Jul/100
Is Ham Radio Accessible For Me
Ever since the beggining people began forming organizations, being lured by amatuer radio technology. One reason people choose ham radio is that you can broadcast up to 1000 watts as compared just 4 watts with CB radio. The channels available for amateur radio are more diverse and less crowded. With the addition of satellite technology no portion of the world is beyond your reach. Of course with all this power comes responsibility, in order to acquire all this you need to pass severl exams..
ham radio offers a variety of licenses for people of every level of interest.
Getting a Novice licence means you can access several HF frequencies and transmit between 28.3 and 28.5 MHz and also between 28.1 and 28.3 for radio teletype. To access these frequencies all you need is a 10 Meter Radio even though these radios are commonly referred to as a 10 Meter CB Radio they are quite differnt as a CB radio does not require a license and a 10 Meter Radio does. FM and SSB transmissions are allowed between 222.01 and 223.91 MHz and 1270 to 1295 MHz.To get the Novice Class you need to be able to interpret Morse code at a rate of 5 wpm and pass a theory test..
Becoming a Technician class broadcaster gratns transmission on the VHF and Ultra High Frequency bands.Achieveing a Technicians license grants access to the VHF and UHF bands.~The Technicians license means that you can now broadcast on the UHF and VHF frequencies. To receive the Technicians license all you need to do is pass a test about FCC rules and complete a radio theory exam.
After that the next license, the General radio amateurs license, allows the UHF band. To receive this license you have to capable of work Morse code at the rate of 13 wpm and pass an exam on general radio theory plus FCC regulations.
The Advanced radio license grants access to more frequencies in the HF band, but to get this you need to have passed the General class Morse Code and radio theory tests and a more difficult radio theory exam.
In the US the top ham radio license you can obtain is the Extra Class.. Extra class license holders are allowed access to the complete spectrum of HF VHF and UHF frequencies allowed to amatuer radio. To get this license you must already finished the previos licencing exams and complete a new, more complicated theory and morse code test..
If you need help completing your exams you can contact the American Radio Relay League. They are a non profit organization that helps new amatuer radio operators.
If you dont enjoy the inconvenience and time it takes to complete all those examinations try CB radio. Unlike ham radio there is no license requirement for cb radio. The jargon used is relaxed and there’s no need to learn Morse Code. Buy a radio and an antenna and your ready to go. Sound interesting?
Nov/090
Ham Radio Information
For radio hobbyists and people who spend a lot of time broadcasting independently for local communities, amateur radio means ham radio. Public service and recreation are the elements that stimulate the activity of the service participants, furthermore, ham radio proves priceless in times of crisis, emergency or disaster. Estimations indicate a six million people involvement in ham radio, and although they are not broadcasting to make money, their reward is the ability to get on air. The element that makes ham radio stations stand apart is not the lack of professional skill but rather the absence of advertising moments.
Ham radio probably gets back to the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th when ninety amateur stations serviced Canada and the United States. The appearance of ham radio has very much to do with hobby practices and experiments, and very often the contribution made to science and public services has been preponderant. Moreover, lots of people owe their lives to ham radio operators who saved them in emergency cases.
Ham radio covers several types of transmissions and besides the quality FM (frequency modulation) that we are all familiar with, ham radio operators also work on single sideband with a higher transmission reliability or on the Morse code even if technology has come a long way since the days of the radio-telegraph. As for other technological improvements, ham radio meant the introduction of the packet radio and the use digital modes and computers for broadcasting. Last but not least, ham radio operators often use the low power communications on shortwave bands while staying in real-time mode.
Ham radio now has access to OSCARs (orbiting satellites carrying amateur radio) by means of a basic device such as a hand-held transceiver. Another interesting aspect is that ham radio operators use the moon and the aurora borealis to get a good reflection of the radio waves. Some ham radio stations have even got into contact with the International Space Station as the astronauts on board are also licensed as amateur radio operators. Discussions are in fact common practice among the individual hams who get on-air just to join one meeting or another.

