One of the best things that I ever participated in as a young person was becoming a Amateur (Ham) Radio operator back in the early 1970's. It was one of the best things a younger person could take up, it was educational since there was a test that you had to pass before you would be allowed to get on the air with a ham radio.
The test go from pretty easy for the entry level class of Technician to fairly difficult for the top level class of Amateur Extra class. Today there are three classes of license, beginning with the Technician class, then the General class and the Extra class license. When I first got into ham radio there was five classes of license, beginning with the Novice license, and the Advanced class license between the General class and Extra class, then there was a short period of time when there was a Technician plus license.
When I started in ham radio, a volunteer would give you the Novice exam, but at the time all other test were given at the FCC office usually for those in this area the nearest office was in Mobile. In 1984 the FCC started using volunteer examiners to give all test for all license classes. For anyone interested in ham radio, the nearest club to this area is the Brewton Amateur Radio Union, they have a Face Book page with a lot of information on it, or might do a web search for WB4ARU, the club call sign.
So, what is ham radio, unlike CB radio it involves much more than just talking on a radio, for one thing hams are allowed to use several modes of communication, even TV. Hams also help during disasters, like hurricanes, I remember back in 1979 when hurricane Fredrick hit this area, some members of the Brewton club went to Baldwin county to help establish emergency communications into and out of the effected area.
This is not just some randomly thrown together event, hams actually practice emergency communications each year during the last full weekend of June at a event called Field Day. Most clubs put a lot of work into Field Day, but it pays off during a emergency.
Many people are mistaken that hams have to run a lot of power, while in most cases hams can run up to 1500 watts, most never use this much to even to talk to people all over the world. For my own experience I have talked to other hams in countries like Australia and Japan and several European countries using only a couple of hundred watts of power and a piece of wire for a antenna.
I did both (CW) Morse code and (SSB) voice communications during my really active years. This is accomplished using frequency, hams operate on frequencies from just above the old AM radio band the 160 meter ham band to several microwave frequencies. The HF bands are the ones that are good for long range communications. Bands like the 40 meter band (7Mhz) the 20 meter band (14Mhz) and the 15 meter band (21Mhz) have been popular long range bands for years.
For most local communication the 2 meter FM band is popular, usually using a local repeater to extend the range of communications. There are many exciting things that can be done with ham radio, one thing that I helped with back in March of 1995 was to help the BARU make it possible for the Brewton Elementary school talk to the space shuttle Atlantis.
You meet a lot of interesting people on the radio, from famous people to regular people who have had not so ordinary things happen to them. I talked to a older gentleman back in the 1970's that was arrested one night because he reported what he had heard on his radio set.
He heard a ship sending CQD the old disaster call, and the new call SOS, he went to the local police station to report what he had heard. They were interested in what he had to say until they ask if he got the name of the ship, he did, it was the RMS Titanic, they all knew the Titanic was unsinkable so they let him spend the night in jail for telling such a bad joke.
He said the next morning when they heard it was true, they all had questions for him. I've been off the air for quite a while now, but when I retire sometime within the next 18 months or so I intend to get back on the air, so ham operators will again be hearing old WD4KTW back on the air.
If you are interested in getting into ham radio, checkout the BARU's Face Book page or do a web search for them, they will be glad to help you in anyway. The ASHS meets at 6 P.M. the third Tuesday of each month at the Leach House Museum at 4th and Jefferson in Century join us.
