The history of amateur radio, dates from the dawn of radio communications, with published instructions for building simple wireless sets appearing at the beginning of the twentieth century.[1] Throughout its history, amateur radio enthusiasts have made significant contributions to science, engineering, industry, and social services. Research by amateur radio operators has founded new industries,[2] built economies,[3] empowered nations,[4] and saved lives[5] in times of emergency.
Amateur radio came into being after radio waves (proved to exist by Heinrich Rudolf Hertz in 1888) were adapted into a communication system in the 1890s by the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi.[6] In the late 19th century there had been amateur wiredtelegraphers setting up their own interconnected telegraphic systems. Following Marconi's success many people began experimenting with this new form of "wireless telegraphy". Information on "Hertzian wave" based wireless telegraphy systems (the name "radio" would not come into common use until several years later) was sketchy, with magazines such as the November, 1901 issue of Amateur Work showing how to build a simple system based on Hertz' early experiments.[1] Magazines show a continued progress by amateurs including a 1904 story on two Boston, Massachusetts 8th graders constructing a transmitter and receiver with a range of eight miles and a 1906 story about two Rhode Island teenagers building a wireless station in a chicken coop. In the US the first commercially produced wireless telegraphy transmitter / receiver systems became available to experimenters and amateurs in 1905.[1] In 1908, students at Columbia University formed the Wireless Telegraph Club of Columbia University, now the Columbia University Amateur Radio Club. This is the earliest recorded formation of an amateur radio club, collegiate or otherwise.[7] In 1910, the Amateurs of Australia formed, now the Wireless Institute of Australia.
RMS Titanic (April 2, 1912).
The rapid expansion and even "mania" for amateur radio, with many thousands of transmitters set up by 1910, led to a wide spread problem of inadvertent and even malicious radio interference with commercial and military radio systems. Some of the problem came from amateurs using crude spark-transmitters that spread signals across a wide part of the radio spectrum.[1] In 1912 after the RMS Titanic sank, the United States Congress passed the Radio Act of 1912[8] which restricted private stations to wavelengths of 200 meters or shorter (1500kHz or higher).[9] These "short wave" frequencies were generally considered useless at the time, and the number of radio hobbyists in the U.S. is estimated to have dropped by as much as 88%.[10] Other countries followed suit and by 1913 the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea was convened and produced a treaty requiring shipboard radio stations to be staffed 24 hours a day. The Radio Act of 1912 also marked the beginning of U.S. federal licensing of amateur radio operators and stations. The origin of the term "ham", as a synonym for an amateur radio operator, was apparently a taunt by professional telegraphers.
World War I
By 1917, World War I had put a stop to amateur radio. In the United States, Congress ordered all amateur radio operators to cease operation and even dismantle their equipment.[11] These restrictions were lifted after World War I ended, and the amateur radio service restarted on October 1, 1919.
Between the wars
Early homebrew amateur radio transmitterGerman amateur radio and ski enthusiast in 1924
In 1921, a challenge was issued by American hams to their counterparts in the United Kingdom to receive radio contacts from across the Atlantic. Soon, many American stations were beginning to be heard in the UK, shortly followed by a UK amateur being heard in the US in December 1922. November 27, 1923 marked the first transatlantic two-way contact between American amateur Fred Schnell and French amateur Léon Deloy.[12] Shortly after, the first two way contact between the UK and USA was in December 1923, between London and West Hartford, Connecticut.[13] In the following months 17 American and 13 European amateur stations were communicating. Within the next year, communications between North and South America; South America and New Zealand; North America and New Zealand; and London and New Zealand were being made.[14]
These international Amateur contacts helped prompt the first International Radiotelegraph Conference, held in Washington, DC, USA in 1927–28.[8] At the conference, standard international amateur radio bands of 80/75, 40, 20 and 10 meters and radio callsign prefixes were established by treaty.
