[1267] Hamming It Up

[Verdant Haven]

We have countless issues that demonstrate the existence of and widespread listener-base for commercial radio, and even a couple issues about subversive pirate radio, but somehow there are no issues at all looking at the simple question of Amateur Radio! Amateur, or ham, radio is widespread around the globe, is super useful in instances of natural disasters, and is subject to certification and standards on local, national, and international levels. It's ripe for an issue!

[TITLE]Hamming It Up

[DESCRIPTION] At a recent event you attended, your security detail was suddenly roused to action by a spate of unknown transmissions received on their ear pieces, which sounded like some sort of "go code" being given to an unknown party. After quickly ensuring your safety, they began tracking the signals, and found their source to be an amateur radio club innocently setting up operations in a nearby lot.


[OPTION 1] "Aren't ham radios great?" enthuses tweenaged club member @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ Marconi, gleefully turning dials on some kind of base station. "With one of these, a person can talk to friends across town, or fellow enthusiasts all the way on the other side of @@REGION@@! You should make sure every kid in @@NAME@@ has the opportunity to learn about and use these radios! What better way to spread our nation's message than a free transmitter for every home, and total freedom of the airwaves?

[EFFECT 1] backyard broadcasters are the source of innumerable diplomatic headaches


[OPTION 2] "I'm delighted to see so much interest in a STEM subject! We can always benefit from interest in that area" enthuses your Minister for Bureaucratizing Everything, quickly drafting some policies. "We should dedicate a certain segment of the frequency spectrum for their use at once! We just need some regulations to avoid conflicts like what occurred today… I know! Certifications! They pass the right tests, and we let them loose. I'll get to work on the requirements at once."

[EFFECT 2] amateur radio requires an advanced degree



[OPTION 3] "Frankly, @@LEADER@@, what happened just proves that the general public can't be trusted to broadcast at all" growls your lead bodyguard. "We need to keep the radio waves clear for security, emergency dispatchers, and legitimate professional broadcasters of important things like the @@ANIMAL@@ Ball World Championship! The last thing I want to hear when I turn on my radio is my neighbor's kid doing his 'bodily functions countdown' bit! If somebody has something to say, let them find work as a professional."

[EFFECT 3] children playing with walkie-talkies are told to 'get a job'


[OPTION 4a] [VALIDITY: No Computers] "I've seen a technology in some other countries that is like a really upgraded version of the radio!" offers aspiring tech entrepreneur @@RANDOMNAME@@, who was fiddling with some electronics nearby. "They can plug in to modems so they don't occupy the airwaves, have keyboards for entering text-based information, monitors so you can see what you're working on, and they can even run productivity software or play games! Allow this technology, and you'll never have to worry about radio interference again!"

[EFFECT 4a] email killed the radio star


[OPTION 4b] [VALIDITY: Allows Computers, but not Internet] "I've seen something people do with computers in other countries that is like an even better version of the radio!" offers aspiring tech entrepreneur @@RANDOMNAME@@, who was fiddling with some electronics nearby. "They plug their systems in to modems to communicate with each other, and can then send electronic mail back and forth in the blink of an eye. They can even create 'pages' with useful information on them so you don't have to listen live, and can get information whenever you want! Allow this technology, and you'll never have to worry about radio interference again!"

[EFFECT 4b] email killed the radio star

1st Draft

[TITLE]Hamming It Up

[DESCRIPTION] At a recent event you attended, your security detail was suddenly roused to action by a spate of unknown transmissions received on their ear pieces, which sounded like some sort of "go code" being given to an unknown party. After quickly ensuring your safety, they began tracking the signals, and found their source to be an amateur radio club innocently setting up operations in a nearby lot.


[OPTION 1] "Aren't ham radios great?" enthuses a middle school aged club member @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ Marconi, gleefully turning dials on some kind of base station. "With one of these, a person can talk to friends across town, or fellow enthusiasts all the way on the other side of @@REGION@@! You should make sure every kid in @@NAME@@ has the opportunity to learn about and use these radios! What better way to spread our nation's message than a free transmitter for every home, and total freedom of the airwaves?

