wrote:

By the way, has anyone ever figured out why they call it "HAM"? Is it
because the old tube radios were hot enough to cook a ham on top of
them?

That's as good a reason as I've heard.
Better than most. I say we take it up as "official history."
Afterall, Neapolian said:
"History is a pack of lies we have all agreed to believe."

By the way, has anyone ever figured out why they call it "HAM"? Is it
because the old tube radios were hot enough to cook a ham on top of them?

That's as good a reason as I've heard.
Better than most. I say we take it up as "official history."....

IMHO, "HAM" stands for "Hardly Any Money"!

--Myron.
--
Five boxes preserve our freedoms: soap, ballot, witness, jury, and cartridge
PhD EE (retired). "Barbershop" tenor. CDL(PTX). W0PBV. (785) 539-4448
NRA Life Member and Certified Instructor (Home Firearm Safety, Rifle, Pistol)

wrote in message ...

By the way, has anyone ever figured out why they call it "HAM"? Is it
because the old tube radios were hot enough to cook a ham on top of
them?

That's as good a reason as I've heard.
Better than most. I say we take it up as "official history."....

IMHO, "HAM" stands for "Hardly Any Money"!

The ARRL says that it probably was a derogatory term that commercial ops
used for the "ham fisted" amateur radio operators in the spark days.

FWIW. YMMV.

Bill

wrote:

Hello,
I live in the woods on a farm and in the summer I am out riding my
horses, etc. But this time of year it gets pretty boring.

Hi George

There are at this time, three different classes of Hams. Technician,
General, and Extra. Technician has only a written test, and gets you
access to the rf world above 50 mHz. This is mostly local stuff. The low
end of the access is the 6 meter band, which is around 50 mHz (the meter
designation is the wavelength of the signal) Here there is the
possibility of long distance comms, but 6 meters is kind of erratic, and
more suited for specialty stuff, since good conditions don't happen
regularly.

General glass licenses require a Morse code test in addition to a
written test. Here you get access to portions of 1.8 to 30 mHz. If you
are in an isolated area, this will be more to your liking, as you can
now get worldwide access. Different bands have different signal
propagation, but 20 and 40 meters (14 and 7 mHz) are good dx bands, and
80 meters (3.8 mHz) are local during the day, and open up at night,
especially in the winter 160 meters (1.8 mHz) is an interesting band if
you have room for the antenna. Antennas get longer as the frequency
decreases.

The Extra license requires yet another test, and you then can have
access to some more segments of the bands.

I would recommend getting a General license first, and you can work
your way up if you like, although many are happy with that.

note:

I have simplified some of the details, such as propagation and exact
frequencies for the bands. You'll see that as you learn, but right now I
don't want to flood you with too much.

At some point in the future, the Morse code test is possibly going to
go away. But it may take years for that to happen, and you'll miss out
on the fun. The requirement is not too hard, except for people like me
that have some bad hearing problems, (but I still did it) so don't miss
out on the fun. A Morse code trainer such as NuMorse (do a web search)
is a great help.

More info can be had at http://www.arrl.org

Go for it! - Mike KB3EIA -

In article ,
wrote:
Hello,

By the way, has anyone ever figured out why they call it "HAM"? Is it
because the old tube radios were hot enough to cook a ham on top of
them?

The term traces its history to the theatrical stage.

Where for clarity and projection one is taught to add (a bit of) an "H" sound
to words starting with a 'short a'.

Those who did it _badly_, and/or made other "beginners" mistakes were,
oddly enough, known as "(H)amateurs".

This is also where the phrase "Hamming it up" comes from, describing badly-
done over-acting. Beginners who are 'trying too hard'. And, incidentally,
where the 'ham' in "ham-fisted", describing an apparent beginner pounding at
a telegraph key, comes from.

As on stage, in radio communications (particularly when *low* fidelity voice
channels are involved), prefixing an initial 'short a' sound with a bit of an
'h' _does_ help the receiving party 'hear' correctly.

