Yes, ham radio is still very much a "thing". But to me, the one "thing" it never has been is the purchasing of closed, proprietary software that can be turned off at whim by the developer.
To me, ham radio has always been a unique hands-on opportunity to learn what's "behind the knobs" of a piece of communications hardware (or now, software). Even if you don't build (or write) your own stuff, even if you're primarily interested in using it to talk to others, it still gives you (or should give you) the oppo
I second this so strongly that most probably won't understand how visceral this is.
Phil wrote some software used to enable UUCP over packet, way way back when. My roommate and I cobbled together a UUCP feed for a couple of BBSes in rural Idaho. While we were still figuring out the mysteries of Minix and this newfangled Linux thing, we had email before it was cool. It was made possible by software with that callsign in his email address emblazoned on the banners and docs.
Yep, some "talking on the radio." Lots of examples of that:
- Maximum average number of contacts per minute for an hour (this is a "contesting" rate) - Number of countries you can reach with a given setup (this is usually referred to as a DXCC)
- I'm working on a variant of this where I intend to continue confirming contacts with 100 unique countries or territories every year. (3 years, so far) - Distance per Watt (SSB to Hawaii on 10mW in my case) - How many contacts you can make with a setup you carry to the top of a mountain, yourself (look up "SOTA" or Summits on the Air) - How fast can you decode Morse code, by ear?
It's also some of the stuff that KA9Q (Phil) was talking about. RF is incredibly fascinating and amateur radio is a great way to have an output for what you learn, in practice.
- Most effective antenna you can design and construct, with some constraints (or not!) - Maximum possible gain at a given frequency (look up the OH8X 160m beam or ES5TV's 15m stack) - How far _below_ the noise floor a given modulation scheme can be decoded (-32dB in my case, usually a combination of hacking on software and searching for the right solar conditions) - How good an inexpensive homebrew rig can be (look up Ashar Farhan VU2ICQ) - How good can a computer get at decoding Morse code (CW)? (Look up AG1LE and a few others who are using Machine Learning and other techniques for this)
And yes, it can also be a social hobby. Some people like meeting others from around the world and just talking.
Yes, some of ham radio is old guys talking for hours on end about their prostate problems or the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich for hours on end. But it's also amazing people doing amazing things. Listen to 144MHz (2m) locals or even the typical 3.8MHz (75m) conversation and you'll instantly get turned off. Dig a little deeper and there's some really cool stuff happening.
Well, you just hop to it, then, and cure cancer this weekend. Anything less than that, and you're just a midget dung beetle rolling round your little ball of dung.
Or, you're just a troll belittling others on an open blog forum.
Well, not to toot my own horn too loudly, but in the mid 1980s I wrote a TCP/IP implementation. I intended it for ham radio use on low end PCs, as the only existing general purpose implementations were on commercial minicomputers far beyond a ham budget. (I actually began it on a dare by Terry Fox, WB4JFI, who insisted it was too complex to implement on anything a ham could afford.)
Before I knew it, my software was being widely used outside ham radio for dialup access to the Internet. Universities and compa
Ham Radio? (Score:0, Funny)
That's still a thing?
Re: (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:5, Insightful)
I second this so strongly that most probably won't understand how visceral this is.
Phil wrote some software used to enable UUCP over packet, way way back when. My roommate and I cobbled together a UUCP feed for a couple of BBSes in rural Idaho. While we were still figuring out the mysteries of Minix and this newfangled Linux thing, we had email before it was cool. It was made possible by software with that callsign in his email address emblazoned on the banners and docs.
I didn't understand what amateur r
Re: (Score:2)
So much interesting stuff to explore and try and so many people who want to push the boundaries.
With all due respect, boundaries of what? Talking on the radio?
Re:Ham Radio? (Score:4, Informative)
Yep, some "talking on the radio." Lots of examples of that:
- Maximum average number of contacts per minute for an hour (this is a "contesting" rate)
- Number of countries you can reach with a given setup (this is usually referred to as a DXCC)
- I'm working on a variant of this where I intend to continue confirming contacts with 100 unique countries or territories every year. (3 years, so far)
- Distance per Watt (SSB to Hawaii on 10mW in my case)
- How many contacts you can make with a setup you carry to the top of a mountain, yourself (look up "SOTA" or Summits on the Air)
- How fast can you decode Morse code, by ear?
It's also some of the stuff that KA9Q (Phil) was talking about. RF is incredibly fascinating and amateur radio is a great way to have an output for what you learn, in practice.
- Most effective antenna you can design and construct, with some constraints (or not!)
- Maximum possible gain at a given frequency (look up the OH8X 160m beam or ES5TV's 15m stack)
- How far _below_ the noise floor a given modulation scheme can be decoded (-32dB in my case, usually a combination of hacking on software and searching for the right solar conditions)
- How good an inexpensive homebrew rig can be (look up Ashar Farhan VU2ICQ)
- How good can a computer get at decoding Morse code (CW)? (Look up AG1LE and a few others who are using Machine Learning and other techniques for this)
And yes, it can also be a social hobby. Some people like meeting others from around the world and just talking.
Yes, some of ham radio is old guys talking for hours on end about their prostate problems or the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich for hours on end. But it's also amazing people doing amazing things. Listen to 144MHz (2m) locals or even the typical 3.8MHz (75m) conversation and you'll instantly get turned off. Dig a little deeper and there's some really cool stuff happening.
- K7ADD
Re: Ham Radio? (Score:1)
Well, you just hop to it, then, and cure cancer this weekend. Anything less than that, and you're just a midget dung beetle rolling round your little ball of dung.
Or, you're just a troll belittling others on an open blog forum.
Re: (Score:2)
I was referring to the boundaries of the hobby, not the boundaries of human existence. But I appreciate the big thinking.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, not to toot my own horn too loudly, but in the mid 1980s I wrote a TCP/IP implementation. I intended it for ham radio use on low end PCs, as the only existing general purpose implementations were on commercial minicomputers far beyond a ham budget. (I actually began it on a dare by Terry Fox, WB4JFI, who insisted it was too complex to implement on anything a ham could afford.)
Before I knew it, my software was being widely used outside ham radio for dialup access to the Internet. Universities and compa
Re: (Score:2)