60 Great Things About Ham Radio

60 Great Things About Ham Radio

In celebration of CQ magazine’s 60^th anniversary in 2005, the CQ staff came up with 60 great things about ham radio, written up by CQ Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU:

1. Ham radio works when nothing else does – This is what keeps us "in business," so to speak. The primary reason we still have frequencies and government agencies around the world go to the trouble of testing and licensing us is ham radio's unparalleled ability to get through when nothing else will. When disasters knock out or overload traditional communications systems, ham radio still works, still gets the message out.

2. Being a ham makes you part of a worldwide community - Your ham license is your membership card to a unique worldwide fraternity. No matter where in the world you are, if there's a ham nearby, you've got a friend.

3. Unexpected band openings- You read the charts, you check the solar flux, and you know that by all rights, the band you're on should be dead as a doornail. But there it is, defying all logic, a band opening that lets make the "impossible" contact. And if you're lucky enough to be there, make the contact and get the QSL card, bragging rights until the next unexpected band opening comes along.

4. Working DX while mobile or hiking - Until recently, only a select few had this capability, but today it's increasingly common. And what a thrill it is to be driving down the road, or hiking on a trail, and talking to someone halfway around the world. It's nearly as much fun to be at the other end of such a contact.

5. Where else can you play with meteors? - This is my son's favorite reason for becoming a ham (which he hasn't done yet!). But think about it. What other hobby gives you the chance to use such natural phenomena as meteors, the aurora, or the ionosphere as part of your everyday activities?

6. Some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet – Most hams are genuinely nice people. Sure, we’ll have our petty squabbles from time to time, and we’ll likely debate the merits of code exams forever, but it’s very rare to find hams who are nasty, vindictive people. They’re just not welcome in that worldwide community (see #5 last month).

7. Some of the smartest people you’ll ever meet – Hams come from all walks of life and you’ll find highly educated people and even the occasional Nobel laureate within our ranks. But you’ll also find a lot of regular people with a lot of common sense, and people who may not have multiple college degrees but who know an awful lot about their chosen specialty area. And more often than not, they’re happy to share that knowledge.

8. Some of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet -  Get on the radio. Get beyond the location and signal report and start having some real contacts. You’ll discover a world of fascinating people at the other end of your antenna. You’ll find them at club meetings, too.

9. Some of the most generous people you’ll ever meet (along with some of the cheapest!) – Anyone who’s ever been to a hamfest flea market knows that hams are among the world’s premier bargain-hunters (“You can have it for free.” “Can’t you do any better than that?”). But if you need something – whether you’re a newly-licensed ham who needs a rig to get on the air or you’re operating at a disaster and need some special piece of equipment – if anybody’s got it available and can get it to you, you can use it as long as you need it. Visiting a new place and looking for a place to eat? Don’t be surprised to be invited to dinner.

10. Friends around the world (including those you haven’t met yet) – If you travel, and make contact with a ham at your destination ahead of time, don’t be surprised to be met at the airport, or taken to dinner, or given a tour of the city or the club station, or any combination of the above. No matter where you go, ham radio provides the opportunity for you to have a friend at every stop.

11. How many of your non-ham friends have actually talked to someone in some remote place like Cape Verde or the Seychelles? Lots of people will tell you that the internet or even the plain old telephone will let you talk to just about anyone just about anywhere. But most of the time, you have to know someone there before you call on the phone or send an e-mail. Calling CQ, and getting an answer, is unique to ham radio.

12. How many of your non-ham friends might have talked to an astronaut aboard the space station? Unless you happen to work for NASA, the answer is most likely none. Hams are the only "civilians" permitted to make direct radio contact with astronauts while in orbit.

13. How many of your non-ham neighbors might have a TV studio in their garage? To most people, radio and TV are one-way devices. They listen or watch and are consumers of information. And while most communities with cable systems have a public access channel, you generally need to use their studio and get somebody's approval before going on the air. Hams are different. We are both consumers and producers of information, and our licenses allow us to get on the air without anyone looking over our shoulders, and even send out TV as well as radio signals.

