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FCC Relaxes Entrance To Ham Radio
Randy Rathbun writes "In a very bold (and IMHO, much needed) move, the FCC today released major changes to Part 97, which is the rules for the Amateur Radio Service. Among the changes are that there is only a 5 word per minute morse code exam from now on (getting rid of the 13 and 20 wpm exams), and reducing the number of license classes from six to three. The text of the changes can be read in this PDF document. You don't need to know morse code to get on the air on bands above 30 MHz, btw."
have a bewolf cluster linked by radio
Morse code has historically been the mode that was easiest to generate. All you need is a simple oscillator that you can switch on and off, and you can generate morse code. Up till the 70's this was by far the most popular mode for amateurs, and you would need the skills to participate. These days, in the commercial world morse code has gradually been replaced by modern technology. With the advent of GSM and such, there's little need to have morse skills anymore. The chance that you have a GSM phone around in times of trouble is a lot bigger than having a keyed transmitter. As such, morse code has become an artificial barrier to have people enter the amateur radio world. In my country (The Netherlands) we've had no-code licenses for years now, and it has helped to keep this hobby alive. There's a lot of old-timers who want to hang on to morse code as gating factor, but eventually it will be just another mode, like ATV, Packet, Fax, RTTY, AM/FM/SSB phone or whatever. My personal opinion is that this is a good move. Having morse code as a barrier is like having to know how to hand-cranck a car to get a drivers license... Happy 2000!! 73 de Rob PE1KOX
... but also a hazing ritual. Many of the hams who hold the higher-class licenses are older people with the attitude "If I had to do it, you've got to do it" with respect to learning the code. Those particular dogs have had their day, and it's good news that the requirement is being phased out.
The International Telecommunications Union treaty requires that amateurs on the HF (aka shortwave) bands demonstrate Morse proficiency, but this is a requirement dating back to the first international radio conferences in the earlier decades of the centry. In view of the phasing out of Morse communication in civilian and military services all over the world, the Morse code requirement for amateurs isn't expected to survive the next (2001) ITU conference.
So it is definitely a mode of communication that is on its way out, and most hams won't be especially sorry to see it go. That being said, many (including myself) still find Morse communication to be an enjoyable and relaxing aspect of the hobby. Use of Morse code won't disappear from the ham radio bands anytime soon, but hopefully the fact that it's a legal requirement will become history at the next ITU conference.
I am considering using HAM for a wireless connection between my palm pilot and my home computer. I've heard of people spending lots of money per month for internet access (emails/messages) through their Palm VII. Ham radio is free airtime. THough the download rates are much slower (1200 baud being common). Has anyone used HAM with their palm pilot? How about with PPP between their palm pilot and a linux box?
If you can read this post, it's because I'm using a home-built 10 GHz Amateur Radio microwave link to share my office's T-1 line via 10-megabit/s Ethernet. See http://www.qsl.net/ke5fx for details and schematics.
:-)
Some of us were never much into the whole Morse Code thing to begin with.
Amusingly, it looks like the free ham radio site QSL.NET has forgotten to pay their $35.00 to NSI. Just like Microsoft's passport.com domain, they have been hosed from my DNS server.
:-)
Will someone who still has www.qsl.net in their DNS cache please post its address here in dotted-quad form, so I can get to my own web site?
Unfortunately, the image that most people have, and is for 99% true is that hams are basically 50 year old guys discussing their health problems, and the weather.
In actual fact the Amateur Radio service is for experimentation and self education. How many other classes of radio license allow you to use no-type approved, home built gear? (See initial comment for % of hams that actually do this though).
Amateur Radio is not so much about being a being a communication medium (which it was in the days when an International phone call was a big deal and regularly talking to the other side of the world was pretty special) but about the ability to experiment. Hi speed wireless comms anyone, how about some LEO comms sattelites, a TV station - if its RF you can probably do it.
And of course if you dont want to listen to squeaky, castrato voices you can always go for that 5WPM morse!
(Of course any morse requirement is pretty stupid these days - my personal view is that they shoud drop the Morse requirement and up the tech requrements, the FCC seems to just about give away licenses from what I can tell)
VK3KRI
whoopee! Now all those old people with RV's and Amatuer radio antennae's in the back yard will find it easier to get liscensed and talk to each other as they grow old, get senile and die! The rest of us can just set up a shoutcast sever! Screw radio, we have the net, dammit!
Remember that one of the major things that has allowed the amateur radio community to survive amongst international politics is its willingness and ability to provide critical communications in crisis situations when other forms of communications are not generally available.
Although there is a bit of a hazing ritual to it, it is mostly a practical concern. A sideband conversation on 40 meters from the usa to, say, malaysia is not likely to remain reliable and viable for extended periods of time. Scheduled contacts may not be possible due to ionospheric conditions that vary by the hour, and interference from other stations either intentionally or unintentionally. Code cuts through all of that. When your sideband voice contact fades, you can maintain effective contact via CW for an almost unlimited time, and your CW can cut through most any interference. I've had cause to switch to code in the past, and cause to locate scheduled contacts by code if sideband didnt work.
All of that aside, it is true that you can achieve the same advantages of old-fashioned CW by hand if you have a good multimode terminal node controller hooked to your HF radio that can send and receive perfect code for you at 60 wpm. Of course, such sending and (especially) receiving technology is not readily available to all people in all circumstances.
Anyway, code has its place, and its purpose.
- right - so stop moderating down all the funny / irreverent / more important posts. If your so keen on Radios what are you doing on Slashdot anyway!!!
Try PSK31, for instance. Relatively simple hardware and software, and it works with any SSB rig. You can make contact with people you literally can't even hear.
One of the major justifications for CW vis-a-vis emergency service was that hams could use it to communicate with other services if need be. The military could use CW to order a channel cleared, and ship-to-shore operators were guaranteed to be equipped to send and receive it for distress-signal purposes. Neither of these is true anymore. You can send CW until you're blue in the face, but you won't be interoperable with any military or civilian authorities except maybe the CIA.
My understanding is that if you're a pre-1987 Technician (i.e., you passed the Novice CW and General written exams) you only need to supply some form of documentation to the FCC to get your General after April 15. I could be wrong, check with the ARRL to be sure.
