Ham Radio Operators Are Heroes In Oregon

An anonymous reader writes "We all know the impact that Ham radio can have in emergencies, but that often slips by the public and the authorities. Not so in Oregon, where a day after getting inundated with torrential rains and winds and suffering from the usual calamities those cause, Oregon's Governor called the local Ham radio operators heroes. When discussing how the storm affected communications, the governor stated: "I'm going to tell you who the heroes were from the very beginning of this...the ham radio operators." Kudos to the Oregon Ham operators for helping out in a bad situation, and getting the recognition they deserve."

Comments

Not Just In Oregon

[gbulmash]

A friend of mine (Randy Cassingham of This Is True ) is a HAM radio operator and he's helped provide communications for emergency responders during disasters near where he lives in Colorado. When the chips are down, it seems that radio hobbyists are ready, willing, and able to help out. It's nice to see that they're getting some positive press.

Hopefully much of this thread will be kudos for Ham radio operators around the world. A lot of them use their powers for good more often than you might think.

- Greg

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[GrendelT]

FWIW, the "ham" in ham radio radio is not an abbreviation. It's just ham.

There's no definitive answer on the matter, but it goes back to the days when ham radio operators had better sets than the old Navy radios (in spark-gap radio days). Amateur radio operators had more efficient radios and were more powerful than the "professional" radio sets at the time, when a Navy radio operator would try to use the frequency his set was tuned for he may hear some guys "hamming it up" on the air. After a while the saying was commonplace and the term "ham" stuck.

Officially it's known as Amateur Radio, but most people just refer to it as ham radio.

"And now you know the rest of the story, good day!"

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[kb0hae]

Hi Guys. Try searching on NF5B in your favorite search engine. You will get quite a few results, but a few are links to stories about NF5B and his role in saving lives during Katrina. I am fortunate enough to be a good friend of Richard and Kathleed. This legally blind musician and his Lady (who is wheelchair bound most of the time) are true heros, as are many others who seldome get the press coverage, or the recognition that they deserve. Richard and Kathleed also participate in the Maritime Mobile Service Net. This net is composed of Amateir Operators who give their time and use their radio equipment to help ships at sea, and also others in parts of the world who have no other means of communication except for Amateur Radio. The members of this net have saved many lives, and helped countless mariners communicate with loved ones. I monitor this net when conditions permit.

There are many unsung heros among the ranks of Amateur Radio operators.

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[uglyduckling]

I had always assumed that it's a play on words: Radio Amateur, Radio Am, Ham.

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[OriginalArlen]

There's a chap where I work who's involved in the Radio Amateurs Emergency Network (RAEnet) which provides emergency comms in situations exactly like this, as well as providing backup to the police & emergency services in less dramatic scenarios. At one point he had a relay in his car providing a live feed via a Google maps mashup so we could see where he was when he didn't turn up in the office. He just *loves* it when we call him "rubber duck" ask about his "twenty" and refer to him as a "good buddy". Ahh, simple pleasures...

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[Nefarious Wheel]

I had always assumed that it's a play on words: Radio Amateur, Radio Am, Ham

Another variation is that it's a self-deprecating qualifier. "Ham" as in "Ham Fisted". One's "fist" is the distinctive keying pattern a person has when keying Morse code, and a "ham fist" would be one who's a bit awkward at the key.

Some of these guys were real artists. Try keying "beesnest" in the middle of some text with a speed key. It'll put you off your rythmn, but some folks wouldn't even blink.

Morse is still relevant in bad conditions, too -- you can get a morse signal across where voice or packet won't, especially in a hurricane.

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[rspress]

Being a long time Amateur radio operator myself I have had a chance to see and even participate in such emergencies. I am glad to see them getting the recognition they deserve!

Randy
KC6MUS

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[fm6]

FWIW, the "ham" in ham radio radio is not an abbreviation. It's just ham.

FWIW, "ham" has been slang for "amateur" for a few centuries, though nowadays it usually refers to an inept actor.

"Amateur" originally meant somebody who does something because they love doing it; nowadays the word suggests more enthusiasm than skill, which hardly applies to radio amateurs. Hence the popularity of the slang term.

It's interesting that hams continue to play a key role in disaster response even as communication technology gets more and more sophisticated and cheap, to the point where most people carry around wireless communications devices of some sort. I guess there will always be a need for somebody who can improvise a replacement for a crashed communication network.

Re:Not Just In Oregon

[jimdouglass]

I am a Ham Radio Operator and a proud member of the original "geek-squad" going all the way back to Marconi, Tesla, Armstrong and DeForrest. It seems over time that attempts have been made to negate or downplay the vital (Free) service that the Amatuer Radio Service plays in times of need. It is heartwarming to hear a Governor of a state make a public statement such as the Oregon's Governor did yesterday. 73,(telegraph shorthand for "best regards") Jim ACØE licensed and active since 1977 Garden City, Kansas

Ham's day is over, probably

[jimmyhat3939]

I got my first Ham license back in the 1980s. Back then you had to be able to do 20wpm morse code to get to the highest license.

Nowadays they've watered it down so that it's extremely easy to get the licenses. In addition, with the Internet you can basically walk to your computer and email the person you just talked to halfway around the world.

Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[couchslug]

"Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old."

The barriers to entry that kept the hobby purist worked a bit too well.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

In America, airwaves are for old people?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[rubin]

"Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old."

There's quite a few of us in their 30's to 50's, particularly here in Australia. Due to the introduction of a new Foundation Class (simple, entry level exam) there is also new wave of people under 30 entering the hobby. I'm 38 and and have been licensed since 1983.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Scud]

That's the problem.

Guys like me (50 years old) don't care to, or are able to, do 5 WPM in Morse code. And as far as that goes, learning Morse never made sense to me anyways, not since the advent of the PC. Hell, I've had an Icom 735 for over 25 years without a license. I like to lurk. :)

So how do you attract new blood to an activity that's waaay too geeky to begin with? Kids aren't going to bother learning Morse when they can use a program to do the same thing - why would they bother?

So faced with either keeping the hobby "pure" and watching it die out as the oldtimer's keys go silent, or conceding to reality and making membership more attactive to younger folks, which would you choose?

But you're right, it's definitely not the same as it was 20 - 30 years ago.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[GrendelT]

I'm not 60.
A vast majority are, but ham radio was the "cool" thing when they were younger, now we have these new-fangled computers and Internets with it's tubes and everything. All the old-school hackers were hams. In the 70s and 80s they all moved toward computers. There's still a subset of younger hams (I'm 27 and almost always younger than anyone I meet on the air.).

Also of note is the fact that Morse code was dropped from ham testing almost a year ago. The jury was out on whether licensing would pick up or not change. After monitoring and graphing the growth in a horribly ugly script, the number are in and - nothing changed really. There was a spike of "lazy" or tone-deaf hams upgrading, but that was about it.
Here's my ugly graph: http://n5dux.com/ham/issued/

73, de N5DUX (Extra with code)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Deadstick]

Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old.

Perhaps that's because they've had their houses since before subdividers began putting a stop to amateur radio with covenants against antennas.

rj

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[plover]

While I agree with you (mostly) that ham shouldn't just be about the Morse code, Morse has a huge advantage in reception -- a weak signal may be useless for voice, but tones can still be recognized.

Also, disasters strike in many different ways. It's conceivable that there might be an occasion where the only viable communications medium you have is boolean (a carrier wave with no microphone or modulator circuit, or hammers and pipes in a cave-in, or whatever.) If that's the case, it's Morse or nothing.

Ham radio operators pride themselves on being able to communicate when absolutely nothing else works, and the world is crashing down (or blowing up) around them. Morse is another tool in the toolbox.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[jamstar7]

And as far as that goes, learning Morse never made sense to me anyways, not since the advent of the PC.

That's because, as a fallback, nothing really beats CW/Morse Code for efficiency. The bandwidth for a CW transmission is 500 Hz. And it'll get through in conditions where SSB or FM voice transmissions won't.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Blakey Rat]

Yes, but you kind of missed the point. The point is that the Morse requirement was driving away potential HAM operators, and so they went on to other hobbies. You can reply until you're blue in the face about how great Morse is, but that's not relevant to the topic at hand.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[wikinerd]

I bet we would have more young ham radio ops if no licensing were required or if the licensing was more decentralised (why not have individual ham radio non-profits do the licensing?)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

licensing was more decentralised (why not have individual ham radio non-profits do the licensing?)

You mean something like this?

From that page:

# The ARRL VEC program began in July 1984 (After the FCC stopped testing at FCC Field Offices, they created the VEC system in 1983). ARRL/VEC has over 20 years of Service to Radio Amateurs, operating as a knowledgeable information source for a wide-range of licensing issues.

# Today, the ARRL VEC is the largest of the 14 VECs, representing more than 65% of all exams given (at one point there were over 25 VECs).

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[ILuvRamen]

okay one, I don't think HAM can get through the center of the Earth and 2, we have satellite phones that run on batteries now that don't require a license and sound better. I thought with your post title you'd mention something like that.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[jamstar7]

Not really. Were you around when 11 Meters really took off back in the 70's? They didn't call it 'Childrens Band' for nothing. All the hams I knew back in The Day were always going on about how it was an exclusive hobby that catered to the more altruistic natures of the hams involved. And no, they didn't want their hobby diluted by the lunacy happening up on CB. They were always going on about how once a year they did Field Day as part of their emergency preparations, and how they'd get through when nobody else could.

No, I never learned Morse Code. No, I never got my ham ticket. But I listened to a lot of shortwave back in The Day, and probably would have gotten my ticket if I'd been able to schedule time to learn the code, and find somebody to give me the exam.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, "Ham is dead." If only we could go back to the days of artificially limiting the number of people who are able to respond during emergencies. But hey, at least we were keeping an ancient code alive.

I think Morse code is a vital piece of human invention -- no sarcasm. Truly, it was the first Huffman-style code. And that was a century before Huffman thought of it. But how can allowing people who do NOT know Morse code to operate radios possibly hurt anything? If you think that dropping the requirement would lead to the complete loss of Morse code in a practical sense, then I think you place too much importance in yourself. Yes, it expands the set of potential users, so I realize it impinges on your "elite group," but if you can tell me some technical reason why we shouldn't have a larger base of people to draw on for communications during emergencies, I would love to hear it.

(I'm lucky that I only got a few fallen branches out of this ordeal, and the power never went out. It is completely surreal to watch the news showing pictures of places I had visited only weeks before which have been completely inundated. I won't blow this thing out of proportion, but it was BAD.)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Tom Rothamel]

In addition, with the Internet you can basically walk to your computer and email the person you just talked to halfway around the world.

The thing is, I can talk to and email people around the world without first contacting them using a radio. That is, I think, the fundamental change that's hurting ham radio as a hobby. Things like this article, which talks about the usefulness of ham in emergency situations, is what might motivate me to get into it... talking to people around the world is not anything to write home about anymore.

(For the record, I have a license, but never really used it, since I wasn't in a position to invest in hardware.)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[gbobeck]

I don't think HAM can get through the center of the Earth

Why bother going through the center of the Earth when the ionosphere can easily bounce radio waves.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, you're not correct, on several important aspects:
CW bandwidth is much narrower than 500 Hz (that's just what people use on their receivers)
There are many modulation schemes that send the same or more data in less bandwidth at worse SNR. If for no other reason than the keep the transmitter on all the time, as opposed to turning it on and off. There's a reason why they don't use morse code to send data at 8 bps back and forth to spacecraft in deep space.

It IS true that a morse code transmitter is probably the simplest. But as a "system" with a receiver, that's probably not the case (because you need a BFO or equivalent in the receiver).

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

The Morse Code signal may get through under those conditions. But will there be anyone on the other end who understands it if no one is interested in learning it anymore?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[JK_the_Slacker]

Funny how I've seen PSK-31 (a digital mode) work perfectly without a detectable (to my Field Day trained ear) signal. Morse may be better than voice... but a computer can outdo a human ear.

Note that I say this as a computer scientist and as a ham radio operator myself. I'm not suggesting that Morse is obsolete or useless... just that it's not automatically the best thing ever. The wonderful thing about this hobby is that it breeds innovation. From the earliest days of ultra-wide-bandwidth spark gap generators to a complete packet transceiver the size of an Altoids tin, the world of amateur radio, and the amateurs that have built it, is nothing short of amazing. However, if we really want to bring life back in this hobby, we need to stop all the infighting and think. We need to look at each operating mode honestly and attempt to appreciate the merits and the shortcomings of each of them. For every great thing you can name about the code, I can name another mode that does it better. But that's not what the hobby is about.

In response to the article, good on the Oregon hams, and congrats to them for getting recognized. They deserve it.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[mikiN]

I'm a HAM radio operator, and the requirement of learning Morse code to be allowed to operate on shortwave has always baffled me. Yes, I can imagine that knowing your dahs from your dits can be an advantage in bad reception conditions and in emergencies, but there is so much more.

For shortwave, knowledge of radio propagation and atmospheric conditions, good antenna design and particularly good Operating Practice are way more important IMO.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Mike Buddha]

Purist or Elitist? I've got a General license and I find that particularly on the internet, old hams are dickheads. They act as if we new hams are invading their private paradise, and instead of assisting and community building, they bitch and moan and howl about how ham radio is turning into CB, and how the sky is falling. Those old farts still on the air are just as crotchety as you'd expect, whining about how all the new hams are walking on their amateur band lawns.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Rorschach1]

Morse code is overrated, but useful. I had to pass the 5 WPM test, but I don't feel bad that I never had to take the 20 WPM test to get my extra class license - I think coding Bell 202, PSK-31, and SSTV modems from scratch in an 8-bit micro makes up for that. CW (Morse code) was long retained as an artificial barrier to keep out those who weren't serious more than it was to ensure aptitude in a useful skill. There are MANY other ways the average Slashdot nerd can prove their 'worthiness' and stay true to the spirit of the hobby without learning CW.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

or 16?

im 16 years old and have had my license since 2002, there are a lot of people from all age groups on the air and active in their local ares or other emergency service groups, it may be easier to get your license, but you still have to want to get it

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Skuld-Chan]

This is actually typical of your standard amateur radio operator. I too got my license back when you had to pass a morse code test, but I'm somewhat shocked (not really) that you'd use this forum to bring up an age old debate instead if encouraging people to learn about the hobby and become operators themselves.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Propaganda13]

I know a couple of ham operators(around age 45). One of them pointed out now that if he wanted to talk to strangers from around the world, he could just go on the internet. Plenty of voice chat software, chat rooms, even video. He admits that newer technology has covered a lot of reasons he got into it originally. Internet, cell phones, etc. That doesn't mean that ham radios aren't useful, it just means that the basic functions can be handled by the current existing infrastructure. When that infrastructure collapses......

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[lostguru]

satellite phones aren't exactly gonna work, the satelite phone system IRC is still based on the land line system and land based stations to work properly (the better to bill you my precious) little nextel cell walkie talkies ain't gonna cut it either if the base it out, the other problem is that when a disaster occurs and cell phones do work everybody and his great aunt starts calling their dog to tell them they're fine, system gets overloaded

2m and 440 don't need any infrastructure, 10 and 20 meters are still there, I have backup power for my transmitter that will last for hours of transmit, and I have a crow bar that would work great for extracting car batteries

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

That's what CB Radio turned out to be in the 70's, and it was pretty much a disaster. Well, it kept Radio Shack in business and inspired a lot of country songs about truckers, but some might consider that to be a disaster, too :-)

Technically you needed a license (more of a user fee) but it was rarely enforced.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Bartab]

The code requirement for license to operate on radio bands that are considered long distance is mandatory by the treaties that setup a global radiospace for ham radio.

The code-free tech license is in bands that are for all intents (near Canada/mexico border would be the exception) are US only.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[GrendelT]

True, you can talk to someone around the world in a ton of different ways, but can you do it point-to-point without any other infrastructure? I'm still amazed at times when I talk from my home (or car) here in Northeast Texas to someone in California, Kansas or New York. (I can just flip on the radio and work those stations with a coat hanger for an antenna.) Or can you reach another person over 500miles away off of a radio running off a 9V battery inside an Altoids tin?

For me, it's the technical side of the hobby that interests me. Sure I can go buy a radio and spend hundreds of dollars on some new commercialized antenna design, but do you really know how that thing works? How about with a radio you built on a wire dipole you measured out and cut to the precise frequency? That's where the magic is. When you understand every step along the way that makes the electrons in your mic excite electrons on the other guy's speaker. It's fascinating to actually do. Reading it in a book or online, understanding the theory is cool, but actually doing it - that's where I get my enjoyment.
(Which is probably why I abhor the guys that just go buy an HT and talk on local repeaters and act like some bastard step-child of the local police or fire department.)

I think some of the luster of the hobby was lost when the technical understanding required in the hobby went out the window. So many guys use radios they've just bought and have little or no understanding of how radio works. So often guys have no notion of how AM, SSB, FM or CW are different. I don't know many guys that can crack open a radio and pin point where the "front end" of their radio is or find the oscillator - if something just stops working on their little mass-produced HT, they just buy a new one so they can check into their weekly net.
To me, the true ham is a technically capable individual that has the skill set, equipment and ingenuity to see himself through a situation like the upper west coast has seen recently.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[vonart]

Well, there's a few young hams about. I'm an Extra class ham myself, 25 years of age. K1PUP at your service. A good friend of mine is also 25 and an Extra, K1QV. I'm happy they dropped the high-speed morse requirement, though I can get by the lower one well enough. Knowing code is actually rather nice, in my opinion. It's useful to identify repeaters in the area, and to talk (well code) in less than optimal conditions. There's a few other younger hams in the area -- you just have to hunt around for us!

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[falconwolf]

Purist or Elitist? I've got a General license and I find that particularly on the internet, old hams are dickheads. They act as if we new hams are invading their private paradise, and instead of assisting and community building, they bitch and moan and howl about how ham radio is turning into CB, and how the sky is falling. Those old farts still on the air are just as crotchety as you'd expect, whining about how all the new hams are walking on their amateur band lawns.

About 20 years ago a friend was the president of a local amateur radio club and he along with other members encouraged people to learn and get a license. They held classes frequently so people could learn and get their license.

