Tel: (731) 512-3903
Email:
K4RFE@charter.net
Larry at the Marine Corps My Wife Keiko and I My Wife Keiko Larry
Communication-Electronics School Nov. 10, 1985 May 05, 2011
May 05, 2011
1979~1983
USMC Seal Larry 1971 Larry 1987
MCCES Logo
From 1979 to 1983, I was an Instructor teaching
"Fundamentals"
of
Radio Frequency (RF), Communication-Electronics (RFCE),
at the
Marine
Corps Communication-Electronics School (MCCES). This assigned duty
was during
a '4' year Active Duty period of
my
'30' year
United States Marine Corps (USMC)
Military Service Career,
which
consisted of
'22' years
Active Duty from 06/30/1969 to 06/30/1991 and
'8' years
Reserve Duty from 07/01/1991 to 07/01/1999.
During my
time
as an
instructor
at the
MCCES,
I taught United States
Marines,
the Marine Corps Communication-Electronics Maintenance
Course (MCCEMC), which consisted of the following four parts:
Part-1. Fundamentals of Direct Current & Alternating Current Electricity.
(I taught every class this Part)
Part-2. Fundamentals of Analog & Digital Electronics.
(I taught every class this Part)
Part-3. Fundamentals of Telegraphy & Telephony Radio Frequency Communication-Electronics.
(I taught every class this Part)
Part-4.
(Note:
All
Students were taught Parts-1, 2 and 3 but were only taught one of the below
listed three Sections of Part-4,
depending on which Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)
they were assigned).
a.
Fundamentals of
Air
Radio Maintenance (ARM) (MOS - 2851)
b.
Fundamentals of
Ground Radio Maintenance (GRM)
(MOS - 2841) (I taught every class this Section)
c.
Fundamentals of
Microwave
Radio
Maintenance (MRM)
(MOS - 2831).
After finishing
my '4' year
tour of duty as an instructor, I concluded that the MCCEMC
could be modified
for use as a course of instruction
to aid in Mentoring individuals interested in obtaining a License in the
Federal
Communications Commission (FCC),
Amateur Radio Service
(ARS). So I
developed the RFCEC from what I had taught U.S. Marines, by
removing all of the Part-4 sections (ARM, GRM and MRM) and modifying
Parts-1 to 3, tailored for the
Amateur Radio Service (ARS).
Since 1983 I have taught
my RFCEC
to any individual of the
General Public (GP),
interested in obtaining a License Grant in the
Federal
Communications Commission (FCC),
Amateur Radio Service
(ARS) and to any current Grant holder interested in upgrading
their current license class or improving their knowledge.
The RFCEC goal is to
help any individual 'gain new', 'refresh prior
learned', or 'improve current' fundamental technical
knowledge
skill in Radio Frequency Communication-Electronics
(RFCE).
The RFCEC
is taught either 'Over-The-Air', by 'Conference Telephone Call' or 'In
a Classroom at my residence'.
If the RFCEC is taught over-the-air, it is
normally done on the
Amateur Radio Service
75 Meter
High Frequency (HF) or
70 Centimeter Ultra High Frequency (UHF)
Bands.
The RFCEC is offered as an 'Independent Course of Instruction' and
is not
affiliated with, nor sponsored by the ARRL or any Amateur Radio Association, Club,
Society, or the ARRL, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), Emergency Coordinator (EC) Program.
Provided
at the bottom of this page, following
three Important 'Sample Lesson Plans', is a link
which will take you to a separate
page
that
has
626, or
about 24% of 2574 total
Lesson Plans.
That page contains 362 Lesson Plans
which I authored,
taken from Parts 1, 2 and 3
and are
offered 'FREE'
as a "sample"
of the RFCEC
to
anyone who would like to use them.
The page also contains 264 documents written by other authors
also provided 'FREE', because I either received them from the individual authors directly
or I found them in
the public domain and are provided as a
'one-stop-shop' location to find them.