No, you don't have to re-test... just file a form 610 with the FCC. I was able to do this on the fcc.gov web site a couple of years ago, so I assume it's still supported.
Sure thing, try www.veron.nl They have a large english language section which includes description of licensing requirements. Welcome to Holland! Rob PE1KOX
Makes me think it was a routing problem and not a DNS issue after all. I only paid their bill about half an hour ago, and I've always heard that DNS propagation can take hours or even days.
Maybe correlation doesn't imply causation, but I was glad to pay their $35 bill anyway. QSL.NET provides a pretty useful service, and you can't complain about the price.
well. It's more or less ipossibale to jam morse and you can bulid morse very small.
- so how else do people from the U.K. get to interact with people in the U.S.A. in almost real-time conditions - the Net. The Electromagnetic Spectrum is fininte in the number of frequencies it can allocate, not to mention atmospheric effects etc. etc. I think the Net is the future. Not least because data / information transfer can happen asynchronously (e.g. web servers / e-mail / ftp etc.).
It's always kind of a bummer to see people saying "who needs ham radio... I'm on the net!" Amateur Radio is more than just listening to a bunch of old farts chew the fat on 20 sideband -- it's a way to get data to anyone, anywhere, without relying on the sometimes-delicate infrastructure that dominates the wired world. It's also a heck of a fun way to study, understand, and apply analog, digital, and RF electronics principles.
Sadly a lot of hams are satisfied with being nothing more than "appliance operators," content to buy a $1K Japanese rig, plug it in, and start yakking away. These are the hams who have to send their $1K Japanese rigs back to Japan to have a burned-out pilot light replaced. These are also the hams who are justified in asking themselves "why don't I just get on that Internet thing instead?"
Getting rid of the onerous high-speed Morse Code examinations associated with the more privileged license classes is, IMHO, a big step forward in moving the aforementioned types out of the hobby and moving new, technically-adept people into it. Out with the old (not necessarily chronologically speaking!), in with the new.
The debate will rage and rage. As long as nobody STOPS me from using CW (morse) then I don't really care. The issue of competency to use the airwaves and CW have become intertwined (very wrongly in my opinion). I feel very strongly that a proficiency test is necessary, indeed that it is vital before someone is let loose on the airwaves. The point is that competency test should not include a particular mode if the testee is not interested in that mode. If someone wants to use CW then sure test them in their competency on CW otherwise don't cause them un-necessary grief :o) Templar Knight (EI4HQ)
...of y2k ./ staff, lookup the IP to verify...
I'll go hit up some websites see what I can find. Always wanted to learn morse code.
I agree 100% about the content, except that you are too generous. Most are 70+ (were radio operators during "The Big One") and all they talk about are their damn antennas and how much power their LA's are putting out.
... boring.
My dad became a ham in 1949. He was gung-ho. While traveling a few years ago, he ran across some roadside emergency, so he got out his repeater directory and looked up the local 2m repeater. He tried to get one of the people that was on to call him back for an *emergency*, but they were too busy with their private party line to bother (and yes he knew the subtone and could tell that he was raising the repeater). So, he said screw it and bought a cell phone and uses the net now.
I've had my license (this stretch) for exactly 10 years (got it 1/1/90) and haven't operated since 1992. Can't get excited about 1200bps communication when I have DSL on my computer, and unless I put up a tower, none of the line-of-sight frequencies will help. So, ham radio is still
My $.02
I found that CHICKEN works better than HAM with the palm pilot... but then my winCE device preferred VEAL. everytime I used HAM they keys would get sticky... it may be due to the fact I used a HONEY BAKED HAM but never the less... it didnt work well. HAM doesnt get that fast of a baud rate... I was only able to get maybe 200-300 Bacon strips per second (bps) and the CHICKEN didnt fly either... so I am going to try PIGEON next... so please dont use HAM.
It wasn't difficult at all, it's pretty easy actually.
The Tech Plus HF privileges are those frequencies above 30 Mhz.
Sorry, you still need to do some work.
Sorry, byt morse code is dead Dead DEAD. You might as well require CS majors to learn how vacuum tubes (valves, to you Brits) work.
The Coast Guard, yes, the Navy, no. The Navy still uses CW to communicate with submarines as the only radio waves that will reach down through miles of conductive ocean salt water are very very very very low frequencies. We're talking 27 cycles. Not megacycles, not kilocycles, just plain cycles. Far too low a freq to modulate a 3KHz voice signal onto. If you can think of a better way to communicate directly with a sub from land, I'd like to hear it.
http://www.435.org
Much of the above is true. However, the true spirit of HAM opearator was never doing because there was a necessity. I don't think so anyway. Yes, that was a side bar. We help in hurricanes, marathons, bike rallies, etc. But the real joy of HAM radio is playing with power supplies, using a SWR meter to test the antenna you just built, competing to see who can find the transmitter in a fox hunt, seeing how far you can go with 5 watts of power. To me, that seems pretty similar to building a box, upgrading it continually, playing with jumpers, etc. A HAM because I like knowing how things work, and using that knowledge; not because I cant buy a cell phone. Just like I build machine because I want the control, not because I can't go buy a packard smell. Besides for those of you who don't know...cell phones are nothing but commercially brokered HAM radio--seriously, check the specs. Anyway, it is a great hobby. I am sad to see so few geeks understand it. Please check it out. It is quite a rush when the weather is right, tropospheric ducting occurs, and I can talk to someone in Houston (7 hours away) on 10 watts. I am a 20 yr college student with a No-code tech. I love the net, but that does not in any way eliminate my interest in HAM. I think this is a good move by the FCC. I hope it helps keep the hobby alive. KEEP THE FAITH. KC5TDW
I agee entirely. The FCC should just do away with the Amateur Radio Service and reallocate that spectrum.
I also had to walk to school in 6 feet of snow - in July - with no shoes on - on dirt roads - uphill - both ways!
We whupped Hitler, Toe-Joe and Moosoleenee using Morse Code! If Morse Code was good enough for my grandad, it's good enough for you spoiled-rotten young whipper-snappers who don't appreciate the value of a good regenerative receiver.
It's the end of Amateur Radio as we knew it, by golly! The Old Man himself (ARRL Founder H.P. Maxim) is spinning in his grave! An attack of the Wouff-Hong to all at the Friendly Candy Company!