In 1933 Robert Moore, W6DEI, begins single-sideband voice experiments on 75 meter lower sideband. By 1934, there were several ham stations on the air using single-sideband.[15]
World War II
During the German occupation of Poland, the priest Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, SP3RN was arrested by the Germans.[16] The Germans believed his amateur radio activities were somehow involved in espionage[17] and he was transferred to Auschwitz on May 28, 1941. After some prisoners escaped in 1941, the Germans ordered that 10 prisoners be killed in retribution. Fr. Kolbe was martyred when he volunteered to take the place of one of the condemned men. On October 10, 1982 he was canonized by Pope John Paul II as Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Apostle of Consecration to Mary and declared a Martyr of charity.[16] He is considered the Patron saint of Amateur radio operators.[17]
Two radios in the ARC-5 series. Unit on the left is a BC-453-B, covering 190-550kHz; the one on the right is a BC-454-E, covering 3-6MHz. Both have been modified for Amateur Radio use by replacing the front connector with a small control panel.
Again during World War II, as it had done during the first World War, the United States Congress suspended all amateur radio operations.[9] With most of the American amateur radio operators in the armed forces at this time, the US government created the War Emergency Radio Service which would remain active through 1945. After the War the amateur radio service began operating again, with many hams converting war surplus radios, such as the ARC-5, to amateur use.
In 1947, the uppermost 300kHz segment of the world allocation of the 10meter band from 29.700MHz to 30.000MHz was taken away from amateur radio.
During the 1950s, hams helped pioneer the use of single-sideband modulation for HF voice communication.[18] In 1961 the first orbital amateur radio satellite was launched. OSCAR I would be the first of a series of amateur radio satellites created throughout the world.[19]
U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Adrey Garret uses a ham radio at Williams Air Operating Facility during the 1956 winter. Ham radio was the only means of voice communication with friends and family back in the U.S. for navy personnel living and working in Antarctica in the days before satellite telephone technology became common.
During the Falklands War in 1982, Argentine forces seized control of the phones and radio network on the islands and had cut off communications with London. Scottish amateur radio operator Les Hamilton, GM3ITN[23][24] was able to relay crucial information from fellow hams Bob McLeod and Tony Pole-Evans on the islands to British military intelligence in London, including the details of troop deployment, bombing raids, radar bases and military activities.[25] During 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav amateur radio operators exchanged information from posts in public shelters.[26] However, owing to an informal code of conduct, radio hams usually avoid controversial subjects and political discussions.[27]
Major contributions to communications in the fields of automated message systems and packet radio were made by amateur radio operators throughout the 1980s. These computer controlled systems were used for the first time to distribute communications during and after disasters.[8]
American entry-level Novice and Technician class licensees were granted CW and SSB segments on the 10 Meter Band in 1987. The frequency ranges allocated to them are still known today throughout much of the world as the Novice Sub Bands even though it is no longer possible to obtain a Novice class license in the US.
Further advances in digital communications occurred in the 1990s as Amateurs used the power of PCs and sound cards to introduce such modes as PSK31 and began to incorporate digital signal processing and software-defined radio into their activities.
21st century
For many years, amateur radio operators were required by international agreement to demonstrate Morse code proficiency in order to use frequencies below 30MHz. In 2003 the World radiocommunications conference (WRC) met in Geneva, Switzerland, and voted to allow member countries of the International Telecommunication Union to eliminate Morse code testing if they so wished .[28]
On December 15, 2006, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Report and Order eliminating all Morse code testing requirements for all American Amateur Radio License applicants, which took effect February 23, 2007.[29] The relaxing of Morse code tests has also occurred in most other countries, resulting in a boosting in the number of radio amateurs worldwide.
While there is no longer a requirement for hams to learn "the Code", it remains a popular communications mode.
Most of Europe allows licensed operators from other countries to obtain permits to transmit in Europe during visits. Residential permits are available in many countries globally whereby a valid license from one country will be honored by other countries under international treaties.
In early 2010, only North Korea had an absolute ban on ham radio operator licenses, although many countries still maintain careful records of ham licensees, and limit their activities and frequency bands and transmit power output.
Amateur radio licensing in the United States - Contains history of U.S. amateur licensing by the Department of Commerce, the Federal Radio Commission and finally by the Federal Communications Commission.