All material that I received either from other authors or I found in the
public domain are always provided 'FREE' to all students. Individuals who
sign-up and become Students are only charged for instruction
material that I have authored.
All the Lesson Plans are in either Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) or Image (.jpg) file format for
easy viewing on-line or downloading to your personal computer
and are listed only in alphabetic order and are not categorized by
subject.
The appropriate categorization
is provided to students when they sign up for the course.
Note: My RFCEC
is
'A Formal Instructor led
course of instruction in
Fundamentals',
and is not 'A
Self Study - Distance
Learning Course'
nor 'A How To Guide'.
Each Lesson Plan is a complete topic in itself and leads into the
next Lesson Plan topic.
Anyone reading
any of my Lesson Plans will garner some knowledge concerning their subject matter, but
you must read them in appropriate order.
Example: if their are 10
Lesson Plans about one Subject, you must read Lesson Plan numbers 01 ~ 10 in
order, so that you will
obtain the knowledge appropriately and not get lost by reading in a 'cherry picking'
style.
The links listed below are to three files on the Lesson Plans page, which show the RFCEC Class Schedule
organization and the subjects and individual topics associated with each
subject:
RFCEC 01:
Fundamentals of Basic Electricity Class Schedule (70 Lessons)
RFCEC 02:
Fundamentals of Basic Electronics Class Schedule (84 Lessons)
RFCEC 03:
Fundamentals of
RF Communication-Electronics Class Schedule
(44 Lessons)
The RFCEC
instruction
subject matter, timeframe and costs are listed below:
Part-1:
Fundamentals of Basic
Electricity (DC
and AC Electricity - 4 months
Instruction)
Part-2:
Fundamentals
of Basic Electronics
(Analog and Digital
Electronics - 4 months
Instruction)
Part-3: Fundamentals of
RF Communication-Electronics (4
months Instruction)
-
Three Part RFCEC cost
$600.00 - $100.00 (discount) =
$500.00
-
Two Parts of the RFCEC cost $400.00 - $50.00
(discount) = $350.00
-
One Part of the RFCEC cost
$200.00
Three Important
'Sample Lesson Plans'
from Part-3 of the
RFCEC
are Provided Below:
Lesson # 1
Instructions for Proper Equipment Setup
at an
Amateur Radio Service
(ARS) Fixed
Station (FS)
a. If operations will be on
Medium Frequency (MF), 160 Meters (1.8~2.0MHz), ground wave transmission is
used extensively. so for this reason, it is necessary to use vertical polarization.
Vertical lines of force are perpendicular to the ground, and the radio wave can
travel a considerable distance along the ground surface with a minimum amount of
attenuation (loss). Because the earth acts as a fairly good conductor at low
frequencies, horizontal lines of force are shorted out limiting the useful range
of horizontally polarized waves.
b. If operations will be on High
Frequency (HF), 80~10 Meters (3.5~29.7MHz), sky wave transmission is mainly
used, so it
makes little difference whether horizontal, vertical or circular polarization is
used. The sky wave reflected by the ionosphere, arrives at the receiving antenna
'elliptically' polarized. Therefore, the transmitting and receiving antennas can
be mounted horizontally, vertically or circularly. Horizontal antennas are preferred
because they can be made to radiate effectively at high angles and have inherent
directional properties.
c. If operations will be on Very
High Frequency (VHF), 6~1.25 Meters (54~225MHz), direct wave transmission is
mainly used, so either horizontal or
vertical polarization is satisfactory. Since the radio wave travels directly
from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna, the original
polarization produced at the transmitting antenna is maintained throughout the
travel of the wave to the receiving antenna. Therefore, if a horizontal
half-wave antenna is used for transmitting, a horizontal antenna must be used
for receiving. If a vertical half-wave antenna is used for transmitting, a
vertical antenna must be used for receiving.
d. If operations will be on
Ultra High Frequency (UHF), 70~23 Centimeters (420~1300MHz), direct wave
transmission is mainly used, so either
horizontal or vertical polarization is satisfactory. Since the radio wave
travels directly from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna, the
original polarization produced at the transmitting antenna is maintained
throughout the travel of the wave to the receiving antenna. Therefore, if a
horizontal half-wave antenna is used for transmitting, a horizontal antenna must
be used for receiving. If a vertical half-wave antenna is used for transmitting,
a vertical antenna must be used for receiving.
