I have my ticket, now what?
Reading time: 5 minutesVU3GLJ
Please remember this is by no means a “comprehensive” guide! This is how I got on the air, in order to follow this guide, you need a valid email address and a valid call sign issued by your country’s authorized entity. In my case, it is Wireless Planning And Coordination (WPC) Wing of the Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India, you can apply to write the exam, apply for a license and a call sign on an online portal.
This post has an accompanying video at Peertube in case you prefer the video.
How do I get on the air?
In order to speak with other radio operators, you would typically need your own station. In case you have a repeater close to your location/QTH, even a hand-held transceiver will work, else you’d need a bare minimum of an antenna to help receive (\(Rx\)) and transmit (\(Tx\)) signals to a larger area in the hope that another station is available and listening in at the time.
I got my ticket1 and have a fanshy-shmanshy call sign? Now what? How do I get on the air? I don’t have the fancy equipment like an antenna, a tri-band radio, a tuner, etc. What can I do?
Figure 1: Radio Shack (Source: https://www.rawpixel.com, Licensed under CC0, Last accessed on 16th October 2024)
- Neither do I have a handeld-transceiver!
Figure 2: Handheld Transceivers (Source: https://artdraw.org, Licensed under CC0, Last accessed 16th October 2024)
All I need do to get on the air within a few hours of getting your license at absolutely no cost2 (in case you own a smart phone), is use Echolink, RadioID and DroidStar.
There are a number of guides and videos on how to use Echolink, create a RadioID and register on BrandMeister, and using DroidStar3.
Echolink
Figure 3: How does Echolink work? (Source: https://www.echolink.org/, Last accessed on 16th October 2024)
What is Echolink?
As is the case with most of us who have just received our call sign, we tend not have any “radio equipment” with us to do this.
This is where Echolink steps in, you can use Echolink on your phone/computer to speak to those people who are using “radio equipment” seamlessly. Echolink uses VoIP to connect to the user over the internet to other operator’s transceivers. If you are interested in the technical details, please head over to the QST magazine (February, 2003 at page 44) by ARRL 4.
Echolink is free to use for all “amateur radio operators”, you can sign up for free. You can use the iOS application, Android application or the web application.
The first time you launch/use the application please type in your call sign and a password. This will be the password you can use for Echolink. Echolink will then validate your application, you will need to upload your license (please uses the original you have downloaded from your country’s respective portal) and it will be validated within 24 hours.
Once validated, you can then login to Echolink and listen in to the conversations happening on the air. You can then join in either using the repeaters or any “conferences” that are happening.
Register on Echolink
RadioID
What is RadioID?
Register on RadioID
Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) is a standard used for voice and data communication, it uses Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) to provide low-cost access to bandwidth. Amateur radio operators can use DMR (in the VHF and UHF) bands with the help of DMR Repeaters. These interlinked nodes are part of free and proprietary protocols and networks such as BrandMeister, TGIF, FreeDMR, etc.
In order to operate on this network, apart from the call sign, one needs a Radio ID. Registration and creation of the RadioID is free and is online. Similar to Echolink, once the form is completed, the validation process requires the original license to be uploaded. This process is typically quicker than Echolink and should take less than a day.
DroidStar
What is DroidStar?
Before we begin this step, it is important to have a “validated” RadioID account before you can register on Brandmeister.
DroidStar application can be used to connect to DMR nodes which use various protocols such as M17, Fusion (YSF/FCS, DN and VW modes), DMR, P25, NXDN, D-STAR (REF/XRF/DCS) and All-Star Nodes5. In addition to RadioID, it is important to register on Brandmeister’s network and set-up a password (Hotspot Security under SelfCare tab), the registration process for Brandmeister network is free and easy to do.
Install the DroidStar application
Acknowledgements
Thank you to VU2IIM for the primer on DMR, VU2JXM for the video request and help, and VU3EFZ for all the help to create the accounts on QRZ, RadioID, etc.
Caution
- Do remember, any conversation happening on the air is not private! They are open to anyone with the ability to tune into the frequency and decode the audio signal.
- Please be polite and once you listen to a few conversations, you will be able to understand the etiquette for joining in and participating on the conversations.
Enjoy your time on the air!
73
VU3GLJ
A ticket is HAM-speak for when you pass the examination and get your license to operate amateur radio equipment. ↩︎
The prerequisites are a valid license and a valid email address. ↩︎
Google-fu is your friend here. ↩︎
ARRL is The National Association for Amateur Radio in the USA founded as the The American Radio Relay League in 1914. ↩︎
Yes, amateur radio is beset with the standards problem too: https://xkcd.com/927/. ↩︎
#ham #amateur-radio #guide #echolink #droidstart #dmr #radioid