What Makes Amateur Radio an Exciting Hobby?

Remember Netflix’s Stranger Things? Those who follow this edge-of-your-seat thriller, set in the retro (the 80s) town, already know what amateur radio is.  

But for the uninitiated, let’s understand what amateur radio is and why Amateur Radio is a great hobby.

What is Amateur Radio? 

Amateur Radio is a popularly technical pass time and a volunteer public service that puts to use designated radio frequencies for the non-commercial exchange of wireless experimentation, emergency communication, and self-training.

It is the only hobby that is governed by the International treaty. You can transmit radio signals on a plethora of frequency brands. Those are allocated specially for the radio amateurs.

What Is Ham Radio Used For?

Ham Radio is used for 

• Exchange of Data
• Wireless Experimentation
• Broadcasting of TV
• Voice Messaging 
• Communication through Satellites

It gives you multiple options to play with. However, keep in mind that Ham Radio is different from the CB radio used by truckers, aviation, or emergency services for two-way communication. 

This can be used as a sport or recreation with contests. It is specifically meant for amateurs and not used for any profit or commercial game. 

Now What Makes Amateur Radio an Exciting Hobby?

Here are some of the primary reasons. Take a look.

• It Is Great Fun – This allows you to learn a lot of geeky yet exciting tasks. You need a license to become an amateur radio operator. For that, you have to rebuild your physics and Maths knowledge and also refresh your electronics. One of the most attractive things about Ham Radio back in the 70s and 80s is the building of transmitters, receivers, etc., with kits. Now kits come with their assembly instruction, but still, some basic knowledge always helps. This kind of skill can help you later in life too.
• The Community is Great– Ham Radio has always been an intriguing social pastime. The 80s and 90 pop culture triggered by shows like Friends, Seinfield, etc., always promoted the coming together of oddballs for friendship. Ham Radio became a loved network where one can find like-minded folks. This community is an inviting one that has always made newbies feel at home, and they also arrange social events and get-togethers to date that enable a family-like feeling from day one.
• Become a Local Superhero – When it comes to communicating emergency info to one group of people, Ham Radios are effective and super-fast. Though the TV news radio stations became quite faster, they still were not fast to report the community occurrences. Though social media is fast at communicating the local news, it is filled with misinformation. Herein comes Ham Radio, which is useful to date in this regard. Through this, people can get the latest news directly from people living close to the area. So you can become a superhero by informing your community about newsworthy incidents like crime, extreme weather changes or upcoming calamities, etc.

It is for all these reasons why Amateur Radio is a great hobby. Apart from getting to know new things, this is also a very engaging pass time that anyone enjoys today.