Monitoring 147.270/R and 145.670/S(FM/DV) and 442.750/DV in Toledo, Ohio

What is "Ham" Radio/Amateur Radio?

Amateur Radio is over 100 years old starting back before the 1900's.  Nobody really knows how is started but most likely started with the advent of Morse Code, but the hobby really advanced with people tinkering with homebrew equipment.  That practice still continues today and is what makes the hobby so interesting. There's always something to new to learn and explore.

"Hey, old man, get with the times!"  I hear that more frequently than I should, but think about everything you do now-a-days.  The Internet wouldn't be possible without the "Aloha Network" - which was essentially TCP/IP over radio waves.  Yep - hams invented that.

WiFi?  Yep - hams were doing that long before the average citizen even knew what it was.

Oh, that precious cell phone....wouldn't be possible with repeaters, RF, and lots of other technology hams invented or used many, many years before you could even afford it.

Some of the things I enjoy about the hobby...

  1. Solid-State Electronics
  2. Antenna Construction and Performance
  3. Skywarn (Severe Weather)
  4. ARES Traffic Net
  5. Echolink and IRLP (this is really neat, but I almost consider it cheating)
  6. Satellite and Space Communications
  7. "Rag Chewing" via Phone (SSB and FM) - I don't do Morse Code (CW)...yet!
  8. HF/VHF/UHF Communication
  9. Microwave Communication (but need the equipment)
  10. SSTV and Digital Communications

What are your thoughts?  What do you enjoy?

Enjoy helping others?

Do you enjoy helping fellow American's in a time of need.  Then maybe ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) might be of interest to you.  Where else can you enjoy a hobby and help others at the same time? Long time radio broadcast announcer, Paul Harvey, even quotes this...

"America's quiet warriors are the legion of ham radio operators, 700,000 of them, who are always at ready for backup duty in emergencies – amateur, unpaid, uncelebrated, civilian radio operators, during and after floods and fires and tornadoes. After the 9/11 attacks, hams were indispensable in reuniting friends and families. Most recently it was they who expedited the search for debris after the Columbia Explosion, and right now, at this moment, they are involved in homeland security to a greater degree than you would want me to make public." — Paul Harvey News and Comment, ABC Radio, March 19, 2003

Ham's enjoy what they do.  It's been one of the most enjoyable, fascinating, and fun hobbies I've been into.  I've made "friends" all over the world.  Seek out a local Amateur Radio club and join today!

Zack - N8ZAK