RF safety principles, rules and guidelines, routine station evaluation

If you learn nothing else from this manual, I hope that you learn to be safe when setting up your station, building antennas, or operating a radio. It’s unfortunate, but hams every year lose their lives in accidents that could have been prevented. In this chapter, we will cover RF safety and electrical safety.

Volunteer Monitoring Program, HF operations

In 2019, the Volunteer Monitoring Program is set to replace the ARRL’s Official Observer program. The Volunteer Monitoring Program works with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to monitor the amateur radio bands for rules violations. It’s how amateur radio operators officially self-police the bands.

Interference with consumer electronics, grounding, DSP

At some point or another, your amateur radio station will interfere with a radio or television set, a PA system, or a telephone. A SSB transmission generally causes some kind of humming, while a CW transmission can cause humming or clicking. Sometimes this may be your fault, other times it may be the fault of the device. In either case, you should do everything you can to eliminate this interference.