14. How many of your non-ham neighbors might have a satellite uplink station in their basements? Think about this one -- satellite downlink stations are popping up everywhere, but how many people do you know who can send signals up to a satellite? Again, unless you're in the satellite, TV or telecomm biz, you can only transmit up to a satellite if you're a ham.

15. What other hobby group has designed, built and had launched its own fleet of communication satellites? None. Period. OSCAR-1 was the first non-governmental satellite ever put into orbit (yes, even before Telstar), and ham radio has continued to be a spacefaring hobby ever since 1961. Plus, the SAREX and MAREX programs have put ham radio aboard manned space flights and space stations since 1983.

16. The opportunity to help neighbors by providing public service and emergency communications -- This is the main reason ham radio continues to exist and our frequencies haven't yet been auctioned off to the highest bidder. We're not the technical innovators we used to be; the government trains its own communicators and technicians, and the State Department doesn't really put much stock in personal diplomacy. But the simple fact remains that when disaster strikes and our ultramodern, ultrasophisticated telecommunications network crumbles, hams still know how to get through. And we do.

17. The opportunity to go interesting places you might not otherwise go to - My ham radio activities, and particularly my public service activities, have taken me out on a luxury yacht in Long Island Sound to do communications for a sailing race; to the middle of New York's Verrazano Narrows Bridge at the lead of a sea of runners in the New York City Marathon; to a VHF conference in Germany; to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to join an attempt at making a transatlantic QSO on 2 meters, and of course, to Dayton, Ohio (I mean, with all due respect, why else would I go there?).

On the more serious side, ham radio has also taken me in a Red Cross vehicle through the deserted streets of lower Manhattan in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, en route to a shelter where I'd be providing communications. But how else would I have been able to help?

18. The opportunity to do interesting things you might not otherwise get to do - Ham radio has opened the door to being part of the activities I described above, from sailing races to disaster assistance. It has also let me put kids in touch with Antarctica and put me on my town's Local Emergency Planning Council. And it's introduced me to all sorts of fascinating people, but that's another topic.

19. The opportunity to expand your knowledge of geography -- How many people knew where the Andaman Islands were when last December's tsunami struck? Very few … except for hams. Ham radio brings a world map to life, providing us the opportunity to actually talk to people in faraway places -- and then try to see just where it is they're located in relation to ourselves. Ham radio can be the geography teacher's best friend.

20. The opportunity to expand your knowledge of earth and space science - What other hobby requires an understanding of the ionosphere and the sun's 27-day and 11-year cycles? In addition, many VHFers learn to read weather maps to look for conditions that lead to tropo openings or ducts, or rain scatter on microwaves. Even greater knowledge of earth and space science are required for such activities as meteor scatter, aurora, moonbounce and satellite communications.

21. A good way to get driving directions when visiting someplace new - If you're on the road and not sure where you're going, then getting on the local repeater can be as good as or better than your fancy little GPS doohickey. GPS doohickeys still occasionally tell you to drive through a field, and more than once, I've had a local ham say, "I'm right near you and heading in that direction. Meet me at the next exit and I'll lead you there." You get where you're going and make a new friend at the same time.

22. A good way to find the best places to eat when visiting someplace new - If there's one things most hams love to do more than talk, it's eat. So you can pretty much depend on getting good advice about places to eat from local hams. I can honestly say I've never been steered wrong, have often discovered some delightful out-of-the-way places, and occasionally even found myself with company for lunch or dinner (or invited to someone's house).

23. A good way to keep in touch with faraway friends and relatives - This works best if both of you are hams. You can set up skeds (schedules, for the uninitiated) and meet on the air. I remember a former boss of mine used to meet every Saturday afternoon on the air with a group of old friends who were literally scattered all over the world. Even an unlimited long-distance plan won't let you do that.

24. A good way to practice a foreign language - Most public school "world language" courses focus on reading and writing the language of your choice, rather than teaching you to actually speak the language and carry on more than a very basic conversation. Ham radio can put you in contact with native speakers of all major languages, and I can't imagine much of anyone who wouldn't enjoy having you speak to them in their language instead of yours (even if you need a lot of practice).

