What is ham radio?

For you non-hams who come to the site, you might be asking this question.

Amateur (“Ham”) Radio is a hobby that entails licensed radio communications with others around town and around the world.  “Amateur” indicates that the licensees cannot be paid for this activity.  It not indicative of a lack of skill or knowledge on the part of the general ham population.

Hams need to meet licensing criteria by their countries’ radio authorities.  In the US this is the Federal Communication Commission which has established written examination criteria for the three classes of amateur radio license: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra.  The tests cover technical and regulatory items.  There is no longer a Morse code test requirement in the US for any license class.

For more complete information, here is an excellent link:  ARRL – What is Ham Radio?