Is amateur radio (HAM) still alive? Which band is still most active?

Answer 1

Absolutely! It is easier than ever to get a ham license now that the Morse code requirements are dropped (which is a point of disagreement among hams if this is a good thing or a bad thing).

Today's hams don't always just talk to each other though. Hams are involved in public service (crowd control at charity events, for example -- like fun runs or marathons), disaster preparedness (after natural disasters), education (many of us teach electronics and science to school children through a variety of activities, building sophisticated gear and antennas, and even space communications via satellites.

A modern ham might use Morse code if he or she likes, or use a microphone. There are also hams that enjoy using television transmissions, and a variety of digital modes which are now quite sophisticated and rival Morse code for bandwidth and readability. For example, many hams have their radios connected to their PCs and can carry on text chat using modes like PSK31 with other hams around the world. The software is able to recover signals that you can even hear with the "naked ear".

As for bands, it depends on what you want to do. For local communications and experimentations, 70cm is very popular along with the old standby 2m (440MHz and 144MHz respectively). Internet gateways mean that even on these "local" bands you can talk to people from around the world although some of your signal will travel the Internet instead of the air waves.

For talking to people around the country or the world with no assistance, you want to use the HF bands. The best all around band is 20m (14MHz) although at night there is activity on lower bands (3.5MHz, and 7MHz primarily). When the sunspots are active (they aren't right now) higher frequencies will have activity too.

So the best bands depend on what you want to do and when.

Links to get you started:
http://www.arrl.org
http://www.eham.net
http://www.wd5gnr.com (I'm WD5GNR)

Answer 2

I don't think it's a question of whether it's alive or dieing, but more about what it's evolving into....

Digital seems to be coming to the fore front by the experimenters in the crowd. I know APRS was gaining popularity around SW Ontario about 7 years ago and is still going strong.

Years ago it was a rag chewers club who used to build kits to get on the air. Along came manufactured tube rigs then solid state designs took over. Now we're into the IC age and digital modes.

There are many branches of the Ham community from people using large antenna systems on lower bands chasing DX to small arrays chasing satellites and the space station. You can even talk to Australia using FM and a local repeater with an IRLP node if you like.

It's up to you what you want to dabble in. No matter what you decide to get into there's always other like minded Hams out there.

It's not dieing, it's diversifying.

Cheers,
Anthony, VA3ATD
Ottawa, Ontario

Answer 3

Ham Bands

Answer 4

You'd better believe it! Based on figures I've heard recently, there are something in the region of 2 million plus hams globally (I would be interested in a verifiable source for this number btw).

The most active band would probably be 20 metres (14.000MHz to 14.300MHz), however you can safely assume pretty similar levels of activity on all 'HF' bands i.e. 160m thru 10m, subject to propagation. VHF/UHF frequency allocations also attract large numbers of regular users - however with more regional variation.

In a nutshell - the amateur radio service is not just alive, its thriving.

Answer 5

Amature Radio Bands

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Most definitely , in fact . probably more so than ever.
Digital modes are becoming ever so popular , and with the easing of some license restrictions and easier access to more bands things are going quite well.

For HF voice - 40 and 20 meters are popular bands at the moment.

http://www.swdxer.co.nr/

Answer 8

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Answer 9

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Answer 10

http://www.naturemagics.com/ham-radio/ham-radio.shtm