HAM Radio Relevance Currently and Personal Reflections.

[John R Retired]

I remember way back before the internet or even home computers having a Ham Radio setup was really phenomenal. A Ham I knew just down the road had a 6 Meter transmitter in a large cabinet in his garage that almost looked like a small commercial radio station that he built from scratch and an impressive antenna array on a rather tall tower. Him and I used to go to other Hams homes and visit their setups. I was a Shortwave listener and an aspiring Ham operator but life led me down other paths away from that aspiration.

The most appealing aspect of Ham Radio then, was that you could setup a ham shack and communicate with people around the world directly with equipment you either assembled, bought as a kit or bought already assembled and transmit up to 2000 Watts back then. Talking to someone on the other side of the world was really amazing, especially if you had the knowledge and skill to make your own transmitter, even using CW & Morse Code, because there was no other way you could have direct access to such distant cultures and people, other than by airline travel.

THAT is all gone now, as the Internet gives everyone access to anyone in the world with an internet connection, even live Video and including Smartphones. Also just about anyone can get a Ham License and become a glorified CB operator just with access to more distance than a CBr. Also most of the higher end gear is very sophisticated digital equipment, which the average person, even with great electronics knowledge and skills is not going to want to bother constructing. "Off the Shelf" purchase is the only sensible road to travel, rather than building your own, unless you are an absolute RF electronics geek who lives and eats electronics 24/7.

You can get a higher level license, requiring more electronics knowledge but, other than "Emergency Communication" in disasters which seems to be the selling point of Ham Radio nowadays, what is the appeal? As far as friends and groups, you don't need Ham Radio to have friends and groups to have a social gathering.

Some say that Ham Radio is a dying hobby the internet and smart phones have taken away the need for Ham Radio, although I know there still are Ham clubs around.

 

[Martaine2005]

You can stream any music, any time but people still buy CDs or vinyl records.
Hobbies don’t die. Some just love having a transceiver rather than SDR (software defined radio) on a computer. It’s a matter of a hobby and a preference to real working equipment that can be honed, tweaked, repaired and loved.

Martin

 

[kellys_eye]

THAT is all gone now,

No it isn't. It may not be as prevalent as it once was but there are still a large number of people using ham radio and still building their own sets.

Ham radio isn't just 'talking to people across the globe' as it incorporates many different aspects of communication from simple AM, CW and SSB to digital transmissions, moon bounce, satellite relay, and frequencies from DC-to-light (practically!). The skills shown by some ham radio users is astonishing and sometimes at the forefront of design.

In my case, I am a fan of QRP (low power) ham radio where building your own transmitter and receiver isn't mandatory (but many still do) but we deliberately limit power output to 5W (can be higher but no more than double-digits and LOW double digits at that) and then challenge ourselves to get the best possible performance (range) using that kit.

The QRP side can be cheap, simple and fun if you're that way inclined!

 

[John R Retired]

As I remember QRP is basically CW, and was the lowest level Ham license you could get back in the day but maybe I'm incorrect about that. I remember an old Amateur Radio magazine showing how to build a 5 Watt transmitter for CW which I had my eye on,
I had a key and learned Morse Code with an audio amp, but the Vietnam war was blazing and the military was sending out notices
to everyone who turned 18. When I went into the Navy on a ship, I seen the high speed keys being used in the Radio Room, with all the equipment. That was really a Radio Shack.

When I said "It is all gone", I was referring to the fact that Ham Radio was "Exclusively" the only way you could communicate directly with people around the world, and I did already mention that an important appeal "Back Then" was to build your own transmitter, because of that exclusivity of Ham Radio and private citizen communication which DOES NOT exist today, because of the internet and smart phones via satellite etc. I know people with very high skills and knowledge build their own equipment still, but the difference is
that they don't have to do that, to communicate with people privately and freely as was the ONLY way back decades ago.
The main "selling point" I keep seeing from Ham organizations nowadays is the "emergency communication" aspect, other than
(as I said previously) electronics geeks who live and eat 24/7. Nothing wrong with that, it just is not as it was back in the day as I described several times now. IT's different.

 

[kellys_eye]

The good old days eh?

Many people cut their teeth on ham radio and in many cases did so prior to going 'professional' in whatever aspect of life that interested them. My ham experience led me into the merchant marine (as a radio officer) and then on to teaching then a globe travelling Mr Fixit and eventually self-employed as an engineer (before 'retiring' into my current area - food).

Other 'hams' I know of went into development (TV, radio, science etc) and imho the best workers are those that have a genuine interest in the tasks at hand and not just 'there for the money'.

