FINAL SCORE: 42/50

The Science Behind the Radio Waves

By: Dante Smith
ERWC 12/Period 3
14 October, 2016

Table of Contents
I.

Part One:

Description...page 2
II.
Part Two:
Research...page 4
III.
Part Three:
Reflection..page 7
IV. Part Four: Works Cited
page 9

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V.

Part Five: Annotated Bibliography

page 10

Project Description
My senior project consists of two portions. The first portion is teaching an Amateur Radio
class at Monte Vista School. At the end of the class, the students will be going to the East Valley
Sheriffs Station to take the FCC exam to obtain their Technician Class Amateur Radio License.

The other portion of my senior project will be designing and constructing the school radio
room with the Simi Valley Unified School District IT and maintenance departments. Here I will
have to make blue prints of where to install antennas, run power, position radios, and mount
other fixtures. I will also have to use triangulation to position directional antennas to hit certain

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areas. In addition, I will use antenna formulas to measure the ground plane I will have to build in
order to have a decent standing wave ratio between the radio transceiver and the power being
emitted from the antenna.

My anticipated learning stretch is determining the antenna configuration without causing

interference to surrounding stations as well as receiving as little interference as possible. Things
that can cause interference include household appliances, high voltage power lines, garage door
openers, TV remotes, and any other RF transceiver.
Another thing I hope to learn from this project is when building the radio room. With the
system in Simi Valley Schools, many of the components are quite dated. But in order to get the
radios to operate as a base station, I need to convert the power from alternating current (AC) to
direct current (DC). The last thing I want to do is blow fuses or fry any components.

The senior project relates to both my personal and professional interests. Since around 6th
grade, I have always been fascinated with radio telecommunications. I began with the CB radio
by tinkering with them and modifying the radios to put out power way over the legal limit and
talking around the globe. At age 14, my freshman year of high school, I obtained my amateur
radio license from the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC).Then, I began working for
the County of Ventura repairing radios, towers, and occasionally interning over at the dispatch
center. My project relates to this because I would like to go into the career of radio
communications. Once completing this project, I will have an even more extensive knowledge
on how radio works, and hopefully get some new people into the hobby.

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I will need to complete this project by the early spring of next year, though it should be done
much sooner than that. In early spring, Monte Vistas physics class will be launching a hot air
balloon and using amateur radio to track it for thousands of miles. By this time, the students will
have obtained their radio licenses and have the ability to track the balloon via the radio room at
their school.

Research
For my senior project, I will be teaching a course about amateur radio in a physics class at
Monte Vista School located in Simi Valley. In addition, I will be designing a radio room for the
school to use and contact district office or the county Emergency Office of Communications if
need be. The course itself will give the students all the information they need to take the exam
for an entry-level (technician class) amateur radio license, This information will include basic
electronics, antennas, and FCC rules/regulations.

The first article I used was from the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) . The article
describes what amateur radio is and how it can be used. Many people think of a guy in a
basement with an excess amount of antennas contacting aliens when they hear the words ham
radio: but it is much more than that. The article also discusses different modes you can use in

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ham radio such as voice, morse code, data, and satellite. The article is good for nearly anyone
who has no idea of what amateur radio is or how it works. This is relevant due to the fact that
the students Im currently teaching have almost no prior knowledge of ham radio yet are
working for this exam in their physics class.

The second website I researched was HamStudy.org . This website contains all of the question
pools for the amateur radio exam for the Technician, General, and Extra Class licenses. For the
actual exam, it is a 35 question test. These questions are randomly generated from the question
pool seen on this website. HamStudy.org is an ideal site for my students to use because they are
able to take practice exams, use flashcards, or play games on the site in order to learn the
answers to the question pool. I also will use the website to have different groups in the class
compete on a practice exam. This website is also a great source because if the students would
like to study for the next level license after obtaining their technician, theyre able to using the
same account they had.

My third thing I researched was an article from Edutopia about how to keep students
interested. The article covers what to do to keep their attention in class. I found this extremely
resourceful because my students are not taking this class because they want to but because they
have to. Monte Vista is an independent study program for students who usually didnt do too
well in academic classes in the public school system. Some of the students are at risk meaning
behavior issues or getting into trouble with the law. That being said, the vast majority of them
would not take the course if they didnt have to. Its also hard because I am so close to their age.
This article, however, has taught me to make light of the information Im teaching and to joke
around with them. The students will begin to feel more comfortable and more willing to learn.

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My fourth site isnt as much of a resource as it is a necessity. That site is the Federal
Communications Commission Amateur Radio page. The FCC is the agency who gives out the
amateur radio license and makes up the questions for the exam. To obtain a license, you must go
to this site to register for an FRN number to even attempt the exam. The website also offers the
question pool, but not really in a study format. You can also find out more about what amateur
radio is on the FCC website.

My fifth source is an article on how to set up a ham radio base station. I already have some
prior knowledge on this because I set up a portion of my garage to be my ham station. But for
this part of my senior project, I have an entire room to design with a less reliable power situation
compared to my house! The article has helped me with my project because its shown me how to
convert alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power at 12 volts or 120 watts.
Ive also learned how to properly ground the antennas since we are close to power lines. Power
lines can either cause interference or send electricity straight back down to the radio causing
electrical fire. Therefore, I found this site crucial to my senior project when designing the radio
room for the school.

One other possible area I would research for my senior project would be the satellite and
packet portion of amateur radio. Usually, I use either phone or morse code (CW) mode on ham
radio, so I have very little knowledge on the other modes. Something the physics class brought
up to me was that once they had their amateur radio licenses, they would like to launch a hot air
balloon and track its travel using amateur radio satellites. This is definitely something I need to
do further research on.

