Ham Radio Licenses Top 700,000, An All-Time High

Velcroman1 writes "The newest trend in American communication isn't another smartphone from Apple or Google but one of the elder statesmen of communication: Ham radio licenses are at an all time high, with over 700,000 licenses in the United States, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Ham radio first took the nation by storm nearly a hundred years ago. Last month the FCC logged 700,314 licenses, with nearly 40,000 new ones in the last five years. Compare that with 2005, when only 662,600 people hammed it up and you'll see why the American Radio Relay League — the authority on all things ham — is calling it a 'golden age' for ham. 'Over the last five years we've had 20-25,000 new hams,' said Allen Pitts, a spokesman for the group."

Comments

But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[rwade]

The article indicates that there are 700,000 licensed radio amateurs. But how many of those that are licensed are alive? There is no provision for the FCC to investigate how many hams are alive -- and they expire only every 10 years. I've attended meetings of a number of local clubs and the average age has got to be 70 -- I would say that the count of living US radio amateurs is 3/5ths or even half that 700,000...

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Chrisq]

From FTA:

While the number of licensees has grown considerably over the years, we realize that these numbers include some who are no longer active in Amateur Radio. A recent survey of ARRL members, however, indicates that more than 80 percent of those responding are active.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[rwade]

From FTA:

While the number of licensees has grown considerably over the years, we realize that these numbers include some who are no longer active in Amateur Radio. A recent survey of ARRL members, however, indicates that more than 80 percent of those responding are active.

I did see that, but that data is irrelevant to the question of how many of those holding licenses are alive.

This is not a survey of all active hams, but of ARRL members. And it only counts those responding to their survey -- ie. it doesn't even count those that are members of ARRL but didn't answer the survey. The dead won't respond to a survey. All that this data says is that 20% of the members that respond to a survey from an organization that you have to pay to be a member of are actually active in radio.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

Me too.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[rwade]

Correction:

All that this data says is that 20% of the members that respond to a survey from an organization that you have to pay to be a member of are not actually active in radio.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[ATestR]

No doubt that there are some Hams who have gone silent key still on the rolls, but most of their registrations will expire after no more than 10 years. And the dead certainly don't account for many of the new registrations (except perhaps in Chicago).

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[rwade]

No doubt that there are some Hams who have gone silent key still on the rolls, but most of their registrations will expire after no more than 10 years. And the dead certainly don't account for many of the new registrations (except perhaps in Chicago).

Let me put it another way -- there are 700,000 current members. From TFA:

'Over the last five years we've had 20-25,000 new hams,' said Allen Pitts, a spokesman for the group."

25,000 out of 700,000 is 3.5%. Two questions:

1) What is the average age of US hams? I would guess it's pretty old.

2) What is the rate of death of people of that age group?

And even if I'm wrong about how many hams are alive, I know from listening that the bands are not getting 3.5% more busy every year -- that no one can deny...

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

As people retire, they may be more likely to pick it back up, so this may be a golden age before a sharp decline.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[frozentier]

Two questions:

1) What is the average age of US hams? I would guess it's pretty old.

2) What is the rate of death of people of that age group?

And even if I'm wrong about how many hams are alive, I know from listening that the bands are not getting 3.5% more busy every year -- that no one can deny...

The average age at our local club is between 30 and 40. I've been a ham for over 10 years, and I'm 39.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

no, ham radio operators are licensed by FCC and there are 700,000+ licensees. ARRL membership is voluntary. This is not a survey, this is a hard count by FCC.
that said, some will have died before their license has expired, but any increase involves new licensees.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[rwade]

The 700,000 is from the FCC. The 80% that Chrisq is citing comes from a survey of members of ARRL -- two different numbers, one of which Chrisq is using incorrectly to judge how many of the 700,000 are active.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

The dead won't respond to a survey.

If it is a political survey they will...

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[RKBA]

Yes indeed. I had a ham license in 1961 when I was in high school but let my license expire after I entered college. Now that I'm retired, I'm thinking of taking up the hobby again. I used to be pretty fast with the key, but I understand that these days the ability to use Morse code isn't even a requirement for the test.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[inviolet]

No doubt that there are some Hams who have gone silent key still on the rolls, but most of their registrations will expire after no more than 10 years. And the dead certainly don't account for many of the new registrations (except perhaps in Chicago).

It doesn't work that way. A license expires after 10 years, but renewal is free and practically effortless, so everyone renews forever. The number of ham licenses will therefore always be "at an all time high" because of the ratchet effect created by free renewals.

My father has been a ham since the 1960s, but hasn't touched a radio in three decades.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[cayenne8]

I used to be pretty fast with the key, but I understand that these days the ability to use Morse code isn't even a requirement for the test.

Nope..it isn't a requirement any longer. I'm guessing that reason might be a factor in the upswing of licensees.

I've been thinking of it myself, because of this reason.

I really don't have the time to sit and learn and practice for speed something that I'll likely never use except for a one time licensing exam.....

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

> There is no provision for the FCC to investigate how many hams are alive -- and they expire only every 10 years.

I am happy to say that we amateur radio operators do _not_ expire every 10 years. "Only" or otherwise.

I've been a ham for about 10 years -- my wife and I got our licenses after the September 11 attacks. We volunteer for a number of events in our area which raise money for particular charities or which are local fairs, parades, and the like. The hams that provide communications handle these events as if they were a disaster, with controlled networks. I live in earthquake country; this means we have experience in handling disasters, so when our earthquake hits, we'll be experienced in disaster communications, and we'll know the hams we're operating with.

I encourage you all not only to get your ham licenses but to volunteer in activities in your locality to keep current on using your radio and operating under less than prime conditions.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Silfax]

Average age in our local club is about 45, but the members range from 14 - 90

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[robot256]

I see your anecdote and raise you mine...I know several people with lapsed licenses because they were not interested enough to even find out when it expired or what form to fill out. A decade or two later, they get interested again, and then have to reapply.

The solution to the problem you describe is to have "maintenance" tests, maybe filled out online, that everyone has to complete to get a renewal. I know people balk at more tests, but aren't you supposed to know this stuff cold anyways? Of course, I support the same thing for driver's and gun licenses, but you can see how far those have got with the public (not sure about gun licenses, but I don't know of a state with any significant barrier to driver's license renewal).

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[rickb928]

Even if you get hung up on the live/dead count, this is a valid relative count, that is, the FCC is counting the licenses the same way, and so growth is apparent no matter.

And while hams do tend to expire, as well as their licenses, the growth recently would not be expected to include so many dead as live.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

I heard about this guy named Oscar who had a license, then one day he disappeared, and people thought he was dead. But his friends renewed his license anyhow, and sure enough, he showed up again years later. Too bad he's too cheap to buy new equipment, though, since they changed the frequency allocations for some of what he has.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Lumpy]

Knowing electronics is not a requirement anymore.

Most hams on the air are appliance operators and could not figure out how to fix their radios if they wanted to.

It's because you can prep for the test FROM THE TEST POOL. it's simply memorization. it's been that way for well over 20 years.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Obfuscant]

I know people balk at more tests, but aren't you supposed to know this stuff cold anyways?

No.

First, there is a lot of stuff on the exams that cover things you are not interested in and will probably never do. It's there because you have the privilege to do it, not the responsibility to do it. You don't need to know it at all because you aren't going to do it at all.

Second, what is there is incomplete and insufficient to actually use some of the modes you are supposed to know "cold". If I ever want to do heilscrieber (sp?) I'll need to know more than how many lines per minute or what it is. Ditto satellite (U/V, V/U modes?) or almost anything else esoteric on the advanced tests. And I can't tell you the last time I calculated the phase angles of an inductive circuit with a resistor of X and an inductor of Y. Oh, wait, I can, because it was on the test I took many years ago.

but I don't know of a state with any significant barrier to driver's license renewal).

How many people might die if I have failed eyesight or don't remember what a stop sign means and I get out on the highway, compared to the vast number of deaths and excessive carnage if I forget that SSTV runs at 240 lpm and turn on the box that does it for me and transmit a piccy?

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[epe]

meeting in a club is no indication of how old is ham radio. There (We) are a lot of hamradio operators with 1/2 of the age you state..
Im 37... and being a ham since 18... but I do not like to go to clubs but investigate about antennas, CW and QRP.. visiting a club to gossip with other members is not my kind

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

The US population has grown roughly 5% since 2005. The number of ham licenses has grown roughly 5% since 2005. Big deal. There is no story here.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Defenestrar]

How many people might die if I have failed eyesight or don't remember what a stop sign means and I get out on the highway, compared to the vast number of deaths and excessive carnage if I forget that SSTV runs at 240 lpm and turn on the box that does it for me and transmit a piccy?

The scary thing is that most states never recheck more than the eyesight. The knowledge exams seem to me more of a learn once and discard according to your location's enforcement protocols. And in this case, I'm pretty sure people do die because some idiot forgets corresponding lane changes, or can't remember which car at a 4 way stop gets the right of way...

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[said213]

Thanks for a very cool link to something interesting... I'm not a ham or a radio person, but this is an f'ing neat story!

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

I let mine expire - N7HEI back in the 80s. Never used it and too lazy to care about renewal. I'm sure it happens a lot.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

While there is a good number, it's not as high as you would think. There is an active sub-community who cancels call-signs as hams become "silent keys" to manage for that. I was just looking at the FCC data for the call sign of a ham who passed on earlier this year. It appears his license was canceled within a few days of his death.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not true, as someone who was a licensed ham, I let it lapse... Mainly because I completely forgot I had it. While learning the technology is interesting, the practical applications of it now are 1000% different then they were even 20 years ago, before cell phones were overly common let alone ubiquitous and internet capable.

Frankly I never saw the appeal of it as basically an over the air party chat back in the day. Which was what the smaller bands seemed to be (for the entry license). Nor do I need it for the fascinating ability to chat with someone halfway around the world cheaply. I doubt it's ham radio's heyday, personally, my father still drives around with his 2 meter scanning. I haven't heard a single transmission other then the station Morse over it while in the car.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[StikyPad]

Not to mention that as the population grows, the raw number of ham operators will grow as well even if the percentage of the population stays the same.

And 700k, while a large number by itself, is only 0.2% of the population, 1 in 500, on the same scale as the number of people with Parkinson's in the US.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

I fully believe that number is correct. I don't know how many times I have tried to get a DX contact running with my barefoot HF rig and I swear, all 700,000 licensed operators are running 3k amps and all talk at once.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not a HAM, but if it's important to know how many "active" ones there are, it seems like they could just reduce the license term to 2 or 3 years and keep it really easy and free to renew.

That should weed out the inactive users and get you a more accurate count, albeit at the expense of some inconvenience.

Though I guess the question you have to answer first is, does it matter if there's an accurate count of active operators?

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[robot256]

You make a valid point. The only thing I'll add is that I did not intend the re-registering exam to be the same as the original license exam, which I did not make clear in my post. It could be something as simple as submitting some QSL confirmations to show that you are active. It was just an idea to combat what the GP seemed to think of as "frivolous" renewals, a problem which I think is overstated to begin with.

Slightly off-topic, I do find it irritating is that we can't have proper roundabouts in the States because nobody can be bothered to remember how to use them. If people had some--any--driving training after the age of 17 (when *nothing* seems worth remembering) it would go a long way toward improving civility on the roads. I know some insurance companies support periodic "defensive driving" classes with rate reductions, but I cannot fathom why they are not mandatory. It's like we *enjoy* watching 380,000 people die on our streets every year.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[robot256]

Sorry, I was off by an order of magnitude on that last number. It should be 30,000 traffic deaths per year (source).

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Rick17JJ]

I have been a licensed ham for 20 years, but have never been very active in the hobby. Two sets of intersecting over head power lines and the two intersecting roads, have left me with no good place for a large antenna. So, all I had was the 2-meter radio in my truck and the 2-meter radio at home. Using 2-meters did not require a large antenna, but only provided enough range for line-of-sight communications, or using mountain top repeaters to reach one of several nearby cities.

Now that band conditions are starting to improve, I have finally figured out where to put my antenna. There is a small bare spot about 100 feet away on top of a small minor hilltop where I have room for a decent sized vertical antenna and buried radials. It is just barely far enough away from the power lines. Hopefully, the power losses in 100 feet of coax will not be too much if I use RG-213 coax and put a weatherproof automatic antenna tuner at the base of the multi-band vertical antenna.

Unfortunately there is no place to put a ground rod for lightning protection on that side of the building. There is only about 2 inches of dirt on top of the solid rock on that side of the building. From there, to where I want to put my vertical antenna is solid rock all the way. My current plan is to just disconnect the coax cable and move it away from the building during much of the summer. At least I will finally be able to get on the air most of the year.

I am more interested in using CW and PSK31, than in talking on SSB. I hope to finally start using HF, now that band conditions are starting to improve. I will also need to read up on the basic rules and procedures, since it has been 10 years since I last studied for my General Class License, and I have not been active.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Cito]

I've been a license ham since 1994

and keeping active.

got an Alinco DR605 dual band in the house on a 20 watt power supply, a 5 element dual band yagi on a rotor about 30 feet in the air. also have a Kenwood TS-850 HF rig with a dipole across the house

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Kadin2048]

And this is a problem ... why?

Imagine if we actually required the sort of test that some old farts seem to advocate for. Very few people would pass, new licenses would dry up, and eventually the cellcos and the other usual greedy suspects would steamroll whatever was left of the ARRL and have the spectrum reallocated. End of story.

Those "appliance operators" you speak so disparagingly of are, just by virtue of using the spectrum allocated to the Amateur service and perhaps being active in a local club or sending a few bucks to the ARRL, what keeps the hobby possible.

Frankly, I'm all for lowering the bar further, down to a nominal fee and a test that only covers the legal aspects and RF safety. Not because I don't think the electronics are important, but it's a hell of a lot easier to interest people in the electronics once they've already started to play around a bit and see the applied side of things, and we need the warm bodies if we want to hang onto the spectrum.

Also, there are valid aspects of Amateur Radio that really don't rely on or require much electronics knowledge. For some people, Amateur Radio is more of a means to some other end, or an accompaniment to some other interest/hobby. There are a significant number of people in my local club who are Red Cross volunteers or paid employees, and maintain Ham licenses in order to do EmComm stuff. That's a totally valid use of Amateur Radio, but it doesn't require much theoretical knowledge of radio, just the actual practical radio-operation skills to get the messages across.

The ARRL is slowly taking more of a "big tent" philosophy, and it's time for the rest of the community to be a bit more welcoming if we want to have any hope of surviving for a few more decades.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Kadin2048]

Hopefully, the power losses in 100 feet of coax will not be too much if I use RG-213 coax and put a weatherproof automatic antenna tuner at the base of the multi-band vertical antenna.

If you can, you should investigate using some sort of ladder line rather than coax; even if you are using an antenna design that would require a balun, you will probably still do better in terms of signal loss with a 100 foot run. Of course, the tradeoff is that it'd be HF only, but it sounds like you probably already have a VHF/UHF antenna. (Also you can use an antenna, like a G5RV, that's optimized for feeding by ladder line.)

I've also seen some very clever homebrew arrangements where you can basically make your own heavy-duty ladder line by stretching THHN wire from 2x4 posts sunk at intervals into the ground. Similar to old knob-and-tube wiring almost. It's quite elegant looking when done right.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Rick17JJ]

I would have preferred to use ladder line because of its lower losses, but probably should not run ladder line underneath the overhead power lines. I am planning to use a buried conduit for my RG-213 coax. I will probably use either the schedule 40 plastic conduit or the heavier schedule 80 plastic conduit. In the past, I always felt that I probably should not run my coax underneath the power lines, even if buried. Various difficulties like that in my location, are why 20 years have gone by without putting up an antenna for HF use.

I will not be able to dig a ditch for my buried conduit. So, I plan to add a thin layer of rocks and dirt on top of the conduit, after laying the conduit on top of the layer of the granite bedrock.

Where I live is upstairs from where I work at our small family business. Unfortunately, that means that my antenna will be in a publicly accessible area. So I have been concerned about someone getting shocked by touching my vertical antenna. Fortunately, the vertical antenna that I plan to use is made of fiberglass and is double insulated. I am planning to use an LDG electronics S9v31 31 foot tall multi-band vertical antenna.

Hardly anyone ever actually walks up through the brush, rocks, and prickly pear cactus to that particular spot. But, I also plan to plant several cactus around the base of my antenna, to keep people away.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Ol Olsoc]

The number of Hams, while yes, there are 700,000 licensed ones, it isn't that important. There has been a steady growth since the elimination of the Element 2, (Morse Code) so it's the trend that is important. The licensing renewal hasn't changed, so accuracy isn't any different.

Average age of Hams is probably high middle aged, with a trend downward, as a lot of the new hams are in the emergency communication interest. But on the radio, no one knows your age, unless you like to talk about your hernia operation with the other old farts while on the air.

As far as listening and on-air activity, are you sure your setup is okay? Perhaps listening during the wrong times of day for good propagation? During contests and QSO Parties, which are almost every weekend, there are arguments that break out over band crowding. So yeah, I can deny that part.

Re:But how many of those 700,000 are alive?

[Ol Olsoc]

A dead person is not allowed to renew their license, even if they want to.

slashdotted

[what2123]

Coincidentally that seems to be about the amount of unique annual visitors to Slashdot these days.

What they need to do...

[Anonymous Coward]

They need to stop pussyfoot'n around and release the Bacon Radio.
Then they'll see some real increase in numbers.

Overstated

[Anrego]

This is great. Ameatur radio is probably the last great geeky hobby.

Re:Overstated

[ATestR]

And likely to stay. You actually have to study (at least a little), and spend some significant money to purchase radio equipment.

Re:Overstated

[Scottingham]

uh, arduino?

Re:Overstated

[aunchaki]

My model trains may disagree with you!

Re:Overstated

[nschubach]

Cool, talking trains! ;)

Re:Overstated

[Dan Dankleton]

You do have to study, but you can get decent equipment fairly cheaply if you're prepared to build it yourself. A Softrock RXTX software defined radio transceiver is under $100, which isn't bad for an all mode radio. A morse-only transceiver would probably set you back $20 or so. Geeky hobbies rule!

Re:Overstated

[Anrego]

Too new.

Obviously there are still lots of ultra geeky things out there.. but the words "ham radio" has for a long time formed a certain image, and that image still hasn't changed much (unlike say, "computer programmer").

