What is Ham Radio and Why Do They Do It?

So, you are interested in Ham Radio. Ham radio, officially called the Amateur Radio Service by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States, is a hobby, an avocation, a pastime, a calling, a public service opportunity. It is many things to many people. It can be whatever you want it to be. It exists around the world in almost every country.
First a little history. It is commonly accepted that Marconi invented radio and made the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean back around 1901. Soon after there were amateurs experimenting with this new technology. For the next several decades as the development of radio technology continued, the amateur community grew, clubs were formed, amateurs provided communications to police and Arctic expediti View the rest of this article