Thus '(h)amateur' radio operators are known as "hams". *WITHOUT* the derogatory
connotations from the theatrical stage.

"David Stinson" wrote in message
...
wrote:

SNIP

Afterall, Neapolian said:
"History is a pack of lies we have all agreed to believe."


Wasn't he a Corsican?

Ed
WB6WSN

Ed Price wrote:
"David Stinson" wrote in message
...

wrote:


SNIP


Afterall, Neapolian said:
"History is a pack of lies we have all agreed to believe."



Wasn't he a Corsican?

Ed
WB6WSN

That he (Napoleon) was. And that alone speaks much for his mentality.
To this day the Corsicans are still quibbling over French vs Italian
street names and neither country really wants to claim them as countrymen.

-Bill FC/WX4A

Mike Coslo wrote in message ...
At some point in the future, the Morse code test is possibly going to
go away. But it may take years for that to happen, and you'll miss out
on the fun. The requirement is not too hard, except for people like me
that have some bad hearing problems, (but I still did it) so don't miss
out on the fun. A Morse code trainer such as NuMorse (do a web search)
is a great help.
Just to add some shameless plugs for Nu-Ware g
You can get NuMorse Professional and another code trainer called
NuCode from the Nu-Ware site at:

http://www.nu-ware.com/

NuCode is a complete training course especially designed for newbies.
On the same site there is a program designed to help you through the
FCC written theory exams at all levels, Technician, General and Extra.
You can download fully working demos of all these programs and try
them out before deciding to pay for them. 73 Tony Lacy, G4AUD, NuMorse
developer.

I'll repeat one or two things that others have said, but I hope this answers
all your questions.

In general, I'd advise you to find a good club and join. If you find one as
good as the one I joined when I was starting out they'll be delighted to
take you in hand, help you learn your material and pass your tests, help you
find good used equipment, etc. If you have the time and they exist start
visiting two or three local clubs -- there should be at least one in your
area, unless you _really_ live out in the boonies.

To _find_ a local club you should see if there's a local ham radio store and
ask. If that doesn't work, find your local ARRL (or your contry's group if
you're not in the US) section leader and ask for some local references.
Amatuer radio operatior are always happy to recruit fresh meat - er
introduce new members - to the hobby, so you should have a pretty easy time
if it.

Tim Wescott, KG7LI

wrote in message
...
Hello,

-- snip --

no one uses them anymore. What os involved in getting into ham. Do I
need a license for everything, or are these some public channels
(freqs)? I realize getting a license is complicated, and would be
happy with the public channels if they exist (at least for starters).

You do need a license to be an amatuer radio operator, but they're fairly
easy to get. In my opinion it's pretty easy to actually learn all the
material, but if you don't have that kind of mind the tests are all multiple
choice and the questions are drawn from "pools" -- I know people who just
memorize the answers to all the questions and pass that way.

As another poster explained, there are no-code and code licences. The
Technician class (no-code) licence will only allow you to work on 50MHz and
higher, which will limit you to local contacts, but it's a very good place
to start, and unless you're really out on the fringe of civilization you'll
have plenty of people to talk to.

There are no unlicensed amatuer radio frequencies (and they're not really
channelized except by agreement within the ham community). There is an
unlicensed LF band around 160kHz, but that's all morse code experamental,
and probably not what you'd be interested in.

What channels would I start with? What is the bare minimum cost that
I can get a USED basic two way radio? Besides the radio, what else do
I need? I assume some sort of antenna setup. What would be the bare
minimum cost for that, again, used is fine. What else do I need to
know, buy, or do?

If you started with a no-code licence you'd want to get a 2 meter (144MHz)
rig. Handheld rigs are cheaper new, but mobile rigs last longer and are
cheaper used. You can start out with a radio, a 12V power supply and basic
antenna and (if you join a club) a borrowed SWR meter to get it working. If
you install it in your car you don't even need the power supply.

