1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve cameray. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology with 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech stuff. My name is Chris Poulette, and 5 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:23,560 Speaker 1: I am the tech editor here at how stuff works 6 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: dot com. And sitting across from me in a completely 7 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: different location than he was last time. We're in studio 8 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,720 Speaker 1: C one or X four or something. His senior writer, 9 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. Hey, there, that's right, the studio A the 10 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: old the old bird, the old lady. She's a she's 11 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: going undergoing a bit of a of a of a renovation, 12 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,639 Speaker 1: complete tear down and reconstruction phase, and it is going 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,519 Speaker 1: to be bigger and badder than ever once, uh, the 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: six week period is up. We are recording this on 15 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: week one of that six week period. Of course, this 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: will this will publish much later so or maybe not 17 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: much later, but later and uh and we'll be well 18 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: on our way to returning to our studio space. But 19 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: in the meantime, we are in an empty office. And 20 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: I heard there would be turbo lasers on the new one. 21 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: I hope I on lasers, because those end up completely 22 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: disabling a ship without actually causing it damage. Well, you know, 23 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: we do what we can fit in the budget at 24 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: any rate. So we are currently in a tiny, unused 25 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: office that is getting increasingly warm as we go. So 26 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: why don't we just jump right into this week's topic, 27 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: which happens to be a highly requested topic. In fact, 28 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: let me run through this really quickly. We have received 29 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: requests from listeners such as Robert Art, Karen, Josh, David, Joe, Patrick, Steve, 30 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: and our good friend Humble Floyd the Trucker. Uh, this 31 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 1: is uh, this topic is ham radio or amateur radio. 32 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: This this is what we got a lot of us 33 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: for this after we did CB radio quite a while ago. 34 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, we have a lot of a 35 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: lot of different topics on our list that we go through, 36 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: and this was just one that's been there for a 37 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: while and and Chris said, you know what, we really 38 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: need to tackle this, and I agreed, alright, So, uh 39 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,239 Speaker 1: it seems like it's all in fun, you know, and 40 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: mostly well you know what I was getting to that. 41 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, Um, no, it seems like it's all in 42 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: good fun. I mean, as a portion of the radio 43 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: spectrum dedicated to people getting on there and meeting people 44 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,079 Speaker 1: from all over the world as a spectrum that allows 45 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: you to talk and the signals carry for a long distance. 46 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: But it's but as Jonathan pointed out, it's not necessarily 47 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:49,920 Speaker 1: all for fun. Here in the United States. Part of 48 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: the reason that the Federal Communications Commission grants these licenses 49 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 1: is so that people can use these frequencies to broadcast 50 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: emergency messages. Is in the event of something going horribly 51 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: horribly wrong, right, you know, normal communication methods may be interrupted, 52 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: but often you can find someone with a radio transceiver 53 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: who is able to continue to communicate with the outside 54 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: world or possibly with people just across town to trying 55 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: to coordinate efforts in case of need for like an 56 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:26,399 Speaker 1: emergency rescue or rerouting traffic, that kind of thing. And uh, 57 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 1: there are several ways that that amateur radio differs from 58 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: citizens band radio or CB radio, and one was one 59 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: that Chris mentioned just now, which were licenses. You must 60 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: have a license in order to operate within the amateur 61 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: radio frequencies. And there are many of the frequencies. They're 62 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: they're in bands, and they are throughout the radio frequency spectrum. Uh, 63 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: and it's different from country to country. Not every country 64 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: uses the exact same bands too, you know, they don't 65 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: group everything together in the same bands that we do 66 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,040 Speaker 1: in the United States, which is a good thing in 67 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: a way because it keeps people from talking over one another. Yeah, 68 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: the interference is cut down a little bit. And however, 69 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: that does mean that on certain frequencies, you theoretically should 70 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,279 Speaker 1: be unable to contact people in the In countries that 71 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: are working on a different frequency, they shouldn't be on 72 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: that one. Uh And the whole radio spectrum is is 73 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,480 Speaker 1: pretty wide. You know, it's not a tiny little thing. 