Field Day 2004

pa3gvr writes "This weekend many Amateur Radio operators (HAMs) throughout the US and Canada will take their equipment to public parks, campgrounds and Emergency Operation Centers. With all the coverage that BPL has gotten lately it might be interesting to see what this Amateur Radio thing actually is. Field Day is setup as an exercise for HAMs to test their readiness and ability to operate under less than ideal (emergency) conditions. Besides the training and exercise aspect, this is also a social event. Visitors are welcome to have a look and maybe even operate some of the equipment. K4FAU, Florida Atlantic University ARC and Boca Raton ARC will be setting up their Field Day station on the Boca Raton, FL FAU campus."

Comments

Going the way of the dinosaurs

[L0C0loco]

I'm an extra class ham, but I believe amateur radio is a dying art/hobby. The thanks go mostly to the internet and cell phones. While I'm a bit sad to see very few of the younger folk comming into the hobby, I'm not surprised.

Re:Going the way of the dinosaurs

[bugmenot]

HAM operators are like cockroaches.
If the event of a thermonuclear war, they may provide us with our only mean of communication.

Re:Going the way of the dinosaurs

[scoove]

I believe amateur radio is a dying art/hobby.

This gets kicked around a lot on ham forums. Mostly, the most accurate answer is that ham radio is changing. The era of becoming a ham because you want to talk to people around the world has changed. At the same time, there are many young hams who want to learn not because of the hobby aspect as much as the challenge of the radiofrequency theory, science and technical challenge. Quite honestly, there are enough "passengers" in the world and not enough "drivers" (802.11/wifi of today and CB radio of yesteryear is a perfect example of this).

Compare it to the era of the "home computer programmer" of the late 70s and early 80s. Where are they today? People typing in BASIC codes in the latest Byte magazine. A hobby, yes, but not much more. Today's open source developer is a different breed, just as today's new ham operator is. It's a serious professional interest. I know weather spotter hams who have self-educated to levels beyond the local TV weatherman, for instance. While the number of "hobby hams" has declined, today's new hams take the practice to a new level and are pioneering new applications. At some point, we'll discover a hobby application that will probably attract the masses again, but mass interest validate the practice? As long as amateurs are professionally operating disaster control networks, providing trained weather spotting services, and quietly operating other important services, the lack of countless hobbyist users is visible but not critical.

Slashdot readers should know this dynamic by now. The model rocketeer of the 1960s is no longer sufficient; private commercial rocketry is today's "hobby." Typing in 300 lines of BASIC does not make one a developer; learning and contributing to the F/OSS world does. In light of cell networks, packet switching and other technologies, should amateur radio be exempt from this dynamic?

The thanks go mostly to the internet and cell phones. As long as you are content with riding on someone elses network. Care to know what really is going on within the RF? An amateur license will teach you a great foundation necessary for learning all those things you've taken for granted (while one of us is running things).

*scoove*

Re:Going the way of the dinosaurs

[scoove]

I'm a young ham...when the FCC takes away your frequencies so someone can check their Email from their blackberry device I don't want to hear you bitching!

Did you ever imagine that there might be a reason for not letting you run commercial services over your amateur frequency?

RF is a scarcity model universe (and concepts such as UWB only 'help themselves' to those frequencies with an alleged 'limited' impact to other frequencies and services). Licensees such as AT&T have paid heavily for PCS, cellular, etc. and hope to recover their investment over time. Having amateurs offering free commercial service would cause real issues for the political longevity of amateur bands. Instead, consider amateur frequencies to be your laboratory, as well as a community for interaction with other amateurs from a non-commercial perspective (just pretend there's a big GPL license (apologies to GPL for my analogy!) and anything you do using it is commercially prohibited, but doesn't prevent you from putting your development to work later on in a commercial band if authorized).

RF also has territorial challenges as well, namely that a radio wave does not like to stay in a politically defined boundry. That's why Technician class licenses aren't allowed to operate on HF, for instance. There is a lot you can goof up internationally if you aren't trained, aware and responsible.

