Amateur Radio, also known as "Ham Radio", is a hobby and a service.
Hams, who must be licensed by their governments, operate two-way radio
stations from their homes and cars, talking with other hams across town
or across the world. Amateurs may communicate only with other radio
amateurs. Special sets of radio frequencies, or bands, are set aside
for use only by Amateur Radio operators.

A PIONEERING HOBBY

The hallmark of Amateur Radio through the years has been technical
advancement. Hams pioneered long-distance use of the short-wave bands
and today have expanded the range of formerly "local" bands through the
use of automatic relay stations, called "repeaters". They even use
satellites to enhance their transmissions. With special hook-ups, it's
possible for a ham with a small hand-held radio to communicate with
other hams half a world away.

A PUBLIC SERVICE

Amateur Radio is primarily a hobby, for personal enjoyment. But in
times of need, it is transformed into a corps of highly trained public
service communicators, ready, willing and able to help their neighbors.
Hams are probably best known for their work during disasters.

WHO ARE HAMS?

Just about anyone can be a ham. Men, women, boys, girls, hams range in
age from under 8 to over 80. There are no limits. Many handicapped
people find a door to the world in Amateur Radio. Many famous people
are hams, but most are just plain folks who like making friends around
the world.

HAMS ARE NOT CB'ers. While many hams started out in CB radio, the two
services are entirely separate. CB (Citizens Band) radio is intended
for local communications on personal or business matters. No license is required. Amateur radio is a world-wide service, for noncommercial communication only. A license is needed. Hams also have a much wider
choice of frequencies and methods of communications than CB'ers.

HAM RADIO IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Having a "ham" or Amateur Radio operator as a neighbor can be a great
advantage - especially in times of crisis. While most hams spend most
of their "on the air" time in their "shacks" or stations enjoying their
hobby, they're also "on call" in times of need. If your town is hit by
a flood, hurricane or other natural disaster, chances are that your neighborhood ham will be part of an emergency communications team,
helping direct rescue officials to where they're needed, helping relief agencies and public safety officials keep in touch with each other.

On a more personal level, if disaster strikes elsewhere, and you have
relatives or friends in the stricken area, your neighborhood ham can
probably sent a message - free of charge - to find out how those people
are doing. You don't need to wait for a disaster to send a "radiogram".
Many hams enjoy relaying and delivering these messages -always free of
charge - all over the United States and to certain foreign countries.
Hams have organized networks to speed the flow of these messages.

Hams also provide "phone patches", particularly for US servicemen
overseas. By hooking their radios and telephones together, hams can let
people at home talk with loved ones for just the cost of a local phone
call.

HAMS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Many individual hams and local Amateur Radio Clubs work on a regular
basis with a variety of community organizations. In most cities, hams
are affiliated with local disaster preparedness agencies. But they also
work with other groups such as the March of Dimes, providing
communications for walkathons, bikeathons, etc.

Hams also provide communications for such large-scale events as the
annual New York City Marathon and the 1,000+ mile Torch Runs for the US
Olympic Games. Hams do all this without payment. Federal law bars them
from accepting any compensation for the service they provide. It's all
done for the satisfaction of helping their neighbors.

Is one of your neighbors a ham? Amateur Radio operators (hams) don't
look different from anyone else, so how can you tell if one of your
neighbors is a ham? One tell-tale sign could be a big antenna on the
roof or in the back yard (though it could also be a CB antenna,
satellite "dish" or big TV antenna).

Another hint could be callsign license plates on the car. Amateur
callsigns in the US begin with A, K, N or W, have one or two letters
followed by a number from 0 to 9, then one to three more letters
[Examples: W1AW, N2BFG, KK5AA, AC2T]. Many states issue special
license plates to amateurs in recognition of their service to the
community.

If you think a neighbor is a ham, ask. If the answer is yes, you might
ask to see his or her station, or "shack". There, you'd see
transmitting and receiving equipment, certificates and cards confirming contacts with different parts of the world.

Is that big antenna really important? In a word, yes. While it's
possible to get on the air and make hundreds of contacts with a fairly
simple wire antenna, hams who want to be certain their signals get
through put up bigger antennas to direct their signals to certain
points. This is particularly important, say, for "phone patches" with servicemen overseas. These let people at home talk by phone - via radio
- with loved ones half a world away.

WHAT ABOUT MY TV?

While signals from Amateur Radio transmitters may occasionally seem to
cause interference to TV's and stereos, so do CB sets, computers,
vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, medical devices and countless other
things. In most cases, though, the problem is actually in the TV or
stereo. Manufacturers of consumer goods generally cut corners on costs
by leaving out the inexpensive filters that can eliminate most
problems.
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33)