Its true, not all HAMS are edible. Some hams are actually useful radio amateur operators who serve the public and have fun making friends. Ham radio operators (or amateur radio operators as they are known) use two-way radio stations from their homes, cars, boats and outdoors to make hundreds of friends around town and around the world. They communicate with each other using voice, computers, and Morse code. Some hams bounce their signals off the upper regions of the atmosphere, so they can talk with hams on the other side of the world. Other hams use satellites. Many use hand-held radios that fit in their pockets. In the 20 plus years I have been a General Class Operator I have been afforded the opportunity to make hundreds of new friends thru this great hobby of ours while being afforded an opportunity to serve my community in a variety of ways.

Much of this hobby in electronics and communications can be viewed by going to the amateur radio site called the Amercian Radio Relay League or ARRL at www.arrl.org.

Hams exchange pictures of each other using television. Some also like to work on electronic circuits, building their own radios and antennas. A few pioneers in Amateur Radio have even contributed to advances in technology that we all enjoy today. There are even ham-astronauts who take radios with them on the International Space Station and thrill thousands of hams on earth with a call from space!

Hams assist their communities and prospective agencies in times of need such as;