Church Encouraging Ham Radios

[cdowis]

We have a very active program in getting members to get their Tech license and to buy an HT.  There has been already a communication radio shack in the regional bishop's store house, but now they are putting one in our church building.

 

We have our own repeater, which, of course, is used by both members and nonmembers.

 

In a couple of weeks they are holding a hamcram session in the morning  to prepare to get the license, and then giving the exam in the evening.  A few weeks later they will hold training in emergency communication procedures.

[David13]

I got started in ham radio as a kid.

It was to transition into CAP, and then a military career.

I suppose it would take me years to catch up with all the new technology.

dc

[Just_A_Guy]

I read up on it as a kid, but never got my license (I think at that point you had to learn some rudimentary Morse Code).

[classylady]

I grew up with Ham Radio in my home.  It was enjoyable to listen to my brother talk to people all over the world and to see the QSL cards he received in the mail.  The cards came from all over.

 

I have two brothers, two sisters, and my husband who are Ham Radio operators.

[AngelMarvel]

My dad was a HAM radio operator and my daughter got her license at the age of 10... smart little girl she was and is. I never had an interest in it...but, maybe I should. LOL

[NeuroTypical]

The last emergency faced by our stake was a forest fire that got everyone in my ward evacuated - including both our HAM radio operators.

 

That said, HAM seems to rock and I hope to get into it some day.

[classylady]

Interesting side note to this.  When my husband and I were in South Korea last month, he decided he wanted to see if he could find a ham radio to buy over there.  Hubby was hoping it might be less expensive.  We went into the electronics district in Seoul, but almost no one even knew what ham radio was.  There was one shop owner who had heard of it.  The shop owner said that the radios are very expensive to purchase in Korea.  Our son-in-law, who is Korean, had never heard of Ham or Amateur Radio.

Edited August 4, 2015 by classylady

[Average Joe]

have a ham and a license (reminder to self - better check to make sure it's current) and in spite of best intentions our stake could never seem to get a Ham Radio drill together...but for me, better safe than sorry

[David13]

Neuro T

There's ham, and there's mobile ham.  For an evacuation, you need mobile ham. 

That was one of the big things with CAP.

dc

[Jamie123]

When I was a kid, the father of one of my friends was an amateur radio enthusiast. He was an amazing guy - he built most of his own radio kit, and other gadgets like a digital clock which used the mains AC frequency for its timing signal (though I'm not sure how accurate it could have been). He was a motorcycle enthusiast and (believe it or not) was a nurse for his day-job! I often used to talk to him, and he would lend me books on electronics to read. (I can see one of them right now on the shelf above my desk, unreturned after nearly 40 years! Guilt...guilt...guilt!) For a while I was determined to become a radio ham myself - though I never actually did. 

 

Anyway, the word "ham" often struck me as odd. I always vaguely thought it was from (H)AMateur - but now I look it up I find I'm wrong. It was originally a pejorative term used by professional radio operators for people who dabbled in it for a hobby - a bit like "ham actors" or "ham-fisted incompetents". A bit like the word "Mormon" - that was also a nickname given to LDS people by non-members, but it's become so adopted by the Church that they object to it being applied to any LDS-based church other than themselves - especially the ones that still practice polygamy! 

[Str8Shooter]

I've been in two situations where the ONLY communication was via radio.  No cell, no landline, and only a couple of very overloaded radio stations.  Once in 1995, and the other in 2007.  Ham radio literally saved lives.

 

In 2007, it was a severe windstorm.  Cell phones worked at first, but then the generators at the tower sites ran out of diesel and cell service over hundreds of square miles went down.  Downed trees blocked access to the towers and the servicemen could not refuel the generators.

[cdowis]

I recently renewed my tech license -- have to do that every ten years.  I've now been studying for the General license.

 

Basically the difference is that with the tech license, you have a limited range radio, such as a mobile unit or hand held (HT) which is very useful in a local emergency.  The general license allows you to communicate worldwide thru the shortwave bands, but it means getting into some gear.  I should be getting my HT tomorrow, and it only cost me about $40 including the cable to do the programming of the frequencies.

 

BTW, morse code is no longer a requirement to get your license.