{End of Old-Geezer rant mode} {8=)
Seriously, though, the code-flame-wars sound just like the Linux CLI vs GUI flame-wars of today, don't they?
W9XXX W9XXX W9XXX from K8XYZ K8XYZ K8XYZ. Ok, Sam, fine business on your XYL's arthritis. And fine business on your new Hoosits 3 element beam. And QSL the QRM and the QSB on your QRP signal. My QSK makes it easier to QRZ to catch the DX station in Bora Bora who will be on for 24 hours next week. And 73's from the XYL, Old Man.
etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum.
The code sent to subs is sent so slowly that the decoding is handled by machine. And are you sure it's sent in morse code?
I think you have it basicly correct. I suspect that the "additional privileges" are the basic novice/tech+ HF access. Presumably, the "new" general and extra access will be the same as general and extra are now.
As for "fixed station" vs. "handheld", the distinction does not exist in part 97. Any ham can use either one. The distinction is in what spectrum is available.
Well... I have a 9600 baud IP setup on 2m, sort of like ethernet with real ether. Unfortunately, ham radio won't help you with net access charges - someone still has to pay the freight - it will allow you to connect/talk with other hams though...
It's unfortunate that you listened to CB. It became a victim of the Second Law after the FCC stopped bothering to issue CB licenses. CB is not Ham radio. I would suggest that you take a listen to the ham bands and see what you find. While there are some jerks on, there are also a lot of interesting people. There is also a lot more room than just 40 channels.
I'm, working on a morse code user interface for linux. The primary application is for use by disabled persons, but the system should be useable by anyone who wants to operate their linux box with just one or two switches. Imagine a heads-up display with a two button interface. Wouldn't it be handy to still be able to enter text at a reasonable rate? http://pehr.net:8080/morseall pehr@pehr.net
Oh, right... correct. I have a cable modem at home. I can connect to my computer at home using Packet Radio... That is what I was referring too.
It will allow you to go wierless from your palm pilot to a linux computer, which is setup on a LAN connected to the internet. This allows you to use a program like lynx, pine for mail, and the like... to get internet access from anywhere..
I think you meant, "so slowly it could be done by ear". And I said CW, not morse code. The Navy usually isn't too keen on transmitting messages in the clear (which morse would be) that everyone could listen to. Subs are probably given a huge file of random data divided into blocks before they launch, which is then used to xor with the messages transmitted later for decoding.
Radio? Feh. We don't you techno city folk 'round these parts. We gots a system of yodeling when we needs ta gets a message across. Even relay yodeling when we really needs it fer the extra range. Radio's a fad. Ain't no good when the weather's bad. And when the 'nado is a comin' ta flip the trailers about, that's when you needs ta communicate. Radio failes when ya needs it the most. And stay off my land and away from the livestock and the silos. That's me wy2-too-kay keep... unless ya wanna argue with the 12-guage, boy.
...you should have no problem getting your code speed up to the point where you won't feel "inferior." All it will take is time, the same amount of time the OTs had to put in back in their day. It's all a matter of what you're interested in doing.
Someone else may be interested in nothing at all below 50 MHz... and it's not reasonable to put them through the Morse hoop, any more than it's reasonable to make YOU hand-calculate a 16-bit spread-spectrum maximal-length shift register sequence to get your ticket.
There is a document that used to be required reading if you wanted to have a Ham Radio license. It's entitled Part 95. I probably still have a copy around here somewhere. Near the very beginning are defined the purposes of the Amateur Radio Service. Try reading it some time. Then tell us how current use of the Amateur Radio spectrum matches-up with those. Then explain to us the justification for the continued existence of the frequency allocations, given that the Service largely no longer fulfills its mandates.
Vacuum tubes aren't dead. Sure if all you want to do is program then all you need to know is a C or java and some math. But I think most true nerds are interested in more than just programing (even if they are CS majors.) Tubes can easily handle high power signals that would quickly melt a transistor. They are used in radio stations and for sending telephone messages under the sea. Tubes are much faster than transistors. Only problem with tubes are that you can't integrate them into a chip -- at least not yet. They are working on integrated tubes.
Bad move....If this keeps up ham freqs will be another CB radio!!!!
"I for one will not slow down for a 5 wpm extra class operator in the extra class cw sub-bands" Brilliant. You're in violation of a gentleman's code that's almost as old as this century. Who's the lid? Look in the mirror.
It was incredibly difficult to get the first no-code license created 10 years ago. Emotions ran very high, and many are still debating the issue.
This is one of the rare cases where a federal regulatory agency is far more enlightened than those they regulate. The FCC's report and order clearly shows that the only reason they didn't get rid of the code test entirely was because of an archaic international treaty that requires it for frequencies below 30 Mhz. Hopefully that will also change soon.
Phil Karn, KA9Q
Ham radio has to go data to survive. Much like the ssb revolution of the 60s, many will opt out. That's okay. just don't begrudge us our fun.
The problem is fcc rules regarding encryption. I want to be able to do some internet work on this thing, but I don't want my laundry completely out in the public all the time. Yet, if we allow unrestricted crypto then the ham bands will be usurped by the telecom companies sending traffic they are paid for.
There has to be some middle ground, somewhere.
Phil Karn, KA9Q
Right. Much needed for the manufacturers of Ham Radio appliances and for the continued existence of the ARRL, perhaps. But certainly just the opposite of what was needed for the "health" of Ham Radio, IMO.
I recently allowed my license to simply expire. I just somehow never got around to renewing. I once was very active. I had an Advanced Class license. Obtained when one really had to work to get one. (I took my General and Advanced Class tests at the Federal Building in down-town Detroit. Administered by FCC personnel.) In the past: I was active in both CW and phone (that's Morse code and voice, for the non-Hams out there) on the low bands (translation: HF - those bands below 30MHz). I was also active in VHF (FM, SSB and packet) and UHF. Built my own antennas. Maintained my own gear. Built some of my own gear. Was actively involved in the Amateur Radio Public Service Corps in my county. Was once actively involved with what was once a major repeater group in my area. Hardly ever went anywhere without a rig close-at-hand.
What happened? In a word: disgust.