[EFFECT 1] backyard broadcasters are the source of innumerable diplomatic headaches


[OPTION 2] "I'm delighted to see the public taking such an interest in a STEM subject. Frankly, we can always benefit from more commitment to that area" suggests your Minister for Bureaucratizing Everything, quickly jotting down some draft regulations. "We should dedicate a certain segment of the frequency spectrum for their use, of course, to avoid conflicts like what occurred. Then we can introduce licensing requirements and certifications for how they use their equipment… wouldn't want to interfere with signals in neighboring countries, right? Oh! I know! Morse code… they should learn Morse code as well, and I'm sure we can develop a course to teach the proper etiquette for using call-signs."

[EFFECT 2] it takes professional commitment to be an amateur radio operator


[OPTION 3] "Frankly, @@LEADER@@, what happened just proves that the general public can't be trusted to broadcast at all" growls the head of your security detail. "We need to keep the radio waves clear for jobs like like ours, emergency dispatchers, and legitimate professional broadcasters of important things like the @@ANIMAL@@ Ball World Championship! The last thing I want to hear when I turn on my radio is my neighbor's kid doing his 'bodily functions countdown' bit! If somebody has something to say, let them find work as a professional."

[EFFECT 3] children playing with walkie-talkies are told to 'get a job'

[Australian rePublic]

In non-Jewish/Islamic, non-vegan countries, there needs to be an option about a radio station who wants to talk about ham

[Verdant Haven]

That's not really related to ham radio in any way, shape, or form. A commercial broadcast station can talk about whatever it wants, and wouldn't be effected by this issue or resultant legislation at all. The term "ham" in "ham radio" comes from an insult back in the day (related to the idea of "ham-handed," meaning "bumbling"), where radio professionals in the early 20th century would refer to amateur as "hams" because they considered them unskilled or prone to messing things up. Amateur radio operators seized upon that term and adopted it for themselves with pride, leading to its use today.

For amateur radio enthusiasts, it's much more about practicing skills, making contact with distant locations, conducting local communications with colleagues, trying various challenges, etc. Some keep books or records of all the geographic regions they've contacted, and there can be a good deal of pride about reaching obscure ones. A "DXpedition" is the term for trips specifically taken by amateur radio groups to remote or obscure locations to set up stations and broadcast, so other hams around the world can try to contact them and "check off" that spot. "Contact Cards" exist for many folks where they will send a physical post card with their call-sign, location, and the date/time of contact to each other to prove successful communications occurred. In civil emergencies, amateur radio clubs often offer emergency communications while phones are down, and in the US at least (and I would imagine elsewhere) there is an official government infrastructure to organize that civilian response, called the MARS program (Military Auxiliary Radio System) which provides a formal liaison for civilian operators and military or FEMA responders in times of abnormal communication interruption.

In the US, licensing has nationwide standards, presently divided in to three tiers. Each tier requires passing of written knowledge examinations, is valid for a set amount of time, and allows access to specific bands of the radio frequency spectrum. They used to also require Morse code skills (at progressively higher speeds), though that requirement has finally been dropped.

-edit-
Random thought - if you've watched the show Stranger Things, the boys and their science teacher are hams.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Odd that you mention Stranger Things, as this issue to me seems very much a product of 80s culture. I think most ham radio enthusiasts these days are the ones who grew up loving them in their school days.

It's a somewhat outdated concept now, given that we have the internet. Young people who want to chat to strangers have instagram and facebook.

Maybe this could work as an issue specifically for nations with no internet?

[Verdant Haven]

Odd that you mention Stranger Things, as this issue to me seems very much a product of 80s culture. I think most ham radio enthusiasts these days are the ones who grew up loving them in their school days.

It's a somewhat outdated concept now, given that we have the internet. Young people who want to chat to strangers have instagram and facebook.

Maybe this could work as an issue specifically for nations with no internet?

It's a product of 1920's culture as much as anything! :-D

My familiarity with it actually comes from running the office out of which a MARS station operated for a several years between 2008 and 2010, and it's definitely still quite active for DXing, emergency, and hobby work around the US (in my home city it is easy to spot the dedicated hams - they all have 30 foot antennas on their houses!), but I have no problem with it being designated as a "no internet" issue! It definitely would have a more day-to-day applicability in a world without email and SMS.