Skill sets are invaluable and will never go out of fashion and you never stop learning either. I like the simplicity of QRP and the challenges it imposes - talking to someone the other side of the planet via email doesn't really 'do it' for me!

 

[kellys_eye]

As I remember QRP is basically CW

Not at all. It's just that for maximum range the human ear can discern morse code through all sorts of 'crap' that other modulation methods fail to do. With the sole intent of getting maximum range for your 'buck' (and at 5 watts you're really at the bottom end of things) much effort is spent in antenna design, propagation research and, yes, morse code to get the distance.

 

[John R Retired]

You can stream any music, any time but people still buy CDs or vinyl records.
Hobbies don’t die. Some just love having a transceiver rather than SDR (software defined radio) on a computer. It’s a matter of a hobby and a preference to real working equipment that can be honed, tweaked, repaired and loved.

Martin

That is a good comparison but the difference is that listening to music is a passive act.
Ham radio is very involved and requires serious participation.
As I said, it used to be, back in the day, the only way to directly communicate (in the moment) with people, except
for maybe telephone, but that cost money for the call. Nowadays, you can do the same thing or much better using video with internet and smartphones.
The advantage today is I suppose that you are not subject to the corporate communications network, and
are free to operate your own rig as you please (with government approved license).
Of course engineering and building your own transmitter is the kick
but most people just end up buying off the shelf some digital transceiver with many bells and whistles and then you
become just a glorified CB operator with a greater distance potential.

 

[John R Retired]

Not at all. It's just that for maximum range the human ear can discern morse code through all sorts of 'crap' that other modulation methods fail to do. With the sole intent of getting maximum range for your 'buck' (and at 5 watts you're really at the bottom end of things) much effort is spent in antenna design, propagation research and, yes, morse code to get the distance.

With that inexpensive and simple 5 watt transmitter, you could communicate thousands of miles at night with CW and it was
"exclusive" to Ham radio only. Now it is not exclusive anymore. Anyone with an internet connection can communicate around the world
and that was my point. Of course, engineering your own rig is the kick still, but there is no exclusive aspect to the communication any more.
By the way, what is the point of bouncing a signal off the moon?

 

[Minder]

I recall when I served with the Royal Signals and posted to Libya, we had a ham shack set up that any of us could key out on.
There was only one other ham radio registered in Libya at that time, (50's).
Consequently whoever was operating that night was swamped, clamoring for our QSL card confirmation.
Most came in from the states,
During the day, I used to hate when on occasion we had to work through Cable & Wireless telegraph in a emergency transmit failure, these guys were 35-40word/minute. on the key.
And used to get very impatient !!
I still remember our call sign to this day!

 

[kellys_eye]

As I said, it used to be, back in the day, the only way to directly communicate (in the moment) with people, except
for maybe telephone, but that cost money for the call. Nowadays, you can do the same thing or much better using video with internet and smartphones.

It's all relative.

Even today, the internet isn't free (no one I know gets access free of charge - ok, there are public hot spots but someone, somewhere, is still paying for it). Before computers first started to gain public attention I built my own (8080-based, 256 bytes of RAM, no HDD/FDD - it was tough in those days!) and then I eventually got into modem connections and the internet became popular so the path was little different from the ham radio days - build your own, operate as a 'clique' then watch as mass production makes it all easy-access for all.

Tomorrows world will be the same - someone will invent the 'transporter', amateurs will copy it, business will mass produce it and it eventually becomes commonplace. We call this 'progress'!

As for 'exclusivity' - ham radio is VERY exclusive. You can't compare apples and oranges (on the basis of talking across the planet) as even the most ardent PC owner/user/operator would probably struggle to make a 5W CW transmitter/receiver and communicate across distance. But I reckon a ham could work out how to make a PC and 'work the world'..... I did!

But if you mean non-exclusive in terms of being able to purchase something off-the-shelf and do what I do 'jut because you can' means you miss the whole point of ham radio (in my opinion, YMMV) and the vital learning and skills that accompany it. Take to it's logical conclusion we might as well all adopt a VR lifestyle and do 'anything', go 'anywhere' and own 'everything' without even leaving your armchair.

Me? I prefer spending an evening in my workshop experimenting with electronics and learning - always learning.

 

[John R Retired]

It's all relative.