Falcon

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[NorthwestWolf]

"There are MANY other ways the average Slashdot nerd can prove their 'worthiness' and stay true to the spirit of the hobby without learning CW."

Bingo!

I feel exactly the same way, and less than a year ago, after many years of not being part of a club I decided to put all mt reservations about the ham radio community aside. However what I found was what I expected and worse. I found a broad range of older and more experienced folks who liked to place anyone with less than a few decades of experience, especially us younger folks, into the category of "doesn't know crud and needs to be taught". Heck the local club even had a line in their newsletter "Unless you have an EE degree you are just as green as all of us were when we started". Really? I came into the hobby already having years of electronics and electrical experience as well as some background in RF. I could solder, I could make up PCBs, test components, etc. Frankly I found it insulting.

There truly is a strong disregard for us younger folks in the amateur radio community. The old guard even lumps us tech savvy and experienced folks in the "stupid new guy" category. They seem to not understand that there are new ways of learning and obtaining information, and that there are many of us playing with electronics from an early age and have taught ourselves quite a bit. We don't all need to be held by the hand and taught everything. I know when I need to ask a question that can't be answered and would be bet found in the experience of an elmer. These folks are so tuned out from the rest of the tech scene that they aren't seeing the huge resurgence of DIY electronics, homebrew electronics guys as well as the wifi experimenters. Yet they bitch and moan about how the "kids" are so stupid and uninterested, and how nobody is in to their tech anymore.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[smorken]

In addition, with the Internet you can basically walk to your computer and email the person you just talked to halfway around the world. You are assuming that people on slashdot actually get up from their computer.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[joto]

Nah. I guess ham radio is just too boring for todays youth. Kids these days already have the Internet. Why bother with a slow, unfashionable, quirky medium that requires expensive equipment and training, when you can just drag your notebook to somewhere with wi-fi, and use fresh and fashionable GUIs to talk to someone who is actually your age (and not a boring ham-radio-geek)?

I'm sure the geeky boys did flint-knapping 10000 years ago. The world has moved on. No matter how much you simplify the requirements to be a licensed flint-knapper, you won't be able to recruite more kids.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[jtara]

The Morse Code requirement was dropped for all classes of amateur radio license in the U.S. in February of this year:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/01/24/100/?nc=1

It had been a requirement imposed by international treaties until a few years ago. The FCC kept this archaic requirement for a few years longer. The U.S. military dropped Morse Code a few years ago as well.

I agree, though, about the crotchety old farts. I had an Advanced Class license when I was in high school and college, but let it drop. A few years ago I bought a scanner and a cheap digital SW receiver to see if I might want to re-license. Listening to the local VHF repeaters was a hoot, listening to the geezers (OK, I guess they are my age...) get twisted in a knot.

While I never was able to copy the 25WPM needed for the Extra license, I still copy in my head when watching WWII war movies. They can be pretty amusing. Yes, they are usually sending real Morse code, but it isn't always in context. :)

While tuning-around with my recent toys, I had a brief fascination with QPSK, a very narrow-band digital technique used on shortwave frequencies. Typically done by running the audio output of your receiver into a computer sound card and running a DSP application on your PC. The PC applications are able to copy several conversations from around the world at once out of the slice of spectrum pumped into the sound card. Kinda like IRC on (slow) steroids.

While disaster communications is not the be all and end-all for amateur radio (it's just one of the justifications for it's existence - experimentation is another - some of the first communication satellites were designed and constructed by hams and launched as "ballast" by the U.S. Air Force and then NASA. Amsat Oscar I was launched in 1961.) and it's not something I've ever been involved in, my hat is off to those who've helped out in the NW floods. Most of the time, these people wait around and train for disasters that never happen, and then have to deal with officials who keep them on a long leash. In this case, they really were needed, and thankfully the officials weren't obstructive, and the training and innovative spirit of these hams appears to have been put to good use, and has been truly helpful and perhaps life-saving.

My favorite quote from my mother: "What's all this about radio? Television is the thing now!" If not for ham radio, I'd probably not have wire-wrapped that 8008 computer, and would probably be another out-of-work real estate agent.

(Ex-WB8DBN - "Detroit's Bad Novice", from my WN8 days...)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

What is the same as it was 20-30 years ago. Not even sex!
There are numerous digital modes, the IRLP (look it up) and APRS to entice newcomers to ham radio.
Morse code is obsolete but still popular among those with the patience to do it. I'm sure the radio mfgrs are glad it has been made easier to get HF privelages too!
73
W6AMH
(Just to prove I'm no anonymous coward)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[joto]

satellite phones aren't exactly gonna work,

Yes they do. People have been using them for ages. Obviously they aren't perfect, but I sure would prefer to have a satellite phone to a smelly ham-operator.

the satelite phone system IRC is still based on the land line system and land based stations to work properly (the better to bill you my precious) little nextel cell walkie talkies ain't gonna cut it either if the base it out, the other problem is that when a disaster occurs and cell phones do work everybody and his great aunt starts calling their dog to tell them they're fine, system gets overloaded

No, sat-phones are based on satellites. You know, those things circling the earth, out in space. There are no landlines in space, and usually no landlines where people tend to bring their satellite phones either. Nor are there any base-stations or anything else there. If people could use a normal cell-phone, they wouldn't need to buy an expensive satellite phone.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

No, sat-phones are based on satellites. You know, those things circling the earth, out in space. There are no landlines in space, and usually no landlines where people tend to bring their satellite phones either. Nor are there any base-stations or anything else there. If people could use a normal cell-phone, they wouldn't need to buy an expensive satellite phone.
Unless whoever you're calling doesn't have a satellite phone, in which case you need to have the land lines operating.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Kadin2048]

The code requirement for license to operate on radio bands that are considered long distance is mandatory by the treaties that setup a global radiospace for ham radio.

The code-free tech license is in bands that are for all intents (near Canada/mexico border would be the exception) are US only. I'm sorry but that's just wrong. It might have been true at some point but it's certainly not true now. Most of the European countries have dropped Morse completely -- the US was one of the last holdouts. (Probably not the last, but definitely up there.) And the Morse requirements for commercial/marine radiotelephone operators licenses are gone too. There's no international pressure to learn it anymore -- most of the impetus to retain Morse in the U.S. was coming from the ARRL, basically from old Hams who wanted the exclusivity it provided.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[alienw]

It's been changed a couple of years ago. Now you can go all the way up to an Extra-class license with no code requirement.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[alienw]

I REALLY doubt the satellites running the phones have enough intelligence for P2P-type operation. Most communication satellites are fairly dumb transponders. They don't do much other than receive a signal on one frequency and rebroadcast it on another. This gives them a lot of flexibility over their lifetime. This also means that if the ground operations center goes down, those satellite phones will do precisely jack shit. Satellites are also susceptible to jamming and other denial of service attacks. Ham radio is more difficult to jam, and requires absolutely no infrastructure.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Doppler00]

As a young person who's talked to a ham radio operator at work about the subject at work, I find the lack of innovation in the area a turn off. I still think we should be looking into the future instead of support the old waste of dedicated bandwidth of ham radio operators (and cellphone companies, TV stations, and government agencies). Since we have things like digital audio/video compression, software defined radios, mesh network works, packet routing etc... a lot more efficient use of these frequencies could be utilized by the general public if they would open them up to organizations like IEEE so they could be utilized as 802.11 has for 2.4GHz.

We have to stop thinking of frequency bands as precious resources to be auctioned and cordoned off, and start thinking of them as channels that can be defined in software and re-allocated and prioritized based on use. We're not talking about transistor radios from the 1960's anymore.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[stevewa]

Writing as a 41 year-old Amateur Extra I think I would like to challenge that statement!

I did do the 5-wpm morse code test to get my General in 2005, but I will grant that I have not used it much. There are many, many other modes of communication that are both effective and fascinating, including a number of digital modes that allow transfer of data as well as simple messages.

And unlike the Internet, or your cell phone, chances are a Ham can get a message through when the infrastructure all these other modes require is unavailable.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

It still sucks & is sucking more.
Equipment isn't really keeping up with the times either.
Plus while a great asset to the community & helpful when all else fails, it is hard to get into it without looking like a total dweeb.

The entire hobby is still run by network of "Good Old boys", bunch of old white dudes who make all the rules & decide who gets to do or use what.
If you don't align with one of the little clubs in your area you won't get much out of the hobby.
Maybe you & your friends or family want your own little setup, you may end up getting letters or complaints from the local radio patrol claiming interference.
Getting a repeater coordinated if you're an outsider (don't know somebody) is also difficult, yet all the really good bands get filled up with repeaters that are closed, so you can't even used them though you are licensed for the spectrum.
Not to mention the boring old crap & plain offensive stuff you hear on the air.
I tried to show some local kids how it works one time & these old dudes were on the air being racist & cussing.

Thats just a few reasons why most folks just stick to there cell phones & IM as opposed to playing boy scout on the radio.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[zippthorne]

Say what now? The test is like ten dollars, and they dropped the code requirement for all classes. The only other barrier to entry is that you have to buy or build a radio. (which ironically is actually quite a bit easier if you're building a CW rig...)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

I bet we would have more young ham radio ops if no licensing were required ...

Yeah, that really worked out beautifully with CB, didn't it? Same with the radios they sell at Wal-Fart -- have you looked at the ones that have combined FRS and GMRS? Did you find the information to the requirement for a license to use the GMRS part? On the outside of the box?

With no enforced licensing, it all degenerates to what CB became -- young punks calling each other out from one schoolyard to another schoolyard all night long.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Brian the Bold]

This changed some years ago now as the commercial operators stopped using Morse code and hence the is no requirement for radio amateurs to be able to read or send Morse.

Many jurisdictions have now dropped the Morse test.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[epee1221]

Since we have things like digital audio/video compression, software defined radios, mesh network works, packet routing etc.

Actually, these things do get used, and some of it has been in use for decades.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[dbolger]

How are the licenses regulated? I assume there is a test you have to pass for the Morse Code, but if I have my PC hooked up to a transmitter and can transmit the morse at speeds faster than any human could, does that count?

Also, what's to stop somebody who has a transmitter themselves from just broadcasting without taking the exam?

(I'm not a ham, obviously, and I've never used ham radio, but the idea has always interested me)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[epee1221]

If you think that dropping the requirement would lead to the complete loss of Morse code in a practical sense, then I think you place too much importance in yourself.

Yes. Even though it's no longer required, people keep using/learning CW because they find it interesting or useful.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[jma05]

He is not saying that Morse code should not be used. Rather that the users should not be required to LEARN morse code. Morse code can remain the encoding for transmission but the device can provide the a less arcane interface like a keyboard and a small display for the operator. Sort of like compilers and machine code these days. Small processors to handle this now cost peanuts unlike back then. Or I don't know what I am talking about. As a kid, 20 years ago, I made a brief attempt to acquire one but never ended up laying my hands on one.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[thephydes]

Morse is king if you want effective communication over long distances and have only low power available to you. If you have a computer then psk31 is probably (possibly) next best. Good software can pick up psk signals that are so quiet that they are below the noise floor. Ham radio experimenters are responsible for the early development of many communication technologies that we now take for granted. Don't write us off yet, there's still life in the hobby believe me.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

No, it wont be as long as radios exist.

The reason HAM radio will live on near forever is the fact that most developements in radio and digital communication via radio gets tried out and sometimes even invented by radio amateurs - let me give you a little example:

Nice cellphone you have, it has SMS (text)...oh ..that resemble the way we used morse...or even RTTY...or...Packet radio...over the Shortwave bands LONG before your cellphone could do this, let us see now...oh..your phone comes with a camera that lets you mail your images right on home... well how about this then? We radio-amateurs used something called SLOWSCAN long time ago to send images across the world even before you even had a digitzer and your first personal computer!

And you know...we could go on forever with this, but my point to you is simple - look up what a RADIO amateur really is....it's more than just communication across the planet, it's electronics experimentation, developement, new modes, new algorithms, new technology and as a licensed Class A Amateur you get the legal rights to play with all of these things while having so much fun I can only imagine a "programmer" would understand and appreciate. Same thing ;)

Trust me! It will never die! Here in Denmark the number of radio amateurs INCREASED last year, now more and more technically inclined kids are coming along simply for the action....not an old hack sitting by a keyer pumping morse-code to someone on the other side of the planet, we use internet for that now! But The need for Tech-enthusiast and Ham radio experimenters increase with the ever increasing challenge of the lack of bandwith for all the new gadgets you all fall in love with.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[MichaelSmith]

He is not saying that Morse code should not be used. Rather that the users should not be required to LEARN morse code. Morse code can remain the encoding for transmission but the device can provide the a less arcane interface like a keyboard and a small display for the operator.

Yeah but its pretty embarrassing that aircraft pilots have to learn CW and radio operators do not.

I never got my radio license but I am glad I learnt morse code. And Braille for that matter. Its handy to know.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[CharlieG]

Bizzzt
The treaties that kept "No-code" off the HF bands went away 4-5 years back, and last year, the USA dropped code for ALL license classes.

I'm a "slow code" extra - and know of a few "no-code" extras

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[lena_10326]

In addition, with the Internet you can basically walk to your computer and email the person you just talked to halfway around the world.

The thing about email is you have to know who you're going to contact. It's kind of hard to duplicate an experience of discovering who's out there or the randomness of reaching someone totally unexpected, living very far away. I suppose voice chat rooms come the closest to this experience (Paltalk & Yahoo Messenger), but they do rely on an infrastructure that would likely fail during crisis times. I know there's a minimalistic survival attractiveness to HAM radio that internet chat will never have. Although internet chat rooms suffer from the steady influx of troll behavior, however where they excel is with reconnecting to those you've communicated with before and fostering a subset of regular chatters.

Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old.

I'd agree that it's nearly over, but then as it diminishes it'll become more attractive to the few drawn towards the unconventional and antiquated thus spurring retro revivals.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[mstahl]

Absolutely. Morse code also has the advantage of being usable on a wider range of frequencies, which cannot always be modulated effectively to voice, but can exist as a carrier and travel great distances. This is why bands like the 80 and 160m bands are morse code only. Also, you can scrape together enough parts from broken electronics or from junk (really) to make a radio transmitter capable of generating a carrier wave with no modulation, but even though an FM transmitter is also pretty simple to build, it is not nearly as simple. Any switch becomes a morse code key whereas for voice you need a microphone.

Ham operator since '96: KF4SOO.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[tgd]

Meh, I'll just tap it out in ASCII. I'd be willing to bet there are more people that can do 7 or 8 bit binary to ASCII in their head than morse anymore. (And I am someone who has their Amateur Radio license and debated doing the additional licensing that needs morse, which I know, but not fast enough or well enough to pass).

Plus, if I'm trapped, I want to be able to tap out messages kids today will understand: "Z0mg, r u there? Needz h3lp, legs broken. S3nd hlp n hookers. ;)"

Try sending an emoticon over morse!

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[tgd]

I disagree -- thats not why those bands are morse only. There are lots of other signaling methods that COULD be used. Those are morse only as a peace offering to old timers and nostalgia, IMO.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[MBraynard]

Why do you abbreviate 'Morse Code' as CW?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[rhyder128k]

In A Fall Of Moondust, Arthur C Clarke says something like, "Every space engineer would expect to use Morse twice over the course of his career. When he did use it, it would probably save his life."

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Oktober Sunset]

yea, if you simutaneously get your eyes jabbed out and your vocal chords ripped out in a disaster situation, you''ll be laughing at all those naysayers then won't you.

or rather, tapping out .... .- .... .- as you will have no vocal chords.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[admdrew]

From Wikipedia and a /CW in Firefox:

International Morse code today is most popular among amateur radio operators, where it is used as the pattern to key a transmitter on and off in the radio communications mode commonly referred to as "continuous wave" or "CW".

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[16384]

So true. I've once decoded psk31 feeding the audio from my short wave radio on 14070KHz to hamcomm, and sometimes, I could barely listen to the signal, but the computer would find 4 or 5 psk31 conversations. And they are extremely low bandwidth (100Hz I think), and have error correction.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Gavin Rogers]

There's no morse code required for any class of license in Australia any more.

This, and combined with the new easy-to-obtain foundation license, and guess what? The number of radio amateurs in Australia is going up for the first time in years AND these new amateurs are active and enthusiastic.

Shock, horror! The oldies complaining about the death of amateur radio by removing the morse code requirement were completely unfounded.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[MyLongNickName]

So, it is kind of like Linux then?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Lumpy]

No the biggest barriers are your local associations and government coupled with insanely high prices of ham gear. Also the number of elmers is so low it's not funny.

Back in the 80's when I got into Amateur radio, I had a community that helped me get on the air. I had an old guy give me a old tentec transmitter and receiver set he was not using and was broken to get learning on. I fixed it, got my Novice license and a couple of ham's helped me build an inverted V antenna to get on the air. As a Kid who was 15 and had no money I had the ham community help me get on the air.

Fast forward to today. Hamfests are no longer a place to get good deals on old gear for the newbie, the guys selling at hamfests want almost retail prices for their 20 year old gear. Elmers are incredibly rare now, helping someone get into the hobby just does not happen anymore. (Yes I did help a kid or two. I have given away 2 meter handhelds, IC2-AT from icom to kids or poor hams to help them out)

Also Local repeater chatter, once a place for you to break into the conversation and talk with people you dont know, now most get a bit "pissy" when you break into the conversation. This is the worst on the Detroit Repeaters, but I have experienced it in Chicago and other places as well. The spirit of ham radio has disappeared from the lower bands. Way down in the longwave region you get some friendly guys, but the cost of entry to longwave is insane.

Ham radio is dying because people in it are starting to be the selfish types. I remember chipping in this time of the year at the Club meetings to buy a new radio for one of the poorer hams in the community. I also remember embracing the poor hams and not only inviting them to come to meetings anyways if they cant afford the membership, members taking turns picking them up and bringing them because they cant afford to drive. This does NOT happen anymore. Last time I met with the local ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Services) they only had 3 guys that attend the once a month meeting.