25. A good way to keep tabs on elderly/infirm people - As our population ages, ham radio is becoming a more important tool in checking up on older people living alone, or those with chronic illnesses or mobility impairments. We've heard many stories of hams going or sending someone to check on a "regular" on their net or repeater who doesn't show up when expected, finding that the person is ill or injured, and getting them help that might have taken hours or days to call, if it wasn't for the radio. Plus, of course, there are plenty of hams who have used their radios to call for help themselves when sick or hurt.

26. Informal way to improve technical skills - Maybe you don't consider yourself a particularly technical person. Maybe you do. Either way, as you do different things in ham radio, you'll find that you need to measure something, solder something, build something, fix something, etc. As you learn how to do what needs to be done, you also learn more about how and why things work as they do (or don't), and before long, you suddenly find yourself helping someone else do something that you needed help with not too long ago.

27. Informal way to improve communication skills - Maybe you're better with a soldering iron than with a microphone. But as you get involved with events and activities, you'll find yourself getting practice in getting a message across clearly and succinctly, and before long, you find that you're a better communicator off the air as well as on the air.

28. Practical uses for high school math - If algebra and geometry seemed like exercises in futility when you were in high school, with no possible application in real life, ham radio lets you put that dusty knowledge to use. If you can attach one end of a wire antenna to a tree at 50 feet, and the other end to the top of a 20-foot pole 75 feet away, how long can the antenna be?

29. Practical uses for high school physics - If your hamming interests extend beyond your local repeater, you're going to need to learn something about propagation, sunspots, satellites, moonbounce or APRS, and that means you're going to be putting some basic physics knowledge to use. And if you never learned it in school, guess what? You're learning it now! And it will actually make sense because there's an immediate practical use.

30. A good way to learn about virtually any topic - Hams come from all walks of life and know something about just about everything … and it's not too hard to find someone who knows more than you do about just about anything. And the best thing about hams is that we love to talk and help each other out. No matter what it is you need to learn about, chances are you can find a ham somewhere to help you with it.

31. Lifelong friendships - The absolute best thing about ham radio is the great people you get to meet. Untold thousands of hams have made lifelong friends among fellow hams they've met on the air, at club meetings, events or hamfests.

32. Finding “non-touristy” off-the-beaten-path places to stay, eat, visit, etc. - This is one of the most under-rated benefits of ham radio. If you're traveling and want to get away from the "tourist traps" and fast-food restaurants, your fellow hams who live where you're visiting can be a great source of off-the-beaten-path places you probably wouldn't otherwise discover.

33. A good way to bridge the generation gap - Ham radio makes no age distinctions and getting together with other hams, either in person or on the air, provides a great opportunity to get to know people either younger or older than you are -- as peers and equals.

34. People named Joe - Now this might be stretching things just a bit, but it really illustrates just how wide-ranging ham radio is. Among our ranks are at least three people from widely different backgrounds who share two things -- they're all hams and they're all named Joe:

Joe Walsh, WB6ACU, Rock 'n Roll star, guitarist with the Eagles, first became a star as a member of the James Gang.

Joe Rudi, NK7U, retired Major League Baseball player, played with the Kansas City and Oakland A's, the (then) California Angels and the Boston Red Sox; he also went to the World Series with Oakland three times, in 1972, 73 and 74.

Joe Taylor, K1JT, Nobel Prize winning scientist and developer of the "JT" software suite that has made it possible for stations with average setups to take advantage of such VHF/UHF modes as meteor scatter and moonbounce. Speaking of which…

35. Moonbounce - C'mon, let's get real here. In what other hobby can you talk to people by bouncing signals off the moon? The only other people who would even think about something like that are amateur radio astronomers … but did we mention that it was a ham named Grote Reber who invented radio astronomy in his back yard, using knowledge he'd gained in ham radio?

