{"id":4977,"date":"2023-08-30T12:30:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T19:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=4977"},"modified":"2023-09-23T09:01:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T16:01:20","slug":"part-social-media-and-part-preppers-paradise-ham-radio-is-the-perfect-hobby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2023\/08\/30\/part-social-media-and-part-preppers-paradise-ham-radio-is-the-perfect-hobby\/","title":{"rendered":"Part Social Media And Part Preppers\u2019 Paradise, Ham Radio Is The Perfect Hobby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A nice write up if you’re not familiar with Ham Radio and how much access to different frequency ranges a ham radio license gives you<\/a>, along with ionospheric skip for world wide communications without needing the internet. I’ve personally used ionospheric skip to work over 150 countries. Ham radio is also heavily leveraging VOIP technology to connect VHF and UHF<\/a> radios, repeaters, Wide Area Networks… along with personal nodes and hotspots where you can use a handheld radio in your home and talk with people all over the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/08\/30\/part-social-media-and-part-preppers-paradise-ham-radio-is-the-perfect-hobby\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

By Roy Maynard, KJ5BVP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ham<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a fractured nation with a toxic public square, ham radio \u2014 even in this always-online digital age \u2014 is a thriving part of civil society.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Shannon Vore and her friend C.J. Bouchard were out four-wheeling<\/a> in their Jeep last fall when a passing trucker warned them of what looked like an ATV accident nearby. They said they\u2019d investigate. Deep in the Rocky Mountains of northwest Idaho, there were no towns nearby and no cell phone service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But both Vore and Bouchard were newly licensed amateur radio operators, also known as \u201chams.\u201d<\/a> In amateur radio lingo, the operators are \u201chams,\u201d and they transmit on \u201cham radio,\u201d a spectrum of noncommercial radio frequencies. Vore and Bouchard found the accident site and two critically injured teenage girls. After establishing contact with another ham on the national calling frequency, 146.420 MHz, Bouchard handed off the microphone to Vore and began some basic medical treatment. He stopped one of the girls\u2019 bleeding with a tourniquet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the next few hours<\/a>, Vore worked through a ham operator 20 miles away in Coeur d\u2019Alene who was on the phone with 911. She relayed information and instructions to Bouchard and an off-duty EMT who also came upon the scene. Adding urgency to an already dire situation, a storm was blowing in, and a Life Flight Network helicopter was grounded before it could make an air rescue.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two teams of EMTs were dispatched by ground, and the Coeur d\u2019Alene ham guided them to the site with instructions from Vore. Both girls were transported to a hospital.<\/a> Due to the actions of the radio-equipped good Samaritans, both will recover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like an increasing number of people, Vore and Bouchard have rediscovered an American anachronism: ham radio. What they\u2019ve found is more than a means of communication; they\u2019ve found a community and connection.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connection, Service, and Disaster Readiness <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a fractured nation with a toxic public square, ham radio \u2014 even in this always-online digital age \u2014 is a thriving part of civil society. It\u2019s a signal in the noise. And what\u2019s more, it\u2019s a robustly American institution. But more on that in a moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ham radio is booming, spurred on by several trends. Covid lockdowns forced<\/a> people to stay home. Old radios were dusted off<\/a>, while thousands of new ham operators were licensed to take to the airwaves.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ham radio is increasingly popular with off-roaders, who find that amateur band signals can carry much further than Citizens Band (CB) or General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) signals. At the other end of the call, there\u2019s very likely a ham operator who is trained in emergency and disaster response<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many come to ham radio through prepping. The hobby\u2019s usefulness in a grid-down situation was demonstrated in the Maui fires, when amateur radio operators stepped in<\/a> after the cell phone system went down, passing along information to civilians and first responders alike. The nature of ham radio clears away the fringiest of preppers. It is governed by the Federal Communications Commission; it requires an exam, license, and registration with the federal government. That leaves the rest of us \u2014 every American who recalls the empty store shelves<\/a> at the height of the pandemic and every Texan who remembers the deadly freeze of 2021<\/a> \u2014 to benefit from ham radio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest boost ham radio has experienced in recent years has been Parks on the Air<\/a>, or POTA, a successful promotion of the National Parks Service\u2019s 100th anniversary in 2016 that has grown into much, much more. To participate in POTA, hams set up in national, regional, and state parks across the globe, and they look for contacts \u2014 transmitting \u201cCQ, CQ, CQ, Parks on the Air\u2026\u201d If they successfully contact at least 10 people, then they activate the park.