74 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: It's um, I actually downloaded a little Yeah, I don't 75 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: know the thing here about the radio spectrum. And yeah, 76 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: he's saying, wow, because it's pretty huge. Um. In fact, 77 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,840 Speaker 1: at I can't even read it because it's shrunk everything down. 78 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: But yeah, from about Jonathan's going to hold this his 79 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: computer up to the microphone so that you all can 80 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: hear whatever. Everyone take a look. Everyone, don't don't crowd. 81 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: Uh No, But from about nine killer hurts. Uh to, 82 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: let's see how what does it go up to all 83 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: the way to scroll down into their right three hundred 84 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: giga hurts. Nine kill hurts the three hundred gig hurts. 85 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: That's the full spectrum there, and large sections, large chunks 86 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 1: of that spectrum are dedicated to specific um UH services 87 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: or UM like emergency services have certain sections allocate to 88 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: them and no one else is allowed to broadcast in 89 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: those television, AM radio, FM, radio, these kind of things 90 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,279 Speaker 1: have dedicated spectrums, right, and then outside of that, you 91 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: have a few spectrums that are set aside specifically for 92 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: amateur radio. And UH. We mentioned the licenses. It's interesting 93 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: you can only access certain certain bands depending on what 94 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,359 Speaker 1: your license is. You can't, you know, just because you 95 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: get a license to work in amateur radio, at least 96 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: in the United States, if you get a license to 97 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: work amateur radio, that does not automatically mean that you 98 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: can access the entire radio frequency set aside for amateur radio. 99 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: Up there are three sets of our three different levels 100 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: of licenses in the United States. There's the Technician Class license, 101 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: which is the the base license, and the way you 102 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,720 Speaker 1: get that is you have to answer a thirty five 103 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: question multiple choice examination. You have to pass this examination, 104 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:28,919 Speaker 1: and the examination focuses on things like the operating practices, regulations, 105 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: electronics theory, like what you know like our our podcast 106 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 1: that we covered basic electronics theory. Yeah, you have to 107 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 1: have a good grounding in that in order to be 108 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: an amateur radio. Didn't mean it that way, you know. 109 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,040 Speaker 1: All right, Well it's so warm in here, I almost 110 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: let loose with an actual curse word. Um, that's Josh's job. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 111 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 1: and they don't beat him. Have you noticed I get 112 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: beat for saying taken the out of but he doesn't anyway, 113 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:02,559 Speaker 1: Sorry for the beep, Hey Liz, how you doing so so? Anyway? Yeah, 114 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 1: that you have to. The exam covers the regulations, operating 115 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: operating practices, electronics theory, that kind of stuff. Also information 116 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: on VHF and UHF signals, which are talking about, you know, 117 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,679 Speaker 1: ultra high frequency and very high frequency radio signals. Now, 118 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: those high frequency radio signals also happened to be the 119 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: ones that don't travel that far comparatively speaking, you can 120 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: use those to communicate with someone who's in the same 121 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: town that you are in. But here's the thing about 122 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 1: radio frequencies. It's kind of interesting. Uh, when you talk 123 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: about you have to you have to keep in mind 124 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: there are two different measurements that are going when you're 125 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: talking about radio frequencies, the measurement in uh in hurts, 126 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: which is the number of waves per second, right, and 127 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: then the length of the wave, which is inversely proportional. 128 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: You know, the shorter the wave, the more you're going 129 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: to get going through in a second because they're all 130 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: traveling at the same speed. You know, I always have 131 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 1: a problem with wavelength and amplitudes. Alright, So alright, radio 132 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: travels we're talking about we're talking about the speed of 133 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: light year essentially, right, Electromagnetic radiation we're talking about we're 134 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: talking everything is moving at the same speed. If you 135 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: have a really long wavelength, you're going to get fewer 136 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: repetitions within a second than if you have a very 137 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: short wavelength because they're both traveling at the same speed. 