[HN Gopher] The rich history of ham radio culture
___________________________________________________________________
The rich history of ham radio culture
Author : rmason
Score : 97 points
Date : 2024-07-24 19:05 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (thereader.mitpress.mit.edu)
(TXT) w3m dump (thereader.mitpress.mit.edu)
| dbish wrote:
| Kind of wish they had kept the Morse code requirement for the
| radio license. Felt like more of a connection to the old ham
| requirements and history
| pc486 wrote:
| I feel the opposite. Morse code was a major barrier into HF for
| many different people. Folks who are musically challenged would
| fail to copy. People with hand disabilities faced major
| hurdles. Hearing disabilities made it impractical, even though
| there are plenty of visual-only modes (sstv, digital tty modes,
| etc).
|
| Removal of morse has allowed far more people to reach more
| technical levels of ham radio. And, in my anedotcial
| experience, dropping the requirement hasn't impacted the
| popularity of morse code. I'd wager its more popular than ever
| because of how many more hams have HF access compared to
| limiting access to folks who learned code just to pass a test
| and to promptly throw away their key.
| dbish wrote:
| Fair enough. I just loved learning it as a boyscout and
| applying it to HAM and always think of it as this last ditch
| backup option
| pc486 wrote:
| Morse code is fun! It's not just an emergency mode either.
| Those mountain climbing SOTA hams love code because CW
| radios are so simple that they can cram several bands into
| an absolutely tiny QRP rig. Collectors practice on their 80
| year old rigs. There's even a club dedicated to making
| contracts only with straight keys.
|
| Fear not. Code will be with us for decades to come.
| hilbert42 wrote:
| Wouldn't it be easy to apportion small sections of the HF
| bands to those who are so afflicted? Those who've CW wouldn't
| be so restricted.
| ravenstine wrote:
| It'd also be nice if car mechanics were trained to shoe horses
| and fix wagon wheels so I can feel some connection to the old
| West.
| dbish wrote:
| Agreed. Good point
| rcurry wrote:
| For the win.
| tonymet wrote:
| without them we wouldn't be here. one day you'll appreciate
| that
| uint8_t wrote:
| Worth noting that the movement to drop morse code, "No-code
| International," was spearheaded by none other than K6BP. Bruce
| Perens, one of our own!
| Aloha wrote:
| I do not, I never would have gotten my ticket with it, and I
| tried and repeatedly failed to learn code.
|
| Now I'm an Extra, and have been licensed long enough to join
| the QCWA.
| swalberg wrote:
| Morse code is flourishing even without it being a requirement.
| People are discovering what a fun mode it is -- the low power
| portable people love the reach you can get on 5W, others enjoy
| the mental challenge, and it's prevalent in contesting.
|
| You can be as connected to the past as you want in this hobby.
| It's at the point where we have people getting remote islands
| on the air by driving a boat onto shore that has a radio and an
| amplifier, raising an antenna, and then people can operate from
| either a boat anchored off shore or back home over Starlink.
| And they're doing it in Morse code, so you have this nice blend
| of the old and the new.
| tonymet wrote:
| it's also hypnotic and therapeutic.
| hilbert42 wrote:
| -*-- --*-
| howard941 wrote:
| I made my peace with no code a long time ago. The hobby was
| shrinking. IME what was lost in connectivity was made up for by
| bringing in new blood.
| brightball wrote:
| I have noticed a correlation where the smartest tech people I
| know are also Ham operators.
| Dalewyn wrote:
| Hams are the quintessential "know just enough to be dangerous"
| people.
|
| Don't get me wrong, I've come across a lot of wonderful, truly
| smart hams; but I've also witnessed many hams who really never
| should have gotten half-smart.
|
| Hams are amateur electricians, hilarity /will/ ensue and it
| won't all be funny.
| Aloha wrote:
| The smart ones know they just know enough to be dangerous - a
| foundation of knowledge, not the whole book.
|
| Some of the best RF guys I know, have no formal training -
| because there is important theory around RF - it doesn't
| always work like projected.
|
| In my industry a Ham Ticket has taken the place of a GROL as
| something employers look upon favorably, because it means you
| generally should already have a foundation of RF theory.
| eh_why_not wrote:
| > employers look out for
|
| As in, avoid? Or want?
