Ham Radios

Ham Radios are radios used by amateur radio hobbyists all over the world. Ham generally refers to any person or equipment used by hobbyists as opposed to professionals. There are a variety of ideas on where this term came from, but the most commonly supported is based on a slight insult about an American radio hobbyists blocking another’s signal and being called a ‘ham.’ This may be just legend, but hobbyists over time generally accepted the term and it eventually spread to other English-speaking countries. These days, Ham refers to amateur radio in general as well as its equipment.

Though they are amateurs, ham operators must be licensed by the local government in order to begin their hobby. Usually this is done after a lengthy period of tutelage by an experience person in a local hobby club or other radio society. Though this may seem like a large investment to get started in a hobby, being licensed carries a few special privileges that make any of the necessary workload worth it.

Just like any other radio frequency, ham operators are limited within a certain frequency range. However, unlike CB and other radio ranges, ham operators can operate within any spectrum they like and use a variety of different signals (AM & FM for example). This opens the door to almost any type of equipment, which can include large towers and advanced types of transmitters that can send signals for hundreds of miles. This complexity begets getting thorough advice before picking up any piece of equipment before staring in ham.

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