138 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: All right, So these high frequency radio waves are happen 139 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: to be very very short and um and so they 140 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: don't travel that far. And the reason they don't travel 141 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 1: that far is because the long waves have the benefit 142 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: of being reflected by the ionosphere and the sphere is 143 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: way the heck up there, but it tends to that's 144 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,319 Speaker 1: that's a technical term. That's stuff from the science lab. 145 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,880 Speaker 1: That's why I'm not going that far into detail. But 146 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: the ionosphere can reflect long radio waves and UH and 147 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: depending on the time of day, UH, it can reflect 148 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 1: certain wavelengths better than others. It does change throughout the 149 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: day and the night UM and also other radio other 150 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: electromagnetic UM interference can can affect it as well, things 151 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:23,200 Speaker 1: like the Aurora borealis. That's actually electromagnetic UH phenomenon there, 152 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: it's not just pretty lights, So that can also reflect 153 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: radio waves. Well, if you're using really long radio waves 154 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: that and they bounce off the onmosphere, you can actually 155 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: transmit messages all the way across the world. So you 156 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: and I could use a Ham radio operating on these 157 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: very long radio frequencies to talk to people in Australia. However, 158 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,559 Speaker 1: we would have to have a higher class license than 159 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,200 Speaker 1: just the basic because the technician class license does not 160 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: give you access to those radio waves. So the next 161 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: level up would be the general class license. Now that 162 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: gives you a larger UH range of frequencies that you 163 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: can use, including the really big ones, so you can 164 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: start talking to people who are on the other side 165 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: of the world and UH and you have to pass 166 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,320 Speaker 1: another thirty five question examination and it gets a little 167 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: more specific. It's a little more advanced, so you have 168 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: to have a better understanding of electronic theory as opposed 169 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: to a grounding UM, as well as operating procedures and 170 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: all that kind of stuff. And then the third and 171 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 1: final level in the United States is the Amateur Extra 172 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: Class license UM. And the reason you would want this 173 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: is because at certain and certain bands or radio traffic 174 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: is pretty heavy because that's where everyone's operating. So you 175 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 1: if you wanted to get the Amateur Extra Class license, 176 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 1: you would have access to the most elite bands of 177 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:50,440 Speaker 1: frequencies where you could, uh, there's not as much traffic. 178 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: You can you're more likely to be able to get 179 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,320 Speaker 1: your messages through, and you can even use it for 180 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: experiments like things like Earth to Moon to Earth transmissions 181 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: where you're actually bouncing you know, you're aiming your radio 182 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: signals up at the moon to bounce off and come 183 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 1: back down. That's pretty cool. It is pretty cool. And UM, 184 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: that is different than the other two. Instead of having 185 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: to answer a thirty five multiple choice question, you have 186 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 1: to answer a fifty U fifty multiple choice question examination 187 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: and past that. Uh. And there's something that's interesting recently 188 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,200 Speaker 1: about all three of the examinations that has changed just 189 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,960 Speaker 1: over the last few years. Yes, yes, there's one thing 190 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: you no longer need to know in order to become 191 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: an amateur radio specialist or a user relates specialist is 192 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 1: the wrong term entirely, but an amateur radio operator. You 193 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: know what that is, right, Hit me with it, baby, 194 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: Morse code. Yes, you no longer need to know Morse 195 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,760 Speaker 1: code in order to become an amateur radio operator, a 196 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:53,800 Speaker 1: licensed amateur radio operator. And I used to be that 197 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:55,840 Speaker 1: that was one of the requirements you had to learn 198 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: Morse code. Morse code was one of the the most 199 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: probably the most popular way of transmitting information via ham 200 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,680 Speaker 1: radio for many years, and the reason for that is 201 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: that at certain signals, the quality of the radio transmission 202 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: is fairly low. So it's hard to transmit information like 203 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: voice info at least on the older radios, the lower 204 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,479 Speaker 1: powered radios, and under certain like I said, certain radio frequencies. 