↑ people.smu.edu/arc/ Inventor of IC "chip", Nobel Prize Winner Jack S. Kilby Credits Amateur Radio for His Start in Electronics.
↑ "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2014-01-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Role of Amateur Radio in Development Communication of Bangladesh. Information & Communication Technology for Development. By Bazlur Rahman
↑ "Wireless Club at Columbia" The Sun. November 25, 1908. Page 2. New York, NY. - Obtained from Library of Congress Chronicling America project. The article is visible directly below the conspicuous ad for "Hanan Shoes".
Cain, James D. (2003). YASME: The Danny Weil and Colvin Radio Expeditions. Newington, Connecticut, USA: American Radio Relay League. ISBN0-87259-893-4
DeSoto, Clinton B. (1936). 200 Meters and Down: The Story of Amateur Radio. West Hartford, Connecticut, USA: American Radio Relay League. ISBN0-87259-001-1
Gregory, Danny and Sahre, Paul (2003). Hello World: A Life in Ham Radio. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN1-56898-281-X
Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called dots and dashes, or dits and dahs. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of the inventors of the telegraph.
In amateur radio, QRP operation refers to transmitting at reduced power while attempting to maximize one's effective range. QRP operation is a specialized pursuit within the hobby that was first popularized in the early 1920s. QRP operators generally limit their transmitted RF output power to 5 W or less output for CW, or 10 W PEP output or less for SSB.
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the largest membership association of amateur radio enthusiasts in the United States. ARRL is a non-profit organization, and was co-founded on April 6, 1914, by Hiram Percy Maxim and Clarence D. Tuska of Hartford, Connecticut. The ARRL represents the interests of amateur radio operators before federal regulatory bodies, provides technical advice and assistance to amateur radio enthusiasts, supports a number of educational programs and sponsors emergency communications service throughout the country. The ARRL has approximately 161,000 members. In addition to members in the US, the organization claims over 7,000 members in other countries. The ARRL publishes many books and a monthly membership journal called QST.
The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is an international confederation of national organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern to amateur radio operators worldwide, and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The International Amateur Radio Union was founded in 1925 and, as of July 2021, it is composed of 172 national member societies.
The 2-meter amateur radio band is a portion of the VHF radio spectrum that comprises frequencies stretching from 144 MHz to 148 MHz in International Telecommunication Union region (ITU) Regions 2 and 3 and from 144 MHz to 146 MHz in ITU Region 1 . The license privileges of amateur radio operators include the use of frequencies within this band for telecommunication, usually conducted locally with a line-of-sight range of about 100 miles (160 km).
CQ is a code used by wireless operators, particularly those communicating in Morse code,, but also by voice operators, to make a general call. Transmitting the letters CQ on a particular radio frequency is an invitation for any operators listening on that frequency to respond. It is still widely used in amateur radio.
Contesting is a competitive activity pursued by amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radio station, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information. Rules for each competition define the amateur radio bands, the mode of communication that may be used, and the kind of information that must be exchanged. The contacts made during the contest contribute to a score by which stations are ranked. Contest sponsors publish the results in magazines and on web sites.
Amateur radio frequency allocation is done by national telecommunication authorities. Globally, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) oversees how much radio spectrum is set aside for amateur radio transmissions. Individual amateur stations are free to use any frequency within authorized frequency ranges; authorized bands may vary by the class of the station license.
An amateur radio station is a radio station designed to provide radiocommunications in the amateur radio service for an amateur radio operator. Radio amateurs build and operate several types of amateur radio stations, including fixed ground stations, mobile stations, space stations, and temporary field stations. A slang term often used for an amateur station's location is the shack, named after the small enclosures added to the upperworks of naval ships to hold early radio equipment and batteries.
In the United States, amateur radio licensing is governed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Licenses to operate amateur stations for personal use are granted to individuals of any age once they demonstrate an understanding of both pertinent FCC regulations and knowledge of radio station operation and safety considerations. Applicants as young as five years old have passed examinations and were granted licenses.