7.
Impedance Matching
- The following 'four' pieces of station equipment 'must' have
an appropriate 'Impedance Match' between the 'Source' [Audio
Frequency
- Alternating Current Generator (AF-ACG)
or Radio Frequency - Alternating
Current Generator
(RF-ACG)] and the 'Load':
a. Microphone - Match the Microphone
output impedance
= '(Source' [AF-ACG]), to
the Transceivers microphone
input jack impedance
= ('Load').
b. External Speaker - Match the
Transceivers speaker output jack impedance
= ('Source' [AF-ACG]),
to the
External Speaker input impedance = ('Load').
c. Transceiver 'Transmitter' Module - Match the
Transceiver Transmitter Module designed
output
50 Ohm impedance
= ('Source' [RF-ACG]), to the
50 Ohm
Characteristic Impedance
Coaxial Cable Feedline
= ('Load').
d. Transceiver 'Receiver' Module - Match the
50 Ohm
Characteristic Impedance
Coaxial Cable Feedline = ('Source' [RF-ACG]), to the Transceiver Receiver Module designed
input 50
Ohm impedance
= ('Load').
8.
Grounding
- All Two-Way RF Communication-Electronics Stations
must be grounded.
Grounds fulfill three
distinct functions. The
best ground for one function isn't necessarily the best for another.
The three grounds are:
a. Electrical
Safety Ground (ESG). This
protects you from a shock hazard if one of the Commercial Mains high voltage power
supply wires contacts the chassis due to some kind of fault. The requirements
for this ground are spelled out in the National Electric Code (NEC).
b. Lightning
Protection Ground (LPG).
Diverts some lightning strike energy away from the station. The
requirements for a lightning protection ground are much more stringent than for
a electrical safety ground. The Polyphaser Corporation has some outstanding
guidance and the lesson plan page lists information from them.
c.
RF
Signal Ground (RFSG).
This ground is required only for
certain types of antennas, which are those antennas that require current flow to ground
to complete the antenna circuit. An example is a quarter-wave Marconi (vertical)
Antenna System.
An effective RF Alternating
Current (AC) Ground
ensures that the operating position is at a low RF AC voltage by providing a
low-impedance path for unwanted RF AC.
9. Block Diagram
- Draw a block diagram of the proposed station setup. Make an inventory of all
existing equipment and parts that are on hand and purchase any needed
appropriate equipment or parts to assemble the station.
10. Assembly The
Station - Once the block diagram has been drawn and the appropriate
equipment and parts are on hand, build the station according to the block
diagram and label all interconnecting cables at both ends of what they connect
to, which includes all 'Audio Cables (External Speakers)', 'DC Power Cords', 'AC
Power Cords' and 'Radio Frequency (RF) Alternating Current (AC) Cables (Coaxial
or Open-Wire-Line)'.
'Examples'
of a Properly Setup
Amateur Radio
Service,
Two-Way Radio Frequency Communication-Electronics,
(TWRFCE),
Fixed Station
for operations on,
[MF (160 Meters),
HF (80 – 10 Meters) and VHF (6 Meters)]
Figure-1;
illustrates an
‘Example’
of a
properly setup Amateur Radio Service,
Two-Way Radio Frequency Communication-Electronics, Fixed Station and the necessary interconnecting
Coaxial Cable RF Feedlines
used with
'One Transceiver, One
Manual Tune RF Power Amplifier, One RF Power / VSWR
Meter, One Manual Tune
Transmatch, and Two Loads
(Active
Load and Dummy Load)'. A coaxial cable switch is used
so that the desired Load may be selected.
