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Ham Radio Still Growing In the iStuff Age
vhfer writes "From NPR comes this story about old-school communications in the age of Twitter: 'Only a few years ago, blogs listed ham radio alongside 35 mm film and VHS tape as technologies slated to disappear. They were wrong. Nearly 700,000 Americans have ham radio licenses — up 60 percent from 1981, a generation ago. And the number is growing.' The article goes on to say that while there's plenty of 60-plus year old hams, there's also a growing contingent of teens. I just met a 14-year-old, licensed in 2009. Getting rid of the Morse Code requirement sure helped in that regard. So does the fact that the test questions (and the answers) are freely available, legally, on the Internet. Study, take the test, hang the license certificate on the wall. Your geek cred gets an immediate boost. And who knows? Maybe the next time there's a Haiti-earthquake-sized disaster, you'll be one of the thousands of ham volunteers who provided the only communications in/out of Haiti for weeks following the quake, not to mention all of the tactical comms the country had for nearly a month."
It is like the old version of IRC.... you can talk to strangers from all over.
Talk with people around the world by bouncing signals off the moon
On "HF" or shortwave radio, you can talk to people around the world with 100watts of RF power. 100w is probably 1/3 or less of the power used to run your desktop computer.
It's probably one of the geekiest of the geek hobbies. You can play with electronics and build and repair radios. You can interface radios with computers and send and receive messages over radio. You can play with RF and antenna theory, flexing those math muscles to enhance your signal.
You get to talk without infrastructure
Cool people from around the world to talk with, and you never know who you're going to talk to next. Kind of like fishing
Are you adequate?
Well, in addition to the simple chatting thing and the gee-whiz hobbyist angle, it can be an extremely valuable resource in emergency response scenarios. Many areas have volunteer emergency networks comprised of ham radio operators that could relay information and coordinate response efforts if the official response groups are overwhelmed or disorganized.
The draw depends upon the person. Many hams are drawn to the hobby by building their own equipment and/or antennas. There's a lot of math and theory that goes into building transmitters and creating good antenna designs. Not to mention, the pride of breaking through a pile of amateurs wanting to talk to someone in a foreign country and mentioning that you are using only 100 watts into your antenna that is a "homebrew 7 element beam at 50 feet".
Some modes in amateur radio require above average skills that the test doesn't cover; things like moonbounce, long distance microwave or satellites (hams have their own low-earth orbit satellites).
There's also the computer aspect of it. Hams have developed their own digital modes that use very low power and require DSP techniques to use, as well as software defined radios.
The hobby has a lot of interesting facets other than just talking to your friends on the radio. These are what keeps it going in an age when it's easier to just fire up Yahoo IM or use a cell phone.
Why ham radio?
I'm back into Ham Radio after a 20 year lapse.
I got my license back when you had to travel to an FCC office for the test and pass a 5, 13, or 20 word per minute listening test for morse-code.
It is a great nerd hobby, especially if you get into the do-it-yourself aspect, digital modes, or especially software defined radio.
I can buy a SoftRock kit (google it) for less than $15 that does the initial downconversion and lets me use my soundcard+computer to visualize a large chunk of a single band, decode CW (morse), various digital modes and SSB voice.
WSPR mode allows you to put your computer to work sending and decoding ultra low power (milliwatts) + ultra low bandwidth (seconds per bit) to communicate around the world on battery power.
Ham Radio definitely took a hit from the internet and cellphones providing cheap and easy worldwide communications. Removing the morse code proficiency requirement and volunteer examimations has helped bring it back somewhat (I never minded the morse part, but it was a stumbling block for some who where in all other respects a perfect fit for the hobby).
If I was just interested in communicationI probably would not have come back to the hobby, but the nerd part is just too fun.
I'm currently using a cheap Direct Digital Synthesis chip (google DDS) interfaced with an Atmel microcontroller (google Arduino) as the basis of a do-it-yourself low power transceiver for digital modes.
Nerd heaven...
