On 4 Nov 2005 07:00:39 -0800, "Polymath"
wrote in .com:

What is Ham Radio?


Do you mean the Amateur Radio Service?


Ham Radio


Amateur radio.....


is a technical pursuit for those who
are interested in the science of radio wave
propagation and who are also interested in the
way that their radios function. It has a long-standing
tradition of providing a source of engineers who
are born naturals.


It also includes an interest in communication, that being the primary
purpose for -using- a radio.


Ham Radio


Amateur radio.....


awakens in its aficionados a whole-life
fascination with all things technical and gives
an all-abiding curiosity to improve one's scientific
knowledge. It's a great swimming pool, please dive in!

This excitement causes a wish to share the experience
with ones fellow man, and shows itself in the
gentlemanly traditions of Ham Radio.


......Amateur Radio.


Radio Hams


Radio Amateurs.....


are in a unique privileged position in that
they can construct and operate their own equipment! No-one
else has this privilege. Users, such as broadcasters,
the po lice and armed farces, CBers and mobile phone
users have to purchase ready-made gear.


Wrong. As a BE I have designed, constructed and operated two broadcast
transmitters. Anyone can build and operate equipment for any purpose
provided the equipment meets government criteria and has been
certificated (or otherwise authorized), and the operator has the
proper license or authorization.

And under those rules, Part 15 (as well as the UK equivalent) gives
hobbyists the opportunity to build and operate their own equipment
-without- a license at much lower power. That's not necessarily a bad
thing; those who have challenged the limitations of the 1750m band
have made significant technical advancements that have spilled over
into the field of Amateur radio. Part 15 also allows broadcasting with
very low power; broadcasting is prohibited for Amateurs except in very
special circumstances.


Manufacturers
are not licensed to operate their gear.


Wrong. They -MUST- hold a license or proper authorization to operate
their equipment for the simple reason that it must be tested.


Radio Hams


Radio Amateurs.....


are qualified to design, build and then
operate their own pieces of equipment.


Wrong. An Amateur license does not QUALIFY them to design or build
anything. ANYONE can design and build their own equipment. Amateurs
are AUTHORIZED to OPERATE their own equipment, and then ONLY if the
equipment meets certain technical standards as set forth under the
rules regulating Amateur radio.


They do this
with gusto, and also repair and modify their own
equipment. This is a privilege well worth the effort
to gain, and one to be jealously guarded.


Yet it is a privilege that is not exclusive to Amateur radio.


The excitement that drives a Radio Ham


...... a Radio Amateur.....


starts with
relatively simple technologies at first, perhaps making
his own Wimshurst machine and primary cells.


YIKES!!! A Wimshurst machine is an RFI nightmare -- definitely -NOT-
on the list of preferred devices for use in Amateur radio.


Small pieces
of test equipment follow, possibly multimeters and signal
generators. Then comes receivers and transmitters. It is with
the latter that communication with like-minded technically
motivated people takes off. The scope for technical
development grows with the years
and now encompasses DSP and DDS. There is also a great deal
of excitement in the areas of computer programming to
be learnt and applied.


Gee, where's Gunny Dudly the Spelling Cop?


The technical excitement motivates Radio Hams


......Radio Amateurs.....


to compete
with each other to determine who has designed and manufactured
the best-quality station. This competitiveness is found in DXing,
competitions and fox-hunts.

-----OOOOO----

However, beware! A Ham Radio licence


......Amateur Radio "license".....


is such a
desirable thing to have that there are large
numbers of people who wish to be thought of
as Radio Hams


......Radio Amateurs.....


when, in fact, they are nothing
of the kind! Usually such people are a
variation of the CB Radio hobbyist; they buy their
radios off the shelf and send them back to be
repaired; they are not interested in technical discussion
and sneer at those who are; they have no idea how
their radios work inside and have no wish to find out;
they are free with rather silly personal insults;
they have not satisfied any technical qualification
and their licences prevent the use of
self-designed-and-built equipment.


Notwithstanding the negative connotations, you described CB radio very
well. The Citizen's Band is -intended- for people who want to buy
their radios off the shelf -- not caring about how they work or any
other technical aspects beyond basic functionality. It's a plug-n-play
radio service. And no license is required (in the US).


These CB types engage in the competitive activities
with their Cheque-Book-purchased off-the-shelf radios
in a forlorn effort to prove that they are Radio Hams.

No _REAL_ Radio Hams


......Radio Amateurs.....


are deceived by such people!


Neither are any "_REAL_" CBers.


-----ooooo-----

One infallible way to disambiguate the CB Radio Hobbyist
from the _REAL_ Radio Ham


......Radio Amateur.....


is to solicit their view of the
difference between CB Radio and Ham Radio.


......Amateur Radio.


A Radio Ham


A Radio Amateur.....


will
perceive Ham Radio


......Amateur Radio....


to be a technical pursuit and will
perceive CB Radio to be a social communications facility
no different in essence to a land-line telephone or a
GSM mobile in the hands of a 6-year-old. Thus a Radio Ham


......Radio Amateur.....


could also hold a CB licence safe in the knowledge that
such a licence says no more about him than having a land-line
telephone, whilst continuing to regard Ham Radio


......Amateur Radio.....


as a separate
technical pursuit.

A CB Radio hobbyist, on the other hand, sees no difference between
a Ham Radio licence


......an Amateur Radio license.....


and a CB Radio licence. To him, they are
sisters-under-the-skin. Wrongly, the CB Radio Hobbyist then
tries to classify himself as the equal of the Radio
Ham


......Radio Amateur.....


when, in fact, he is nothing of the kind. A sure sign of
a CB Radio hobbyist is if he holds, or has ever held, a licence
issued under the gangrenous degeneration that is the
M3/CB Fools' Licence scheme.


......"gangrenous degeneration"? And you think -CBers- have an attitude
problem?


-----ooooo-----

One group of people who claim to be of the standard of
Radio Hams


......Radio Amateurs.....


but who are in reality nothing more than an
apology for the failure of a CBer are those class B
licensees who falsely proclaimed that they were against
the use of a Morse Test to control access to the HF
bands, until, that is, a test was introduced at their
intellectual level, the intellectual level of 6-year-olds.

6 year-olds simply lack the mathematical tool kit to
enable them to handle even the simplest algebraic manipulation
for Ohm's Law and thus, the disgraceful Class Ber's in
the aforementioned category are not Radio Hams


......Radio Amateurs.....


by any stretch
of the imagination!

Remember - A sure sign of a CB Radio hobbyist is if he holds,
or has ever held, a licence issued under the gangrenous
degeneration that is the M3/CB Fools' Licence scheme!


BTW, there -is- a FAQ for Amateur radio: it's called "The Radio
Amateur's Handbook".







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