Any ham operators here?

[the game]

So I'm working on getting my Technician license this month for amateur radio. Being an electronics major I think it would be good for me to get experience building, repairing, and using radios and amateur radio seems like a good way to get that.

Are any of you ham operators?

[Katie N]

What is a ham operator?

[Independent voter]

What is a ham operator?

[the game]

What is a ham operator?

Amateur radio is a voice communication method using ham radio units. Kind of like CBs but way more regulated and can talk greater distances. You can talk to someone all the way on the other side of the world with a ham radio. You can even talk to the Space station. They have a full setup up there. Ham operators are essential to the national weather service during severe weather and during emergencies. Most ham operators are also skywarn storm spotters so they go out and report on weather conditions. They're very useful in reporting tornado touchdowns early so people can be gotten to safety. Ham operators helped coordinate emergency efforts on 9/11 at the world trade center.

http://www.arrl.org/home

[Damajin]

"Dirk Diggler come on back now, this is Sunny Side Up. Sunny Side Up calling out to Dirk Diggler."

[Forgettable]

I operate ham on my frying pan every so often. Does that count?

(If it's an acronym you should capitalize all the letters. Also a definition would help.)

[Lightwysh]

Not HAM but my family is huge into CB radio. When the weather is right we can sometimes get family in COlorado to talk to family in FLorida.

[the game]

Not HAM but my family is huge into CB radio. When the weather is right we can sometimes get family in COlorado to talk to family in FLorida.

Yeah I remember back in the day when my friend introduced me to amateur radio we were sitting in his house here in ohio talking to people in japan. It was fun.

[Lightwysh]

Yeah I remember back in the day when my friend introduced me to amateur radio we were sitting in his house here in ohio talking to people in japan. It was fun.

I think the record for my uncle is Colorado to the Philippines.

[PixelFox]

Before there was the internet, all the cool nerds could communicate with each other around the world by radio.

The hobby has fallen out of style for a while now for obvious reasons, but it's starting to make a comeback as more of an antique hobby that's fun for its own sake. There are lots of cool things you can do, and you no longer have to learn Morse code to get a license (in the old days you had to be able to send and receive at 20 words per minute by Morse for the highest license class).

The official term is Amateur Radio, though it's often called "Ham Radio" and those who do it "Hams".

Hams have build numerous satellites that they use to communicate, bounce radio signals off the moon to talk to people halfway round the planet, use "HF" radio frequencies that bounce back and forth between the ground and the ionosphere to communicate round the world, talk over short distances via thousands of mountain-top "repeater" stations on VHF and UHF hand-held radios, provide emergency worldwide communication in times of disasters, build their own radios, trade vintage computer gear, work with cutting edge software-defined radios and new digital radio modes, and the list just goes on from there.

You need an FCC license to be a Ham in the US. There are three classes of license these days, Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. Technician is the entry level, and the other two build on the first and require an additional test and more in-depth knowledge, and grant additional operating privileges (maximum transmitted power, more frequencies to operate on). The Technician license is not difficult at all to acquire, and the testing is done by volunteer Hams all across the country.

http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed

[Annoying]

Pig surgeon? But really, there's an interestingly large amount of ham operators in my town. I see them driving around and they all have their own license plates and huge antenna attached to their trucks. I never understood it, as I have the internet to let me communicate to people at great distances.

[Knyx]

What is a ham operator?

One who operates ham, obviously.

[Independent voter]

There's a lot of really old and strange laws that apply to HAM operators.

[the game]

There's a lot of really old and strange laws that apply to HAM operators.

such as what?

[Hooked]

I would definitely like to get certification and training for that. If the internet and cable went down it would be nice to have the equipment and training to communicate over long distances.

[Justpassing]

I make a killer ham sandwich, so I guess you can call me a ham operator!

[TITAN308]

What is a ham operator?

In the USA to use some of the more powerful broadcasting channels for radio communications you must be licensed.

To more specifically answer your question:

Hertz-Armstrong-Marconi. It is sometimes claimed that HAM came from the first letter from the last names of three radio pioneers: Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, Edwin Armstrong, and Guglielmo Marconi.

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On another note I have some radios set up for comms, but I don't use them as I am not licensed. They are there in case of an emergency in which case I reserve the right to say, "License? Whatever" and use them.

[Hooked]

On another note I have some radios set up for comms, but I don't use them as I am not licensed. They are there in case of an emergency in which case I reserve the right to say, "License? Whatever" and use them.

Yeah that's kind of what I'm thinking of doing also, just have the equipment. If I ever needed to use it, a license would be the least of my worries. I still would like to actually know how to use them though because otherwise its a waste of time. I guess I could buy something like a ham radio for dummies book though.

[Minesweeperchampion]

I keep seeing the government auction off airwave channels to broadcasting and tech companies for use in internet and technology development. Are HAM airwaves different and unaffected by what the government is selling or is it just too early and they haven't started policing and making these radios illegal yet?

[Blobfish]

Used to be a Dxer with Shortwave Radio.

Collected 100s of QSLs from all over the globe.

Don't do it anymore
Maybe when I retire I might get back into it or even Ham Radio

I think the internet ruined for me the concept of contacting people over a distance.

When now you can just contact People far away on Internet Chat.