What is Amateur Radio?

The wonderful world of Amateur Radio

Welcome to the wonderful world of Amateur Radio. It is many different things to the individual three million plus people throughout the world who enjoy this multi-faceted communications hobby. Amateurs communicate with each other by transmitting voice, Morse code, digital modes, pictures and even video signals. Below is a summary of how it began and has kept with the times to remain an enjoyable leisure time activity.

The image of Amateur radio has long since transcended the ‘older’ bearded individual who sits in a room filled with big black boxes full of glass tubes glowing in the dark while talking to people in a strange language. The sound of strange beeps from a brass key used to complete this picture. While this can still be seen, a brave new world of Amateur Radio has now emerged.

New Amateur Radio

Today’s Amateur Radio is a world of modern communication and experimentation and has had a new lease of life since the regulations were changed in 2005 to remove Morse code and create the new “Foundation License”. Since then, the hobby has been rejuvenated and has been taken up by many young children and others who in the past would never have been able to participate.

The modern Amateur is a person whose life has seen the impact of Internet, Television, Ipods and the Space Age. The modern amateur has also evolved with digital radios and modern methods of communication while still retaining the classic appeal of the “wireless”. It is a hobby that has survived the industrial revolution and the electronics age and continues to grow with a unique appeal.

Experimentation

It is the only hobby in the world which allows its participants to communicate and experiment and learn new skills in the process, while learning the “art” of Radio Communications. Many advanced Amateurs experiment with Digital Communication, Using Computers & Radio to complement each other by harnessing the power of the internet and almost all Amateurs are involved in some kind of “Home Brew” projects. Most Amateurs are involved in their local clubs and keep themselves busy with club activities. They organize and take part in field events and “sporting” activities. Most Amateurs are involved in something that interest them and find endless rewards from being part of an inexpensive hobby which has no age barriers.

Increase Your Knowledge

This unique hobby also helps in developing people’s abilities in many ways. The nature of the hobby results in an increase of knowledge in geography, science and mathematics. One tends to acquire a flair for good communication and have the opportunity to network worldwide. One also gets to appreciate and understand cultural differences and get a better understanding of the world we live in.

Who are Radio Amateurs?

Radio Amateurs - Ordinary people with more than ordinary interests

They are at first sight, just ordinary citizens, including some of your neighbours or work colleagues, and people in more than 100 countries. They are radio amateurs - also known as ham operators, or amateur radio operators. They are people who are interested in communicating and interested in experimenting and learning about modern technologies involved in the burgeoning fields of information and communications they are ordinary people with more than ordinary interests. They are people who see themselves as part of an international community of more than 3 million amateurs around the world, and part of the Australian national community of some 20 000 licenced amateur operators. They are people who are willing to devote their hearts and minds to community service when the need for communications can best be met by the amateur radio service. They are people who lend their knowledge to the training and education of others…they are indeed ordinary Australians with more than ordinary interests and more than ordinary skills developed through amateur radio

The widening range of interests followed by Radio Amateurs

It has always been a feature of Amateur Radio that people from all walks of life have followed the hobby. It is another case of “not who you are but what you are” that matters. Many years ago it was common to hear the description "From newspaper boys to Kings" in reference to Amateur Radio - and it simply meant that radio amateurs range from newspaper boys (street sellers of daily newspapers) to Kings, with royalty being among the ranks of ham operators. The history of Amateur Radio in Australia commenced a century ago and from the beginnings has engaged the minds of many people young and old in discovering how to engage in radio communication. Very often the amateurs of those times had to build every part of their radio station whereas today often the radio station is based on a wide range of black boxes purchased off the shelf. The common characteristic of radio amateurs from the earliest of days to this time is knowledge. Amateur radio is a knowledge-based hobby and amateur operators must demonstrate levels of Knowledge to be allowed to operate their radio stations.

Today’s Radio Amateur

Today Amateur Radio is enjoyed by people from all walks of life, the young and not so young, and the able and disabled, who meet on the airwaves for a chat or engage in other interesting activities especially experimentation in its many forms. Whereas in previous times radio was a hobby based mainly on a narrow range of components and knowledge, today radio draws on every aspect of information technology and electronics. Today’s amateur can draw on a vast storehouse of knowledge and a very wide range of equipment. The range of means of communications and the frequencies available are very great indeed.

Weak signal and Low power activities

Some hams use VHF or UHF frequencies to bounce their signals off the moon. The return signal is heard by many other hams who also do EME (earth-moon-earth). The antenna arrays are massive so a lot of real estate is needed. Other hams transmit with very low power. Signals on the order of 5 watts or less are heard all over the world by these QRP (low power) operators.

QSL Cards and Contesting

One of the many exciting activities of ham radio is the DX-pedition. Radio amateurs collect QSL cards from other stations, indicating the continents and regions which they have contacted. Certain zones of the world have very few radio amateurs. As a result, when a station with a rare ID comes on the air, radio amateurs flock to communicate with it. To take advantage of this phenomenon, groups of hams transport radio equipment into a remote country or island (such as normally uninhabited Bouvet Island, which has the rare callsign prefix 3Y). These expeditions can help hams quickly achieve a communication award such as a DXCC. To obtain the DXCC award a ham needs confirming QSL cards from hams in 100 countries around the world.

Contesting is another activity which has garnered interest in the ham community. During a period of time (normally 24 to 48 hours) a ham tries to successfully communicate with as many other hams as possible. In Australia, one such event is Field Day,the contesting amateur may concentrate on just DX stations, or only on stations powered by emergency generation equipment or running on batteries, which is meant to simulate hurricane or other emergency disaster conditions. Some contests may or may not be limited in allowable modes of transmission.

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