W1AW is both the amateur radio call sign and the primary operating station of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). This station, which is commonly called the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, is located on the grounds of ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. It was inspired by Maxim's 1AW callsign which predated the use of the AA-AL, K, N and W prefixes. The station routinely transmits bulletins and Morse code practice using common amateur radio frequencies. During a communications emergency bulletins are transmitted hourly in order to keep amateur radio operators informed.
An amateur radio contact, more commonly referred to as simply a "contact", is an exchange of information between two amateur radio stations. The exchange usually consists of an initial call, a response by another amateur radio operator at an amateur radio station, and a signal report. A contact is often referred to by the Q code QSO. It is often limited to just a minimal exchange of such station IDs. Stations who have made a contact are said to have worked each other. An operator may also say that he has worked a certain country. Amateurs use the slang expression ragchew or ragchewing to refer to an extended, informal conversation, a variation of the common idioms "chewing the fat" and "chewing the rag". Sometimes, a contact in person, between two ham radio operators, is humorously referred to as an "eyeball QSO". An All-Time New One (ATNO) is an operator's contact with an amateur station that they have never worked before on any band or mode.
An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio license by a governmental regulatory authority after passing an examination on applicable regulations, electronics, radio theory, and radio operation. As a component of their license, amateur radio operators are assigned a call sign that they use to identify themselves during communication. About three million amateur radio operators are currently active worldwide.
Winlink, or formally, Winlink Global Radio Email, also known as the Winlink 2000 Network, is a worldwide radio messaging system that uses amateur-band radio frequencies and government frequencies to provide radio interconnection services that include email with attachments, position reporting, weather bulletins, emergency and relief communications, and message relay. The system is built and administered by volunteers and is financially supported by the Amateur Radio Safety Foundation.
The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX), later called the Space Amateur Radio Experiment, was a program that promoted and supported the use of amateur ("ham") radio by astronauts in low earth orbit aboard the United States Space Shuttle to communicate with other amateur radio stations around the world. It was superseded by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. SAREX was sponsored by NASA, AMSAT, and the ARRL.
Vintage amateur radio is a subset of amateur radio hobby where enthusiasts collect, restore, preserve, build, and operate amateur radio equipment from bygone years, such as those using vacuum tube technology. Popular modes of operation include speaking over amplitude modulation (AM), and communicating using Morse code through continuous wave (CW) radiotelegraphy. Some enthusiasts have interest in owning, restoring and operating vintage military and commercial radio equipment such as those from 1940s to 1960s. Some undertake to construct their own gear, known in ham slang as homebrewing, using vintage parts and designs. A number of amateur radio clubs and organizations sponsor contests, events, and swap meets that cater to this specialized aspect of the hobby.
Homebrew is an amateur radio slang term for home-built, noncommercial radio equipment. Design and construction of equipment from first principles is valued by amateur radio hobbyists, known as "hams", for educational value, and to allow experimentation and development of techniques or levels of performance not readily available as commercial products. Some items can be home-brewed at similar or lower cost than purchased equivalents.
Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by more than 22,000 licensed users in India. The first amateur radio operator was licensed in 1921, and by the mid-1930s, there were around 20 amateur radio operators in India. Amateur radio operators played an important part in the Indian independence movement with the establishment of illegal pro-independence radio stations in the 1940s. The three decades after India's independence saw only slow growth in the number of operators until the then Prime Minister of India and amateur radio operator, Rajiv Gandhi (VU2RG), waived the import duty on wireless equipment in 1984. Since then, numbers have picked up, and as of 2007, there were more than 16,000 operators in the country. Amateur radio operators have played a vital role during disasters and national emergencies such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, and bomb blasts, by providing voluntary emergency communications in the affected areas.
An amateur radio net, or simply ham net, is an "on-the-air" gathering of amateur radio operators. Most nets convene on a regular schedule and specific frequency, and are organized for a particular purpose, such as relaying messages, discussing a common topic of interest, in severe weather, emergencies, or simply as a regular gathering of friends for conversation.
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communications. The term "amateur" is used to specify "a duly authorized person interested in radioelectric practice with a purely personal aim and without pecuniary interest"; and to differentiate it from commercial broadcasting, public safety, or professional two-way radio services.
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