Ham Radio General study plan
Ham Radio General · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Electrical Principles & Circuit Components
Define and compute Ohm's law, power, and series/parallel equivalent resistance for at least 20 practice values
Convert between peak, peak-to-peak, RMS, and average values for sine waves and state the relationships from memory
Identify resistor, capacitor, and inductor symbols and read standard color-code and component markings without reference
Explain how capacitors and inductors behave at DC versus AC and at low versus high frequency
Your checkpoint
A one-page formula sheet plus 20 worked circuit-calculation problems with answers checked
Practical Circuits & Circuit Components
Trace current through series, parallel, and series-parallel networks and calculate voltage drops at each node
Describe the function of rectifiers, filters, regulators, and biasing networks in a simple power supply
Explain the operating principle of a transistor as switch and amplifier and of a diode as one-way valve
Identify the stages of a simple receiver and transmitter block diagram and state each stage's purpose
Your checkpoint
Three fully worked schematic analyses (voltage divider, half-wave supply, transistor switch) with annotated diagrams
Signals and Emissions & Antennas and Feed Lines
Compute wavelength from frequency and identify HF, VHF, and UHF band boundaries from memory
Distinguish AM, FM, SSB, and CW in terms of bandwidth, sidebands, and carrier behavior
Calculate feed line impedance transformation, SWR, and reflected power for given load mismatches
Compare dipole, vertical, Yagi, and loop antennas by gain pattern, polarization, and typical feed impedance
Your checkpoint
A band chart with wavelength, mode bandwidths, and antenna comparison table completed and self-quizzed to 90%
Radio Wave Propagation & Antennas and Feed Lines
Explain how the ionosphere forms layers and how day/night and solar cycle affect MUF and LUF
Predict likely propagation paths for given band, time of day, and distance using skip, ground wave, and sporadic-E concepts
Describe the effect of feed line loss, velocity factor, and balun use on antenna system performance
Diagnose three described symptom sets (no receive, high SWR, intermittent signal) and propose corrective action
Your checkpoint
A written propagation scenario analysis covering five band/time/distance cases with justifications
Milestones
Week 4: Score at least 80% on a self-made 40-question quiz drawn from domains 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 3, with every miss logged and re-taught