“Ham radio? Do people still do that?” Yes, of course, we still do that and have for 100 years. Not only that, ham radio is growing. Almost double the number of new licenses were issued in 2009 than in 2005, and continues to grow each year, there are now almost 700,000 licensed radio amateurs in the U.S.

You no longer have to go before an FCC examiner, volunteer ham examiners give you the FCC test. You will know in advance what the total questions and answers on rules and some theroy are but you will not know which ones will be on your test. Morse code is no longer a requirement.

If you would like to be a ham please come to the Southern Ohio Amateur Radio Association -- Amateur Radio Emergency Service meetings held on the third Monday of every month at 7:00 P.M. Location of meetings is in the rear room of 911/EMA Building, 515 Park Ave., Ironton, OH. All interested people are welcome. You may also contact Ken Massie, WN8F at wn8f@arrl.net

We will have literature and help at our meeting for non-hams who want to be a ham radio operator. Many people have successfully passed the test after only a few hours of study. We will have information on Ham Test Online, they have study guides for any hams wishing to upgrade to one of the higher license or non -hams who wish to be a ham radio operator.

Current license classes

Amateur radio licenses in the United States are issued and renewed without charge, although the ham radio operators who are volunteer examiners who administer the examinations may recoup their expenses by charging a fee. Licenses currently remain valid for 10 years from the date of issuance. The entry-level license, known as Technician Class, is awarded after an applicant successfully completes a 35-question multiple choice written examination. The license grants full operating privileges on all amateur bands above 30 MHz and limited privileges in portions of the high frequency (HF) bands. The next level, known as General Class, requires passage of the Technician test, as well as a 35-question multiple-choice General exam. General class licensees are granted privileges on portions of all amateur bands, and have access to over 83% of all amateur HF bandwidth, however some band segments often used for long distance contacts are not included. The top US license class is Amateur Extra Class. This license requires the same tests as General plus a 50-question multiple-choice theory exam. Those with Amateur Extra licenses are granted all privileges on all US amateur bands.

What do Hams do?

There are many different activities in Ham radio. Amateurs enjoy contacting each other using various modes such as voice, morse code, and digital modes which require a computer that is interfaced with a radio.Following is a list of a few activities that Hams engage in. Satellites - Hams have their own Earth orbiting satellites that they use to relay signals through! Moon Bounce - Bouncing a signal off the moon and back to the other side of Earth. Amateur Television - Hams send still pictures and live video to each other using their radios. Morse Code - Morse Code is still alive and well in Ham radio circles. Morse code is no longer a requirement to getting a ham radio license but many hams still enjoy sending and receiving Morse code, it is an option. DX - "DX" is short for Long Distance. World wide communications is possible with Amateur Radio. Repeaters - Amateurs have erected automatic relay stations (repeaters) on top of buildings and hilltops to extend the range of their radios for local contacts. Contacting the ISS - Many astronauts are Hams. There is a Ham radio on board the International Space Station. Digital Modes - Lots of Hams enjoy keyboard to keyboard radio contacts by interfacing their computer and radio. QRP - Some Hams restrict themselves to less than 5 watts of power (called QRP which is shorthand for low power) to see how many "miles per watt" they can achieve. Contesting/Awards - There are all kinds of contests for Amateurs. The goal of most of them is to see how many contacts can be made during the contest period. Awards are given for making contacts in all 50 states, making contacts in 100 countries, Fox Hunting (finding a hidden radio transmitter) and many others. You will find a lot of comraderie among ham radio operators. The list could go on and on. Suffice it to say that there are all kinds of things to do using Amateur Radio.

BELOW IS A SMALL LISTING OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE ON THE HAM BANDS:

Some people join the hobby to help out in emergency situations, others lend a hand with charity groups by providing professional communications for events such as Memorial Day Parades, Christmas Parades, walks, runs, horse endurance run, snow/ice emergencies, our group monitoried the transponder of a local small downed planed and found it using our equipment, Amber alert - child search program, Skywarn, hurricane nets, other weather alerts, pass emergency messages and greetings to people all over, help Emergency Management, Red Cross, Salavation Army, county agencies, and we provide communications for other community projects.

On the hobby side, ham radio is a huge amount of fun. There are so many facets to ham radio that it never gets boring. The biggest hidden benefit is education. Hands on experimentation is the best teacher. Satellites, weather, electricity, space, mechanics and more. Amateur radio can take you a lot of places. NASA has had communications failures and now use ham radio as a back up, now all astronauts are ham radio operators. Whatever your interest you will find others on the air in different locations of our country and the world sharing your same interest. You can find individuals and groups on certain frequencies and certain times of the day talking about some of the following subjects and you can join in: Christian fellowship nets or groups of many denominations including world wide missionaries. Many veteran groups and nets, ship veterans, you may find your ole military buddies here. Veterans Amateur Radio Service Net. Boy Scouts including Jamboree on the air, RV - camping groups and many groups have a eye-ball meeting once or more per year some where in the country. Fishing, hunting nets and you can find a group on any interest. Motorcycle Amateur Radio Clubs, eye bank nets, handi-hams nets, hurricane watch nets, salvation army, red cross, firemen, law enforcement nets, maritime mobile service nets, traffic nets, emergencies nets and much more. There are many contest, many hams have a QSL postal size card printed with their call letters, name, address, a RST report, and maybe a photo. When they make a contact with another station they can exchange by mail QSL cards. If they collect one from all 50 states they can receive an award from ARRL. Some hams work (contact) all counties, over 3,000 and get a certificate for this. All countries can be work for another award. And, there are others. What is your interest, you can find it on the ham bands. Some hams just like to meet new friends and rag chew.

It doesn't have to be expensive but it can be. Any hobby will let you spend as much money as you want, lol. You may want to build your own antennas. There is a lot of used equipment out there that will do the same if not better job than brand spanking new rigs.

The Amateur's Code The Radio Amateur is:

Considerate, Never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others. Loyal, Offers loyalty, encouragement and support to other amateurs, local clubs, and the ARRL, through which Amateur Radio in the United States is represented nationally and internationally.

Progressive, With knowledge abreast of science, a well built and efficient station and operation above reproach.

Friendly Slow and patient operating when requested; friendly advice and counsel to the beginner; kindly assistance, cooperation and consideration for the interests of others.

These are the hallmarks of the amateur spirit. Balanced Radio is an avocation, never interfering with duties owed to God, family, job, school, or community.

Patriotic Station and skill always ready for service to country and community.

The original Amateur's code was written by Paul M. Segal, W9EEA, in 1928. Still observed today.

HAM TEST ON LINE CAN HELP

Check out the Ham Test online study course.

http://www.hamtestonline.com/links.htm)

Also check our other website pages for more ham radio information and how to be a ham radio operator.

http://www.orgsites.com/oh/soaraares