Hands on - to RADIO WAVES

Compiled by: The New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters Incorporated  http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/

 Coordinator:  Fred Johnson MNZM ZL2AMJ   Feedback   

 

With support from:

The NZART Radioscience Education Trust

 http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/NZART/trustweb.html

 

 

  The aims of this project:

• To promote an interest in the science and technology of wireless communications in young people.

• To encourage members of the teaching profession to use amateur radio in school to further their teaching of science and technology.

• To provide education and training for educators in the science and technology of wireless communications.

 

Introduction

 

 PART 1: Teaching material

 

Many of these documents are .pdf files, designed and laid out for printing using Adobe Acrobat - but they can be viewed on-screen.

Many of the documents have diagrams and photographs in colour. They all print satisfactorily in black-and-white.

To use the given links on-screen: Highlight the given URL and copy-and-paste it into your browser.

 

 1.  Here is a two-page PAMPHLET. View this .pdf file on-screen as an introduction to what follows below.

Print it double-sided and use it as a convenient list of some of the many radio-wave demonstrations that are possible.

Pamphlet in .pdf format   78 kB

 

 2.  A 26-page BOOKLET (13 x A4 sheets) with the theory and the details of some ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE demonstrations. It can be read on-screen and printed. A comprehensive document, suggested for STUDENT use.

Print DOUBLE-SIDED for best relationship between diagrams and relevant text:

(You may prefer to right-click on the link to this big file and use "save target as" - then open it from your own hard drive.)

 

 3.   Teacher's Supplementary Demonstration Notes in .pdf format    68 kB  (1 page) (Suggested answers to questions posed in the above Booklet!)

How to construct the equipment used in these displays, each in .pdf format: 

  4.  The Receiver Unit  (2 pages)    5.   The Transmitter Unit  (3 pages)    6.   Hardware Items  (5 pages)

 

Information and Data Sheets (for reference)

For the "General User Radio Licence for Short Range Devices", visit the website of the Radio Spectrum Management Group at: http://www.rsm.govt.nz and use the search facility.

TX433 Transmitter Module  (2 pages .pdf)      1N5711 Diode  (2 pages .pdf)

Reference Resources:

 The regulatory requirements for Amateur Radio are subject to occasional change.  Please visit the NZART web page to keep up-to-date with the latest version of:

the Study Guide, the Examination Question-Bank, and other training material:   http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/

 

 PART 4: A CD-ROM - with lots of ideas!

Copies of a CD-ROM are available on application to NZART Headquarters, P.O. Box 40 525, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. A donation of $5 or more to the NZART Radioscience Education Trust would be appreciated. Please supply clear name and address details. Thank you! http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/

This CD-ROM contains the contents of three earlier CD-ROMs compiled on to one:

1. 100 Basic Electronic Projects - on CD-ROM

The booklet 100 Basic Electronic Projects was produced by the New South Wales Division of the Wireless Institute of Australia in 1982. It has been copied to CD-ROM on behalf of the NZART Radioscience Education Trust with the kind permission of Amateur Radio New South Wales. The WIA(NSW) is now known and trading as Amateur Radio New South Wales.

Surprisingly, it is still very current with lots of simple projects and clear explanations about how they work. It should be a source of inspiration for budding scientists and engineers.

It should energise youngsters towards thinking about radio and radio topics. Even if they never build anything, just looking at the circuits and their applications could bring on ideas!

The projects can be examined on-screen and those selected for closer interest can be printed off by a right click of the mouse then another click to Print picture.

Simple!

The book, all 114 pages, appears on-screen exactly as it does on paper. It is purposeful without needing any fancy updating or modernising. The circuits are very simple, the diagrams clear, the go-first-time factor will be high, costs low, all components are substitute-able.

A four-page booklet can be printed from the CD describing how to make your own Electronic Test Bench. Any youngster can build one and then fabricate selections from these 100 circuits. Standard components are used and these are many-times re-usable.

2. “Radio Waves” – on CD-ROM

This is a collection of the “Radio Waves” booklets and other material from the web page above.

3. An On-Screen “Radio Waves” Training Course!

A self-teaching visual/sound programme covering the basics of electric and magnetic fields with electricity generation leading on to the Radio Wave with its features and applications. Desirable for the busy science teacher to get a quick insight into the basics of the Electromagnetic Wave and its uses today. Copious moving and colour diagrams!

There are other items on this CD that you may find of use in your studies and in your teaching!

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A SUMMARY of the main points of these experiments:

The objective is to show how technology can be investigated, in particular radio technology, in a very simple way using inexpensive home-made apparatus, in many “hands on” applications. The radio wave is unseen, its characteristics must be found by exploration. Experiment sheets are provided to guide the experimenter.

Circuit modules that use surface-mounted devices, with batteries, switches, meters, diodes, and other items are used "hands-on" to form working apparatus to generate and to detect and actually use radio waves. The experimenters have complete control over their experiment.

The cost of the essential items is small. Scrap material can be used in some of the apparatus and there are opportunities for developing personal designs. 

How radio waves are used for the communication of information, how a TV aerial works, how radio remote controls work, how radio waves propagate and countless other things can be considered from these basic wave investigations.

Many scientific and engineering areas are opened up for further investigation. We really do live in a technological age and we should all be familiar with it.

For participants with the interest and the drive to go a little bit further, details are given of a world-wide-recognised qualification within the reach of any youngster: the amateur radio examination. This qualification is an indicator of interest and is useful preparation for a career in the telecommunications and electronics industry. It is independently examined from a public-domain question-bank which is provided for you here with study material. 

Further enquiries, ideas and suggestions are welcome: zl2amj@nzart.org.nz  or  nzart.hq@nzart.org.nz

Some background leading to this project

 

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 Feedback: This material has been compiled by volunteers. Please provide written comments for consideration so that later editions can reflect any suggestions and ideas that you may develop during your experiences. Your assistance will be appreciated.

  zl2amj@nzart.org.nz  or  nzart.hq@nzart.org.nz   Thank you!

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 Contact information:

 

NZART Headquarters: PO Box 40 525 Upper Hutt, New Zealand

Phone: +64 4 528 2170. Fax: +64 4 528 2173.   nzart.hq@nzart.org.nz  

   www.nzart.org.nz  and   www.nzart.org/nzart 

 

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Last updated 17 July 2007