There has been a serious decline in the "quality" of the hobby. I mean a really serious decline. These days one finds more appliance-using "lids, kids and space-cadets" on Ham Radio that one does seriously interested, knowledgeable and talented Operators. It has become, IMO, little more than high-end (and I use the term loosely) CB radio.
I think the final straw was hearing something like the third horribly-bungled Skywarn weather net in a row--and hearing the net control operator receive compliments for it--that I finally just gave Ham Radio up as a lost cause.
Ham Radio "operators" like to laugh at "CB radio types" as clueless, redneck yahoos. Well y'all ought to take a look in the mirror some time. Here's how: turn the radios off for a couple of months and then turn them on again and just listen. Be prepared for a shock. Prior to Ham Radio I had been involved with organized volunteer public service CB radio groups. Their professionalism far and away exceeded what Ham Radio has devolved into today.
For those who might accuse me of being a quitter--who might ask "Why didn't you stick around and help the hobby?": I tried. I really, really tried. I tired of tilting against windmills. Just try to correct somebody's bad operating habits these days. Just try to explain to to one of the average current crop of Hams that "QSL" does not mean 10-4. (Or "right". Or "correct".) Just try to tell some Ham that trimming ones coax does not really improve VSWR. Or that they're over-modulated/over-deviated. Or that their transmit power far-and-away exceeds their receiver's capability. Try to explain to a "modern" Ham on a 2m repeater why listening for "breaks" is important. (Much-less finding someone on 2m or elsewhere that has a clue how to handle emergency traffic!) Or, conversely, why one shouldn't "break" into a conversation unless they either: 1) intend to participate or 2) have urgent traffic. Arrrrgggg.
FCC and ARRL keep pushing the entry barrier down and the hobby just keeps declining--both in "quality" and participation. Somehow it never seems to occur to these two that the effects just might be related. Well, in my case they most definitely were.
Bitter? You bet I'm bitter. Having witnessed what was once an enjoyable hobby, populated mostly by Hams I could honestly regard as peers and superiors, degrade to the wasteland it is today.
You can keep it.
No Morse code is needed, and in fact, Morse Code is no longer used on ships anymore, either.
ttyl
Farrell
CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
I got a tech plus (before the no-code tech) 10 years ago when i was 12 (it expires in 00) i was wonding if there is any way to renew it so that i can be upgraded to general? do i have to retake the test to renew my licence? it has been a while but i would like to keep it for, you know, emergencies.
http://notanumber.net/
Check out TAPR . Some people are even sending their email to their Palm Pilots this way.
KD5AMB
There are 10 type of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
Morse code is fun and people won't stop using it. But to have a test on copying Morse code by ear required to get any ham license that allows operation below 30 MHz in this day and age is rediculous. The average ham is older than 60, but ham radio should be a resource for young people to learn analog electronics, RF, wide-area networking, etc. I'm hoping that this change will start to address the age gap in ham radio, and I'll be working on a campaign to get young people into the hobby and on to our HF bands.
One of the best things about this decision is that it ends a very ugly acrimonious situation in ham radio that has persisted since 1990, when the no-code VHF license was introduced as the first foot in the door for modernization of ham radio. A lot of the older hams alienated the younger ones because they felt that no-coders weren't real hams. Now, those younger hams will have the same licenses as the older ones, and will be in their faces on the HF bands.
You can read more about this in my editorial The World's Most Silly Technology Law.
Bruce Perens K6BP
Bruce Perens.
I'm in the same situation... I never got my Extra class license, because when I could listen to Morse that fast I hadn't studied for the exam, and by the time I had studied I hadn't done Morse code for so long that I couldn't do it anymore.
:)
That was a while ago
It looks like I'm getting grandfathered in, but I might as well restudy for the Extra class.
(I've had a General class license for almost 6 years now)
I'm sorry. I'm all for bringing more people into the hobby, but this is a bad thing. As much fun as it is, and as much as you can do with it, the amateur radio service is still just that: a service. Emergency communications are always a priority, and, in many emergency situations, nothing but CW will work. I'd rather have someone who would not have learned CW but had to to get his license with me in a situation like that, than someone who wouldn't even have *been* a ham if it weren't for a reduced CW policy.
73 DE KE4JZN
Anyone notice a strange correlation between the coming of a day that many consider to be apocalyptic and/or provoking major crisis and the freeing up of the ham airwaves which have proven absolutely vital to maintaining communication and order, and even saving lives in some cases, in other major natural disasters? Perhaps the government knows something we don't? The truth is out there my friends ;)
--
I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
This provision will no doubt signal the beginning of the end of morse code (IIRC the only reason there's any requirement at all is because we have an international treaty requiring it), in the hands of an expert, morse code is totally amazing to watch. I've seen crusty old hammers with keyers (boxes with switiches that emits streams of dots or dashes when depressed) that can do morse faster than they can talk. It's really incredible to not even be able to discern between dots and dashes when these people are having entire conversations in them. Skilled morse oding seems to be destined to become a lost art along with blacksmithing, writing machine code, etc.
--
I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
As one aging elitist white guy to another -
;-)
"Your mother wears army boots!"
Seriously, someone makes reference later in the thread to the flame war that was fought in the usenet amateur radio groups beginning way over 10 years ago. Phil and I were two of the participants. The thing was that Phil won the arguement 10 years ago with the creation of the no-code Tech license. The folks on the amateur radio usenet groups just haven't figured that out yet? I stopped reading those probably around the time the internet got popular mostly for that reason!
Funny thing is that even one of the main reasons for getting rid of the code didn't account for the popularity of the net. Many folks believe(d) that getting rid of the code will save ham radio. I think it's probably too late! All of the "new blood" that would have come into the hobby traditionally are now yacking at each other on IRC over the net. The magic is gone.
As for some of the old, tired arguments that are being repeated here in defense of code. Guys - the war was over ALONG time ago. The latest step is just another nail in the coffin.
Perhaps the only way to recover ham radio is to create whole new technologies (or at least rapidly adopt them to our own uses...) that might capture the imagination of the younger set again. We need a new "killer ap" beyond DX and repeaters! Those are kind of warn out. Maybe we need the ability to do the internet over ham radio at high speeds? The problem with that is the content rules! (Did those get lightened up with the new order too??)
Whatever -
73 de Steve KA6S
Have you compiled your kernel today??
