if

Amateur (Ham) radio
Getting started

    Getting started in ham radio continues to get easier and easier, as does the purchase of equipment. Up until 1991, all ham operators needed to demonstrate proficiency in Morse code. In the case of the novice operator, proficiency had a pretty broad meaning. A novice need merely to display the ability to read 5 wpm, which is childishly easy. In addition to this, the way that the test was given, made it nearly impossible to fail. Essentially, you were sent a message, and then asked some questions about what message was sent. The ease of this test, is a pretty good indication, that even most of the ham radio community considered code to be irrelevant.
    There were a couple of reasons for the code requirement; but it had been under attack for as long as I have had an interest in ham radio. Initially, code proficiency was required, because in the early days of radio, this was how most communications were done. As voice became more common, the code requirement was left in place, due to international agreement. The SW bands are world wide resources, and it actually is possible for a bad operator in Cleveland, to interfere with a station in London. Eventually, the FCC decided that code was no longer relevant to contributing to the state of the radio art, and discontinued the requirement for domestic use, by instituting the new no code license in 1991. Before this, there had been five classes of ham license, each vesting the holder with increasing levels of power, and broader frequencies.
    The no code license, was just what the name indicates, a ham license that required no demonstration of Morse code proficiency. However, it did limit the operator to the higher frequencies that would not permit long range communications. This permitted a no code license, that still kept the international agreements. At this time, the license types were reduced in number to three - Technician, General, and Extra. Those who had earned novice or technician plus licenses previously, are still under the limitations of those licenses, even though they have been discontinued.
    Much of this may seem needlessly restrictive, and I would agree to an extent, except for one thing. I was a part of the big CB radio boom, back in the seventies, and have a pretty clear memory of how this changed the face of that service. Actually, I anticipated the boom a bit and, like many boys growing up in the sixties, had numerous sets of walkie talkies. Though the popular perception of the boom, is that it was an outgrowth of the romanticism of long haul trucking, and the massive us of the CB radio by the semi driver, I wonder if it isn't more a result of the army of boys growing up, who had owned walkie talkies in their youth.
    Back when I was a boy, in the sixties, electronics gear was pretty expensive, and even a cheap set of walkie talkies was beyond the means of the average 8, 10, or even 12 year old. Still, there were birthdays, and holidays, through which such devices might be obtained. Like Ralphie, from a Christmas Story, I was constantly hoping for that special gift, in my case a big CB base, rather than a BB gun (though I would have gladly taken a BB gun, I was too realistic to even bother asking for one). The problem was, that a big CB base, or even a really modest version, could cost $100 $200 and more. This was a considerable amount of money, back in 1965-67. In addition, bases had to be licensed, and the licensed user had to be 18 or older. Finally, a base would require an antenna to be mounted somewhere, and we had lived in a series of apartments. In short, it was not going to happen. Still, I could dream, and often had catalogs from Sears Penney's, Allied, and Lafayette, showing the various models of 23 channel CB bases and mobiles available at the time. The reasons for the high costs of the radios, were the fact that these were all crystal controlled, and were all tube sets, which is to say that they had no solid state electronics. This was back in the day when your parents had to save up for a color T.V., or perhaps buy one on a payment plan, and even a basic stereo was an expensive and carefully purchased item.
     When I finally did get my walkie talkies, and latter on my base, It was fun, and very usable. The usability decreased to nearly zero, during the Big CB craze that occurred in the seventies/eighties. The bands were jammed, no protocol was observed, linear use was common, and so was out of band transmission. It was just a mess, and caused many people to leave CB radio. Without the rules and licensing requirements, this would probably be the future of ham radio.

local radio club
study
take test
rules
radio theory
accountability