Ham Basics Workshop

Last weekend our radio club held a workshop entitled "Ham Basics" with the concept to teach beginning principles on a variety of ham radio subjects. I did most of the planning and prep work behind the scenes, but asked for help with publicity and logistics for the building. In all, we had nine instructors who taught 13 classes: one general session (45-minutes) and 12 50-minute classes. We all met together for the general session, then separated into four classrooms where the other classes were held. I am grateful for the willingness of the instructors to prepare material and teach to the attendees.

We started at 9 AM in a large hall with about 80 attendees who watched several of us solve a projector problem early in my session. Most attendees were licensed hams, but there were some who came to "kick the tires" and learn a bit about the hobby. Many of the presentation outlines are available at http://www.w7aia.org/class.htm in case you are interested in the subjects. [Note: the workshop web page is not well-organized yet, but hopefully I can negotiate with the webmaster to improve it.] The slide that shows how few hams reside in some counties surprised many folks; the large ham population in the Puget Sound area and in the Portland metro area should not surprise anyone.

After the general session, attendees were able to choose from four classes. During the first class session, we offered "How to get the most from your handheld", "Simple VHF/UHF antennas", "Communications during an Emergency", and "Getting started with HF".

During the second class period, we offered "Operating mobile and portable", "Connectors and grounding", "Digital communications", and "Simple HF antennas".

During the third period, we offered "Station types from handheld to HF", "Contesting", "Using your radio for public service", and "Care and feeding of batteries".

In all, we had between 85 and 100 folks attend for all or part of the workshop. Attendees ranged from unlicensed to extra, although I think most attendees held either technician or general licenses. We received numerous thanks for the session, enough to seriously consider doing it again next year. I learned from preparing the classes, and sitting in on one class.