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Beyond the Book
In addition to what you’re reading right now, this book also offers free access-anywhere information at www.dummies.com. This includes two appendixes: a comprehensive glossary and some tutorials on “radio math” that are part of ham radio. There is a long list of short entries and tips on topics like tuning, troubleshooting, ways to operate, suggestions for building gear, and many more. You can access these at www.dummies.com/go/hamradiofd4e.
The website also includes a handy Cheat Sheet that includes a summary of your Technician (and soon-to-be General) class license privileges, common Q-signals and repeater channel info, a list of Go Kit gear, and some handy online resources for you. Just search for Ham Radio For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
If you’re not yet a ham, I highly recommend you find your most comfortable chair and read Parts 1 and 2 to discover the basics about ham radio and solidify your interest. If you’re a licensed ham, browse through Parts 3 and 4 to find the topics that interest you most. For a bit of fun and interest, turn the pages of Part 5 for tips and bits of know-how that will help you along your way.
For all my readers, welcome to Ham Radio For Dummies, 4th Edition. I hope to meet you on the air someday!
Part 1
Getting Started with Ham Radio
IN THIS PART …
Get acquainted with ham radio — what it is and how hams contact one another.
Find out about the basic technologies forming the foundation of ham radio.
Discover how hams communicate across town and around the Earth by using the natural world.
Be introduced to the various types of ham communities: on the air, online, and in person.
Chapter 1
Getting Acquainted with Ham Radio
IN THIS CHAPTER
Ham radio invokes a wide range of visions. Ham radio operators (or hams) are a varied lot — from go-getter emergency communicators and radiosport competitors to casual chatters to workshop tinkerers. Everyone has a place, and you do too.
Hams employ all sorts of radios and antennas using a wide variety of signals to communicate with other hams across town and around the world. They use ham radio for personal enjoyment, for keeping in touch with friends and family, for public service, and for experimenting with radios and radio equipment. They communicate by using microphones, computers, cameras, lasers, Morse keys, and even their own satellites.
Hams meet on the air, online, and in person, in groups devoted to every conceivable purpose. Hams run special flea markets and host conventions large and small. Some hams are as young as 6 years old; others are centenarians. Some have a technical background, but most do not; it’s not necessary to enjoy ham radio. One thing that all these diverse people share, however, is an interest in radio that can express itself in many ways.
This chapter gives you an overview of the world of ham radio and shows you how to become part of it.
HAM: NOT JUST FOR SANDWICHES ANYMORE
Everyone wants to know the meaning of the word ham, but as with many slang words, the origin is murky. Theories abound, ranging from the initials of an early radio club’s operators to the use of a meat tin as a natural sound amplifier. Of the many possibilities, the following theory seems to be the most believable.
“Ham: a poor operator” was used in telegraphy even before radio. The first wireless operators were landline telegraphers who brought with them their language and the traditions of their much older profession. Government stations, ships, coastal stations, and the increasingly numerous amateur operators all competed for signal supremacy in one another’s receivers. Many of the amateur stations were very powerful and could effectively jam all the other operators in the area. When this logjam happened, frustrated commercial operators would send the message “THOSE HAMS ARE JAMMING YOU.” Amateurs, possibly unfamiliar with the real meaning of the term, picked it up and wore it with pride. As the years advanced, the original meaning completely disappeared.
Exploring Ham Radio around the World
Although the United States has a large population of hams, the amateur population in Europe is growing by leaps and bounds, and Japan has an even larger amateur population. With more than 3 million hams worldwide, very few countries are without an amateur (see the nearby sidebar “Where the hams are”). Ham radio is alive and well around the world. Listen to the ham radio frequency bands on a busy weekend and you’ll see what I mean!
Hams are required to have licenses, no matter where they operate. (I cover all things licensing in Part 2 of this book.) The international agency that manages radio activity is the International Telecommunication Union (ITU; www.itu.int/en). Each member country is required to have its own government agency in charge of licensing inside its borders. In the United States, hams are part of the Amateur Radio Service (www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service), which is regulated and licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Outside the United States, amateur radio is governed by similar rules and regulations.