205 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: So if you were to try and transmit voice over 206 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,479 Speaker 1: those signals, it would just kind of come in staticky 207 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: and and unintelligible. But you use something like a series 208 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: of of dots and dashes beefs, those would go and 209 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: transmit much more effectively. And so that was, you know, 210 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,199 Speaker 1: and it was also kind of a carryover from the 211 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: telegraph days, so you went from telegraph to radio and 212 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,439 Speaker 1: it just made sense because the the fidelity wasn't there 213 00:12:49,679 --> 00:12:52,640 Speaker 1: for voice yet, and it kind of stuck for a 214 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: long time. It's still one of the more popular methods 215 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: of transmitting data over ham radio, but it's not the 216 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: top one anymore. Voices taken over right now. Ham radio. Uh. 217 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: You may wonder where the term came from. It actually 218 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: comes from telegraph, because there was a book by G. M. Dodge, 219 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: Uh that's just realized how funny that is, um called 220 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: The Telegraph Instructor, And in it, uh, the author identifies 221 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:25,559 Speaker 1: a ham as uh, someone who's a really bad telegraph operator. Um. 222 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:28,439 Speaker 1: And in the days when everybody was sharing a frequency, 223 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: some people would come in more um intensely than others, 224 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 1: and they would be able to talk over everyone else 225 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: because they had a stronger signal. Well, Um, those people 226 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,319 Speaker 1: were identified as hands because they were basically stepping all 227 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: over everyone else's conversations. And the people those people, um 228 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,360 Speaker 1: were you know, the type of people who were taking 229 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: that as a badge of honor and not not that 230 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:54,680 Speaker 1: they were taking their behavior as a badge of honor. 231 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: But they thought uh uh, they sort of basically lashed 232 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 1: onto the term and said, yeah, you know, we're amateurs. 233 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: Were you know, d I why radio operators were gonna 234 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,600 Speaker 1: you know, this is what we're calling ourselves. And it 235 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: basically doesn't have that meaning now, but it did at 236 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,160 Speaker 1: one time. Yeah, it sounds like it was actually pretty 237 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: pretty uh similar to the theatrical use of the word 238 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: ham you know, that would be someone who steps all 239 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: over everybody else in an attempt to get all the attention. 240 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:25,600 Speaker 1: I could think of someone on this podcast who fits 241 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: that description. Boy, are my ears burning for some reason. Uh. 242 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 1: And you know I mentioned earlier about the the really 243 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: long radio waves being bouncing off the honosphere. I meant 244 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 1: to mention this too. I'm sorry that I didn't, but 245 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: that the shorter waves, uh, they are either absorbed or 246 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: they actually passed through the ionosphere and go out into spapace. 247 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: So that's the thing is these radio waves aren't It's 248 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: not that they you know, peter out. It's that's not 249 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: the case. It's not that that's why they're not getting 250 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: to the other side of the world. It's because instead 251 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,600 Speaker 1: of bouncing around the atmosphere and back down to the Earth. 252 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 1: To the Earth, they actually passed through the atmosphere and 253 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 1: keep on going. So people who are in that that 254 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 1: first class of amateur radio operators are technically sending signals 255 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: out into the ether towards aliens who will eventually come 256 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: and either ask us where all the cool Ham operators 257 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,920 Speaker 1: are or they will eat us. I'm thinking the ladder 258 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 1: me too. So um speaking of never mind, Uh wow, 259 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: I don't know where you were going now I'm not 260 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 1: sure either, all right. Um. So one of the really 261 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: cool things about this is the fact that it is 262 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,920 Speaker 1: very a very d i y sort of hobby. I mean, 263 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 1: you can, you know, take your license test, get your license, 264 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: go ahead and buy a radio, or you can build 265 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 1: one yourself. Yeah. This is another way that this is 266 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 1: different from CB radios that you know, with CB radios, 267 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 1: you you can't build your own siss has been radio. Uh, 268 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 1: you have to purchase a licensed one. Um, although we 269 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: did get that one email about how you can you 270 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: can kind of get around that, but in general you're 271 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: supposed to to buy a licensed radio for CB radio 272 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: as opposed to Now that's different for amateur radios. The 273 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:21,240 Speaker 1: amateur radio operators can create take up the hobby of 274 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 1: building their own radios and then using them to transmit 275 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: and receive information, and which I guess explains why you 276 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: need the electronics theory in the test. Yes, and they 277 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: can be much more powerful than CB radios could. I 278 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 1: think CBR radios were limited to some crazy thing like 279 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: five watts. But amateur radio so that's pretty big difference 280 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: