As a Amateur radio operator here in the great Pacific Northwest I still find Ham radio an exciting hobby as well as an excellent learning experience as I dig into the different radio gear piled up around the ham radio shack and learn about electronics. I know that even though not everyone shares my passion for radio that I am not alone in my quest as I seek out others in the hobby to talk about electronics and radio. Whenever I am stuck on a problem of troubleshooting a radio or other electronic device there is always someone their to give a helping hand and help me work through the problem I am facing.

Ham radio has been an excellent experience for me and I have enjoyed it more then anything else I have done throughout my life. I have met some really interesting people along the way and still get excited when I hear a distant morse code station calling CQ on whatever band I may be cruising at the time. Although I have worked into Europe and the Middle east on a regular basis it still makes my heart skip when I hear a station calling. It is fun to swap stories and talk with someone from another country and exchange names and QSL cards.

Ham radio has been gaining in popularity the last few years. In this country more and more people are wanting to help with radio communications for their community through the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) and being prepared for natural disasters. The prepper community is also starting to embrace Amateur radio as a way to communicate with friends and family that share a similar interest.

Ham radio can give you worldwide communications as well as local depending on what frequencies or bands that are used. VHF (Very High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) is great for local communications up to about 75 miles depending on the terrain where you live, and HF (High Frequency) can give communications from 100 miles up to 10,000 miles. The HF bands are great for statewide nets as well as distant stations depending on which time of the day you get on the air.

If you have ever listened to shortwave radio you know about HF and how a signal can bounce all around the world depending on time of day and solar conditions. When the sun is at it's peak the usable frequencies can sometimes reach into the VHF bands and cause them to bounce as well. This is accomplished by the solar activity ionizing our atmosphere causing it to act like a big mirror to radio signals.

One thing that is great about the gaining interest in Amateur radio is the dropping prices in radio gear. In the last few years we have some great radio gear coming out of China that are about a third of what you would pay for a similar radio from Japan. Radio's like the Baofeng UV-5RE and Wouxun KG-UVD1P are dual band radios in the VHF and UHF bands that are priced under one hundred dollars. This makes them affordable for new ham radio technicians that are just licensed without breaking there pocketbooks. Although they do not have all the bells and whistles that a more expensive radio like the Yaesu FT-60r has, they are quite usable on the VHF and UHF ham radio bands.

Hope to see you on the Air