📻 Introduction to Ham Radio
📆 2025-12-01 13:45
Ham radio - formally known as amateur radio - is a hobby and service that allows licensed operators to communicate over the air using a wide range of frequencies, modes, and equipment. Unlike commercial or broadcast radio, ham radio is intended for personal experimentation, emergency communication, technical learning, and worldwide friendship.
Ham radio operators often enjoy:
- Building and modifying equipment
- Communicating locally or worldwide
- Participating in emergency and disaster response
- Exploring digital modes such as FT8, APRS, or packet radio
- Experimenting with antennas, propagation, and radio science
Right now, I really enjoy my 2 Baofeng radios:
To transmit on amateur bands, you generally need a government-issued license. However, there are also unlicensed radio services - such as PMR446 in Europe - that anyone can use with appropriate equipment.
📡 PMR446 Frequencies
Below is a table of the 16 PMR446 channels. These are licence-free UHF FM frequencies commonly used for short-range communication in Europe.
🧠 Closing Thoughts
Ham radio offers an enormous world to explore, from local handheld communication to long-distance ionospheric propagation experiments. If you find PMR or general radio operation interesting, getting an amateur radio license is a great next step.
Happy listening, and 73!