What is Ham Radio?

Ham 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.

Ham 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.

Radio Hams 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. Manufacturers
are not licensed to operate their gear. Radio Hams
are qualified to design, build and then
operate their own pieces of equipment. 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.

The excitement that drives a Radio Ham starts with
relatively simple technologies at first, perhaps making
his own Wimshurst machine and primary cells. 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.

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

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 are deceived by such people!

-----ooooo-----

One infallible way to disambiguate the CB Radio Hobbyist
from the _REAL_ Radio Ham is to solicit their view of the
difference between CB Radio and Ham Radio. A Radio Ham will
perceive Ham 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
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 as a separate
technical pursuit.

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

-----ooooo-----

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

And so, on and on go the anti CB and anti-M3 ramblings (rumblings?)...
What about volunteering to serve on the RSGB or is that too hard? Just
better to crticise... And what about showing new M3s a better way to
behave.. by **example**. Nah, just gripe and snipe.. easier.

Polymath wrote:

What is Ham Radio?

Ham Radio is a technical pursuit for those who
are interested in the science of radio wave
propagation...

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 are deceived by such people!


etc. etc. etc.

Most (not just CB and M3) amateurs, sadly, use off the shelf cheque book
purchased rigs and accessories. Amateur radio *has* changed. I think
it was better BTW, but that has been changed by technology. The number
of intolerant people blaming the wrong things has not changed - just
become more readily readable by eg newsgroups. Again, simply the march
of technology. A good hobby would move with technology. Adapt where it
has to, and always be positive. Most of you regulars to this NG do not
adapt. You are negative and destructive (eg towards the RSGB and M3s).
Your continual sniping about both is a bore. References to eg Potty Bar
were once mildly amusing but now tedious. Specifically, someone on here
recently reported that he had been wrongly castigated by an M3 for
transmitting off channel. A clear case of where technical experience
was lacking. An amateur with the true spirit would have tactfullly
explained the facts. And that was one of the *better* comments! Most
are non-specific and generalised sniping. Yes, there are poor M3s, and
there are also poor full calls, and poor but fast CW senders and so on.
Any non-amateur who lurks across this group will quickly form an opinion
that radio amateurs are a bunch of negative misfits and the sooner that
BPL for the masses reduces their facility the better. BTW, for reasons
beyond my control I'm not a member of the RSGB. I'm not an M3 either.
Just an amateur. And why do I bother, I sense some ask. I suppose I'm
still an incurable optimist who thinks some conscience may be pricked
and this behaviour improved.. Why be here at all (Jock - one of the
better ones - asked) See my earlier reply. Come on chaps and
chapesses. Lift your game. Time is running out. Do not be like the
famous Australian amateur (a UNIX expert) who responded to accidental OT
posts to their newsgroup (I think it was then called just "radio") in
the early days of the Net by flaming. His "cleverest" flame was metres
long printouts which informed people they were on the wrong group. By
giving such a negative image to amateur radio to so many technically
curious people (surely exactly those we want) he did a great deal of
lasting damage to the amateur cause - perhaps aided in its
disappearance. He is actually a public-spirited amateur, but what an
error! Some of you are public spirited too. So for those, a plea for
more tolerance. More thinking before putting keyboard, mouth, key into
gear... Or will the replies show the absolute opposite? We shall see..
Time gets short. BPL for HF and other pressures for VHF/UHF/SHF could
arguably squeeze us all out. The efforts of this group do not help in
resisting this. They vastly aid it. Any lurkers are going to have a
most negative impression of what probably are a bunch of fine people
doing their best to hide it! "Amateur radio - so that's what it's like
- best legislate against it without delay!" Anyone got anything *new*
to add? Usenet is meant to aid debate, so have a go. But please not
the usual, broing, repetive stuff; we've read it all before... Thanks
for reading this; I now feel slightly better...

wrote:
And so, on and on go the anti CB and anti-M3 ramblings (rumblings?)...
What about volunteering to serve on the RSGB or is that too hard? Just
better to crticise... And what about showing new M3s a better way to
behave.. by **example**. Nah, just gripe and snipe.. easier.

wrong on both count the word would seem to be raving

Polymath wrote:

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

However,

[ ] In the UK, no repeat no licence of any kind is necessary to
specify, design, construct, modify, repair, own, or (under some
circumstances) test an Amateur transmitter.

[ ] A pass in a current examination for a UK Amateur Licence qualifies
the successful candidate for the issue of a UK Licence. Holders of the
appropriate levels of licence are permitted to operate transmitting
equipment that is not subject to a formal approvals procedure, and to
carry out technical investigations. A qualification for a Licence, or
the Licence itself, is not, repeat not, a qualification to specify,
design, construct, modify, repair, or own transmitting equipment.

from
Aero Spike