30 year tech. Three month General and three months into HF. I am SO far behind (at age 78). But I soak up any and all of your vids. Easy to understand, funny when it counts, and always informative. Thanks, Cal, for being there.
I started as a Tech in 1982 then in 2010 got my general and extra. Always something new to learn and always something old to relearn. This guy Callum is second to none in getting right to the heart of the technology and explaining it in a way that makes sense. There is another ham in in Rockland California who is also incredible but I forgot his name and call. Between the two you have all the elmers you need to learn and grow.
4:20 Possible slight mistake regarding difference over Ducting and E Layer propagation. No need to worry about it because we don't cover the different layers anyway. We'll do that another day. It's "advanced" but this fact won't affect your knowledge.
You've definitely got a skill of explaining things in such an easy to understand manner Callum. Your definitely becoming an Elmer!! Cheers for the content, busy studying for licence now. Incidentally, off to high ground this evening to have a play about on 11 metres.
I always think of Sporadic E being useful on 10 and 6 metres. Less often on 4 & 2 metres. Never on UHF. Long distance propagation on 2m and 70cm I remember more as coming from temperature inversion effects causing a kind of trunking between eg the UK and the continent. Propagation is a magical thing, but hard to explain to a newbie. Callum another great description here in this video. 73 Ed
Another wonderful video. Just got licensed January 2024, and learn something with every video. An added bonus is that each video really makes me think about different kinds of things. Thank you very much!
Hi Cal, I am an extra class operator in the U.S. and I remember refraction and reflection of signals but had totally forgotten diffraction until you explained it and then the light bulb clicked on. Even us old heads can learn or relearn stuff that was forgotten! Thanks for the video and the lesson. On a different wavelength, I don't know how many other RU-vidrs you watch, but there is a lovely young lady from the UK who travels on cruises and her channel is Emmas Cruises and she gives a detailed description of her trip and she is delightful. At some point during her video, she talks about the " Britishism of the week " where she explains something British so us Yanks will understand. Your Britishism of this video is torch and and my favorite is Jubilee Clip. Enjoy your videos. N3EDO
Cal, for some reason I missed this video until now - it is probably the best one I have seen on basic RF propagation for an introductory explanation. No jargon or assumed knowledge. Really well done mate.
I'm already well past Foundation (well, Technician, being a Yank)--but I still watched this video because your energy for the subject is always engaging! With respect to the mysteries of propagation, my first contact today, in broad daylight, mid-afternoon in Minnesota, was Russia on 15m. It made no real sense, but I wasn't going to argue that QSO!
Love your Foundation videos! Learning a lot. 45 year advanced license with 40 year hiatus. Just got back into HF last September with WRC antenna. Researched vertical antennas all Winter. Sig9 arrived this week. Finished cutting the elements. When rain stops will dig my hole. Can't wait to get it on the air. Peter-WB3IZU
I find very little discussion about VHF/UHF antenna positioning due to reflections so this was a good video. The old staying is, "the higher the better, for 2M/70cm" but I find MANY exceptions to that rule, depending on what you are trying to do and how high you want to go. I have a yard blocked by 100ft pine trees, so there is no real line of sight to ANY signal. Going up 100ft with an antenna is just not possible so I was forced to work with the trees. I installed a 30 ft GP9 and was disappointed by it's performance. Repeaters 35mi away were a struggle. I then experimented using a GP3 on a 25 ft pole and found that the location of the antenna was VERY critical to whatever signal I was attempting to receive. I decided to use the reception of distance weather stations, to help me find that optimum location for my antenna mast, which is now 25 ft away from it's original location. This new position for my GP9 allows each distance weather station to come in optimally, and now its 2M performance in all directions is now outstanding. I've had some impressive DX'ing as well. However, I found a few times when I wanted to talk on a repeater 60 mi away, the GP9 was a bit too noisy. My solution was to purchase and position a cheap 2M beam at ground level, pointed up toward the top of a pine tree. If I get the exact reflection point for the distance repeater, I can achieve full quieting up to 60 mi, only 2 ft above the ground!! I also tried putting the beam up on the 30ft mast, but it was no better than the GP9 so now I use it on the ground. The problem, of course is that each position for every station's signal is unique at ground level. Each distance station has it's own reflection point into my yard in different positions. Nonetheless I find this fascinating and people look at me strange when I discuss bouncing signals from the tops of pine trees. I also have a UHF TV antenna pointed to the top of another tree to get reception from a station 70mi south and that worked flawlessly for years until the neighbors took down their pine tree. I then had to reposition that antenna for a signal reflection from another tree. The signal level itself is marginal but high enough for perfect reception with no drop outs, and its daytime signal never varies, even during storms. As far as I'm concerned, I'm actually using that 100ft pine tree as a 100 ft tower!! I see people putting up 2m antennas often in areas with trees, without regard to whether it's in the optimum position for it's performance. Antenna location is never discussed or considered with most amateur radio operators, so I'm glad. you touched on this subject about reflections from objects like buildings. I can also report that 100 ft pine trees ALSO work VERY well, if you can find their reflection point.