73 - Paul - K0EET
What helped me personally to get back into this hobby after a long break is the proliferation of SDR (Software Defined Radio). You can buy a $60 kit, assemble a decent RF front-end and attach it to your laptop (and a good antenna, which is the hard part). Or buy a nice SDR receiver from RFSystems or FlexRadio for around $500. Free (both closed and open source) software is available.
Google for Softrock40 of SDR-IQ or WebSDR for a start.
Now you can monitor shortwave communications with capabilities that just a few years ago were only available to professionals in three-letter agencies. I know this is not ham radio (strictly speaking), but isn't this geek's heaven?
Sometimes you also get fun stuff like what's coming up in a week. The Arecibo radio astronomy antenna (huge white dish) is bouncing signals off the moon and listening for ham radio operators in a week or two
Granted, it takes a fairly big antenna and lots of power to bounce signals off the moon. However, there are computer programs that allow for slow text transmission (think really slow modem) via moonbounce, reducing the antenna and power requirements.
An amateur radio license is a license to make use of large swaths of radio spectrum set aside just for hams. There are many things that you can do within that spectrum, including experimentation of new ways of using spectrum that others haven't tried yet.
Most obviously, you can talk to people using your voice and a microphone.
Or you can talk to them with a number of digital modes, with morse code being one of the most widely known examples, but other computer-based digital modes also enjoying much popularity.
You can study theory on RF propagation on different parts of the radio spectrum using beacons.
You can transmit a TV signal from a model rocket.
You can install an APRS beacon in your car and use it like a LoJack if your car is ever stolen.
You can fly a radio controlled airplane really really far because your transmitter can legally greatly exceed the range of the stuff most non-licensed people get to play with.
You can fly a weather balloon and transmit photographs and telemetry back to you.
You can work on improving Search And Rescue communications capabilities.
You can provide direct vital assistance in the aftermath of a natural disaster by coordinating radio communication between government agencies and NGO's in ways that none of them have the internal capabilities to handle.
You can play some really cool uber geeky games like "fox hunting" where you put your radio direction finding skills to the test. If you like geocaching, you'll get a real kick out of this.
You can send data over vast distances wirelessly using more powerful transmitters than the unlicensed public on spectrum that is reserved for your use as a licensed amateur radio operator.
This can just keep going. You can push the envelope, developing new technologies, or you can master antiquated skills on vintage equipment. Or you can just jabberjaw on the drive to work with other hams. Whatever floats your boat.
In 1981 the population in the US was 229,465,714. In 2009 it was 305,529,237. With 437,500 Ham Operators in 1981 that meant 0.191% of the population were licensed operators. In 2009 700,000 meant 0.229% of the population were licensed. It would be more accurate to say that the gain is closer to 20% than 60%. But in the iStuff age for something that been around 100+ years a gain of 20% isn't bad at all.
You can even link the source:
http://dilbert.com/fast/1995-01-19/
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
Ham radio operators recently stepped in to assist in Lincoln, NE after a failure of Windstream's 911 service.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
You might get an opportunity to help out in a disaster, but if your main goal is to help out in emergencies, get trained in CPR, Search and Rescue and other such, but don't count on being a ham to put you in the "Most needed" category.
Here's another thing to think about: In the U.S., RACES is the de facto organization within the amateur radio community for providing disaster relief and emergency services. In addition, Federal law prohibits RACES stations (or those stations performing RACES duties) from contacting non-RACES stations (97.407). Most government agencies require extensive background checks, including disclosure of your SSN and other personally-identifiable information, to participate in RACES, and your appointment is at the whim of the RACES coordinator. So in effect, you're asked to give up quite a bit of personal information if you want to contribute your efforts to disaster relief. (In fact, in most areas of the country, to participate in WX nets you must have a RACES appointment.)
What's particularly interesting to me about this is that many people predicted the death of CW (i.e., the use of Morse code) when the requirement to learn it was taken away from the license exams in most countries... and yet in the long-distance amateur radio contests we are finding that the use of Morse Code is quite clearly and consistently rising.
