by Peter Parker VK3YE - first appeared in Amateur
Radio, February 1998
The Internet contains a huge amount of
information on nearly all facets of amateur radio. A barrier to accessing all
this material is the time taken to search for the information you need,
particularly if you pay by the minute for your on-line time.
This article provides information on a
number of web pages of interest to the newcomer to amateur radio. With this
article, you will be able to access information on many aspects of amateur
radio without having to firstly use search engines and wade through dozens of
unwanted listings.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/andrewd/hamradio/hamfaq.html
Maintained by Andrew Davis VK1DA, this page
is your first stop if you are just becoming interested in amateur radio. As its
name suggests, it provides answers to questions people commonly ask about
amateur radio. Armed with this knowledge you are then ready to look at sites
such as Novice Notes Online, which provides more detailed information on
various facets of amateur radio.
http://www.ruralnet.net.au/~allan/VK_List/amateurs.html
Do amateurs you know have an e-mail address
and/or a personal web page? Find out by visiting this site. Imformation on this
site is fairly current - it is regularly updated by Allan VK2NNN.
http://www.cdrom.com/simtel.net/msdos/hamradio.html
The Simtel.Net MS-DOS Collection contains
numerous programs of interest to the radio amateur, SWL and electronics buff.
There's dozens of ideas to make your old XT or 286 computer earn its keep
around the shack.
http://www.novia.net/~pschleck/elmers/
"Elmer" is an American term for an
amateur who helps newcomers study for their licence and get set up on air -
much like what we'd call a mentor. If you don't have one but are bursting with
questions, you can now get help from a number of amateurs with e-mail who have
volunteered to be "Internet Elmers". The list of elmers is divided by
country and operating interest to ensure that you can direct questions to the
person best able to answer.
http://www.hamradio-online.com/
A very comprehensive US-based amateur radio
news service with reports of current events and articles on key issues facing
the Amateur Service. Well worth a read.
http://www.qth.net/
If you decide to specialise in one or two
narrow aspects of amateur radio, you may wish to keep in touch with like-minded
enthusiasts around the world. For this purpose the use of an Internet mailing
list is ideal. The above URL provides a detailed guide to lists specific to
various facets of amateur radio.
http://marconi.mq.edu.au/wia/bookshop.html
This page provides details of books and
educational material (including the Novice Study kit) stocked by the NSW
Division of the WIA. Prices and titles carried should be similar in other
states - enquire with your local Division.
http://www.aca.gov.au
This page contains advice on regulations and
licensing conditions applicable to the Amateur Service in Australia. There is
also information on calculating multi-year licence fees, but I challenge
anybody to get a correct result! A frames-capable browser is required to view
this page.
Most WIA Divisions have their own web sites.
The comprehensiveness and updatedness of pages varies between states. To see
what your Division offers net surfers, type in the appropriate URL below.
WIA ACT http://www.vk1.wia.ampr.org/
WIA NSW http://marconi.mpce.mq.edu.au/wia
WIA Vic http://www.tbsa.com.au/~wiavic/
WIA Qld http://www.wiaq.powerup.com.au
WIA SA http://www.vk5wia.ampr.org/
WIA WA http://www.faroc.com.au/~vk6wia/
WIA Tas page under construction
In addition, some clubs have their own web
sites. These are not listed here but links to them can be found on some WIA
Divisional sites.
The New Zealand Association of Radio
Transmitters (NZART) has a comprehensive web page containing news and links
on amateur radio in New Zealand and beyond. Its URL is http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/.
Young Amateurs New Zealand also has a page at:
http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/yanz/index.html.
http://www.vk5wia.ampr.org.wia/bandplan/index.htm
Very detailed information on each amateur band
from 1.8 MHz to many gigahertz. These band plans are produced for all
Australian amateurs and provide information on what modes are used on what
frequencies. Operating according to them increases the likelihood of you making
contacts and reduces the possibility of causing interference to others.
http://www.magiclink.com/web/shurst/page2.html
Maintained by KA7NOC, this page includes a
range of material on Morse (CW) operating. There is also advice on learning
Morse code.
http://www.ips.oz.au/
Obtain information on the current state of
radio propagation, sunspot forecasts and do your own propagation predictions.