In America, I am studying for my General license and in this short video I can actually understand these principles so much better, thanks so much! Paul Sanders KK6RXU
Callum your videos are really pleasing to watch, very informative and your overall content is awesome, I started off on 11mtr as a CB Radio enthusiast and am now studying for my Foundation licence, I have to say, without your content I would have probably given up but, the way you explain everything is easy and as I said very simple but informative, keep up the great videos buddy… Ricky in West Yorkshire
Thank you it is never a bad thing to review the basic stuff. As you said it is a lot more complicated and you could spend a lifetime just on that topic.
Love it Cal. Good basics everyone should remember. I've been propagating some POTA signals towards your way today. Got several EU contacts and sweden and venezuela at the same time on the same band (15m) from my car with an outbacker perth antenna. Fun stuff. DX commander Classic is sitting at home with the amplifier waiting and ready for me to get back from a work trip.
Very nice explanation. Incidentally, I was at our club tonight where a teacher was explaining propagation using powerpoint with mostly words to new ham students . Oh my, it was dry. I think your practical and visual presentation would have been received quite well. Cheers.
A lifetime of learning. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in an easy to understand approach - the drawings help a lot make it chewable.. Liked and subscribed. Looking forward to learning more from you. Cheers from the US.
Thank you for your clear explanations, very interesting! I am newly subscribed to your channel. Love all the parallels between the way radio waves behave, and quanta of light, because light is both a wave and a particle (photon), and light diffracts and refracts too.
Nicely Done Callum, great job explaining this. Reflection, refraction and defraction are sometimes confused. Sporadic E and tropospheric ducting are also confusing for some. This series will help many get their license or help expand knowledge of those who are starting out great job!!!.
I work microwaves on the ham bands, and 10 GHz bounces quite well off of raindrops. Pointing your antenna at the top of thunderstorms in the summer results in quite long distance contacts. Ducting also results in 500 mile contacts.
Back in January 2018 just after I got my license one of my first DX contacts was with VK2EME on 2M 144.1 MHz ssb with a home made 15mm copper pipe J pole that I made from scrap and an old Icom 10W ssb radio. Call it beginners luck I have never made a 2M dx contact since I now have a IC9700 on a 14M tower with 12 elements and still trying to do it again lol
The Hooters - Where do the signals go Between the bright night and darkest day Where do the signals go And who's that deadly piper who leads them away?
i love listening to you folks on 11m from the states. a few of us can't figure out why the conditions seem to have migrated to the southern hemisphere. they weren't like that a year ago per the MUF map. is this random, due to solar polar magnetic poles flipping, or expected at the middle of solar max?
Here's a nice and pleasant comment. Thank you for another informative video, well explained. Hmm, I think it would be marvelous to study the licensing materials from different countries. 73, KF0NNQ.
Very informative video! IMO, unless the FCC has changed their tests, the UK question pool seems much more _”practical”._ I have taken and passed the Technician, General, and Extra exams, and for some strange reason, I did better on the Extra exam than I did on the General (and I took both the same day). I even passed the FCC’s _”Second Class Radiotelephone”_ exam (for commercial/aviation/maritime radio), and it had a lot of *VACUUM TUBE* questions! They have since combined the First Class and Second Class into the _General Radiotelephone Operator License (GROL)._ *73 de AF6AS in **_“DM13”_** land*
KI6LQE Nice video, well explained. New and old hams should find this informative. Can you do a video on hop (skip) and the average distance one might get and more importantly once the signal lands what size area in can I be heard, 100 square miles, couple of square miles or? I am most interested in what the coverage is once the signal reflects back down. Thanks for all the information you provided to us fellow ham operators.
Halo Callam I have found very interesting you video for propagation ,it certain to me will help new radio operator I have bean in the bands for years in different parts of the world and see this fenomeno thanks you M6FWO Jorge
Huge topic.. However you can either use coax to the BNC connector with coax to a simple dipole or loop.. alternatively, there is the black and red push connectors where you could run a wire into these. Check out this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5FF2ywlaZZU.html
Yes you can. I remember YEARS ago when I was nr Bristol having a contact to somewhere up north, near Manchester I think. At the time, I didn't know how that was happening. Quite amazing.
@@DXCommanderHQ I am in Carlisle and randomly pick up a very faint voice. I put the aerial up a month or so ago and realised just how little it is used so booked in online for a test and a course. In anticipation of passing I have a xiegu g90 sat. Really enjoying the research and learning. Thank you for the reply.
Been a Canadian Advanced Amateur for many decades and just got back into HF. Discovered your channel at the same time and love your approach, even the most basic topics. Hope to catch you on the air some day. VE6MTN
I love all of your content. I find your sessions to be very informative and interesting. You have sparked the interest in taking the test here in the US.
This is what makes radio fascinating. I have talked to Italy on a doublet hanging in my backyard in Houston. I am astounded when I look at that wire and think about what I have been able to do with it.
