Anyone you know could be an Amateur Radio operator or "ham" — no matter what age, gender or physical ability. From ages 5 to 100, people in many countries of the world can have fun as radio amateurs. If you've had fun with CB radio or trying new things with your computer, wait till you see what you can do with ham radio!

You can communicate from the top of a mountain, your home or behind the wheel of your car. You can take radio wherever you go! In times of disaster, when regular communications channels fail, hams can swing into action assisting emergency communications efforts and working with public service agencies. At other times, you can talk to Shuttle astronauts or bounce signals off the moon. You can use telegraphy, voice, digital, even images in communication with other hams. Know any other hobby with so much to offer?

Although the main purpose of the hobby is fun, it is called the "Amateur Radio Service" because it also has a serious face. The FCC created the "Service" to fill the need for a pool of experts who could provide backup emergency communications in times of need. In addition, the FCC acknowledged the ability of the hobby to advance communication and technical knowledge, and enhance international goodwill.

A basic new handheld radio can cost about the same as an inexpensive TV. Flea market bargains can cost a lot less. A new tabletop multi-band unit for your home radio shack can cost about the same as the PC you're reading this on. Materials to get you started are relatively inexpensive, and the exam fee you'll pay when you're ready to take your test is nominal.

Amateur Radio clubs are located all over the US and are eager to help the newcomer get started. If you prefer to study alone, our publications and this web site can be invaluable in helping you find the fast track to on-the-air enjoyment.

Nobody knows when Amateur Radio operators were first called "hams," but we do know that Amateur Radio is as old as the history of radio itself. In 1912, Congress passed the first laws regulating radio transmissions in the US. By 1914, amateur experimenters were communicating nationwide, and setting up a system to relay messages from coast to coast (that's how we got our name, American Radio Relay League, or ARRL for short.)

You bet! The beauty of ham radio is it can fit the time, space and budget that YOU decide is right for you. It's got that low stress, high fun ratio that many busy people seek in their off-hours. It can also be great family fun or a solitary pleasure.

Give us a call at 1-800-32-NEWHAM.

"Ham: a poor operator. A 'plug.'" That's the definition of the word given in G. M. Dodge's The Telegraph Instructor even before radio. The definition has never changed in wire telegraphy.

The first wireless operators were landline telegraphers who left their offices to go to sea or to man the coastal stations. They brought with them their language and much of the tradition of their older profession. In those early days, spark was king and every station occupied the same wavelength — or, more accurately perhaps, every station occupied the whole spectrum with its broad spark signal.

Government stations, ships, coastal stations and the increasingly numerous amateur operators all competed for time and signal supremacy in each other's receivers.

Many of the amateur stations were very powerful. Two amateurs, working across town, could effectively jam all the other operators in the area. When this happened, frustrated commercial operators would call the ship whose weaker signals had been blotted out by the amateurs and say "SRI OM THOSE #&$!@ HAMS ARE JAMMING YOU."

Amateurs, possibly unfamiliar with the real meaning of the term, picked it up and applied it to themselves in true "Yankee Doodle" fashion and wore it with pride. As the years advanced, the original meaning has completely disappeared.