Use ham radio for new things or we're gonna die!

I wish folks would quit pretending they're the only ones to discover that innovation is important, and instead go find those who are innovating (or invent something yourself) and contribute. It's about as absurd as me saying "We have to quit exclusively relying upon Microsoft for all of the world's operating systems! Quick, someone's gotta innovate!" Hmmm... open source much?

Hams are innovating. Applications such as PSK-31 (and other weak signal, high-efficiency digital modes over HF), extreme gigahertz microwave, software-based repeaters, VoIP trunking of repeaters, etc. are all examples of this. There's plenty of room to contribute as well, as the application of open source approaches to amateur radio are really wide open. From what I've seen, there's a new class of software-aware (and open source inclined) hams emerging as the application-centric hams of yesteryear decline. It's pretty clear this is "pioneering" stage (similar to hams of the 1920s-30s) and will open up to tomorrow's early adopters and the mass user appeal further down the road.

*scoove*

Re:Going the way of the dinosaurs

[KC7GR]

"I'm a young ham and its crap like this that keeps us out. Because you are too stubborn and DON'T want NEW uses for ham radio. Let it die then I say. Then when the FCC takes away your frequencies so someone can check their Email from their blackberry device I don't want to hear you bitching!"

Essence Above! I believe I've set a record for myself. NEVER before, in the entire time I've been posting to /., can I recall when one of my posts has been more grossly misinterpreted.

To start with: If "crap like this is what keeps us out," I'd be curious to know which "us" you're speaking for. If you've already gotten your license, then I was very obviously unable to stop you (not that I would have wanted to in the first place).

Also, I would point out that you don't know me from Adam, and you know less than NOTHING about how "stubborn" you think I am, or what you think I want or don't want for the amateur service.

Think about it! If I were truly against "new uses" for amateur radio, I would have already been up on my metaphorical soapbox, railing against things like PSK-31, UWB, APRS, and all the other NEW USES for the service that have come along in recent times.

Blackberries already work very nicely on the Nextel network, BTW. ;-)

In any case: I'm not now, nor have I ever been, AGAINST using amateur radio for E-mail. I'm merely trying to point out that it is not the most efficient medium for the transmission of such.

Consider this if you still don't believe me. I'm sure you're aware of how badly spam has already polluted E-mail on the Internet itself.

Do you REALLY want the same thing to happen to amateur radio?

73 de KC7GR

Re:Going the way of the dinosaurs

[NateTech]

Radio doesn't die, radio just is. Experimenters (hackers) for radio will always exist.

http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/

Case in point, above.

Ham radio's not dying, it's just constantly evolving. It all just depends on your definition of radio and whether or not you continue to experiment with it. Most newer Hams aren't experimenting, and if the "I buy my radios off the shelf and talk on them" aspect of the hobby dies off, I won't shed a tear. I'll still be experimenting with radio, with or without a license.

73 de WY0X

Pretty cool

[Grant29]

HAM radios are not as popular as they once were. I think events like this have the ability to bring the hobby to a new generation. With email being so easy to communicate with others around the world, it makes HAM radios look cumbersome.

I think the real attention grabber would be to show how these HAM radios have been around for so long and still continue to get the job done. After all, you can communicate around the world with technology developed before the Internet!

--
11 Gmail invitations availiable

Re:Pretty cool

[scoove]

HAM or an ad hoc WiFi net...

Actually... in our small town ham field day setup, there's both (why not?) Regarding first to be connected, there's much about ad hoc wifi that doesn't play in the real world of disasters. Running a fixed wireless company, I can tell you there's a niche certainly for gigahertz services, but nothing can replace the value of true slow NLOS services.

So while speed might be impressive at times, reliability trumps all in a disaster.

*scoove*

Yeah..

[Hangin10]

I'm not that into HAM stuff, but my
father was. I went to plenty of HAMFests
and Field Days with him. Field Day is quite
fun, especially when you camp as well.

