About Amateur Radio

Why Ham Radio?

Excellent question. I had, of course, been aware of the existence of the hobby for a long time, but did not have any relatives or friends that were into it (short of my college mentor who had done some DX listening in his day). Consequently, my knowledge of what amateur radio was about really consisted of incidental mentions in popular media, with the exception of this Spirou et Fantasio album where it was the central point of the plot. I suspect the English translation of this comic is between hard and impossible to find, but I do recommend it if you have a chance to read it.
Of course, my dabbling with electronics from a young age (taking apart flash lights as a pre-schooler) and consequent physics studies gave me a basic understanding of radio waves and related phenomena -- although I never actually encountered practical radio applications or specifically RF theory in any of my classes or labs. This is even more regrettable since my alma mater, The University of Oulu, has done significant research into space physics and Aurora Borealis, specifically using radar and large radio arrays -- I just ended up in a different group and had little to do with this research.

Enter KE4DYX

Enter 2001 and my roommate, Vince (KE4DYX). He was lugging about an old Yaesu HF transceiver (radio capable of receiving and transmitting) that had lots of neat buttons and dials and knobs. Buttons, dials, knobs (and lights) are close to my heart, so I was nosy. He himself had dabbled with Ham radio due to his father, but hadn't pursued it much after that. Still, I read up for the Technician exam over a weekend to get my mind off a really stressful few weeks at work, got my ticket (Amateur Radio License issued by the FCC), and we headed over to Orlando to AES Ham to buy some modern VHF radios. These consequently have found good use on many a road trip and Space Shuttle launch.

VHF, UHF, HUH?

A bit more explanation may be in place here. Amateur radio uses many different ways of transmitting information over the air -- called modes -- and has many frequencies available to it (ARRL has good band plans showing the frequencies). What someone with a technician license can use are VHF and UHF radios, which are essentially two-way radios much like those your towing company or fire department would use. No Morse code, no talking to Armenia, no big antennas. For those things one needs a more advanced license, and that required knowing Morse code, which I couldn't be bothered to learn. While functionally similar, compared to FRS radios or CBs, there are a few notable differences.

First, there is a lot more that can be done with them. Many locales have repeaters, which allow amateur radio operators to talk to each other over long distances. With a handheld radio in New Tampa I had no trouble reaching people in Riverview. These repeaters can be linked together over the internet, can have dial-out capability and other automation as well.

Second, the equipment is much geekier. I'll go into that in a bit in more detail, but for now suffice it to say that amateur radio equipment is, short of research gear, probably the most configurable and flexible equipment out there. Also, while the average amateur radio handheld radio isn't cheap, they tend to be built very solidly and have all manner of accessories available, from computer programming software to batteries, antennas, headsets and rapid chargers.

Third, there are some more legitimate uses out there for amateur VHF radios. During the 2004 hurricane season amateur radio operators with VHF radios were doing a lot of work for Red Cross and other relief operations in the worst hit areas where most communications were unavailable. When watching Space Shuttle launches, launch audio is provided over an amateur radio repeater. Having a scanner or ham radio capable of receiving this will get you instant friends in the crowd eager to know what's going on.

Let the Geekery Begin

Now, then, about ham radio gear. If you ever want to research bad user interface design, look no further than the nearest amateur radio. The most basic features such as volume, frequency, squelch etc. tend to be very well implemented. However, my "entry level" basic radio has two independent oscillators, hundreds of alphanumeric memory locations, automated beacon ability, computer connectivity, various time-outs and auto-power-offs, various scanning and monitoring modes and ways to mask and prioritize memories, the ability to separate transmit and receive frequencies, the ability to listen to or transmit sub-audible control tones, a voltage meter, adjustable power levels, configurable band edges, automatic transmission of Morse code identifiers and what not. All of this stuff is done via hideously overloaded buttons and cryptic menus that absolutely require you to have a manual handy unless you use a given feature a lot.

As much as I like to rag on the failure of user interface design, the fact that there are so many little things to tweak and play with is something that really gets me excited. Sure, give me decent defaults, but if there's something that can be possibly changed, give me the ability to do so! Buttons that are left for user configurable uses are cool!

It's probably obvious by now why the equipment has geek appeal to me. Still, with a Technician class license you're fairly limited in your options -- unless you know Morse code, ironically. Hence, that's where things were for the next eight years; occasional but very handy and enjoyable use.

Time for General

Enter KF4MYN, who wanted to borrow my handheld VHF radio and gave me his Icom IC-706MKII as a loaner in the interim. This is a radio capable of receiving all manner of transmissions in virtually all the "traditional" amateur radio frequencies. I played around with it over Christmas, and was bitten by the bug again. The FCC had dropped the requirement for knowing Morse code some years ago; you just have to pass a written exam now. Figuring out SSB, data modes, antennas and all that stuff intrigued me, and hence I signed up for the first upcoming general class test and after some hectic Ebaying and searching for used stuff found a new-to-me Yaesu FT-450. With these two things in hand I can now do most of the things a proper amateur radio operator is supposed to be able to do. Sort of. I live in a town house, and there won't be an antenna farm or high-power transmitters making an appearance any time soon. If I want to keep from mucking up everyone's alarms, TVs and stereos, I'm restricted for low power (QRP) operation, and there are a number of other technical challenges to meet. More about those in another post as well.

Isn't Ham Radio Something a bit... Ancient?

In the olden days amateur radio was neat in that one could communicate with people in faraway lands (like Bretzelburg), but with the advent of the Internet, satellite links and cell phones it's pretty archaic. Also, the amount of information that can be exchanged via morse code is rather limited. However, given some limits about signal bandwidth and power, amateur radio operators are basically free to come up with any method of communication using their assigned frequencies, be it AM, FM, single side band, morse code, spread spectrum, or an esoteric digital mode (like Hellschreiber.) We can legally build our own radios, and use them. And, as mentioned earlier, it certainly seems like quite a learning experience. In our increasingly regulated and restricted world, it's about the only legal way (short of engineering research) to dabble with RF technology -- and there's some very neat dabbling going on.

But Isn't Ham Radio what Retired Fat White Guys do out of Mobile Homes?

Sort of. I don't know how much of a preconception the average Joe has of an amateur radio operator, but I do have the stereotype of the subheading. Unfortunately, most of my experiences so far have borne this out. Not that there's anything wrong with retirees having fun with radios! I'll have to expand on this in another post, soon, but by and large I've found that the crowd doesn't consist of people I really want to spend time with -- largely due to a generation gap -- but the exceptions are notable enough. This is also going to be a challenge: to find like-minded, younger people to do stuff with. So far I know of two locals, and that ought to be a good start. KF4MYN has commented on similar problems, and had even tried to resurrect the University Ham Club, but ran into lack of interest and faculty support. Still, I believe there are enough nerds out there that there is something interesting in it for my generation and the next one too.