This is a great story that shows you don’t have to be a tech nerd to appreciate amateur radio….Dan
On The Air: An unlikely conversion puts a Eugene woman in touch with a new world
I want to touch the moon.
OK, not actually. Not a hand-print-in-moon-dust kind of touch. I want to use the moon to bounce a radio signal from me to someone in Switzerland.
Up until a year ago, I didn’t know this was a thing that could be done, and I had no idea that I would want to do it. Then I got an amateur radio license, also known as ham radio. Now I am on a steep learning curve in the art and practice of ham.
Also check out the sidebar, “Using Morse Code can improve your brain health, study reveals.”
Morse Code is making a comeback!
Forget TikTok and Instagram – children and teenagers want to learn Morse Code!
Despite being created 180 years ago and not being a requirement for amateur radio operators to learn since 1990, it has been kept alive by radio enthusiasts – and now more young people are getting involved.
A combination of pandemic lockdowns forcing youngsters to learn something new, and the use of Morse Code by popular K-Pop bands, has led to ‘a renaissance’ in teens wanting to learn the once groundbreaking form of communication.
From five-year-olds to 99-year-old war veterans, people all over the world are tapping in to communicate with others on the radio.
Climate change is affecting telecommunications infrastructure. Ham radio might be able to help
As Atlantic Canada gears up for another hurricane season after a year of unprecedented disasters linked to climate change — including post-tropical storm Fiona last September — amateur radio operators say a simple technology can play a part in the response to disasters across the region.
When Fiona hit Nova Scotia, it affected electrical grids and telecommunications networks, leaving some people unable to call for help. That experience in particular prompted a renewed interest in amateur radio — also known as ham radio — which allows non-professional users to send messages without requiring the internet or cell phone networks.
“I think it’s kind of an unsung hero in communications that gets forgotten in the noise of disaster when it comes to, ‘Well, how do we get that message out?'” said John Bignell, president of the Halifax Amateur Radio Club.