there and now. And amateur radios come in all shapes 281 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:51,120 Speaker 1: and sizes. You can find some that are a little 282 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: handheld devices that you might tune to a repeater so 283 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 1: that you send your signal to the repeater and the 284 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 1: repeater receives signals through one frequency and transmits them through 285 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,679 Speaker 1: another and then essentially, well you know, it kind of 286 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: boosts your signal UM or you could, uh, you could 287 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,280 Speaker 1: have an amateur radio that's huge. I remember reading one 288 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: thing saying that it could take up half an attic 289 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,199 Speaker 1: where you've got this enormous amateur radio station UM in 290 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: order to to transmit received signals and UM and every 291 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: single amateur radio operator gets a call sign, and unlike 292 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: CB radio where you can pick your handle, these are 293 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,040 Speaker 1: call signs that are assigned to you and It all 294 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:40,680 Speaker 1: depends on where you live, what country you're in. You 295 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 1: know how each country has its own method of assigning 296 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: these call signs. In the United States, the call sign 297 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,640 Speaker 1: has a prefix in a suffix. The prefix is all 298 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:57,440 Speaker 1: based upon where you live. UM that the it's usually 299 00:17:57,440 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 1: a letter and then a number or a couple of 300 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:04,640 Speaker 1: letters in the number UM And some states get multiple 301 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: call signs. I assume that means that that those are 302 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: just have more amateur radio operators in them. It would 303 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: make sense. So can you guess which two states have 304 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: the have multiple call sign prefixes? Which too? There are 305 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:23,959 Speaker 1: two states in the Union that have multiple call sign prefixes. 306 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:26,400 Speaker 1: I find a guess. I would think California in Texas. 307 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: You are so wrongly Alaska and Hawaii. Oh well, you 308 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 1: know when you say that, it makes sense now you think, yeah, 309 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,399 Speaker 1: that area. But these are the two that are the 310 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 1: most isolated from the rest of the nation. So there 311 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:47,280 Speaker 1: you go. And yeah, So Alaska's call sign prefixes are 312 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: A L. Actually there's quite a few that's A L 313 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: zero through seven, k L zero through seven, in L 314 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,400 Speaker 1: zero through seven, w L zero through seven, And Hawaii's 315 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 1: are A H six through seven, k H six through seven, 316 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: n H six or seven and w H six through seven. Yep, yeah, 317 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 1: it's kind of interesting. And so yeah, the the that 318 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: if you if you hear the beginning of a call sign, 319 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:16,160 Speaker 1: you know where they are operating out of. And here's 320 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 1: another interesting thing is that most countries allow amateur radio 321 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: operators to operate within their borders even if they're not 322 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,360 Speaker 1: from that country. So let's say that you get your 323 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: license in one country and you travel to another now, 324 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: and so in some countries they'll let you go ahead 325 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,959 Speaker 1: and operate, you know, as if you held a license there. 326 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: Others may require you to actually pass an examination, a 327 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 1: local examination before you're allowed to use your your radio skills. 328 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 1: But what do you do about your call sign? Because 329 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,399 Speaker 1: your call sign identifies where you are, right, we just 330 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,160 Speaker 1: talked about that. Well you said where we're from. Well, 331 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:57,920 Speaker 1: it's not just where you're from, it's where you it's 332 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:01,919 Speaker 1: where you're transmitting from. So what what you have to 333 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: do is you have a U addendum to your call sign. 334 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,760 Speaker 1: You keep your regular call sign and then you add 335 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:13,879 Speaker 1: a little slash and then you give the prefix for 336 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,919 Speaker 1: the area that you are currently in, and that indicates 337 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: that you are you know, you're from this one region, 338 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,680 Speaker 1: but you're actually broadcasting from another region for the time 339 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: being while you are in transit. That's that's good to 340 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:31,480 Speaker 1: know because. UM. Another thing that I thought was pretty 341 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: cool about HAM radio as I was doing my research, 342 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,639 Speaker 1: and I had always wondered seeing the license plates of 343 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: cars that had their HAM radio UH call sign listed 344 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,159 Speaker 1: on the license plate like they do in some places, UM, 345 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: which was you know these were not Just because there 346 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: are some radios that take up half of an attic 347 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:54,679 Speaker 1: doesn't mean that all HAM radios are like that. No, 348 