| Aloha wrote:
| Want, sorry it was unclear. Edited the original post to
| clarify.
| eh_why_not wrote:
| What's dangerous about ham radio?
| simonw wrote:
| If you're broadcasting at higher powers (to send over
| longer distances) there are risks from high RF exposure and
| electrical hazards. The HAM radio license exams focus on
| these safety issues quite a bit.
| Aloha wrote:
| RF exposure at the frequencies involved are basically
| non-harmful.
| giantrobot wrote:
| RF exposure on the ground from an aerial are likely non-
| harmful. Right next to the antenna can still give burns.
| There's also issues of arcing, lightning, and other
| electrical issues when dealing with high power radios.
|
| Electricity is unforgiving and a lot of the safety rules
| in licenses above Technician try to instill that fact.
| pclmulqdq wrote:
| Sounds like you have never had an RF burn before. The
| sensation is a lot like a sunburn, but is hard to get if
| you are electrically close to the ground. Higher
| frequencies can still give you RF burns when you're
| standing on the ground.
| dghlsakjg wrote:
| Lots of people hurt themselves when falling off a ladder
| trying to put up an antenna.
|
| Joking aside, there is a minor risk of RF burn if you do
| really stupid things that you have to learn not to do to
| get a license. I can't really imagine someone getting hurt
| by the radios themselves.
| retrac wrote:
| In most countries, the advanced class (or equivalent) is a
| licence to design, construct, and operate your own radio
| transmitter for experimental purposes. (Just about anyone with
| a serious interest in electronics has thought about building
| their own transmitter, I imagine.)
| chinchilla2020 wrote:
| Technical hobbyists also have a genuine interest in technical
| work.
|
| Contrast this with the flood of new college graduates who have
| minimal interest in engineering, yet want the high salaries
| that tech was famous for (until recently).
| CalRobert wrote:
| As the internet gets more balkanized, censored, and controlled by
| a few giant companies, it makes me think that it's time for a
| different hobby. Something that can be used to subvert censorship
| (remember the whole "interprets it as damage and routes around
| it" conceit?) and is more hobbyists and less corporate sounds
| appealing.
|
| Is Ham that hobby? I am genuinely asking. A few days ago a thread
| here had lots of people agreeing it was mostly old dudes being
| boring. But I like the idea that maybe I (in Europe) can talk to
| my friend (in the US) by bouncing radio waves off the moon, or
| some such, and not relying on intermediaries.
| swalberg wrote:
| What I like about the hobby is that it can be a lot of things
| to a lot of different people. So the emcomm/prepper crowd is
| very interested in practicing communications for when existing
| networks go down.
|
| That said, everything you do in amateur radio is in the open.
| So if you want to talk to your European friend, only the Sun
| can prevent you, but anyone can listen.
| ianburrell wrote:
| Amateur radio is not that hobby. There are significant
| restrictions on what it can be used for. And providing
| uncensored communication for others is not allowed.
|
| Amateur radio is not for public use like public park. It is
| like a public golf course, where have to pay for membership and
| can only use it for certain things.
|
| Also, amateur radio does not have that much spectrum for the
| bandwidths we expect for internet. That is what has kept the
| spectrum from being taken away. Much of the high frequenecy
| spectrum does have is shared with ISM bands.
| simonw wrote:
| I agree that understanding the restrictions on HAM usage -
| including the ban on encryption, and strict rules on what
| kind of material can be broadcast (since anyone can hear it)
| - is really important.
|
| You don't have to pay ongoing fees: the initial outlay in the
| USA is $35 for the license (you have to pass the exam) plus
| the cost for your equipment (~$70 for the cheaper HAM radios
| on Amazon), but after that there are no ongoing charges.
| gh02t wrote:
| > where have to pay for membership and can only use it for
| certain things
|
| Just to clarify for people who might be interested-- this is
| not a perfect analogy in that you don't have to pay to
| participate in amateur radio. You have to pay a fee to take
| the license exams but it's a token amount, and you don't have
| to pay regularly to use any ham services that I know of.
| Apart from buying a radio, of course.
| smitelli wrote:
| In the US it's currently $35 for the FCC renewal, which
| comes up every ten years.
| tkuraku wrote:
| Anyone can use ham radio. Encryption is illegal on those bands
| though.