Ham radio's day is over because of people and societies trend to say "to hell with you, what's in it for me?" Community as a whole is failing and the fringe clubs like this are the first to go.

Even membership at the largest groups like the Free Masons is drastically down because of this "me,me,me,ME!" shift in community focus.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[QuietLagoon]

While I agree with you (mostly) that ham shouldn't just be about the Morse code, Morse has a huge advantage in reception -- a weak signal may be useless for voice, but tones can still be recognized.

There are always going to be a subset of ham operators who will learn morse code, regardless of whether it is needed to get the license.

But let's not lose track of one of the significant benefits of the ham operators, and that is that they build and maintain a web of communications that often does not rely upon the regular communications infrastructure. As such, the ham operators' communications network runs when the regular communications infrastructure is down.

The dedication of the ham operators is legendary. They will get the message through.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

What's to stop somebody who has a vehicle from driving through stop signs? The Law.

It will happen something like this.

One day, perhaps a warm sunny day in May, you will be sitting in relative comfort at a desk in your house. Your transmitter will be on. A vehicle will quietly turn onto your street and park in a space beside your neighbor's house. You will assume it is the mailman, or perhaps someone delivering a pizza to a friend. But instead it will be a dark grey van with the name "Joe's Cleaners" on the side. A short time later, a tiny hatch will open in the roof and a somewhat strange-looking antenna in the shape of a loop will emerge. It will slowly begin to rotate. It will pause for a few seconds, and then rotate again. After about ten minutes, the van will leave.

Several days later, a knock will come at your door. You will unsuspectingly open the door to see two rather well-dressed gentlemen wearing dark sunglasses. One of them will present you with some official looking documents. The other will then advise that you are under arrest. You will exclaim, "What have I done? What is this all about?". One of the gentlemen will calmly turn to the other, nod slightly, and say, "He was about to become an embarassment".

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Nefarious Wheel]

You can still get a message across in the bush with your car horn when you're far from the nearest phone cell, too. Morse can be useful.

Have you ever noticed the dit-dit-dit dah-dah dit-dit-dit of some phones' SMS alarms? Well, that's what it is -- Morse for "SMS".

See? You're still using it.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[MBraynard]

Ahhhh - it just occured to me what Vivendi might of been thinking when they combined the WB network and UPN into 'the CW.' Thanks.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

Satellite phones work great, when the satellite is operational. Internet works even better if the bandwidth is available. Ham radio's advantages have diminished in the face of new technology. However, the more we communicate, the more we depend on communication.

Modern telecom infrastructure is vulnerable to natural disasters and attack by hostile forces. The Internet was originally designed to be robust enough to survive a nuclear attack, but redundancy has given way to performance and corporate interests. Ham radio is still a critical component at the "bottom" of the communications hierarchy.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Bruce Perens]

Pardon me, but the Morse code argument is OVER. There is no Morse code requirement any longer, anywhere, with the possible exception of Russia.

Unfortunately, this came a few decades too late. We did not get an increase in new people becoming hams. A lot of existing hams upgraded their licenses, but the overall number of radio amateurs is declining today. New hams are not enrolling in sufficient amounts to replace those with expiring licenses (who are probably mostly dead).

Bruce

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[josecanuc]

This is why bands like the 80 and 160m bands are morse code only. This is false. 80m and 160m bands are legal for all modes.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[afternoon_nap]

Ham radio is alive, even with computers, and that goes for cw and PSK31. If you use a computer for decoding PSK31 (which I do) then why not use the same hardware for decoding cw? I use a computer to decode my cw. I've passed my 5wpm test a few years ago and can copy 10-15wpm. However, with a wife, a career, and kids running around the house I can't dedicate time to improving my cw copy speed. However, for a few bucks at I can make a cw and RTTY keying interface for my computer and let a number of programs key the radio and transmit. I work a lot of DX this way and have a lot of fun doing so. Using the above setup I worked all over the world into places I needed a map to see where they were.

So my workaround is to still work cw, except I use my computer. A very good digimode program is fldigi which is GPLd in linux and ported to FreeBSD by VA3DB (Diane Bruce, who wrote a lot of the IRC code). fldigi has also been imported into DM780, part of Ham Radio Deluxe. Both programs take advantage of protocols permitting the computer to control the radio via a serial interface.

Diane has also created a bootable cdrom full of ham software she's ported to FreeBSD, called HamFreeSBIE. Google it for a download link, as it's always under development.

Hams tinker and homebuild and develop because they can, just like they go to far away places and operate: because they can. We also provide emergency services because we can. And we make stuff work because we can. I have fewer limitations when using ham radio than when I use my cell phone. And I don't have to pay access fees, either. I do this hobby because I can.

If you want to get more insight into what hams are doing with computers and software, check into irc.freenode.net #hamradio and chat. You'll meet some very good developers and users alike, both working to keep ham radio active.

- N4CI

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[peragrin]

Look up iridium then. Sat phone to Sat. phone calls are not only possible but the norm. It only has to go to a ground station when interconnecting to land lines and other telephone networks.

Iridium Satellites aren't even high speed tech, but use something like 8 bit processors.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[NeilTheStupidHead]

So in your next home build, throw a couple of thermionic valves in there. All of a sudden, you'll be the "bee's knees"!

I sympathize with you, when I started my tech training in naval electronics, I had already built my own TRF receiver and could troubleshoot and fix all but the most complex electronics (i.e. surface mount is beyond my abilities, I'm too 'ham-handed' to make a semi-topical pun). My knowledge and experience were derided by my instructors and caused outright hostility among my classmates/coworkers who thought I was simply 'showing off'.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[kevin_conaway]

Perhaps that's because they've had their houses since before subdividers began putting a stop to amateur radio with covenants against antennas.

Its my understanding that only the FCC can place limits on radio equipment such as antennae. Can someone correct me?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[beetinkle]

Sorry to see your post. I guess it is just the "Big City" problem. Here in rural kansas we have a triving club and as much 'elmering' as you want. But then again people in the communtiy are the same way. Glad to be in the backwards part of the country. I have had my ticket since 2002 and have found most of the contacts that I have made very eager to extend a "helping hand" answr any questions I have or give advise and encouragement. It does not matter what part of society you look at you will find the bad as well as the good in people. We, the amatuer communtiy, as a whole are here to promote the hobby and assist the public as we can.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Mr_Perl]

Actually CW in its simplicity is the best mode to use to communicate long distances over noisy airwaves, it has fantastic propagation. The old guys know that, they're not just sentimental. It could be vital in the event of a massive disaster.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[grumling]

Agreed. Sure, I did not need to learn code (but I know it enough to get the repeater ID), but I mess around with advanced modes and SDR. Different skill set.
Morse is useful for kids who may have trouble with the theory, though.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Mr_Perl]

Keep in mind that they did do a lot to still encourage CW use by having sections on HF available CW-only to Tech class licensees. That was enough to get me interested before I upgraded my ticket, and now that I have I still am interested as the majority of contests happening these days use it too. I think there are plenty of incentives to hams to learn it still. In my opinion this "carrot" approach beats the "stick" approach by far.

73s
KD0BVK

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[wr1tx]

Not so, my friend. I'm 43 years old and have in ham radio for 16 years. I've done a lot of things in this hobby, from just enjoying conversations with anybody to active contesting to emergency communications, and far more. I use Morse code, but it is only one form of communication in our hobby. We are always ready to serve, and we embrace technology quite readily. It's a shame that people don't realize this, and it's also a shame that some people on this thread make this a code vs no-code debate. No wonder we don't get more positive press...can't we stop that debate and just move on???

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[mikeb]

The parent is right. Back when it was exciting and cool and there weren't microprocessors I was excited about radio and got my licence. Then it was a buzz.

My 12-year old son (to humour me) spent 2 days studying this summer and passed his foundation licence with ease. He prefers to chat all around the world on MSN rather than strain his ears to hear SSB signals that don't travel as far. Like building your own steam engines, the peak for Amateur Radio has almost certainly passed. I still enjoy it, but then I use it to chat to friends I made back in the 70s and the occasional new person who get welcomed to the community.

Since it only takes a few days of study and a test to get the licence, it's hardly onerous if you are interested. And the equipment is not expensive. A good 2m/70cm handheld costs around US$200 or less, an all-band HF set around $400 from ebay. Compare that with top range mobile phones and it's not that bad, but unlike the family PC which is probably just there and costs 'nothing' it's still not free.

Times move on. No point in having regrets.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Like2Byte]

In addition, with the Internet you can basically walk to your computer and email the person you just talked to halfway around the world.

Email is so old-skool. Kids these days are using free voip services such as http://www.ventrilo.com./ Looking at it from my perspective kids don't even have to know how to type!

We're doomed. DOOMED, I tells ya! Now get off lawn. ;)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[giminy]

A few months ago, I would have agreed with you. I'm 27, and just got my ham ticket (KE7OZN). I have sort of been surprised at the renewing interest in it among youth though. Prime example: I just went to a ham radio meeting at the University of Idaho (W7UQ) and there were about 20 people in attendance. Only three of them (myself included) were over 25. There is also a nifty high school north of me that does a ham radio class; I've been hearing a lot of 14-18 year olds hopping onto the local repeaters and the kids seem pretty excited about it.

I think that a lot of the digital modes (a prime example being D-Star, which is 128kbps data around 1.3 ghz) are helping to renew interest, as are APRS and other internetty protocols (there was an article a few weeks ago on slashdot about people doing private balloon launches into the high atmosphere -- APRS is often used to track the things). Also, a lot of people don't know it, but the low end of 802.11 (channels 1-4 I believe) is primarily ham radio space, meaning people with home access points that interfere with hams on those channels have some legal obligation to leave the frequency. Even a Technician, the license where you essentially have to know how to spell your name, and know what the FCC is, can use 50 watts of power on those 802.11 frequencies, which is quite a bit of distance to talk 802.11!

I think that the world trade center attacks, hurricane katrina, the wildfires in southern california, and the flooding in oregon/washington have demonstrated that the Internet is great, but it just doesn't cut it when there are big disasters. All of these events have seen hams stepping up to the plate and succeeding where the internet can't. It's a big country, I doubt that cell phones and fiber will cover it all any time in this century (for an amusing and somewhat related story, check out ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt , search for 'Catalina,' for another [tiny] ham radio rescue from a few weeks ago).

Cheers,
Reid

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[GooberToo]

Even membership at the largest groups like the Free Masons is drastically down because of this "me,me,me,ME!" shift in community focus.

My belief is you're seeing the same sickness which has infected almost all levels of society. And IMOHO, it seems to get worse with the current generation. The current generation is all about "me" and all feel entitled. And if you don't play their game of giving to them, then you're not worth spit so why should they do anything for anyone else.

In other words, I don't see what you're describing as a ham problem, I see it as a larger societal problem.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Walkingshark]

If you broadcast without using the proper protocols (including a unique radio callsign), the FCC will rain hell down on you. Fines, equipment confiscation, and all that fun stuff. And expect the Hams in the area to report you, as you'll be stepping on people's toes.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[NGinuity]

FYI, there is no more morse code requirement. For any license classes....not one. Feel free to get that license now :-)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[tompatman]

I think it's too bad this is happening, although I agree with the reasons you stated. I'm 31, I got a no code tech. license when I was 16 and was using autopatches for mobile phone calls and packet radio for email before anyone cared about cell phones or the internet. I even recieved some packet broadcasts from the MIR space station with a 1/4 wave coathanger built antenna once.

Advances in technology have taken all of that excitement away now, but I still keep my 2M radio handy, because if anything catastrophic ever happens I know that will become the most important piece of tech. equipment I own.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[ashpool7]

They had this program in fifth grade that was training kids to be hams. I still have the ARRL book. The electronics made it very exciting to me at the time, but the morse code eventually drove me away. I was willing to memorize signal patterns, acronyms, and other transferrable electronics knowledge, but to know CW for no other purpose other than "just in case" turned me off. I could have put up with the low WPM for the Novice, but I wanted in on the other frequencies with the bigger licenses (and more radio know-how) with more complicated equipment, but that required faster CW, so the carrot kind of disappeared and I quit studying.

By the time the morse requirement dropped, I was already big on computer programming and it just wasn't as exciting anymore. Who know, maybe I would have been an electrical engineer instead of a CS major.

So yeah, from this side of the fence, big mistake. :-( Maybe you should start that grade-school program up again.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

Just to clarify, in the USA as of 23 February 2007, there is no Morse code exam requirement for any of the US amateur radio license classes. All that is required is to pass a written exam. Additionally, a 'no code' Technician license has been around since 1991.
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/01/24/100/?nc=1

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Strider-]

I have to disagree on that. I've pulled psk31 seemingly out of nowhere with good copy.

I know of at least one person who was setting up to do psk31, opened their laptop, tuned the radio, then saw that the psk software was already decoding an ongoing QSO... without hooking up the audio cable. Turns out, the software was pulling the audio off the laptop's built in microphone, which was in turn picking up the audio from the radio's speaker. That's how rugged this mode is.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[netcrusher88]

Actually I'm pretty sure that the ARRL was neutral on the federal level, pretty much just advising caution and supporting advancement. Being a member of the ARRL at the time, the temperature of most of the community seemed to be that striking that requirement was a good idea, save for the ever-present 'vocal minority' who seemed to think that it would bring about the Eternal September (or maybe the End) of Amateur Radio (though I never saw that term used... I suspect they had never heard of that newfangled Usenet thing). Well... it didn't. Probably something to do with the written tests.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[deck]

Yep! I've have been involved with this avocation for over 30 years. It has its resemblence to Linux in that way. I've known Amateur Operators both young and old that have bad attitudes. They are the ones you remember because of their negativity. I know many more that don't have those attitudes and try to help others to enjoy Amateur Radio or benifit from it.

WD5HHH (you may look me up on QRZ.com)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[AgentPaper]

Funny, that. My parents purchased a sat-phone for remote area travel (they do a lot of fishing and hunting in extremely remote locations, both in the US and internationally), with the understanding that the phone would work anywhere you could see the sky. Wrong - there also needs to be a ground uplink station somewhere within a thousand miles of your location. That little caveat came back to haunt them in northern Alaska, and then again in Labrador. Satellites all over the place, but they couldn't get a signal from the ground station, which rendered the sat-phone a $600 brick (and I do mean brick - the blasted thing weighs about a pound and comes in a bright yellow Pelican case that looks like it could hold a nuclear device).

Sat-phones also don't work particularly well in storms or heavy cloud cover, nor do they work at sea (see above about ground stations). In short, they're fairly useless in just about every situation where you'd need them the most. Ham radio has no such restrictions - there's always a way to get a signal through. If I were going to the boonies and had the choice of a radio or a sat-phone, I'd take the radio every time.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[KE4FOV]

An essential detail that you may be missing about Ham Radio is its incredible diversity. There is something in this hobby for almost everybody. Emergency communication is a big part of it, but so are things like:

    meeting new people and making friends
    new technology
    discussing topics from router configuration to politics to psychology

The requirement for Morse Code has been eliminated and the hobby has seen a significant surge in new licensees. In the last week, I have talked to new operators from age 11 to 30 something.

Morse Code will be with us for a long time because there are good reasons to keep it, but there are also new digital protocols which support simultaneous voice and data transmission and the combining of old and new such as connecting repeaters together using the Internet and VOIP.

This is a very dynamic and diverse hobby. The rumors of its demise are extremely exaggerated.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[CrimsonAvenger]

Look up iridium then. Sat phone to Sat. phone calls are not only possible but the norm. It only has to go to a ground station when interconnecting to land lines and other telephone networks.

Yes, do look up Iridium. Where Satphone to Satphone calls are routed from phone to sat to groundstation to sat to phone. All Iridium calls go through their central control station groundside.

Even calling between a satphone in your right hand and one in your left, they go through the groundstation. As I have reason to know, having spent part of the last couple years doing just that while working out the quirks of Iridium phones.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[joseph.moore]

I've been reading the comments about old hams being rude and failing to mentor new hams and I have to tell you, I don't see it. I've been licensed since 1982 and I still consider myself a new ham in many respects. With every new venture I seek the mentoring of those who came before me and I usually get good advise. When I get the chance, I share what I have learned in my quarter century of being a ham. That may classify me as one of the old farts you refer to, but remember all of those old farts were young hams once too.

As for the bands turning into CB, well see that in some areas. Take a listen on 75 meters and tell me if you would like your family or friends to listen in! Personally it is disappointing to think that a person skilled enough to setup and operate an HF station would act the way some do. I was shocked at the vulgar language, blatant disregard for the rules or others. There are vulgar old farts and young pups alike ... plenty of blame to go around! Perception is important and it is true, a minority give a bad perception.

Do I think that changing the testing requirements has ruined the hobby? Not by a long shot!

For myself, I'll let you consider me an old fart, a young pup or something in the middle and I'll enjoy the hobby for what it is. When the time comes to help others as an Elmer or in an emergency I'll be there the best I can. Truly, isn't that we all strive for?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[tgd]

I disagree... There are lots of encodings that cover a bigger character set that could be sent electronically over those bands (hell, plain ol' ASCII) Its sentiment that those bands are restricted to manual use of CW instead of being able to be used by more automated systems that could transmit more information with more reliability.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[furley]

"So how do you attract new blood to an activity that's waaay too geeky to begin with? Kids aren't going to bother learning Morse when they can use a program to do the same thing - why would they bother?" 1. For the newcomers, forget Morse entirely and focus on voice. Here in Canada, a Basic HAM license doesn't require Morse training at all. 2. Tie the technology to something the new blood will enjoy. I rally race on the weekends in the far-flung reaches of BC, and the only communications system that allows our sport to operate is HAM; as such, pretty much everyone in the club is now HAM-trained. HAM is very much alive and kicking in the niches in which it is indispensable.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. Different bird, different flock, different pasture. Got it?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[jcgf]

We have to stop thinking of frequency bands as precious resources to be auctioned and cordoned off, and start thinking of them as channels that can be defined in software and re-allocated and prioritized based on use.