Re:Overstated

[Anonymous Coward]

I disagree! I'm also an amateur volunteer astronomer. Astronomers are geeky too!

Re:Overstated

[hjf]

I process my own black and white film, you insensitive clod!

Yes, really: flic.kr/hjf2010

Re:Overstated

[Anonymous Coward]

"and spend some significant money to purchase radio equipment.

Well, no one doesn't, especially if one enjoys working VHF, I recently purchased a dual band (2 Meter & 440 MHz) hand held transceiver for $45 U.S., it also receives broadcast FM radio and has a nifty built in LED flashlight, and it's the size of a pack of playing cards.

BAOFENG UV-3R

And I've built a 2 Meter J Pole antenna and a 5 element Yagi-Uda beam antenna, both of those together cost me all of $10 U.S., I used copper water pipe for the J Pole and old broadcast TV antennas that I disassembled and used the parts to construct my beam antenna, they preform as well as antennas costing well over a hundred dollars U.S..

And as already pointed out, a lot of Hams are aging and there is quite a bit of used and perfectly good gear available at reasonable prices, especially if one finds a local Ham radio club to hook up with (avoid tobacco smokers gear though, UGH, sticky and nasty).

There is still a lot of "fun" to be had in the VHF and Microwave bands.

Re:Overstated

[Lumpy]

"and spend some significant money to purchase radio equipment."

Really? Then this $59.00 dual band 2meter 440mhz handheld I bought off ebay must not exist then,,,
Oh and there is a secret ham thing called "used gear" I can get you a 20 meter setup for less than $100.00 including the antenna tuner.

The only people that have to spend significant money are the fools that did not learn anything when they were testing and cant bring themselves to touch that yucky ooky used gear....

Eeeewww... IT's got old people germs on it!

Re:Overstated

[Lumpy]

Ultimate geeky...

Amateur radio astronomer. Buddy of mine bought 12, 20 foot parabolic old TV dishes to set up in his back yard. he has recorded pulsars, and other really cool things using that dish array.

The neighbors have got to love him... the place looks like a NSA listening post.

Re:Overstated

[rk]

I love the older equipment. There's a Drake TR-7 (actually c. 1980, so not that old, really) with the remote VFO I've got an eye on in my club's equipment stash just going unused. I'm probably going to tender an offer for it and see if they bite. We've got some old Collins gear too, which is easy to work on and almost come back around to look trendy and steampunkish.

Re:Overstated

[rickb928]

considerable money?

2 meter stuff is pretty cheap. Same price range as dicking around witrh Arduinos, once you've included breadboards, power supplies, blah blah blah. Addmittedly, some hams don't think of 2 meter as 'ham', but it's cheap, a busy band, and if you get the urge to go SW you'll be able to sell off your stuff. Probably. Real hams never sell anything.

Now, it does get more expensive for better stuff. But there are licenses today that don't seem to require as much tech as before. Learn up and you can buy some used stuff, it up, and be on the air.

If you want a cheap hobby, try QRP!. And be a *real* ham and build yer own.

Oh, and antennas are the coolest part of all this, to me. Clever antenna designs make all the difference...

Re:Overstated

[soupforare]

I can't believe how much bulk rolls of tri-x are now :( Have you tried any of the cheap B&W films that have come out in the last few years?

Re:Overstated

[Anonymous Coward]

WOO WOO

Re:Overstated

[brainboyz]

Since when did running a train on multiple models simultaneously become geeky? I thought that was every mans' dream?

Re:Overstated

[Kymermosst]

Yeah, you can get some pretty good VHF/UHF stuff for pretty cheap. I've got a Yaesu VX-8DR quad-band radio, with a 1200/9600 APRS packet modem built-in, and all kinds of other fun features. It was under $400.

I mean, sure, you can spend thousands of dollars on a rig, but you don't have to.

Re:Overstated

[dadioflex]

There's an under-swell of talk about getting ham equipment as some sort of antidote to potential Government crackdowns on the Internet and Mobile communications. For those people who follow up on the talk, the last thing they'll do is get a license.

Re:Overstated

[ConceptJunkie]

Aunchaki never said they talked, just that they have opinions. ;-)

Re:Overstated

[Kadin2048]

Agree with the first part but disagree with the second.

If you get your license and join a local club, and you're not totally unpleasant to be around, my experience is that you'll probably find someone willing to loan you (or just give you outright) enough gear to get started. My local club has an assortment of starter gear that they lend out to new hams, on a sort of indefinite 'gentlemans agreement' that once you get your own rig set up you'll return it to the club or pass it along to another new Ham. There's always someone willing to lend expensive stuff that you only need to use occasionally, too, like TDRs or antenna analyzers.

I'd definitely recommend that anyone new to the hobby join a local club -- if possible more than one, or at least 'shop around' a little and find one that has other members that match your interests. It can dramatically decrease the cost of getting set up.

Re:Overstated

[hjf]

Yes, chinese Lucky SHD-100 (I heard it goes for USD 0,80 a roll for a 135x36 in USA) is..... well, is film. It doesn't have anti-halation layer, so that can be good or bad, depending on what results you're after. You can love it or hate it. I didn't really like it to be honest, but some people swear for it.

You're welcome on ##photography at irc.freenode.net, lately it's been all-film talk.

I am.

[stevegee58]

I've kept current since the 70's

Re:I am.

[ThePiMan2003]

I am also still alive, I've been licensed for a year and 4 months, and at only 32 years old, I expect to be around for quite a while longer.

Re:I am.

[nschubach]

What would truly worry me is the post stating they died and their license was still active...

Re:I am.

[atomicthumbs]

I'm still alive, as far as I know; I'm 19 and have been licensed since 2006.

Re:I am.

[Anonymous Coward]

I have had my license for 40 years and I died last year.

Re:I am.

[cayenne8]

I would guess one large factor in new people getting ham licenses...is them finally doing away with the requirement for morse code to get the license.

That was one PITA that likely kept many out of pursuing a ham license?

Re:I am.

[TooMuchToDo]

Still alive. 28 years old.

Re:I am.

[rk]

Agreed. Dropping the code requirement helped me get to my extra last year. The irony is now that I have my license, and operating awhile on the HF bands I've learned the value of Morse (talk around the world with a 1 watt transmitter?) and am in the process of learning it.

Re:I am.

[bsd_usr]

Yep, that made it much easier to get mine last year.

Re:I am.

[DarthBart]

Most definitely. There was a surge when the FCC created the No-code Tech in 1991. That's when I got my license. I was a UHF-VHF monkey (mostly satellite) until I upgraded to Extra after the whole code requirement was dropped. Now I enjoy PSK-31 DX.

I'm teaching my 9 year old enough to pass her Tech license.

Re:I am.

[Defenestrar]

There have got to be several bad horror stories related to this idea. "Grandpa's dead, but we can still hear him on the old radio..." or "While helping clear out Uncle Gerald's attic, a nasty old cuss, we switched on his radio and could listen to torment screams..."

Re:I am.

[epe]

Everybody can talk, but CW is an art.
you are invited to join www.skccgroup.com to improve your CW skills step by step.

I learnt CW when I was 12, and got my first Ham license when I was 18, I returned to hamradio last year.. after more than 12 years not using it and after tasting digital modes.. Im back to CW.. it is sooo nice.

Re:I am.

[X0563511]

I'll beat you here...

I was in a testing session a few weeks ago. I watched a girl barely over 10 years old pass her test for a general class license.

Re:I am.

[Anonymous Coward]

I have had my license for 40 years and I died last year.

You mean that you died on the 40th year of holding the license?
If so, you had that license for only 39 years!
Liar liar pants on fire!

Re:I am.

[Anonymous Coward]

Currently I belong to several online forums were the renewal fee is voluntary. I have an account set up to pay for those, it's an interest bearing account and should earn enough interest to fill the bucket to pay for those accounts indefinitely. The bank account is monitored and if one of them bounces it's removed from the list and I'm notified.

If FCC and ARRL would modernize they could have an eternal monetary stream.

Re:I am.

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope you haven't been forgetting to vote.

Re:I am.

[Kymermosst]

Me as well. I renewed my license about 2 years ago, and am only in my 30s.

Re:I am.

[Skuld-Chan]

The irony is now that I have my license, and operating awhile on the HF bands I've learned the value of Morse (talk around the world with a 1 watt transmitter?) and am in the process of learning it.

Ah but you got to chose the mode :). As someone who got extra back when you had to do a test this is what I used to argue the move towards no-code hf privs. Yeah you don't need code to get a license, but you might want to learn it on your own time to be a good, flexible operator.

Re:I am.

[Anonymous Coward]

Has the ARRL done a survey of how many active Hams (not just licensed) learn morse within one/two/five years?

I'm curious if dropping the code requirement has helped get people started. Essentially shifted the barrier of dull learning to after they've had an opportunity to 'tour' what the hobby is about more thoroughly.

I suspect your experience is pretty common, but have nothing but anecdotes.

Re:I am.

[Anonymous Coward]

That's not irony. It's the opposite of irony, in fact. The Morse requirement was a barrier to entry to the hobby as a whole. Now that people can get in a bit easier there are more people willing to try it out, decide it's something they want to do and the incentive of extra privileges encourages them to learn more.

That's interesting

[Chrisq]

I know a couple of people who were really keen HAM enthusiasts in the UK who have virtually given up on it now. One of them told me the excitement of talking to people all over the world was dulled a bit now that anyone with an internet connection can do the same. I'd love to know whether the people I know are going against the trend and HAM radio is increasing in the UK too or whether we have somehow missed a trick that the American HAM societies are using.

Re:That's interesting

[Muad'Dave]

If you limit your ham experience to talking to other humans by voice, then I can see where the internet/cell phones/etc would dull your enthusiasm.

Things get quite exciting when you include using digital modes like WSPR to exchange messages half way around the Earth with less power than a nightlight, or using very high-speed digital modes like FSK441 to exchange messages using signals _reflected off of meteor trails_, or bouncing signals _off the moon_, or using PSK31 to dig signals out of the noise that human ears can't even detect, or work stations from your living room on a handheld transceiver via an amateur-built honest-to-God satellite.

There's plenty of frontier left in the hobby - you just have to be willing to 'enhance the radio art' by experimenting and learning!

Re:That's interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

Any form of medium that can keep free of interference from the powers that be is something that I'm glad to see grow.

Locking down communication channels in the name of public safety seems to be a popular tactic these days.

Re:That's interesting

[mikael]

Wow! That sounds amazing. The closest I'd ever to go that was listening to FM radio back in 1989 when there was a solar storm flare reaching Earth. We actually started hearing local FM radio stations from Nordic countries. I don't know if anyone there started to receive UK stations.

Other fun thing we did was to get a world radio (FM/AM/LW/MW/SW), an astronomy guide, and go outside on a Summer evening. We could just make out the reflection of sunlight from the satellites as well as hear them "chirruping" overhead.

Re:That's interesting

[Muad'Dave]

I still do satellite observation, as do many others. I remember talking to a cosmonaut of MIR while watching him go overhead. I asked him how the sunset just was, and he wondered how I knew they'd just seen a sunset. I told him I just watched him pass into the terminator. Kinda blew his mind.

Re:That's interesting

[eap]

I know a couple of people who were really keen HAM enthusiasts in the UK who have virtually given up on it now. One of them told me the excitement of talking to people all over the world was dulled a bit now that anyone with an internet connection can do the same.

A big factor for me was the poor conversation. Most of it was "Hey, I'm on my way down such and such road. How's my signal?" That, and most of the regular users fit into the crusty old "git government out of my life!" category. I'd rather read user comments on my newspaper's website than undergo such torture. Ironic they are so in love with a Federally licensed service.

The only reason I renewed my license last year was because I'm often in the back country where phones don't work. Being able to hit a repeater 30 miles away on a walkie talkie is a big advantage when there is no cell service. Unfortunately, many back country repeaters have few listeners.

Re:That's interesting

[White Flame]

I would suspect that at least some portion of the American HAM increases is related to concern for the continued stability of the country.

Re:That's interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

And how many watts does the PC which encode/decode data to a QRP mode use???

Re:That's interesting

[mikael]

Wow! I found this story today

The Griggs Hall haunting

Re:That's interesting

[Ol Olsoc]

People have been able to talk across the world for a lot longer than the internet has been around. That's the strange thing AFAIAC

But there is just so much more to Ham radio than that. I've built my antennas, much of my station equipment, and I don't have to rely on any other infrastructure if I don't want to.

And as some other commentors have noted, just talking gets a little old after a while.

We can use our computers to do all manner of things in modern amateur radio. Digital communications are a big hit now, and if you really want to get geeky wid it, you can even write your own digital modulation codec, as long as you share it with the F.C.C. No encryption allowed.

Want internet in some remote site? Then you want Hinternet. Hams are allowed to use higher power and bigger antennas. Kinda like wardriving, but completely legal. You are limited to non commercial operations, like all other Amateur activities.

Automated Position Reporting System (APRS) is also popular. This will map out stations on a computer, and if you have a GPS enabled radio system, you can transmit your location to the world. Practical uses are for emergency worker location, public service events where support vehicles need tracked, and propagation experiments. It also incorporates a text messaging system that was similar to Twitter - short messages without an implicit destination. The APRS system operates via Radio, and even internet, many have a radio connected to a computer which shares the data, called an iGate.

This just scratches the surface of the different activities. Voice and CW, which is what most everyone thinks of when they think of Ham radio, is just one small part of the hobby.

I Are One: KK4ETS

[ATestR]

I just logged on to burn some MOD points when I saw this posted. Just picked up my HAM Technician license last month (Grandad was a HAM back in the 60's/70's... should of earned it sooner!), and upgraded to General class this week. Aiming for Extra next year. Now I just need to convince the wife to let me spend $2K - $20K on fancy radio gear so I can talk further than the nearby 2M/70cm repeaters...

N0NEA

[Juneau]

I got my license over 20 years when I started work at an RF engineering company (I was the accountant). I wanted to learn what we were building and the owner and most of the engineers were hams. I don't use my license much, but I learned a lot about technology. I learned to solder, built my own packet radio rig, and made the assemblers and techs laugh about my skills. I still am able to carry on a decent conversation about radio and it's served me well in all areas of technology.

Re:N0NEA

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm just shy of having mine for 20 years too. Got it because it looked interesting. Studied for my tech during a camping trip where it rained more often than not.

In a space of a year I had upgraded to Extra. One thing about voice, some of the conversations you hear especially on local repeaters are too damned funny.

Easier Entry

[kenzal]

Don't suppose this has anything to do with the removal of the Morse Code requirement in 2007

Re:Easier Entry

[Andy Dodd]

It's been possible to get a code-free Technician license for almost two decades.

However, it likely has much more appeal now that you can get on the international HF bands without a code test. (Code-free Tech only had access to VHF/UHF and above)

Re:Easier Entry

[betterunixthanunix]

Keep in mind that technician class is limited to CW transmissions below 30MHz, so morse code is still somewhat required for shortwave.

Re:Easier Entry

[ColdWetDog]

Don't suppose this has anything to do with the removal of the Morse Code requirement in 2007

Perhaps, but that was only for General class - Technician was always (?) code free. But General class gives you access to the lower frequencies with longer range capability so perhaps that's it.

I think it's more likely that Amateur Radio is now the Boy Scouts of the 21st Century. It's big 'repurposing' has been in the field of Emergency Communications. They've had some good publicity with recent major disasters, offer a 'function' for the hobby ('Honey, I need to buy that radio to help in the event of a natural disaster' - worth a try anyway), allows you to get involved in something besides talking to someone at the end of the world.

They even have cool reflective jackets and donuts.

Or perhaps a combination of the two and other things.

Re:Easier Entry

[Anonymous Coward]

I think that may be part of it however CW (morse code communication mode) appears to be more popular than ever. You can see that by looking at the number of cw contacts made during some of the 'DXpeditions' major contests. Also, when you get your extra class license, what else would you use the lower 25kHz of the major bands for? That's where all of the good stuff is!

Re:Easier Entry

[Amouth]

i know when i was growing up - that was the reason i never bothered to get it - not that i couldn't do it but rather the time needed to practice to get my speed up wasn't worth it.

Re:Easier Entry

[__aajfby9338]

Technician was always (?) code free.

The no-code Technician class license was introduced in 1992. Prior to that, applicants had to pass a 5 word per minute Morse code test for the Technician class license. More recent changes include dropping the Morse code requirement to 5 words per minute for all classes, followed by dropping it entirely.

Re:Easier Entry

[TheJediGeek]

No-code tech has only been around for about 20 years or so. Before the elimination of the code requirement for all license classes, there were two tech classes. The "no code" tech and tech plus. There was also Novice class which has now gone away. Interestingly, Novice required 5 wpm CW yet would not grant voice privileges on 2M or 70cm.

I think the increase in amateur radio licenses probably has more to do with more people expecting the S to HTF. There seems to be a growing expectation that a global collapse, nuclear holocaust, government collapse, zombie apocalypse are just around the corner. It's probably a combination between that and people wanting to be prepared for more local or regional disasters like blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.

Re:Easier Entry

[LVSlushdat]

Technician was always (?) code free.

Incorrect.. When I got my Tech license in 1976, I had to take a 5wpm code test. Its been at least 20 years since they dropped the code requirement on the Tech license.

K7DGF

Re:Easier Entry

[s4ltyd0g]

In Canada at least, since they've had code free licenses there as actually been an increase of folks interested in obtaining their cw certification. While you may not need it to operate at home, there are still plenty of countries that do require cw and if you want to operate there, then you'll still need it.

73

Re:Easier Entry

[Abalamahalamatandra]

Which is why I started out in 1993.

Hilariously, I quickly started enjoying making longer-distance contacts on 10 meters and wanted to be able to talk on the repeaters on that band using FM - so I passed my General exam and the 5 WPM code test not long after anyway.

I need to get my Advanced one of these days - now that it's just a test and doesn't require 13 WPM code, there's not much excuse anymore for not getting it done!

Re:Easier Entry

[__aajfby9338]

I got my no-code tech license around the same time. I upgraded to extra when the 5 wpm requirement was still in place, but I never worked CW on the air and quickly forgot it. I want to re-learn the code and actually use it sometime soon. Most of my operation is related to my military radio collecting hobby, so I'm missing a lot by not knowing the code.

Re:Easier Entry

[EverlastingPhelps]

Actually the article mentions it -- a lot of it is the prepper community getting geared up for a grid-down situation.

