I received my Technician Amateur Radio License in November 1997 as KC0CGH. There are many facets of ham radio and here are a few that I enjoy. Below: 6 and 2 meter antenna.
 |
Many hams are members of ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay
League). It's monthly publication QST is great for hams to get started or keep in
touch with current events in the world of ham radio.
|
 |
One of the functions of the ARRL is to create guidelines
for organizing ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) groups. ARES members provide
communications to local authorities during emergency situations. Our Johnson County ARES group helps the Olathe School
District, Red Cross, and the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center. http://www.arrl.org/field/pscm/sec1-ch1.html
|
 |
R.A.C.E.S. (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) also
provides communications to local authorities. Some areas have a ARES or a RACES
group. Johnson County, KS has both (lucky us). The role of RACES in Johnson
Co. is to provide storm spotting to the Johnson County Emergency Operations Center and
also the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, MO. ARES role is to provide
communications for local services and authorities, usually after severe weather hits or
other crisis situations.
|
 |
From packet radio to spread spectrum, the TAPR (Tucson
Amateur Radio Packet) group is a great place to explore digital modes of communication.
|
 |
AMSAT is a worldwide group of Amateur Radio Operators who share an active interest in building, launching and then communicating with each other through non-commercial Amateur Radio satellites. |
 |
SMIRK (Six Meter International Radio Klub) members are dedicated to making contacts on the 6 meter band (50 MHz). They setup contests and expeditions to places where one normally could not contact another ham. The contests get many hams on the radio at the same time. A radio operator will have a better change of talking to many new places knowing that there are operators on the far end listening for them.
|
 |
APRS™ is a multifaceted system for use with packet radio by Hams, it allows the monitoring of real time geographical information such as the position of vehicles, the status of weather, radio direction finding and much much more. It involves mapping, GPS tracking, packet radio, etc. It is a VERY interesting facet of packet radio and has much to offer most everyone including non-hams that just want to watch over the internet. |
Support R&D efforts in the area of amateur
digital communications