| bitfilped wrote:
| Anyone can listen on a ham radio, you need a license to
| broadcast. FRS, CB and MURS are the unlicensed options in the
| US to my knowledge.
| simonw wrote:
| I got my HAM license in the USA a while ago. I'm in it mainly
| for the emergency communications side of things: I live in a
| coastal community in California with three roads in and out,
| all three of which can be affected by affected by storms,
| earthquakes etc.
|
| I've joined ARES:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_Radio_Emergency_Servic...
| - which coordinates to provide HAM support for emergency
| communications. If a big earthquake temporarily disables a
| chunk of communications infrastructure I can hopefully be
| useful!
| aero-glide2 wrote:
| You can always find what you are looking for on the internet.
| Things like zeronet/tor, etc.
| bityard wrote:
| I think you're getting unfairly downvoted so I'll try to answer
| your questions. I've had an interest in radio since I was a kid
| but have only had my license for about the past decade. The
| fact that you can have a box full of electronics send
| information to another box full of electronics _around the
| world_ without any wires in between still kinda blows my mind.
|
| Ham radio is a great hobby. But like all hobbies, you get out
| of it what you put into it. "Old dudes being boring" for sure
| are a staple of the ham radio community, but if you come into
| it with prejudice, you probably won't have the experience you
| want or make many friends.
|
| What are grumpy old men famous for? That's right, loudly
| complaining about things other people do and say. So when I see
| an HN or Reddit thread about ham radio complaining about all
| the old farts on the air, my mind melts from the overload of
| irony.
|
| That aside, I don't think I would count on ham radio for
| subverting censorship but I guess it depends on what you mean.
| Laws vary by country but in the US and in most countries, you
| cannot broadcast to the general public, play music, encrypt
| your transmissions, or use ham radio frequencies for any
| business purpose.
|
| A ham radio license is permission from your country's
| government to get on the air for the sake of playing with radio
| waves and communicating with other hams locally or around the
| globe without any further agenda. Bouncing signals off the moon
| is still a fair technical challenge but it has and can be done.
| But we also bounce signals off the Earth's ionosphere (in the
| HF bands) and through satellite repeaters, both of which are
| far easier.
|
| I recommend looking into it and seeing where it takes you.
| There are plenty of resources online that will help you get
| started.
| hilbert42 wrote:
| _" "Old dudes being boring" for sure are a staple of the ham
| radio community, but if you come into it with prejudice, you
| probably won't have the experience you want or make many
| friends."_
|
| Ha, one of the great modern (and unsung) ironies of Amateur
| Radio can only be seen from today's perspective.
|
| When I first got my amateur license decades ago long before
| the internet, amateurs would find themselves on the end of
| disparaging or pejorative jibes from those who weren't radio
| amateurs (but who--more often than not--were also family
| members) that went something to the effect _' heaven only
| knows how they manage to gabber and yabber on about such
| inconsequential garbage for so long'_ and other like
| comments.
|
| Now Amateurs can revenge that wrong with a vengeance beyond
| comparison. All they have to do is to point to the almost
| infinite tons of inconsequential garbage on Social Media that
| far exceedes the sum total of all utterances ever made by
| Radio Amateurs by many orders of magnitude.
|
| I've often wondered why Amateurs don't rub this fact home to
| the Great Unwashed with much glee
| sbrorson wrote:
| The thing which seems to be overlooked -- both in the linked
| article and in the HN comments -- is that at one time ham radio
| was a hobby for folks wanting to play around with state-of-the-
| art technology. It was more than just a bunch of guys chatting
| with each other over a radio. At one time most people had to
| build their own ham rig from piece parts. One had to have a
| serious amount of engineering ability to do so ... or at least
| be able to read a schematic published in a magazine and solder
| together a radio, not a small feat. As a hobby it was all about
| becoming proficient in electrical engineering, then enjoying
| your proficiency by chatting with -- and showing off to --
| like-minded guys around the world.
|
| Ham magazines like QST and 73 published schematics and other
| how-to articles which amounted to an excellent education in
| practical electrical engineering. 73 magazine in particular was
| very technical -- it assumed you had good working knowledge of
| many common RF and audio circuits. Also, to get a ham license
| you needed to take a test demonstrating a good level of
| proficiency. For the lowest rung "novice" license you just had
| to demonstrate knowledge of Morse code at a slow but reasonable
| pace. For higher rungs of the achievement ladder like
| "advanced" or "extra" you needed to pass an exam about
| electronics as well as receive and send Morse code at a fast
| clip. The license presented a barrier to entry which didn't
| exist in CB radio -- which some hams looked down upon as a
| cesspool of unwashed, technically illiterate bozos.