Re:Easier Entry

[rk]

There are no more Advanced tickets issued. Only Technician, General, and Extra are issued these days. Those who hold advanced tickets are grandfathered. The only privileges you get with an Extra ticket over the General is a little larger allocation on 80 (200 kHz), 40 (50 kHz), 20 (75 kHz), and 15 (75 kHz) meters. The test is also much harder than the General (assuming you're actually learning the material and not just memorizing the question pool). So it may or may not be worth it to you.

Re:Easier Entry

[Obfuscant]

I need to get my Advanced one of these days - now that it's just a test and doesn't require 13 WPM code,

Good luck finding an advanced test anywhere. That license class is now a grandfathered class, meaning you skip right from General to Amateur Extra if you are taking tests.

Re:Easier Entry

[swalve]

Prepper community?

Re:Easier Entry

[EverlastingPhelps]

Survivalist / off-grid / sustainable.

You know...

[cmv1087]

I think I still have my ham radio license somewhere from when I took a mini course in the subject back in middle school. We all got our licenses at the end of the course and I never did actually use a radio since. It's probably expired by now, though, or close to.

Re:You know...

[ATestR]

It's probably expired by now, though, or close to.

Ten years is the license term, assuming you've kept your email current with the FCC. If you haven't, and some snail mail bounced, they will have kicked you to the curb sooner.

Re:You know...

[cmv1087]

Expired then. I've changed emails at least once since then (assuming this wasn't during the time we were using AOL) and moved four times. Thanks.

Oh well. Maybe I'll renew it, maybe I won't.

Ham Radio Licenses Top 700,000, An All-Time High

[Pingo]

Well, since they no longer require morsecode, anyone can get a ham radio license. On the morse code ham radio segments all is well but on the phone bands all kind of nuts is presented.

73 de SM2IUF

What's the attraction?

[walterbyrd]

With the internet, and cell phones, and all; what is the HAM radio attraction?

Re:What's the attraction?

[blackanvil]

Fear is driving this. Fear and paranoia that the official channels of communication will be filled with nothing but propaganda and misinformation should something truly important happen. The hams I know are adamant that should a terrorist nuke go off in a big city, or civil unrest to the point of conflict, or a solar flare take out the electrical infrastructure, they'll be the ones communicating and coordinating the relief/rebuilding efforts. In their defense, many hams have kept by their radios during times of local emergency, just in case, and in some highly-touted instances actually proved useful.

Re:What's the attraction?

[couchslug]

The technology is interesting, and emergency comms are a bonus if you live where that's likely to matter.

I haven''t bothered becoming a ham though I'm prior avionics because there are plenty of ways to communicate today. I'll eventually hang a mast off my shop (for a variety of antennas including radio) but there isn't much reason to bother unless your other hobbies make doing it very easy.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

You have to look beyond the simple "communications" aspect and explore your inner geek. Ham radio is so much more than simple communications. There are facets to fascinate almost anyone with a bend towards things tech. Just the band options alone are huge. Everything from the traditional HF and huge antennas to microwaves and dishes. Learning how things work - learning what to use for what - and maybe even finding a new use for something, that's just a part of it all.

For me, ham radio lead me to many years of working in networking and FOSS (it's how I found and learned Linux). From there, to commercial and public safety communications. Now - it's a big part of what I do 'outside work' to relax. Many things to many people. And enough options to be attractive to most.

Basically, if you ask such a question like that - comparing ham radio to commercial services - those around you that had the opportunity to share the joy of Amateur Radio have not done such a good job.

If all you want to do is exchange data from point A to B - well, yea, you can do that too in ham radio - but you're missing out on most of what's going on.

Re:What's the attraction?

[guzzirider]

The only required infrastructure for communication is that the Earth has an atmosphere, I guess for line of sight, that may not be necessary.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can talk with Japan for free or send some packet data with friend in the same city [up to 100km] without intetnet :)

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

With all the pre-built computers out there, why build your own?

Answer: to see how everything works at the lowest level. The internet and cell phones are a pretty-packaged bundle of things that (usually) work right out of the box. Ham radio equipment is like getting the tools to learn how all of that stuff works with an opportunity to put it all together yourself. Educating yourself in something you're interested in is always worth it.

Re:What's the attraction?

[betterunixthanunix]

Why should governments and telecoms be the only people who get to run radio communication systems?

Re:What's the attraction?

[RustNeverSleeps]

With the internet, and cell phones, and all; what is the HAM radio attraction?

People ask me this all the time. Ham radio is a big hobby with lots of areas to be explored, it's not simply about communicating. Some people are interested in building their own gear, some in preparing for emergencies, some in public service (communications for marathons, parades, etc). Some people are paper chasers, working to earn awards for contacting stations in as many different countries as possible, others like to operate in ham radio contests (like this one: http://www.cqww.com/). Some hams even bounce signals off the moon, using it as a giant reflector satellite.

When people ask me why I like ham radio when I could just call someone on my cell phone, I like to compare it to fishing or hunting or any number of other hobbies. After all I can just buy fish to eat at the store. Fishing strictly as a means to obtain fish probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's not why people do it. Likewise, strictly communicating with other people isn't really why people do ham radio. There's a lot to learn in ham radio, and it can be a really fun, satisfying hobby.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Muad'Dave]

See this comment for my current passions in the hobby.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know about the fear part, but this is true. If we were ever hit by a pulse, HAM and any tube circuits will be all that's working. If you have ever worked on this stuff it is interesting. It's nice to get away from the ultra high tech throw away world.

Re:What's the attraction?

[bhlowe]

I got my license for communicating on the 2m band for paragliding--its a standard communications device for many types of aviation. But I would say 40K new users in 5 years is not exactly a stampede.

Re:What's the attraction?

[bws111]

Why do some people enjoy spending all day cooking a nice meal when there are perfectly good restaurants nearby? Why go camping and sleep in a tent when there are hotels available? In each case, the answer is not just to have food, or just to have a place to sleep, or just to communicate, it is because the process of doing those things is something they enjoy.

Re:What's the attraction?

[AnalogDiehard]

With the internet, and cell phones, and all; what is the HAM radio attraction?

You obviously never lived in a rural area where there is no cell phone service and the only possible ISP is satellite.

Re:What's the attraction?

[bluefoxlucid]

What? I fish strictly as a means to obtain fish. It's a skill that can be honed into a survival skill--there are star anglers that catch fish for fun, not waiting out hours and days to land the big one but continuously pulling up fair-sized pan fish and throwing them back because they want the BIG big one. You can leave at 4am, go to the river, at 5am have yourself sat down checking the trout out, and at 7am head home with 8 or 10 good fish for the next few days. Do you know how much fish costs?

Re:What's the attraction?

[geekoid]

Yes, like driving a model T, or using a pay phone.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Steauengeglase]

Really it is about learning. I haven't taken the test, but I've been reading over a lot of the ARRL reference manuals over the last year and there is a ton of cool stuff (the satellite and electronics manuals have been damned interesting).

In the end my only real goal is to receive SSTV from the ISS, but come on, it is SSTV from the ISS. How cool is that?

Re:What's the attraction?

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

With a small handheld ham radio I was able to listen in on a signal from the international space station as it went overhead. If you don't know why that is cool, please turn in your geek card on your way out.

Re:What's the attraction?

[atomicthumbs]

I dunno. I became a ham radio operator because radio is cool, and there's something magical about talking and communicating over the air, without help from a big cell phone network.

Re:What's the attraction?

[atomicthumbs]

Biting the hand with its own teeth! The metaphor is collapsing!

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hams are a crucial part of disaster response. Try using your "internet and cell phones and all" right after a tornado/hurricane/earthquake has managed to fuck up the whole area. The ham's motto is "when all else fails".

In the Joplin, MO tornado disaster earlier this year, hams were able to establish command-and-control for civilian and government response teams across the impact area and coordinate with hospitals in Springfield (70 miles east), basically using a single truck and a crank-up antenna tower -- and have a lot of this up and running within an hour of the tornado strike.

Call it archaic if you want, but hams tend to be incredibly resourceful people, and ham radio fills gaps in situations where other technologies are rendered useless.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of free time to explore the hobby, but I still maintain a ham license and FEMA certifications so I can be part of my area's civilian disaster response team should the need ever arise.

Re:What's the attraction?

[datavirtue]

This is probably the reason for the original requirement of 5WPM to assure people would be capable of communicating effectively during a disaster or war effort.

Re:What's the attraction?

[sgt scrub]

I made a post but after your post. The answer is HSMM

Re:What's the attraction?

[datavirtue]

I have shitty expensive internet, I wonder if I could build a transceiver system to share internet with someone in town? You guys got me sparked on this HAM thing now.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Muad'Dave]

With a license and that same radio you can talk to the astronauts. How cool is _that_?

Re:What's the attraction?

[fyngyrz]

Software defined radio. Makes analog radios look, sound and feel like the stone age.

Nuff' said. :o)

Re:What's the attraction?

[fyngyrz]

...and then there's moonbounce... :)

Re:What's the attraction?

[rogo78]

Can't believe nobody else has mentioned what I consider the primary attraction: no-additional-cost vanity license plates (at least in Minnesota).

Re:What's the attraction?

[RustNeverSleeps]

I agree the analogy isn't perfect, after all they never are. But, I must say getting up at 4AM to get some fish isn't even close to worth it to me. It wouldn't be worth it even if fish cost three times as much as it does. Then again I don't care for fish at all...

The point was really simply that most hams don't so much do it for utilitarian reasons. Rather, it's like all hobbies in that there's fun and satisfaction to be had in accomplishing things that take learning, practice and skill.

With that said, there are still times and situations where ham radio as a communications technology has its place. In emergencies and remote areas, ham radio will work for communication when cell phones, etc. don't.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

You forgot the '~' at the end of your comment...

Re:What's the attraction?

[mla_anderson]

Yes you can, it's called packet radio and at higher frequencies you can get decent bandwidth. However, FCC requirements are that all data be sent in the clear, you can't do encrypted traffic.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

I don't have mod points and this is at 0 despite being worth reading, so I'll repost it with my karma:
-------
With all the pre-built computers out there, why build your own?

Answer: to see how everything works at the lowest level. The internet and cell phones are a pretty-packaged bundle of things that (usually) work right out of the box. Ham radio equipment is like getting the tools to learn how all of that stuff works with an opportunity to put it all together yourself. Educating yourself in something you're interested in is always worth it.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

I do have my license. I got it in the spring. (Canadian here, so not part of the 700,000)
I doubt my cheep Chinese handheld radio can reach the ISS. In fact I only heard it for about 30 or 40 seconds.

Still cool.

Re:What's the attraction?

[fsckmnky]

Also, the first few wi-fi channels apparently overlap with HAM frequencies, and if you get a HAM license, you can operate your wi-fi router/gateway on channels 1-3 ( or something like that ) at higher power levels.

Unfortunately, the 'no-encryption' limitation you mentioned still applies.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Migraineman]

Ham radio is no longer "banging brass," though you'd think that was all there is if you watch crummy movies like Independence Day.

I took the license exam with Code, and the VE said "Hey, you did great, you should take the General exam." I hadn't studied for it, and really wasn't prepared. He offered "What have you got to lose?" So I took the test, passed, and he followed with "Excellent, the Extra exam will only cost you another 15 minutes." I chuckled ... he didn't. So I took the Extra exam, and passed with a flying D-minus. "Well, that's nothing to write home about, but congratulations anyway!"

I would have taken the license exam in my yoot, but studying code from 45-rpm records really didn't work for me. The newer code methods did. Can't say that I use code much at all. I'm more involved in packet radio and fun math things like FEC. There's a packet protocol that adds FEC to AX.25 while maintaining backwards compatibility. Phil Karn has developed a really amazing satcom protocol called BPSK1000, which was incorporated into ARRISSAT-1. There's definitely a growing software component of amateur radio.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

When people ask me this I simply respond my telling them to get on the computer/phone or what ever they prefer, and I give them 5 minutes to find another person with the same interests and then sit down and have a 1 hour conversation with them and become potential life long friends... if you think it can be done I challenge you to try it.

Yet this can be done on ham radio, along with exploring a unique set of knowledge that can't be found using computers (WiFi is not the same...)

I am 22 and this has been my main attraction to radio and not once have I ever been bored with it. There is something a bit more fun to it than typing away at the keyboard in some IRC chat.

Re:What's the attraction?

[ethanms]

I would say it could, in part, be the fact that some people recognize that cell phones and the internet are active only so long as things are running smoothly.

Disaster--either weather, social, political, or economic, can take them down in short order.

Ham is broadcast, so as long as you have some power you can send your message out to potentially hundreds, or thousands, of ears.

The other part for me is that cell phones, mobile data, GPS, etc have all become so simple, so inexpensive, and so common, that that there is simply no excitement or feeling of being on the cutting edge anymore with these devices... 10 years ago GPS in your hand was "wow, check that out"... having a mobile data connection "woah, you can get on the web from here??"... having a handheld computing device, like the old Zarus, was "wow that runs Linux?"... now everyone can walk into their local store and have all that and more for what passes as a reasonable price...

As old tech as ham may seem to be, for me it still retains that feeling of "I'm doing something interesting"... Not to mention you're in a somewhat focused community of like minded individuals, not unlike being a member of a topic-specific internet forum.

Re:What's the attraction?

[rk]

Nothing wrong with those cheap Chinese handhelds. Is it a Wouxun? I have one and it's actually a great radio. What's probably killing you is your cheap rubber-duck antenna. Get yourself a handheld multi-element 2m Yagi and point to the ISS and you can probably talk to it yourself. 5 watts isn't much, but the gain of your antenna should be enough for you to be heard at least for a little while.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would like to add that those who claim that the internet or a cell phone enables them to call anywhere is false. Try calling any number on the other side of the world and you may have a terribly bad experience as that person does not know you, may not have anything in common with you and most probably will not talk to you. Hams share a common set of interests and a ham will answer another ham's call just about anywhere on earth. He will also welcome you into his shack via the airwaves and if you become friends and visit his country he will do the same in person. You will not easily find that on the internet or via a cell phone. Ham radio was the first real social network and still is one that leaps to help others when disaster strikes or when communications fail. There is an interest to serve in most ham radio operators. That has been proven time and time again.

Re:What's the attraction?

[bluefoxlucid]

In emergencies, though, the knowledge is more useful than the license--nobody is going to complain if you stage a communications hub for emergency services coordination when communications is blacked out, as long as it works. Hand-offs to someone more experienced are polite, though I'd imagine somebody more skilled but unlicensed will be quickly tasked with keeping shit running.

Of course, licensing is cheap, and the licensing process maps out standard guidelines and knowledge that are important for this. A bunch of people who know what they're doing technically but don't have a common body of knowledge are going to be a confused, clumsy mess of varying technical ideas; the common body of knowledge makes them self-managing. That makes having a critical mass of licensed radio operators greatly valuable to society--they are your redundancy, they make the six month long process of engineering and implementing an ad-hoc radio network a pretty much instant job.

I've been there and done that, I've had my licenses, and I'm more of a technical guy; but I don't remember most of this stuff, so in an emergency situation I'm getting away from the communications infra. I'm more interested in overreaching planning and management these days--I can understand the techs, and I can make good use of limited resources. This is, of course, why I recognize the strong utilitarian value in having these people around.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Muad'Dave]

Agreed. Those little rubber ducky antennas are closer to dummy loads than radiators. The previous poster is right - even a modest yagi will greatly increase your signal strength to and from the ISS. I've done packet to the ISS and other sats with 5W and a PVC pipe-based quadrifilar helix.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Abalamahalamatandra]

You can do that with any number of wifi products, no amateur license needed - in fact, you'll almost certainly run afoul of the FCC quite quickly using amateur frequencies for general Internet traffic. The quickest thing to note is that you can't do anything relating to work for money using amateur frequencies.

Look at somebody like Ubiquiti Networks for some very good solutions that don't require an amateur license.

Note, though, that most ISPs won't take kindly to this, as it's very likely to break their terms of service for end-user connections.

Re:What's the attraction?

[mikael]

You don't even need an EMP hit - just a regular snow-blizzard can cut the power lines to the city and nearest transmitter. Happened to us back in the 1980's.

Very eerie to be in an city apartment block at night with no power, no reception on battery operated radios, no street lighting outside, with the only outside light being the occasional car driving through 6 inches of snow, and to see the snow still falling.

Re:What's the attraction?

[RocketRabbit]

I love to fish, but you can get a 6 pack of good quality (not muddy like many streams) rainbow trout for 8 bucks.

Re:What's the attraction?

[rk]

I've learned in my relatively short time in this hobby that it's really all about the antennas. You'll go farther with a cheap low-power rig and a great antenna than brand new top-of-the-line multi-thousand dollar rigs with a crap antenna. Go for broke on the antenna and you can't go far wrong.

We have a linear amp at our club's shack, but I rarely use/need it because we have a multiband beam with a rotor on top of a 60 foot tower at the top of a hill. I almost always get through a pile-up quickly and don't have much trouble talking to Europe and Australia (I'm in Arizona).

Okay, the real reason I don't use the amp much is because it's an old ETA Alpha 374 and If I don't tune it just so it starts to make interesting smells that scare the crap out of me. :-)

Re:What's the attraction?

[Obfuscant]

The FCC requirement was more of a treaty obligation. A demonstration of proficiency in CW was an ITU requirement for access to the HF bands worldwide.That's probably because CW is a mode that lets people with no abilitites muck up a frequency on a world-wide basis with very little power, depending on the propogation at the time.

When the ITU requirement went away, the FCC requirement followed.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

Quansheng tg-uv2
Cheep, and fairly well regarded.
Best of all I can program it over a cheep USB cable.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

Answer : why do people go fishing when they live next to a grocery store?

Hacking and being low-level is FUN.

From NN9S, using slashdot since 1997. :-)

Re:What's the attraction?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, there are a lot of interesting things to do as a tinkerer. I like building large HF antennas, which dovetails nicely with my other hobby of CNC machining. And of course there are a lot of interesting microwave or HF transmitter/reciever construction experiments to do. But one of my main activities is radiosport -- otherwise known as contesting.

This past weekend I participated in the ARRL Sweepstakes (phone). In this particular contest, participants operate up to 24 hours out of 30, contact as many US and Canadian stations as possible, and multiply that number by the number of ARRL sections contacted. I managed 1320 contacts and snagged all 80 sections in 23 hours, a decent score. It combines station engineering with operating skill, knowledge of propagation, strategy, and simple raw stamina. (I did 23 hours instead of the full 24 because I basically face-planted into the keyboard for an unplanned nap at the 23 hour mark.) Like any competition, the contraints, luck (good and bad), and friendly competition with your buddies creates exciting challenges.