Figure-1
Figure-2;
illustrates an
‘Example’
of a
properly setup Amateur Radio Service, Two-Way Radio Frequency Communication-Electronics, Fixed Station and the necessary interconnecting
Coaxial Cable RF Feedlines
used with
'One Transceiver,
One Automatic Tune
RF Power Amplifier, One RF Power / VSWR Meter, One
Automatic Tune
Transmatch, and
Two Loads
(Active
Load and Dummy Load)'.
A coaxial cable switch is used
so that the desired Load may be selected.
Figure-2
Figure-3;
illustrates an ‘Example’
of a properly setup Amateur Radio Service,
Two-Way Radio Frequency Communication-Electronics, Fixed Station and the necessary interconnecting Coaxial Cable RF Feedlines and Coaxial Cable switches placed inline between
'Two Transceivers, Two
RF Power Amplifiers (One
Manual Tune
and One
Automatic Tune),
One RF Power / VSWR Meter, Two Transmatches (One Manual
Tune
and One
Automatic Tune),
and Two Loads
(Active
Load and Dummy Load)',
so that the desired equipment
may be selected.
Figure-3
In Figure 3, any one of following
combinations may be used with either Transceiver:
a. Manual Tune
RF Power Amplifier and Manual Tune Transmatch.
b. Manual Tune
RF Power Amplifier and Automatic Tune
Transmatch.
c. Automatic Tune
RF Power Amplifier and Automatic Tune
Transmatch.
d.
Automatic Tune
RF Power Amplifier
and Manual Tune Transmatch.
Notes
for Figures 1, 2 and 3:
- Some
Transmatches contain a built in RF Power / VSWR Meter and if this is the case the
external RF Power / VSWR Meter shown between the RF Power Amplifiers and
Transmatches may be eliminated.
- Most
Transmatches have connections for use with 'Unbalanced' 50-Ohm Characteristic
Impedance (Zo) Coaxial Cable RF Feedline. Some Transmatches have a
built-in 'Balun' that allows it to be used with 'Balanced' 300-Ohm,
450-Ohm, or 600-Ohm Characteristic Impedance (Zo) RF Feedlines.
- Some
'older' Electron Tube RF Power Amplifiers, placed in-line after the
Transceiver, don’t have a ‘Fixed’ 50-Ohm Input Impedance Coupling Network. If this is the case, a Transceiver with a built in Automatic
Transmatch (Antenna Tuner), can be used to match the Transceiver's 50-Ohm Output
Coupling Network Impedance to the
external Electron Tube RF Power Amplifiers input impedance for an optimal transfer of RF power from the
Transceiver to the input of the electron tube or tubes.
Lesson # 2
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
Title 47 - Telecommunications (Telecomm),
Chapter 1 - Federal Communications Commission (FCC),
Part 97 - Amateur Radio Service (ARS),
Subpart A - General Provisions (GP),
Section 97.1 - Basis and Purpose (B&P).
The rules and regulations in this part are
designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as
expressed in the following principles:
a.
Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as
a voluntary
noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
b. Continuation and extension of the amateur’s proven ability to
contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
c.
Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which
provide
for advancing skills in both the communications and technical phases of the art.
d.
Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service
of trained operators, technicians, and electronics
experts.
e.
Continuation and extension of the
amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.
Lesson # 3
Amateur Radio
Service (ARS)
Station Operation
Do's
1.
Develop good
operating practices. Set an example for other operators and you will be doing
your part in helping insure the continuance of our long
and proud tradition of self-regulation.
Aspire to
comply with all the applicable
Federal Communication Commission
(FCC), Title 47, Chapter 1, Rules and Regulations contained
in Part 2 (Frequency Allocations
and Treaty Matters; General Rules and Regulations) and Part 97 (Amateur Radio
Service).
