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Amateur Radio/WhatWhy: Difference between revisions
From London Hackspace Wiki
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'''WHY DO AMATEUR RADIO''' | '''WHY DO AMATEUR RADIO''' | ||
Many people might state "Why use amateur radio when we have the internet?" - This is true, the internet is here, easy, regulated and presented to you, often at market rate. When asked this, I often counter with that "Why ride a horse when you can drive a car?" There's a natural beauty that | Many people might state "Why use amateur radio when we have the internet?" - This is true, the internet is here, easy, regulated and presented to you, often at market rate. When asked this, I often counter with that "Why ride a horse when you can drive a car?" There's a natural beauty that this worldwide hobby has and costs much less than keeping a horse, too. | ||
Amateur radio is not about shuffling messaging in bulk, it's about understanding how to send a message out as well as the thrill of someone far away responding to you stating "I hear you." - out of all of the possibilities in the world, being able to make a direct connection by miracle of the conditions of the atmosphere, and perhaps only for a short time. | Amateur radio is not about shuffling messaging in bulk, it's about understanding how to send a message out as well as the thrill of someone far away responding to you stating "I hear you." - out of all of the possibilities in the world, being able to make a direct connection by miracle of the conditions of the atmosphere, and perhaps only for a short time. The weekend before I wrote this, the radio club at the hackspace made connections with people in multiple continents using only 35 watts of power. | ||
So some people enjoy it for the fundamentals that help them with other electronics interests like circuit design and Arduino tinkering, some people enjoy it for the sport of reaching out to as many contacts in the world as possible, and others enjoy it for the thrill of talking with a friendly stranger far far away. There are over 2 million licensed hams in the world, and getting started is easy. Ultimately, it's a literacy of the world around you - knowing how that Bluetooth radio reader works, and knowing why the signals that surround us have changed this modern world. Know more, be more. | So some people enjoy it for the fundamentals that help them with other electronics interests like circuit design and Arduino tinkering, some people enjoy it for the sport of reaching out to as many contacts in the world as possible, and others enjoy it for the thrill of talking with a friendly stranger far far away. There are over 2 million licensed hams in the world, and getting started is easy. Ultimately, it's a literacy of the world around you - knowing how that Bluetooth radio reader works, and knowing why the signals that surround us have changed this modern world. Know more, be more. | ||