This is a dumb idea. The electomegnetic spectrum is a finite resource which needs to be shared by everyone, and if you just opened it up to public use, it would just be a bunch of noise.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I didn't get my Ham license to loose 20m to some bitch who wants to talk to her boyfriend across town because her transceiver decided to use that "channel".

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[stevew]

I am NOT over 60 years old - just over 50! Dag nabbit!

de KA6S

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

"Anyway, in my experience the people left on the airwaves are all at least 60 years old."

I'm a 19 year old ham radio operator*, and I have
been heard different places other than in my own country
via the HF bands. Today I just can't be very active, because I live
in a dormitory. I think one of the hobby's worst problems
today is, that you can buy a ridiculously advanced radio for almost
no money. There's no longer any point in making your own equipment.
This is almost per definition what radio amateurs do.
I find it much more interesting to build circuits
and make them work myself, than it is to speak with whoever on the other side of the
globe. Young people do this regularly today.

The fun thing about radio communication, however,
is that you're responsible for the generation
of the EM waves that are directly being picked up at the other end.
(instead of needing a series of routers you don't own)

* Licensed since I was 18.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[plawsy]

The code requirement for license to operate on radio bands that are considered long distance is mandatory by the treaties that setup a global radiospace for ham radio.

Until a few years ago. The International Radio Regulations were changed by consensus in 2003 and the US FCC finally dropped all Morse Code telegraphy testing in February of 2007. Now it's only the hard-core whiners that carry on about Morse. :-)

Where US testing is lacking is in the theory. I have no issue with the Q&A pool being public domain (as it has been since 1984), but we really need more than a 35-question to get in, and 35- and 50-question tests to upgrade. Make them all at least 50. At one time, there was a Morse telegraphy test to pass as well, however ... :-)

And for goodness' sake, make them at least as hard as when I too the tests in 1991! Yes, that's a bit of "I had to do it so you should too"ism, but so?

73,
Peter

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[ryanisflyboy]

In my opinion the most important of all: Morse code doesn't have an accent.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[ncc74656]

Have you ever noticed the dit-dit-dit dah-dah dit-dit-dit of some phones' SMS alarms? Well, that's what it is -- Morse for "SMS".

I'd heard that before, and wondered why a - went missing, as I know that ...---... is SOS. I've made a couple of attempts at learning Morse code, but have never gotten all the way through.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[KC7GR]

@jimmyhat3939...

"...In addition, with the Internet you can basically walk to your computer and email the person you just talked to halfway around the world..."

Uh huh. Sure. And what if, for whatever reason, you cannot get to an Internet connection? Or what if you can, and the 'net is inaccessible or down at the recipient's end?

You obviously had your license at one time. Perhaps you're still active. Have you forgotten the single biggest advantage that the Amateur Radio service has over other communication methods, including the Internet? Specifically, that we can operate easily without ANY infrastructure. No phone lines? No problem. No Internet? No problem. Even in cases of no utility power? No problem. That's what batteries and even human-operated generators are for.

I've been licensed for 30 years, and I'm just now getting to a point where I can get HF capability back again. I wouldn't be burning time and money doing so if I thought that "Ham's day is over" or anything silly like that.

Like Life itself, amateur radio is a mirror. You get back out of it exactly what you put into it. Perhaps, if you're no longer happy with what you're getting back from it, you should seek another hobby...?

73 de KC7GR (formerly WD6EOS, original license December 1977).

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Obfuscant]

You can reply until you're blue in the face about how great Morse is, but that's not relevant to the topic at hand.

That's right, Morse is not relevant. At all. You don't need to know Morse code to get any level of amateur radio license. Whining about how difficult it is to learn Morse code as an excuse for not getting a license is OVER.

It's a 35 question MULTIPLE CHOICE test, out of which you need only 75% to pass. Many of the questions are common sense. Most of the rest require a small amount of memorization at best. You can get a complete list of all the possible questions, as well as all the correct answers, off the net.

The cost for the test varies from about $15 to free. (Yes, one VEC charges nothing for giving the test.) If you live anywhere near Dayton, OH, you can take your test one day and BE ON THE AIR the next. On Hamvention weekend, the VEC that does testing uploads the data themselves, so Friday testees know their callsigns on Saturday.

You can go from ignorant to licensed in a weekend, if you work at it. I know, because for the last three years our group has given weekend classes to people who have an interest but no background, with a test on Sunday afternoon, and we have a 100% pass percentage, with a large number of people getting 100% right.

E=IR. P=IE. L=486/f. That's about all the math you need.

And Blakey Rat, that wasn't directed at you 'cause you weren't the one whining, it was information for everyone.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Mike Buddha]

Yeah, except that I was able to get in on the ground floor with Linux :P

Actually, I find it a lot easier to get quality help with Linux than with Radio. There is an awful lot of folklore floating around the ham community disguised as common knowledge. To suggest anything other than the rote ham canon is anathema and you'll be cast out with derision, and no one will be able to explain how you're wrong, just that you are.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[kd5ujz]

K7AGE has demonstrated this in a video he created for youtube. It is at the following link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQpBGh9RMEQ

Best regards,
William Gray, KD5UJZ

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Mike Buddha]

Well, I started 2 years ago and am definately a new ham. There aren't any active clubs in my area, except for EmComms. I'm not ready to commit to something like that yet, so I was just looking for some advice and help on getting started, and found none. Asking questions on online forums soon turned out to be a big waste of time, as there are gangs of disgruntled flamers waiting to pounce on anyone with a question that "everyone should already know". Every single question I'd asked got turned into a "Code vs. No-Code" flame war.

I should clarify: the ONLINE ham community is less inclusive than the real world ham community. I've never heard anything but encouragement from hams face to face. No one has ever come up to me and derided my abilities because I was licensed after 1992 (when the CW requirement for Technicians was dropped). I have had jerks spout off about how bad things are getting because of new hams on the repeaters, though. It seems these cowards get more gutsy the further they are from actual human interaction.

It would be nice to have a quality ham forum that allowed users to ignore troublemaking lusers. As it is, the two big ones (eham.net and qrz.com) don't have this ability, so if you want to ask a question, you're open season for the flamers to hijack your threads.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[RobertLTux]

and then there is the nonzero chances that the Ham you hacked off carries and you will not be reported to the police but be found in 2080 in some remote location in about 8000 pieces

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Deadstick]

The FCC protects ham antennas against unreasonable restrictive ordinances, but restrictive covenants are a contractual matter and the FCC can't touch them. In principle, when you buy a house you are signing a contract to comply with all the covenants the developer placed on it, and to transmit them contractually to any future buyer. Of course, it's optional...you have the choice of accepting the covenants, or not buying a new house in most of the United States.

rj

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

>but restrictive covenants are a contractual matter and the FCC can't touch them.
The FCC has also said that Congress can change the covenants...maybe one day they will.
They struck down CC&R's that are civil rights violations, and although restrictions on antennas are certainly less egregious than restrictions on human beings, maybe one day Congress will address the issue and come up with more of a compromise than the current one-sidedness.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[cweditor]

I learned Morse and passed my 13 WPM, but I never enjoyed it and wasn't very good at it. I'm still not. However, I was sorry my skills weren't better during the war in Bosnia, when I was trying to keep in contact with friends under siege in Sarajevo. Sometimes, that's all the signal they were able to get out, running on scarce generator power or a car battery.

In an extended disaster/emergency situation, power may be at a great premium, and Morse code makes more sense than voice communication or powering up a computer along with a radio.

I did also communicate with people in Bosnia during the war by voice, and TCP/IP over the amateur radio bands. I'm in favor of keeping as many options as possible. Not everyone needs to be an expert in all of them, but I support exposing people to as many modes as possible and letting them decide which ones they want to use.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[mstahl]

Thanks for the correction. It's been a while since I've been heard on either of those, code or no. I can typically be found on the 2m and 70cm bands, and usually then only when I'm on long car trips or stranded somewhere. It's come in handy sometimes.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[fm6]

Actually, FCC rules trump housing covenants. I used to work for a homeowners management company, and sat through more discussions of antenna rules than I like to think about. I don't know the current rules for amateur antennas, but I do know the FCC won't let local entities ban commercial (usually satellite dish) antennas when there isn't an alternative (such as cable) for receiving the same broadcast. In turn, the owner of the antenna has to work with the local entity to minimize the eyesore factor.

What's really been bad for ham radio is the growth of new technologies. Radio used to be the main outlet for people with fiddle with tech. But back in the 80s, when computers became a consumer item, they attracted a lot of people who might have become hams, or were already hams, and had become bored with it.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[hax4bux]

I got my novice back in the '60s and my extra in 1979 (I think, it has been a long time). I even had 2nd class radio telegraph and radio telephone licenses back in the day (the next time you complain about morse code, go look at the test for commercial radio telegraph).

I don't even own a transmitter any more, but I do renew my license just in case I get back in the mood.

I'm not going to defend old people or the attitudes you are complaining about. Eventually you will have your own turn at complaining about the way things have gone. Do let us know how you feel then.

I will say this: IMO ham radio DID start to deteriorate when the general ham population changed from experimenters to appliance operators. Put another way, when the hobby became more about buying stuff than making stuff, it started to suck.

If you were an early computer user, you might note similar parallels. Or not.

I personally would rather hang out w/people who are actually writing software (or building stuff) than people who just buy stuff.

Which is why I don't bother w/ham radio any more. But I am happy to see some positive press for it.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

Thats nothing, I've had people talk right over the top of an MT63 QSO and still got 100% copy.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[dorath]

Currently there are no licenses that require Morse code. PDF of announcement.

Got my Technician just last month. My grandpa was speechless (and not beceause he replied in Morse).

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[jshriverWVU]

I'm 29 and became a ham earlier this year. I think there are to many posts knocking amateur radio as an "old time hobby". One of the reasons I was introduced to Ham was Suit-sat. Where a russian space suit had an ham rig added and set into orbit. The thought of using radio to transmit data, or heaven forbid work at satellite seemed like something reserved for NASA. Nope some studying, and a minimal fee for the license later I can do things like that.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Toonol]

When they're all gone, can we then get broadband over powerlines? Isn't the interference with ham radio the main problem with that tech?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Deadstick]

I'm pretty certain satellite TV antennas are treated separately, with some Congressional help, thanks to having a big-buck industry behind them.

rj

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[joseph.moore]

I am in complete agreement that constructive forums for hams are sorely missing, unfortunately I don't have the solution. Keep plugging away on the air, as with most things it will be worth it in the long run. KA9LMK

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[fm6]

If you're only "reasonably certain" of something, you might want to Google a bit. According to the ARRL, the reasonable accommodation rule applies to ham antennas too.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Bruce Perens]

If it ever happens that they are all gone, which we will of course try to prevent from happening, someone else will want to make use of that valuable radio spectrum for communicating and will have the same objections. And internet over power lines at that point will be so far obsolete, nobody will want it. Indeed, it's really only marginal today. Those wires just weren't made to hold that sort of signal.

Fiber to the home is really the only viable way to meet future bandwidth needs.

Bruce

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[plover]

Actually, it does! People who are expert at Morse code develop a distinctive keying rhythm or style, which an experienced receiver can identify. Hams refer to this as recognizing their "fist."

For a fairly well documented account, check out some of the histories of code breaking that was going on in WWII. The Allied radio operators who were intercepting German messages were able to recognize many individual German radio officers just by the pattern of their dits and dahs. This was especially helpful in identifying which ship was transmitting, as the same operators continued to work from the same boats. It also was reportedly used to recognize when a spy had been captured. The spy was forced to reveal their transmission frequencies, times, and code words, and the Germans kept up a phony conversation, trying to feed the Allies misinformation. But if anyone but the spy sent the message, the Allied radio operator might recognize the difference in the fist.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[plover]

For every great thing you can name about the code, I can name another mode that does it better.

Only because you brought it up, I will point out that packet transmitters will likely not survive an EMP. Digital transmitters, receivers, and decoders will be useless from that moment forward. Even transistor-based analog radios will be destroyed. The induced current will cause semiconductors to fry themselves out in everything from mainframes to iPods, and cars to refrigerators, regardless of their power state at the time of the blast. But vacuum tube radios will continue to work, and I am unaware of any valve-based PSK decoders.

And that's the kind of old-school reliability that old-school hams hang on to Morse for. Ask any 55-year-old if they remember classroom drills taking shelter under their desks from the fallout in case the Russkies "drop the big one". Terrorists with their wimpy box cutters are nothing but punks compared to the threat of armies of commies sending us real atom bombs. Whether or not you or I still consider nuclear war to be an actual threat isn't relevant. The lessons associated with that kind of fear stay with you forever.

But that's not what the hobby is about.

I totally agree. The spirit of hams is in the "can-do" attitude, and most of the hams I know savor their ability to communicate three different ways in otherwise impossible conditions.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[divemaster1962]

That's actually changed - our club is growing by leaps and bounds in the past year with tons of new people. 73 de K0RCW (Robert)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[BlakJak-ZL1VMF]

Firstly: Morse Code has not been a requirement in order to access frequencies above 30Mhz for quite some time.
You can operate VHF and upwards based on your technical/regulatory examination only. The US call it a Tech Class.
The Tech Class was retired - with morse code - in New Zealand in 2004. Other countries did the same around the same time. (Reference: ). The USA did similar in 2006.
Try reviewing for some info on the subject in a US Context.

The code-v-no-code argument goes on and on but the fact remains that Amateur Radio is still about innovative communications solutions. I'm still on the sunny side of 30 and have been enjoying the hobby since I was 16. I got a kick out of talking to MIR on my 5Watt Handheld + Vertical Antenna combo and discussing with Andy Thomas my future aspirations, age 17. I still get a kick out of the various ways my radio knowledge has helped my community, and helps me professionally every day.

Good on Oregon for getting Ham Radio out there. (Its not an acronym; its not HAM radio... !!) Try it, before you knock it, folks...

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Deadstick]

OK, from your link:

Note that PRB-1 does not currently cover covenant or private land use regulations.

Why may covenants have no limitations on small DBS dishes and TV antennas, but carry limitations for amateur antennas?

Private land use regulation of Amateur antennas is not preempted by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, but most private land use regulation of DBS dishes and TV antennas is. Congress was interested in promoting competition (and thus lowering costs and improving service) in video delivery services. That legislation had nothing to do with Amateur Radio. ARRL is working to provide extension of the PRB-1 protections for amateurs. Watch ARRL news sources. To help the ARRL effort and for a sample letter you can write your Congressional representatives about providing relief for amateurs see this news story.

rj

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Deadstick]

I don't think HAM can get through the center of the Earth

Doesn't need to. It can go around.

rj

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[joto]

Basically, what you are saying is that your parents should have checked something like this coverage page before they spent their money. It sounds like they bought Globalsat. They should have bought Iridium.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[ryanisflyboy]

That is really cool. I hadn't heard of that before.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[joto]

I REALLY doubt the satellites running the phones have enough intelligence for P2P-type operation. Most communication satellites are fairly dumb transponders. They don't do much other than receive a signal on one frequency and rebroadcast it on another. This gives them a lot of flexibility over their lifetime.

Does it matter? The typical use-case for most people using satellite phone is communication between a remote area, and a not-so-remote area. The only benefit from p2p-satellites would be a (at least theoretically) shorter lag when two people using sat-phones are speaking to each other. I can't see that I have given the impression that sat-phones work this way either. The grand-grand-parent post seemed to have confused sat-phones with normal cell-phones, and that was what I responded to.

This also means that if the ground operations center goes down, those satellite phones will do precisely jack shit. Satellites are also susceptible to jamming and other denial of service attacks. Ham radio is more difficult to jam, and requires absolutely no infrastructure.

Actually, I'm a lot more concerned about satellites going down than ground-stations going down. Satellites are expensive, and they have a relatively short lifetime, so for economic reasons your phone may to stop working in the future. Ground-stations merely need an UPS to keep going. But yeah, you have a point, if you want to keep communicating over long distances after world war three causes almost total nuclear annihilation of the earth, lo-tech solutions are your best bet. Ham-radio is lo-tech.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Anonymous Coward]

Try sending an emoticon over morse!

---... -...- -.--.-

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Vampos DeCampos]

Don't forget the dah-dit-dah-dit dah-dah-dah dah-dit dah-dit dit dah-dit-dah-dit dah dit-dit dah-dit dah-dah-dit ; dit-dah-dah-dit dit dah-dah-dah dit-dah-dah-dit dit-dah-dit-dit dit ;-) (That would be "connecting people").

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[SomeoneGotMyNick]

Arthur C Clarke says something like, "Every space engineer would expect to use Morse twice over the course of his career. When he did use it, it would probably save his life." That's why I always mod Arthur C. Clark (+5, Insightful)

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[SomeoneGotMyNick]

The Allied radio operators who were intercepting German messages were able to recognize many individual German radio officers just by the pattern of their dits and dahs As a former shortwave voice operator in the US Army, we were trained to talk in a monotone voice that was not quite our own. This was to prevent someone from isolating a particular operator transmission thread. We were encouraged to modify the tone slightly on each transmissions.

We had a contest once in radio school. The class was split and separated. The people in one group had to identify the person transmitting from the other group. The goal was to be the last one identified. I didn't win, but I came close by always doing my impression of a Speak & Spell.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[stamour547]

Just to correct everyone on the topic of the Code requirement. The FCC dropped Morse code as a requirement for any and all amateur radio exams as of the end of Feb. of this year. up until then a code test was needed for a general or extra class license, but now no code is required. Code can still be used if an operator knows it but a test is not needed to prove one knows it. It is just another mode that we amateur radio operators can use. 73 N3NQ

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[fm6]

I stand corrected. And of course even when the only barrier to SW antennas is a zoning law, many people will find another hobby, rather than go to the trouble and expense of getting the law overturned.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[HamGirl]

The people left on the airwaves are not all atleast 60 years old. I know alot of people that are under 60 and still quite active. There are activities that don't just involve sitting at a radio. You can participate in multiple transmitter hunting (fast paced, olympic style fox hunting). You have to use your navigation skills to make your way through a course that has hidden transmitters. You can also make contacts via satellites, put radio's in model cars and planes. There is also the ability to transmit images via TV as well. So, as you can see there are alot of things that can and have been attracting people much younger than 60 years old. If you tune around the bands or even check out arrl.org, you will see that there are other people that are much younger than 60 years old on the air.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[k2dbk]

The international treaties that required morse code were revised a couple (or more years) ago to remove that requirement. The United States was relatively late in the game to remove code as a licensing requirement. A lot of other countries did it first. And the code-free license provided privs on bands like 10 meters, which, when open, is truly a global band. I have contacted 162 countries on 10m, at last count, and that's by no means a high total. Granted, before removing the requirement entirely, the no-code licenses were more restrictive on 10m, but they still provided some "long-distance" capability.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[AgentPaper]

You're absolutely right - their phone is a Globalstar. They couldn't get Iridium because there isn't a dealer anywhere in their metro area (Detroit, MI). Iridium isn't a whole lot better, though - sure, you can bounce calls from satellite to satellite, but they all eventually still have to be routed through a ground station. Sigh.