A good operating guide to follow is “The
Amateur Radio Service Operator’s Code” written in 1928 by W9EEA Paul M. Segal.
2.
Set a good example
of on-the-air operations for other Amateur Radio Service Operators and especially for Short Wave Listeners (SWL) who may be thinking about becoming an
Amateur Radio Service Operator.
3.
Try to keep track of
everyone involved in the Conversation on Telephony (AM/FM/SSB)
or Telegraphy (CW). Hopefully someone has assumed the role of
"traffic director" to make sure everyone has a chance to contribute to the
discussion. If not, don't hesitate to do it yourself.
4.
When involved in a
‘round-table’ style Conversation
on Telephony (AM/FM/SSB)
or Telegraphy (CW), make it clear at the end of each transmission
which station is expected to transmit next.
5.
Always be polite regardless of the
circumstances.
If not, avoid transmitting.
6.
Look for
opportunities to "Mentor" newly licensed or license class upgraded Amateur Radio
Service Operators when you hear them on the radio frequency bands.
Welcome them,
solicit their questions and give them pointers on good operating practices.
7.
Be a good listener.
It will help you better organize your thoughts before transmitting.
8.
Reply to a CQ
call, or call CQ yourself. It helps keep alive the magic of Amateur Radio.
9.
Make a conscious
effort to identify your Primary Station Call Sign at the end of your
transmission or at every 10 minute interval throughout a conversation, which ever comes
first.
10.
Speak clearly
and slowly, especially when giving your call sign to someone you have never
worked before. For clarity use the International Phonetic
Alphabet to spell out your call sign when making a contact for the first time with a new station.
Amateur Radio
Service (ARS)
Station Operation
Don'ts
1. Don't
transmit on any frequency you desire to use, before
first determining that it is clear, as well as the adjacent
frequencies plus and minus (+/-) the necessary Band Width (BW) of the
transmission mode you are going to use.
a.
Example:
1)
If you want to use the frequency of 7.150 MHz for Amplitude
Modulation - Single Side Band
Suppressed Carrier (AM-SSBSC) operation,
before transmitting on 7.150 MHz and asking whether
it is in use,
first listen to the frequencies of 7.147 ~ 7.150 MHz (-3 KHz) and 7.150 ~
7.153 MHz (+3 KHz) to ensure that those frequencies are not in use by other
operators in a conversation.
2)
This must be done so that your Single Side Band Transmission Band
Width on 7.150 MHz does not interfere with other conversations on adjacent
frequencies above and below 7.150 MHz by being within the other operators
Receiver Pass Band (PB) of their Band Pass Filter (BPF).
2.
Do not
transmit any closer to another ongoing conversation than:
a.
‘100 Hz’ using
Emission Designator
‘A1A'
(‘ON’ and ‘OFF’ keying Carrier Wave (CW) Telegraphy)
b.
‘3 KHz’
using
Emission Designator
‘J3E’
(Amplitude
Modulation - Single Side Band Suppressed
Carrier (AM-SSBSC) Telephony)
c.
'6 KHz’ using
Emission Designator
‘A3E’
(Amplitude Modulation - Double
Side Band Full Carrier (AM-DSBFC) Telephony)
d.
‘12 KHz’
using
Emission Designator
‘F3E’
(Frequency Modulation (FM)
Telephony)
e.
‘12 KHz’
using
Emission Designator
‘G3E’
(Phase
Modulation (PM) Telephony)
3. Don't
use the words "break" or “contact” when wanting to join
an ongoing Conversation on Telephony (AM/FM/SSB). Simply give your primary station “call
sign” between the transmissions of the other operators on the frequency. The
word "break" used as a verb means, “interrupt”,
it does not mean, “I want to join the
conversation".
The word “contact” as a verb means
“communicate with”, it does not mean, “I want to join the conversation".
