Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) as Fast As Possible
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2017-05-06
·
971 words · ~4 min read
0:00
Amateur radio. I mean, is that what truckers use to spot bears on their six?
0:05
Not quite. Most truckers actually use Citizens Band or CB radio, an unlicensed
0:10
set of channels set aside for use by the general public. Amateur Radio, also
0:14
known as ham radio, is a non-commercial
0:17
but licensed radio service which uses allocated frequencies that aren't being
0:22
used by things like AM and FM to allow
0:26
radio enthusiasts to provide emergency communications, improve their technical
0:30
skills, and enhance international goodwill by having discussions across
0:35
country borders about national snack foods or whatever the case may be. Now,
0:40
you may be wondering then, why is amateur radio still relevant when I can
0:43
just go on my computer and talk or play games with my friend across the border
0:48
like that? Well, believe it or not, even in 2016, there are over 700,000
0:54
licensed ham radio operators in the United States, over 1.2 million in
1:00
Japan, and an estimated combined 3
1:04
million worldwide. And part of the reason there's still a vibrant amateur
1:08
radio community is due to its simplicity
1:12
compared to things like the internet. Ham radio relies on no pre-established
1:16
communication grids and a simple radio can be made out of spare electronic
1:21
parts in a pinch. Not to mention that ham radio can be quite reliable compared
1:26
to some more modern forms of communication in times of crisis. For
1:31
example, during the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, cell phone service
1:35
was overloaded and utterly crippled. So,
1:39
amateur radio operators helped victims contact their families and provided
1:43
communications for emergency personnel participating in search and rescue
1:47
operations. And while emergency communications is normally cited as a
1:52
primary reason for amateur radio, it's not by any means the only aspect of the
1:57
hobby. There are radio sport contests
2:01
where operators try to contact as many people as possible during a certain
2:05
period of time. Um, some operators enjoy
2:08
making a game out of making contacts
2:11
which they'll use to get different awards such as, you know, worked all US
2:16
states or worked all continents. And if
2:19
you operate on the high frequency spectrum in combination with a computer,
2:23
you can actually send digital signals including data packets. Amateur radio
2:28
has even found uses well above the Earth as astronauts aboard the International
2:32
Space Station are ham radio operators and occasionally use it to make contact
2:37
or send pictures. Other operators have moon bounce or EM and meteor scatter
2:43
setups where they bounce signals off the moon and meteors to make contacts around
2:48
the world repurposing space rocks as
2:52
satellites. Cool, right? I mean, not to
2:55
everyone, but to some people for sure. But whether you're sending signals into
2:58
outer space or just talking to someone down the street, the point is there's a
3:03
great deal of flexibility and fun in the ham radio hobby. And it can be, I mean,
3:08
like anything, it can get expensive, but it can be done quite affordably. Many
3:12
operators are running DIY setups consisting of Arduinos, Raspberry Pies,
3:16
and other microcontrollers. These can be utilized to build GPS trackers which are
3:21
placed in their cars or even high altitude balloons to transmit their
3:25
location through amateur radio. You can even rig up a ham to extend the range of
3:29
a drone if you find that your Wi-Fi connection just isn't powerful enough.
3:34
So, if any of this sounds intriguing and you're already sitting there coming up
3:38
with ways you would use an amateur radio license, getting a license is actually
3:42
relatively easy depending on which country you live in. So being in charge
3:46
of your own little radio station sounds appealing. Check it out. Just make sure
3:51
that you do have your license first as you don't want a dark suited Gman at
3:56
your door because you are making, you know, pirate radio broadcasts about how
4:00
much your ISP is ripping you off. Speaking of ISPs, don't you hate it when
4:05
your ISP is snooping on what you're doing on the internet? Well, Tunnel
4:09
BearVPN lets you encrypt your connection and while you're at it, tunnel your
4:14
connection in one of 20 different countries, allowing you to keep the
4:19
internet sites that you visit and the online services that you use private
4:23
from your internet provider, as well as the aforementioned websites and
4:27
services. They have easy to use apps for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac. They've also
4:32
got a Chrome extension. And all you got to do with no DNS settings or port tom
4:39
foolery is click on the button to turn it on. Select whichever country you
4:43
prefer to appear as though you're coming from and boom, your connections
4:47
encrypted. Your public IP is switched and you are ready to freaking go. And
4:52
the best thing about Tunnel Bear is you do not have to take my word for it. All
4:56
you got to do is head to the link in the video description. That's tunnelbear.com/lininus
5:01
and try it. They'll give you 500 megs of free data for nothing. No credit card
5:06
required. And if you want to upgrade to unlimited data, you can save 10% by
5:10
again going to tunnelbear.com/lininus.
5:13
Oh, and they have a great privacy policy as well, which you can check out on
5:16
their site when you're over there. So, thanks for watching, guys. If you like the video, like it. If you disliked it,
5:20
dislike it. If you want to check out other channels, boom. If you want to comment with video suggestions for
5:24
future Fastest Possibles, down there. And don't forget to subscribe so you
5:27
don't miss any fastest possibles just like this one.