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What amateur radio is
A licence to transmit, a radio, and people who answer. No network in between.
The short version
Amateur radio, "ham radio", is people talking to each other over the air with their own radios. There is no phone company, no account and no data plan between the two radios. The signal leaves one antenna and arrives at another. When the power is out and the cell sites are down, this still works, which is why emergency services keep amateur volunteers around.
Why a licence
Radio spectrum is shared by everyone, so governments licence who may transmit and on which frequencies. In the United States the FCC issues three licence classes (Technician, General, Amateur Extra), each opening more frequencies; in Canada it is ISED with Basic and Advanced. The exam is a multiple-choice test on rules, safety and enough electronics to not cause harm. There is no Morse code requirement any more. A licence comes with a callsign, such as N2PYZ, which is your identity on the air and a matter of public record.
What people actually do
- Talk to someone across town through a repeater on a handheld the size of a phone.
- Talk to someone across an ocean on the long-distance bands with a wire in a tree.
- Check in to a weekly net, a scheduled on-air meeting run by a club.
- Take a radio to a park or a hill and let others hunt for the contact (Parks on the Air, Summits on the Air).
- Send email and forms over radio when nothing else works (Winlink).
- Build antennas, bounce signals off the Moon, talk through amateur satellites, run digital modes that decode signals too weak to hear.
What this site does with it
QSO App shows you what is on the air within reach of where you stand, walks you through a first contact on a handheld, and gives your club its tools. Start at First Contact if you already hold a licence, or at HamStudy for the free exam prep if you do not.