Before he died I managed his site with the
equipment he (mostly) used.
http://k2pts.home.comcast.net/

Field Day is fun, even if you're not into
HAM/radios, check it out!

its not an acronym

[macman552]

hey, uh, guys? its not HAM radio, its Ham radio. no acronym... and I am 17, and i have several good freinds that have their tickets(ham liscences) that got them before i met them... and i didn't meet them on the radio. So obviously, the interest is out there... and anyone who is interested in some of the stuff here on /. might enjoy amatuer radio. 73 de KC2KVY

Ham Radio is Cool

[ihgwb]

Field Day is great. Hams are volunteers serving their country in a time of uncertainty. We owe hams a great deal of gratitude for their work. Numerous incidents have shown how fragile our infrastructure has become (blackouts, hurricanes, tornados). Our country is ill prepared to handle disaster. This is why ham radio needs to be protected. Most people do not understand ham (or amateur) radio. They believe it's all about talking. It's not. Aside from the emergency service aspects, ham radio is about science. It's about engineering and design. It's about physics theory. A large number of professional engineers are also hams, such as electrical engineers, computer scientists, and pilots. The Internet has tremendous value. But long distance ham radio is much more challenging. The challenge is to build your own station, to understand Earth's ionosphere, and to make far away contacts with modest power. You hold the infrastructure. Hams have even put numerous satellites in orbit. I'll be operating at field day this year. If you want to find out what ham radio is all about, show up at your nearest club and take a look. It's fun! And what you do with the hobby is up to you!

Re:YAAA

[DAldredge]

No, that isn't cool. People saying crap like that will be used by those in power to remove your radios from you.

Hams are playing this like it is some game, and it isn't. You are fighting people with lots of money and power and making snide little comments will not buy you ANY friends.

I used to be on the hams side, till I realized they where acting like a bunch of spoiled kids and spining every piece of info to make their side look perfect and the other side look like the devil.

You are also overlooking the large push to move all those emergency services over to different systems that are much more resistant to interference (digital and encrypted links, look at the ads in mags targeting those useres)

Re:YAAA

[fatboy]

You are also overlooking the large push to move all those emergency services over to different systems that are much more resistant to interference (digital and encrypted links, look at the ads in mags targeting those useres)

The reason these frequencies are used is because of ionospheric propagation. (Over the horizon propagation.) You can use digital and encrypted links via ionosphere, but to use another part of the spectrum requires infrastructure that can fail.

The HF spectrum is a natural resource. We should not pollute it simply because it can be used to deliver broadband internet access.

Re:YAAA

[fatboy]

And according to the video that was posted to /. about a week or two ago, BPL on harms communication when you are very near overhead powerlines.

Don't forget the ones located in your walls and feed power to your radio equipment :)

Re:why ham radio isn't popular

[w9wi]

That's long been a tension within the hobby. Are we about the medium, or about the message?

A large part of the hobby is about the medium. We really don't care what information is sent - we're interested in the method used to send that information.

Isn't that essentially the same motivation that drives kernel hackers? Who don't really care about what computing gets done, just that it can be done on a kernel they built themselves...

Re:I'm interested but...

[hendersj]

You can use it for data - I have used it that way off and on for over 10 years.

Packet radio has been around a long time, in fact, that was my first connectivity to the Internet.

That's why its FUCKING COOL.

[Anonymous Coward]

The fact that the amateur radio service allows you to use homebuilt, non type-approved gear is part of what makes Ham radio so COOL.

Independence Day anyone??

[kc8jhs]

That scene towards the end of the movie wasn't unrealistic at all. Think about it some time...amateurs maintain a world network, pretty much primitive, and low tech, yet powerful enough to not worry any government, yet be able to communicate how they want when they want, without government interference (Licensing of course...).

My personal ham site where I have a few pictures of the first and second field day I participated in. The first one, I was 17, organized the whole event in about 3 days. The second one was planned over about a month, and included more of my peers, and one mentor. Whole setup ran off of a generator, and was pretty much 100% self sufficient.

-Mikey P