|
| My exposure to ham radio really started in the 1970s since my
| dad had been a ham playing with homebuilt radios since he was a
| kid in the 1930s. In the '70s the hobby was trifurcating. On
| one hand were the hard-core guys who built their own rigs,
| sometimes for the challenging high-frequency bands. Some also
| participated in designing and launching a ham-radio satellite
| via the ARRL. Early forms of digital encoding over radio were
| also big. Those guys were the real engineering types, and I
| admired them. On the other hand, commercial outfits were
| selling ready-to-use radios ... no engineering skills needed.
| In the middle were guys assembling and using stuff from
| Heathkit -- a great way to learn about electronics.
|
| The ham hobby has been fading away for many years. I think the
| thrill of building a radio and then talking to somebody on a
| different continent with it has diminished in the face of cheap
| international calling, cell phones, Skype, etc. The only thing
| left for hams to do these days involves disaster relief -- and
| the remaining ham mag QST plays up that theme (or at least did
| the last time I looked). Meanwhile, the young nerds who used to
| take up ham radio now occupy themselves with various open-
| source software projects. I suppose that's natural.
| AlbertCory wrote:
| Further details:
|
| > For higher rungs of the achievement ladder like "advanced"
| or "extra" you needed to pass an exam about electronics as
| well as receive and send Morse code at a fast clip.
|
| The General license (which I got) required 13 wpm. I think I
| read somewhere that they still broadcast Morse code practice
| every night.
|
| The Extra was 20 wpm. I don't remember "Advanced."
| pclmulqdq wrote:
| By the time I got a HAM license that I only used for
| digital transmissions, several people taking the test with
| me were "old-timers" who were lamenting that you didn't
| need to know CW to get a license.
|
| There is apparently still a thriving CW community, and some
| of them use auto-keying now, so you don't need the manual
| dexterity any more.
| howard941 wrote:
| The advanced class had the same 13wpm code requirement as
| the general but added a difficult technical element to the
| exam suite. When I took it back at an FCC office I found it
| to be the hardest test of all.
| 9659 wrote:
| Do you still have an Advanced class license? I think that
| Advanced class is the only license that is currently
| around (and able to be renewed) that required a code
| test.
|
| The Novice test was something else. 20 questions. 5 WPM
| code. I was thrilled when it came in the mail. 40 Meter
| CW, look out.
| howard941 wrote:
| No I have an extra. I thought they did away with the
| advanced when the privileges were realigned couple or 10
| years back. I haven't kept up with the class privileges.
| jimhefferon wrote:
| I agree that there are a lot of people in a certain
| demographic. But you can have a lot of fun playing with various
| technologies.
| dyauspitr wrote:
| It depends. I think the ham crowd skews older so there is a lot
| of misogynistic humor (which I enjoy) and a bunch of racist
| humor (which I don't enjoy). Overall it's definitely not
| boring, especially if you enjoy a slower paced, in depth
| discussion of topics.
| mordae wrote:
| It's mostly old guys erecting large antennas to connect their
| boat anchor tube radios to, from what I read online.
|
| It's a great hobby if you are in it for the actual tech itself.
| Check out e.g. https://pysdr.org/ for a nice introduction.
| There is https://www.rtl-sdr.com/ to get you started and
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Radio for more advanced
| stuff.
|
| You don't need a license to listen!
|
| Also, people are doing some crazy stuff:
| https://pietern.github.io/goestools/guides/minimal_receiver....
| hilbert42 wrote:
| _" It's mostly old guys erecting large antennas to connect
| their boat anchor tube radios to, from what I read online"_
|
| I disagree, it's much more that, far too much to discuss
| here. A starting point would be to check the ARRL and RSGB
| handbooks which provide a reasonably comprehensive overview
| of AR. (Google each for more info.)
|
| There are many more specialist books if you want even more
| in-depth information.
| Aloha wrote:
| Also, if you want to read the book, you'll find it going for a
| cool $245 a copy (as its very out of print), however a quick
| google search located a PDF (which is often the case for out of
| print technical books).
