Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is a hobby where ordinary people communicate with one another using radio signals. Many sections of the radio spectrum, ranging from 1.8 MHz (160 meters) up to 241 GHz (1.2 milimeters) and beyond are allocated specifically for non-commercial use by licensed amateurs and defended jealously by an international alliance of hackers and geriatrics who would like to continue playing with their toys. Regulations vary from country to country, but are generally aligned to allow for international communication. In the United States, amateur radio operators are permitted to transmit using up to 1.5 kilowatts of power and there are no certification requirements for the equipment. This is 3000 times the amount of power used by a typical department store (FRS) walkie talkie, and 375 times the amount of power used by a legal, unmodified (lol) CB radio.
Radio communication is a broad discipline which contains a multitude of niches. Common forms of communication used by amateurs include 'continuous wave' pulses (used for Morse code), analog voice modulation (AM, Single Side Band, FM), and a plethora of digital modes including commercially developed systems like Motorola DMR, novel weak signal schemes like FT8, slow scan television, the Automatic Packet Reporting System, and many more.
The practical applications are just as varied, from casual ragchews, to organized check-ins, to RC aircraft and weather balloons, to people trying to collect QSO cards (confirmed 2-way contacts) like pokemon. VHF/UHF repeater networks are pretty common, with most amateur radio clubs operating one. These repeaters allow people with VHF/UHF radios to relay their signals off of radio towers / mountaintops and talk to people far beyond their line of sight. A handful of retired satellites have even been turned into UHF repeaters. Packet networks like APRS have pretty widespread coverage, and a handful of packet radio BBSes are still online. Weak signal HF communication has exploded in popularity over the years, while some opt for more esoteric challenges, like EME propagation.
On paper, frequency might seem like just a number, but the characteristics of radio propagation change drastically depending on the wavelength of the signal. For example, very high frequency (144 MHz / 2 meter) and above signals are typically only practical for line of sight communication, while high frequency (3.5 MHz / 80 meter through 28 MHz / 10 meter) signals are known to reflect off the ionosphere, reliably enabling intercontinental communication under the correct circumstances. This allows me to listen to Radio Havana Cuba from the NYC area on most nights.
There is a catch though. Transmitting powerful signals isn't as simple as turning a dial to an arbitrary frequency and clicking a microphone. The antenna system being used to produce the signal must resonate at that frequency. Whether the antenna is a whip, a dipole, a dish, or a yagi, it must be sized to a harmonic fraction of the wavelength being used. Otherwise, the antenna will reflect power back towards the transmitter instead of sending it out into the ether (this is bad). Once you understand this though, you can begin identifying the functional purpose of radio antennae just by looking at them. The length/diameter will tell you roughly what frequency it is designed to use, and the shape will indicate the shape of the radiation pattern. Likewise, radios themselves are specialized to operate within specific frequency ranges.
The demographics of the hobby generally lean towards boomers with disposable income, but not exclusively so. A $35 Baofeng is all it takes to start talking on local repeaters. None the less, the principles of radio communication are the bedrock foundation on which our modern technological society is built. Television and radio mass communication networks, cell phones and wireless internet, public service communication from air traffic to EMS to fire to pigs. Military operations, drones, signal intelligence, jamming. It all relies on radio, and it is a good idea for us to understand how these systems operate at a fundamental level. Amateur radio offers a pretty rich playground for us to investigate and experiment in this arena and develop skills in communication and intelligence gathering, which could potentially be applied towards pirate radio, mesh networking, and other not particularly legal forms of direct action.
Licensing exams are administered by volunteers, typically at a cost of $15, and the entire question pool is publicly available. It is possible to spend a couple days doing flashcards and take the test, then the license is good for 10 years with no other fees.
Finally, happy Cinco de Mayo. :meow-fiesta:
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Earlier this week, I was walking around a local park and was stopped by a homeless man asking for help. As someone who grew up in a conservative family and whose parents always warned about the dangers of homeless people (and having that warning always reinforced on the news, i.e. you never hear about a "housed" man doing a crime but you always hear it in relation to a homeless person), my inclination even a few years ago probably would have been to shake my head no and be on my way, if not completely ignore him. But this time, because of how much my political views have shifted since the pandemic started, I stopped and asked him what was up, still a little unsure and uncomfortable at this point (I honestly get a little nervous whenever any stranger stops me lol).
Turns out that yeah, this dude obviously needed some money (he said for busfare, but even if had been lying, I don't give a shit). So I gave him some cash and he was really grateful. He also couldn't stop talking and told me multiple tales from his lifetime, so I decided to keep being a good listener and interject every now and then, but letting him do most of the talking. At one point, he even started guessing my age, height, weight, and shoe size, which was really amusing (he nailed my height and weight too!). He even gave me a hug at one point and I reciprocated.
By the end of the conversation, he reiterated he was really grateful for the cash but how he especially was appreciative of being willing to talk with him in the first place. He told me that he usually hangs around the park and I told him I would look for him next time. Anyways, the whole interaction filled me with warm, fuzzy feelings from knowing I was able to make someone's life a little better that day.
In the future, I was just thinking of doing more of the same whenever I see, i.e. just keep giving him a few bucks here and there whenever I see him and stopping by to chitchat a little bit. Anyone have any advice, like if there might be a better way I can help him out?
Ask him how you can help. He would know better than any of us what he needs and what someone like you might do that would benefit him. Whatever though, helping him out and talking with him is doing real, genuine praxis, so thank you for doing that. Money always helps of course. The more you can give without hurting yourself, the better. It fucking sucks that that's how it is, but 99.9% of the time, the thing that's lacking in the life of a desperate person is money, seeing as it is the sole means of survival in hellworld. But if you don't have enough of it to give without hurting your own material circumstance, just listening and treating desperate people like the fellow comrades that they are goes a long way.
I guess I meant like if there are certain groups or whatever to look for in my area that can help. But yeah you're right, it probably makes sense to speak to him directly first to get a better gauge of what specifically he needs before considering any of that
if we're talking as an individual, I would just keep with the small amount and the humanity you give through treating them like a person, but yeah ask him yourself "hey, is there anything you need I can get for you?". things kinda change at different scales is all, when working with orgs to do homeless outreach socks, razors, period products, toothpaste, hand sanitiser, those are often what I find we'd go through fastest and people be most grateful for, though naturally few people turn down a free lunch