Even today, the internet isn't free (no one I know gets access free of charge - ok, there are public hot spots but someone, somewhere, is still paying for it). Before computers first started to gain public attention I built my own (8080-based, 256 bytes of RAM, no HDD/FDD - it was tough in those days!) and then I eventually got into modem connections and the internet became popular so the path was little different from the ham radio days - build your own, operate as a 'clique' then watch as mass production makes it all easy-access for all.

Tomorrows world will be the same - someone will invent the 'transporter', amateurs will copy it, business will mass produce it and it eventually becomes commonplace. We call this 'progress'!

As for 'exclusivity' - ham radio is VERY exclusive. You can't compare apples and oranges (on the basis of talking across the planet) as even the most ardent PC owner/user/operator would probably struggle to make a 5W CW transmitter/receiver and communicate across distance. But I reckon a ham could work out how to make a PC and 'work the world'..... I did!

But if you mean non-exclusive in terms of being able to purchase something off-the-shelf and do what I do 'jut because you can' means you miss the whole point of ham radio (in my opinion, YMMV) and the vital learning and skills that accompany it. Take to it's logical conclusion we might as well all adopt a VR lifestyle and do 'anything', go 'anywhere' and own 'everything' without even leaving your armchair.

Me? I prefer spending an evening in my workshop experimenting with electronics and learning - always learning.

I referenced several times now Hams who can build their own gear as being very significant and as one of the big aspects of Ham radio that is most important to Hams currently, so I am not missing the point. I see that a lot of Hams do buy fancy off the shelf digital transceivers, and just go for the bells and whistles and thrill of the CQ and the QSO & QSL...I get it....building a transmitter is wonderful.
But if you could time travel a General or Technician level Ham out of the 1960s he would say, "Look I can communicate with another person across the world with equipment I build myself, and you can't" I would answer, "Well I can turn on my computer and talk to someone in Australia or Europe, and I didn't build anything or know anything about the technology behind it"

In real life I do know something about the technology, I just said that for effect.

Also there were no communication satellites' back then, just the atmosphere to bounce your signal off of late in the night.

 

[davenn]

I would answer, "Well I can turn on my computer and talk to someone in Australia or Europe, and I didn't build anything or know anything about the technology behind it"

and that is the big different only touched on in this thread

you have done nothing to educate yourself in using the PC to make that contact

Amateur radio has always been about self education and advancing ones own knowledge of electronics, propagation etc
I have done amateur radio since I was 19 and I am 62 going on 63. It has been an amazing path of education of myself and others.
I would do lots of talks at radio clubs on my microwave bands activities where the primary way to communicate is to build the gear.

Because of ham radio, I am proficient in RF electronics and it has served me well in several of my jobs over the years
Currently a high precision GPS and Survey electronics tech ... and by high precision I'm talking about a few mm of accuracy !

I still have to build coax patch cables for customers ... guess where I learnt that skill ??!!

cheers
Dave
VK2TDN

 

[danadak]

KB1RHB here, rarely talk, mostly listen, restore old receivers and transceivers.

Go to local twice a year Nerafest, several hundred attend. Lost of nerds like me,
from hobbyists to tech s to EEs to Phds.....From people just discovering resistors to
designers of COM equipment. From VLF to SHF.....signals buried in noise.....

My first build a 1240 Mhz downconverter for single ionized hydrogen line, eg.
radio telescope, in high school. Built from Amateur Radio handbook article.

And I also love the Internet.

Its all good.


Regards, Dana.

 

[davenn]

KB1RHB here, rarely talk, mostly listen, restore old receivers and transceivers.

Go to local twice a year Nerafest, several hundred attend. Lost of nerds like me,
from hobbyists to tech s to EEs to Phds.....From people just discovering resistors to
designers of COM equipment. From VLF to SHF.....signals buried in noise.....

My first build a 1240 Mhz downconverter for single ionized hydrogen line, eg.
radio telescope, in high school. Built from Amateur Radio handbook article.

And I also love the Internet.

Its all good.


Regards, Dana.

Hi ya Dana
welcome to EP
good on you for keeping home construction alive and well
It's always a great feeling to build a piece of gear, put it on the air and hear signals from it,
or for some one else to hear your transmitted signals

cheers
Dave
VK2TDN

 

[John R Retired]

and that is the big different only touched on in this thread
Because of ham radio, I am proficient in RF electronics and it has served me well in several of my jobs over the years Currently a high precision GPS and Survey electronics tech ...

cheers
Dave
VK2TDN

Good that what you learned in Ham Radio has helped you gain skills for employment in companies.
That is a practical reason for learning Ham Radio, otherwise, it offers no practical use except
perhaps, what is always promoted as "emergency communications in disasters".
Otherwise it is simply a fun hobby to tinker with for self satisfaction in building devices, much like a technical model train enthusiast or woodworking enthusiast who makes very detailed furniture all for self enjoyment.

