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Happy World Amateur Radio Day

Posted by samzenpus on from the what's-your-handle? dept.

An anonymous reader writes "There are over 700,000 ham radio licensees in the USA and about 2 ½ million worldwide. Today, this international community of wireless communications devotees are celebrating World Amateur Radio Day, recalling the advances Amateur Radio Service has made for modern man. Their theme for 2012 is Amateur Radio Satellites: Celebrating 50 Years in Space in remembrance of the launch of the first Amateur Radio satellites OSCAR 1 on December 12, 1961 and the launch of OSCAR 2 on June 2, 1962. Their ranks have included people like Steve Wozniak of Apple and Jack Kilby who invented the integrated circuit, Dr. Karl William Edmark who invented the heart defibrillator, Scott Durchslag, the Chief Operating Officer at Skype, and Dr. John Grunsfeld of NASA and the Hubble Space Telescope. This is the 87th anniversary of the foundation."

14 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Ah Ham by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    I was a ham until the fateful day when I discovered the internet~

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  2. Amateur Radio keeps getting better! by r_pattonII · · Score: 5, Informative

    Amateur Radio has evolved greatly since the early days of having huge receivers and transmitters. Today we have so many different modes - CW, PSK31, APRS, SSB, etc on many different bands with just a transceiver. We can even do satellites and even low power (QRP) operations with a transmitter as small as a tuna can! The best part is meeting people all over the world who share this great hobby. I am excited to see where it goes from here and the technologies it will bring for the future from the individual who has a "homebrew" project to the commercial radio manufacturers and other companies who provide us the "candy" we love to play with!

    1. Re:Amateur Radio keeps getting better! by Gordonjcp · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You didn't mention software-defined radio, where some of the most exciting developments are happening ;-)

    2. Re:Amateur Radio keeps getting better! by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

      Google "rtl sdr" for info about the $20 USB dongles that can tune anything from 64Mhz to 1.6Ghz.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    3. Re:Amateur Radio keeps getting better! by mgscheue · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I absolutely agree. And don't forget JT-65, which is an absolutely amazing mode for pulling extremely weak signals out of noise. It's in many ways the ultimate geeky hobby and there are so many ways to be involved. I wish I had gotten started years ago.

    4. Re:Amateur Radio keeps getting better! by StatureOfLiberty · · Score: 4, Informative

      Software defined radios digitally sample incoming signals. They then process those signals via software algorithms rather than electronic circuitry. Some radios can actually sample huge regions of the radio frequency spectrum (one amateur radio receiver I am aware of can watch a 60 MHz spectrum). They can actually decode many signals at the same time. So, for example, you could be decoding and watching hundreds of CW conversations (morse code) happening across the spectrum at the same time.

      All the hardware has to do is digitize the radio spectrum being sampled. All of the remaining processing can be changed by replacing software. Previously, changing the processing of the signals meant replacing or adding electronic circuits.

      The algorithms are quite sophisticated. Signals can be isolated for better reception or fairly easily excluded in the case of interference. This has resulted in a tremendous improvement in radio receivers especially in recent years. Neat stuff.

  3. New Tradition by wjcofkc · · Score: 2

    Today should be celebrated by eating ham for dinner.

    --
    Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
  4. Re:Motivational! by hawguy · · Score: 2

    It has been on my geek “bucket list” for many years to get my license. This story and a recent job change are just the motivation I needed to finally do it.

    Now that the there's no Morse requirement, getting a tech license is trivial - any geek can do it with a couple hours glancing over a study guide. Most of the "technical" questions are common sense to anyone with a bit of electrical knowledge, so you just have to familiarize yourself with things that need to be memorized like license restrictions, power limits on various bands, etc.

  5. Restricted by TheNinjaroach · · Score: 2

    Amateur radio seems to be overly restricted in the States. I have little interest trying to participate in a P2P communication system where encryption is explicitly forbidden. Also, the fact my country would prosecute me for communicating internationally with someone who lives under a repressive regime seems totally bogus.

    --
    I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
    1. Re:Restricted by Obfuscant · · Score: 2

      If you're worried about privacy, with packet you can encrypt the data payload itself so long as the headers are not obfuscated and the transmission is properly identified.

      Incorrect. Any use of ciphers or codes to obscure the meaning is prohibited, with the limited exception of control signals for space stations (47CFR97.113(a)(4)). That includes the bodies of packets sent via packet radio. That's the US law, perhaps you are referring to a different country?

      Current software in common use compresses the bodies of email messages sent via packet and pactor systems, but software can be used to decompress the messages and is thus not considered encryption.

    2. Re:Restricted by k6mfw · · Score: 2

      Incorrect. Any use of ciphers or codes to obscure the meaning is prohibited, ...

      There was a forum discussion which someone complained, "so what if I want to talk like a CBer on ham radio? As long as I'm licensed and mention my callsign every 10 min, end of transmission, bla-bla, I can talk in whatever style I want!" However, someone gave example: "That's a big ten-four good buddy and I sure do appreciate that there smokey report on the five oh niner. Well, I'll catch you on the flipper flopper!"
      Bzzzzztttt. FCC Part 97 prohibits codes and ciphers used to obscure communications.

      --
      mfwright@batnet.com
  6. Re:Like BBSes - the range is too short by hawguy · · Score: 2

    I quit BBSes because they only had a range of ~100 miles (the local area code). I was involved in HAM for a while but quit for the same reason. Nowadays with the internet my voice or text can reach the whole world.

    Well your voice or text can reach the whole world that's not blocked by their country's (or your own) firewall.

    But, living in earthquake country, I became a ham so my voice can be heard even if local communications infrastructure has been destroyed. And through ARES, I can help others.

  7. Re:Like BBSes - the range is too short by N7DR · · Score: 2

    I quit BBSes because they only had a range of ~100 miles (the local area code). I was involved in HAM for a while but quit for the same reason..

    Huh? I have made two contacts today using amaterur radio. Both were with people well over 5,000 miles away.

  8. Re:Motivational! by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

    Thanks. I believe I heard that from Leo Laporte on TWiT as well. I'm going to do it! Now the bigger issue: Will my wife kill me if I buy a nice ham rig? I do have a nice "man cave" in the basement with a spot for it :)

    Depends.

    A nice radio (used) can be around $1000-2000+. A nice HF rig can be $5000+. And don't forget the antenna farm you need, so if your wife cares about the backyard, it can be an issue.

    (If you have a PC, a fully kitted out Flex 5000 (HF+VHF/UHF, tuner, 2nd receiver) is only around $5000. But it's a completely SDR system so PC required).