Cyclone Amateur Radio Club

1. Cyclone Amateur Radio Club WØYI WØISU What is Amateur Radio? What is the Cyclone Amateur Radio Club? Who's the Typical Ham? Amateur Radio operators come from all walks of life -- movie stars, missionaries, doctors, students, politicians, truck drivers and just plain folks. They are all ages, sexes, income levels and nationalities. But whether they prefer Morse code on an old brass telegraph key through a low-power transmitter, voice communication on a hand-held radio or computer messages transmitted through satellites, they all have an interest in what's happening in the world, and they use radio to reach out. What you can do with a ham license? • Talk to people in foreign countries. • Talk to people (both local and far away) on your drive to work • Help in emergencies and natural disasters by providing communications. • Provide communications in parades or walkathons and other public service events. • Hook your computer to your radio and communicate "computer-to-computer."  Hams use radio modems. • Collect QSL cards (cards from other hams) from all over the United States and foreign countries and receive awards. • Participate in contests or Field Day events. • Provide radio communication services to your local Civil Defense organization through ARES (the Amateur Radio Emergency Service) or RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). • Participate in transmitter hunt games and maybe build your own direction-finding equipment. • Receive weather pictures via satellites. • Build radios, antennas, learn some electronics and radio theory. • Talk to astronauts in space, or use the moon to bounce signals back to people on the Earth. • Experiment with Amateur TV (ATV), Slow-Scan TV (SSTV), or send still-frame pictures by facsimile. • Lash your ham radio to the public telephone system and call your friends toll free. (Auto patching) • Communicate through orbiting satellites. The Cyclone Amateur Radio Club or CARC, provides a forum for students, faculty, staff, and family of Iowa State University. The club holds weekly meetings and holds numerous presentations pertaining to amateur radio. We have the club call signs of WØISU and WØYI. We provide a club station at A147 Friley Hall for members’ use. This station has HF, VHF, and packet operating equipment available for licensed amateurs. Access to this station is allowed to all paid members of CARC. Any person, licensed or not, is encouraged to join and participate in the club. We will even help you get your license if needed. The club also hosts two repeaters on the Iowa State campus atop the Physics building. They are open FM repeaters with the frequencies of 147.375+ and 443.375+. CARC also maintains a club web page including club announcements, meeting information, current projects, and notes from previous meetings. This page can be accessed at: http://www.stuorg.iastate.edu/radioclub. The club sponsors and participates in many events and projects year-round. Here are just a few examples of future and ongoing projects and events: • Weather Spotting: Many members of CARC also assist in public service functions such as weather spotting. SKYWARN is an association of amateur radio operators that assists local emergency management agencies and the National Weather Service in providing on the spot weather reports during times of severe weather. Why a License? Although the main purpose of Amateur Radio is fun, it is called the "Amateur Radio Service" because it also has a serious face. The FCC created this "Service" to fill the need for a pool of experts who could provide backup emergency communications. In addition, the FCC acknowledged the ability of the hobby to advance the communication and technical skills of radio, and to enhance international goodwill. This philosophy has paid off. Countless lives have been saved where skilled hobbyists act as emergency communicators to render aid, whether it's during an earthquake in Italy or a hurricane in the U.S. • Emergencies and Disasters: As licensed amateurs and due to the conditions of these licenses, many members assist during times of emergency or disaster. Many CARC members are affiliated with the Story County ARES—Amateur Radio Emergency Service. ARES holds seminars and emergency preparedness tests often and helps amateurs to be prepared in times of disaster such as tornados, fires, and accidents. •Field Day: CARC also participates in contests and events that our national organization, the ARRL--American Radio Relay League sponsors. The largest such event held annually is Field Day and is held the third weekend in June. This event is both a contest and a test for emergency preparedness. All participants must operate off emergency power only and therefore must not use commercially available power. In a timeframe of 24 hours, amateurs try to contact as many other hams as possible using as many kinds of modes possible. For Field Day 2001 this past summer, CARC combined resources with the Story County Amateur Radio Club for practice in emergency communications as well as just for the fun of it! What Are the Amateur Radio Bands? Look at the dial on an old AM radio and you'll see frequencies marked from 535 to 1605 kilohertz. Imagine that band extended out many thousands of kilohertz, and you'll have some idea of how much additional radio spectrum is available for amateur, government and commercial radio bands. It is here you'll find aircraft, ship, fire and police communication, as well as the so-called "shortwave" stations, which are worldwide commercial and government broadcast stations from the U.S. and overseas. Amateurs are allocated nine basic "bands" (i.e. groups of frequencies) in the High Frequency (HF) range between 1800 and 29,700 kilohertz, and another seven bands in the Very High Frequency (VHF) bands and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) ranges, as well as Super High Frequency (SHF) bands. Even though many Amateur Radio conversations may be heard around the world, given the right frequency and propagation conditions, Amateur Radio is basically two-way communication. •ICARUS: (Internet Controlled Amateur Radio UHF/HF System), allows licensed amateur radio operators the ability to achieve worldwide communications by using a handheld radio and a computer’s web browser to control a centralized HF radio station. Public Service: CARC has assisted the annual Cy-Man Dualthon and many other organizations and events by providing communication services. Who can help me get a license or get more information? The Cyclone Amateur Radio Club and its members would be happy to assist anyone wishing to learn about amateur radio. There are many clubs and organizations throughout Iowa and the United States. Any one of these clubs would be willing to help you learn more about amateur radio and it’s uses. Ask one of our members for more assistance or look up a club in your area for more information at www.arrl.org. •Social Activities: Apart from the service and serious side of amateur radio, CARC also offers a forum for members to gather and socialize. Often many of our members chat while on their portable or mobile stations using our repeaters or in person at our Friley shack or at weekly meetings. Often CARC plans events, such as our annual VEISHEA display and field trips for members to gather and learn more about the world of amateur radio and communications. CARC is an Iowa State University GSB funded organization.