Is Ham Radio Dead?

[TheSiege]

I've had a license since 1999 but I haven't used it in over 10 years. It was a high school class. I am a technician. Anyway anyone else still use it? Is it worth taking up again.

 

[Newbian]

If it's a piece of ham shaped like a radio then yes it's dead but it's delicious.

But I hope you like watching frequency as that's about all you will see it being used now although there are still some diehards using it but doubt it would be worth it anymore unless you are bored and have a bunch of money to pay for somewhat newer stuff.

 

[Brigandier]

Ham is so nineties, it's all about bacon now.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

dead...yes?

 

[Craig234]

Kind of sad, there was something exciting about people able to talk to strangers far away in another medium before the internet.

 

[Newbian]

Kind of sad, there was something exciting about people able to talk to strangers far away in another medium before the internet.

Now you can talk to them and flash them chat roulette style.

 

[Colt45]

it still exists, not quite like it was in the 50's popularity wise, but there are a lot of hams out there still.

 

[FallenHero]

Every so often there are Ham Radio Operator's meetings in the town I work. Usually a couple dozen people are showing up to them, so I assume it has a small but healthy group of people doing it.

 

[Triumph]

when the Great Economic Collapse happens, it'll be the only way for people to communicate across vast distances.

 

[olds]

when the Great Economic Collapse happens, it'll be the only way for people to communicate across vast distances.

This

 

[IronWing]

The neighbor down the street has a forty foot mast. The antenna rotates fairly often so my guess is that he still uses it.

 

[IronWing]

when the Great Economic Collapse happens, it'll be the only way for people to communicate across vast distances.

What would you need to say to folks living at vast distances under those circumstances?

"Come here and I'll shoot"?
"Nope, down to yellow mustard"?

 

[Doppel]

Obviously it's only used by people with some romantic notion of the past and probably have various reasons they can rattle off on how it's better than the internet, but really ham is to the internet what two cans and a string are to cell phones.

Getting back into it would be like getting back into steam-powered cars.

 

[olds]

Obviously it's only used by people with some romantic notion of the past and probably have various reasons they can rattle off on how it's better than the internet, but really ham is to the internet what two cans and a string are to cell phones.

Getting back into it would be like getting back into steam-powered cars.

Well, I still plan to use HAM to get my internet.

 

[shortylickens]

When America collapses we will need it.

 

[dmcowen674]

when the Great Economic Collapse happens, it'll be the only way for people to communicate across vast distances.

This

 

[Nemesis 1]

Ham radio is really good to have If there are communication blackouts for what ever reason . Myself and wifes brother inlaw have setups we use all the time . Its fun and practical . More so when times get hard.

 

[Schadenfroh]

No, HAMs are a precious commodity during disasters.

 

[Modelworks]

No Ham radio is not dead, not by any stretch. There are as many operators now or more than in the past. It was never something that lots of people did in every town. It isn't something that a lot of people are going to do because it can get very technical when you start talking about antenna designs and frequency propagation. The only reason I don't have a setup now is because I live in an apartment and it is really difficult to have the proper antenna in an apt setup. It has also branched out into more than just the standard frequencies of before, now people are experimenting with satellites that have open transponders for communication. There are also a lot of people who dedicate their time to things like Noaa weather satellite reception, which is extremely easy with a pc and under $100 receiver.

Check out the arrl site and you will see it isn't dead by any stretch.
http://www.arrl.org/

 

[Modelworks]

Obviously it's only used by people with some romantic notion of the past and probably have various reasons they can rattle off on how it's better than the internet, but really ham is to the internet what two cans and a string are to cell phones.

Getting back into it would be like getting back into steam-powered cars.

I actually did get my pseudo-internet via HAM before there was an internet. There is a system called RTTY. It uses the serial port and sends packets of data back and forth over the radio spectrum. For text communication it works well.

The thing you are forgetting about HAM is that with every other form of wireless communication you are relying on either a company or a government to send your message. With HAM you can send whatever you want, to whomever you want .

 

[Fingolfin269]

This makes me want to watch Frequency again.

 

[bruceb]

I have my General class ticket now. Been licensed as Novice and Technician since the early 1970's ... Have not been on the air since about 1980. No place to set up all equipment again (Heathkit) which would all need some minor work. Dried out belts, dirty controls and switches, maybe a bad cap or to due to age. Also would need a way to set up a decent antenna. My personal choice would be a 3 element beam on a 50 foot tower with rotator. Call sign: WA2HWV

 

[Modelworks]

No place to set up all equipment again (Heathkit) which would all need some minor work. Dried out belts, dirty controls and switches, maybe a bad cap or to due to age. Also would need a way to set up a decent antenna. My personal choice would be a 3 element beam on a 50 foot tower with rotator. Call sign: WA2HWV

I think that is the main reason many don't go into HAM. Many people think you can just buy a radio and plug it in with a little table top antenna and that is all there is too it, they don't realize that it often takes a tower, an antenna the size of some peoples living room, lots of wiring for both the signal and lightning protection, compliance with local codes, etc.

My preferred antenna out in a rural area is long runs of wire, several hundred feet in different directions about 40ft off the ground. I was interested in really low frequencies and was amazed at how far they could reach. Connecting from NC in the USA to Ireland and England was no problem at all with that setup. Furthest I ever saw was NC, USA to North Korea. It was amazing because NK is so strict , but at that time there were several rogue operators there.

 

[nsafreak]

I think that is the main reason many don't go into HAM. Many people think you can just buy a radio and plug it in with a little table top antenna and that is all there is too it, they don't realize that it often takes a tower, an antenna the size of some peoples living room, lots of wiring for both the signal and lightning protection, compliance with local codes, etc.

My preferred antenna out in a rural area is long runs of wire, several hundred feet in different directions about 40ft off the ground. I was interested in really low frequencies and was amazed at how far they could reach. Connecting from NC in the USA to Ireland and England was no problem at all with that setup. Furthest I ever saw was NC, USA to North Korea. It was amazing because NK is so strict , but at that time there were several rogue operators there.

That probably is a deterrent but there are more and more users being licensed according to ARRL rosters on a regular basis. You don't necessarily have to setup a huge antenna at home along with large equipment you can get away with a handy talkie unit or you can use a D-Star network solution where you just plug in a USB dongle into your PC and then transmit via one of the repeater gateways. I'm actually looking into study guides and after enough study and a practice test or two I plan on getting my technician license and possibly going up all the way to general.

 

[Bignate603]

No, HAMs are a precious commodity during disasters.

Yup, they're one of the few easily accessible ways to communicate over long distances that don't require functional infrastructure.