Operating Aids

Operating Aids This section is devoted to helping you be a better ham. Also see our Online Resources page in the Education and Training section. Allocated Bands Chart - ARRL.      A full-color chart of the U.S. amateur radio bands. Band Plan; Detailed, Voluntary - ARRL.      A detailed breakdown of the voluntary band plan for all amateur bands. IARU Band Plan - Region 2.      A PDF document detailing the amateur radio band plan for ITU Region 2 - the Americas. Calling Frequencies in the VHF / UHF / EHF Bands.      Calling frequencies as recommended by the ARRL. Choosing Your First Handheld Radio      A link to the Benicia Amateur Radio Club's web site. Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System (CTCSS).      A description of CTCSS and DCS, with tables providing the frequencies and codes. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).      A description of what Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is, along with a conversion table to Pacific time. Glossary.      A glossary of Ham Radio terms, from the ARRL. Great Circle Calculations. Distance and Azimuths Between Two Sets of Coordinates. Find Terminal Coordinates, Given a Bearing and a Distance.      Provided by the FCC. Greek Alphabet.      A table of the Greek alphabet characters, with some common uses of each. Grid Square Locator.      Find the Grid Square for any location on the Globe, by address or call sign, using a Grid Square Locator Map, as recommended by the ARRL. International Call Sign Allocations.      Prefix assignments by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as provided by the ARRL. Latitude, Longitude, UTM      A summary description of two major geographic coordinate systems. Logging Your Contacts.      The ARRL's web page discussing keeping a log of your Ham activity and the various types of logs. Logbook of the World.      From the ARRL. LSB or USB?      Why do we use Lower Sideband (LSB) on some HF bands and Upper Sideband (USB) on others? Metric System.      A brief description of the International System of Units (SI), with additional pages listing those units, prefixes and conversions. Morse Code      A diagram showing the alphabet & digits of the International Morse Code, as used in the U.S. Phonetic Alphabet      The phonetic alphabet and recommended pronunciation aid, as adopted by the ITU. Q-Signals      A description of the most common Q-signals, used as shorthand mostly in Morse Code communications. Quick Reference Sheets for Several Radios      Courtesy Walnut Creek CERT Radio Operating Procedures Roman Numerals.      A chart of the Roman Numerals and their meaning. RST System      A description of the RST system of signal reporting, and how it's used. Safety in Amateur Radio.      See our Safety section. Schematic Symbols.      Symbols used in circuit diagrams to represent various components, as adopted by the ARRL. Social Security Number or FRN Number?      A link to the Benicia Amateur Radio Club's web site. Weather Frequencies in the San Francisco Bay Area.      National Weather Service stations in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. W1AW Schedule.      Transmission schedule for the ARRL's W1AW radio station. WWV and WWVH Time and Frequency Stations.      Broadcast frequencies and much more for the stations WWV (Colorado), WWVH (Hawaii) and WWVB (clock syncing).