36. Working DX - This is what makes ham radio unique and, for many of us, is the central attraction of amateur radio. Our ability to talk directly with other people from other cultures and other countries - even countries with which our government doesn't get along - helps break down stereotypes and enhance international goodwill.

37. Being DX - This is an everyday experience for those of us who live in places that are "rare" among hams, and recent relaxations in reciprocal operating rules are making it easier for hams on vacation to operate at least briefly from places that they're visiting and enjoy the feeling of "being DX."

38. DXpeditions - These organized trips to activate rare locations keep things exciting for DXers and give participants a chance to "be the DX" and be on the receiving end of worldwide popularity and pileups.

39. Contesting - This is a sport that requires more mental than physical agility and allows those of us with a competitive spirit -- regardless of physical abilities -- to "go for the gold." In addition, contests bring many rare locations on the air, providing excellent DXing opportunities even for the non-competitors among us. CQ sponsors a half dozen annual contests, including the two most popular, the CQ WPX Contest and CQ World Wide DX Contest (see 2004 SSB results in this issue).

40. Award-chasing - The Europeans call operating awards "diplomas" and the name is fitting - they indicate that you've achieved a certain level of accomplishment in DXing, contesting or other ham radio activity. CQ's award program offers recognition for all levels of achievement, from the new CQ iDX Award for beginners to the incredibly challenging 5-Band Worked All Zones and USA-CA All Counties awards.

41. Introduces a variety of career paths - Ham radio, particularly for a young person, provides opportunities for exploring and developing skills in a wide variety of career paths. The most obvious ones are technical and scientific, but there are numerous non-technical career paths with which ham radio can help as well. Ask any five hams who got started young in the hobby if ham radio has helped them in their careers and we're pretty sure at least three will answer "yes." (For us here at CQ, for example, early involvement in ham radio opened doors to careers in journalism and publishing.)

42. Offers unparalleled opportunities for career networking - This follows the previous point. Once you've chosen a career, you're bound to find fellow hams who are already well-established in your field, and the bond of ham radio can be very helpful in making additional career-related contacts and climbing the ladder of success. In this way, being a ham is much like being a member of a fraternity and making networking contacts with fellow "brothers."

43. Opportunities for competition in contesting and foxhunting - There are those among us with very strong competitive spirits but whose bodies may not be up to the task of strenuous physical competition. Ham radio provides opportunities to exercise that competitive spirit with little or no physical exertion required. Contesting requires sitting in front of a radio and operating (yes, there may be towers to climb but it shouldn't be too hard to find help if you need it); foxhunting - searching for hidden transmitters - can often be done entirely by car, or with minimal walking once you've driven as close as you can get.

44. A good way to collect really cool postcards from around the world - QSL cards are good for more than award credit -- a good QSL collection is a treasure-trove of postcards from all over the world, of interest to many people with no real interest in ham radio. Many cards tend to be distinctive or reflective of the culture from which they are sent. The QSL collection of a deceased ham became the centerpiece of the successful book, Hello, World: A Life in Ham Radio, by Danny Gregory (KC2KGT) and Paul Sahre (KC2KHN), which looked at the cards as folk art from around the world. The authors became hams only after immersing themselves in the world of amateur radio while researching the book.

45. Nearly endless variety of different things to do, on and off the air - You really have to work hard at being bored if you're an active ham. Virtually nobody's "done everything" in ham radio, so there's always some new mode or new band to try out, or some new award or contest to go after. Off the air, it's the rare ham whose station is ever "just right," so there are improvements to be made as time and budget permit. You can spend pleasant hours organizing your QSL cards or seeing if you qualify for some new award. Plus, there are club meetings, hamfests and conventions to attend, public service events to help with or vacation spots from which to operate. Even if you're homebound, ham radio can keep you in touch with friends - both old and new - in the outside world.

46. Worldwide DX on 6 meters (once or twice every 11 years) - One of the reasons 6 meters is called the "Magic Band" is that, with enough patience, you can work some great DX on what's normally a local band. The best of the best comes every 11 years or so, at the peak of each sunspot cycle, when the band opens up for worldwide DX.