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:57,640 Speaker 1: some are very portable, yes, and and and there are 349 00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: some people who use them in cars. So I would 350 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: assume that if you're doing if you're traveling with your radio, 351 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: you're going to have to make that you know, you 352 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 1: would have to change that whenever you would move into 353 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: a new region. Now most most of the UM, most 354 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,159 Speaker 1: of the regions are pretty big. Actually, I can think 355 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,479 Speaker 1: of two reasons why Alaska and Hawaii would have those multiples. One, 356 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 1: Hawaii is made up of series of islands, so probably 357 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 1: each island has its own. But Alaska is enormous, so 358 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,119 Speaker 1: that would also make sense, so that it may not 359 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: even be the remote uh, nature of these two states, 360 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,880 Speaker 1: but also just the fact that one is not a 361 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,160 Speaker 1: single land mass and the other one is a freaking 362 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: huge land mass. But at any rate, the I didn't 363 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: understand that that that extension you have on there, well, 364 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: it's the one for the inside of a bear. I've 365 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,919 Speaker 1: been eaten. I think I'm still in Alaska, might be 366 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: in Canada by now, who knows. Um. But yeah, the way, 367 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,480 Speaker 1: the way, the way you would say it is you 368 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:00,880 Speaker 1: would give your normal all sign, and then you would 369 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 1: say portable, which it indicates that you are on the move, 370 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: and then you would give the prefix for whatever region 371 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: you were in. And like I said, most, uh, most 372 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,640 Speaker 1: of these call signs cover a fairly large area. So 373 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 1: it's not like if you went from one state to 374 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 1: another you would necessarily have to change. You might have 375 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,919 Speaker 1: to go two or three states before you are in 376 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 1: a new call sign area. And this is the kind 377 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:25,880 Speaker 1: of stuff you need to know before you take your exam. 378 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,360 Speaker 1: Um and there are it's funny, they're actually a lot 379 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: of ham radio operators are are really really passionate about 380 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:35,359 Speaker 1: this hobby. That's not a funny part. I mean, it's 381 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:38,560 Speaker 1: it's that makes sense. But yeah, they're very passionate about it, 382 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: and they're very eager to share their knowledge. And so 383 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,960 Speaker 1: if you run to a an amateur radio operator or 384 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: ham radio operator and uh, and they are willing to 385 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,119 Speaker 1: impart that knowledge to you. UH. The common term for 386 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:55,120 Speaker 1: them is do you happen to know this? I don't 387 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: know this one Elmer's I saw that and had wonder, 388 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: I have no idea someone's going to write in and 389 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: explain to us why they are called that. I don't know. 390 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: That's interesting though. Yeah, I was like, huh, I bet 391 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 1: there's a reason for that. I'm sure there's a story 392 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: behind it, but I couldn't find it. While I was 393 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,040 Speaker 1: looking for I was looking at like all the technical 394 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 1: specs and then so by the time I reached that point, 395 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 1: I was like, look, too late. I gotta go around 396 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 1: the horn now. UM. Yeah, if you're if you're wondering, 397 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,119 Speaker 1: there are several organizations. I mean there there is the 398 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: International Amateur Radio Union, which is a very large organization, 399 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,679 Speaker 1: and then here in the United States, the American Relay 400 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: Radio League can also clue you in. Um, if you're 401 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:38,199 Speaker 1: looking for more information about about doing this, and it 402 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: is it is fairly affordable hobby. As far as electronics go. Um, 403 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: you know, even uh having buy the equipment, it can 404 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,160 Speaker 1: started under two hundred dollars in the United States, So 405 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: that's that's not terribly expensive, Um for a you know, 406 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: uh sort of out of the way you know, not 407 00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: on not on this store shelves at Walmart sort of 408 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:02,479 Speaker 1: of equipment. So that's, um, that's pretty cool. It's not 409 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: that terrible barrier to entry. Yeah, it's definitely. It's it's 410 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:08,680 Speaker 1: kind of got an old school appeal to it. I mean, 411 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,679 Speaker 1: I think unfortunately, I would say the the rise of 412 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,080 Speaker 1: the Worldwide Web has taken a lot of the appeal 413 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 1: of of ham radio out for anyone other than radio enthusiasts, 414 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 1: because the web has made it very easy to make 415 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,760 Speaker 1: contact with people on the other side of the world. Now, 416 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,880 Speaker 1: before you know, amateur radio was one of the few 417 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:33,040 Speaker 1: ways you could actually have a conversation with someone who 418 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,639 Speaker 1: was countries away without spending any extra money on the 419 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:40,199 Speaker 1: actual transmission. You didn't have any long distance phone charges 420 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 1: or anything like that. You didn't have to send mail 421 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 1: and wait forever for it to come back. You could 422 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:47,440 Speaker 1: have a real time conversation with someone and uh, and 423 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: and it didn't cost you any more than what you 424 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: had spent on your examination and the equipment you were using. 