Two weeks ago in the Morse code weekend of Sweepstakes I did 800 contacts and only 79 sections (missed Yukon, drat, but it's pretty rare so a lot of people missed it), and had some snow static to contend with. But one of friends in the same section did over 1000 contacts so I was motivated to kick his but on phone this past weekend :)

So anyway... I look at it this way... radiosport is like sailboat racing. When people ask me why I do radio contests in Morse code when things like e-mail and world-wide cell phone coverage exist, I ask them why people race sailboats on the weekend when things like cargo container ships exist.

(dbc -- too lazy to log in)

Re:What's the attraction?

[bluefoxlucid]

What? You got 60 pounds of fish for 8 bucks? Have you seen the brown trout here? Theyr'e like 14-18 inches long. I could beat your woman to death with one and dump her body in the river.

Re:What's the attraction?

[Muad'Dave]

I absolutely agree re: the antenna comment. Gain via aluminum beats gain via electrons every time, mostly 'cause it works on xmit and recv. I've just moved and am considering a crankup tower - I used to have a 125' fixed one, and never got around to making antenna changes/adjustments - getting all set to safely climb that high is a major ordeal, not to mention tiring and dangerous. With a crankup/foldover, I can fiddle all I want, plus the neighbors (who are mostly family) won't see the tower unless I'm operating.

The other oft-forgotten part of the equation is feedline - RG-58 isn't going to cut it on 10m/6m. Those nasty dB of loss can be overcome by raw power on transmit, but add directly to the noise on receive. Unless you want to put an preamp on the tower, good coax is necessary.

I once did the calcs on my old station - to run 432 MHz at the top of the tower, I'd be using about 300' of coax - even with top-of-the-line LMR-xxxx and an amp/preamp at the base of the tower I was still looking at less than 25% of my signal making it to the antenna. In fact, it was just enough to excite that 300 W mast mount amp I was coveting. Then I had to deal with getting power up there, etc. Ugh!

Good luck keeping the magic smoke inside that Alpha 374!

Re:What's the attraction?

[RocketRabbit]

She packs heat, so I doubt it. But you could probably acquire some new holes in places you never knew you needed them.

Survivalist

[Bardwick]

Perhaps reading the news and realizing that the world is pretty much skrewed... That even if we elect the most qualified and selfless leaders that it may be too late to "fix things"? The number of folks planning for the worst is increasing at an exponetial level..

Re:Survivalist

[Qbertino]

I was thinking the same thing. I actually looked into HAM just two months ago or so for the very same reason. :-) It's fairly crisis-safe and more or less citizen regulated, very much like the early private computer networks such as Fidonet. The last bastion of citizen-driven communication so to speak. I am still toying with the idea of getting my license.

Re:Survivalist

[epall]

I first got my ham license precisely as a hedge against the apocalypse. If things really go bad, what use is a programmer? Anything requiring a $6 billion fab to get going will be out the window, so I've got to have some other useful talent. Ham radios can be built from scratch fairly easily, so I figured I'd learn to build and use radios so I'd be useful post-apocalypse.

What ended up happening is that I got into my first real hobby, and I've been enjoying making contacts with my little handheld radio. Soon I'm going to be putting together a rig for talking to people around the world! Sure, you can use the internet, but it's not about the messages: it's about the medium. Being able to build your very own personal communications device that can reach around the world feels awesome.

Re:Survivalist

[bobdole369]

Unfortunately you don't seem to understand:

1. The purpose and intent of amateur radio
2. How it is regulated and enforced
3. What it is.

There is nothing citizen regulated about amateur radio. It is regulated by the governments of the amateurs licensed, specifically the FCC in the USA. There is no similarity to FIDONET whatsoever. While crisis-safe - that also isn't its intent. The purpose of amateur radio is to allow amateurs to communicate with each other. A result of that communication is that they often provide emergency communications, and health and welfare type stuff. This is all usually done by the volunteer organizations such as ARES/RACES/REACT etc.

You call CQ, or break in on an existing QSO and join in. You talk. Thats about it. The method in which you communicate (be it voice, data, CW, SSB) is really all that changes. There is a couple things taht you can also do, such as telemetry in a small scale (RC cars, weather stations, etc).

Re:Survivalist

[Bardwick]

While what your saying is true, you missed the context. 1. The purpose. In the event of an economic, or other major disaster, most forms of communication will go offline in a just a few days, 3 weeks tops. I can't run down to the pawn shop and buy a phone to talk to someone else. It needs an infrastructure, which won't be available. Compare HAM to any other form of communication and the regulations pale in comparison. Again, the biggest point, in the context of the subject line, is no infrastructure required... Anyone in the HAM for Survival midset has power covered...

Re:Survivalist

[bobdole369]

AH, now I get what you are talking about. However without practice simply having an amateur radio is completely useless.
Look at the Katrina disaster to get a decent idea of how quickly communications infrastructure come back up. Within 7 days cell was restored for 1st responders, and within 2 weeks there was signal in most of the affected region.

I'm sorry but why are you capitalizing "ham"? You do realize that amateur radio has a much bigger use than that in a disaster right?

Re:Survivalist

[cayenne8]

Look at the Katrina disaster to get a decent idea of how quickly communications infrastructure come back up. Within 7 days cell was restored for 1st responders, and within 2 weeks there was signal in most of the affected region.

Err....not sure where YOU were for Katrina, but certainly this wasn't the case for those of us from New Orleans.

Pretty much anyone with a 504 area code, was SOL for about 2 mos or so. I could call out from my phone, but I could not receive calls.

It was at this point, that I learned about txt messaging...those would go through both ways...but voice? Forget it...

Actually for a couple years after the storm...many towers took a long time to be replace or fixed...coverage was pretty shitty over many parts of the city.

Re:Survivalist

[tftp]

without practice simply having an amateur radio is completely useless.

You can say that about anything - a car, a gun, a fishing rod, a bicycle. Humans are genetically programmed to only eat and reproduce; everything else requires practice.

within 2 weeks there was signal in most of the affected region

Unfortunately you can be killed within one minute if you get into a wrong place (with natural or human hazards.) Radios allow your group to communicate. FRS radios are good, but they have limited range and only few have universal charging connectors. A 2m HT will let you communicate over a large flat area. An HF radio will let you communicate anywhere. Most of ham gear is powered by 13.8V which is the voltage of a car battery. There are many solar power sources, and a whole class for the Field Day.

You do realize that amateur radio has a much bigger use than that in a disaster right?

I'm sure he knows that. But emergency situations are important enough (such as your life may depend on them) to pay a little bit of attention to the matter and keep a spare battery in a safe place. This won't hurt your CQ WW contesting and you don't have to sign up for ARES or RACES. Just be aware where your local repeaters are and how long their backup batteries can last.

Re:Survivalist

[bobdole369]

Err....not sure where YOU were for Katrina, but certainly this wasn't the case for those of us from New Orleans.

Thats "First Responders" the infrastructure and cell service was available within days for cops and paramedics and rescuers. Normal folk - different story.

Re:Survivalist

[cayenne8]

I am from New Orleans....

Re:Survivalist

[kswtch]

That is the same reason I got interested in ham radio. In my opinion, you have a very valid point. Looking at the world today we might have to use our skills very soon to get information outside of our village/town.

Re:Survivalist

[bobdole369]

LMAO I was just quoting the question I was answering re: quick phone service following the K storm.

Re:Survivalist

[bobdole369]

Yeah... same side here buddy. I was only busting the misconception that it was months before a dialtone was available. Often - as is the case in Joplin - hams are the only ones around. But more and more so - telcos respond quickly and there is a reasonable amount of service immediately after the disaster.

Re:Survivalist

[bobdole369]

And when I say that - I never mean "to the end user" just to officials...

Re:Survivalist

[epall]

There's been talk of building an alternative "hinternet" using ham radio technology, but it's not really viable for both economic and technical reasons. Short of that, being able to communicate via voice with anybody in the world using something other than the internet / large telcos as an intermediary is pretty good. Sure, you can't watch Netflix via your 10-meter radio, but basic communication and information sharing is totally doable, and it's going to be very hard for governments to shut such behavior down.

Re:Survivalist

[tftp]

Here are some thoughts on all that. Not really a debate, just an illustration. Some of the below may be even wrong, however improbable that may sound :-)

"Service restored within days" - perhaps. But that's in case of flooding, to which the infrastructure (especially one that is mounted high on poles and towers) is relatively immune. You need to provide power, but that's basically all. Cables aren't afraid of water.

The situation can be very different after an earthquake. Those cables can be physically torn along a 100 mile long, 1" wide crack in the ground. Even if towers have power they can't deliver the data to anywhere else. You can talk to the tower, if you wish, but not to the switch that decides who calls who. The towers are connected with fiber; that cable is easy to break and pretty hard to repair, especially in bad conditions.

There is one more consideration. Katrina was a local event, completely harmless to anyone not at the center of the storm. Help was coming because help was sent. However in case of widespread emergency - say, a nuclear strike, or even a large riot - anyone who can help will be doing his best to run for the hills. Nobody will be coming to save you. If evacuation is required hams will quickly arrange for a convoy, with some people providing trucks and SUVs and with other people providing weapons and ammo, and yet other group of people will bring food and fuel... A convoy of a hundred vehicles is hard to attack; but if you go alone you will lose your car, your supplies and probably your life before you even get out of the city.

There is yet another possible consideration. Public communications can be intentionally disabled. This can be done by rioters, or this can be done by the natural damage done to the infrastructure, or this can be done by the government for any one out of several likely and good reasons. London riots demonstrated how much the modern communication technology aids rioters in forming flash mobs, evading the police, and planning new attacks. If the phone service is intentionally shut down it won't coming back up any time soon until the order had been restored.

That total figure has always been meaningless

[CRCulver]

I got a license in 1995 and was active until 1999. Around that time, there was an early online database that would allow you to look up licensed hams in your neighbourhood. I found that several people on my street were listed, but when I asked them about it, they said they had given up on the hobby years before. My local club was mostly in their 60s and 70s, and I can't imagine it's any better now.

Radio licenses are easier to get

[macwhizkid]

It's neat that amateur radio still has a niche in today's world, even though these figures are less impressive when you consider (1) population growth in the US over the last four decades and (2) getting a radio license now is much easier than it used to be.

These days, no Morse code knowledge is required for Tech level, and many clubs offer a "get your license in one day" class for cramming on the published question pool and then doing a brain dump into the exam before you forget everything.

Really, if you have a free Saturday and you've ever thought for more than 10 seconds about getting your radio license, there's no reason not to do it.

Re:Radio licenses are easier to get

[Anonymous Coward]

No morse code is required for ANY LEVEL, and the test is inanely easy.

Re:Radio licenses are easier to get

[Mysticalfruit]

What's interesting is though, learning morse code is now a point of pride, not a requirement. Far more people are now learning morse than in the past.

Sunspot Cycle

[trolman]

It helps when the sunspot cycle is on the upswing. During the CQWW last month it was almost no effort to work Australia and Japan from Texas.

Re:Sunspot Cycle

[epall]

What bands did you use? I'm getting ready to buy my first HF rig, and I'm trying to figure out if I can go with an MFJ single-band right, but I don't know what's best for DXing.

Re:Sunspot Cycle

[trolman]

What bands did you use? I'm getting ready to buy my first HF rig, and I'm trying to figure out if I can go with an MFJ single-band right, but I don't know what's best for DXing.

Ten Meters was great and will only get better.

Re:Sunspot Cycle

[Muad'Dave]

My advice would be to get a used, brand-name multiband 100W transceiver (yaesu, icom, etc) with a built-in power supply instead of a single band one, and especially one from MFJ. Their reputation for quality is not exactly stellar.

As for propagation, 10m and 12m have really been booming lately, but are generally only available during daylight at your location due to F layer reflection. At night the lower bands open up. I like 80m, 20m, 17m and 15m, and I loathe 40m. But that's just my opinion.

My networking guy has a ham license

[Anonymous Coward]

The equipment is pricey and the rewards are few, but he doesn't deny how satisfying it is in practice. Plus it does wonders for your emergency preparedness.

Compared to population growth

[Anonymous Coward]

In the past six years, the population of the United States has grown between five and six percent. These figures show that, in the same period, the number of ham licenses has increased by...between five and six percent.

FPV

[d3ac0n]

I would imagine that FPV model plane flying has quite a bit to do with this. Most of the high-powered control systems you need to make FPV a reality require a HAM technician license. With the massive upswing in FPV flying I would expect to see a big boost in HAM license interest.

Re: FPV

[NetFusion]

The HAM license is required for legal use of the FPV 1280 MHz video links and frequency hopping UHF control systems on the ARS 433 MHz bands in the US. They transmit at powers of 500 mW ~ 1000 mW which allows control ranges greater then 10 miles line of sight.

Warning: FPV is not a cheap or easy hobby! It requires a great deal of electrical, mechanical, engineering, radio, and flying skills to be successful.
The RCG FPV Forum is good place to learn more.

Re:FPV

[Speare]

This is why I got my license-- I live within an easy drive (nearly an FPV flight) from the ARRL headquarters, but have really no interest at all in sitting around shooting the breeze with the typical ARRL "Juneau to Johannesburg" or "bounce off the moon" type of HAM enthusiast.

With search and rescue operations, there may be some slim overlap of these two groups, but otherwise, two very different sets of goals. I don't transmit for transmitting's sake-- I transmit to get something else done.

It's not just about talking anymore...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm a younger ham (22) and yes, there aren't too many of us, but we're certainly gaining numbers. What I've found, is that becoming a ham is getting to be very common amongst experimenters. The FCC allows us to design and construct our own equipment, not have to have it type certified, and use it on the air. We get to use higher powers than the unlicensed bands do, and we have a variety of modes to communicate our message. Sure I hop on a repeater once in a while, or I'll talk to Japan on a quiet Saturday, but what I use MY license for most is designing and constructing telemetry systems for high altitude balloons and high power amateur rocketry. It's a lot of fun, and having my license provides a lot of opportunities.

Also, basic radios are getting cheaper. You can certainly buy the multi-thousand dollar rigs, and they're certainly nice, but for less than $100 these days you can get a nice little handheld, dual band, and will cover most all your local repeaters. If you're at all interested, contact your local club, they would love to have you. In my experience, it's a very welcoming hobby.

Nigel
K7NVH

Re:It's not just about talking anymore...

[Gordonjcp]

Poke around the junk sales and hamfests. You can pick up an old 80s 2m rig for next to nothing, and construct an aerial in ten minutes.

My "office" 2m radio for a long time was an old Icom IC2E that I picked up for £2 at a junk sale, and built a j-pole aerial for. It didn't come with a battery, so I just ran it off a mains adaptor. It's pretty old and a bit limited, but perfectly fine for hitting the local 2m repeaters or listening to S20.

Now it's the receiver for my APRS igate.

Re:It's not just about talking anymore...

[Anonymous Coward]

The FCC does not tell me what to do, if I want to fire up a high powered rig I just do it. The chances of them every catching me are nearly non existent so why even bother licensing. I cannot remember ever running a legal rig anyhow.

Re:It's not just about talking anymore...

[Anonymous Coward]

by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 22, @11:24AM

...

Nigel
K7NVH

...perhaps you're new here?

radio for radio's sake

[swschrad]

spin the dials, null out QRM if you have a bad case of neighbors with plasma TV using another antenna and a summation box, hear something interesting and just... talk.

Re:radio for radio's sake

[Anonymous Coward]

what is QRM? What is a summation box?

Re:radio for radio's sake

[Dan Dankleton]

QRM is amateur-speak for "interference." Because it takes a while to send anything in Morse, a lot of things have "Q codes" which amateurs use regularly.

Re:radio for radio's sake

[fyngyrz]

A "summation box", or an antenna-phasing unit, is a device with two antenna inputs, and the ability to allow you to (a) vary the phase of one of the antennas, (b) adjust the amplitude of both of them, then (c) add them together before passing them along to the receiver. This allows you, with suitable choice of antennas, to either null out local noise, or interfering signals coming in from quite a distance. They work best with signals coming in groundwave, as skywave signals have a tendency to change phase rapidly and often.

QRM is man made interference such as signals emitted from wall-wart switching power supplies. QRN is noise from natural sources, such as lightning crashes.

Average Age?

[sakelley]

And the average age of those 700,000 license holders? Anybody?

I hold an extra class license, which I don't really use, and my impression was that the average age was around 65. If you want to tune in and chat with other oldsters about medical problems... then amateur radio is for you! Though some will treat you as a lower class of operator for not being a "brass pounder" (i.e. someone proficient in morse code). And you might feel unwelcome if you're LGBT; they're, um, a little on the conservative side.

On the other hand, the tech stuff is pretty cool, and if you're comfortable with algebra, trig, complex numbers, and memorizing some stuff, a good geek should be able to test all the way to extra class on the first try with some studying. I did, and my math skills were quite rusty. It just took a little practice.

And building radios is actually quite fun. I recommend:
http://www.elecraft.com/k2_page.htm
from
http://www.elecraft.com/
which is a nice blend of "the old days" and "somewhat modern stuff". Fancier radios are built by plugging the boards in, just like PC's. This one gets soldered together one part at a time.

There are also lots of plans for building radios from scratch that are drifting around the net. From a modern day perspective, it's fascinating how much you can do with a handful of discrete components.

So, in conclusion, if you're interested, amateur radio is worth checking out, just beware of the subtle demographic issues that might present themselves.

Re:Average Age?

[tftp]

And you might feel unwelcome if you're LGBT; they're, um, a little on the conservative side.

I'm curious how would they know? Especially over the radio?

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[Anonymous Coward]

You can get on the HF bands for $500 with used equipment. I did it. If you want all new equipment, you can do it for around $1000. No need to spend $2k just to get on the air.

Ham Sexy...

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.hamsexy.com

...de K5ZC

[Jay Maynard]

I've been a ham since a couple of months before my 11th birthday. It was my first truly geeky pursuit, and still holds a special place in my heart. I am still active here and there, though I had to sell my D-STAR system when the economy went sour.

There's still a place for ham radio, both in emergency communications and in experimentation. As Nigel said a post or three ago, it lets experimenters use higher power and different modes than the unlicensed services. While others theorize, hams build.