| stolenmerch wrote:
| I got my Technicians license about a year ago but have struggled
| to find much to do with it. I check into my local nets every once
| and a while, but the repeaters are nearly silent otherwise. The
| CW privileges are ok but hard to use. Seems you need a General to
| do all the cool stuff. Any other technicians here who have found
| a great use for the license?
| bmitch2112 wrote:
| Not from US so I'm not sure but I think you can access the 10
| metre band with technician? If so, doing Parks on the Air or
| Summits on the Air could possibly be something you might like.
|
| Even with Technician you may be able to do POTA or SOTA
| successfully on VHF.
| sjoerger wrote:
| Don't discount 10m voice or digital modes. You can absolutely
| work the world with minimal equipment and power on 10m,
| especially when the sunspots are active.
| tonymet wrote:
| my first few contacts were POTA contacts before that was a
| formal game. Just take your radio with you wherever you go and
| try to dial up repeaters or VHF/UHF simplex call frequency. for
| POTA formally you have to contact via simplex but you can
| coordinate on a repeater.
|
| DMR has a lot of traffic and you can get a decent DMR handy-
| talky for about $150 so it's worthwhile.
| AlbertCory wrote:
| Personal story: on my block growing up there was a blind guy who
| had an enormous antenna tower in his yard. He was SO nice to me,
| a teen-aged boy! His equipment all had braille labels on the
| controls.
|
| I'm sure he's long gone now so I don't mind giving his name:
| Julian Gannon. His call was K9BCJ which he claimed stood for
| Better Call Julian.
|
| Thanks, Mr. Gannon! I hope you're working the whole galaxy now.
|
| (Actually, though, ham conversations were excruciatingly boring:
| how are you receiving me? You're coming through loud & clear
| here. What equipment are you using?)
| rectangleboy wrote:
| Just looking up his callsign, I found this:
| https://www.cardcow.com/215722/k9bcj-ill-seeing-you-farther-...
| AlbertCory wrote:
| Thanks. That's our neighborhood all right.
| Aloha wrote:
| https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183024470/julian-gannon
|
| Looks like he passed in 1979, at the ripe old age of 90, we
| should all be so lucky!
| shoggouth wrote:
| Young Ellie: Dad, do you think there's people on other planets?
|
| Ted Arroway: I don't know, Sparks. But I guess I'd say if it is
| just us... seems like an awful waste of space.
| hilbert42 wrote:
| It's very true ham radio has a very rich almost unique culture.
|
| I obtained my license many years ago whilst I was still at school
| and I've developed many friendships with those within the Amateur
| community, and despite me not having been on air for many years,
| many of those friendships forged in the days when I frequented
| the airwaves have endured to this day. In fact many have turned
| out to be more rock-solid and stable than just about every other
| friendship I've had.
|
| I'm not alone, when questioned many amateur radio operators will
| express exactly the same view.
|
| Why this is so is perhaps up for debate, but I'd put it down to a
| number of reasons: Amateur Radio is unique amongst hobbies in
| that it operates in a very different way to most other hobbies
| perhaps the most significant of which is that it requires a
| government-issued license before one can operate on air--and to
| obtain that one has to demonstrate both technical and operational
| proficiency in radiocommunications by way of passing examination.
| There's no shortcut or other way around to obtain an Amateur
| license, as passing the examination is a mandatory requirement.
|
| Of itself, that requirement alone binds amateurs together. Thus
| not everyone can become a member of this unique club, as it's
| only through the involved procedure of passing the Amateur
| examination that one is able to be initiated into the Amateur
| fraternity.
|
| One's solidarity with the the Amateur movement becomes even more
| solid after one learns the rules, procedures and etiquette of
| Amateur Radio culture. In a sense once one becomes an Amateur one
| then becomes indoctrinated into this long and esteemed culture
| that owes many of its origins to government-necessitated rules
| and procedures--rules that have still deeper origins in that they
| derive from ITU--International Telecommunications Union
| regulations.