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hunters, which are at-home operators, can go to the POTA website<\/a> to see which parks are currently being activated and on which bands. It\u2019s not a contest; it\u2019s an event. And as it has grown, it has drawn in younger hams. POTA appeals to those who can travel to beautiful places and those who wish they could. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amateur Radio, an American Tradition <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What makes ham radio so uniquely American?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, it\u2019s an enduring public square. It was the first social media<\/a>, but it carries on without the bitterness and acrimony on social media platforms now. Part of this is because it\u2019s not anonymous. Operators are required to identify themselves by their call signs every 10 minutes that they are on the air and at the end of every conversation. And part of it is because the FCC has rules against profane language on public frequencies, and the ham community is largely self-policing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the ham radio airwaves, connections are made, civilities are exchanged, and contacts are often recorded in logbooks (either on pencil and paper or online). Deeper relationships can form through local amateur radio clubs and meetups, but even casual chats provide the connection Americans clearly crave.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been said ham radio is \u201ca hobby, where you use the hobby to talk about the hobby.\u201d That\u2019s true, but let\u2019s check back with Robert D. Putnam. Bowling Alone<\/em> was never really about bowling \u2014 it was about community.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, ham radio is ruthlessly DIY. In an age of throwaway electronics and user-friendly interfaces, ham radio operators look down on mere \u201cappliance operators.\u201d Hams will build their own radios from kits<\/a>, and then they\u2019ll cobble together their own antennas from trash, old speaker wire, and attitude<\/a>. There\u2019s a bustling YouTube community<\/a> of hams to help new licensees with the more complicated aspects of the hobby. But DIY \u2014 known as homebrewing in the community \u2014 is the goal. You might even call it \u201cself-reliance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ham radio is also inexpensive and service-oriented. Financially, the barrier to entry is low. Handheld ham radios can be had for as little as $25, though \u201cshack in a box\u201d transceivers can cost thousands of dollars. Hams put their radios, their resources, and their skills to work for their communities. Many hams build \u201cgo boxes,\u201d with radios and solar panel systems that let them operate in areas without power or working infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOrganizations such as Amateur Radio Emergency Services train members to work with emergency organizations, lending their radio expertise to pair with rescuers, set up communication centers and assist accordingly,\u201d tech journalist Seth Price writes<\/a>. \u201cMost local, county and state emergency organizations have established working relationships with the amateur radio community.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Hams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ham radio played a role in Cold War-era civil defense efforts, and amateur operators remained ready to work with the National Guard to relay messages in a national emergency. This has evolved into today\u2019s Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hams have also helped NASA. In the early days of the space program, Cape Canaveral relied on amateur radio operators all over the world to communicate with orbiting space capsules. (Remember that \u201cline of sight\u201d scene from \u201cIndependence Day\u201d?) Even today, NASA regularly asks hams for help documenting solar phenomena<\/a> and tracking down \u201czombie\u201d satellites<\/a> that the government has lost contact with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Vore and Bouchard, ham radio was a way to ensure their own safety in the wild places where the Jeep people go. But they found it\u2019s more than that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt took us about two days to wind down from the experience,\u201d Vore<\/a> said, following the rescue of the injured teens. \u201cWe are both glad we had our amateur radio licenses and were able to help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A nice write up if you’re not familiar with Ham Radio and how much access to different frequency ranges a ham radio license gives you, along with ionospheric skip for world wide communications without needing the internet. I’ve personally used ionospheric skip to work over 150 countries. Ham radio is also heavily leveraging VOIP technology […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham","category-tech"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4977"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5234,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4977\/revisions\/5234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}