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While the number of licensees has grown considerably over the years, we realize that these numbers include some who are no longer active in Amateur Radio.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While the number of licensees has grown considerably over the years, we realize that these numbers include some who are no longer active in Amateur Radio.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?

[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?

[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?

[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?

[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.

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

[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.

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.

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

[__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.

What's the attraction?

[walterbyrd]

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

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?

[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?

[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?

[atomicthumbs]

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

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?

[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?

[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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

[Anonymous Coward]

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

...

Nigel
K7NVH

...perhaps you're new here?

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.

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.

...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: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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:Overstated

[aunchaki]

My model trains may disagree with you!

Re:I am.

[nschubach]

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

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.

Re:Overstated

[nschubach]

Cool, talking trains! ;)

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: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: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: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).

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

[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!

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.

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?

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...

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.

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!

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: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: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!

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: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: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: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: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 :)

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

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.

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: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:I am.

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope you haven't been forgetting to vote.

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.)

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: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.