Amateur radio is a community of people that use radio transmitters and receivers to communicate with other Amateur radio operators. The THINGS that amateur radio operators do with their radios are diverse as the people themselves.

A retired military officer in North Carolina makes friends over the radio with a ham in Lithuania. An Ohio teenager uses her computer to upload a chess move to an orbiting space satellite, where it's retrieved by a fellow chess enthusiast in Japan. An aircraft engineer in Florida participating in a "DX contest" swaps call signs with hams in 100 countries during a single weekend. In California, volunteers save lives as part of their involvement in an emergency communications net. And at the scene of a traffic accident on a Chicago freeway, a ham calls for help by using a pocket-sized hand-held radio.

This unique mix of fun, public service and convenience is the distinguishing characteristic of Amateur Radio. Although hams get involved in the hobby for many reasons, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology, regulations and operating principles, demonstrated by passing an examination for a license to operate on radio frequencies known as the "Amateur Bands." These are reserved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by hams at intervals from just above the AM broadcast band all the way up into extremely high microwave frequencies.

Amateur radio operators are often called Ham Radio Operators or simply "hams". "Ham: a poor operator. A 'plug.'" That's the definition of the word given in G. M. Dodge's The Telegraph Instructor even before radio. The definition has never changed in wire telegraphy. The first wireless operators were landline telegraphers who left their offices to go to sea or to man the coastal stations. They brought with them their language and much of the tradition of their older profession. In those early days, spark was king and every station occupied the same wavelength--or, more accurately perhaps, every station occupied the whole spectrum with its broad spark signal. Government stations, ships, coastal stations and the increasingly numerous amateur operators all competed for time and signal supremacy in each other's receivers. Many of the amateur stations were very powerful. Two amateurs, working across town, could effectively jam all the other operators in the area. When this happened, frustrated commercial operators would call the ship whose weaker signals had been blotted out by the amateurs and say "SRI OM THOSE #&$!@ HAMS ARE JAMMING YOU." Amateurs, possibly unfamiliar with the real meaning of the term, picked it up and applied it to themselves in true "Yankee Doodle" fashion and wore it with pride. As the years advanced, the original meaning has completely disappeared.

Amateur radio operators proudly call themselves hams. There are about 600 thousand hams in the United States.

Ham radio operators are licensed in the US by the United States Government through the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau of the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION and enjoy far more privileges of radio operation than the "CB type" radio operators do. With these privileges come responsibilities and rules for the operation of an amateur radio station.

Some Things you can do with Amateur Radio

Talk around the world - With HF radios hams can talk to other hams in literally any part of the globe.
Talk around town - With small portable VHF and UHF transceivers hams enjoy extremely reliable and clear communications within their local community. .
QRP - Communicating with "very low power" is a challenge that many hams enjoy. QRP is usually practiced on the HF bands.
Packet radio - The internet over ham radio? Not really ... but ham radio operators enjoy a digital network of their own, all without wires!
Morse Code - You can now get a license without knowing one dit or dah of Morse code. If you want to, though, it's still allowed. .
Amateur television - It's just like real television because it is real television.
Slow Scan TV - Send pictures around the world for little or no cost.
Contests - You can put your radio operating skills up against other hams and teams of hams.
Emergency and other volunteer services - Y2K, Floods, hurricanes, mud slides, earthquakes, ice storms ... when ever `normal' communications go out, hams are ready to use their radios to provide emergency communication services to their communities.
Satellite communications - Hams have their own satellites ... really! (Amateur's satellites are easy to use too).
Traffic handling - "Ham telegrams" are used to send messages to people around the world at no cost to the sender or the recipient; all done by ham radio operators volunteering their time and resources.

How to become an Amateur Radio Operator

All hams in the United States are licensed by the FCC. After 15-April-2000 all that is required is Getting about 75% on ONE 35 question multiple-choice test and paying about $20.00 is all it takes to get your Technician license.

The FCC doesn't even give the test ... Hams volunteer to give the test to people that want to become hams. These volunteer examiners then file the paperwork with the FCC and your ham radio license is set to you in the mail.

There are many ways to prepare for your ham radio license test

[Local Club Search] - For those that like a structured approach, many clubs organize meetings and classes to teach the basic skills of radio operation and prepare people for their ham radio license test. At the end of the classes, a test is given. If you pass, you're a ham! If you live here in Kingman, Arizona you should contact the HUALAPAI AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
[Elmer Search] - An elmer is the ham equivalent of a "Yoda." Many new hams are taught my other hams. (Helping people is a common thread throughout the ham radio hobby.) An elmer knows the stuff you need to pass your test and will help you prepare. While an elmer can not give the FCC examination, he or she will be in touch with other hams in your area and know where public examinations are held. If you live here in Kingman, Arizona you should contact the HUALAPAI AMATEUR RADIO CLUB and they will put you in touch with someone that will help.
[ Study Materials] - It doesn't seem right to tell you about going it alone, because then you're not doing it all by yourself! Taking a class or having an Elmer is a far better way to get your license; and when you pass your test you will already have friends to talk to.