![]() ![]() Other bands are best suited for local and regional communication around town and performing public service. Those bands have lots of activity, with hams making thousands of contacts worldwide every single day, sometimes with nothing more than a few watts of power and antennas made of wire. Some of the parks or bands (frequency ranges reserved for hams) are the traditional “short-wave” bands you might think of when you imagine ham radio. As a Maker, you are probably most interested in the electronics, but once you start digging in, you never know where it might lead or where you can apply your skills.īut what is ham radio really? Hams have access to the radio equivalent of national parks in which commercial activity is banned and only non-commercial operators (the “amateurs”) get to visit. Some hams focus on just one or a few topics while others try to experience it all. You can dive deeply into electronics, antennas, digital communications, public service, competitive operating, solar and geophysics science, world-wide “DX-ing,” or just use ham radio as a personal communications tool. Ham radio has many facets - it’s actually 1000 hobbies in one. Sean Kutzko, KX9X, is using a handheld radio and a small beam antenna to make contacts via an amateur radio satellite while he is on vacation in Puerto Rico. Portable operation can be a lot of fun and doesn’t take a big station. Flexibility, experimentation, and hacking are a way of life with hams. Opening the box (or building your own box) is not only allowed, it’s encouraged! Of the many radio services out there - from commercial broadcasting to CB to public safety - amateur radio is the only one in which equipment can be homemade and tuned to any frequency or channel that hams have access to. Hams are tinkerers, builders, fixers, and inventors by nature. What is ham radio and what does it offer you?įirst, you’re a Maker, so you already have a lot in common with the ham radio community. You may have heard about amateur or “ham” radio from a friend or maybe one of the members in your Makerspace is a ham. (Photo by Bruce Richardson, W9FZ, and provided courtesy of the ARRL) With this simple station, Jon has made contacts hundreds of kilometers away by bouncing signals off of rain showers and other weather-related structures, such as temperature inversion layers. ![]() Jon Platt, WØZQ, shows off his microwave “handheld” station – a complete transmitter and receiver package with the horn antenna built right in. Gift the gift of Make: Magazine this holiday season! Subscribe to the premier DIY magazine todayĬommunity access, print, and digital Magazine, and more Share a cool tool or product with the community.įind a special something for the makers in your life. ![]() Skill builder, project tutorials, and more Get hands-on with kits, books, and more from the Maker Shed Initiatives for the next generation of makers.
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