425 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,560 Speaker 1: That was it. But um, the web has made things 426 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,320 Speaker 1: so much easier that that people who are still interested 427 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: in radio, of course they haven't lost any passion for 428 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: the for the hobby, but it's I think it's probably 429 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: harder to get people into it. Well. On the other hand, though, 430 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:12,440 Speaker 1: if it's something that uh, and you know that it's 431 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,400 Speaker 1: this way with it just about any hobby that I've encountered, 432 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:18,719 Speaker 1: you know, there are always people who really enjoy the 433 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 1: exclusivity of it. And I'm sure for those people who 434 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: like the the idea that they're doing something that few 435 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: other people are doing, you know, just enough to have 436 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:29,719 Speaker 1: a conversation with, that's probably going to be an appeal 437 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,359 Speaker 1: to some people that dedicated to you know, keep the 438 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:35,680 Speaker 1: activity alive and keep interest up in it. And it's 439 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:37,959 Speaker 1: definitely a skill set, I mean it's not you know, 440 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:41,160 Speaker 1: building a radio requires a lot of skill, and operating 441 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,560 Speaker 1: Morse code and understanding Morse code requires skill. And and 442 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,280 Speaker 1: you know, they have competitions, other Ham radio competitions that 443 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: are pretty interesting where within a certain given amount of 444 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:54,159 Speaker 1: time you have to collect um as many call signs 445 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,480 Speaker 1: as you possibly can, verified that you have collected these 446 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,479 Speaker 1: call signs. And usually it's an international thing where you're 447 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:04,360 Speaker 1: trying to collect call signs from across the world. That's 448 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:07,680 Speaker 1: the d X competition. Yeah. Yeah, and so you you 449 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 1: have to try and collect as many as you can 450 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:11,760 Speaker 1: and and you know they have to be verifiable. You know, 451 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:13,919 Speaker 1: essentially you're going to have to appear in someone else's 452 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,919 Speaker 1: book too to show that yes, you did. Actually, you 453 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:21,280 Speaker 1: can't just write call signs down at random. Um. And 454 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,080 Speaker 1: we should also mention I'm surprised we've done this long 455 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:27,080 Speaker 1: without mentioning it. We've talked about Morse code and we've 456 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,160 Speaker 1: talked about voice. Those are not the only two methods 457 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: of communication you can you can send through amateur radio. 458 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 1: There's more. Yeah, like television. You can actually use some 459 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: of the spectrum to send amateur TV two people. Now, 460 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,679 Speaker 1: granted that these don't tend to travel that far, so 461 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,200 Speaker 1: you're tending you tend to display it to people who 462 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,480 Speaker 1: are in the area. But it's like creating your own 463 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:57,919 Speaker 1: public access ye. And there's a packet radio teletype right, 464 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:01,239 Speaker 1: so packet packet information would be like the Internet. This 465 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,320 Speaker 1: was this We can thank con for this. Um about 466 00:27:05,359 --> 00:27:11,680 Speaker 1: the con uh he uh it's very cold in radio 467 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: um he uh. Con and surf. Yes, the the fathers 468 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: of the Internet or people who worked on our pannet 469 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: and then continued to work as arpanet uh sort of 470 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:30,280 Speaker 1: made way for the Internet. Um. One of the one 471 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: of the networks that got pulled into the Internet was 472 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:37,439 Speaker 1: the radio network. And once you were able to send 473 00:27:37,480 --> 00:27:41,679 Speaker 1: packets data packets through radio frequencies, that became an actual 474 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:43,560 Speaker 1: part of the Internet. So when you think Internet, I 475 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,679 Speaker 1: mean we almost I tend to think of the Internet 476 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:51,560 Speaker 1: as computers and smartphones now things like that, devices that 477 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,840 Speaker 1: send data like that in that method. But really there's 478 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 1: a radio element to it as well. And and amateur 479 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 1: radio operators can use packets and send send data through 480 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: the radio. And the radio teletype that you mentioned used 481 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,440 Speaker 1: to have to have really specific equipment to use that. 482 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:14,879 Speaker 1: You know, you have to have a big teletype machine, 483 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 1: like the like the ones you used to see in 484 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: the newsroom. Yeah, like the one that's featured in the 485 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: Boomtown Rats song. I don't like Mondays yes anyway, so 486 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:29,160 Speaker 1: uh think yeah, it took it. It's the very first line. 487 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:33,440 Speaker 1: It's kept so clean and it types to a waiting world. Uh. 488 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: So yeah, you used to have to have these big machines. 