When I was 15 I obtained my Amateur radio license. My grandpa, WA6KOI, helped me build antennas in my backyard, and he taught me morse code. He showed me how to chat with Hams thousands of miles away by bouncing signals off the ionosphere. He taught me how to network computers wirelessly, before wireless routers were even on the market.
Then I went off to college, met a bunch of new friends, started playing in a band, and generally became pre-occupied with being young and free in a new city. Over time I let my license expire, thinking I had closed that chapter, even though there was a part of me that was still fascinated with the hacker culture of Amateur Radio.
Reintroducing The Ham
I walked away 15 years ago, while the basics are still the same, there are so many new things in the world of open radio. Just to mention a few:
- Software Defined Radio (SDR)
- Ridiculously Cheap, Programable Handies (Baofeng FTW!)
- Hams have completely embraced the internet (EchoLink, APRS)
It’s a different world than when I was first introduced. I could, and probably will, dedicate entire posts to each of these topics alone but I’ll briefly touch on them here.
Software Defined Radio
SDR is new to me, and quite amazing, now that computing hardware has come far enough, you can fit an entire transceiver into software. What’s even more amazing to me is the web based SDR movement that’s spun out of this. Go checkout WebSDR, pick a node, pick a band, and browse the frequencies. I’ve spent entirely too long wandering around the airwaves on some of these stations. I’m looking forward to experimenting with more RF hacking and SDR after I get my license.
Baofeng Radios
The UV-5R or BF-F8HPs are 4 to 8 watt, dual band handies for $35-$60. I’ll reserve my review for another post since I’ve only had mine since Christmas and I’m not even licensed yet. So far I’m impressed with the range of ability under the relatively cheap price point. I also like the fact that there is a python library available for programming these guys, as well as out-of-the-box software.
The Internet of Things
When I first got my license in 1994, the internet was not the ubiquitous entity it is today. I remember sensing an old vs new sentiment between the two forms of communication. EchoLink Now lets Hams connect and QSO (chat) over VoIP. This seems weird but it’s actually a really nice bridge between these very different worlds. There is even an iPhone app for EchoLink.
2015
This year I hope to document my progress through licensing and learning. I have a ways to go and a lot of upcoming projects I hope to share with you, as well as a few major life events on the horizon.