Hi! If anyone is interested in HAM! It is a great way to learn about antennas and technology. Not sure if it is open for the community, but you can ask. I suspect they will be OK with it. Mitar -------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Michael Lustig <mlustig(a)eecs.berkeley.edu> Subject: [eecs-announce] 2015 ham radio in EECS To: eecs-announce(a)lists.eecs.berkeley.edu <eecs-announce(a)lists.eecs.berkeley.edu> Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, Topics: 1) Amateur Radio Exam on Campus 2) License Preparation Lectures on Campus 3) What is HAM and what is it good for 4) Ham-shack in Cory Hall + websdr server 1) Exam: As part of a do-it-yourself, maker, I can build it trend the department has been leading I am trying to revamp the amateur radio activity in the department. As such, I have organized a special exam session for an FCC Ham radio operator license . The session will be on March 12th 7-10pm, Wozniac Lounge, Soda Hall. and is open for registration for students, staff, faculty. My students in EE123: Digital Signal Processing and EE84 hands on ham radio will all be taking the exam. You will need to register to the exam by sending me an email. Make sure the subject starts with [ham exam]. We will try to accommodate all of those who are interested, but there's a chance it will fill up. It will be first email first serve policy. 2) Preparation Even though the exam is EASY for EECS/CS majors, in the next 4 weeks I am going to give a series of lectures to prepare for it. The first one is going to be this Tue, Feb 3rd 6:30-8pm Cory 521. The others will also be on Tuesdays 6:30-8pm, same place. 3) Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) is a popular hobby and service in which licensed Amateur Radio operators (hams) operate communications equipment. Although Amateur Radio operators get involved for many reasons, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and pass an examination for the FCC license to operate on radio frequencies known as the “Amateur Bands.”. These bands are radio frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by ham radio operators. The role of amateur radio has obviously changed with the presence of the internet. Remarkably, amateur radio today offers unique opportunities and capabilities due to its independence on commercial infrastructure. For example, it is a legal ground for hands-on experimenting with wireless communication technology and it allows communication in emergencies and from remote areas. What can you do as a HAM? Talk to people (near and far) Build stuff (amps, sdr’s, antennas, receivers) Emergency communications (emcom) First person view (FPV) vehicles (drones) at much higher power of communication for long distance Hit satellites, moon, meteors, airplanes (with radio waves! … not something else) Digital communication with Automatic Positioning and Reporting System, packet radio Use Repeaters covering bay-area, California and the United States, mesh networks 4) Activities in amateur radio at the University of California Radio Club go back to 1914! According to the January 1923 issue of CALIFORNIA ENGINEER, the amateur radio station was originally established in the Mechanic’s Building in February of 1914. For 30 years or more the radio station was located in Cory Hall up until the renovation of this building in the 1980s. We now have a small radio shack on Cory 5th floor. There's an HF and VHF/UHF antenna's on the roof with cables leading to the shack. We have a simple HF radio as well as a web-sdr server. All hams are welcome to get access. Finally, Checkout our websdr at: http://eids.eecs.berkeley.edu:8080/ which allows you to listen to the ham 2m VHF band online. ------------------------------ KK6MRI Michael Lustig, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, 506 Cory Hall, University of California, Berkeley CA, 94720 Office Tel: (510)643-9338 http://www.mlustig.com -- http://mitar.tnode.com/ https://twitter.com/mitar_m