|
| Having to conform to ITU regulations is perceived by Amateurs
| more as an necessity rather than an imposition, as by the time
| one becomes an amateur radio operator, one knows that he or she--
| along with others--has the privileged responsibility of ensuring
| that the electromagnetic spectrum is properly managed. Not only
| is that responsibly not seen an imposition by Amateurs but rather
| it's seen by them as a necessity, as proper management of the
| spectrum is vital for all radiocommunications services to operate
| in an optimal way. Mismanagement of the spectrum would result in
| interference between services and from external sources, radio
| regulations and procedures ensure that interference is kept to a
| minimum.
|
| Being part of the worldwide fraternity that sees itself as having
| such an important responsibly--a responsibility that doesn't flow
| from being paid but out of the love of it and of one's hobby--
| further strengthens bonds between Amateurs.
|
| Even though I've not operated on air for many years I still
| consider myself to be a member of this tightknit community. Once
| an Amateur radio operator it's forever.
| frostiness wrote:
| I'm glad someone here says this. I'm also an amateur radio
| operator, and I very frequently see people who are otherwise
| against public resources being exploited for commercial
| purposes arguing against many of the regulations that ham radio
| requires, oftentimes the restriction on encryption. Few other
| hobbies have the idea of protecting their existence as baked in
| as amateur radio, and it keeps me hopeful that it will continue
| to exist as the years go on.
| howard941 wrote:
| Something about the hobby lends itself to forging lasting
| friendships, perhaps the reasons you've enumerated? The friends
| I made in high school and as an undergrad I've lost track of,
| all except for the hams - they remain, 40+ years on. Just
| yesterday one from high school texted me out of the blue with a
| snapshot of an old shared Heathkit 303/401 HF pair.
| hilbert42 wrote:
| Right, it's a great feeling when that happens, isn't it?
|
| Oh, and it's easy to exchange passwords by steganography with
| amateurs who you've not seen or had contact with in decades.
| Just fill in the gaps:
|
| 80x-12AXx-5x3Gx-12xU7-4CX2xxB, and so on. Right, they just
| roll off the tongue.
|
| Quick and dirty and not that secure but very practical at
| short notice. :-)
| h00dinberry wrote:
| Thought you guys might find this interesting:
|
| https://www.pirateradiomap.com/
|
| You can listen to ham radio in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Surprised it
| hasn't been shut down yet, since they're unlicensed. Shows an
| interesting part of NY that usually isn't discussed.
| ronsor wrote:
| You don't need a license to listen to anything.
| dghlsakjg wrote:
| Ham radio is not pirate radio. Ham radio refers to government
| licensed amateurs (amateur simply meaning not paid)
| communicating on frequencies they are explicitly allowed to
| use. Hams very much don't tolerate pirate radio.
|
| Pirate radio is unlicensed use of radio frequencies, sometimes
| commercial, sometimes political, sometimes amateur.
| giraffe_lady wrote:
| I have an amateur extra license and think pirate radio is
| awesome. It is a rich, important, culturally & politically
| influential tradition in its own right.
| password4321 wrote:
| Related recent discussion yesterday:
|
| _Taking a Radio Camping_
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41084061
|
| And not as recently (4 months ago):
|
| _UV-K5 is the most hackable handheld ham radio yet_ (including
| via WebUSB)
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39850972
|
| $30 https://amzn.com/dp/B0C9TVSYYM + $10 cable
| https://amzn.com/dp/B0B9S7N2LQ
| bitfilped wrote:
| The UV-K5 radio is kinda crap and sprays spurious emissions
| everywhere, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone intending to
| transmit.
| mindslight wrote:
| If amateur radio is 'ham' radio, then doesn't that mean
| commercial radio is _spam_ radio?
| pbj1968 wrote:
| I mean... the government doesn't shut down the numbers stations.
| I can still pick up analog TV channels. I love all these
| fantasies in here about Jack booted thugs kicking down doors of
| people playing music on their transmitter. Yes, yes, very serious
| business. lol.
| assimpleaspossi wrote:
| It's interesting how I read so often of people calling this HAM.
| Such as, "Is Ham that hobby?" below.
|
| I first got started in amateur radio with my novice license in
| 1966. We always called it "ham radio" or "amateur radio" or said
| I was a ham radio operator but no one ever called it HAM or
| spelled it in all caps. On HN, at least, I see it every time the
| subject is brought up. And it seems to be a fairly recent event.
| floren wrote:
| There's a persistent belief among non-hams that it is an
| acronym or something. I don't get it either.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2024-07-28 23:07 UTC)