It's been that way for ages, and hams have contributed far more recently, as well. There's a reason the first popular free TCP/IP package for the PC was called KA9Q: Phil Karn hung his callsign on it.

(And please, folks, a couple of pet peeves: "ham" is not an acronym, and it's "ham radio", not just "ham".)

Re:...de K5ZC

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

I hacked together a simple dipole antenna for my radio out of junk I had around the house, that works very well.
Ham radio is one of the last refuges for the experimenter/hacker.

Re:...de K5ZC

[Anonymous Coward]

I've too became a Ham at a young age (14), however I am no longer active. I keep registered though, because why not. Plus, for the industry I'm in it looks good on the Resume. I still am skeptical of this number, however, because I truly believe that a large number of registered Hams are inactive, such as myself. As purely anecdotal evidence, I recently had a chance to attend the Dayton Hamfest, which as many of you may know, is probably the largest in the country. All I can say is it has really gone down hill from the last time I attended (mid-90s).

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[rwade]

Now I just need to convince the wife to let me spend $2K - $20K on fancy radio gear so I can talk further than the nearby 2M/70cm repeaters...

I hope you're kidding -- there is really no need to spend more than a few hundred bucks. From where I am on the West Coast, just last weekend I hit Japan and Hawaii with a cheap 10 meter dipole ($35 -- it would have been a third the cost if I built it myself) and a $650 used FT-897D.

courses

[JustNiz]

Are there courses available to learn radio hamming?
If there was a gap year in the course, would it be called a ham sandwich course?

Not true -- techs have phone in 10m band

[rwade]

Keep in mind that technician class is limited to CW transmissions below 30MHz, so morse code is still somewhat required for shortwave.

Well, that's not true. From this chart, technician licensees have phone (SSB) privileges in the 10-meter band at 28.3-28.5 MHz.

Is it really a loss?

[TooMad]

Population in 2006, ~6.5 billion, population in 2011 ~7.0 billion, a gain of 7.69%. HAM radio's "gain" from 2005-2011? It was less, 5.69%.

Re:Is it really a loss?

[Rebelgecko]

Correct if I'm wrong, but the FCC only licenses Americans, not the whole world. The United State's population growth is a lot less than the rest of the world's (Something like 4%-5% over that same time period, instead of the 7.69% you came up with).

Re:Is it really a loss?

[Anonymous Coward]

OMG.... pedantic are we?

Re:Is it really a loss?

[erikscott]

Well, you said to correct you...

The FCC licenses US Citizens and Foreign Nationals living in the US not under the employment of a foreign government. If you're, say, a foreign embassy employee, then you need to be licensed by your home government's agency.

Nit picky, huh? :-)

Technician was not always code free

[Anonymous Coward]

The original Technician license required 5 WPM Morse code and General written test.

Define golden age

[geekoid]

"A golden age is a period in a field of endeavour when great tasks were accomplished. "

I would not consider this the golden age of ham.
Sure, more people are doing it, but I don't think that make sit a golden age. ALl it means is that it's easier to get into' which it is.

Back when we you pretty much had to build a radio to play was a golden age. Like building your own lightsaber.

No, I am not a HAM, but I built a HAM radio when I was 8.
Learning Morse Code was boring and stupid, so I never bothered to get my license' much to the disappointment to my grandfather.

Seriously, Where is the logical pattern on Morse Code? I would start practicing, but would inevitable invent my own. Something anyone could figures out with just basic introduction.

Re:Define golden age

[Muad'Dave]

Where is the logical pattern on Morse Code?

In case you're seriously asking, the most often used letters in the English language are mapped to the shortest symbols.
E = dit, T = dah, A= dit dah, N = dah dit, I = dit dit, M = dah dah, etc.

The numbers are
1=dit dah dah dah dah, 2=dit dit dah dah dah, 3=dit dit dit dah dah, ...
6=dah dit dit dit dit, 7=dah dah dit dit dit, ... 9=dah dah dah dah dit, 0=dah dah dah dah dah. See the pattern?

Consider it a variable length binary encoding scheme it it helps.

Re:Define golden age

[Miamicanes]

Strictly speaking, if you're willing to treat the fourth ("01") state as "space" when used once and "escape" when used twice in a row, you can meaningfully do Morse with 2-bit encoding and variable-length symbols:

"dot" = 10
"dash" = 11
"end of character" = 00
"end of word" (defaulting to "space") = 01

Some older approaches add extra states, like "inter-dash/dot pause", but when you really boil it down to the raw essence, 2 bits per dot/dash will do the job just fine.

Re:Define golden age

[Muad'Dave]

You can also use raw binary if you allow lookahead. this article has the timing info. In essence each time unit is represented by a single bit value.

short mark, dot or 'dit' () — 1
longer mark, dash or 'dah' (–) — 111
intra-character gap (between the dots and dashes within a character) — 0
short gap (between letters) — 000
medium gap (between words) — 0000000

Any occurrence of an invalid pattern can be used to indicate end-of-message.
Invalid patterns
More than 3 1s in a row.
1001, 100001, 1000001, 10000001
More than 7 0s in a row.

Re:Define golden age

[Miamicanes]

Actually, I messed up... you can use the scheme with 2 bits per code and variable-length symbols to encode uppercase and lowercase...

00 = "dot"
01 = "dash"
10 (preceded by one or more 00 and 01 codes): lowercase endmark
11 (preceded by one or more 00 and 01 codes): uppercase endmark
one or more 10 codes, without any buffered 00 or 01 ahead of them since the last 10 or 11: space
1100, 1101, and 1110: three more codes to use for things like newline, backspace, and ???
1111---- = escaped-out nirvana. I think you get the idea by now. We've got a way to represent dots, dashes, a way to mark the ends of characters in a way that indicates uppercase or lowercase, and gives alternate meanings to codes like numbers that have no meaningful concept of "uppercase".

Re:Define golden age

[MMatessa]

The logical pattern is easier to see in this search table. The most frequent English letters are higher in the table.

Re:Define golden age

[Anonymous Coward]

ever hear of huffman encoding? Shortest quickest character is the most common letter of the alphabet, etc...

Re:Define golden age

[Muad'Dave]

Sounds like Baudot with shift-In, shift-out, nums and figs. I don't see a lowercase-start or uppercase-start.

You don't need all the rules you defined if you have one well-defined 'escape' code, although your method might result in smaller encodings.

Hams Still Driving Innovation, Too

[Anonymous Coward]

A great, open, voice codec is being developed by hams, for instance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k-nhHE6CrI

Re:Hams Still Driving Innovation, Too

[Miamicanes]

Don't forget the deliciously geeky potential of morse(-ish) code as an alternate input method for Android phones, so you can smile attentively at everyone in the vicinity while holding the phone in your lap under the table and sending text messages ;-)

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[theunixbomber]

I recently got my licenses as well. 2 weeks ago today to be exact. What drew me to it was exactly what others are saying.... the ability to get on the air for relatively little money and talk with others around the world. Not that I've gotten that far yet.

Also working with packet radio, satellites, talking with the IIS... these things really sparked my geek interest like nothing has in a long while. I find it funny that a technology that my grandfather could have been into is still intriguing today.

I gots one.

[nblender]

I got mine. As an old geek, I just challenged the exam and got it first try. My offroad club decided to switch away from CB towards HAM. It has improved our communications immensely as well as been useful in some remote medical and mechanical emergency situations. I also use an APRS transceiver to do some home automation type stuff at our cottage. I use my amateur license as a means to an end, not as an end itself. ie: I'm not interested in the hobby as it is, I'm interested in the benefits I can derive from having access to the equipment and spectrum.

I do support the local repeater society (financially) because I use their infrastructure.

Zombie Apocalypse?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm disappointed that no one has mentioned the words Zombie Apocalypse yet.

"Other humans"?

[Viol8]

As opposed to who/what - Martians? The Greys? X Factor viewers? Pigs with ham licenses (costs them an arm and leg aparently)?

Re:"Other humans"?

[atomicthumbs]

Computerized human simulators!

Re:"Other humans"?

[Muad'Dave]

As opposed to participating in machine-to-machine communications where the signals are not human-readable. I appreciate the joke. FYI, I have talked to non-terrestrials - one was on MIR and the other two were on the ISS. :-)

Re:"Other humans"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Repeaters, for example. It's fairly easy to work the ISS's repeater. If you do it successfully, you'll hear your singals echoing 2-3 seconds later as it goes up, and the the ISS repeats it back down. Talking to an actual astronaut aboard the ISS, however, is much harder - they're busy people. You can also, for example, bounce signals off the moon back to yourself. No more 'humans' involved, but still part of the hobby.

Re:"Other humans"?

[Lumpy]

I've worked the ISS using a handheld radio and a Tandy 100.

Sadly Packet radio is pretty much dead.

Emergencies and No-Code Tech

[Ohio Calvinist]

I'd attribute growth to a renewed interest by people who were put off by the Morse code requirement to do HF. I've been licensed (beginning as a Technician) since 1997 and just do not have an ear for code. It's hard to say because I've learned a lot more and was pretty young when I got my license, but most people tell me that the tests for all classes have become substantially easier in in the past several years.

That limited my interest in the hobby and kept a lot of capable people from pursuing it. The cost has dropped somewhat too, and the internet has made it easier for the marginally interested and low-income enthusiast get a hold of used equipment... since a lot of HAMs buy new gear like most people change their underwear.

I work for a California county school agency and we pay for our employees training materials for their HAM license and keep a radio on every site that has an operator. We it because we have so many sites, many of which remote, that would be hard to reach should the telecom systems fail or reach overload. Each radio is programmed with the local repeater and 4-5 simplex channels. We've added 10 members who will probably do very little with it.

Katrina and other large scale disasters have shown people the fragility of the telecom infrastructure in a disaster. Cell phones hardly work in a crowded football stadium. I also think that a certain amount of survivalist folks are concerned about government lock-down of other communication resources during a man-made disaster or disturbance.

That said, I got a pacemaker in 2010, and have gotten mixed advice on how safe HAM is (most say well maintained base stations are OK, but avoid HTs given their proximity to the device and risk of unintentional grounding on the body.) Even if I don't use it again, I'll probably re-register "just in case" an emergency occurs or I get stranded on the roadside. So, the rolls might be more inflated.

Re:Emergencies and No-Code Tech

[tehcyder]

I also think that a certain amount of survivalist folks are concerned about government lock-down of other communication resources during a man-made disaster or disturbance.

Don't worry, I'm sure the New World Order Government will drop a few EMP bombs from their black helicopters to fuck up their radios too.

It is more affordable than ever

[mike449]

This may be one of the reasons of the ham radio popularity.
A decent HF radio cost was in the $500-1000 range for decades, which means it is many times cheaper today than back in the 60's.

Computers aren't interesting anymore -- finally!

[IGnatius T Foobar]

For the last 30 years or so, all sorts of interesting hobbies have fallen by the wayside because the big hobby for technically inclined people to take up was tinkering with computers. Growing up in the 1970's and 1980's I saw people lose interest in things like electronics, astronomy, stage lighting, and yes, amateur radio. Everyone wanted to play with computers instead.

We've finally reached a stage where computers simply aren't interesting anymore. They're so generic, so bland, so uniform and cookie-cutter (yes, even you, Apple) that they just don't appeal as a hobby anymore. Unless you work in the industry they're just a tool to get a job done.

As a result, there's a new void appearing among people who love to tinker. Amateur radio is a great outlet for that. The equipment is complex enough to enjoy working with but simple enough that you can work on it yourself. Lots of other hobbies will be making a comeback in the same way. I myself have become interested in tinkering with small diesel engines - have you seen the availability of parts out there for CheapChinese(tm) Yanmar 186F clones? A hobbyist can build a go-kart or a homemade pressure washer really easily now.

Leo May Have Helped

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder how many people went out and got a license after Leo Laporte started talking up HAM on TWiT?

YAY!

[bobdole369]

YAY HAM RADIO oops I mean:
bah the junk filter doesn't let me post up CW.

sry 73 de kb8ufp robert

I'm totally missing out on 10m stuff going on - Apt dweller, so prefer to op mobile. Most (all?) of the 10m mobile rigs (that is the "affordable" ones) are quasilegal or converts or incredibly cheaply built (like the RCI-2950). I'd love an HTX-100 but those are harder and harder to find.

Re:YAY!

[Muad'Dave]

What's quasilegal? You can legally convert a CB to run Uniden HR-2510 that I talked to Russia with in my car. (That's not mine for sale, but you get the idea.)

These days an all-band mobile HF rig is not that expensive. No one says you have to put anything but a 10m antenna on it.

Re:YAY!

[Gordonjcp]

If you're in band and within your power limit, who cares what the radio is? There's certainly no problem with converting CBs for 10m operation - in fact, many of the 10m mobiles are essentially "factory-converted" CBs. The FCC may get upset, but they aren't important to me.

I'll use whatever equipment I damn well please, and the FCC can stay in their own garden.

73s de MM0YEQ

Re:YAY!

[Muad'Dave]

Yes, that was my point, and the FCC doesn't care either.

fcc to deregulate ham neutrality

[Anonymous Coward]

soon the ionosphere will be purchased and reflective rights proportioned to the highest bidder; owners of large flat surfaces will implement selective reflectivity!

Yarrr be hams here

[Anonymous Coward]

I think people don't realize just how cool some of the radio technology really is. SSB (Single-Side-Band) for example allows operators to broadcast THOUSANDS of miles by selecting the proper frequency your signal bounces off the ionosphere and back to ground hundreds to thousands of miles away like having your own personal satellite.

Those into sailing can use a cell phone if your a mile or two following the coastline. VHF for 20-40 miles (line of sight). Sat phones anywhere but they cost to talk. Outside of equipment cost a station license and some clue it is free and quite popular on open waters.

Re:Yarrr be hams here

[Dan Dankleton]

It's not just bouncing signals off the ionosphere. Earth-Moon-Earth (bouncing signals off the moon) is really common. Just for the challenge, people have also done Earth-Venus-Earth and Earth-Sun-Earth. That's more than thousands of miles!

HSMM it is the new freedom.

[sgt scrub]

What do they expect. Everyone is getting screwed by ISP's and government laws. With radio all you need is friends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_multimedia_radio

http://www.febo.com/hamdocs/intronos.html

Re:HSMM it is the new freedom.

[Anonymous Coward]

This is slashdot we are talking about, slashdotters are low in friends.... :)

What's old is new again

[Gavin Scott]

Amateur radio used to be popular because it let you do something awesome, communicate with people around the world in ways that nobody else could. Whether it was talking to someone on the other side of the country or the globe on HF, or chatting locally on a 2M repeater. It gave you power that ordinarily was reserved for governments or corporations, and as such was one of the coolest nerdy things you could do. It was the same kind of power that came with the early home computer movement.

But then we got computers, which siphoned off a fair amount of ham activity, though in most ways the two hobbies complemented each other very well.

And now there's the internet and cheap world-wide communication that's used by everyone, as well as mobile phones that eliminate the big thrill of local area communication.

So the hobby is doomed right? Well, in some sense that's true because the original thrill and justification really is mostly gone.

But now there's a whole new generation of people discovering Amateur Radio as this cool retro antique activity. Now people begin to do it not because it lets them do something they couldn't do otherwise, but because it's a *fun* and interesting/challenging way to communicate. The old-school hams would be annoyed by the internet and how it made them obsolete, but the new-school hams don't give it a thought because "of course I could just send an email, but this is so much more fun and I'm doing it myself!".

G.

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[Muad'Dave]

Congrats! I know you'll have fun. HF is really hopping right now with the sunspots on the rise. I worked South Africa the other day on < 100W and a really loathsome dipole antenna only 20 feet off the ground. I made 200+ contacts last weekend in the ARRL Sweepstakes contest playing at it - I worked 68 of the 80 sections and I think 45 of the 50 states, all in 24 hours or so.

Right after that, I re-purposed the radio to listen for 6m meteor scatter.

If you're into electronics, you can easily make your own equipment. These days, with the advent of ICs for DDS and I/Q Mod/demod you can do SSB/etc with a PIC and and smile.

73 de k4det
Look me up if you have ham questions!

Not totally accurate

[frozentier]

There's a "dirty little secret" in ham radio that skews these numbers, though. When the morse code requirements were lowered and eventually dropped, many of the "old order" of radio operators literally drove the new hams off the air. There was vile hatred towards the new hams, and they were told they were not "real hams", or that they held a "general lite" or "extra lite" license. They wouldn't speak to the new hams on the air, and in many cases they would deliberately interfere with them on the air. It got so bad that many new hams would work to get their license, spend $1,000 or more on equipment, get on the air, then sell their equipment again a few months later. They had lowered the code requirement to 5 words per minute by the time I got my Extra, and there were people in my own local club trying to belittle me. I did eventually give it up totally about 5 years ago, selling my own gear as well.

Re:Not totally accurate

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm an "Extra Lite" as some would say. I was a no-code tech when general and extra still required code. I've seen a lot of web forum griping about code/no-code, but haven't run into any bad attitudes on the air. I'm also a VE now and there's some very strong opinions among some of the VEs that code should be required, but they don't take it out on me. Not my fault, I followed the rules and did everything the FCC needed.

Re:Not totally accurate

[Fnord666]

There's a "dirty little secret" in ham radio that skews these numbers, though. When the morse code requirements were lowered and eventually dropped, many of the "old order" of radio operators literally drove the new hams off the air. There was vile hatred towards the new hams, and they were told they were not "real hams", or that they held a "general lite" or "extra lite" license. They wouldn't speak to the new hams on the air, and in many cases they would deliberately interfere with them on the air. It got so bad that many new hams would work to get their license, spend $1,000 or more on equipment, get on the air, then sell their equipment again a few months later. They had lowered the code requirement to 5 words per minute by the time I got my Extra, and there were people in my own local club trying to belittle me. I did eventually give it up totally about 5 years ago, selling my own gear as well.

This. Fortunately I bought a used scanner that reached into some of the ham frequencies before committing anything more to the hobby. Between the aging "get off my lawn" crowd asking each other where the "any" key was on their newfangled computer and the abusive attitude towards new license holders, I gave the hobby a pass.

Re:Not totally accurate

[Anonymous Coward]

I have to somewhat agree with this. Been licensed for 10years and just recently upgraded (over the past two years) to extra. But I've ran across the "You're just a no-code extra". Not by the locals but by the old farts that hang on 80m. The remedy is ignore them and paper chase DX. Most DX don't know or care that you're a no-coder and I love how 10m is open.

