australia:radio_ham
Table of Contents
Ham amateur radio
see also:
- I don't sell any of these nor do I receive any remuneration if you buy them, and I have not personally reviewed all of them, they are listed here to give you perspective
- it is ILLEGAL in Australia to transmit on Ham radio bands without a license and can result in fines up to $425,000 or 2 years imprisonment
Introduction
- most countries do not allow ordinary unlicensed citizens to transmit on any radio bands other than CB 2-way radio and most have other radio bands reserved for use by licensed Ham radio operators
- see also http://www.arrl.org
- in Australia, amateur ham radio operators must pass exams to become licensed before they are permitted to transmit on these ham radio bands
- depending upon level of the license, the operator will be restricted to various bands and transmission output power (10W for foundation licensees)
- if interested in getting a Ham amateur radio licence in Australia
- see https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-06/ACMA%20recognition%20certificate%20%28Foundation%29%20Syllabus%20and%20examination%20information.pdf for the course work needed to get a foundation certificate
- with Australian amateur licences, you can only use these frequency bands: 3.5, 7, 14, 21, 28, 52, 144, 430, 1240, 2400 and 5650 MHz
- on passing your Foundation exam and getting a licence you will have your own call sign and frequency allocation, and then you pay an annual fee to renew the licence
- see also: Wireless Institute of Australia
- most amateurs transmitting outdoors via their vehicles will operate mobile from a motor vehicle on 2 metre and/or 70m cm bands but also often on HF bands where more sophisticated antennas and tuning devices are required.
- this requires an appropriately powered transceiver, an adequate portable power supply for the duration of use, and make sure the antennas meet the conflicting demands of efficiency and portability and must ensure that all spares and support material are provided. Antennas for HF bands are usually dipoles or long wires strung between trees or, if you are in a treeless desert, laid along the ground.
- QSO
- is the term for a two-way radio contact or communication session between two stations
Potential role of ham radio in disasters
- even a severe wind storm can knock out mobile phone and internet infrastructure
- CB 2-way radio will only get you a few kms
- if you don't have satellite internet or satellite communication device, radio may be the only other option for gaining information or communicating
- indeed, allegedly, it was an amateur ham radio operator who notified the rest of Australia when Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin in Dec 1974
WSJT-X ham radio
- these are efficient modulations mainly to send ultra-brief QSO two way communications on HF when signal strength is poor
- it often uses FT8 modulation
australia/radio_ham.txt · Last modified: 2025/08/13 12:48 by gary1