47. Double-hop sporadic-E - You don't have to wait 11 years for this, although it happens more frequently at sunspot peaks. While "regular" sporadic-E propagation on 10, 6 and even 2 meters is predictable and can open up a seemingly dead band for some good domestic DX, double-hop sporadic-E can give you cross-country contacts on 6 in between sunspot peaks. Summertime is best for this type of propagation.

48. Tropospheric ducting - This is literally a VHF and UHF pipeline between two distant points, usually over water and under specific weather conditions, that gives you the ability to make faraway contacts on 2 meters and above. The best-known duct makes it possible to stand on a beach in California with an HT and talk through repeaters in Hawaii, more than 2000 miles away!

49. TEP and aurora - These propagation types are most often limited to certain geographic areas -- you generally need to be in or near the tropics to take advantage of Trans-Equatorial Propagation, or TEP, which links two locations that are equidistant from the magnetic equator and accounts for 6-meter contacts between Texas and Argentina, for example. On the other hand, you generally need to be pretty far north to bounce radio signals off the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) to make long distance VHF contacts. (It is occasionally possible for stations outside the normal TEP and Aurora zones to make contacts via these modes.)

50. Gray-line propagation - Really cool propagation isn't limited to VHF. Experienced HF DXers know to listen to the bands within an hour or so of sunrise and sunset for enhanced paths to stations on the other side of the world who are within an hour of sunset or sunrise, respectively. This is known as gray-line propagation, referring to the constantly shifting zone that is neither in full daylight nor full darkness.

51. Hamfests - Sure, we hams love to talk to each other on the air, but we like getting together in person just as much. And when you throw in some bargains, who can resist? Hamfests are part social gathering, part flea market for used "stuff" and, particularly for the bigger shows, part trade show for learning about and buying all sorts of new gear.

52. Dayton - The biggest of the big hamfests, the Dayton Hamvention™ is something every ham should try to attend at least once (warning: it's habit-forming). Thousands of hams from all over the world flock to southwestern Ohio each spring to see what's new, look for bargains in the massive flea market (if you can't find it at Dayton, you can't find it), renew old friendships and start new ones.

53. Field Day - This is the ARRL's annual emergency communications exercise, but it's really so much more -- part contest, part campout, part barbeque, part family weekend, and oh yes, part emergency preparedness exercise. Hams who participate in just one competitive event each year generally take part in Field Day.

54. Building your own gear - This is a tradition that has been part of ham radio since its beginnings. Back then, of course, building your own gear was a necessity. Today it's a challenge and a rare opportunity in our prefabricated, use-it-up-and-throw-it-out world to actually build something useful with your own two hands (and assorted tools).

55. Using gear you’ve built yourself - There is no way to describe in words the feeling that you get the first time you turn on a piece of gear that you've built yourself … and it works! You can talk to people with it! It's pure magic. But as we said, we really can't describe it in words. You'll just have to experience it for yourself!

56. Operating QRP from some remote location - The opportunity to get on the radio from a remote location has its own distinct challenges and pleasures, both of which are multiplied when you decide to do it with low power (QRP).

57. Getting through on CW when nothing else will - Sometimes, voice just won't cut it on a marginal path, and yes, some of today's hot digital modes can be copied below the noise … providing you've got a working computer at both ends. The only computer you need to copy Morse code is the one between your ears.

58. Experimenting with new modes & new technology - The future of radio communications is -- or should be -- in our hands. We have been given the freedom and flexibility to try new ways of communicating or to find new ways of using existing technology. We need to continue to be pacesetters in advancing communications technology.

59. Experimenting with antennas - With components shrinking to near-microscopic size, it sometimes seems there's not much left to tinker with and build anymore. Not so, especially with antennas, a perennial favorite for experimentation. Space restrictions and no-outside-antenna rules are driving our creativity in this part of ham radio.

60. Reading CQ! - No challenge here, we hope; just enjoyable, educational and easy-to-understand reading every month. We hope CQ has been, and continues to be, one of the many things that makes ham radio great for you!