Re:Not totally accurate

[Anonymous Coward]

There's a "dirty little secret" in ham radio that skews these numbers, though. When the morse code requirements were lowered and eventually dropped, many of the "old order" of radio operators literally drove the new hams off the air. There was vile hatred towards the new hams, and they were told they were not "real hams", or that they held a "general lite" or "extra lite" license. They wouldn't speak to the new hams on the air, and in many cases they would deliberately interfere with them on the air. It got so bad that many new hams would work to get their license, spend $1,000 or more on equipment, get on the air, then sell their equipment again a few months later. They had lowered the code requirement to 5 words per minute by the time I got my Extra, and there were people in my own local club trying to belittle me. I did eventually give it up totally about 5 years ago, selling my own gear as well.

I was first licensed in 1978 and faced the same crap then, so don't feel too special. Sadly, the hazing is part of the 'welcome to the club" license.

Re:Not totally accurate

[John Goerzen]

I got my tech and my general in July 2010, and my extra a few months later. I have seen NONE of this.

I've experienced the community as tremendously positive, supportive, and encouraging. Sure, I've had encouragement to learn CW -- which I'm working on -- but only as a "here are some other great things you can do if you take this step." Not a grousing, grumpy sort of thing.

I know there are that sort of people out there. Maybe the locals in Kansas are friendly. Maybe the thousands of QSOs (conversations) I've had on HF have somehow been randomly lucky. One person mentioned the grumps on 80m phone - that band has a reputation for attracting that type of people, so I simply avoid it most of the time. Problem solved.

Re:Not totally accurate

[scharkalvin]

As an "old timer" I really think that stinks. I would hope that such behavior is in the minority. While I personally feel that CW (code) isn't useless in today's world (in an emergency it may be the ONLY way to get a message though) use of code shouldn't be forced upon those coming into the hobby. I would say let them discover it for themselves. Between 1/3 and 1/2 of the available HF spectrum is reserved for CW (actually low bandwidth communication that includes many digital modes) so the FCC still considers CW worth something. (NOT "MORSE" code, MORSE refers to the old land line telegraph code which is QUITE different!) You can build a CW transmitter with a single tube (or solid state device) and a rock (crystal). There is no other mode of communication on radio that can be McGyvier'ed together in a few minutes. The signal from such a transmitter would be weak, but it would get through.

OTOH, my favorite mode used to be SSTV. This was back in the day of surplus radar CRTs and analog demodulation, today it's all digital.

BTW, I got my Extra when the code requirement was dropped to 5 WPM as I already had my Advanced class (13 wpm credit). No shame here, the written test is college level!

Re:Not totally accurate

[gmhowell]

I think the OP was referring to the early-mid 90's when no-code was initiated.

Re:Not totally accurate

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, as the guy who first introduced me to HAM radio once said, "there are jerks no matter where you go." His metaphors were a bit more colorful, but you get my point. I am really sorry you ran into such a huge number of jerks.

I've been licensed for two years now and I absolutely love it. I've never encountered an old timer telling me "I'm not a real ham", but even if he did, I got into it for myself, not for him. My experience with Ham radio operators has been that they are incredibly friendly. Within days of getting my license I was given a 2-meter antenna to "borrow" for about a year, and a hand-held radio for use until I could get my own equipment. I've received all sorts of help from the guys with antennas and operating issues, and in general it has been a really great bunch.

I was glad they dropped the Morse code requirement. I was able to get my technician license with very little study and my General a month later. Even though Morse is no longer required, I find it fascinating and have been learning it for the fun of it. As others have said, getting around the world with less power than a night light is kind of fun.

But if computers are your thing, there are digital modes to play with. If heavenly bodies are your thing there are amateur radio satellites to bounce signals off of, or the International Space Station to try and catch (they have Ham Radio equipment aboard).

There are many dimensions to amateur radio. Maybe it isn't for you. Maybe it is. Try a local amateur radio club. Stop in and say hello. My experience with three such clubs thus far is that they love to have visitors.

Again, sorry your experience was so bad.

Oh, and I don't think there is anything "dirty" or "secret" about the fact that there are jerks in all walks of life...but the phrase "dirty little secret" sure makes it sound juicier, doesn't it?

HAM Nation

[chocolatetrumpet]

Surely the increase is due in no small part to Leo Laporte and the HAM Nation podcast?

It's my first and only exposure to anything HAM.

Re:HAM Nation

[bobdole369]

The study is speaking of the past 5 years showing an increase in new licensure. The podcast has been on for only a couple months. There have been other less-popular, non-TWIT podcasts (solder smoke being one of the best) showcasing ham radio.

The podcast is seen by a huge number of people, and Bob Heil K9EID is almost the perfect guy to represent our community.

Actually a much larger chunk of new ham activity is most likely due to the code restrictions being removed It's too bad there is such a resistance against no-codes. I passed my 5wpm so I was NEVER a no-code. Ham radio elitists are the most sad group. Just talk people, your piss-poor attitudes will only serve to increase your perception as a crotchety old fart about to die. Noobs are always going to be there, learn to live with them.

Yes, but most of them...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, but most of them are NO-CODE Technicians who took the test with a "volunteer" who helped them with the answers

Back in MY DAY you had to go down to the FCC office. I had to wear headphones and copy code at 20 WPM for 1 minute without a error, then a supervised written test to get my amateur extra licence.

I haven't been on the air for 30 years, but I still renew my license.

You can't go by band activity

[fyngyrz]

With the condition the bands have been in the last few years -- during the long solar minimum -- I don't see how you can say that at all. I've been listening too, and while there has been much less to hear, there are very good reasons why. Last weekend's sweepstakes contest brought lots of signals, but very few of them at robust levels here in Montana. We're still a ways from 1990's-class propagation even on 20 meters.

Re:You can't go by band activity

[rk]

I've been doing pretty well DXing on 15 and 10 meters during the morning, though. We're definitely not there yet, but the propagation has been improving steadily these last six months or so.

A radio, a battery, an antenna, the world

[Anonymous Coward]

Question:

With the internet, and cell phones, and all; what is the HAM radio attraction?

Answer: A radio, a battery, an antenna, the world.

Plus, it's fun to send Holiday Greetings over the National Traffic System.

Foreign contacts, Mountain topping

[rwade]

I hold an extra class license, which I don't really use, and my impression was that the average age was around 65. If you want to tune in and chat with other oldsters about medical problems... then amateur radio is for you! Though some will treat you as a lower class of operator for not being a "brass pounder" (i.e. someone proficient in morse code). And you might feel unwelcome if you're LGBT; they're, um, a little on the conservative side.

I totally hear where you're coming from. Many of the older hams domestic to the US are not a treat to chat with. If you have the capability, I would highly recommend you turn your antenna west-ward or east-ward. There is nothing at all like the thrill of making a contact with Japan or Korea or Hong Kong or Australia or Europe -- with the conditions are the best they have been in 10 years. With a 15-foot half-wavelength dipole for 28.5MHz and 100 watts you can work SSB 5,000 to 10,000 miles away easily.

Another part of the hobby I'm getting into is taking a portable HF transceiver, battery, and dipole up to the peek of some mountains and spending an afternoon seeing how far I can get with no household appliance interference and with an effective height far, far above the tallest Rohn25 tower.

Ham Radio is perfect for outdoorsmen

[rwade]

I got mine. As an old geek, I just challenged the exam and got it first try. My offroad club decided to switch away from CB towards HAM. It has improved our communications immensely as well as been useful in some remote medical and mechanical emergency situations.

An excellent reason to get licensed. VHF repeaters have a much greater range -- in general but with some exceptions due to terrain -- than 4-watt mobile CB radios and with vehicle-mounted whip antennas that are much smaller than those for CB. The repeaters tend to be fairly empty these days and use by the off-road and outdoors community is certainly very welcome.

Large urban trauma hospitals around the US oftentimes host rooftop amateur repeaters and provide free emergency power from the repeaters from the hospital's own generators in the event of grid-power failures. The availability of almost limitless emergency hospital power coupled with the height of these repeater stations would make the repeaters that amateurs have access to the best two-way communications capability available in the event of a power outage...

BS

[rwade]

Yes, but most of them are NO-CODE Technicians who took the test with a "volunteer" who helped them with the answers

Did I miss the study that the FCC did that proved that volunteer examiners were helping examinees to cheat on the exam? I've never witnessed that. Have you?

Re:BS

[vhfer]

Certainly nobody helped me cheat on the test-- it took me two tries! Perhaps the guy that so sure there's nothing but cheating going on is not as smart in electronics and amateur radio rules & regs as my wife, the social worker and the most non-technical person I know, licensed for about 15 years now. Or the 8-year-old girl in Florida that got her license this year: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=6+year+old+ham+radio+operator&source=web&cd=9&ved=0CGEQtwIwCA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DyYkzO0wpBfE&ei=mfLLTv3aJoWy2QXoou2lDw&usg=AFQjCNH9TukBu7y5pi9fkHJJgtnBV1iMYg

Examples of very young hams abound. Documented cases of VEs (volunteer examiners) helping examinees cheat are few, and in comparison, nearly nonexistent.

Value of CW

[rwade]

Yes indeed. I had a ham license in 1961 when I was in high school but let my license expire after I entered college. Now that I'm retired, I'm thinking of taking up the hobby again. I used to be pretty fast with the key, but I understand that these days the ability to use Morse code isn't even a requirement for the test.

Regardless of the value that the FCC itself puts on learning Morse code, it does have enormous value on the air. CW is sometimes the best way to make DX (long distance) contacts with a marginal antenna at low power at inopportune times in the solar cycle. Just tuning the bands, I hear CW signals all the time -- it is still very much in use.

Re:Value of CW

[Anonymous Coward]

Not being funny, but why not just send an e-mail?

Re:Value of CW

[rwade]

Not being funny, but why not just send an e-mail?

Just like any other hobby, it's a way to pass the time. Why hunt or fish if you can just buy food at the store?

Re:Value of CW

[Lumpy]

Cant send an email from the trail outside of callphone coverage. Yet I can chat with a fellow from 1/2 way around the planet in the evening while I sit around the campfire.

Also your "email" stops working at the drop of the hat when trouble happens, ask the Katrina survivors how well their cellphones worked. during and after the storm.

Re:Value of CW

[rk]

Plus there's a little magic in talking with someone half the world away without monthly fees, 15 intermediate routers, and billions of dollars of infrastructure between the two. My antenna and transceiver, the other guy's antenna and transceiver, a little bit of know-how, and some electrical power that I can even get from from a battery is all we need.

Re:Value of CW

[Miamicanes]

Hell, I remember the good 'ol days circa 1992, before the FCC officially tightened up the definition of "CW", and there was a de-facto loophole in the definition big enough to drive a truck through if you were an uppity teen/twentysomething ham (like I was) with a computer, just itching to use 200wpm morse to do UUencoded file transfers between the US and Europe ;)

Back then, the official rules literally just said you were restricted to "CW", without ever really getting specific about what "CW" actually *was*. I guess they just assumed that everyone knew from tradition, and I suspect the FCC regulators were horrified to find out what guys like me were up to in the final dark days before widespread worldwide internet connectivity.

NOW, the rule explicitly defines the "mode" as "1A0", and explicitly says it has to be "plain text". It doesn't quite go as far as stipulating morse code, but I think I read a non-binding FCC opinion someplace where they basically said occasional adhoc prosigns are OK as long as they're published SOMEWHERE and your intent isn't to conceal what you're sending, but hex-encoded UTF8 and any kind of binary-encoded file is absolutely beyond the pale.

In a way, I can see why they clamped down a bit. At the time I didn't have the RF or digital electronics background to know it, but I now know that turning a carrier on and off is neither instantaneous nor consequence-free, and when you do it fast enough, you're basically bit-banging de-facto AM via PWM and square-wave artifacts that's going to splatter over a MUCH wider chunk of spectrum than a carrier being slowly turned on and off by a straight key.

Re:Value of CW

[tom17]

I guess my point was along the lines of - talking to someone across the world was a big deal back when Ham got started, but now it's a negligible cost trivial thing to do.

But after you said it like that, I can see the appeal. Also it seems more interesting since I read about people sending packet data. The Hams won't be the ones in the dark when infrastructure breaks down. They don;t need no (communications) infrastructure.

Interesting, I may yet investigate getting into it one day, probably a while from now though. I will never truly dismiss it :)

Re:Value of CW

[epe]

wooooooooow I like this answer.. 100% 73's

Re:Value of CW

[Defenestrar]

It's faster than texting, and texting is probably faster than sending an email with a modern client (keyboard shortcuts in Pine might have beaten it). So Morse is faster, more efficient, and cheaper - and my engineering professors said it was impossible to have all three!

At first glance this argument may be a straw man (subbing in texting for email), but it's probably a legitimate substitution. Comments welcome.

Re:Value of CW

[Yoik]

It is not a system that can be suppressed by local authorities or infrastructure disruption. It works with only 2 people, a little equipment out of the attic, and a few watts of electricity. In many earthquakes, hurricanes and foreign revolutions it was the primary way news got out.

I have been surprised buy the lack of news attention ham reports get lately, but perhaps people on both ends had been spoiled by how well the Internet works.

Re:Value of CW

[n5vb]

CW is also a system that works with very little equipment, and often very little power, on the transmitting end. If you have enough of a receiver to pick up the person you're talking to, *transmitting* is often little more than some batteries, a transistor oscillator (of which all the parts but the transistor can be improvised in the field if you know what you're doing), a tuner, and a random wire antenna. If you're trying to get health and safety reports out of a disaster area, the ability to bodge together a basic QRP transmitter can mean the difference between news getting out and news not getting out when all the infrastructure is so thoroughly trashed it'll be months before it's all back online.

(I know of one county whose sheriff's department radio system was totally dependent on the base station for the radios in the cars to work. When an F5 tornado came through and demolished the building with the base station in it, they had to put a ham with a 2 meter HT in the front seat of every department vehicle. No, the cell towers didn't fare much better. 2 meter FM worked just fine.)

Re:Value of CW

[Obfuscant]

NOW, the rule explicitly defines the "mode" as "1A0", and explicitly says it has to be "plain text". It doesn't quite go as far as stipulating morse code, but I think I read a non-binding FCC opinion someplace where they basically said occasional adhoc prosigns are OK as long as they're published SOMEWHERE and your intent isn't to conceal what you're sending, but hex-encoded UTF8 and any kind of binary-encoded file is absolutely beyond the pale.

You are quite incorrect.

In the definitions: (1) CW. International Morse code telegraphy emissions having designators with A, C, H, J or R as the first symbol; 1 as the second symbol; A or B as the third symbol; and emissions J2A and J2B.

Nowhere does it say it has to be "plain text". There are restrictions on the code used (International Morse Code, 5 level Baudot, etc...), and restrictions on the content, but "plain text" is not one of them. Perhaps you are thinking of 97.113(a)(4) which prohibits: "(4) Music using a phone emission except as specifically provided elsewhere in this section; communications intended to facilitate a criminal act; messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning, except as otherwise provided herein; obscene or indecent words or language; or false or deceptive messages, signals or identification; "?

UUencoding is not an encoding for the purpose of obscuring the meaning of a message. If you encrypted those files before uuencoding, then you would be breaking the rules, but otherwise, no.

As for sending binary files being "beyond the pale", sorry, still incorrect. There is an international network of packet and pactor based systems that do this on a regular basis, using an encoding that is much more obscure and complex than UUencoding. It's called Winlink 2000. It is, for all intents and purposes, an extension of email to ham radio, and you can send doc and pdf and all kinds of binary files as attachments to those email messages. There is no FCC rule prohibiting this.

As for your recollection of the old rules, I recall nothing that would have been a hot-button issue for the FCC in sending files via computer-generated CW, as long as the control op was sitting there controlling it.

In a way, I can see why they clamped down a bit. At the time I didn't have the RF or digital electronics background to know it, but I now know that turning a carrier on and off is neither instantaneous nor consequence-free, and when you do it fast enough, you're basically bit-banging de-facto AM via PWM and square-wave artifacts that's going to splatter over a MUCH wider chunk of spectrum than a carrier being slowly turned on and off by a straight key.

What you call "splatter" is what we technical people call "bandwidth". Yes, a 200 wpm CW signal has a higher bandwidth than a 10 wpm signal, but I don't seem to find any limit to the CW speed being used. I do find a limit of 300 bauds for data, but I don't believe that applies to CW. There were, and probably still are, people who manage 60 to 80 wpm manually. There is a woman who has a record more than 1700 wpm using software.

As for how fast the carrier is turned on and off, that is a function of the TR switching in the transmitter. You can have bad key clicks at 5 wpm, too.

Re:Value of CW

[Obfuscant]

By the way, "200 wpm" sounds really fast, but let's do some math. 200 wpm is 1000 cpm (characters per minute). Each character is two to ten state changes, average 6 or so.

6000 "state changes per minute" sounds like a lot, but that's only 100 per second. Or, all told, about 50 Hz.

Even if you send nothing but numbers (5 dits or dahs each, 10 state changes), you'll be using 10,000 states/min, or 84 Hz.

That's not much.

Re:Value of CW

[Miamicanes]

> There is an international network of packet and pactor based systems that do this on a regular basis

The point is that we're talking about a de-facto high(er) speed quasi-digital mode being used by someone with a 1990 5wpm-code Technician-Class license who's officially authorized to do "CW", relying on a very questionable and loose interpretation of CW's old definition (turning a single carrier on and off) to achieve it in ways the original rulemakers never would have thought possible, let alone anticipated.

In contrast, Pactor by someone with what used to be a General class license with 13wpm code was never controversial, because FSK-based digital modes were always unambiguously allowed for General and above.

As for 200wpm... well, that pretty much the absolute experimental frontier of what you can make meaningfully work if you're transmitting by opening and closing a relay pretending to be a straight key connected to a HF rig, and even 200wpm is seriously pushing your luck. If you go by the "PARIS" standard, and loosely count it as the timing equivalent of 27 bits (3 per dash, 1 per dot, 1 per inter-character pause), you're looking at the equivalent of ~500 baud. At that rate, I'm kind of amazed in retrospect that it was even possible to get meaningful reception, and that the transmitter key-down distortion didn't turn sequential dots into meaningless noisy buzz.