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[NateTech]

PSK31 is good, but the recent test article in QEX shows it's actually one of the WORST performing of the modern digital modes, when faced with HF fading and other types of noise.

It's old enough now that it's "popular" and the newer technology is on the climbing edge of that curve, but it'll get there quickly -- because it performs a heck of a lot better in real-world noise conditions.

Give it a few years. There's always something better on the horizon, and the lightly used modes that are just starting to get people's interest will be tomorrow's PSK31. And something else will be coming over the horizon...

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[Myself]

You did see the Morse code vent slots on the WD "My Book" external hard drives, right?

Re:Ham's day is over, probably

[tzanger]

I may be a little off-base here, but isn't 3330kHz considered 80m? CHU operates there (and on 40m and 20m too) and it's not morse-only. I know this because I'm in the middle of building a 40m SSB receiver for it for my brother, who is one of those time geeks from the other article. :-) I can't find a receiver with a Bell 103 demodulator in it, so I'm building one for him. Lots of fun. :-)

I was going to build a heterodyne receiver, but I read that I can just tune a regular DC receiver "off" a little (nobody says how much, but I imagine it's a few hundred Hertz so that the mark/space is the right frequency pair) and run with a single NE602 to do both LO generation and mixing and get him something acceptable.

New form of file sharing!

[calebt3]

If one could account for signal distortion/degradation, ham radio sets could conceivably be used for broadcasting files. And I mean as a binary ogg/mp3/aac/flac/whatever, not as audio that can be played by any radio.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[corsec67]

You mean something like Packet Radio

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude- you should totally invent this. And call it packet radio!

Re:New form of file sharing!

[calebt3]

Well, this is embarrassing. How popular is it? Also, what kind of bandwidth is there?

Re:New form of file sharing!

[corsec67]

Actually I think it is quite slow, similar to modem speeds. Its advantage is the range and durability of the signal, not throughput. Also, you can't encrypt anything sent over Packet Radio, since it is technically an Ameture radio band.

I love how 3 of us gave the exact same link to wikipedia...

Re:New form of file sharing!

[gbobeck]

Actually, I prefer D-Star ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR ) over packet radio.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Rorschach1]

Up to 802.11b speeds are in general use - mostly using 802.11b equipment, in fact. Megabit range data links aren't uncommon for microwave frequencies.

Myself, I stick mostly to slow but useful 1200 baud AFSK on VHF. When you're passing things like short text messages, telemetry, and position reports, you don't NEED huge amounts of speed. What you need is a system to get the most critical information to where it will do the most good. And 1200 baud has a big advantage in that you can use it over damn near anything that'll pass a voice signal. You can fit an entire modem and protocol stack in a $2, 8-bit microcontroller, too - no fancy ASICs or DSPs needed (see my link below).

As for the long-distance HF communications people usually associate with ham radio, there's PSK-31 which is a very robust and efficient mode designed for keyboard-to-keyboard use. It's slow, but works when almost nothing else does. It can be encoded with the above-mentioned MCU (I do that for propagation beacons and such) but most people just use a sound card and PC.

Pactor III and other modes give you speeds suitable for email on the HF bands, and they're used for that quite a bit.

Ham radio in emergency situations is less about fancy toys, though, and more about having people with the training and knowledge to be able to use them, and to improvise when things go wrong. That's another reason I stick with relatively low-tech stuff - I'd rather build low-cost devices that can be kludged into doing all sorts of useful things than to focus on finicky, expensive, cutting-edge stuff that's going to fall apart when the fecal matter hits the air circulating device.

Yes, there are a lot of crusty old guys on the radio. But keep in mind that ham radio is what nerds did BEFORE computers and Slashdot, and a lot of them remember that spirit, even if they've fallen behind the curve a bit in technology. There's also a growing number of young hams developing exciting things like GNU Radio, and the open source philosophy is increasingly prevalent in the community. I'm certain that in the next decade open source will be THE major driving force in the hobby.

In the end, it's really just a return to the hobby's roots. There's always been a great deal of information sharing and experimentation, but much of that spirit has dwindled in recent years because of the aging population and the increasing complexity and manufacturing costs associated with modern gear. Open source software, plus DSP, FPGAs, fast computers, and software-defined radios, as well as increased ease of collaboration and access to contract manufacturing are swinging things back the other way.

Think of it this way - a weekend's worth of dedicated cramming can get you a license that grants access to some rather large chunks of spectrum, often with relatively little in the way of restrictions on how you use it. That's the sort of resource that corporations spend millions for - look at the 700 MHz auctions going on now. That license gets you a huge radio frequency playground that's not only wide open for experimentation, it NEEDS active experimentation and exploitation or it will be taken away and auctioned off to the corporations. Don't wait for Google's Android to save wireless communications from the likes of AT&T - go develop an open replacement for a proprietary mode (start with Pactor III or D*Star's AMBE codec), or start a solar-powered 802.11b backbone, or SOMETHING.

Hell, just to make things interesting - I'll send one of my OpenTracker+ kits, free, anywhere in the world, to anyone with a Slashdot account that already exists as of today who gets a license before the end of February 2008. It may not be everyone's thing, but A) it's free and B) it comes with source code. Email scott@argentdata.com.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Mike Buddha]

Actually, I prefer D-Star over packet radio. Oh, you must be rich.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[gbobeck]

Oh, you must be rich.

I said I preferred D-Star, not that I operate D-Star or even own a D-Star capable radio.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[mpeg4codec]

Packet isn't terribly popular (since most ham bands are positively dominated by FM or SSB voice), and the bandwidth is absolutely abyssmal. Prices of 1200 baud TNCs (the packet radio equivalent of modems) are in the 100-200 US dollar range. 9600 baud to 19.2 kilobaud are outrageously pricey. In other words, it's unlikely that you'd be able to get any useful bandwidth for a reasonable price.

On the other hand, it turns out that 802.11b channel 1 is within the ham band. This means that, as a ham, you can use this channel under FCC part 97 instead of unlicenced FCC part 15. In other words, as long as you broadcast your callsign every ten minutes (say as the contents of an ICMP packet or the essid), you can legally use up to 1 watt and drown out all neighbouring signals. Additionally, there's no question of the legality of using high gain directional antennae as long as don't exceed one watt peak output power.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[mikiN]

Looks nice, except for the horrible caged-up lion AMBE licensing. Say goodbye to open-source AMBE codecs, they just won't happen.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[ampmouse]

The 1 watt peek transmitter power is allowed by the part 15 regulations. Much higher transmit powers are possible with part 97. Source

Re:New form of file sharing!

[dylan_-]

Your .sig is broken.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[N9VLS]

Oooh, that looks interesting-- been looking for a reason to become active again.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[NGinuity]

Actually.....the 1.2 GHz D-Star modules (the ID-1 for example), will give you the equivalent of ISDN connectivity.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[mpeg4codec]

From the page you linked:
2.4 GHz (spread spectrum i.e. 802.11 or 802.11b): 1 watt w/o using automatic power control (per 97.313)

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Insightfill]

Hell, just to make things interesting - I'll send one of my OpenTracker+ kits, free, anywhere in the world, to anyone with a Slashdot account that already exists as of today who gets a license before the end of February 2008. It may not be everyone's thing, but A) it's free and B) it comes with source code. Email scott@argentdata.com.

OK - mine expired back in Feb of 2007. (DARNIT!) Looking at this nifty kit, I may have to get back into it again.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[jbarr]

Back in 1993, I got my Ham license, N9ONL (I kinda liked the sound of "N-9-ONLine".) Anyway, I got a Technician license which had no code requirement, specifically to get into Packet Radio. I was fascinated by the prospect of connecting one computer wirelessly to another. Believe me, in those days, it was simply amazing!

Unfortunately, the Internet came along, and the mystique of Packet Radio waned. But still, connecting wirelessly to a local packet node in Chicago and then connecting through a "wormhole" (landline) to to the West Coast, and then hopping over to a connection at a university computer in Hilo Hawaii was a real trip. Nothing like waiting for the multiple hops to see responses to keyboard presses connected at 1200 baud.

Local Packet BBS traffic was also very fun. Posting and reading digital messages locally, from across the country, and from around the world was exciting and interesting. You could actually send messages to people overseas!

Or tracking the path of the Space Shuttle, waiting for it to come into range, and then actually seeing its Ham callsign and greeting scroll across my screen--very cool!

And sending a connect request signal up to a Ham-Sat satellite, and actually connecting to and interacting with the onboard BBS, if for only a brief few seconds!

Of course, the world has shrunken to a point where phone, IM, and text messaging can keep you in touch with anyone, just about anywhere. We take so much for granted.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Mike Buddha]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I like the way that D-Star multiplexes data and voice. It'd be nice if there were an open codec that works as well as AMBE® so that we wouldn't have to license anything to use this mode. I think that would definitely spur experimentation. The claim is that there's nothing as good as AMBE® out there freely available.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Ryandav]

Wow, I'm really touched by both this story and your offer. It makes a wonderful counterpoint to all the people on this thread who are complaining about the "curmudgeons" on Ham Bands... I'm glad to know that the spirit of Open Source positively impacts more than just one's choice of operating systems.

I had decided right before Thanksgiving to start studying for my Tech class license, and I anticipate taking the test next week or so, at the next local test I could find in Tacoma. Now there's icing on the cake!

Thank you.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, cutting-edge has to be neither finicky or expensive. It has to be cutting-edge. Those "fancy ASIC"s are nothing more than highly compact (and cheap) dedicated circuits, with speed and power efficiency that your average radio enthusiest could only dream about doing himself. And if you think a general purpose IC (the 8-bit microcontroller) is somehow less reliable or cheaper than a ASIC, well...

Re:New form of file sharing!

[jshriverWVU]

We have packet radio, but broadcasting in any form is strictly prohibited by the FCC for any ham license.

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Tehrasha]

But... but... I got my license -this- Feburary. :(

Re:New form of file sharing!

[Furp]

You know, this reply doesn't just have the same weight as the one coming from @iraq. Soooooooooooooo, any news on if I'll ever be able to take a test out here?

Left Something Out

[Prius]

What about western washington? We suffered little better. This is a picture of I-5: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2004054526.html

Peace of mind

[Dan East]

Cell phones are very convenient, but what gives me peace of mind is knowing my quad-band (70cm, 1.25m, 2m, 6m), wide-receive, submersible Yaesu VX-7R hand-held transceiver is close at hand. If James Kim would have had even a basic Amateur hand-held transceiver with him things would have probably turned out much different.

Dan East

Re:Peace of mind

[Bl4ckJ3sus]

If James Kim had a $100.00 handheld GPS with him, things would have been different.

Re:Peace of mind

[Anonymous Coward]

Link for those (like me) who aren't familiar with the story: James Kim.

Sure, having a basic radio could have saved James' life. So could have a GPS, or if the gate had been locked, or if he hadn't decided to leave the car, or if his family had taken the train. Anybody can think of dozens of ways he could be alive. Tragedies like this are always the result of a long sequence of events going wrong -- if any had gone right, it would have been avoided.

That's not at all specific to ham radios, though. Ham radios aren't magic, and won't solve every crisis. It's just the nature of tragedies.

Re:Peace of mind

[Anonymous Coward]

If they had been adequately prepared and hadn't made countless mistakes and/or bad decisions, things would have been different.

Re:Peace of mind

[Forbman]

Uh, I think they had a GPS unit in the car, oddly enough. Would it have saved him? No, probably knowing which road he was on, and the "Oregon Gazeteer" book by DeLorme, he could have dead-reckoned from the map, even though it's 1:150,000.

Hey, it could have been 99% of most Americans. Stressed husband, stressed wife, running late might lose reservation at the inn, wife bitching about how he didn't/wouldn't stop for directions, him saying, "I am pretty sure this is the right way to go" but feeling bad because she's right, heavy snow fall can't see shit, it's night time, the kids freaking out because mom and dad are bitching at each other; lather, rinse, repeat. GPS unit showing them this cool looking road (but no topo lines possibly indicating that maybe it's not the best road to go on)...

Maybe a hand-held HAM radio could have saved him. Or a CB. But maybe not.

Sometimes we're all just wrong-lucky at the wrong time/wrong side of the bell curve.

Re:Peace of mind

[barzok]

IIRC, it was the GPS that got him in trouble in the first place - it took him down a road that wasn't serviced in the winter.

A handheld GPS might have gotten him back to his car, but he'd have been hypothermic by then anyway, and pretty much useless to his family.

Re:Peace of mind

[Average]

Yes, even a CB would have helped immensely. There were numerous search planes flying over the huge region he was thought to be in. If any of them thought he would have reason to transmit on CB emergency channel 9, relatively simple radio direction finding equipment (either a quick hack of a aeronautical NDB or VOR receiver, or equipment a good ham radio club could build in a few hours) could have found him pretty quickly. From the air, on an empty channel, his signal would be detectable for many miles on the 4W of legal CB. Same is true if he were a ham and might be expected at 146.52 (even on AA batteries). And that is just direction-finding. Having functioning communications and GPS means he'd be out in time for dinner.

Obviously a thousand mistakes were made in his case. It's impossible to blame him for not being any more prepared than 99% of people. But, that doesn't mean I didn't learn something from his mistakes.

Re:Peace of mind

[raddan]

GPS really gives people a false sense of confidence. I spend a lot of time in the backcountry, and I have gotten lost many times. I say "lost", but that's not really true-- I put myself in this situation for the purpose of exploration. GPS devices aren't really all that useful. You still need a compass*, and you still need to be familiar with basic backwoods travel and orienteering. Dead reckoning is the single most important orienteering skill a person can have. What do you do when your GPS batteries die? This often happens faster than you expect in cold weather.

When you are in unfamiliar territory, you tend to make irrational decisions, even when you have proper orienteering gear. Especially when you are worried about time constraints, or your hiking partner, or so on. There's a real art to learning how to calm yourself down, think rationally, and move on in these situations. The fight-or-flight instinct is a powerful force.

That said, GPS is a great invention. But it doesn't help you if you don't know how to read a topo map and apply that knowledge to where you are currently standing.

*I understand that many GPS devices come with digital compasses now. But I still wouldn't rely on it-- bring it compass; it will almost always work. Also, know direction-finding in good weather. Try to know some general rules about orienteering in bad weather. Know about prevailing winds, and so on.

Re:Peace of mind

[homeslice3]

On a motorcycle trip a few summers ago, we turned up the same road the Kim family went up. After about 500 yards in we all pulled over and got maps out to double check we didn't take a wrong turn - it didn't even seem like a road - more like a golf cart path. The road was in fairly bad shape and by the time we got up and over and found the next town, we nicknamed it the 'death road'. I can't imagine ever taking that thing in the winter, during a storm. I feel for the Kim's - just a split decision that cost him his life.

Re:Peace of mind

[quincunx55555]

He could have also taken heed to the several signs saying something to the effect of, "Don't go this way if the weather is questionable!", but considered Google (or maybe it was something else) an expert above the local authorities. Having the gate locked would be a bad idea, people that do know how to navigate those roads in bad conditions still need to. I feel sorry for him and his surviving family, but it really took a lack of sense to continue down the road they chose. Even in good weather it's obvious that it's not regularly traveled and the signs are well posted, easy to see, and understand.

It's still a mess

[Z80xxc!]

I live in Oregon, and let me say, things are still a huge mess around here. Although I personally didn't need rescuing (although someone I know did!), I must say that the HAM operators are an invaluable asset in an event like this. On the coast, communications are still spotty, if existent at all. There was an article in the Oregonian today about how some places on the coast don't even have 911 service, since all of the fiber links for phones are out, and the 911 center doesn't have power anyway - the gas for the generator ran out. It's situations like this where HAM radio operators are particularly useful.

It's still a mess out here. Lots of roads are still closed - Interstate 5 is closed in Washington, effectively cutting off all transportation between Portland and Seattle. Thousands of cars, and most importantly, trucks, travel[ed] this highway daily. The train tracks are closed too, so there's no amtrak or freight trains. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens... things are improving, but in no speedy fashion.

Re:It's still a mess

[mr_josh]

It's interesting what a large disconnect there is in the NW. I'm in Corvallis and we really haven't been so much as inconvenienced by the few days of rain and a little excess wind. OSU campus went on "yellow alert" for a couple of days because of the falling tree danger, but nothing ever came of it. I'm originally from the souther part of the state and they are carrying on as usual there, too. I'm not trivializing anything that has occurred elsewhere in the state or in Washington, but it's just interesting how those of us who don't keep a very great handle on the news all of the time (especially when finals week comes along) don't really get a sense of what is happening in our own back yard.

Re:It's still a mess

[pla]

and the 911 center doesn't have power anyway - the gas for the generator ran out. It's situations like this where HAM radio operators are particularly useful.

...Because we all know that hams only use radios powered by hugs and rainbows?

I've never quite understood that aspect of the ham pride in serving as the last working form of communication in a disaster... Without electricity, they may as well resort to RFC1149, because the best antenna in the world amounts to nothing but a passable clothes-line without electricity.

