New Ham Operator FAQ and Terminology

(numeral)-(Centi-)Meter Band

Examples:

6-meter band = approx. 50 MHz

2-meter band = 144-148 Mhz

70-centimeter band = 420-450 MHz

10-minute Rule

FCC Requirement: give your FCC Amateur Call Sign every 10 minutes or less, during a conversation, AND at the End of the Conversation.
more at Tymkrs.tumblr.com
more at W5YI.org

73

"So long!", typically used at end of a Ham conversation ("QSO")

AGM Battery

AGM (absorbed glass mat) is a special design glass mat designed to wick the battery electrolyte between the battery plates. AGM batteries contain only enough liquid to keep the mat wet with the electrolyte and if the battery is broken no free liquid is available to leak out.

Analog

A less common definition is radio receiver and transmitter implementations that are based on digital signal processing, but may transmit or receive analog radio transmission standards, for example FM radio.
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APRS

Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) is an amateur radio-based system for real time tactical digital communications of information of immediate value in the local area. In addition, all such data are ingested into the APRS Internet System (APRS-IS) and distributed globally for ubiquitous and immediate access.
more on APRS at Wikipedia.org
more at APRS.org
more at Amateur-Radio-Wiki.net

ARES

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. 

ARRL: Amateur Radio Relay League, ("The League")

ARRL is the national association for Amateur Radio in the US. Founded in 1914 by Hiram Percy Maxim as The American Radio Relay League, ARRL is a noncommercial organization of radio amateurs. ARRL numbers within its ranks the vast majority of active radio amateurs in the nation and has a proud history of achievement as the standard-bearer in amateur affairs. ARRL’s underpinnings as Amateur Radio’s witness, partner and forum are defined by five pillars: Public Service, Advocacy, Education, Technology, and Membership. 

California Condor Connection (massively linked repeater system)

Condor Connection web site

Conventional Radio

Conventional system is the most basic radio communications system. Conventional, as its name implies, refers to a "traditional" method of frequency utilization. Conventional radios operate on fixed channels and each user group is permanently assigned a fixed frequency or a set of frequencies.
more at About2wayRadio.com

Cross-band Repeater

Cross-band repeating is a relatively inexpensive means for extending the range of handheld radios.
more at CVARC.org

CW

"Continuous Wave" aka Morse Code transmission

Decibel

a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound or the power level of an electrical signal by comparing it with a given level on a logarithmic scale.
(in general use) a degree of loudness.

"his voice went up several decibels"

Digital Radio

Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized, compressed using formats such as mp2, and transmitted using a digital modulation scheme.

Examples:

• D-Star from Icom, Inc.
• System Fusion from Yaesu/Vertex
• DMR from Motorola

more on Digital Radio at Wikipedia.org

Duplex

simultaneous transmission and reception;
e.g. Landline or Cellular Telephone

Duplex Communications at Wikipedia.org

EchoLink

EchoLink is a computer-based Amateur Radio system distributed free of charge that allows radio amateurs to communicate with other amateur radio operators using Voice over IP (VoIP) technology on the Internet for at least part of the path between them.

[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolink-https:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolink]

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FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979.
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Specific to EmComm: ICS online Education and Testing \[see "ICS"\]

Half-Duplex

(of a communications system or computer circuit) allowing the transmission of signals in both directions but not simultaneously.

IRLP

The Internet Radio Linking Project, also called IRLP, is a closed-source project that links amateur radio stations around the world by using Voice over IP (VoIP). Each gateway consists of a dedicated computer running custom software that is connected to both a radio and the Internet.
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[www.IRLP.net-C:\Users\N6NBN\Dropbox\ARES and Amateur Radio\T_E_A_C_H_I_N_G  Ham Radio 2017\Ham Terminology 2017\www.IRLP.net]

Morse Code \[aka "CW"\]

CW \[Continuous Wave\] is Morse Code, a way to communicate with Dots and Dashes over long distances or with computers by light, wire or radio.
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NBEMS: digital modes on voice channels

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Net

an organized, often scheduled, group conversation on a frequency or repeater
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[http:/www.amateur-radio-wiki.net/index.php?title=Nets-http://www.amateur-radio-wiki.net/index.php?title=Nets]

Radio: What Is Radio?

[http:/electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm-http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm]

Ham Radio: What Is Ham Radio?

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Sealed Lead-Acid Battery

A VRLA battery (valve-regulated lead-acid battery), more commonly known as a sealed battery or maintenance free battery, is a type of lead-acid rechargeable battery. Due to their construction, they can be mounted in any orientation, and do not require constant maintenance. 

Simplex

Simplex: direct between 2 or more radios, no repeater involved.
Simplex communication is a communication channel that sends information in one direction only. A "duplex" communication channel requires two simplex channels operating in opposite directions.
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Spectrum

In telecommunication, a band - sometimes called a frequency band - is a specific range of frequencies in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, which is divided among ranges from very low frequencies (vlf) to extremely high frequencies (ehf). Each band has a defined upper and lower frequency limit.
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Talk-Around

"TA": commercial radios use "Talk-Around" to refer to bypassing the repeater, i.e., Simplex Communication, direct radio-to-radio.   Generally a "TA" switch on the radio itself.

Trunking Radio

The concept of "trunking" is taken from telephone company technology and practice. It refers to the sharing of common "resources" among a number of different users on the same system without overhearing or interfering with each other\’s conversations. Trunked takes advantage of the probability that in any given number of user units, not everyone will need "resources" access at the same time. Therefore with a given number of users, fewer discrete "resources" are required.
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Vancouver Island Ham Network

"Island Trunk System"

Winlink 2000

Winlink 2000 is a versatile digital network messaging technology that allows radio operators to send e-mail messages over HF, VHF or UHF frequencies to other radio operators, and virtually every e-mail address available.
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WWARA

Western Washington Amateur Relay Association: provides Frequency Coordination for the Western Washington region.
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Yagi Antenna

a highly directional radio antenna made of several short rods mounted across an insulating support and transmitting or receiving a narrow band of frequencies.
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