Fun, friendship and public service are all part of the draw for ham radio enthusiasts, affectionately called “hams.” Here, learn how Andy and Irwin, two ham radio operators, use their HP and Compaq laptops to communicate with some of the estimated 1 million hams worldwide.

Hams in the making

Andy: I’ve been interested in ham radio, also referred to as amateur radio, since I was about 10 years old. My first experience was in the 1960s with a side-aspect of the hobby called “short wave listening” or SWL. My uncle would turn on a big, old Grundig radio in his living room and we would listen to the BBC. His son, my cousin, had a ham radio station in his bedroom. I would watch him make contacts using Morse code. I was immediately hooked, but it took me 25 more years before I would actually get my own license.

I eventually started taking classes at a local club, which is where I met Irwin. He and I took a class together to upgrade to the advanced license class. We became friends and enjoyed the class so much that we started teaching it. In fact, we just finished teaching one my sons and another of our friends’ sons. Both passed and received their first-level license. Also, to this day, we still have hams coming up to us at ham radio events to thank us for teaching them—some were students more than 10 years ago!

Irwin: I was always interested in electronics. When I was a kid, my grandparents had a shortwave radio in their kitchen and we’d listen to it for hours. As a teenager, I would fix neighbors’ TVs and radios to earn some extra money. Both my older brother and uncle had their ham radio license. I followed their lead and got my novice license in 1979. Currently, Andy and I hold the highest level license called “amateur extra.”

Going digital

Andy: Ham radio has come a long way since its beginning in the early part of the 20th century. As technology has evolved, so has its use in ham radio. But it actually may be the other way around—since many hams are engineers, they tend to be early adopters of new technology and bring it into the hobby.

When computers came along and became mainstream, hams were quick to embrace them. Up until 15 or 20 years ago, most ham radios were analog, manually tuned, and functions like logging contacts were a pencil-and-paper affair.

HP and ham radio

Andy: I have an HP dv6700 Notebook PC and a Compaq Presario V2000Z Notebook PC. Irwin just upgraded to an HP dv4-1430us Notebook PC. Our computers truly are central to our ham radio stations. We use our laptops for a multitude of purposes, including:

• Database logging of radio contacts and calculation of scores when on radio contest expeditions
• Controlling our radios with automatic data exchange between the radio and the Internet to other stations in a worldwide “spotting” network to share contact opportunities and information
• Digital signal processing and spectrum analysis using software-defined radios, special software and additional hardware
• Editing videos of our radio contest expeditions and posting them on YouTube and our website, www.wix.com/andyvavra/VE2DXY

Morse code, still an integral part of the ham radio hobby, used to be sent by hand using old-fashioned telegraph keys. Reception was by ear, with messages were written out with pencil and paper. Today, we connect the sound cards in our HP laptops directly to our radios and use a specialized software program to send and receive Morse code. The computer “listens” to the dots and dashes and translates them into letters on the screen. When we want to send code, the computer takes the characters we type on our keyboards and translates them into dots and dashes passed to the radio over the wires connecting the computer’s sound card to the radio.

More power for more technical demands

Andy: Another new application just now coming to the forefront is software-defined radio (SDR), where the radio no longer has buttons or knobs, and is nothing more than a black box. There are a few circuits in the black box, but the vast majority of signal reception and processing is now done by an SDR program. By using SDR and eliminating the knobs, buttons and a lot of hardware, designers are able to speed up the development cycle and more rapidly create new technologies.

It’s important to note that SDR has its consequences. Because of the extreme demands it makes on the computer, a powerful processor is needed. That’s why I recently upgraded from my older Compaq V200Z to the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor in my HP 6000 series laptop. Digital signal processing needs a lot of computer horsepower and the 6000 series delivers on that promise with power to spare.

Another advantage of pairing my Elecraft K3 software-defined radio with my HP laptop is the ability to connect the radio directly to the manufacturer’s server over the Internet.1 I use the radio’s digital interface and the computer to download new operating profiles and firmware enhancements to the radio. The combination of our laptops, the Internet and our software-defined radios allows us to instantly upgrade to the latest technology—something that could not be done as recently as just a few years ago.

Irwin: Today, almost all of us have our radios connected to computers and use software designed for ham radio. Both Andy and I have very modern radios that are considered to be software (firmware) defined. Modern radios today can be fully controlled through computers.

While computer technology today has brought a new dimension to ham radio operation, some of the technology used in modern communication was first applied to ham radio. There are a large number of both volunteer software developers (freeware) and commercial software developers who are developing software applications for ham radio.

The Internet allows us to join user groups and offer assistance to other operators worldwide. It lets us see when stations from rare countries are on the air through what are called “spots.” Additionally, it allows us to download and maintain the most current application software, purchase needed parts and products, obtain service manuals, etc.¹