General Ham Radio Information
This page is for general Ham Radio information. It covers information regarding operation, communications, and radio setup. This information is good for the new Ham, as well as a seasoned OT who needs a refresher. This information is typical information a Ham would use in communication, operation, or equipment configuration. More will be added as I get time.
RST Signal Reports
An RST signal report is a report given by the receiving station on the quality and strength of the transmitted signal. Established around 1934, it uses shorthand in the form of numbers to represent the quality of the tone or voice and the strength of the signal. The "R" stands for readability, the "S" stands for strength, and the "T" stands for tone when using CW. For voice transmissions, the "T" is dropped, and the report is usually given as RS or R by S, such as 59 or 5 by 9 for a perfect report. Below is the numbering system:
Readability:
1 = Unreadable
2 = Barely Readable
3 = Readable with considerable difficulty
4 = Readable with practically no difficulty
5 = Perfectly Readable
Strength:
1 = Faint Signal
2 = Very Weak
3 = Weak
4 = Fair
5 = Fairly Good
6 = Good
7 = Moderately Strong
8 = Strong
9 = Very Strong
Tone:
1 = Very Rough and Broad A.C.
2 = Very Rough A.C.
3 = Rough A.C. Tone
4 = Rough Note, Some Filtering
5 = Filtered Rectified A.C., But Strong Ripple Modulation
6 = Filtered Tone, Definite Trace of Ripple Modulation
7 = Near Pure Tone, Trace of Ripple Modulation
8 = Near Perfect Tone, Slight Trace of Ripple Modulation
9 = Perfect Tone, No Trace of Ripple or Modulation of Any Kind
Standard Repeater Offsets
| Band | Output Frequency | Input Offset |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Meters | 29.51 MHz - 29.70 MHz | -.1 MHz |
| 6 Meters | 51 MHz - 54 MHz | -1.0 MHz |
| 2 Meters | 144.51 MHz - 144.89 MHz | +.6 MHz |
| " | 145.11 MHz - 145.46 MHz | -.6 MHz |
| " | 146.00 MHz - 146.39 MHz | +.6 MHz |
| " | 146.61 MHz - 147.00 MHz | -.6 MHz |
| " | 147.00 MHz - 147.39 MHz | +.6 MHz |
| " | 147.60 MHz - 1467.99 MHz | -.6 MHz |
| 1.25 Meters | 223 MHz - 225 MHz | -1.6 MHz |
| 70 cm | 440 MHz - 445 MHz | +5 MHz |
| " | 445 MHz - 450 MHz | -5 MHz |
| 33 cm | 927 MHz - 928 MHz | -12 MHz |
| 23 cm | 1282 MHz - 1288 MHz | -20 MHz |
CTCSS Tones
Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System tones or PL Tones® are tones used to prevent a repeater from responding to unwanted signals or interference. By using a tone, the repeater will only respond to signals with the same embedded tone. That will keep the repeater from responding to signals from close repeaters or during tropospheric ducting. Below is a table of commonly used CTCSS tones in Hz used in ham radio.
| 67.0 | 94.8 | 131.8 | 171.3 | 203.5 |
| 69.3 | 97.4 | 136.5 | 173.8 | 206.5 |
| 71.9 | 100.0 | 141.3 | 177.3 | 210.7 |
| 74.4 | 103.5 | 146.2 | 179.9 | 218.1 |
| 77.0 | 107.2 | 151.4 | 183.5 | 225.7 |
| 79.7 | 110.9 | 156.7 | 186.2 | 229.1 |
| 82.5 | 114.8 | 159.8 | 189.9 | 233.6 |
| 85.4 | 118.8 | 162.2 | 192.8 | 241.8 |
| 88.5 | 123.0 | 165.5 | 196.6 | 250.3 |
| 91.5 | 127.3 | 167.9 | 199.5 | 254.1 |
ITU Radio Phonetic Alphabet
The phonetic alphabet is a group of words used to identify letters in a message transmitted over the radio. This is used to avoid confusion because when conditions are less than perfect, certain letters sound the same. For instance, B, P, T, and V all sound close enough to cause problems. But Bravo, Papa, Tango, and Victor do not sound close at all. Below is a table of the current NATO phonetic alphabet used today.
| Character | Phonetic | Character | Phonetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Alpha | N | November |
| B | Bravo | O | Oscar |
| C | Charlie | P | Papa |
| D | Delta | Q | Quebec |
| E | Echo | R | Romeo |
| F | Foxtrot | S | Sierra |
| G | Golf | T | Tango |
| H | Hotel | U | Uniform |
| I | India | V | Victor |
| J | Juliet | W | Whiskey |
| K | Kilo | X | Xray |
| L | Lima | Y | Yankee |
| M | Mike | Z | Zulu |
The 60 Meter Band
The 60 meter band is a fairly new band, given to us in 2011. The differences in this band in relation to all of the others is that we are limited to SSB, CW, and digital, we are limited to 100 watts ERP, and it is a channelized band. We get 5 frequencies that we are able to operate on. Of course, where you set your dial depends on what mode of emission you are using. For SSB, you just put your dial on the frequency. However, for CW and digital, you must put your dial 1.5 KHz above the frequency. Hopefully this will help clear up any confusion.
60 Meter SSB
| Channel | Frequency (KHz) |
| 1 | 5330.5 |
| 2 | 5346.5 |
| 3 | 5357.0 |
| 4 | 5371.5 |
| 5 | 5403.5 |
60 Meter CW
| Channel | Frequency (KHz) |
| 1 | 5332.0 |
| 2 | 5348.0 |
| 3 | 5358.5 |
| 4 | 5373.0 |
| 5 | 5405.0 |