Always reserve
the words "break-break" for
emergencies or urgent situations.
4. Don't
interrupt an existing conversation on
Telephony (AM/FM/SSB)
or Telegraphy (CW) with unidentified (illegal) or
identified (legal) "Unsolicited
Comments" about the topic being discussed, unless you are a part of the
current group on the frequency discussing the topic. Interrupting is extremely rude
whether in person or 'on-the-air'!
5.
Don't interrupt an
existing conversation on Telephony (AM/FM/SSB)
or Telegraphy (CW)
unless you have been invited to join the
conversation. If you are not a part of the group in conversation on the frequency and would like to join
an existing conversation, give your “call
sign” between the transmissions of the current users on the frequency and
wait to be recognized. Once
your transmission has been recognized, ask to join the
conversation. Just because your transmission was recognized, doesn’t mean that
you have been invited to join the conversation, it only means the parties on
frequency have recognized your transmission.
If the operators on frequency invite you to join their ongoing conversation,
ensure your comments have something to contribute to the topic
that was currently being discussed. It is especially rude to interrupt other Amateur
Radio Service Operators conversations and change the subject that was being
discussed or request an audio check, or a signal report.
6.
Don't
ask to join an ongoing Conversation on Telephony (AM/FM/SSB) or Telegraphy
(CW) unless you can hear the majority of the participants.
7.
Don't
use Telegraphy 'Q-Signals' (Example: QRT, QRZ, QSL,
QSY, QTH etc.) or 'Numbers' (Example: 73 or 88) on
Telephony (AM/FM/SSB).
Just use normal appropriate plain language
words or Prowords. (Example; Don’t say the Q-Signal “QSL”, which means: "Can you
acknowledge receipt?" when using plain language words such as; "OK", "Do
You Understand" or "I Understand" or
"Is that Correct" or That is Correct" or the proword “Roger” which are more appropriate. Don’t say
“73” just say “Best Regards” which is what 73 means. Don't say "88" just say
"Hugs and Kisses" which is what 88 means.
(Note: 'Q-Signals' and 'Numerical' abbreviations were developed
for 'brevity' reasons
using 'On and Off' Keying Carrier Wave (CW) Telegraphy
Data operations,
with the International Morse
Code. They were not developed
and are
not appropriate
for use when the mode of operation is on Telephony
voice operations
(AM/SSB/FM).
8.
Don't test or
'Load and Tune' your
'Transmitter's RF Power Amplifier (RFPA) Stage' or an 'Inline External RF Linear
or Non-Linear Power Amplifier
(RFPA)' on-the-air using an Active Load (Active Antenna).
Use a 50-Ohm 'Dummy Load' (Dummy
Antenna) to test or 'Load and Tune' a Transmitter or an Inline External RFPA. Once the Transmitter and
any Inline External RFPA testing or tune-up is completed using a Dummy Load,
put the RFPA in standby. Then use a Transmatch after the
Transceiver and any Inline External RFPA to match the Transmatches input
impedance of 50 ohms to the RF Feed Lines input impedance connected at the
Transmatches output connector. When matching impedances with the Transmatch, use
very minimal Transmitter output power (Example: 5 Watts). Then after appropriate
Transmatch impedance matching is completed, turn up the Transmitters power output and turn
on your external in-line RFPA and switch to the Active Load (Active Antenna).
9.
Don't knowingly interfere with
an ongoing Conversation on Telephony (AM/FM/SSB), or Telegraphy (CW) just because you are working
a 'DX Station' or
'Operating in a
Contest', especially using split frequencies. (Note: Refer to Don'ts number 1 and 2 above)!
10.
Don’t operate in any fashion
that is not in keeping with good amateur practice.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF SOME
KENWOOD TRANSCEIVERS
1977 to 2010
Kenwood TS-820S (Circa 1977 vintage)
Kenwood TS-870S (Circa 1995 Vintage)