For the clueless moderator that put this to zero - This was GOOD advice. ARRL.org is the american national ham radio organization.
Sheesh!
Have you compiled your kernel today??
Ah - okay - but KA9Q isn't an AC to me ;-) I've been arguing/communicating with him for years ;-) Steve Ka6S
Have you compiled your kernel today??
...in the near future...
Wireless networking devices using HAM freq's become more popluar than CB's ever were. The Internet explodes and becomes really anarchistic. Advertising becomes the province of immensely powerful stations which hi-jack TCP connections to insert that awful little "dancing nude" anigif everywhere they can.
Spam radio...
...but I would guess that morse code was the very first digital communications system.
I guess it would depend on your definitions, but one could make the argument that DNA got there first.
Steve M
Like I said, there is room for interpretation based on definitions.
However, you certainly do not need two intelligent beings. Animals communicate all the time. Ants have very sophisticated communications systems.
Steve M
Some hams think that a morse code requirement keeps out the riff-raff (CB'ers and the like).
The validity of the morse code requirement is one of usenet's longest running flame wars on the amateur radio newsgroups.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
When I took the test for a Technician license, I had to pass a 5 WPM code test and the General written test. That is the same as the new requirements for the General license.
I've never bothered upgrading since I got a Technician license. I could easily pass the written test but I hate morse code. Now I might try for an Extra license.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Mostly two way, although there are some one way propagation beacons.
Is ham all private or is it also commercial?
Commercial traffic is prohibited.
Is ham radio sort of like a bbs type community?
There are bulletin boards that you can access via packet radio (radio modems).
Do you meet new people on ham radio or talk to ones you meat in real life?
You meet lots of new people, esp. on the HF (high frequency) bands.
What kind of transmit ranges are possible?
You can cover the Earth with an HF (3-30 MHz) radio. VHF and higher frequencies are generally limited to line-of-sight, just like broadcast FM radio. There are amateur satellites that can extend the range of VHF/UHF stations.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Because it is fun, I imagine. Personally, I've just gotten into radio the last few months and find it very interesting. As long as there are geeks, there will be amateur radio. :)
Wow.. A post by *the* Phil Karn? Cool! :-)
:-)
I played with TCP/IP packet back when I was 12 or so and every NOS BBS program had code stolen/borrowed from the original by "Phil Karn KA9Q".. I never figured you actually existed.. Kind of like a legend to me..
Too bad the packet world dried up and died here. (Eastern Iowa). Therefore I became the only node around and that was back before the Internet was cheap enough for me to stay connected a do some packet tunneling. *sigh* I'd love to get back into it, but it seems like everyone around here sold all their TNCs and turned off their computers.
l8r
Sean (KB0LCJ, yeah, a lowly tech+)
Hexy - a strategy game for iPhone/iPod Touch
I'm practicing for the higher WPM morse tests, the writtens are easy to study for. Oh well, time to get my General license :)
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
I severely doubt it; on issues of already-commercialized segments of the spectrum (i.e. everything except Ham), the FCC is in bed with the big corporations that own the spectrum (and don't want competitors). For starters, try this article from Reason.
My Blog. Sela Ward can sell me long distanc
Not likely. The FM band is kinda full, and commercialized by those big evil corporations.
... many non-US FM bands already use these frequencies of 76 to 88 MHz). If that happens, we need to petition to set aside a few MHz for low power.
OTOH, what for full deployment of HDTV. HDTV will be moving everyone to UHF (which used to have to be spaced 6 channels apart for really bad UHF tuners of the 1950's and 1960's, but can be packed much tighter today). That means many VHF TV allocations will be emptied, especially in big cities, as RS-170/NTSC gets phased out. Channels 5 and 6 would be ripe for adding to the FM band (though we would need new FM radios
ham radio != broadcast radio
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
OK, so how about an Internet DX Contest? How well do you think the net would handle every ham and hacker pinging every other ham and hacker?
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
I am sure Bruce Perens will have more to say but in the meantime go to http://www.nocode.org/ (this is an organization reponisble for lobbying of the FTC regarding this issue.
Also, make sure you chek out The World's Most Silly Technology Law , an editorial by Bruce Perens over at technocrat.net
Cheers.
Nick
There are a number of comments here arguing that it's useful to know about electronics basics and Morse code - it's possible to agree that those are good things to know about, without agreeing that the government ought to force people to learn about them before using basic electromagnetic techniques to communicate with each other.
I guess the implication behind the arguments to keep the old rules is that people won't learn that stuff if they don't have to - which suggests that it isn't as valuable as the proponents of the arguments would have us believe. If those really are useful skills, people will learn them voluntarily. If they aren't useful (or more useful or entertaining than other activities available), people won't bother with them. That seems fine to me.
It would also be useful if everyone knew how cars work, and how computers work - but it would be silly to think that the government should require people to pass a test about internal combustion engines or the manufacturing processes behind radial tires before getting a drivers' license, or to to pass a test about webservers and operating systems before using a browser.
(In fact, in the US it's silly to talk about "licensing" forms of communication, as all of them should be covered by the First Amendment, but that's another argument for another day.)
this is how it should have been for a long time
many other things in the fcc must be changed
It always amazed me that to talk using voice or data on the HF bands, the government wanted me to prove that I could operate CW. I didn't have to prove that I was capable of doing what I wanted to.
"Son, I know you want to fly that spacecraft to mars but first you gotta prove to me that you can shift gears on my grandpappy's Model T"
Who knows, maybe I won't let my license lapse after all.
N7JCT (Licenced since Jan 1987)
. Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
His name is in the document about 5 times....
Help achieve Liberty in your lifetime - join the Free State Project - http://www.freestateproject.org
Could you perhaps mail me some more information, or post a URL here? I just moved to Holland a few months ago, and I've been wondering about getting a license earlier, but I haven't had the time/money/eagerness to learn morse code ;)
If you're reading this, thanks in advance.
--
--
"It's natural to expect there might be people doing stupid things with computers." - Michael Vatis, NIPC/FBI
God listen to us.
This reminds me of the time I sat next to an elderly, retired engineer at a banquet, and listened to him reminisce about the time they got THE BIG COMPUTER UPGRADE. You know, the "stored program jobbie".