Re:Value of CW

[Obfuscant]

The point is that we're talking about a de-facto high(er) speed quasi-digital mode being used by someone with a 1990 5wpm-code Technician-Class license who's officially authorized to do "CW", relying on a very questionable and loose interpretation of CW's old definition (turning a single carrier on and off) to achieve it in ways the original rulemakers never would have thought possible, let alone anticipated.

You're wrong. It isn't "quasi-digital", it is digital. On and off. There was no rule about the speed, so "higher" or "lower" is meaningless. The "5wpm-code Tech license" wasn't an upper speed limit and nobody ever thought it was. Five wpm was the LOW limit on how fast you needed to be able to COPY code by hand to get the license. There was no rule prohibiting computer copying or sending of CW at any higher speeds, and there still isn't.

As for "never thought possible", that's just ridiculous. Tape-based CW senders were routine long before the technician class license was created.

There was no "questionable" definition of CW involved. CW is the modulation of a carrier by turning it on and off. Period. How fast you turn it on and off is up to you. There wasn't even a rule that you had to do more than 5 wpm on the air -- you only had to demonstrate the ability to copy by hand at that speed to get the license, and then you could be a total lid and run at 1 wpm if you found someone willing to talk to you at that speed. Or rather, listen to you. The coding you are required to use is international Morse code. It may be thrilling to pretend that you or the other guy were doing something really clandestine and black-hat, but you're fooling only yourself.

As for 200wpm... well, that pretty much the absolute experimental frontier of what you can make meaningfully work if you're transmitting by opening and closing a relay pretending to be a straight key connected to a HF rig,

There never has been, and there still it not, any rule that says that CW must be sent using a relay-based switching system that "pretends" to be a straight key. Experimental frontier? Oh, please. Computer and tape based automated senders have been in use for decades, well before the 1990's. I had a program for sending and receiving on my VIC 20, and that came out in the 80's.

you're looking at the equivalent of ~500 baud.

Five hundred state changes per second? Your calculation is interesting, but hardly accurate. I could easily claim that a 1 Hz square wave is the equivalent of 1000 bits by defining a bit to be 1 millisecond long, and then I'd have, by your reconing, a 1000 baud signal. That's not how baud is calculated. I already did the calculations, and it just isn't that fast. And it doesn't matter anyway, because there was and is no limit.

Re:Value of CW

[Miamicanes]

It was "digital", but not in the formal sense the FCC meant when they elsewhere talked about "digital modes".

My quoting of 5wpm/13wpm was just to clarify that I was talking about the Technician-class license back when 5wpm was required to get it, and the General-class license back when 13wpm was required to get it. I wasn't implying that they were speed limits.

I was wrong about the official designation. It's A1A, not 1A0.

I can't quote the exact rule, but apparently the FCC did manage to finally close up another loophole. Apparently, there IS now a rule buried somewhere in the regulations that formally specifies the maximum amount of bandwidth you can use within the novice/technician portion of the "CW-only" bands, and defines it in terms of effective radiated power. It's a rule that would be irrelevant if you're using CW to transmit international morse code with a straight key (or even sending it at halfway normal speeds using a computer to toggle a relay), but would become very applicable if you were broadcasting a de-facto bitbanged AM-like signal with substantial footprint via PWM by rapidly keying the transmitter on and off, regardless of intent or technicality.

Regardless of how non-edgy or non-blackhat it might have been, it was fun ;)

Re:Value of CW

[badkarmadayaccount]

I'd rather not go through the crap of licensing and crap.

40 meters?

[rwade]

At night the lower bands open up. I like 80m, 20m, 17m and 15m, and I loathe 40m. But that's just my opinion.

Out of curiosity, why the hate for 40m?

Re:40 meters?

[Silfax]

Don't know about the other guy, but here on the east coast the international broadcasters pretty much clobber everything else. It has been getting better, but still a PITA in the evening.

Re:40 meters?

[Muad'Dave]

The other poster is right - the broadcasters make it difficult and the QSOs seem to be piled on top of each other. I don't have a directional antenna for the low bands, so I hear it all at once. Strangely, my LotW count for 40m DXCC is tied for third with 15m.

Talk on Cell Phone while Driving Exemption

[Anonymous Coward]

Here in WA, and I think in many other states, there is an exception in the cell phone driving laws that allows licensed HAM radio operators to use a radio communications device without a hands free setup. I wonder how many got their license recently just to use that exception?

Ive had my license for over 20 years, and ive used it....maybe twice?

Re:Computers aren't interesting anymore -- finally

[rwade]

As a result, there's a new void appearing among people who love to tinker. Amateur radio is a great outlet for that. The equipment is complex enough to enjoy working with but simple enough that you can work on it yourself.

Just recently I picked up a DC power supply built primarily for amateur use -- it was amusing to see that Astron included a print-out of the electrical schematic.

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[X0563511]

I'm one as well, have been since August. Got 'general' class license. I'd give you my call but I don't have a P.O. box on my license, so anyone on slashdot could get my home address super easy...

(you are welcome to send me an email though if you do want my call for some reason)

Licenses and Trends

[morgauxo]

Whenever and wherever this topic comes up (even on ham blogs) people say the same things. Many are dead, many are inactive, etc...
Yes, this is true. So? That has been true since the original hams turned old. If licenses are up then that likely means that all categories, inactive, dead and ACTIVE are up.

Ham radio is the only game in some cases

[tipo159]

I got my ham license and radio about 4 years ago because I am a volunteer in a sport (stage rally) that use ham radio to make sure that the road is safe to run on. The rallies are run on forest and desert roads in areas with few other communications options.

I am also an emergency communications volunteer with the county. In case of an actual emergency, I would report to city hall, set-up the radio and relay messages between the city and the county. On the plus side, I get to participate in drills (two natural disaster and two terrorist attack drills do far). On the minus side, I had to do FEMA training.

We had a storm last year where we didn't have any power, landline phone/DSL or cellular coverage for days. And I don't even live in the sticks; I am about 10 miles from downtown Seattle. Our normal communications infrastructure isn't as reliable as I thought it was.

For radio use practice, I also volunteer for local community events like charity walks (monitor for injuries and tired walkers) and bicycle rides (SAG wagon duties).

I did Field Day for the first time this year. Talking directly to someone across the country was pretty cool.

Re:Ham radio is the only game in some cases

[tehcyder]

But if there's some huge disaster, unless everybody (or at least most people) have radio setups with indepemdent power generators, who's going to pick up any messages? Presumably the emergency services networks will still work all right anyway.

Re:Ham radio is the only game in some cases

[tipo159]

>But if there's some huge disaster, unless everybody (or at least most people) have radio setups with indepemdent power generators,
>who's going to pick up any messages?

The city and county have EOCs (Emergency Operation Centers) with generators and battery backup. Those get tested in our drills. The other stations were we could be assigned (fire stations) also have alternate power.

Since I spent a lot of time using my radios in the woods, mine are handheld and mobile. When we lost power for days last year, I could still hit the club repeater, so its alternate power sources were working. My handheld will run for a couple of days on a set of 4 AAs and I can hit the club and county repeaters most places where I would be assigned during an emergency.

>Presumably the emergency services networks will still work all right anyway.

What we do is called the "Alternate Communications System". We are part of the emergency services network. I got an emergency worker ID card and went through a background check and, as previously noted, went through FEMA training. Some of the guys have even used their radios in actual emergencies.

Re:Computers aren't interesting anymore -- finally

[Anonymous Coward]

I think you're on to something there. I remember reading Popular Electronics when I was a kid, and then it seemed to get more and more computer stuff in it. I got a C-64 and my parts gathered dust. Before that, I built a SW receiver. If it hadn't been for the computer, maybe I would have gotten into HAM. Our neighbors had what they called a "high power CB" setup. I don't know if it was licensed or not. Whenever they were on it, our TV would flash purple and we could hear parts of their conversation. When we told them, they fixed it somehow. Either that, or they got bored with it...

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[Abalamahalamatandra]

No doubt! A couple of weekends ago I heard 10 meters was up again, so thought I'd play. I have a Radio Shack HTX-100 10-meter radio I think I paid about $200 for way back in the day, a PVC-encased balun I bought for maybe $20, some speaker wire, some feedline and a power supply. Total was maybe $400 a long time ago.

Anyway, strung the dipole between two badminton net supports, fired it up, and was talking to Canada, Europe, and all over the east coast from the central US. My 12-year-old thought it was pretty darn cool.

Next step is I want to get something portable like an FT-857 or 817 and do some mountaintopping. Good times!

Book for a newbie?

[Anonymous Coward]

What book would you recommend for a teen interested in ham?
The ARLL Handbook for Radio Comm. or is there some better alternative?

Re:Book for a newbie?

[John Goerzen]

You might try the ARRL Ham Radio License Manual. It covers the why, the how, and also teaches you everything you need to know for passing that first license exam.

Re:Book for a newbie?

[Anonymous Coward]

Great, I'll look into it. Do you know if it covers more basic stuff than the "Handbook for Radio Communications"?

Thanks!

Re:Book for a newbie?

[John Goerzen]

Yes. Well, in a sense, yes. The handbook is more a reference book. Giant, and frankly, overwhelming to a newbie. You need to know where to start. Even if the License Manual is a subset of the handbook, it will help focus on where to start (with an emphasis on the things needed to get the first license), help explain WHY people care about them (which a reference work won't), and also has some sidebars on what people do with their new licenses.

Having passed the tests and been active with the hobby, I have the handbook close by and never refer to the license manual anymore. BUT - when I first got started - it was with the license manual, and the handbook wouldn't have helped me much there.

Radio Started it all for Me

[Anonymous Coward]

I got into computers because of ham radio. We used to look for radio mods on the old billboard services. That is where I got my first email address from, a billboard service.

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[Anonymous Coward]

DX 60's are pretty cheap.

Go with the FT-897

[rwade]

Next step is I want to get something portable like an FT-857 or 817 and do some mountaintopping. Good times!

Have to recommend the FT-897 wholeheartedly. The FT-897 is electrically identical to the FT-857. The FT-857 is the FT-897 in a smaller package intended for use in a car. As such, the FT-857 has fewer external buttons and knobs than the FT-897 so navigating it while it's on your desk or on top of a boulder could be more challenging than with the FT-897.

While the FT-817 is very popular among the mountain topping community, 5 watts is a frustratingly low level of power unless you're on CW. I'm not sure about the condition of your legs and back, but carrying a larger battery and a marginally heavier transceiver so that you can do 20 watts is probably worth the effort. Further, the FT-897 will do a better job on your desk than either the FT-817 or the FT-857 will do.

I bought a 897 used on craigslist for about $650. Don't even bother with the retail price tag -- Yaesu and ICOM both build their gear to last.

Re:Go with the FT-897

[Anonymous Coward]

The 857/897 do their DSP on the audio out and not on the signal itself. This SIGNIFICANTLY decreases the effectiveness of the DSP in those radios. The Icom 706 Mk II G is a decent mobile with much better DSP. You just need a PhD to be able to figure out how to operate it.

Re:Go with the FT-897

[Anonymous Coward]

I am kind of fond of my 817ND. It isn't necessarily the wattage you put out, but how good is your antenna. I also have a 897 and I get a bigger kick out of using my 817. Making contacts over 2000 miles away on 5 watts and a EF-10/20/40 antenna is kind of fun, especially when the DX contact picks your QRP call out of the pile-up.....

Can't stop the signal!

[Anonymous Coward]

As an amateur radio operator I kind of smile when I hear about the events in the middle east and worries about having their internet access cut off, facebook or twitter blocked, or cell phone coverage compromised. Old school was that you could still get information of those events via the ham radio operator. Nowadays, amateur operators can talk to each other with no more than 5 watts of power. There is still truth to the saying, "You can't stop the signal!"

WO1U here...

[fredmunge]

I see where quite a few commenters don't get the attraction. I witnessed a voice contact from a 10W mobile radio in Vermont, to a station in Japan, with full signal strength at around dusk a few days ago (on 28.4MHz). The randomness of where HF propagation will take your signal and from what country an operator will respond makes voice communication interesting, and for me much more so than a cell phone call or an IRC chat session. Amateur radio was the cause of my interest in electronics engineering in the first place and I have made a career out of it, which has been greatly enhanced by my experience in amateur radio. Indeed there are many professionals among the amateur community. As many others have stated well here, the hobby is rich with many engineering genres and the generous frequency allocations make for a vast playground that truly does advance the "art" that underlies all those ubiquitous wired and wireless communications we take for granted. Digital, software defined radio, analog, microwave, satellite communications, power amplifiers, antenna design etc etc etc. How can anyone call this boring? 73 Mike

Re:Computers aren't interesting anymore -- finally

[bobdole369]

Amusing? Nearly every device built with electronics starting in the 40's had a basic schematic included. It wasn't until the late 80's did they (manufacturers) stop including schematics on every device. Still today you can easily obtain service manuals and schematics for amateur gear. There IS however an "old boys club" of sorts regarding TV/LCD panel service stuff. Gotta be in it or pay for it.

survivalists

[roc97007]

Not the backwoods, redneck kind, but a lot of young modern geeks, are quietly investing in what is considered classic survivalist preparation. Two big factors are: (1) How to sustainably generate power sans the grid, and (2) how to communicate over distance when the networks are down. I think you're seeing an uptick because of a reduction in confidence that society will hold together. Not necessarily resigned to collapse, but taking reasonable precautions.

Re:survivalists

[tehcyder]

Living your life on the basis of preparing for the collapse of civilization makes as much sense as building a nuclear bunker in your garden in case an asteroid hits.

It's just a paranoid fantasy. If things ever go that horribly wrong, it will only be sheer luck if you survive at all.

Re:survivalists

[roc97007]

> Living your life on the basis of preparing for the collapse of civilization makes as much sense as building a nuclear bunker in your garden in case an asteroid hits.

That's true.

Lucky it's not what I was talking about.

Making some modest preparations to ride out a temporary infrastructure collapse bears resemblance to weirdos preparing for the permanent collapse of civilization only in that the two groups share some of the same supplies.

It could be something as simple as a natural disaster that takes out power for a few weeks. Tell me that's never happened. In such a scenario, it might be a good idea to have enough food and power to get through it. (Don't forget pet food.) In areas where power is questionable, like in a hurricane zone, it might be a good idea to have an alternate source of power for your food storage (fridge and freezer). My solar array is somewhat portable; two people can carry it inside during a storm, carry it back out afterwards, and then I have power for radio and food storage. Light is provided by hurricane lanterns (decorative when not in use) and cooking by wood stove (which is economical when power is going, essential when power is not). This is not crazy redneck stuff but practical, renewable and cost effective.

Realistically, preparing for a permanent collapse is more difficult than people realize. You are essentially back to pioneer level, where the only tools you have, after the cool high tech stuff wears out, are the tools you can make with your own hands. Obviously, no amount of stockpiling will get you through that.

But there are a lot of scenarios having absolutely nothing to do with the collapse of civilization, ranging to inconvenient to mildly dangerous, where a few goods laid by and a few hundred watts of alternate energy and a method of communication that doesn't use land lines or cell towers (or 2 meter repeaters! hams sometimes forget this) might come in handy. It's not a paranoid fantasy any more than carrying flares and a first aid kit in your car speaks of a paranoid fantasy that you're going to have a horrible accident.

Speaking of cars, in my youth, my wife and I once spent the night in a parking lot in the car when the pass was closed by unusual snowfall. It got a mite hungry. Now I have a small emergency kit in each car that besides modest medical supplies and a maglight, containes water and concentrated rations for three days. I assure you, I do not have a paranoid fantasy about being stuck in the snow again.

In summary, it's not about going horribly wrong. It's about going recoverably wrong for some relatively short period of time. Back on topic, if you don't think amateur radio is useful in natural disasters, there are a lot of references. Start with http://www.arrl.org/emergency-radio-org.

Here's why to get involved with ham radio, and how

[John Goerzen]

I've seen a lot of comments here ask "why bother, given the Internet?" That attitude kept me away from ham radio for years, too. I wrote up a bit about what changed my mind:

http://wiki.complete.org/WhyAmateurRadio

And here's a page with some information on how to get started:

http://wiki.complete.org/GettingStartedWithAmateurRadio

I also recommend some books and exam practice sites on that page.

Incidentally, another aspect of amateur radio is packet radio - AX.25, which is a networking protocol similar to, but distinct from, the TCP/IP stack. Guess which OS has the best support built into the kernel? I've had a lot of fun with packet, both in its traditional and APRS (positioning beacons) forms.

http://wiki.complete.org/PacketRadio

706mkiig vs 897d: 706mkiig loses for backpacking..

[rwade]

The Icom 706 Mk II G is a decent mobile with much better DSP. You just need a PhD to be able to figure out how to operate it.

Interesting point. There are indeed complaints about the sound quality of the FT-897D; personally, I think it sounds great.

I'll concede that the 706mkiig is potentially the single most popular HF/VHF/UHF all-mode radio. It got that way for being a very solid performer both mobile (in a car) and sitting on your desk. If I were to install a transceiver in my car, the 706mkiig is the one I'd go with.

However, there are hams that have studied the relative power usage of the 706mkiig and the FT-897 and found that the 706mkiig tends to suck down quite a bit of power even while only receiving, making it a poor candidate for portable (extra-vehicular, shall we say?) activity, such as mountain topping:

The FT-897 can be configured to use minimal current on RX by turning the dial light to automatic, and disabling the DSP. Using headphones helps as well. In this mode, you can get down to 550-600mA, which is much lower than counterparts like the IC-706. In fact, other than the dedicated manpacks like the F-817, VX-1210 and military equivilants, only a few rigs like the Elecraft are more frugal.

Just looking at the specifications for the FT-897D and for the IC-706mkiig:

FT-897D:

Squelched: 600 mA (Approx.)
Receive: 1 A

IC-706MKIIG:

Rx Standby: 1.8A
Max Audio: 2.0 A

I don't know what the OP means by mountain topping -- does he mean he's going to drive his truck to a mountain top and transmit from there or does he mean to toss everything he needs in a backpack and hoof it to a high point? The radio he chooses depends on that distinction. If he's backpacking, I would say the FT-897d is the best choice of the two.

re: computers not interesting anymore?

[King_TJ]

I only partially agree.

Yes, computers have reached a level of maturity today, to where they're taken for granted. It feels like everyone owns one (or more), and they don't make for a really interesting hobby anymore, in and of themselves.

