Thinking About Ham

I'm reticent to say "I'm a ham," because when I was growing up, and perhaps still, someone being a "ham" meant that they were always trying to hog (pun intended) the spotlight and showing off, etc.

When I told my father that I'd become a ham, he told me that I always was one. He had that kind of humor.

Modernly, a lot of people don't know what a ham is, in terms of radio. Ham or "amateur" radio is not like regular broadcasting or podcasting. It's also not about shortwave radio listening to foreign broadcasts. Ham is two-way radio. And, it's not limited by national borders except in those dictatorships, where they don't allow their citizens to participate.

Because I'm a licensed amateur (same as a ham), I can get on the radio and listen to and speak with folks all over the world, and I have. I've conversed with people from my local area and also in different spots in the U.S., as well as Wales, England, Japan, and Australia. English is the lingua franca of amateur radio so although you can find speakers of various languages on the amateur radio bands, most hams speak at least some English.

Also, what's really neat now is that you don't need a radio.

You can study materials that are widely available and become a non-code "tech" or technician. That means you no longner have to learn Morse code to become a licensed amateur. You take the test and when you pass, you get your call sign and go on the air.

I mentioned you don't need a radio. Today, there's a service called Echolink and you can get a headset and use the Internet to speak to other amateurs around the world, with very little radio interference. And Echolink is available to licensed amateurs as a smartphone app. About a year ago, I got a guy from Japan who spoke English on my phone using Echolink. I carried the phone into the room where my wife was reading, put the phone on speaker, and impressed her mightily.

If radio's half as big a kick for you as it is for me, if you have Internet access and/or a Smartphone, you should become a ham. Look up the Amateur Radio Relay League (I believe it's arrl.org) and start there. As said, you no longer have to worry about the expense, though having a radio is definitely more fun.

Separately, I do an Internet-based radio show which you can hear live on Wednesday evenings at 9PM Eastern and you can listen to any programs you missed in archive/podcast form. We're at http://GoingBeyondRadio.com/JeffBushman.

And you can access my books and my politics blog at http://bushmanbooks.blogspot.com. Thanks for reading and I'll see you on the radio. If you'd like to write, try tjbradio@gmail.com.