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Well, I remember back when I was a kid with a ham license sending and receiving CW with another kid whose was chirping like a canary. We discussed it for a while and it turned out that he had a home built rig that was basically an RF oscillator stuck to an home brewed RF amp stuck to a string of wire, with a code key stuck between oscillator and the power supply (i.e. the oscillator fired up everytime the key closed and shutdown when the key came back up).
Of course it was an incredibly half assed way to build a radio, but it worked well enough that we could communicate using 5W probably five hundred miles apart! My nephew just got his codeless novice, and his first rig is an incredible little 2m handheld that can access just about any place on the world on a sophisticated network of repeaters using maybe 5W. However, he could no more build this for himself than you could assemble a functional web server out of a barrel of surplus electromechanical relays. He's having a lot of fun, but he's not really learning any electronics. The new licensing tests don't require that you know anything about circuits.
The cool thing about CW is that a kid can sit around and dream up a rig with no outside guidance and build it himself out of probably less than $100 of parts. It may not be done the "right" way, but he's going to learn a lot.
CW also enables people in third world countries to communicate without the kind of sophisticated repeater networks that exist in this country. And, no matter what you say, CW is the most reliable form of telecommunication there is. It takes only a few watts to go hundreds of miles, so it can work during a prolonged power outage. It doesn't require any kind of intermediate linkages like repeaters or sattelites.
That said, undoubtedly CW is going the way of the wire telegraph, very soon now. I'll be sorry to see it go.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I've been trying to get my code speed up from the barely functional 5 WPM and, in the true "cypherpunks write code" style, wrote my own teaching applet/application. If you want to try it for yourself, look at Morse Practice. It runs as an applet or application, and the source is also available. Note, however, that it is not 100% Pure Java (it uses the sun.audio classes) and has only been tested on a Mac. Bugfixes are always welcome.
I'm a Ham operator (KC8DDC), and I think your claim that morse code (BTW, we call it CW) is destined to become a lost art, and that the only reason its still in use is because of the licencing requirement, is way offbase.
:)
Even if the CW requirement were to completely dissapper, CW itself will not disapper anytime in the forseeable future. There are situtations where, right now, CW is the only viable communactions mode (one example is adverse conditions such as severe interferance, and weak signals). Also, many hams use it for contesting and DXing, and there are hams who use it as thier primary communcations mode because they enjoy using it.
Rest assured, despite what the pro-code lobby says, CW is not going away anytime soon.
I always had a problem with the eletist attitude caused by morse code. I know there are several good reasons for it and I still use it (to id navigation aids) but for a huge part of the spectrum, its just a waste. I wanted to be a ham to deal with digital radio but I didn't meet the code requirement. It was enough to get me out of RF and analog completely.
/. note... There is a company in Lynchburg VA that has a patent on a single-wire transmission protocol...its simply more code over a wire. It works at 5 wpm or 50000 wpm. Its the only case I know of where the invenotor would argue that patents are getting out of hand and that it should not have been accepted by the patent office.
The bit about the international treaty is true but there are a number of countries that do not require any CW test at all so it can't be that importaint to anyone (other than the old mens club)
I know a few of old hams that love CW (I used to know a lot). Those guys did a great deal for the whole radio and electronics business and I think that some of them deserve that special area to use as long as they can. Sure they have big egos and don't like newbies but I can respect that -- if they are good.
And on a typical
And now (20000101 00:33) it looks like Victoria Aus won't been needing CW to tell the rest of the world what went wrong...
The fact is that wireless communication has become a commodity item, and as a result some of the reason people take up amateur radio in the first place has disappeared. Why after all, would someone engage in something that requires expensive equipment and a special license when they can go out to the local electronics store and pick up a pair of FRS radios for under $150? Or suffer through static crashes and the ins and outs of HF propogation when they can grab a cell phone and dial any phone on the face of the planet?
As wireless services become more prevalent, fewer people will have an interest in rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty. The state of the radio art is no longer being advanced in amateurs' workshops, it's happening in the labs at Motorola and Qualcomm. While it used to be true that many EEs were also hams, I think the current working conditions many of us suffer through make us less inclined to do things similar to what we do at work during our off time. Amateurs are, after all, by definition people who do something for the love of it. Why do something if it's neither necessary or fun?
I still do it because people don't tend to want to talk to you if you pick up your cell phone and dial a number at random. Having a yak with people I know on the way to work in the morning makes the commute go by faster. And even though I know this message will be read by people around the world, I'm still tickled to be able to talk to someone halfway around the world with no wires.
Fewer interested parties means fewer participants, and it's sad to have to predict that the hobby will probably have dwindled to almost nothing in 20 more years. Compounding the problem is the fact that in this country, amateur radio is the classic nerdy hobby, even more so now that computers are commonplace and using the internet has become the hip thing to do. Several years ago I was having a chat with someone in Europe about this topic. It seems that in his country (and I forget which it is), people who take up the hobby are regarded as people who are doing something useful with their spare time and not sitting down at the bar quaffing beer and watching soccer.
Seriously... When I got my ticket in 1965, there were three classes that counted, Novice, Tech and General. Extra was just honorary. The ARRL wanted to sell more study guides so they pushed "Incentive Licensing", with reduced General privs and more exams. It largely killed ham radio in the USA; growth has been very low ever since. The new scheme is a lot like pre-1965s, except that now the top code test is 5 WPM, the three licenses are a more modern mix, and you need a second theory test to go from tech to general. So it's going to hurt study guide sales, but help ham radio. - fred k1io
You don't -quite- have it right...
10 years ago, there were 5 license classes:
Novice (5wpm, test 2, very few HF priviledges)
Technician (5WPM, tests 2&3A, Novice+VHF)
General (13WPM, tests 2,3A/B, VHF+HF)
Advanced (13WPM, tests 2,3A/B&4A, VHF+more HF)
Amateur Extra (20WPM, tests 2,3A/B,&4A/B, all privs)
(Test 1, not mentioned, is the Morse Code portion, divided up into 1A (5wpm), 1B (13wpm) and 1C (20WPM))
The reason for the odd numbering of the tests is that technician was originally "General with a lower code requirement" and Advanced was "Extra with a lower code requirement". So the original element 3 was split, as well as the origional element 4.
