Ham radio (so called because its
operators were originally derided as being ‘hammy’ in the 19th
century, when the technology first emerged) is a term that applies to any form
of amateur radio broadcasting.
There are designated radio frequency spectra
available solely for public use. Uses range from recreation to communication
and the non-commercial exchange of ideas. ‘Hams’ take advantage of these
frequencies in order to transmit any number of things
Strictly speaking, there should not
be any money involved in amateur radio (hence the term ‘amateur’). Although the
majority of Ham radio practitioners are actually extremely knowledgeable about
radio technology (don’t let the ‘ham’ part fool you), they are not considered
professionals because they do not profit from their endeavours. Conversely,
commercial broadcasting involves (a lot of) money: royalties are paid,
producers and performers are paid and the whole thing is ultimately a
commercial exercise.
Hams use a large amount of
frequency bands from all across the radio spectrum, but the majority of
frequencies are to be found just above the AM band.
A lot of hams, however, use VHF FM,
operating hand-held transceivers that send on one frequency and receive on
another. Local radio
clubs set up FM Repeaters (which borrow space from other broadcast devices
such as towers and, in doing so, amplify the radio signal’s strength hundreds
of times over), so that hams can communicate with each other wirelessly over a
distance of hundreds of miles.
As an example of what hams get up
to, here’s an excerpt from Gary Brown, of ‘How Stuff Works.com’
Although a ham radio does broadcast in all directions,
hams generally do not use their radios in a broadcast kind of way as a disk
jockey would at a radio station. In normal AM or FM radio, one disk jockey
transmits and thousands of people listen. Hams, on the other hand, conduct
two-way conversations, often with another ham or with a group of hams in an
informal roundtable. The roundtable of hams may be in the same town, county,
state, country or continent or may consist of a mix of countries, depending on
the frequency and the time of the day. Hams also participate in networks, often
called nets, at predetermined times and frequencies to exchange third-party
messages. In the case of disasters, hams exchange health and welfare
information with other hams.
To become a ham, I recommend
that you join a club. You’ll need an amateur radio license, of course, but this
won’t break the bank, I’m sure.
