Just for follow up....interactive tests can be found on the QRZ.COM web site. The test questions come from the same pool of questions that will be on the exams. Take the sample tests and find out where you're weak at then focus on that part of the study.
I studied and passed the test easily but as I found out the test is the easy part of Ham radio. The things you will learn in class from real humans will help you in far greater capacity when you try to actually talk on the radio and fit in!
Took some tests and came away with a 72 and a 74, some of my answers were common sense thinking. Still a lot to learn and like Kevin said, actual use of the radio is still a ? mark for me.
Class was very enjoyable and informative, thanks again for doing this and all the guys who came to support us and help.
Taking the practice tests my curiosity was piqued on Sporadic Es and any correlation to Total Electron Content Units (TECUs) in the Ionosphere. I found this monograph that has a discussion of the E Layer on page 19 if anyone wants any light reading.
TEC's are directly influenced by the amount of solar activity present. The amount of sunspots(solar flares, solar activity) presently determines how well the radio waves we use in HAM radio propogate around the earth. Using the different layers of the ionosphere, we get to carry our radio waves further around the earth before they all just shoot off into space. The more solar activity, the better the reflection of the radio waves, the further the radio waves can be effectively received.
The sunspot cycle goes through 11 year cycles. We are currently at the low point of the 11 year cycle, supposedly heading back up. The least amount of radio waves carry around the earth right now. In another 5-6 years we will be experiencing high solar activity and more radio waves will carry further with less power. There are times right now when a big solar flare happens that more reflection is present for a short period of time. But those are far and few between.
For those who want the basics; the regions of the ionosphere act like a mirror bouncing the radio waves back to earth like light on a mirror.
It's kinda more like light reflecting off water right? Sometimes you get a reflection, but other times you don't? I know it's not directly related to the laws of refraction, but the ionosphere isn't opaque like a mirror. Okay I've said my nerdy peace, lurk mode on again...
This was a bit of an epiphany for me. For about 15 years I have dealt with GPS and GNSS for a living. I also deal with some terrestrial radio and my company owns spectrum at 35 MHz. I'm not an engineer but know "enough to be dangerous."
Most of my experience with radio is via space based radio navigation and as a result I am very concerned with signal attenuation and decorrelation as well as multipath from satellites, pulsars and quasars passing through the ionosphere and in the case of the celestial bodies, the magnetosphere.
To wit, I have spent a great deal of time (and corporate funds) characterizing the ionosphere globally in regional contexts to reduce spatial decorrelation of "network RTK" solutions in wide area contexts. This research and subsequent commercialization has been very successful.
When I first read about Sporadic Es it was counter intuitive based on my experience with RTK. After Nathaniel posted I talked to a bunch of radio engineers that I work with and they confirmed that the increase of TECUs does increase the refractive index of the iono and will result in reflected VHF transmissions. You are never too old to have your perspective changed.
This HAM class has been very valuable. Great job Rising Sun!.
I dunno if I'm supposed to talk tonight or not, but I'm probably gonna absent or at least pretty late. I'm trying to slip from work ASAP (looks like in the next 30~45 minutes most likely), but still have to get home to service the dog and cat. I'll have a radio on, standard frequencies.
I had to miss... I was flying in from Oklahoma with Carrie's new puppy.
And of course, my choices were, skittle across town to show up an hour late and leave my wife and no dinner, or ...
Watch the puppies get to know each other, start playing with each other, run like holy terrors around the house with the happiest expressions you could imagine, yipping and hollering in joy, and us laughing until we cried....
Last night was fun, but it was Brian's expression of how to get bounce off of the inversion layer, the auroras, the thunderstorms, and meteor showers, along with hearing the Bruce Miller and friends '88 south pacific island expedition recording that really made the night. All of the material that was covered is in the book, so just keep reading and doing the practice problems and tests!
Watch the puppies get to know each other, start playing with each other, run like holy terrors around the house with the happiest expressions you could imagine, yipping and hollering in joy, and us laughing until we cried....