489 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: Now you can use software on the computer and uh. 490 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: And have you have your computer hooked up to a 491 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: transceiver and the computer acts as the teletype machine and 492 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: you can receive and send messages using radio teletype. And 493 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:55,719 Speaker 1: then there's the PSK delivery as well. So we we 494 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:57,680 Speaker 1: had to mention that because otherwise someone would write in 495 00:28:57,760 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: and say, hey, you know, you talked about voice and 496 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: you talked about Morse code, but there's more to it 497 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: than that, and there is and uh and people are 498 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 1: using light Yes, I saw that. Yes, LED communications essentially 499 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,680 Speaker 1: to to deliver the same information. And you know, as 500 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: long as you have line of sight, uh, the LED 501 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 1: is able to transmit the signal that way rather than 502 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,600 Speaker 1: the traditional ways. Yeah. That's I'm like, how do you 503 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 1: call that radio? Still? Yeah, that's that's photonic man. Yeah, 504 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 1: And I really wanted to get into that more, but 505 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:29,640 Speaker 1: we're running out. We're running out of time. We're running 506 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,360 Speaker 1: out of time. And you know what I read. I 507 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,760 Speaker 1: read that same article, but I need to read it. Yeah, 508 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:36,800 Speaker 1: I want to. I want to get it explained to 509 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:38,240 Speaker 1: someone else. Yeah, because that was one of those where 510 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: I'm like, this is really super cool and I just 511 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: barely understand it. Well. I hope that that was a 512 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:46,160 Speaker 1: good little discussion on HAM radio. There's so much more 513 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:47,920 Speaker 1: that we can talk about. Like we said, every single 514 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: nation has its own frequencies and its own licensing procedure. 515 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 1: But if you're interested, there are lots of websites out 516 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: there that can direct you to uh TO resources to 517 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 1: become an amateur radio operator, and you're sure to find 518 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: an elmer who's willing to talk to you about it, 519 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: she's excited about it to mentor you in that. So 520 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 1: moving on, I wanted to talk very quickly about a 521 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:18,480 Speaker 1: little listener mail. This listening mail comes from Kevin from Peoria. 522 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 1: How are things in Peoria? Peoria? Today? It's a folk song? Okay, 523 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,800 Speaker 1: he says, Hello. I just had a quick comment. Chris 524 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:30,480 Speaker 1: had mentioned in your last podcast about microwaves how much 525 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 1: he hates microwaving bread, and I completely understand. Here's a 526 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 1: tip that my fiance taught me. First, thoroughly wet down 527 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,920 Speaker 1: a paper towel and then unravel it. Next, wrap your 528 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,440 Speaker 1: bread works particularly well with breadsticks in the wet paper towel, 529 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 1: microwave for a fifteen to twenty seconds, and then carefully 530 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:51,800 Speaker 1: remove and discard the very hot paper towel. Then enjoy 531 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 1: the soft, warm bread stuff. It stays soft and warm 532 00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,160 Speaker 1: for much longer than usual this way. I didn't believe 533 00:30:58,160 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: her until she did it for me one day and 534 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: it worked. Believe me, it has revolutionized my dining experience 535 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: with leftover bread sticks. Thanks for the great podcast. I 536 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:11,400 Speaker 1: especially like the puns. You are welcome, Kevin, and thank 537 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:14,560 Speaker 1: your fiance for us for helping us roll in the 538 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: dough whacket issh racketed do. I can't believe you. Just 539 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,560 Speaker 1: all right, guys, we're gonna wrap this up. If you 540 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 1: want to learn more about ham Radio, visit our website, 541 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:33,160 Speaker 1: it's how Stuff Works dot com. We've got blogs. Remember 542 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:34,880 Speaker 1: you can check those out. You'll see those links on 543 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: the right hand side. Or you can always just go 544 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:38,320 Speaker 1: to blogs dot how stuff Works dot com if you 545 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: want the direct route. And remember we no longer do 546 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 1: tex Stuff Live. Tech Stuff Live is on hiatus while 547 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: we are working on the studio space. We hope to 548 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:51,680 Speaker 1: have something special by the time we get it back. 549 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 1: Up and running. 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