There are technical reasons why CW is superior to voice transmissions for long-distance communications, but I think a lot of us thought that the relative difficulty of learning the code would naturally lead to people not ever putting in the effort and thereby being in a position to discover its technical superiority for at least some kinds of communications. It seems that we were wrong, for which I am heartily grateful since I find CW simply a more pleasurable mode and was wondering if I would have anyone left to talk to in my dotage.
Isn't it ironic that Ham Radio is meant to be a communications system for amateurs?
Not really, no. Your Ham Radio license is granted with the understanding that you will not conduct business on it. You cannot, for example, get on 2 meters and say "anybody wanna buy my telescope? $50!"
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
This book from the ARRL has information on low profile antennas, including ones for apartments. http://www.arrl.org/catalog/order.php3?ocat=Antennas%2C+Transmission+Lines+and+Propagation&owords=&item=9744
Start on 2m & 70cm. A handheld with a little whip can be a lot of fun.
but i cant really put a big antenna on my apartment building.
KD0KYW here, you don't need a big antenna to break into HAM. I only have a handheld 2 meter radio with a 1/4 wave antenna on it. With that radio I can hit repeaters 20+ miles away and have conversations with people way farther away than that. :) If you're in the basement you might not have as much luck, if you're high up you'll do well. My advice: Get a license and see where that takes you. (Oh yeah, I'm 19 btw, so we're not all old)
No, you cannot access the internet over ham radio, not legally. The internet is a commercial infrastructure, and commercial use of Amateur Radio frequencies is illegal.
While it is widely believed that no commercial traffic is allowed on the amateur bands, this is incorrect. In 1993 the FCC issued a report significantly broadening what is allowed in terms of commercial traffic. These changes are reflected in the current regs. Please see Part 97.113. Commercial traffic which benefits either the operator or his employer are prohibited. Requesting a web page which contains advertisements is just fine. Ordering a pizza online is just fine too (although using SSL is not). You can even email some friends about that old rig you are selling for $50 due to an exemption in Part 97.113(a)(3). Sending instructions to your stock broker or notifying a business client you'll be late, on the other hand, clearly are not OK.
Actually ... you can, and many do. There are frequent swap/sell nets, where people do offer their telescopes (etc) for sale.
What you can't do is to use it to conduct a business, say telling your workers out in the field what to do, or running a business selling telescopes.
K7UF
For instance:
Building a rig that fits into an Altoids tin. talking around the world on 5 watts power, for for a real challenge, just one watt.
This pretty much requires Morse Code, but if you can key out enough to tell people you just picked this up and are learning code on the fly, you will get postcards from all over the world from people who also communicated with you using barely enough power to give you a mild tingle. Morse Code is essential because you can make out chirps and tones from the static, where voice would just be a waste of time. The way the FCC is letting things go, I would not be surprised if they let you use a keyboard and forget paddling entirely.
Hey, simple codes were good enough for Pioneer, Mariner, etc. That's geek cred - talking around the world with less power than you would need to read the postcard with...
I got my First Class for a job fixing CB radios, and got hooked a little bit back when code was required. I hated code. Helped a college FM station stay on the air for a little while. Being able to solder well got me into several circles, and I was building Heathkit rigs for people for a little while, cause they liked the perfect joints and wire ties I learned in the Air Force, when whire ties were waxed cord. I still think they are pretty, and I did a cabling job with about 200 drops once all in flat nylon lace, just to show the guys how nice exposed cabling could look. But that was then. Now there are so many great kits out there, Amazing. I really ought to get back into it. Oh yeah, I let my ticket lapse when I got sidetracked by soccer and girls. Feh.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
there are no legal CB repeaters. Most folks who want more from CB get an amp and some go for frequencies outside the CB range. Here in NY, below channel 1 is illegal trucker chats, and spanish. Above 40, there are folks using Sideband transmission and shooting skip. It's all really toy compared to even basic ham equipment. Don't get me started on the crappy signals they send out, either.....
Several times. The FCC cleared up what it meant by business use -- its means what it says, plain and simple.
That makes it ok for things like ordering pizza over a phone patch, or offering odd items for sale or swap on a net.