Ham Radio

In the pre-Mac and pre-Microsoft world of communication, ham radio or amateur radio operators are the nerds and geeks of that Jurassic techie world. Various modes of transmission are used by these radio nerds, but the earliest one is the Morse code, an internationally agreed grouping of dots and dashes allowing message exchange even among ham radio operators of different nationalities and languages.

Voice communication is now most commonly used which are either transmitted via FM (frequency modulation) or SSB (single sideband). Each has its own advantages and limitations. FM broadcasts are in high quality audio, while SSB is to be relied upon on restricted bandwidth and marginal signals. There’s also popular option of old, using home-made equipment, the amplitude modulation (AM) technology of the vacuum tube radio days.

Essentially, amateur radio is any equipment used by hobbyists in communicating with each other either for recreation, self-study or public service. Popularly known as “hams,” most of these radio operators derive personal satisfaction to be immersed with assisting in communication during emergency and disaster situations, or in the past, in some historical undertaking. Memorable among these was purportedly the last “SOS” voice transmission of legendary Amelia Earhart heard by two hams before the famed lady pilot vanished somewhere in the mid-Pacific.

Today, there are around six million amateur radio operators in the world. As Peter Parker would say, great power carries great responsibility; these hams need to pass an exam to be licensed to prowl the airwaves. Armed with the license, these radio operators gain access to a larger segment of the radio frequencies accessible via a wide array of communication equipment and technology – nerds from the past who jumped back to the future.