Just a few of the attractions available through the IPS' site.
http://www.qthcom/ka9fox/
A useful resource for contesters and DXers,
this page contains material on exchanging QSL cards, contest rules, DX
bulletins and more.
http://www.clinet.fi/~jukka/webcluster.html
See whose hearing who (sorted by amateur
band) with this DX cluster. Also, use it to alert others of the appearance of
rare DX (only after you've worked him first!). A wide range of DX and operating
links are available through this award-winning site.
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~tbabel/zl3ne.htm
ZL3NE gives some pointers on using weather
charts to predict long-distant VHF and UHF propagation. Mainly of interest to
the weak-signal SSB/CW operator.
http://www.qrz.com/cgi-bin/webcall
If you don't have an International Callbook
or CDROM handy, this site is a useful way to get the names and addresses of
stations you work. Simply type in the callsign and the QRZ site does the rest.
Both Australian and International addresses are available through this system,
though the Australian listings are not always up to date.
http://www.uq.edu.au/radiosport/Rules/index.htm
Produced by Peter Wetziz VK4TPW and John
Loftus VK4EMM, this is an excellent page for those devoted to the competitive
side of amateur radio. Contents include contest rules, monthly contest reports,
band plans, a calendar, shareware and operating hints. Much of the information
has been written with the beginner in mind. Highly recommended.
Most of these pages include details of
products stocked, store addresses, prices and ordering information.
Retailers
http://www.gqrpclub.demon.co.uk/ants.htm
Maintained by a well-known QRP enthusiast,
this page is part of a larger website that covers all aspects of low power
amateur radio. Constructional articles on pieces of antenna test equipment,
masts, mobile whips and various wire antennas feature on this page.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/csl/magloop.htm
If you've been avidly following the
discussion on compact antennas in recent Novice Notes columns, this page
devoted entirely to magnetic loops will be of special interest. Though the
theory may get too deep for some, the page, which contains several excellent
graphs and diagrams, is a "must see" for anyone interested in these
fascinating antennas. Also provided is an exhaustive bibliography on magnetic
loops for the experimenter who wants to know more. Highly recommended.
http://www1.shore.net/~dmaison/faqs/carpetloop.html
Information on a novel "carpet
loop" antenna for short wave listeners.
http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~cebik/radio.html
This page, produced by a prolific antenna
experimenter and author, takes some time to load, but the information provided
is well worth the wait. Material is presented on a variety of wire antennas and
beams. In addition, detailed information on antenna modelling is provided. This
page would be most useful to the amateur, who having got themself on air with
simple verticals and dipoles, is seeking to improve station performance by
experimenting with other antennas. Though the technical content gets a bit
advanced in places, the page does have an excellent series of articles pitched
at novice operators establishing a station on 28 MHz. Topics such as compact
and hidden antennas, effect of antenna height, antenna coupling units for 28
MHz and yagi antennas are just a few of the subjects covered.
http://people.delphi.com/CecilMoore/
This page includes constructional
information on a "bugcatcher" mobile antenna as well as data on popular
wire antennas including loops, beams and the G5RV. Also presented is a novel
multiband dipole for eighty to ten metres.
http://www.pconline.com/~rohrwerk/k0jd/
K0JD's construction project home page.
http://www.acs.ncsu.edu/HamRadio/HF/qrp/projects/
More projects for you to try.
http://sherweng.com/table.html
New rigs don't necessarily have the best
receivers. This site provides performance comparisons between most popular
models of amateur equipment. See how your rig stacks up against the rest.
http://www.intio.or.jp/jf10zl/
Contains a range of unusual transmitter
circuits that are amazing in their simplicity, but seem to work, as testified
by the log extract provided. The page is particular interest to six metre AM
and DSB operators, but it should be possible to modify some of the 50 MHz
projects to 28 MHz. Page content is bilingual (Japanese and English).
http://user.tninet.se/~acz732k/
This page contains many circuits for those
who like building things. Projects range from the simple to the advanced and
the ordinary to the novel. As noted elsewhere, this page includes
constructional information on antennas for the 70cm band.
