Most likely you already know the term "ham radio." If you don't, let me take a moment to educate you. Ham radio is the act of using a specific section of the radio wave spectrum for recreational use. No commercial entities are allowed. Something about the fact that it is completely "free" really gets people's juices flowing. Every operator takes great pride in their equipment -- equipment that is, more often than not, cobbled together from pieces found in the trash and repaired.

One of the most wildly interesting aspects of ham is that you can communicate with people halfway across the planet. As Bill Meara points out in his guest post at Hackaday.com, people have literally bounced their messages off the Moon in order to reach their target. Bill goes on to talk about how the community is always so eager to pull new people in and educate them, something that any community could learn from. The pride Bill says he has in his rig is easily heard any time you communicate with a "hammer." We know some of you out there are already avid hammers, so if you have just a few moments, you should really go read what Bill has to say.

If you're thinking the name Bill Meara sounds familiar, it's because he's been around quite some time and really knows his stuff. He's the author of the book Soldersmoke Global Adventures in Wireless Electronics and also runs the Soldersmoke podcast.

 

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