If you bite the bullet and learn the code you'll be able to work the HF
bands from 1600kHz to 30MHz. These will get your voice around the world on
a fairly inexpensive radio. This is where being comfortable with Morse
would be a good thing -- my first radio was untrustworthy on voice, but got
me world contacts on morse code, and after a while it's as easy as chatting
with voice.

Like I said, I dont want this to get complicated, and my finances do
not allow any big prices. I guess there are two things would make or
break this plan, the costs, and the the license. Funds are low, and I
can barely pay the bills now. As for the license, I have a good
knowledge of electronics from way back when, mostly the old tube
equipment, but am not real up on the newer stuff, and my math skills
never were any good. So, I dont know if I would be able to pass the
tests or not, and I know learning the morse code would be tough. I
tried to learn it way back when I was in my teens, (thats ages ago),
and I tended to always get confused. My mind was much sharper back
then too.

Equipment will cost you some. It sounds like you're retired, which will
allow you to spend the time to really look for deals. If you can make
friends with someone who's familiar with the equipment and go to the
hamfests with them -- they can help you pick up something that is a known
good brand and model, and perhaps even point out the potential problems.

One of the very nice things about being an amatuer radio operator is that
you are expected to have the knowledge to not only work on your equipment,
but to build it from scratch if you wish. If you really have the
electronics knowledge you'll be able to buy older equipment and refurbish it
and align it yourself. There's still old tube equipment out there to buy,
but it's starting on the upward "antique" price curve. At this point the
best buys are probably the 1st generation hybrid tube/transistor rigs such
as the Kenwood TS-520, but I wouldn't pass up a Heath SB-101 or it's like.

One last thing, is there some sort of ham radio that goes across the
internet???? I thought I heard about something like that, or maybe I
was just having an alzheimers moment. If this is true, how does it
work?

Yes, there's amatuer radio that goes across the internet. There's a mode
called packet radio, and you can put TCP/IP (internet) packets onto it to
send email and such -- our local emergency group does just this for sending
text messages hither and yon. I've heard about individuals who've put their
ham stations up on the internet, but I have no first-hand experience with
that.

By the way, has anyone ever figured out why they call it "HAM"? Is it
because the old tube radios were hot enough to cook a ham on top of
them?

Thanks

George

In article ,
says...
I live in the woods on a farm and in the summer I am out riding my
horses, etc. But this time of year it gets pretty boring. I hate
being indoors all the time, but cant tolerate the cold very long. So,
it's spending far too much time on the internet. The net helps but
sometimes I'd rather talk than type, and hear voices besides the ones
the psychiatrists are always asking about. I am elderly, and on a low
fixed income, and can not afford much. However, I'd kind of like to
get into ham radio on a small scale. Years ago I enjoyed the CB, but
no one uses them anymore. What os involved in getting into ham. Do I
need a license for everything, or are these some public channels
(freqs)? I realize getting a license is complicated, and would be
happy with the public channels if they exist (at least for starters).
What channels would I start with? What is the bare minimum cost that
I can get a USED basic two way radio? Besides the radio, what else do
I need? I assume some sort of antenna setup. What would be the bare
minimum cost for that, again, used is fine. What else do I need to
know, buy, or do?

Like I said, I dont want this to get complicated, and my finances do
not allow any big prices. I guess there are two things would make or
break this plan, the costs, and the the license. Funds are low, and I
can barely pay the bills now. As for the license, I have a good
knowledge of electronics from way back when, mostly the old tube
equipment, but am not real up on the newer stuff, and my math skills
never were any good. So, I dont know if I would be able to pass the
tests or not, and I know learning the morse code would be tough. I
tried to learn it way back when I was in my teens, (thats ages ago),
and I tended to always get confused. My mind was much sharper back
then too.