But that can just as easily lead a person to broadening their horizons in a computer-centric way as it could lead a person away from computing. For example, 3D printing is still in its infancy. A computer system is at the heart of such a thing, but the real challenges lie in improving the machine that does the printing and experimenting with different materials as the "ink". I don't think too many people would get into creating their own 3 dimensional components or works if they weren't already into computers, though. By extension, the 3D printing interest also leads to exploration in the idea of replication .... building systems that can build more of themselves.

There are also plenty of avenues to explore related to expanding communications with computers. For example, some people have modified off-the-shelf wireless routers or access points, attaching them to the old 8 foot diameter satellite dishes as antennas, and successfully created wireless networks spanning many miles. Others with common interests of computers and music are working with software allowing real-time collaboration on recording projects via broadband connections.

We're past the stage where it's especially exciting to assemble one's own PC from parts (although that's still a lot of fun for some people who haven't ever tried it yet) -- but the trick is in expanding what can be done using the computer as the base or core of the project.

I'd say one of the reasons those other hobbies died off in the 80's was due to paranoia and govt. interference. In the state of Texas, last I checked, you have to obtain a govt. license just to legally own the pyrex GLASSWARE for chemistry experiments! Model rocketry could get you accused of being a terrorist these days

Some of the other things? Well, they just evolved and became extensions of computer tech. Stage lighting for example? Last I looked it it, the "state of the art" was mainly about glorified DLP projectors in motorized housings that projected whatever you created on a computer to the stage floor. Very cool effects too -- but turns the whole thing back over to essentially designing computer graphics.

here's ONE thing it has to offer

[Anonymous Coward]

yah, i have a cellphone in one pocket, and a dual-band HT (walkie-talkie to the uninformed) which is about the same size, in the other. when my cellphone towers go down, and YES they do! my HT and the local repeaters have still worked, and even if the repeaters don't work, i can communicate HT to HT. who do you think they call on when nobody else has communications? the ham radio clubs. i've been there and done that. i'm on the first responders list for local crisis, we have a 20 foot communications trailer with a slew of hardware and generators that will save YOUR butt in emergencies. and most of this is paid for by the guys in the club.

so when ATT and VERIZON are failing you, WE, the HAM RADIO guys are there to help! give us some respect!

Re:706mkiig vs 897d: 706mkiig loses for backpackin

[Abalamahalamatandra]

Backpacking, definitely. There's a program called Summits On The Air (SOTA) where people hike up hills or mountains to activate them for contacts. Living in Colorado, there are plenty of those around! I figure it's good exercise and also allows me to play with things like portable/emergency operation, solar charging, mobile antennas, you name it, and get some exercise too which I very much need!

Anyway, thanks for the tips, all - I should have thrown the 897 in there along with the other two, as it does look nice and I have always liked Yaesu hardware. I'll likely start with an 897 and then consider adding an 817 at some point.

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[Anonymous Coward]

for under $100 you can be on the air with a great used radio

Hal w4hal

We're All Getting Ready For The Revolution

[Anonymous Coward]

We're All Getting Ready For The Revolution

Antennas Above Treeline

[rwade]

Backpacking, definitely. There's a program called Summits On The Air (SOTA) where people hike up hills or mountains to activate them for contacts. Living in Colorado, there are plenty of those around! I figure it's good exercise and also allows me to play with things like portable/emergency operation, solar charging, mobile antennas, you name it, and get some exercise too which I very much need!

SOTA looks to be a very active organization -- in Europe. When you read forum posts from those involved in SOTA, you will find that the challenges of activating a peek in Europe differ greatly from operating from peaks in Colorado or elsewhere in the western US. For example, how are you going to mount a dipole above treeline? There's no trees from which to hang it.

However, for a dipole, you want it to be a half-wavelength above the ground. For the 20-meter band, you're looking at an antenna resonant on 20 meters when 32 feet long and operating 32 fee above the ground. How do you do that above treeline with something one or two people can carry in backpacks?

For 10 meters, mounting a dipole with two collapsible 15 foot fishing poles is popular and doable -- for 20 meters, I'm not so sure of the solution.

Anyway -- a lot of things to overcome. But this is the beauty of ham radio -- just hard enough to challenge you but not opaque enough to frustrate you. Would love to keep in touch with you about this if you would be willing to share your e-mail address.

Re:Antennas Above Treeline

[epee1221]

For the 20-meter band, you're looking at an antenna resonant on 20 meters when 32 feet long and operating 32 fee above the ground.

Or you give up on having the perfect antenna and work with one placed lower than you'd like (this is how I've been operating at home).

not everybody is on the air

[Anonymous Coward]

many, many have accounts on hamsphere.com
(SW bands internet two way comunication system)

817NDv897D

[rwade]

I am kind of fond of my 817ND. It isn't necessarily the wattage you put out, but how good is your antenna. I also have a 897 and I get a bigger kick out of using my 817. Making contacts over 2000 miles away on 5 watts and a EF-10/20/40 antenna is kind of fun, especially when the DX contact picks your QRP call out of the pile-up.....

You make a fair point -- it is extremely satisfying to make contacts at 5 watts. If I were to be it another way, I would say that the FT-897D will go as low as 5 watts if you want it to, so you're not giving up the ability to go QRP with the 897D. On the used market, the 817ND retains its value unusually well -- I have found that the price difference between the FT-897D and the FT-817 to be around $150.

I would submit that the value of having a radio that can do both QRP and high-power is worth more than $150 -- the FT-897D strikes a better balance between base station power and portability than the FT-817ND.

Emergency comms with limited power

[rwade]

The Hams won't be the ones in the dark when infrastructure breaks down. They don;t need no (communications) infrastructure.

Not too long ago, there was a city-wide blackout here in town (in the United States). Once I made it the 3 miles home from work after an hour of fighting traffic, I found some D-batteries and and tuned up the only local station I could find that was on the air -- it was an AM station that is designated by the US Government as the county's station for emergency information in the event of nuclear catastrophe and the only station equipped with a generator and enough fuel to sail a fully-laden container ship to the moon. You would not believe the misinformation and the lack of information.

For hours, and hours, and hours -- there was no information whatsoever from the power company on why this power outage occurred and when it would be fixed. There was even misinformation -- someone claimed on the air that someone heard an explosion at a geothermal power plant that supplies some power to the city -- turned out to be untrue and stoked concerns of terrorism in those that heard it.

The very week after, I picked up a radio and finally put my license to use. Wish I had done it earlier -- would have been very nice to be able to chat with folks around the county on what was happening in their neck of the woods and what they heard. Some of the repeaters are battery or generator powered. I probably could have taken my handheld transceiver to a tall point in the neighborhood and done simplex on 5 watts 30 miles away.

Re: no-encryption limitation

[nullchar]

How does the FFC enforce the no-encryption limitation for payload of the packet data?

If I broadcast with a friend a few miles away and setup an IP tunnel, how do they enforce encapsulation? (What if the friend sends an https request?)

Re:Computers aren't interesting anymore -- finally

[John Goerzen]

I remember the days as a child playing with my electronics project kit from RadioShack. It seemed that it could do everything - burglar alarms, sirens, even simple radios. Even let you accidentally wire things up in a short and cause some batteries to burst...

It's been interesting to watch RadioShack. They morphed from the good place to get connectors, resistors, and fun things into a run of the mill phone and TV shop. Or did they?

Wired ran an interesting article called The Lost Tribes of RadioShack talking about a potential revival of the maker hobbies. I blogged about it too (Once, We Were Makers). There is one local franchise RadioShack that has a huge amateur section in the back, complete with cable by the foot, antennas, hams on staff, amazing service, etc.

What I'm trying to say is: You're exactly right. I used to love to tinker. I thought I didn't anymore, outside of programming. I learned last year, when I got my ham radio license, that I was wrong. Amateur radio is just Open Source in hardware.

There is no accomplishment in being in Kansas and talking to someone in Japan via the Internet or telephone. I'm sure I do this without even realizing it frequently. How about doing the same using only a $7 antenna and no third-party infrastructure at all? No satellites, no buried cables, no telephone or cable companies -- just my rig and the one in Japan?

I realize it's not at all unique to be able to do this among the amateur radio crowd, but it still gives me a thrill. I love it.

a few points to consider

[rnd()]

I've been a ham since I was 12 (in 1989) and got seriously sidetracked with writing code over the past 12 years or so. It's been absolutely *amazing*.

However lately I set up my old station again, upgraded to a new Elecraft K3 transceiver, and have been having a blast. The Elecraft K3 has the best receiver ever tested by most of the labs that have run tests on it. It's an ingenious hybrid of analog and digital circuitry, created by a company in Aptos California. Until recently most of the highly desirable gear was from Japanese manufacturers, and with all the advantages in manufacturing that exist in Asia, I thought it unlikely that US firms would be able to continue to compete. But Elecraft has done a remarkable job.

Getting on the air again after about a decade off the air, I've noticed that CW (morse code) is more popular than ever. And better receiver tech has made it even more effective than it was in the past. Much of the equipment used by hams today has DSP, and for the first time I'm seriously considering getting into low power (QRP) operation just b/c of this. Finally, probably thanks to the removal of the requirement, morse code is appreciated as a fun activity.

Some fun things to do: HF Contesting is my favorite, particularly on CW (morse). Much like meditation, it clears the mind of distractions and I come away from it feeling refreshed and exhilarated. And CW is quite musical compared to RTTY which I find fatiguing to hear -- even though the computer is doing the "work" of decoding it, some audio is needed to help zero beat signals.

I've noticed that there has been a big movement toward scientific thinking about radio performance and antenna performance. Antennas and propagation are full of mystery, but they are ultimately constrained by the laws of nature, and hams are doing away with superstition and using antenna modeling software and the scientific method to create very cool designs, particularly with under-appreciated low-loss feedlines.

There is a young ham radio superstar, callsign NO3M who has destroyed the competition in some of the most hard core CW contests. This guy apparently races motorcycles as well. Highly impressive. This guy is the DHH of ham radio.

I think that among the type of people who love building things, who love understanding things, tinkering, etc., ham radio will always have an appeal. Worldwide hams are extremely nice and friendly people, who are always willing to help someone new. Sure there are a few kooks on 75m but I think 75m can safely be ignored except during (and immediately after) contests ;) The rest is pure awesome.

Re:Computers aren't interesting anymore -- finally

[Anonymous Coward]

Same.

My day job I am a Bearded Unix Guru Systems Admin Level 60.

I LOVE HAM RADIO because its a "technical hobby", but not computers per say. There are lots of computer stuff involved with packet radio, digital modes, etc..and I do quite a bit of that, but I also love building kits with the soldering iron, testing them with the meters and oscope, and getting them on the air.

Hell, I even have to use quite a bit of MATH in Ham Radio...imagine that.

The world of ham radio is nearly ENDLESS in variety of things you can get into that are highly technical, from isonspheric propagation and solar forecasting, radio design and building, antenna design, modeling, and building, worldwide communications and chasing all the countries, RadioSports(contesting), emergency communications, volunteering with the local club to help provide communications and coordinations with the local bike race, using Aruino's to build antenna tracking systems to communicate with satellites and the ISS Space Station, to very long range Wifi networks, to being able to send email from any spot on the planet without a single wire connected to anything....its basically a huge wide open technical hobby and totally different than programming, systems, network, or database administration, etc.

most 5 year olds can -

[Anonymous Coward]

use a computer these days. my neice is that age and i'm quite proud of the way she gets around on it and is quite adept with the area of the internet she's allowed to operate in. amateur radio gives those of us that are bored with computer and internet, an outlet.

i got into computers at an early age back in the 80's when hacking hardware and writing code were fun because there wasn't anywhere to get it. we homebrewed our own. the past 15 years, its been, why bother, there's freeware already for that function, or if i want to spend a few $, its available commercially. if i tried, i could probably come up with a commercially produced one free, even.

in ham radio though, there are so many different avenues of adventure and experimentation for all different levels, from beginning projects of building antennas and simple crystal receivers to the super advanced tranceivers and amplifiers i see in the ARRL magazines. there just isn't that available in cellphone or computers anymore. i will say though, i am somewhat interested in the application market for cellphone.

those of you that are displaying sour grapes because of the treatment you received as a no-code licensee, those of us that came into ham radio in the 80's when the first round of license easements were made received the same cold shoulder from many old timers, but we didn't pack up and go home, we ignored it and made ourselves useful. now, some of those old timers are my best friends.

its fun, its challenging, and it doesn't cost a lot. i just purchased a dual band hand held radio that i can use with satellite communications for less than $100! that's about what we pay for a month of cellphone use!

Re: no-encryption limitation

[fsckmnky]

If you comply with standard, regular, unlicensed wi-fi power levels, you're fine, encrypt all you want.

If you get a HAM license, and operate the overlapped channels at boosted power levels ( up to 5 watts I think, maybe more ) and the payload data is encrypted, you are breaking the law.

I suspect nothing will happen until, you get reported, or you cause interference, at which point, the white van can come out, monitor your signal, use protocol analyzers to collect data and document that you are violating FCC regulations, then call the police / seize your gear / fine you / sue you / revoke your license, and whatever bad stuff happens.

Re: no-encryption limitation

[fsckmnky]

I should also mention, there is another small caveat. Pornography / obscene content is also not allowed. Should you operate wi-fi under HAM license / power levels, and not encrypt it, then pretty much anyone can use it, and if they download pr0n, there is another law you just violated.

The Osmosis Effect can help "appliance operators"

[Anonymous Coward]

So, it's been said (above & elsewhere) that "most" Radio Hams are "appliance operators"... and that could be true.

Consider, however, that - when one is around designers / makers / builders (eg, those more technically inclined Hams),
one has much more chance of - someday - trying to make a station component or accessory, for oneself.

Compare the chances of doing that when one is in a group of CBers...

Also, consider that - whether a Ham is an "appliance operator" or a "designer / builder / maker" - if there is need
to replace communications knocked-out by flood or other disaster, with more gear & operators to hand,
there is a greater chance that more replacement comms links will be forged, when needed most, ie,
soon after the normal communications systems fall-over.

Either way, Amateur Radio is a Win-Win hobby, both for the Ham & for the Community, as well.

So, next time you see a Ham Radio antenna going up nearby (even next door), maybe think:
"Gee, it's good to know that we have another technically capable person nearby."

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[Anonymous Coward]

I like how they call it "working".

Re:The Osmosis Effect can help "appliance operator

[Genda]

Thank you... there are tons of ham nerds out there and the they are rightfully proud of their work. Learning about the fundaments of a tank circuit or how superhet functions is just way cool. Getting the finer points of propagation nailed down and creating cool antennas rocks! Building your own equipment is just the best, once you've got the smell of burning rosin flux in your nose and your blood you're hooked for life.

There's just something romantic about DXing and whoopie with the Solar Max coming the 10 meter band should be hopping like jumping beans in a skillet!!!

I'm a Ham I am and I like green eggs and spam!!! Whoohoooo!!!!

increasing RATE

[Anonymous Coward]

intuitively I figured the number of licensees would be higher but would be lower when compared the US total population.

But I am wrong. From one per thousand in 1970, to 2.4 per thousand this year, ham radio is more popular than ever.

here's a chart, hope it is readable:

date # licensed date US census hams/population
Dec-71 285,000 1970 203,211,926 0.001402477
Dec-81 433,000 1980 226,545,805 0.001911313
Dec-91 494,000 1990 248,709,873 0.00198625
Dec-01 683,000 2000 281,421,906 0.002426961
Sep-11 700,221 2010 308,745,538 0.002267955

Just got my license a year ago

[caseih]

I got it for mainly two reasons. One is emergency preparedness, and the other is because it benefits me in the field of RC airplanes, and legalizes higher power levels for amateur video transmissions from my airplanes. A lot of people I know got their license for similar reasons.

hold and modify radio?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hold and modify radio?

Mod parent up!

[Anonymous Coward]

All of the geeks at work have at least given a listen to HAM Nation. A few of us subscribe. A couple are studying for the Technician's. All because of the show. (This pleases and annoys the gal in I.T. who's had call sign tags on her car for years. ;)

G'day from VK

[brindafella]

Okay, I confess, I'm from VK (that's International Telecommunications Union and hence Amateur Radio license-area speak for Australia). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITU_prefix_-_amateur_and_experimental_stations/

My signature block has said this, subtly, for some years.

Well done, the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) http://www.wia.org.au/, the earliest-established Amateur Radio national organisation in the world, now in its 101st year.

And, where I am, the local radio club is 'bursting' with new folk, doing the Australian Foundation License http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/about/ and then having loads of fun on-air and in the many activities that are out there for Amateurs.

ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFETS

[Anonymous Coward]

have you ever noticed how fat hams are? The bathrooms at the annual hamvention in dayton are renowned for being the most disgusting place on earth. Earlier this year they literally destroyed the sewage system with their overindulgent feces. pictures here: http://www.hamsexy.com/cms/?p=1081

WX

[Anonymous Coward]

That's over 700,000 people with nothing better to talk about than the weather.

Ham radio is alive and well

[Cherubim1]

Ham radio is getting more popular because people are attracted to the idea of building their own gear and communicating with others in regions of the world that are totally inaccessible by internet or phone. In addition, the cost of Ham gear has fallen dramatically thanks to the chinese who now mass produce a range of reasonable quality ham rigs (companies such as Wouxun, Puxing, Quansheng are the big ones).

Am I missing something?

[tehcyder]

What exactly is the point of ham radio? Is it all part of the romantic yearning of many Americans for the post apocalyptic scenario of small bands of plucky survivors communicating across vast distances following a zombie plauge?

Otherwise, why not just use Facebook (or IRC) to communicate like everyone else?

Re:706mkiig vs 897d: 706mkiig loses for backpackin

[Anonymous Coward]

I've had a 706 in my car for 7-8 years, and just bought an 897 this summer for portable use ( see http://www.duke.edu/~kuzen001/lawnmower.htm ). My opinion is the the 897 has better DSP, and is a bit easier to use. I wouldn't want to use it mobile--too bulky, compared to the 706 with a separated faceplate. But both of them are great radios for what they are--I *really* like the 897. It's like the HF version of a Swiss Army knife, and it's a world of fun to use. 73! --ken ac4rd@yahoo.com

Re:I Are One: KK4ETS

[badkarmadayaccount]

Are unlicensed users allowed to use their own equipment on walkie-talkie frequencies? What are the restrictions? What sort of bandwidth do you get with multi $100 equipment? I'm talking about the bands around 450-500 MHz (what was it in USA, FSR?).