WJ5G
Amateur Extra Class
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What is Ham Radio? Well, let's see, in 2021 it was estimated
there were an estimated 1,750,000 licensed Hams worldwide. The FCC, on
September 13, 2023, reported there were 758,717 active FCC licenses held
by individuals in the US, US territories, possessions, and APO/FPOs.
If each Ham answered the question "what is Ham radio", I would not be
surprised to receive over a million different answers.
Ham radio is something different to each Ham. It is rag-chewing with people
you may have never met, talking to friends old and new. It is listening intently
or maybe even speaking loudly into your microphone in order to get that new
DX station into your logbook. Ham radio is the fun and excitement of contesting
most weekends every year or searching the bands for those elusive Special Event
Stations in order to get those pieces of paper to hang on the wall.
Ham could be all or none of those things. Ham radio is collecting vintage gear or
perhaps buying every new radio that hits the market then selling them off in order
to buy the next new one or it could be rebuilding vintage gear in order to breathe new
life into the radios that Hams before us enjoyed using. For some Hams Ham radio is
spending their time and money building and installing repeaters throughout the area
for other Hams to use. Ham radio is all of these things and so much more.
It is different for each individual even when they seem to be doing the same thing. Ham
Radio has influenced many aspects of the world as we know it. There have been countless
young Hams who have went on to be engineers, astronauts, and scientists. Ham radio has
helped an untold number of people during natural disasters and other emergencies. Hams
serve individuals and communities on a daily basis by volunteering their time and equipmwnt
to pass traffic messages all across the United States. They do this so they will have the skill
to smoothly keep messages flowing during emergencies.
There is something for everyone in Ham Radio. Believe it or not, I have just barely gotten started
in listing all there is to do and enjoy in Ham Radio. It is truly the hobby for the entire family
and for people of almost all ages and from all walks of life.