Just what is Amateur (Ham) Radio ?
Amateur radio is both a technical as well as social and public service hobby that spans the entire world. Amateur radio (also known as Ham Radio) attracts people from all walks of life (from the kid next door, to the rich and famous) who are interested in all facets of radio communications. Involvement in amateur radio allows people to practice their communications skills, foreign language skills as well as the technical knowledge of electronics, radio theory.
Ham Radio was developed as a result of experiments by Guglio Marconi who refused to accept popular science of the time that radio waves were limited to line-of-sight and thus limited in range. At the time a debate raged over the common theories. Marconi set out to prove his beliefs in communications beyound line-of-sight and created his first radio transmitter and receiver and began hobby experiments in his backyard garden area. This lead directly to Ham Radio (although Marconi was himself never a Ham) and commercial radio. The spirit of Marconi lives today as Ham's around the world continue to test ideas and forge new ground in practical communications.
Getting started in Amateur Radio has never been easier, especially with the latest licensing changes if you are a resident of the United States. To get started you want to locate a radio club in your area such as OMARC. Some radio clubs offer ham radio licensing classes, or they can find a club volunteer to answer your questions. You may even be invited to attend a local radio club meeting. You will also want to check out the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)website which is the national organization for Amateur Radio almost since the hobbies inception.
The club snail mail address is:
Address any questions the club and its events to:
OMARC President: president@omarc.org