ARLA/CLUSTER: Marinha dos EUA oferece formação para radioamador dentro do quadro do seu pessoal.

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

US Navy provides ham radio training

Can learning amateur radio make for better engineers and software developers?

Writing in C4ISRNET - Electronic Warfare, Eric Tegler says:

When a group of [US] Navy engineers and software developers took time
away from their day jobs in December, they spent the time pursuing a
task long considered passe: they became licensed amateur radio
operators.

Some 23 employees from Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division
(NAWCWD) took a week-long class in amateur radio at Point Mugu,
California culminating with an FCC amateur radio license test. All
passed and are certified at the “technician” level for amateur radio
operation [permitted 200 watts on some HF bands, 1500 watts above 30
MHz].

Now, Navy officials say the move may make the workers better at their
jobs. The staff gained an understanding of radio frequency (RF)
propagation that’s essential to what they do, said Brian Hill,
electromagnetic maneuver warfare experimentation lead and
collaborative electronic warfare supervisor at NAWCWD.

Hill, who earned his amateur radio license in high school, noticed
that while most of his department’s recent hires had degrees in
computer science, many had little background in RF theory or
operation.

“You can explain antenna patterns and concepts like omni-directional
vs directional using Smith charts, but it’s helpful to add a
demonstration to really convey the concept,” Hill said. “You can
explain modulation as a concept, but for a demo... let them listen to
how modulated digital signals with audio frequencies sound... For
those who never knew the joy of hearing a 2400 bps modem connect over
a telephone line, it was a new concept!”

These concepts are central to electromagnetic maneuver warfare.

“We need to be able to have awareness of all threats and opportunities
from [zero frequency] to light within an integrated system,” Hill
said. “Our adversaries are looking at the entire spectrum to use
against us, and we need to do the same. Having awareness of how the
atmosphere changes from daylight to night and how that affects
propagation of [high frequency] is important.”

This can be critical for young developers/engineers whose experience
is typically limited to the UHF/EHF-based systems now in vogue across
communications, guidance and ISR technologies.

Read the full story at
https://www.c4isrnet.com/electronic-warfare/2019/02/06/can-learning-ham-radio-make-for-better-engineers-and-software-developers/