Thursday, March 28, 2024

What is Amateur Radio

AMATEUR RADIO IS RESPONSIBLE

For putting hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, into direct contact with each other every day. Worldwide, there are over one
and a half million licensed amateur radio enthusiasts spread across virtually every country, who are free to operate their radio stations from their homes. National, political and ethnic barriers are non-existent, thus promoting international friendship and understanding.

Amateur radio represents a priceless freedom which must be treasured.
Because of the potency of amateur radio, like all other radio services, it has to be controlled on an international basis. The controlling body is the International
Telecommunications Union based in Geneva, which is an agency of the United Nations Organization. This body allocates strictly defined bands of frequency on which amateurs may operate, in the same way that it allocates frequencies for radio and TV broadcasting stations, aircraft communications, emergency services and scores of other users of the heavily loaded radio spectrum.

The ITU recognizes the importance of amateur radio in its definition of the service - ‘A service of self-training in friendship’. Relatively simple home-constructed equipment, in skilled hands, is capable of communicating all over the world. This potency must be matched by a responsible attitude by those using amateur radio facilities.

All countries wisely demand that radio amateurs pass a technical examination before they can obtain a licence to transmit. This is to insure that they have sufficient technical background to design, build, maintain and operate their equipment to high standards with minimum risk of interference to other radio services. It is this technical training that distinguishes amateurs from almost all other actual users of the radio spectrum. This includes members of the general public in some countries where citizen band radio is in operation. If this sounds a little forbidding, it is surely one of the attractions of amateur radio that it includes in its ranks kings, lords, senators, schoolboys, schoolgirls, and old age pensioners - in fact, people from all backgrounds.

Despite its long history, the field is still wide open for people to make a genuine contribution to the art of radio. The scale of operation by amateurs sometimes comes as a surprise. To date, there have been nearly thirty communication satellites put into orbit, built by amateurs. Several are currently operational.

 

Courtesy : AP2AUM