Ham Radio Get-Together at the Ham Shack

Wednesday evening was a scheduled time for interested Amateur Radio operators to get together in the Ham Shack. After our community potluck, Carl headed over there to meet with other Hams...

A few people came out...

... some folks wanted to chat...

... others wanted to talk on the radios.

They settled down to chat -- talking about what the requirements were when they initially got their licenses to be Amateur Radio operators.

Our friend, Laura, shared that, when she got her license in 1961, she had to pass a Morse code exam first with the FCC, having to complete so many words per minute, and if she got even one letter wrong, she had to do the test again. The test was also at a special testing location - an FCC location. After passing the Morse code segment, then she could test for the Amateur radio levels. At that time, there were tests for 5 levels: "Novice", "Tech", "General", "Advanced", and "Amateur Extra" (and another called "Commercial", and Carl is not certain where that fell within the levels) - the higher levels allowed you to work in more frequency bands. Today, there are only three levels, which are "Technician", "General", and "Amateur Extra", and Morse code is no longer required for any of the levels. Passing levels beyond "Technician" still grants you access to more frequency bands.

Even though Morse code is not required for amateur radio licensing, CW ("continuous wave" as it is also known) is still actively used but not quite as popular among amateur radio enthusiasts. It can transmit further and be picked up better in poor transmit conditions as opposed to voice (aka phone) communication.

It is interesting to learn about how the hobby has changed through the years.