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Reflection
So far, things have gone okay for the most part. The radio room portion of the project is
coming along well. Ive befriended the SVUSD Director of IT who just got his amateur radio
license. He loves the idea of setting up a radio room there and wants to eventually put part of his
school district radio system at the facility. Since Ive befriended Mr. Scrivano, hes helping me
speed up the process of getting things approved by the school board such as a maintenance crew
and tower setup. On 24 October, the Simi Settlers Amateur Radio Club and the Ventura County
Sheriffs Office Auxiliary Communications Service, will be conducting a county wide radio net
for the students. A radio net is where numerous stations throughout the county will be checking
in. I will also check into the net over the internet since Ill be working in Nevada that weekend.
This will be a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the internet modes to the students.

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Unfortunately, the other portion of my project is lacking. The majority of the students in my
class arent studying or just dont get it. As of right now, I dont feel as if they will be ready to
take the exam just yet. I believe the reason theyre slacking is because the physics teacher is
trying to teach them the material using old YouTube videos and talks in a monotone voice. If
you can picture the economics teacher in Ferris Buellers Day Off, you would have this physics
teacher. But when I teach it hands on, the students tend to pick up more on it Ive noticed. I
have even gotten feedback from some of the students that they prefer the way I teach. I will
solve this problem by working hands on with the students from now on because theyre more
receptive to that. Ive even spoken to the physics teacher about it and he agrees.

Overall, I feel pretty confident about my project. I know the students are capable of grasping
the material and will eventually. In addition, Ive made the right contacts so far and the other
portion of the project is coming smoothly. With no doubt, the project will be completed by if not
before its expected date.

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Works Cited

"ARRL." What Is Ham Radio. Amateur Radio Relay League, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio>.
https://hamstudy.org/tech2014
Frondeville, Tristan De. "How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class." Edutopia. PBL Associates, 03
Aug. 2009. Web. 23 Sept. 2016. <http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-student-participation-tips>.
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=service_home&id=amateur
Federal Communications Commission. "Amateur Radio Service." FCC: Wireless Services: :
About Amateur. N.p., 19 Feb. 2002. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
http://www.hamuniverse.com/setuphamstation.html
N4UJW August 2007 Copyright N4UJW 2007, Don. "How To Setup Your First Ham Radio
Station - Helpful Information for The New Ham Radio Station Setup!" How To Setup Your First
Ham Radio Station - Helpful Information for The New Ham Radio Station Setup! N.p., June
2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.

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Annotated Bibliography
"ARRL." What Is Ham Radio. Amateur Radio Relay League, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio>.
This site describes what amateur radio is and how it can be used. It goes into the different modes of radio such
as voice, data, morse code, and satellite. In addition, the site discusses how radio is used (ie hobby,
emergency communications). This site is good for anyone completely new to amateur radio and how it works.
This site is relevant due to the fact that the class I am teaching knows nothing about amateur radio.

https://hamstudy.org/tech2014
This site contains the question pool for the amateur radio license exam. The class I will be teaching is to
eventually have the students obtain their technician class amateur radio license. That is why this site is an
excellent source for them. It contains all of the questions that could be on the FCC exam. Hamstudy also
has great tools such as games, flashcards and practice tests.

Frondeville, Tristan De. "How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class." Edutopia. PBL Associates, 03 Aug. 2009.
Web. 23 Sept. 2016. <http://www.edutopia.org/classroom-student-participation-tips>.

This site describes how a teacher can keep students engaged in a discussion. Since Im teaching this class
to students who may not necessarily be interested in radio, I need to find a way to keep them somewhat
engaged and not feel overwhelmed. Therefore the site is quite relevant for my sake. I would like nothing
more than for these students to succeed and enjoy some of the aspects of amateur radio.

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http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=service_home&id=amateur
Federal Communications Commission. "Amateur Radio Service." FCC: Wireless Services: : About Amateur.
N.p., 19 Feb. 2002. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
Here above is the official site provided by the Federal Communications Commission describing amateur radio.
The FCC is the one who will be giving out the test and license. This site is relevant because they discuss the
licensing process, question pool for the test, rules and regulations. The FCC site is also used to register your
FRN number which you must obtain in order to even take the exam.

http://www.hamuniverse.com/setuphamstation.html
N4UJW August 2007 Copyright N4UJW 2007, Don. "How To Setup Your First Ham Radio Station - Helpful
Information for The New Ham Radio Station Setup!" How To Setup Your First Ham Radio Station - Helpful
Information for The New Ham Radio Station Setup! N.p., June 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
The site listed above describes how to setup an amateur radio base station. The second portion of my senior
project aside from teaching the class is also designing a radio shack for the school. I will be setting up several
antennas and radios. The site is relevant because itll help me count the power in the building as well as
convert alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power.

http://www.eham.net/articles/15209
Tyrrell, Don. "HF Antenna Installation Hints." HF Antenna Installation Hints. N.p., 12 Nov. 2006. Web. 22
Sept. 2016.
The site above describes how to put up an HF antenna. It goes deep into the physics of wavelength and coaxial
cable. One of the stations that i will be setting up at the school is an HF station which is what we use to talk
around the world. These types of antennas are huge and must be installed properly. This is relevant because i
need to know how to install an HF antenna on the school roof with a proper ground plane and cable that has a
good impedance.

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Turner, Stuart L. "Considering a VHF/UHF Antenna for Your Home? - Ham Radio
School.com."Ham Radio Schoolcom. Ham Radio School, 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.hamradioschool.com/considering-a-vhfuhf-antenna-for-your-home/>.

The site above discusses installing a VHF/ UHF (dualband) antenna. Since I have limited space
to install this type of antenna yet still want a high gain rig I needed a site with the formulas to
make it possible. This is relevant due to the fact that part of the stations i will be installing in the
classroom is a VHF/ UHF station for local communications and repeaters.