| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is HAM radio? | HAM radio is a nickname associated with the hobby of Amateur Radio. |
| Who/What is WAWA? | WAWA stands for the Waterville Area Wireless Association and is an organization consisting of amateur radio operators in and around the Waterville area. |
| How do I become a HAM radio operator? | You must first obtain a licnese from the FCC which is very easy to do. Recently the FCC has restructured the Amateur license classes from 5 down to 3, Technician, General, and Extra. Each class carries its own set of operating priveledges which increase as you obtain a higher license class. Technician is the entry level license which gives you access to all VHF and UHF frequencies allocated to the HAM bands. Study guides can be obtained on-line through the ARRL (American Radio Relay Leaque), from your local Radio Shack store, or from sources available on-line. When ready, look at the exam schedule to find a testing session in your area. Please show up with a copy of your birth certificate and two forms of ID. |
| What is APRS? | APRS stands for Automatic Positioning & Reporting System. This is one of the newest and most exciting modes of operation within Amateur Radio. This mode combines packet radio and gps to create a unique method of transmitting positional information along with short data messages. Data messages can carry weather data, NWS data (National Weather Service watches, warnings, and advisories), station to station messages, bulletins, and announcements. The network consists of digipeaters configered as WIDE or RELAY. WIDE digipeaters have wide coverage and high duty cycles due to heavy use. RELAY is used by local stations who then can pick up weak broadcasts by mobile stations or fixed stations on the fringe and relay them onto the WIDE digipeater. |