It's the same as a person can learn highly technical mechanics of Automobiles and develop skills to get a job as an auto mechanic, but most people are not required to have those high mechanical skills to drive a car. If a person likes to tinker with auto mechanics for fun, then it is a "hobby", just like tinkering with radio electronics is a hobby; nothing more, nothing less.

Same with communications using the internet or a cellphone. You don't need to know any RF electronics about either one to communicate around the world, as is done with Ham Radio, unless you want to "for fun" as a hobby in your spare free time.

My point was, It use to be different with Ham Radio. It was a unique experience, a unique accomplishment.
It was unique because to communicate with with people around the world before the internet and cellphones, Ham Radio was the ONLY possible way it could be done (except for land line telephone). Back then, to learn radio electronics and build your own gear was a major necessary endeavor to accomplish world wide communication....but "not any more currently"., and to repeat, "Unless" you like tinkering around with radio electronics for fun as a hobby.

 

[kellys_eye]

Everything is a learning experience and there's nothing more satisfying (to me anyway) than learning something new or understanding how something works. A blind acceptance of 'things' is ok if you want to stay uninformed. Knowledge has no bounds but it does have 'value'. Inestimable imho.

It use to be different with Ham Radio. It was a unique experience, a unique accomplishment.

It still is! Any time anyone builds their own equipment and/or makes a contact over any distance will take that occasion as being 'unique' and also an accomplishment. To say it is anything less is to denigrate peoples efforts however small they may be.

There are still hobbies that equal ham radio i.e. cutting edge, DIY stuff and even in motor mechanics. There are active forums in DIY engine management systems for example. In electronics there is the already-mentioned 'maker' society where some really, really innovative stuff gets designed/built.

Some say that Ham radio may have lost its lustre over the years but that's usually because it's no longer mainstream. There are areas where amateurs still excel and bring the hobby into the 21st century - nothing really stands still in ANY hobby. It's down to the individual to take what they want from any hobby they adopt and the amount you 'take' can't be estimated or calculated. Each to their own as they say.

Knowledge! It's a drug to some (like me). I have far better knowledge of many subjects than most people - from carpentry, plumbing, mechanical engineering, building, electronics, astronomy, cooking, electrics..... I have built my own home, my own electronics, my own car and am an avid DIY fanatic with tools-for-every-occasion. I drink tea and read a lot! I read circuit diagrams for leisure!

I doubt I'm unique in this and don't make claims to be an expert in anything but my desire to be self reliant has given me a sense of security - and in these times that means an awful lot.

 

[John R Retired]

Everything is a learning experience and there's nothing more satisfying (to me anyway) than learning something new or understanding how something works. A blind acceptance of 'things' is ok if you want to stay uninformed. Knowledge has no bounds but it does have 'value'. Inestimable imho.

The main point I was addressing about Ham radio is that it "used to be" that it was the ONLY way you could communicate with people around the world in different countries. Building your own RF gear was part of that "unique" experience of it all. One of those unique factors is GONE as now you can communicate with people around the world on the internet. Yes you can still build your own gear BUT it is NOT the ONLY way you can communicate with people around the world like it used to be. THAT was my point.

 

[Martaine2005]

BUT it is NOT the ONLY way you can communicate

That’s correct. It’s not the only way.
But if you’re into ham radio, it might be the only way you WANT to communicate. Just because technology has moved forward doesn’t mean you have to change how you communicate. Many ham’s have nice setups AND SDR too. Doesn’t mean they use SDR more or even prefer it. It’s just newer technology for those who want it.

Martin

 

[John R Retired]

That’s correct. It’s not the only way.
But if you’re into ham radio, it might be the only way you WANT to communicate. Just because technology has moved forward doesn’t mean you have to change how you communicate. Many ham’s have nice setups AND SDR too. Doesn’t mean they use SDR more or even prefer it. It’s just newer technology for those who want it.

Martin

IN THE PAST it used to be the "Only Way". That was my point. ..."Only Way". so if you wanted to communicate with someone in other parts of the world, you had to become a Ham. That is not true any more.

That characteristic of being the only way was what made it unique within that context. Now there are other ways.

 

[Martaine2005]

Believe me, I did understand what you meant.
Think of Christopher Columbus, he navigated the world in a boat a long time ago. Now, we have planes but people still go on cruises around the world.

Martin