Then the FCC decided to change the regulations, allowing Techs to get their licence w/o the Morse code test -- but without HF priviledges. After some settlement, we ended up with Tech split into "Technician" (no morse code, no HF privs) and "Technician Plus" (5wpm, Novice HF privs).
Since then, the number of people enterring ham radio through Technician class has skyrocketed, and the number of people enterring through Novice has plummetted.
One major problem with this system: Techs, because of history, were required to learn the rules associated with HF operation on the Novice bands, but did not have access to the Novice bands!
The new rules eliminate Tech Plus entirely (with the rule that -any- Tech who can prove they have passed a 5wpm code test get old-style Novice HF priviledges), and closed Novice and Advanced to new hams. Existing Novice and Advanced class hams can continue to renew as Novice or Advanced with no loss of priviledges. It also (as many people have already noted) eliminated the 13 adn 20wpm code tests.
This simplifies things -immensely-. Instead of having to deal with elements 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B, the FCC and the amateurs that give the exams only have to deal with elements 1 (5WPM), 2(Tech Written), 3(General Written) and 4(Extra Written).
Tech now requires element 2, General requires 1,2,3, and Extra requires all four. Techs have all VHF priviledges, General has most of the HF privileges as well, and Extra has all ham privileges.
In addition, it is now streamlined in that Volunteer Examiners can prepare exams for any license class below their own (Extras can also prepare Extra exams).
The goal was streamlining and simplification. It succeeded in this goal.
Absolutely -- there needs to be a reason for hacking ham radio again. Wearable computing perhaps... :-)
I'm one of those (and probably the only one who will post on slashdot for attribution) who thinks dumbing down the code requirement is a Bad Idea. I expect to get flamed for it, but this is one issue I've given a lot of thought to over the last 20 years or so, and don't expect to be convinced otherwise.
Ham radio is not only about technical innovation. Yes, that's one purpose, and one that I, too, believe is important. It's not the only purpose, however. The basis and purpose of the service, as expressed in 97.1, includes fostering international goodwill and providing emergency communications when needed. It takes more than a technogeek to accomplish these ends. One must be able to *communicate*. The dual nature of the ham tests serve, IMAO, to point that out: you can answer all the theory questions they can throw at you and still not be an effective operator. The code test provided some way to check that. To get the Extra ticket, you had to be a well-rounded ham, both a skilled operator and at least fairly knowledgeable technically.
The FCC has goofed here, aided by public pressure from well-meaning techies who can't see that building the technology isn't enough: you have to make use of it, too, to provide communications.
Jay Maynard, K5ZC (licensed as Amateur Extra in 1977)
--
Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
Just like you hoped the no-code Tech would, too? Not to mention bringing in a flood of technically competent folks to revolutionize the state of radio communications, all on a shoestring budget in the ham bands, results published in QST and CQ. Right.
The simple truth of the matter is that the no-code license has failed in its stated objective. The average age of hams has risen at one year per year of elapsed time, and that rate is unchanged before and after the advent of the no-code license. As I've contended all along, the real problem is that ham radio is not attractive to kids today. Your campaign is 10 years too late, and ham radio will suffer for it.
One of the best things about this decision is that it ends a very ugly acrimonious situation in ham radio that has persisted since 1990, when the no-code VHF license was introduced as the first foot in the door for modernization of ham radio. A lot of the older hams alienated the younger ones because they felt that no-coders weren't real hams. Now, those younger hams will have the same licenses as the older ones, and will be in their faces on the HF bands.
Oh, so now the FCC can change human nature with a simple Report and Order? Those of us who had to work to earn our privileges are going to be as resentful of those who do not under the new scheme as was the case with the no-code Tech. This change will, if anything, perpetuate the alienation and division, and spread it to the HF bands as well. Many older hams have resented, and IMAO rightfully so, the dumbing down of the entrance requirements in the name of attracting the "right people" into the service, especially given the 10 years of failure to do anything of the sort that we've seen.
The real solution, as I have been arguing ever since the no-code argument started, is to convince people that ham radio is worth the entrance requirements. No matter how low you set the barrier, the real problem is not getting people past it - the widely diverse ham population before 1990 is all the proof anyone can ever need that desire will conquer all - but getting people to want to climb over it. We should have tried better marketing in 1990, instead of assuming that people were too dumb any more to pass the requirements. This change can only continue the slide toward chaos and lawlessness that we've seen - case in point, the 147.435 LA repeater, a blight on the face of the service if there ever was one - ever since the requirements were first lowered.
Jay Maynard, K5ZC
--
Disinfect the GNU General Public Virus!
Unfortunately, since amateur packet radio is among the most inefficient digital communication modes known to man, such a cluster would be frustratingly slow. All the really cool stuff, at least with wireless networking, is taking place in the license-free bands because license-free is cheaper and you don't have to answer questions about Ohm's law to get access to them.
For more information about wireless networking, you can start at The wireless field test at Old Colorado City communications/ or you can go to the Wireless LAN/MAN Modem Product Directory.
Wireless networks are the way of the future, it's just that Ham Radio isn't the way to get there.
Jonathan Guthrie, KA8KPN, Amateur Extra class (now grandfathered) since 1980.
I'm not too surprised that people are clueless about amateur radio. I went to a job fair not long ago and casually mentioned that I was a ham. The majority of telecom companies I talked to just staired at me clueless. The only company I talked to that truly understood the significance of ham radio was SkyTel. Now I'm working with them... :-)
-Craig
We're here to give you an OS, not a religion.
Communications?
To communicate requires at least two intelligent beings with knowledge and skills of the system being used.
DNA is not interpretted via intelligence for it's intended purpose. If DNA is being interpretted by intelligent life to create life, and not just used by non intelligent mechanisms to define individuality, then please point me to the interesting URL!
War crimes, torture, lies, illegal spying... Would someone give Bush a blowjob, already, so he can be impeached?
The ham bands that require passing electronics and morse code tests have some very intelligent people frequenting them.
.au CSIRO. People who have made scientific discoveries. People that have a genuine love for science.
:)
Many scientists, doctors, and engineers how work for companies like NASA and the
Whiney loosers? These are the types that gave you the internet and other technologies you probably take for granted.
I can't say for sure, but I would guess that morse code was the very first digital communications system. It punches through noise that analog voice comms could not.