http://home4.swipnet.se/~w-41522/
This page contains the information needed to
build a simple eighty metre double sideband transceiver.
http://www.qsl.net/7n3wvm/
This is another useful page for people who
like building equipment. The twin crystal variable crystal oscillator is of
particular interest.
http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/
An Internet version of those old "500
circuits" electronics books. If you like building things, this page is
worth a look.
http://www.dove.net.au/~markl/sa_vhf/esc_index.htm
This is another useful page for the
homebrewer, particularly those who build VHF/UHF and SHF equipment. Along with
a range of hard-to-get components, a range of transverter kits is carried for
those wanting to make existing equipment operate on different bands.
http://www.marconi.mpce.mq.edu.au/
This gateway is used for experimentation
with various types of packet radio linking and for WICEN purposes. Worth
reading if you're a packet enthusiast.
http://dl0td.afthd.th-darmstadt.de/~flexnet/index.html
Apparently with some of this software
featured (which you can download) it is possible to operate packet radio with a
computer equipped with a sound card. Computer experts will like this page, but
others will be flummoxed.
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Comp_Articles/African_Info_Age.html
Written by Gary Garriot of the Volunteers
for Technical Assistance, this page provides an interesting account on the uses
to which packet radio can be put for humanitarian purposes in Africa.
http://www.tapr.org/~n6gn/index.html
If the speed and efficiency of the Internet
has caused you to lose interest in packet radio, you may want to look at this
page. Ideas and links on high speed packet radio operation are included. Again
mainly for those with prior experience in packet radio.
http://www.natworld.com/ars/
This society exists for those who wish to
operate radio from locations accessible via human-powered transport.
http://www.thebizlink.com/am/
This is a US-based page for amateurs who
enjoy operating AM on the HF and VHF bands, particularly with vintage
equipment. A good read.
http://cycling.org/lists/bikeham/
Contents of the bikeham mailing list.
Occasionally has useful hints for those who operate amateur radio from a
bicycle.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~amac/fox.html
For people who like chasing hidden
transmitters around (or in) the Yarra.
http://www.alphalink.com.au/~parkerp/qrp.htm
The Australian QRP Home Page is devoted
entirely to under five watt amateur radio. Included is operating hints, advice
on equipment, information on the CW Operators QRP Club and more.
http://www.ee.mu.oz.au/staff/pbd/SW/index.html
A very comprehensive page on short wave
listening from an Australian perspective.
http://www.Lehigh.EDU/lists/tenten-l/
This is the site of Ten-Ten International -
a worldwide body that promotes activity on ten metres. With sunspot numbers on
the up, this will be a useful page over the next few years.
http://www.chilton.com/scripts/radio/R8-receiver
Hear how the bands sound like from the other
side of the world. Sound card needed.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/7160/
A good use for your spare AM medium wave
broadcast receiver, particularly if your Division relays its news broadcast on
1.8 MHz AM, is to convert it to receive 160 metres. This page tells you how.
Also featured is information on late-night 160 metre activity of a somewhat
unconventional nature.
http://marconi.mpce.mq.edu.au/wicen/
An informative page providing information on
the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network in NSW. A "must read"
for those interested in amateur radio's role in civil emergencies.
http://www.midnightscience.com/
A great site for people who experiment with
crystal set receivers of all types.
A range of web page URLs on various facets
of amateur radio has been presented. Many more can be obtained through the
links section of many of the pages listed here. In addition, extra material on
many of the topics covered above is available through Novice Notes Online,
the URL for which is provided at the end of this article.
Amateur Radio has featured a number of articles on the Internet
over the last two years. The more significant of these include:
McGhie, W Getting on the Net, Amateur
Radio, August 1996
Murnane, R A Radio Amateur's Guide to the
World Wide Web, Amateur Radio, July 1996
Murnane, R Internet Radio Mailing Lists and How to Use Them, Amateur Radio, October 1997
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This page was produced by Peter Parker VK3YE parkerp@NOSPAMalphalink.com.au. Material may be copied for personal or non-profit use only.