DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING

PRESENTATION ON HAM RADIO

WHAT IS HAM RADIO ?
• Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of radio frequency spectrum for
purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-
training, private recreation, radio sport, contesting, and emergency communication.
• The term "amateur" is used to specify "a duly authorized person interested in
radioelectric practice with a purely personal aim and
without pecuniary interest (either direct monetary or other similar reward) and to
differentiate it from commercial broadcasting, public safety (such as police and fire),
or professional two-way radio services (such as maritime, aviation, taxis, etc.).
HISTORY
• The origins of amateur radio can be traced to the late 19th century, but amateur radio as
practiced today began in the early 20th century. The First Annual Official Wireless Blue
Book of the Wireless Association of America, produced in 1909, contains a list of amateur
radio stations.
•  This radio callbook lists wireless telegraph stations in Canada and the United States,
including 89 amateur radio stations. As with radio in general, amateur radio was
associated with various amateur experimenters and hobbyists. Amateur radio enthusiasts
have significantly contributed to science, engineering, industry, and social services
• Research by amateur operators has founded new industries, built economies, empowered
nations, and saved lives in times of emergency. Ham radio can also be used in the
classroom to teach English, map skills, geography, math, science, and computer skills
HOW TO BUILD A HAM RADIO
There are five vital components you would need to build a working amateur radio station.
These are:
 The Transmitter 
 Receiver 
 Antenna 
 Antenna tuner
 The operator 
TRANSCEIVER (TRANSMITTER +
RECEIVER) 
• Sending out signals begins with the transmitter. This is the equipment hams use to
broadcast to the outside world. 
• The receiver is the opposite of the transmitter. it helps you convert the broadcast radio signal
to audio format so you can hear what is being said. 
• While you can always get the transmitter and receiver separately, is now common to get the
two in one gadget. This is known as the transceiver. So the transceiver is, basically,
composed of both the transmitter and receiver. 
• The Yaesu FT-8900R and Icom 2300H 05  are two mobile transceivers you could purchase
for this purpose.

YAESU FT -8900 R
ANTEN
NA
You need to have a good antenna. Whether you buy a directional antenna
that sends out signals on a direct path or an omnidirectional antenatal that
sends out signals in all directions would depend on your budget. 
Naturally, if you can afford it, there is no reason to go for an omnidirectional
antenna. 
Ifyour ham radio is the mobile type installed in cars, there are very good
mobile antennas you could install to boost your signal while on the road. 
Unfortunately, when it comes to antennas, people focus too much on the
wrong things. Many antennas out there don’t work as promised because of
ignorance of how antennas work. 
For example, a transmitter with a good SWR (which is a measure of how well
the transmitted signal travels via the antenna system to the outside world),
can still emit signals poorly if a low-quality antenna is coupled to it. 
So the focus should always be a high-quality antenna first before anything
else. And the first step to doing that is to understand how antennas work.
ANTENNA TUNER 
• Many veteran hams don’t consider the antenna tuner an essential component. It is possible,
and many operators do this a lot, to have a working ham radio without the antenna tuner. 
• However,  it is an important piece of equipment you should have if you want to make your ham
radio shack better at receiving and transmitting signals. 
• Antenna tuner comes in different shapes and sizes. Of course, there are very sophisticated
ones that cost a lot of money.  But you can get a pretty decent one like the LDG Electronics Z-
817 Automatic Antenna Tuner, either used or new, at a modest price. 
• Basically, an antenna tuner allows the operator to transmit on more than the one frequency the
antenna is designed for. For example, if you have a dipole antenna designed to transmit on
the  80-meter band, the antenna tuner would help you transmit on other bands like on 40 or 17
meters and so on. 
• If you consider that antennas don’t perform well in bands other than the one they were
designed for, you would appreciate the utility of the antenna tuner in making multi-band
transmission possible. 
• So. if you want to expand the capability of your simple antenna in terms of effective bands and
THE OPERATOR 
 Before you can operate a ham radio, you must have a license. There are three
classes of license, and these are 
 Entry-level license or technician – This is the basic class and does not have all the
privileges of the other two classes. With this license, you are restricted to just a few
HF bands and can’t take part in long-distance communication. 
 General Class – This is the most popular licensing category. To get to this level, you
need to pass the technician exam first. You get more HF band privileges with this
license. Many hams don’t see a need to go beyond this point. 
 Advanced level (Amateur Extra) – This gives you access to all HF bands and the
entire radio spectrum is open to you. To get this class, you must have passed the
licensing exam of the general and have had a few years of experience operating a
ham radio
WORKING OF HAM RADIO
BLOCK DIAGRAM
COMMUNICATING WITH MORSE CODE
MORCE CODE MEANING
QRL Is this frequency busy?
QRZ Who is calling me?
QSB Signal fading
QTH What is your location?
GL Good luck
QSY Change to other frequency
QSL Received and understood
QRV Are you ready?
QRT Shall I stop sending?
QRQ Shall I send faster? 
THANK YOU