Group of radio services

A personal radio service is any system that allows individual to operate radio transmitters and receivers for personal purposes with minimal or no special license or individual authorization. Personal radio services exist around the world and typically use light-weight walkie talkie portable radios. The power output, antenna size, and technical characteristics of the equipment are set by regulations in each country. Many regions have standardized personal radio service rules to allow travelers from one country to use their equipment in another country. Examples of standardized services include PMR446 and FM Citizens Band Radio (CB) in the EU and several other countries/regions. 26–27 MHz CB radio is the oldest personal radio service and is used in nearly every country worldwide, with many countries and regions copying the United States 40-channel frequency plan. In many countries, CB radio is less popular due to the availability of other personal radio services that offer shorter antennas, better protection from noise and interference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elecraft</span> American radio manufacturer

Elecraft, Inc. is an American manufacturer of amateur radio ("ham") equipment and kits, based in Watsonville, California. It was founded in 1998 by Wayne Burdick and Eric Swartz. The company's first product was the K2 transceiver; first prototyped in October 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ICOM IC-705</span> Amateur radio transceiver

The ICOM IC-705 is a multimode HF/VHF/UHF portable amateur radio transceiver. The radio has 5 watts of output when using its internal battery and 10 watts of output when using external power. With the rise in award programs such as Summits on the Air, and Parks on the Air this lightweight fully functional radio is a popular choice for people using them in the field. The IC-705 has support for a wide variety of commonly used amateur radio modes including ICOM's proprietary digital voice mode D-STAR. The IC-705 is also one of the first mainstream amateur radios to use SDR technology instead of the older superheterodyne design. Additionally the IC-705 has multiple extra features that are useful when operating in the field. Supporting the radio's D-STAR module is a GPS receiver to allow users to send their location though the D-STAR network as well as help locate nearby repeater systems. In addition to the GPS receiver the radio supports 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi which allows users to connect their computers or tablets to the IC-705 for running digital data modes such as PSK31, Winlink, and FT8. The radio has been praised for its size, easy to use menus, large easy to read screen and the quality of its build. Common criticisms of the radio include its lack of a built in antenna tuner and its price compared to other more powerful radios on the market.