Re:It's still a mess

[ironcanuk]

Lots of hams maintain alternate forms of power to provide for communications capabilities when the mains aren't working. For example battery power, or for the die-hards, generators. There are even exercises where one goes 'off the grid'. 73

Re:It's still a mess

[LWATCDR]

Actually a few use sunbeams and hand cranks.
Look up QRP. Some QRP operators use rigs that use less than 1 watt of power. Simple hand crank gensets and or solar panels will provide more than enough power for a QRP operator to get out.

Re:It's still a mess

[MachineShedFred]

I also live here in Portland, and work for a retailer that has stores throughout the northwest. We just heard today that the stores on the north coast got data and voice communications back last night, but still don't have external power. We did manage to get them fuel trucks for the generators though.

Oh, and we have a hard-line / "dry" goods (lawl) distribution center in Chehalis, right where Interstate-5 is shut down. This is presenting some delivery issues for stores on the other side of the flood, as you have to go 500+ miles out of the way to get through (north to I-90, east to I-82, southeast through Kennewick to I-84, then west to Portland / I-205 / I-5, or the reverse if Seattle-bound)

Jeez, even here at the main office in SE Portland, we have a lake on the street corner because the drainage and streets are in such bad shape...

Re:It's still a mess

[mojotooth]

As someone who was recently at the Portland airport and found ALL parking lots (including economy lots) to be completely full because of so many people wanting to take a short-hopper to Seattle, I can tell you that "all transportation between Portland and Seattle" has definitely NOT been cut off. Not even all road transportation between Portland and Seattle. It's just that nobody wants to drive to Yakima, hundreds of miles out of their way, as part of a circuitous detour. So they want to fly instead. This is a major problem for people (like my wife and me) who got caught up in the mess at the airport.

Re:It's still a mess

[the eric conspiracy]

Without electricity, they may as well resort to RFC1149

What you don't appreciate is how little electricity it takes. A car battery can power a QRPp rig for 10,000 hours of continuous operation, and car batteries are pretty ubiquitous.

Next June, go to a Field Day and see the tremendous skill levels these people bring to the table.

Re:It's still a mess

[mudshark]

In an ironic twist to the shrinking planet, New Zealand and Australian internet users felt Oregon's pain, too. The storm took out a vital piece of fiber interconnect linking one of the two US landing points of the Southern Cross transpacific cable to the NAPs. We limped along on reduced bandwidth and flapping routes for almost two days over here. Luckily, the damaged portion was terrestrial and has already been patched.

Weird part was that there was hardly a mention of it in either NZ or AU media, let alone any official word from SC...but the ISP I use got word out to its customers within hours. Thanks, Inspire Net!

Re:It's still a mess

[Anonymous Coward]

You live there? Slept with your sister lately?

No need to. Your sister and your daughter make for a nice threesome. Too bad they won't let you play.

Doesn't cover

[SamP2]

Sure, HAM operators may be saving lives, but what naive soul thinks it compensates for their digging into RIAA's pockets, erm, scratch that, I mean villaneously spreading communism by pirating songs and stealing intellectual property?

Re:Doesn't cover

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, sue their ass!

I'm a Hero!

[Abuzar]

Yay! Finally! Someone recognizes I'm important! Now, if only I could get a date...
Goddess, I just wish there would be a natural disaster and a cute girl for me to save ;-)

Re:I'm a Hero!

[Anonymous Coward]

This is how Bond villains are created...

Re:I'm a Hero!

[networkBoy]

You sir, made my evening :-)

Re:I'm a Hero!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yay! Finally! Someone recognizes I'm important! Zoidberg? Is that you?

Re:I'm a Hero!

[LuisAnaya]

I do not know, when I used to work as a net control as a Civil Defense Volunteer in Puerto Rico in hurricanes, I spent a lot of time drinking bad coffee in front of the radio and not a lot of cute anything to save.

Oh well, you can always dream ;).

Oh Sure...

[MightyMartian]

Yeah, they're heroes today, but when Oregon's power utilities decide to start providing Internet over their power lines, turning their electrical grid into one vast RF radiator that wipes out HAM frequencies, we'll have all those all-knowing /.ers declaring HAM radio a thing of the past, that they should get a life, and my personal favorite "Don't worry, when the power goes out, we can turn on your HAM radio sets and save us all, so what's the problem?"

Re:Oh Sure...

[forkazoo]

Yeah, they're heroes today, but when Oregon's power utilities decide to start providing Internet over their power lines, turning their electrical grid into one vast RF radiator that wipes out HAM frequencies, we'll have all those all-knowing /.ers declaring HAM radio a thing of the past, that they should get a life, and my personal favorite "Don't worry, when the power goes out, we can turn on your HAM radio sets and save us all, so what's the problem?"

I was actually thinking the same thing. I mean, I'm all in favor of a new form of broadband to promote competition, but IMHO wiping out HAM to do it just isn't worth the price. Frankly, I wouldn't mind a few states including a few weeks of basic HAM instruction as part of the standard high school curriculum so that people are more aware of an incredibly important resource in emergencies.

Re:Oh Sure...

[Solder Fumes]

Ham radio is the remaining long range communication technology that is only controlled by the government as long as the participants agree. Unlike cellular, POTS, or the Internet, you can't shut down ham radio communications by cutting wires in a few critical spots. It's also only traceable by general physical location, and again the courtesy of those involved taking the extra step of identifying themselves.

Why would you think that a government would take significant steps to preserve such a medium? So that a few thousand citizens might get more help during emergencies? Not the priority here.

Re:Oh Sure...

[Anonymous Coward]

Nothing like taking an idea that's not in the implementation stages to it's illogically extreme conclusion in the name of paranoia. Very healthy sign.

Re:Oh Sure...

[timeOday]

I think we need to stop relying on ham's for emergencies. Most people will never be a ham. In this day and age there's no reason it should take special skills or licensing to keep emergency communications open. Maybe what we need is airborn cellphone stations that can orbit over disaster areas. (Feel free to suggest something better).

Note, I'm not saying we do not today rely on hams, only that new technology should be introduced to obviate it.

Re:Oh Sure...

[sethawoolley]

Maybe what we need is airborn cellphone stations that can orbit over disaster areas. (Feel free to suggest something better). kinda like a satellite phone?

Re:Oh Sure...

[Anonymous Coward]

I think we need to stop relying on police officers for emergencies. Most people will never be a police officer. In this day and age there's no reason it should take special skills or licensing

kthxbai

Re:Oh Sure...

[Anonymous Coward]

"but when Oregon's power utilities decide to start providing Internet over their power lines, turning their electrical grid into one vast RF radiator that wipes out HAM frequencies"

This is a direct and predictable outcome from elitist entry requirements for licenses. The numbers of operators are dwindling, so why shouldn't the public airwaves be used for something that will benefit the majority of the public?

Re:Oh Sure...

[JK_the_Slacker]

I don't know about adding it to the curriculum, but it's fairly simple to get a school club started. A local young ham started a club at my old high school, and became the first female recipient of the Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship from the ARRL for spearheading the effort. Several of the teachers and the administrators started working on their licenses as a result, in addition to several students. All it takes to get ham radio in the schools is one person dedicated to starting a club.

Re:Oh Sure...

[Foolicious]

Frankly, I wouldn't mind a few states including a few weeks of basic HAM instruction as part of the standard high school curriculum so that people are more aware of an incredibly important resource in emergencies.

Are you serious?! I think it makes more sense for schools to teach students practical skills like, say, reading and writing and foundational math ("maths" for those of you over the pond). Amateur radio might end up helping someone in an emergency, but might never, ever, be used, too. Schools, especially public ones, are already too stupid with how they spend their money (i.e. "diversity" initiatives, learning to put condoms on bananas, etc.). I don't want to give the schools another excuse to try and futz with my taxes because they now need to teach students yet another thing that most of them will never use in their lives -- just because it might be handy if there are terrible floods, or as I'm sure some slashdotters believe, the fascist government forces us to communicate in a clandestine manner as we plan our rebellion.

Re:Oh Sure...

[foxcob]

Isn't this the purpose of the FCC? If I recall, FCC regulations wouldn't allow this broadband internet to interfere with other licensed bands of the spectrum. It's the same thing as me setting up a pirate radio station and attempting to transmit over someone else, the FCC will come and shut me down when someone complains.

Re:Oh Sure...

[K0RGR]

I teach ham radio classes. The toughest part of the electronic theory required for the basic license IS taught in freshman science class in our local high schools!!! Memorize some rules and regulations, apply common sense to questions like "When is it permitted to send false and misleading transmisions", and you, too, can pass the test! Seriously, it will require some study, but it's not neurosurgery.

Packet Radio

[camperdave]

If one could account for signal distortion/degradation, ham radio sets could conceivably be used for broadcasting files. And I mean as a binary ogg/mp3/aac/flac/whatever, not as audio that can be played by any radio.

It's called Packet Radio, and has been around about as long as the internet itself. In fact, one of the first demonstrations of TCP/IP's versatility was the connecting of a satellite network, a packet radio network, and the ARPANet. This happened back in 1977.

Re:Packet Radio

[superswede]

Yup, it's good to know your history!

Somewhat related: I remember in early 80s that someone broadcast files over the radio and my guess was that it came from Germany. I cannot remember that someone was actually talking, but it sounded like when you listen to your Sinclair Spectrum program files stored on regular tapes. There was a clear header section followed by the data section. ZX:ers, you know what I'm talking about. I cannot remember if I ever figured out what it was/contained.

Re:Packet Radio

[Anonymous Coward]

I just heard Vint Cerf explain how they did packet radio at 50 kbps in the 70's.
Ham packet radio these days is almost exclusively 1.2 kbps.

73 de LA4RT Jon

Mmmmmm.... Hammm....

[bennomatic]

Someone had to say it.

</Homer>

Another hundred year flood ?

[HW_Hack]

I live in the Portland-Metro area and can confirm we (as in the Pacific NW) had a doozy of a storm. Mist - rain - horizontal rain - and rain like a cow pissing on a flat rock.

This is basically a repeat of what we got in 1996 which I believe was rated as a hundred year flood -- so within 10yrs we have another event. Wonder how all this maps into the whole climate change picture.

And yes - thanks to the Hams for helping out as they always do. In any major disaster where public communications infrastructure will be damaged --- independent radio operators can make critical connections

Re:Another hundred year flood ?

[Forbman]

Not as bad in PDX as it is up in Seattle, the coast, Vernonia, Tillamook or Clatsop counties, or Centralia/Chehalis WA. I live outside of McMinnville...

Re:Another hundred year flood ?

[foetusinc]

Not even close to the 1996 floods. We have storms like this every few years, always have, always will. This was a particularly nasty one in some places, but hardly an apocalyptic event. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest. Now the Columbus Day Storm, I've only heard tell, but I shudder to think of the day that happens again.

Golf Oscar Oscar Delta Juliet Oscar Bravo!

[xPsi]

i.e. good job

Re:Golf Oscar Oscar Delta Juliet Oscar Bravo!

[slacktide]

Bravo Zulu would have been much faster.

Viva la HAM

[Anonymous Coward]

HAM/Shortwave radio was the web. My older brother received one for a gift on his 10th birthday. I remember listening to late night, anonymous conversations taking place somewhere in space - and halfway around the world. We would fall asleep to global station ids, appalachian preachers, data transfers and space noise. we'd tune in to eastern bloc radio and wonder how it was that they could be "evil communists" (keep in mind, that is the early 70's). When I was a teenager, I learned how to play "Stairway to Heaven" with the BFO Pitch. While I wasn't a techie with it, my experience was truley amazing and wonderful.

Years later, I dug it out the attic and and hooked it up to some effects processors and ran it thru a dj mixer with some foot pedals. Beyond providing otherworldly broadcasts it produced sweeps that were so ridulously thick and warm. It actually has made it onto a couple of our recordings (MySpace) over the years. The sad thing is that being on the road, it is kind of beat up and needs a bit of TLC ... guess that means it is time.

Flood Pics and Info

[SmoothTom]

Actually, SW Washington state probably got hit the worst this particular time.

Here is a site just put up by the folks there:

http://flood.dothelp.net/

Links to lots of pics and such.

--
Tomas

kudos as well..

[Hillview]

To the governor mentioned, for giving credit where it was due. All too rare these days.

Good job!

[SamMichaels]

It's good to see some publicity about amateur radio.

Pretty easy to get your license, too. About a week's worth of studying will get you on the air. The ARRL (American Radio Relay League) has a ton of info about getting licensed.

It's exciting that you can IM someone through the internet and have it appear in a couple milliseconds........but how about sending a transmission through the air to someone on the other side of the world at the speed of light using something half the size of your laptop and an antenna as long as that crazy cat-5 wire you have stretched across 3 rooms?

73 de KB3OOJ

Re:Good job!

[gbobeck]

It's exciting that you can IM someone through the internet and have it appear in a couple milliseconds........but how about sending a transmission through the air to someone on the other side of the world at the speed of light using something half the size of your laptop and an antenna as long as that crazy cat-5 wire you have stretched across 3 rooms?

Even better... sending that transmission using less than a watt of power through a homemade antenna to the other side of the world.

73. W9QNY

Re:Good job!

[prakslash]

How about using a cellphone?

I hear they are pretty fast too - and smaller still.

Re:Good job!

[DeepHurtn!]

I'm no ham, but I think the difference is that in the case of a cellphone, *you* aren't sending that message across the world -- your cellphone carrier is. You're dependent on them; if they go down, your phone becomes absolutely useless. The ham operator, on the other hand, is actually self-sufficient.

Some people value that, *especially* in emergencies like what we're talking about here, when ham radio became literally the *only* method of communication available.

Re:Good job!

[Al_Lapalme]

Have you ever tried talking to someone on the other side of the world cell phone to cell phone. If I had to choose one word to describe it, it certainly would not be "fast"

Re:Good job!

[Ash-Fox]

W9QNY

I bet you're going to get a lot of lookups today on QRZ ;)

Re:Good job!

[Chris Mattern]

Fast, small--and useless in wide-spread emergencies, as the cell network invariably collapses under the crush of the sheer number of calls people are attempting to make. All you're going to get out of a cell phone in a real emergency is a message that your call could not be completed.

Chris Mattern

Re:Good job!

[Anonymous Coward]

Why even bother with the ARRL? My kid got his licence by taking the practice test on QRZ.com untill he knew the answers.

Thanks to the Hams!!!

[SmoothTom]

I live north of most of the problems, but have friends right in the middle of the flood disaster in SW Washington state: http://flood.dothelp.net/

Much of the communication is out due to drowned central offices, soaked cables, power outages, and such. Even the remaining working cell towers are in serious trouble, seriously overloaded, and communications is very spotty.

20 miles of Interstrate 5 are closed, with a several hundred mile detour over a mountain range, and the highway will likely be closed for a week, possibly more. Some parts of it were ten feet under water yesterday, and there was a lot of damage to the highway and it's foundation.

In conditions like this, hams with mobile or portable radios, or with emergency generators are often the ONLY communication to the outside.

http://flood.dothelp.net/ has a lot of information about the damage, rescue efforts, pictures, etc. (The server itself is OUTSIDE the disaster area.)

Thanks to the hams!!!

--
Tomas

Re:Thanks to the Hams!!!

[Rorschach1]

I live north of most of the problems

Is that a euphemism for Canada?

Re:Thanks to the Hams!!!

[SmoothTom]

Heheheheh...

No that's a euphemism for a really tall hill about 40 miles from Seattle. :o)

Actually, there was flooding and damage both north and south of where I live, but the area about 50-60 miles south of me took the hardest hit this time, hence the comment and the link to http://flood.dothelp.net/

--
Tomas

The hobby is growing

[Anonymous Coward]

Here in Canada amateur radio is a integral part of almost every city/town. Many radio clubs/societies receive grants from municipal and provincial government bodies to purchase gear, train new members,etc.

A good 1/3 of our members now are under 30. With such a young crew we can invest in and easily learn cutting edge technology to further assist the population in a time of need. We actually run asterisk based voip, video conferencing, instant messaging and of course email between our EOC's (emergency operation centres). Connectivity is done by way of 11Mbps wireless data on the 2.4ghz amateur radio band (non-802.11). We also make use of low speed packet based systems on VHF/UHF for your basic email (winlink: http://www.winlink.org/ ) and message handling.

Low bandwidth, high noise resistance

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

These advantages are shared by computer-generated modulation schemes such as PSK31, which theoretically fits into 31 Hz (though in practice many signals are distorted and splatter over more spectrum than that) and which can be decoded when it's too faint to be heard through the noise.

Re:Low bandwidth, high noise resistance

[fnord_uk]

I understand where the argument that digital modes like psk31 are better comes from, but I've often wondered about the total power efficiency of using a computer as the modem, as opposed to just adding a few more watts of RF power to a CW transmitter. For portable operations, when you have to carry batteries for the radio and the computer, I'm not convinced that you can communicate better for longer, for the same total power budget. On the other hand, though, morse relies on the human ear and I'm not sure about the relative power consumption of a human operator compared to a laptop, but then I guess there will need to be an operator to carry all the gear anyway, and I don't think those that know morse expend more energy than those that don't. I wouldn't like to transmit JPEG-2000 pictures as morse (or psk31 for that matter), so its definitely a case of horses for courses.

Regarding the noise resistance, have you ever tried using auroral propagation on VHF. CW is great for that, as the the normal single tone ends up sounding like a switched noise source, but is still readable when voice (SSB) turns into ghostly incomprehensible whispers. I can't imagine psk31 working in that kind of environment, although admittedly it seems designed for HF use and there may be other specialised modes ow designed for working through aurora. I haven't really dabbled in the VHF bands for a few decades, so I'm not sure.

Re:Low bandwidth, high noise resistance

[Anonymous Coward]

It's called PSK31 for a different reason, it's 31.something baud. Not kBaud, just baud.

Anyhow, it's great to see Ham Radio being mentioned on Slashdot. Being on the younger side of the hobby, its a shame to see so many nerds who don't seem to care about the hobby.

mode them flamebait/troll

[Simple-Simmian]

This should be modded flamebait or troll since it is.

Re:Ham's day is over NOT!!!!!!

