Ham Radio - America's best kept secret!

Whenever you hear the words "Ham Radio" what do you think of? A pig listening to a radio? CBers? Most people immediately think of CB, not knowing that the two are gallaxies apart in their technologies and purpose. The Citizen's Band became popular because it was a cheap way to communicate and you didn't have to know much about how it worked in order to use it. The radios were very cheaply made and had few bells and whistles. Output power was 4 to 5 watts on AM and 12 watts on SSB (Single Side Band). Most operators used AM mode which was the absolute worst mode to use. When two stations transmit on the same channel at the same time, you hear this "god-awful" squeal! SSB communication does not have that bad attribute. I often wondered why all the CBers did not change to all SSB communication when that mode became available. It would have cured a lot of headaches for everyone.
So, why is Ham Radio America's best kept secret? Because the Ham Radio community does not do enough to publicize it. You don't see commercials about it on TV or billboards about it along the highways or hear commercials about it on broadcast radio, do you? Every other product or service is plastered all over the media but not Ham Radio. I have been a self-proclaimed advertiser of Ham Radio since about 2007. We need the name "Ham Radio" to become a household name! If people just knew how versatile and useful Ham Radio is, they would throw away those stupid little cell phones. There are no dead spots when you use Ham Radio and no dropped calls. Of course, you can only talk to fellow Hams when you use the radio, but they are some of the nicest people you will ever meet! They are always ready and willing to help those in need.
Speaking of helping, who do you think helped search for survivors besides the police and firefighters during hurricane Katrina and set up temporary radio stations? Ham Radio Operators! Who helped watch the levies along the flooded Mississippi River in 1993 and looked for survivors there? Ham Radio Operators! Who helped in many untold ways during the 911 disaster? Ham Radio Operators! Did you hear about any of it on the TV news? Not likely, especially on the mainstream networks. If you did, it was most likely only a few seconds worth of video and comment. Ham Radio Operators are many times the unsung heros during these kinds of events. We have been "out there" helping for over 50 years and especially since electronic technology has made our equipment much smaller and more efficient. We aren't just a bunch of grumpy old men yakking on big radios the size of a microwave oven. We come from all walks of life and all ages and we are a huge family of nearly 700,000 operators in the U.S. There are 2.5 million operators worldwide and the numbers are growing daily! Go to this official Ham Radio website to learn more: www.arrl.org and click on Getting Started. You don't just go to a Ham Radio store and buy a radio and start transmitting. You are required by the Federal Communications Commission to pass a multiple choice, 35 question test before they will issue you a Technician Class license. You have to know what you are doing! Causing interference to other government agency communications such as fire and rescue, police frequencies and the like is very illegal and the FCC will come down on you HARD. Even if you cause problems on local ham radio repeaters, you can get slapped with a hefty fine and possibly have your equipment confiscated and your license revoked. Even jail time could happen.
I have been an active Ham Radio Operator for 30 years and I will be until my dying day. Ham Radio is kind of like being a Harley rider. It gets into your blood and becomes a lifestyle and not just a hobby. If you take away my radios, you may as well cut off my right arm!
I used to be a CBer back in the early 1970's but when the language started getting bad on the channels, I pulled the plug and got into Ham Radio in 1979. I took a class given by a group of hams in the Gibson City area and got my operating license from the FCC on May 20th that year.
Back then, the only radio modes we had were AM, SSB and CW (Morse Code), but when the personal computer made its debut, we Hams started figuring out ways to use the computer with
our radios. We have developed many digital modes in the last 25 or so years and they have become very popular. Even handicapped people are becoming Ham Radio Operators, thanks to the digital modes. You see, you don't have to hear the signal of a digital mode in order to use it. The computer does it for you. So, many deaf or hearing-impaired people can use Ham Radio!
I remember chatting with a fellow Ham in Florida a few years ago, using a mode called PSK31. He said he was a WWII veteran and had lost most of his hearing. He was about ready to give up Ham Radio because he couldn't hear much of it anymore, but when PSK31 came along, this gave him a great opportunity to keep doing it! It opened up a whole new window to the world of Ham Radio for him.
One question I get asked often is "Why are you called Hams?". Nobody knows for sure how that name stuck, but I have a theory about it. Back in the early days, the only operating mode they knew how to use was AM (Amplitude Modulation), and the only radios in existence were homemade. So, perhaps the early operators used the letters HAM to mean Homemade AM. We are also called Amateur Radio Operators because the FCC allows us to experiment with our equipment and come up with new technologies. It is because of the tinkerers and inventors in our ranks that we now have things like walkie-talkies and cell phones and even microwave ovens!
Another often asked question is "How far can you talk?". I can talk either across town or around the world, depending on which kind of Ham Radio I use. For local stuff, we use radios that operate in the 144-148 MHz and 430-450 MHz range and we use an electronic relaying device called a repeater which takes our transmitted signal and rebroadcasts it simultaneously at a higer power level. These repeaters can be on top of skyscrapers, grain elevators, mountain tops, etc. They are mostly maintained by Ham Radio clubs and there are many thousands of them scattered throughout the U.S. and the world. Some repeaters are even linked to others through the Internet. I can punch in a 4 or 5 digit code on the keypad of my VHF radio's microphone and talk to someone on a repeater in Australia from my car, for example...and it is all FREE!
The most fun for me, is operating in the 1.8 to 30 MHz range called HF (High Frequency). This is where our signals bounce all around the world and we can talk to people directly in other countries. There is a layer of atmosphere at the very edge of space called the Ionosphere. These air molecules become electrically charged by the Sun's "solar wind", which is made up of subatomic particles, x-rays and gama rays. When this happens, that layer tends to reflect certain ranges of frequencies back down to earth like a mirror. Sometimes our signals make multiple hops between the earth and Ionosphere. Check out the following website to see images of the Sun and read about the solar wind and sunspots: www.solarcycle24.com . The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. During the low point in that cycle, which we are just emerging from now, radio wave propagation conditions are very poor, so our use of some of the higher frequency bands such as 21 and 28 MHz is impossible. But when the solar cycle is at its peak, all of the HF bands become quite active! Many distant stations can be heard clearly.
In summary, there is a LOT of science involved in Ham Radio and it is an excellent source of information and learning experiences for young and old alike. When you become a Ham, the learning never stops! It keeps your brain active and keeps you young! I have talked with fellow Hams who were well into their 80's and 90's who were sharp as a tack! Many Hams get good jobs because of their knowledge of Ham Radio.