| What is Ham Radio? (cont.) |
| Ham Radio involves interaction between people. The people may be thousands of miles apart and the interaction is by radio, or the people may be working together as part of a local club or an emergency support group. Emergency Communications support is one of the primary responsibilities of the Amateur Radio Service. We are allocated the radio spectrum we use because we use it for certain reasons. One of these is to provide emergency communications in time of need. This is such a big part of Ham Radio that I have dedicated an entire section to it. To see more, click here or access this area from the home page when you are ready. |
| Another time hams come together and work together is for fiield day. This usually involves groups associated with local clubs but any hams can set up a field day site. Field day is a period of time once a year when hams set up temporary stations usually using emergency power (generators or batteries) and attempt to contact as many other stations as possible. It is a lot of work and you will have the time of your life. Most hams complain after field day about how tired they are while they are marking the next field day date on their calendars. In a one word description, it's "FUN". |
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| Radio and television technology (yes, television - hams do television also) is expanding daily. Much of this expansion has been developed by hams themselves. What is still out there to be developed is limited only by the imagination of the person doing the developing. Once you have your Amateur Radio License from the Federal Communications Commission, you can start on the road to a lifetime of fun and adventure. Yes, you do need a license and that means studying and passing a test or two. You are being given a lot of power to do things no one else can do. You have to earn the right to do this. The requirements for licensing have been reduced recently, especially in the knowledge required of Morse Code. Now, you don't need to know the code for the entrance license and only 5 words per minute will take you to the highest class of license. Click here for the section on licensing or access it from the home page. |
| There is a lot to Ham Radio, much more than I was able to cover here. I have enjoyed talking to strangers and learning about them and their countries, as well as working in emergency communications with law enforcement, fire, and emergency services. In this time of terror alerts and stress in the world, as well as natural disasters, emergency communications proficiency is more important than ever. Quite often, I have found myself right at the heart of the action. WOW! Maybe you just want to talk with your buddy about restoring old radios. Maybe you just want to teach others to be hams, or write about ham radio. It's all a part of the hobby of Amateur Radio. |
| Look into Ham Radio - - You may find you Love It!!! |
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