[kb0hae]

You are dead wrong on all counts! The morse code has been rightly recognozed as just another mode of operation. It has nothing to do with how good or bad an operator someone is. There are young people, and indeed people of all ages that are attracted to Amateur Radio. Amateur radio is not dead, not dying, and is in fact as healthy as it ever was. But things do change. Not just in Amateur Radio, but everywhere areound us. Its those that are resistant to benificial change (such as the Morse Code testing requirement being dropped) that are the biggest problem. Please note that morse cosd has not been eliminated...only the requirement that a code test be passed to get an Amateir Radio License. Morse code is alive and well on the air, and will continue to be used as long as anyone wants to use it. As to the testing beimg "diluted", that is not true either. The testing to get an Amateur Radio License has been changed to reflect more practical matters, as well as being adapted to better cover current technology. Amateur Radio is here to stay!

Article missing details

[SmlFreshwaterBuffalo]

Typical journalism. Not a single mention in TFA of the cheerleader that was saved.

Re:Article missing details

[Anonymous Coward]

It was just some girl named Claire Bennet.

Lol

[Z34107]

first post!

Just kidding.

good

[Anonymous Coward]

what works and what doesn't

what will u do when u can share

Amateur radio license

[falconwolf]

I got my first Ham license back in the 1980s. Back then you had to be able to do 20wpm morse code to get to the highest license.

Morse code is what held me back from getting my license. I was able to build my own transceiver but was bad with Morse code. I was glad they got rid of the requirement for Morse code.

Falcon

Re:END MODERATOR ABUSES NOW - A MANIFESTO OF EPIC

[smorken]

leave Britney..er Taco Meat alone! just leave him alone!!!

In my old HAM Club...

[TekGnos]

There was a guy who not only used his 5 Watt HAM radio to communicate directly with the Space Station, but he also bounced radio waves off of the moon to communicate with someone in the other hemisphere! I don't know his exact setup, but he was into some serious HAM. Its amazing how great the spectrum they use is... Oh and passing the HAM test is probably doable without any studying. Its multiple choice and pretty damn easy if you can take those kinds of tests. I took it so I could operate an amateur TV transmitter from a model airplane. But thats another story...

Re:In my old HAM Club...

[Creepy Crawler]

Hmm. 5W eh? What was his PEP?

If I did 1 degree beamwidth, I could get some pretty impressive distances too. He probably wasn't doing 5W on an omni.

Also, EME these days is done over the internet to coordinate times. Also required is a computer with cw detector through the sound card.

Re:In my old HAM Club...

[Mike89]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EME_(communications)

Re:In my old HAM Club...

[vhfer]

I used to like to listen to the shuttle schools program, where the shuttle astronauts spend a hour or more taking questions from kids in a school where local hams have set up some equipment beforehand. I think the program was called ARISS. You can download Orbitron http://www.stoff.pl/ which will track anything in orbit on a cool world map like on the big screens at Mission Control in Houston. Wait until the orbital track of the shuttle gets close to you and the gray footprint line crosses your location, and listen. You don't need any watts to do that, not even a ham radio, just a scanner that can reach the 2-meter ham band (somewhere between 144.000 MHz and 148.000 MHz, probably 145.850 ??

If you do have a license and a radio, between 75% and 100% of astronauts on any given shuttle mission, and ISS crews, are licensed amateur radio operators, and they will talk to you if they have time.

Speaking of satellites, amateur radio groups have launched dozens of their own, and indeed the ISS space station is also one-- there's several repeaters on board for voice, digital, and code. Amateur satellites are often called OSCAR with a number: Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. The thing I think is funny is that hams often refer to OSCAR-0, meaning the original orbital target, the moon. Moonbounce operation takes a bit more than 5 watts though. Some hams have HUGE arrays of antennae ("aluminum farms") for the this mode. The surface of the moon is not an efficient reflector, but there isn't much atmosphere to diffuse your signal, and people do it all the time. There's something like 20 major ham radio satellites in operational status and more in various other states. They operate on HF, VHF, UHF, and microwave frequencies from 21.138 MHz to 24048.025 MHz

More on amateur satellites here: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php

73 de N9QQB

Milwaukee MAARS 145.130 repeater, 1000 watts of RF Goodness at your fingertips.

Re:In my old HAM Club...

[Abalamahalamatandra]

5 watts into an omni is definitely enough to get to the ISS, it's been done.

Back in 1993 when I got my ticket and very first radio (a Heath HW2P handheld that I believe only did 2 watts out on battery), I also got a Kantronics KPC-3 packet TNC and hand-built a cable to go from it to the handheld radio. I hooked up a twinlead J-pole antenna and hung it inside the patio door of my second-floor apartment, then waited for the Mir space station to come over. I did a quick "c r0mir" and was shocked to see a connection established to the packet BBS on the station! That definitely started it all.

As well, once in 1995 or so I had a 5-minute conversation with a cosmonaut on Mir from my car with 5 watts into a 1/2 wave 2 meter vertical on the way from Omaha to Sioux City.

I've also hit Mir via my Kenwood TH-D7A handheld radio with a built-in TNC. If you look in here and search for N0ZHY, you'll see packets I sent from Omaha through Mir which were picked up in Maryland! This was using only the standard rubber-duck antenna.

So it can definitely be done - and remember, good hams only use the power they need!

73 de K0RUS

Re:In my old HAM Club...

[Creepy Crawler]

--5 watts into an omni is definitely enough to get to the ISS, it's been done.

I'll have to look into it. I understood it was much tougher than that, due to doppler shift.

---Back in 1993 when I got my ticket and very first radio (a Heath HW2P handheld that I believe only did 2 watts out on battery), I also got a Kantronics KPC-3 packet TNC and hand-built a cable to go from it to the handheld radio. I hooked up a twinlead J-pole antenna and hung it inside the patio door of my second-floor apartment, then waited for the Mir space station to come over. I did a quick "c r0mir" and was shocked to see a connection established to the packet BBS on the station! That definitely started it all.

I've contacted one of the packet sats a while back on field day, but that was using a 25 degree (not quite sure, was borrowed) parabola mounted on an rv using 2m/70cm.

However, due to my area, not many satellites pass overhead.. Bad locale, I guess

73, kc9jef

Re:In my old HAM Club...

[geekoid]

5Watt?

Wow! It's always amazing to hear of people who defeat physics.

Re:In my old HAM Club...

[TekGnos]

Well he told me 5 Watt when I met him at a cocktail party. Maybe I could give you his email and you can debate physics with him. But he did have some serious antennae. I guess the only thing that was cool was that it was done in 1983! And from Missoula Montana. From the website: http://www.users.qwest.net/~k7vk/history.htm Member Memorable Radio Events December 1983. WA1JXN/7 (now W7GJ), Lance Collister became the first amateur radio operator in the world to communicate with an astronaut in space. Lance communicated with W5LFL, Dr. Owen Garriot while the Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-9, orbited the earth 250 nautical miles above the western Pacific. The antenna, a home brew "moon bounce" two-meter array of 12 yagis.

Re:In my old HAM Club...

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not "HAM" radio. It's "ham" radio. The letters are not an acronym.

To restate: THERE ARE NO CAPITAL LETTERS IN "HAM RADIO" unless you're shouting.

ham radio license requirements

[falconwolf]

To me, the true ham is a technically capable individual that has the skill set, equipment and ingenuity to see himself through a situation like the upper west coast has seen recently.

I can see requiring someone who wants to get a license to build their own transceiver, but I'm glad they got rid of the Morse code requirement. Maybe require it for higher licenses but not for beginners.

Falcon

Not Just During Disasters

[Comatose51]

I've actually encountered Ham radio operators during my MS150 charity bike rides. The 150 stands for the distance (usually more) we ride over two days to raise money for research on multiple sclerosis. Along the way I remember seeing Ham radio operators at the various stops operating radios and coordinating the support for the riders. Most of the routes MS150 rides go through is just the country side far away from urban areas and when a rider needs help or is injured, you need a reliable form of communication. Imagine going down 80 miles from the nearest city with no cellphone reception. I am thankful to have them volunteer for the events.

Re:Not Just During Disasters

[Wylfing]

Imagine going down 80 miles from the nearest city with no cellphone reception.

Wow. In a way that seems really...pathetic. A hundred years ago this described half the population of the United States.

(And no, I don't mean the other half had cell reception.)

Re:Not Just During Disasters

[Okiguy]

Thanks to Comatose51 for his kind comments. The Mecklenburg Amateur Radio Society in Charlotte, NC, has been providing communications to MS-150 events for almost twenty years. The hams always feel that the bicyclists are doing all the work, we are just trying to keep track of them. MS moved the event to Myrtle Beach, SC, this year; the Charlotte and the Grand Strand Amateur Radio Club from Myrtle Beach club cooperated to provide communications last September. We are looking forward to doing it again next year. Hams do public service events as training for real emergencies, like the ice storms that come through our part of the country and knock out the land line phones and cell phones. With the elimination of Morse Code testing by the FCC earlier this year, entrance into ham radio is now through written (multiple choice) exams. These are provided by volunteer examiner teams throughout the country. There are loads of different modes of operation available, so join the fun. Bill, W4WNT

The Code is here to stay

[DF5JT]

For a number of reasons:

1.) It takes skill and dedication to master the code. You can't buy that, you need to invest into it. Take a look at this guy:

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=dj1yfk&search=Search

2.) You are missing out most of the real DX

3.) Simple set ups can work miracles. Case in point: Last night I set up a 30 feet fibreglass pole on my balcony and talked to guys in Oregon, British Columbia and Wash. State. From Europe with 100 Watts.

4.) Point to point communications requires no additional infrastructure prone to failure or need for extra power. I don't need a computer or ISP for CW.

5.) It is fun and it feels good to master something that only few others are willing and capable of achieving.

Those deriding morse code as a skill probably prefer clicking setup.exe to /bin/bash

Re:The Code is here to stay

[imsabbel]

1) It takes skill and dedication to widen your ass like the goatse guy. You cant buy that, you have to invest it. See. Thats no argument.

2) Well, maybe not if the "new" one became the "real" one. Which it will, considering the old farts getting past their "best before" date.
3) I am talking to you across half the world right now. Without a 30 feet fibreglass pole.

4) Point to Point communication only work because so few poeple are using them.
5) See goatse.

And your last line just shows what a narrowmindet retard you are.

Boy Scouts

[SoyChemist]

I remember participating in Scouting on the Air, a ham radio event for Boy Scouts, and hearing the leader tell us how Ham radio operators are so helpful in disasters. They tend to be great people. I strongly agree with him. The guys at Cal IT 2 in San Diego are amazing with using supercomputing to update maps of disaster areas.

Thanks, guys!

[EmagGeek]

I always like it when Ham Radio Opers get the credit they deserve. When Hurricane Bonnie rolled through the south east, I was working with the guys at W4AQL monitoring emergency comms. I also gave an interview for local TV about how Ham Radio operators are a crucial part of any disaster plan.

I have never heard of it, and I realize it may be a false assumption that one does not exist, but I am wondering if FEMA has an official process for calling up Ham Radio Opers to help as part of their disaster plan....

73
N2JBE

Re:Thanks, guys!

[Ash-Fox]

I have never heard of it, and I realize it may be a false assumption that one does not exist, but I am wondering if FEMA has an official process for calling up Ham Radio Opers to help as part of their disaster plan....

In the States, you have something called Amateur Radio Disaster Services, the UK's equivalent is called the Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network.

Re:Thanks, guys!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes DHS has a program. You can read about it here.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/10/04/100/?nc=1

Re:Thanks, guys!

[vhfer]

I'm pretty sure that among the long list of "served agencies" FEMA appears. I'm pretty also impressed by other agencies embrace of amateur radio- the elaborate radio room set up both at the National Weather Service office here in S.E. Wisconsin and at the downtown Red Cross building. In both cases, the staff of the served agency can't use the equipment. It just sits there until an emergency net is activated and the hams come a-runnin'. Of course there's drills, training, and other activity to keep any dust from settling on the gear.

Local ARES and RACES groups are often the core of the volunteer organizations locally/regionally. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.
Home page: http://www.ares.org/
Nice summary: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/pscm/sec1-ch1.html

RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) is less active in my area and I think I heard that they were combining some activities with the local ARES folks. Administered by local, county and state emergency management agencies, and supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
http://www.races.net/

And as I say whenever I get the chance, it has never been easier to be a ham. All morse code requirements have been removed from the licensing process, and anyone that can study for a test can pass the exam. Once that's done, there's a huge core of groups out there to help you get started. There's also groups that meet for training for the exams, if you like that idea better than studying on your own.

Tom, N9QQB, member of the Milwaukee 145.130 repeater, 1000 watts of RF goodness at your fingertips. IRLP node number 5590 - call us from anywhere in the world via internet link.

73 de N9QQB

Re:Thanks, guys!

[EmagGeek]

I am well aware of RACES and ARES, however, what I was asking was if FEMA had an official plan for utilizing these organizations in the event of a disaster. I've been an amateur for 20 years and have never been made aware that the federal government has Ham Radio on the radar screen.

For example, when 9/11 happened, Hams (including myself - after driving to New Jersey and practically swimming across the river myself to get into Manhattan) were initially turned away from field offices while at the same time agencies and rescuers had no communication via cell or ground-link services. The initial responders at the scene; local, state, and federal; had barely a clue what amateur radio was for several days after the incident.

This tells me that nobody has an official plan for utilizing amateur radio services in the event of an emergency, which to me is asinine.

Proud to be part of the greatest hobby on earth.

[GomezAdams]

I was near Detroit on a business trip when the grid went down in 2003. In under 8 hours the cell phone towers went dark and my 2 meter hand held made it possible for me to talk to local hams and get information.

Another example of the use of amateur radio use in disasters is during the tsunami in 2004. Amateur radio was used to carry messages using low power battery operated equipment using morse code. Morse code uses far less power to put out a useful signal then voice and other modes. A lot of information was passed using 5 watts of power and code.

Morse is still useful and Army MARS (Military Amateur Radio System) is going to start using morse again on their nets. I hope Navy MARS does too.

A 'Know Code" HAM (www.fists.com) - Straight Key operator (www.skccgroup.com) - Navy MARS operator.

And most people laugh at them them

[thorkyl]

I for one have seen the impact they make.
I work Mounted Search and Rescue, (horse back) and have hauled their equipment to the tops of mountains for them so they can set up comms for the area.

I have also had HAM's make a radio call to another state just to make an emergency phone call. So its real good seeing this kind of press for them.

No, we don't

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah but its pretty embarrassing that aircraft pilots have to learn CW and radio operators do not.

As a pilot, no we don't. Some antique radio beacons use morse, but no-one memorises it. People just treat the dit/dats as a lookup table, precomputed, and see if it matches.

Not so good

[smittyoneeach]

...for Shem and Japeth, either.

Good

[LuisAnaya]

It's nice that they're being recognized.

Luis - n2zxe

when everything bricks

[p51d007]

People turn to the amateur radio community. Check most cities that have a amateur radio club, and you can bet that once or twice a year, you will see them holding a "field day" where they try, in short amount of time, to contact as many other operators across the world, as a contest, and to make sure their "portability" works. This keeps them in tune, in case of a major disaster, when utilities, such as power, phone, CELLULAR fail. We can get the important messages to the outside world. 73's KB0GNK

mod YOU flamebait/troll

[Anonymous Coward]

It's Offtopic at worst, Funny at best. Back under your bridge, you!

Not any time soon.

[vhfer]

Not going to happen any time soon. Hams continue to innovate and work on the cutting edge of new tech, pushing it further along. Some of the best in SDR (software defined radios) are developed by hams as an open-source, community developed and supported project. Hams are always trying to beat their own distance records, and in some bands, nobody else has ever bested the records achieved by hams.

And as long as telecommunications companies continue to plan/build their infrastructure based on the predicate that only 30 to 35% of capacity will even be used at once, their systems will continue to fail whenever there's a natural or made-made disaster. What's the first thing that happens when a hurricane/earthquake/fire/flood/etc hits the news? EVERYONE who knows someone in the area starts calling. All the news agencies start calling into the area to get updates. The wired and cell networks collapse. Hams are the only way of getting health and welfare and strategic information in/out of the are. Remember Katrina? Long before it made landfall, people would pick up a phone and wait 30 seconds to 2 minutes for a dialtone, if they ever got one. I was sitting in an SBC long distance operations center at the time, and I saw it happen. Local CO after CO inundated by calls-- or water. Hourly updates on which switching centers still had enough diesel to keep generators running, and which were on UPS batteries and therefore had only hours before going off the air.

Even if no infrastructure is damaged, like lines or CO's, the switches are overwhelmed by a fraction of the theorectical maximum traffic. The telecomms are never going to overbuild enough to prevent this, because it's expensive, and would only be used once in a while, when bad things happen. Can't fault them too much (ok, I fault them some) since they're in business to make money.

And health & safety & law enforcement interagency communications? Don't get me started. Last year in some of the big wildfires, hams had to shadow groups of cops, national guard, redcross, and firefighters, because none of them could talk to each other. The same was true of the big floods a few years back.

73 de N9QQB

Re:Not any time soon.

[timeOday]

And as long as telecommunications companies continue to plan/build their infrastructure based on the predicate that only 30 to 35% of capacity will even be used at once, their systems will continue to fail whenever there's a natural or made-made disaster.

Getting a cellphone call through during an emergency is iffy, but if you weren't personally a ham, can you see where finding a ham, and getting them to put your message through to somebody else who isn't a ham, would be even more iffy?

If the cellphone networks actually "collapse" (rather than continuing to operate as fast as the can, albeit falling short of demand)... that's the kind of thing we should work on fixing. Ideally, people would find relatively long wait times to get through (several minutes), so most of them would instead send SMS, which use very little bandwidth, thus everybody could get through. Also we should push technologies like reverse 911 which allows officials to simultaneously deliver a message to everybody's phone. Of course some services like the 911 response center are going to be hopelessly overwhelmed, simply because you can't put 2 gallons into a 1 gallon jug, but I really don't see a cure for that.

And health & safety & law enforcement interagency communications? Don't get me started. Last year in some of the big wildfires, hams had to shadow groups of cops, national guard, redcross, and firefighters, because none of them could talk to each other. The same was true of the big floods a few years back.

