Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish
poet and dramatist.
THE MAGIC OF WIRELESS
Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't
believe impossible things". "I daresay you haven't had much practice,"
said the Queen. ... "Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six
impossible things before breakfast."
From 'Through the Looking Glass' by
Lewis Carroll (1872)
A PERSONAL VIEW OF AMATEUR RADIO
I am a Radio Amateur (Ham) and wrote this back in 1999:
As a young boy I was introduced to the 'magic of wireless' when an
older friend showed me a crystal set he had built - a toilet roll
former with some cotton covered wire wound around it attached to a pair
of ex government headphones! With a length of wire stretched from his
bedroom window down the garden to the top of a clothes line post and
the headphones clamped firmly on my head I could hear the BBC West of
England Home Service. To me, it was MAGIC and nearly 50 years later it
still is Magic!
After my experience with my friend's crystal set and discovering
that it did in fact use a crystal and a condenser as well as a toilet
roll former I was well and truly hooked on Wireless. With help from my
father and later magazines such as PW and Radio Constructor I was able
to build my own sets and was listening to stations from all over Europe
and eventually the World. I joined the School Science Club and later
having heard some local Radio Amateurs talking on 160m on a wireless
that covered the 'Trawler Band' discovered Amateur Radio. I also joined
the National Society for Radio Amateurs, the RSGB and became a Short
Wave Listener. The Society's magazine was my window on the world and I
had a great sense of belonging to a world wide brotherhood of radio
enthusiasts. Over 40 years later RadCom as it is now known is still a
'good read' and worth every penny of my subscription to RSGB.
In the 1960's I joined the South Dorset Radio Society. Over 30
years ago most members were middle aged or over and for a
while it
seemed I was the only person under 40. These days, far from what some
suggest there are many young people in the hobby and the activity on
the bands is at least as high as it was 30 years ago. Morse Code is
still in daily use by thousands of Radio Amateurs all over the world
and the greatest problem for most HF operators is QRM caused by the
high level of activity! Although I held a 'B' licence for almost 20
years (I was finally licensed in 1967 as G8BCH) I had learned Morse
Code in my teens. I can't imagine Amateur Radio without Morse Code.
Even before I obtained the full 'A' license the ability to read the
code was essential for the identification of beacons and later
repeaters as well as weak signal working for which no other mode is
it's equal.
Some things have changed of course, that's the nature of Science
and Human nature as well. However, I have a copy of the RSGB Handbook
published during WWII and much of it, probably MOST of it has not
changed. I suspect that the same holds true for Human behaviour! There
is a general trend at the moment for people not to join clubs any more
but this applies to all hobbys and interests and is certainly not
unique to Amateur Radio. Nowadays a Radio Amateur can talk to friends
every day with ease. We can chat on the local repeater while walking
the dog, on the way to and from work, and even, in some cases while
working. Yes, this is when we chat about the Internet and e-mail etc.
and anything else in which we share a common interest including, of
course, Wireless! This is a change. When I joined the local radio club
it was the only place where like minded people could converse about the
hobby that fascinated them. The few that were licensed could use
wireless of course but for the most part that meant being at home in
the shack. It was also much more difficult and expensive to obtain a
licence and set up a station than it is now.
The privileges that we as Radio Amateurs enjoy did not come
easily. They were won for us over the years by the hard work and
dedication of an army of volunteers organised together under the
auspices of our national society. I believe that it is my duty to
support the National Society that represents us all so that it can be
seen by the authorities as having a mandate to negotiate on our behalf.
If there is a problem in our hobby it is that without that mandate the
RSGB will find it increasingly difficult to argue our case with the
authorities. That is the real threat as I see it.
Wireless as we know it is less than 100 years old. It came after
the telephone and was not replaced by it. I use the Internet, e-mail,
and the telephone and even watch TV occasionally! My HOBBY is Amateur
Radio and using Wireless I can communicate with others all over the
world. I operate on all bands from 160m to 70cm and use many different
modes. I enjoy using the latest technology, much of it, like Packet
Radio developed by Radio Amateurs and now used by the professionals.
However, I could (if I had to) manage with just a few watts on HF and
the 150 year old Morse Code and do without the local repeater, the PC
and the land-line.
There has always been a wire down the garden at my QTH and I hope
there always will be. Amateur Radio is a wonderful hobby. It's easy and
it's fun and above all it's Magic!