The internet has not made ham radio obsolete, it has probably made the hams appreciate their medium even more! The internet has an unmeasurably low signal to noise ratio that even makes CB seem like it is populated with nuclear scientists.
War crimes, torture, lies, illegal spying... Would someone give Bush a blowjob, already, so he can be impeached?
2 way
is ham all private or is it also commercial?
Private
is ham radio sort of like a bbs type community?
yes - but often with an RF techy orientation (you get to build your own gear)
do you meet new people on ham radio or talk to ones you meat in real life?
both
what kind of transmit ranges are possible?
worldwide
I am sad that they had to resort to this in order to keep interest alive in such a valuabel tool.
;)
Morse code is, and will always be extrememly important as a tool and in emergency situations. But Amateur Radio really is hurting right now for younger members. Going to a meeting, you only see ages 50 and above... which really is too bad, it is a fun hobby that I think kids would relly enjoy if their parents knew about it and gave some support.
I got my license when I was 12... and I also learned morse code at that age. It certainly is not that difficult, only a little intimidating at first.
Now those darn kids got "chat" over the internet
Nothing compares to the power of CW. It's power is its simplicity.
With no other means of communication can your voice travel so far using so little.
If the world's computers had crashed around us at Y2K, you can bet that those magical dots and dashes would still be singing.
While I hope that loosening the CW requirement will bring more people into this wonderful hobby, I hope that these newcomers will take the time to master CW anyway.
I remember the good old days of the ARPANET, when you had to have a government research contract to be on the network at all, and everyone on the net was smart and polite and helpful, there were no advertisements, and no AOL, and no one much bothered with computer security because it was uncool not to share your computing resources.
Gosh, if we could only go back to those wonderful days of the elitist ARPANET...
Trying to paraphrase the doc, to see if I understand it right before I explain it to some friends interested in getting into HAM... do I have this right?
------
The FCC revisits rules every two years, and this year, they recognized the advances in communications by simplifying the license structure. Most of it is to ease their own bookkeeping headaches, though.
There were six classes of HAM license, each level of license including all entrance requirements and privileges of simpler level licenses.
* Technician (first test) (50MHz+)
* Technician Plus (5+ wpm morse) (additional privileges)
* Novice (second test) (3-30MHz)
* General (13+ wpm morse, third test) (additional privileges)
* Advanced (fourth test) (275KHz)
* Amateur Extra (20+ wpm morse, fifth test) (175KHz)
Now, there will be three classes of HAM license,
* Technician (first test)
* General (second test, 5+ wpm morse)
* Amateur Extra (third test)
Novice and Advanced holders are grandfathered, keeping their privileges, not upgraded to additional nor downgraded to lesser privileges. Technician Plus holders renew as Technician. Technicians who pass the 5wpm morse exam will be able to use the additional privileges, but it won't be a separate license class.
------
Questions: very briefly, what are the 'additional privileges' that are not new bands of frequencies? Where does someone get to use a fixed station vs a handheld station, for example?
I guess I'm too used to business docs that require an 'Executive Summary' or separate sections for history, what ideas were proposed but rejected, and what was adopted.
[
I have always wondered why morse code is neccesary for a Ham radio Licence. Is it just to prove your serious or is there more to it?
The ARRL posted a press release here describing the change that is in HTML format so you don't have to read that PDF file. Personally, I think this is a very Good Thing. The avaerage age of Amaterur radio is rising rapidly, and one major barrier to entry was the morse tests. With so many other things to interest young geeks now, that has seriously reduced the number of young people getting involved. I hope this helps alot!
WRCT Pittsburgh, 88.3FM
Speaking as an Amateur Extra Class for the past 9 years, and an instructor of Amateur Radio classes, I think it's a good thing the FCC did. I personally enjoy using Morse Code, but in the Internet age, I think it is no longer a requirement for inter-continental communication. Those people who wish to learn Morse code will, and the rest would just forget it anyway. BTW, Morse code is no longer a requirement for sea-going ships, which If I remember right, was one of the reasons for continuing to require the faster Morse code tests on Amateur licences. --------------------------------------------- Howard Pepper AC4FS
No matter where you go... there you are.
Mayby this means that the FCC will relax it's stand on low power unlicensed FM broadcasts in the 88-108MHZ range... I await with baited breath
Is ham mostly one way or two way?
is ham all private or is it also commercial?
is ham radio sort of like a bbs type community?
do you meet new people on ham radio or talk to ones you meat in real life?
what kind of transmit ranges are possible?
For more information in a somewhat more accessible format, you might want to check out this article on the ARRL's website.
However, I don't know if this is the greatest thing. I have the highest respect for someone who's been in the art for decades and can do CW at 30-40 WPM. When I do get my extra license, I'll sort of feel like a jerk compared to the people who know CW like a pro. However, IMHO, the real fun is in the lower frequencies (40M and below) and I'll be damn happy to be able to use those frequencies with more ease.
And no matter what anyone says, when you're trying to get that DX QSO at very low power levels, CW is the way to go.
Sam Etler - KB9VPB
It's all a conspiracy I tell you! Everyone is involved. The Friendly Candy Company and the American Radio Relay League. They cooked this up just so those paper pushers at the FCC could have something to do, and so the ARRL could sell more study guides! Although I would recommend that everyone get the Handbook for Radio Amateurs, a.k.a. The Bible of All Applied Electronics. KB9UTQ
"I threw up my hands in disgust and wondered if it had been such a good idea to have eaten my hands in the first place."
The L0pht folks tried to do something like this with gorilla.net but it hasn't gone very far. If you are in the Boston area, are interested in getting a ham license, and participating, please contact me at: esj@harvee.billerica.ma.us
--- eric (ka1eec)
I don't know the exact sizes. But you can fit something like 15 CW (morse code) signals into the footprint of on FM voice signal.
Here's a neat site that has Pilot software for Hams >>> http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/khark er/palm-ham/
and of course here for really neat Palm-APRS software >>> http://www.pocketaprs.com/
I've always thought that if someone could port AX25 from Linux to PalmOS, that would be very neat AND useful. PPP to a gateway box is neat but somewhat limiting. The Palm Pilot is a cpu (albeit simple)... why not just connect directly to the TNC and do the link management right on the Pilot? Makes sense to me.