Again, I'm not saying these things don't happen... I'm saying we should work to fix things so they don't happen anymore. Clearly, emergency services should be able to communicate. It seems like this was called out as a major need after both 911 and Katrina. I know investments have been made, I hope they have been made wisely. Pulling together a shadow ham for every emergency responder for each emergency just doesn't seem like an optimal solution.

Re:Not any time soon.

[vhfer]

Getting a cellphone call through during an emergency is iffy, but if you weren't personally a ham, can you see where finding a ham, and getting them to put your message through to somebody else who isn't a ham, would be even more iffy?

Well, a few things I can't agree with you about in the above. First, the problem with communications in past emergencies is not so much that you can't call your aunt mildred in the earthquake zone (although that's not good) it's that law enforcement, public safety/emergency medical, and emergency government agencies can't reach their people, can't reach the disaster zone, and have trouble communicating. They depend quite a bit on wired phone, cell phone, and other services like SMS, and other RF-based devices, from pagers on up to Blackberry. When overloaded by a disaster situation, phone switches don't degrade linearly with load. Some of them crash, others degrade along a much steeper curve than a linear one-- it gets worse faster the worse it gets.

This is where amateur radio volunteers have really been able to shine. The are preorganized in large part, they have trained in advanced (and gotten certified) in structured communications. Many keep a "go box" handy, stocked with handheld and mobile radios, batteries, fold-up antennae, and everything they need for emergency digital and voice comms. They go camping every year in an weekend-long emergency preparedness drill thinly disguised as a contest, and perform formalized communications in campgrounds and parks, without commercial power, and with restrictions on when they can arrive and begin setup.

Amateurs often serve individuals, but in a disaster situations, their most critical work is with the served agencies with which they have predefined relationships and interfaces already set up, long before the hurricane (etc) strikes. You don't have to know a ham personally. You benefit from their work as volunteers, probably without knowing it.

I'm saying we should work to fix things so they don't happen anymore. Clearly, emergency services should be able to communicate. It seems like this was called out as a major need after both 911 and Katrina.

Strides have been made, things have been fixed. But its shocking how little progress has been made. How fast and how radically do you expect the government to move on this stuff? The need for licensed amateur radio volunteers has not diminished. Certainly the call from the served agencies has not.

de N9QQB

Is it any wonder?

[spun]

Our entire society is entranced by the "me, Me ME!" attitude. We worship the self, and raise selfishness on a pedestal. Anything community or socially oriented is seen as "commie." The most selfless acts are claimed to be motivated by selfishness. Greed is not only good, it's taken on a divine aura. There's nothing greed can't do! Is it any wonder that this attitude exists in hams, too?

Not cost effective to pay people to do it?

[TheLink]

Is it economically viable for a Gov to have some staff trained on it and stand by to do such things during emergencies?

Couldn't one set up a fairly standardized and user friendly radio kit with psk stuff and generators etc so that nonexperts can use it? Just fill it up with fuel, select destinations/channels and type away..

I suppose it's cheaper to have volunteers invest in expensive stuff as a hobby and do all this stuff for free, but are there many countries where there aren't ham operators and there's a need for such stuff?

Re:Not cost effective to pay people to do it?

[Anonymous Coward]

The simple answer is no. The government already has communication systems. We hams back them up. If the government requested simple radios- they would get laughed out of office for not getting the latest and greatest technology.

Also, the amateur bands are not for government use. They are for amateur operator's use.

Also, if they are paid- they aren't 'amateurs'!

Re:Not cost effective to pay people to do it?

[hypnagogue]

Please note that the article is not "Ham Radios Are Heroes in Oregon". The equipment isn't the important part of the equation. The heroes are the operators which train in communication nets, traffic handling, propagation, repeater/relay operation -- DAILY. Go listen to a traffic net in your area with a scanner. Then, you will understand; this isn't something you could do in an emergency without training and organization.

Finally: "are there many countries where there aren't ham operators and there's a need for such stuff?" No, there aren't.

There are various stories about the origin.

[DigitalReverend]

One of them being that there were professional telegraph operators that still worked for the railroads. As amateur radio took off CW (morse code) was what those amateurs used to communicate. It was initially an insult as the professional telegraph operators thought that the amateurs operated their code keys as if they were ham fisted. Ham fisted radio operator later became ham radio operator.

No one truly knows where the term originated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_ham_radio

73 (yes only 73, not 73s)
de KI8JC

Emergency Communications

[kilodelta]

I've worked a few incidents and handled emergency communications. One stands out, the freak snow storm back in 1993. Dumped a hell of a load of snow on the state, took down phone lines, etc. and cell wasn't quite as widespread as it is now.

It's been years since we've seen any kind of natural disaster here in the northeast U.S. and that worries me. Haven't even had a good hurricane roar through here in 20+ years.

Mmm...

[PoopDaddy]

Kudos to the Oregon Ham operators

Mmm... Oregon Ham and Kudos...

PSK31

[Chembal]

PSK31 uses (you guessed it!) about 31 hertz of bandwidth, though it doesn't have error correction built in to the mode. There is also a related mode (PSK63) that uses 63 hertz of bandwidth with a higher data rate. PSK is indeed a very reliable low-power and low-bandwidth means of communication. Whether you're a ham or a short-wave listener, I highly recommend giving it and the other digital modes a try. Just hook up your radio's audio out to your computer's sound-card, download one of the many digital mode software packages out there, and enjoy monitoring! If you're a ham, hook up a few more cables, adjust your audio level a bit, and you're on the air! I recommend MultiPSK as a good software package to get started. It's a bit ugly in the interface but it will work with almost any digital mode on the air. Or, for just PSK and RTTY, give WinWarbler a try, from the DXLab suite. It's a much easier to use interface, and is my personal favorite for when I don't care about anything but PSK.

Enjoy!
Brad - N0TCP

Re:PSK31

[16384]

I'm just a SWL I'm afraid, and lately not even that, because I moved and don't have good reception. I have a Sony ICF-7600G (a short wave radio with SSB), and I made a opto-electronic coupler to isolate the radio from the computer noise (just a IR led, a IR detector (BPW-50 or something), and a op-amp), feeding the signal to the serial port for hamcom to read. I indeed tried other modes and besides PSK31 received, with varying degrees of success, RTTY (up to 150 bauds) and SSTV. Most signals of interest seem to be encrypted (except on the amateur bands, of course).

As I said I have currently 2 problems that limit my SWL: The appartment building where I live does not have good reception and the radio does not like rechargeable batteries very much. I use 4 Duracell 1200Ah NiMH, but the reception degrades with time (as the batteries discharge). If I use a mains transformer it will flood the receiver with noise, and alkaline batteries end up being expensive.

Mesh networks will slowly replace them....

[DrYak]

So how do you attract new blood to an activity that's waaay too geeky to begin with? Kids aren't going to bother learning Morse when they can use a program to do the same thing - why would they bother?

And probably they won't bother. They'll play with modern toys instead.
Probably, with the next big natural disasters in the following years, the number of "HAM" heroes will diminish, and more often the day will be saved by the current crop of computer & internet nerds setting up *mesh*-networks to carry around the mission critical information.

By 2030 a few governments will get attention on /. (in a summary written by Cowboy neal's grand daughter, of course) because they did publicly thank the silent and almost anonymous work of thousands of eldery /., geeks and nerds whose mesh networks saved the day.

And those mesh-heroes will be complaining that their hobby is dying and they have trouble attracting fresh blood, because all the younglings are bored by all the technical details of the latest "802.11zza" protocol, and that soon nobody will have the competency to help emergency work force with their knowledge. ...then some of the young will point out that "Quantum Ether Neural Plugs" (or whatever else) by then is the new technology for fast improvised deployment of communication in emergency scenarios....

niche uses

[Eshelbyk]

There was a comment below about how to get younger operators involved. Here is one market growing in interest.

I belong to a handful of 4x4 clubs in Oregon and one of them is organizing its members to get their operator's license to be able to coordinate people during cleanups, wildlife rehab projects, and offroad events. We can run multiple groups miles apart and stay in touch via simplex or a repeater. The members are beginning to realize the power of communication over 2m versus CB.

I am also very much into back country exploration and in this type of travel, vehicles tend to get spread out. Someone stops for pictures or the kids need to get out and run around, dogs needs water, etc.. With a simple setup, everyone can stay spread out, avoid each other's dust, and stay in contact. It is very sweet.

Good for these guys

[My name is Bucket]

My dad's a ham radio op, and it's always seemed like a good group of friendly (ultra-nerdy) guys. Thanks to him and his friends, I'll always have phrases like "KA3M Repeater" and "Indicate by saying 'in and out'" stuck in my head forever. When I'm visiting, I'll even sometimes hear someone blast "dah dit dah dit, dah dah dit dah" on the horn as they drive by.

I went for my license once when I was young (they even had classes), but couldn't quite grasp Morse code. I still went to hang out when they did their meetings, though. One time Dad and I ended up at some weird abandoned factory so he could scavenge for parts. Good times, though.

When did 'hero' become so diluted?

[thePowerOfGrayskull]

I thought being a hero involved the display of exceptional courage in the face of adversity, often even at great risk and/or personal cost. Don't get me wrong -- it's great that these guys and gals are doing what they're doing, and they've earned the right to be recognized for the service they're doing. But heroes? Give me a break.

About Friggin Time!

[PaulMorel]

True old school nerds finally get the props they deserve.

When all else fails....

[whoppo]

"When all else fails"... four words that really sum up what amateur radio brings to the community at large.
Many people hear the term "Ham Radio" and can only imagine a long-bearded nerd wearing headphones and shouting "CQ" into a vintage microphone. While that may be an accurate description of some hams, it's but the tip of the iceberg. I personally know hams ranging in age from 6 to over 100, and the individual interests cover the entire spectrum of available operation modes... CW (morse code), RTTY, PSK-31, Packet, SSTV, AM, FM, SSB, the list goes on and on. There are hams in just about every profession imaginable.. students, lawyers, physicians, truck drivers, programmers, home makers, teachers... again, the list seems to never end. Much, if not most, of the communication technology that is taken for granted these days can be traced back to amateur radio and/or amateur radio operators who've applied the knowledge they've developed as hams. Equipment in use today ranges from single vacuum tube transmitters, to microprocessor controlled marvels.. my own shack has a transmitter from the 50's beside a receiver from the 40's, beside a Kenwood TS2000X that covers amateur radio bands from 1.6 MHZ up to 1.2GHz on all modes... about the size of two stacked laptops. Vintage or state-of-the-art, there's plenty of enjoyment to be had. With less than 100 watts of power, I've talked with hams in more than 130 countries from my SUV. No matter where I am, I can communicate with friends and family anywhere in the world... even where there's no power, no cell towers, no visible satellites (oh yes.. there are ham satellites too... and plenty of 'em).

The ability to communicate globally without commercial infrastructure is the key to amateur radio's real value to the world community. When large scale disasters occur, the commercial infrastructure is often impacted. Power is lost, phone lines go down, cell circuits are jammed (until their backup power fails.. then they disappear), simply checking on the welfare of friends and family in the affected areas could be impossible if it were not for amateur radio and the hams that diligently maintain equipment and train to become proficient communicators. From a Red Cross shelter that needs supplies, to a sailboat taking on water hundreds of miles off shore... ham radio has saved the day countless times.

Ok... now that I've spit-shined ham radio, it's only fair to acknowledge the other side of the coin. Ham radio operators are human beings... and as a result of that, there are hams that truly deserve to wear the "Ass Hat" on a daily basis. I've run across foul language, bad attitudes, malicious interference, complete lack of respect and all of the other unfortunate manifestations of today's society. There's no escaping this in ham radio, CB, the Internet, the local pub, school, work... it's a part of living and interacting with other human beings. For these situations I can only offer the suggestion of changing frequency... there's plenty of spectrum for everyone if you're a little patient.

I'm in my late 40's now and have been a ham since my high school days (give or take a year or two). I've tested for technical knowledge, morse code proficiency and operating regulations... I hold an Extra class license... I'm the Emergency Coordinator for my county affiliated with ARES, RACES and County EMA, I'm an ARRL VE and I help proctor license examinations every month. I've had the pleasure of checking the "PASSED" box for new hams as young as 6 years old as well as for folks more than twice my age. My significant other is a coded general class ham and she loves everything about amateur radio. It really has so good much to offer that the bad things pale in comparison. I have no problem with the elimination of the morse code requirements.. most of the new hams that have been able to pass the test as a result are fine operators and contribute immensely to the community (some fall into that other category.. remember... humans) and while I encourage them all to learn mors

L=486/f?

[Malekin]

E=IR. P=IE. L=486/f. That's about all the math you need.

L=486/f? What on earth is that? My google-fu must be weak this morning, because it turns up nothing. It looks like the wavelength is a material with a relative permeability of 1.62×10^-6.

Re:L=486/f?

[Obfuscant]

Sorry, my bad. L = 468 / f.

It's the length in feet of a half-wave dipole antenna where f is frequency in MHz.

There are also questions about quarter-wave antennae, but I think most people can divide 468 by 2 and come up with the equation L=234/f, so memorizing one covers both.

The only other similar equation necessary is lamdba = 300/f, where lambda is wavelength in meters and f is frequency in MHz. This is for questions that deal with "what band is ..."

Morse is great in emergencies

[0rionx]

My late grandfather was an avid ham and one of the best Morse code users I've ever seen. I had never really shown much interest in Morse when I was younger, but my eyes were really opened to its potential when my grandpa was hospitalized after a stroke.

Despite being essentially immobile and having a breathing tube down his throat, he was able to communicate with my grandmother by tapping out Morse code on the metal railing of his bed.

So no, Morse code isn't a particularly efficient means of communication, but when you're lying on a hospital bed with a tube down your throat, it's a damn useful skill to have.

Ham it up, why don't ya..

[Yasumoto]

It's good to see people recognized for the good work they do, now if only that'd filter out into the rest of society.

I knew some hams could be curmudgeonly but really!

[Malekin]

Sorry, my bad. L = 468 / f.
It's the length in feet of a half-wave dipole antenna where f is frequency in MHz.

The 19th century called. They want their system of units back.

Yeah

[carsurf]

Here,here I was on a fishing boat of the coast of Oregon and we had an engine shut down ;>}. The coast guard was not able to receive SOS on boat radios so we broadcast and a ham operator picks it up and telephones the coast guard. It's fun when you actually see the coast guard boat coming and then going in the wrong direction and the lag between your ham call and the telephone call and the change of course. Good boys those ham's.

be encouraging, be fair, or be part of the problem

[Thecarpe]

Part of your charge, as you got your license, was to promote the hobby and contribute to good will. I understand your sentiment, and as a 33 year old Ham, I often have to adjust my perspective when entering the conversational arenas of those who have been here much longer than I. Honestly, is all of the backbiting necessary? Every hobby has the same collection of folks with their own passions and eccentricities. Every hobby has the same collection of folks who are desperately seeking to preserve what they perceive as special and unique (even though I may not share their sentiment). Bottom line, please take the time to understand the bigger picture and give some folks the benefit of the doubt. Equally detrimental to the Ham radio community is publicly jabbing one another for perceived personality issues rather than an appreciation for the number of folks who still do this, for the diversity of tech that has come of it, and for the public service that it provides when needed. Bottom line: I'm glad you are a Ham, and my hope for you is that you will someday be glad that you are a Ham as well.

73's - W9BSH

ham radio

[worfking]

i am a ham radio operator and im proud of those folks in oregon for the work they did. 73 de W1DPC

FEMA & ARRL

[fmk2]

The ARRL has an official agreement with FEMA to raise awareness, provide training, etc. You can read the actual agreement here: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/mou/FEMA-ARRL-SOA1.pdf. It didn't exist until 2003, however. I don't know if anything was in place prior to that, but my guess would be that there was not.

As you might expect, Amateur Radio's direct involvement with organizations like FEMA, as well as state, county and city agencies across the country, became much more formalized after 9/11. And even more formalized still after Katrina. For example, the ARRL now offers certification training for hams, and many local agencies require at least the first level of that training for hams to volunteer as communicators in their areas.

In some ways, Katrina had a bigger impact on all of this than 9/11. One of the things people realized after Katrina is that you can't necessarily rely on the local hams to come to the aid of the area -- they're too busy taking care of their own families! And unlike 9/11, which was localized to a few specific sites, Katrina covered a vast area. So help had to be called in from neighboring states, etc., and then the problem became figuring out who was there, who was qualified to do what, etc. The volunteers coming in didn't necessarily know the areas they were volunteering in either, and there weren't always enough local volunteers to help them figure it out, so coordination became a challenge.

The training classes that are being offered now -- both from the ARRL for communications related training, and the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) programs that are offered by local agencies -- are aiming to solve not only the training of prospective volunteers, but also to keep track of who's available and what their expertise might be.

(By the way, the CERT training is aimed at anyone that wants to help... it isn't a ham radio certification, but a generic volunteer certification. I live in San Jose, CA, and you can't even volunteer for most public events (a parade or what have you) if you don't have basic CERT training and a City ID badge.)

I've been a ham for over 30 years, and I have to admit that all this formalized training is taking some getting used to; I'm used to just grabbing my gear and heading out the door when someone needs assistance. But I recognize that it's the right thing to do. And if hams are to continue to provide support when needed, we have to keep up with the times... even OM's (ham-speak for "Old Men") like me.

Slashdot don't like Morse code

[Terje Mathisen]

I tried to reply by just writing out '.' and '-' characters for the Morse code of the previous post, but that triggered one of SlashDot's filters:

Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!
Reason: Please use fewer 'junk' characters.

So I'll try this instead:

dah dah dih, dah dah dah, dah dah dah, dah dih dih
dih dah dah dah, dah dah dah, dah dih dih dih :-)

73, de la8nw
License since 1978

Re:Slashdot don't like Morse code

[xPsi]

I tried to reply by just writing out '.' and '-' characters for the Morse code of the previous post, but that triggered one of SlashDot's filters Cool. I tried something similar and got the same message. I wonder what the longest Morse code message you can send on /. is without triggering the lameness filter?