[Bears Armed]

as this issue to me seems very much a product of 80s culture

80s was 'Citizen's Band' ( 'CB') radio, as made famous by various films about American truckers: Not the same thing. Ask any "'proper' ham radio operator whether what they're using is that and watch the sparks fly...
^_^

[Australian rePublic]

That's not really related to ham radio in any way, shape, or form. A commercial broadcast station can talk about whatever it wants, and wouldn't be effected by this issue or resultant legislation at all. The term "ham" in "ham radio" comes from an insult back in the day (related to the idea of "ham-handed," meaning "bumbling"), where radio professionals in the early 20th century would refer to amateur as "hams" because they considered them unskilled or prone to messing things up. Amateur radio operators seized upon that term and adopted it for themselves with pride, leading to its use today.

For amateur radio enthusiasts, it's much more about practicing skills, making contact with distant locations, conducting local communications with colleagues, trying various challenges, etc. Some keep books or records of all the geographic regions they've contacted, and there can be a good deal of pride about reaching obscure ones. A "DXpedition" is the term for trips specifically taken by amateur radio groups to remote or obscure locations to set up stations and broadcast, so other hams around the world can try to contact them and "check off" that spot. "Contact Cards" exist for many folks where they will send a physical post card with their call-sign, location, and the date/time of contact to each other to prove successful communications occurred. In civil emergencies, amateur radio clubs often offer emergency communications while phones are down, and in the US at least (and I would imagine elsewhere) there is an official government infrastructure to organize that civilian response, called the MARS program (Military Auxiliary Radio System) which provides a formal liaison for civilian operators and military or FEMA responders in times of abnormal communication interruption.

In the US, licensing has nationwide standards, presently divided in to three tiers. Each tier requires passing of written knowledge examinations, is valid for a set amount of time, and allows access to specific bands of the radio frequency spectrum. They used to also require Morse code skills (at progressively higher speeds), though that requirement has finally been dropped.

-edit-
Random thought - if you've watched the show Stranger Things, the boys and their science teacher are hams.

This is interesting. And they can't talk about ham, because?

[Verdant Haven]

I've added a new split Option 4a/4b as a choice for nations that either lack computers, or which have computers but lack internet. I definitely agree this has some excellent application for "internet banned" nations, but I don't think it necessarily should be limited to them - just the extra options.

Because this added new options, but didn't change previous ones, I didn't update the draft versioning.

Thoughts?

[Verdant Haven]

I've got a new draft up. The biggest change is to option 2, which I re-worked to be more palatable (important, given that it's the real-life solution!). I also cleaned up most of the other options, and combined effect lines for the 4's.

Looking for more thoughts!

[Autonomous Cleaner Bot Cleaners]

Any relation to #104.2?

Also (at the risk of cluttering things, perhaps), a "no computers/no internet" option might include a network of smoke signals, fire beacons, heliographs, or volunteer semaphore flag enthusiasts standing on their roofs. Just thinking of some low-tech ham radio-like alternatives.

[Verdant Haven]

Any relation to #104.2?

None. That is about forcing people to carry receivers to listen to government propaganda broadcasts, while this is dealing with the rights of anybody and everybody to transmit pretty much whatever they want.

[Autonomous Cleaner Bot Cleaners]

Any relation to #104.2?

None. That is about forcing people to carry receivers to listen to government propaganda broadcasts, while this is dealing with the rights of anybody and everybody to transmit pretty much whatever they want.

I guess maybe I had some government scheme in mind, to corrupt the ham network to its sinister purposes. But that might clutter things.

Any thoughts on low-tech alternatives I edited in above?

[Verdant Haven]

Any thoughts on low-tech alternatives I edited in above?

"No computers/no internet" would be the same as the "no computers" option. No computers are needed to operate a ham system. The whole thing is pretty low-tech, and I definitely wouldn't want to get mixed up with the carrier-pigeon-as-alternative-to-email issue that's already out there.

[Autonomous Cleaner Bot Cleaners]

...The whole thing is pretty low-tech, and I definitely wouldn't want to get mixed up with the carrier-pigeon-as-alternative-to-email issue that's already out there.

True. Fair enough.

[Far Easter Republic]

In non-Jewish/Islamic, non-vegan countries, there needs to be an option about a radio station who wants to talk about ham

Am?

[Verdant Haven]

I'm moving this to last call! Barring further inputs, I will submit it in a couple days.

Thank you for the feedback, all!