Ham Radio

Ham Radio has been in the news a lot lately. The Katrina disaster, 9/11 and other large emergency events tend to break down or overload the usual communications systems, and then Ham Radio performs a service and provides emergency communications. Ham Radio systems tend to be simpler than commercial or cell systems, and tend to rely less on fragile technology. The people who own Ham Radios tend to have experience making them work and figuring out how to communicate under difficult conditions - since they have been working with the equipment as a hobby they have tried many things and have a feeling for what works.

Ham Radio is really a collection of people who choose to play with radio. They study and pass a test and get a license that allows them to pursue the Radio hobby. The entry level test isn't very hard (it can be studied for and passed in a single day), so the test is not much of an impediment to anyone that wants to play radio.

There are many hobbies within Amateur Radio, or Ham Radio as it is called. Striving to work stations on all continents, in hundreds of countries, in all states or in all counties is the goal of some. Working as many stations as possible in a weekend, or contesting, is another sport within the hobby. Building and even designing their own radios suits some. Bouncing signals off the moon suits others. Or just making a set of friends they talk to frequently suits others. So many hobbies within the one over-arching Radio hobby.

Emergency Communications is one of the important public service aspects of Amateur Radio. Many Hams spend a lot of money and time being prepared to help out and communicate in the worst of times.

Morse code is a special part of the hobby. Long an entry requirement for most licenses, it has been phased out of commercial use and is being phased out in amateur licensing. However it is still the most reliable way under the worst conditions with the simplest equipment to get messages through. A morse code radio is rather like a Ford Model T that you could build in your own garage in a weekend. It will continue to have a strong following for some hams even as morse code proficiency licensing requirements are removed.

If you have ever been interested in communicating with people far away, tinkering with radio or taking control of your ability to communicate in an emergency, then Amateur Radio is something you might want to look into.

Alan Biocca, WB6ZQZ

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CategoryHamRadio