I really quite enjoy working on a PowerPoint presentation for hours and hours and then presenting it to our local radio club. The photograph below was taken on Jan 28 at the Hawke’s Bay ARC when I presented the Cycle 24 talk on past, present and future radio communication prospects. Cycle 25 in another 11 years promises to be quite dismal!

Cycle 24 Progress
This presentation is about radio propagation and how the sun’s activity affects HF radio communications. We are near the top of Cycle 24 and the slides show graphically what will happen to radio paths over the next 11 years into Cycle 25. You can see the full slide show on Slideshare at http://www.slideshare.net/zl2al/cycle-24-hbarc-talk presentation is available to everyone that may be giving a similar talk.

Ham Radio History
This is a presentation outlining the beginnings of Amateur radio in the early 1900s to the present day. There are 37 slides from the the Spark era to the rise of the internet within our hobby. Anyone is welcome to use any of this material if they presenting a similar talk. You can see the full slide show on Slideshare at http://www.slideshare.net/zl2al/ham-radio-history  The presentation is available to everyone that may be giving a similar talk.

Radio Propagation 101
This slide presentation illustrates how the sun and it’s sometimes violent activity affects how we communicate around the planet via Ham Radio. You can see the full slide show on Slideshare at http://www.slideshare.net/zl2al/radio-propagation-101  The presentation is available to everyone that may be giving a similar talk.

Vertical Antennas
This slide presentation illustrates how Vertical antennas perform and what their limitations are. You can see the full slide show on Slideshare at  http://www.slideshare.net/zl2al/vertical-antennas   The presentation is available to everyone that may be giving a similar talk.

Yagi Antennas
This presentation is about how yagi antennas are designed and constructed. The slides show how a yagi will perform with power gain and direction. You can see the full show on Slideshare at http://www.slideshare.net/zl2al/yagi-antennas-presentation and is freely available to anyone wishing to use the presentation as a talk.

The following presentations cover some of the more difficult parts of the RSM Amateur Radio Exam. I developed these to make life a little easier for the students as a Powerpoint presentation is much more interesting that a few hasty un-planned squiggle marks on a chalkboard.