The question, "What do I need to get into ham radio?" is one that has
more answers than you can imagine. A lot of it depends on what you want
to do on the air, how far away you want to be able to reach, and what
modes of communication you wish to use.

If you just want to talk with fellow hams in your local area, all you
would really need is a basic hand-held transceiver and a list of
repeaters in your area. A repeater is a device that receives signals on
one frequency and simultaneously transmits them on a nearby frequency.
They operate in the VHF and higher frequencies, which are normally
limited in their range by line of sight -- they don't benefit from
"skip" like on HF (and CB is in the HF band, incidentally). Repeaters
increase the range of small radios by virtue of higher power levels,
plus they are usually installed at higher altitudes for greater line-of-
sight range. Although line-of-sight is at best (like out on the ocean)
25 miles or so due to the curvature of the earth, a repeater at 10,000
feet can increase that range by many times. There's a repeater out on
Catalina Island, just off the coast from Los Angeles, which is installed
on the highest point of that island. Hams from Santa Barbara to San
Diego can converse with one another through that repeater, no problem.
So if this is all you want to do, you can easily get started with an
investment of only a couple of hundred bucks.

If you want to talk with folks around the country -- or around the world
-- then you want to operate on the HF bands. These are lower
frequencies, which require longer antennas to radiate the signals. (The
lower the frequency, the longer the antenna that is required to
effectively radiate the signal, which is why CB antennas at 27MHz are
longer than those for the 144-148MHz "two meter" amateur band.) Often,
higher power levels are also required. A basic setup, like the one I
had when I got started in ham radio, would involve a simple transceiver
like a Kenwood TS-520 and a dipole antenna. Total investment would be
on the order of $300. You can go from there on up to fancy radios like
the Yaesu FT-847 and huge beam antennas, costing many kilobucks.

There are also "exotic" modes like slow-scan or fast-scan television,
digital communications, satellite operations, and the list goes on....

To get started, the best investment you can make is in a book called,
"Now You're Talking." It's available from the American Radio Relay
League (www.arrl.org) and is a comprehensive study guide for getting
your Technician-class license. The tech license gives you full
privileges on VHF frequencies and above, all modes. If you take the
Morse Code exam with it, demonstrating your ability to receive code
signals at five words per minute, then you can also operate on some
segments of the HF spectrum. The General class license gives you
greater access to the HF bands, and the Extra class license gives you
what little that the General license leaves out. But the five words per
minute test for code proficiency is the most you'll have to take -- the
FCC no longer requires the 13wpm test for General or the 20wpm test for
Extra.

More details on all of the above can also be found at the ARRL web site
(www.arrl.org), along with study materials for all of the classes of
licenses in the US. (You didn't mention where you are, so I am
operating under the assumption that you're here in the US. If not, let
me know and I will steer you toward the information appropriate to your
country.)

One last thing, is there some sort of ham radio that goes across the
internet???? I thought I heard about something like that, or maybe I
was just having an alzheimers moment. If this is true, how does it
work?

You're talking about IRLP, or Internet Radio Linking Protocol (or words
to that effect). It allows the linking of repeaters across the
Internet, so that hams in Australia can chat via hand-held radios with
hams in England or the US or whatever. Normally a hand-held radio would
only operate over line-of-sight distances, or a little farther via a
repeater, but this way uses the Internet to hook multiple repeaters
together.

Its predecessors, in some ways, are systems like the Condor Connection
here in California. Condor links multiple 222-MHz band repeaters
together, so that whatever is said over one repeater is carried
concurrently across all of the repeaters in the network.

By the way, has anyone ever figured out why they call it "HAM"? Is it
because the old tube radios were hot enough to cook a ham on top of
them?

There are about as many answers to that as there are ham operators. No
way I'm going to take a stab at this one...! ;-)

--

-- //Steve//

Steve Silverwood, KB6OJS
Fountain Valley, CA
Email: