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What
is a HAM ?
HAM
is the word used to describe a Amateur Radio Operator.
And
why are we called HAM's...well, it goes something like this...
The
word HAM was applied in 1908 and was the call letters of one of the first
Amateur wirelessstations operated by some members of the Harvard Radio
Club.
They
were Albert S. Hyman, Bob Almy, and Peggie Murray. At first they called
their station Hyman-Almy-Murray. Tapping out such a long name in code
soon called for a revision and theychanged it to HY-AL-MU, using the first
two letters of each name.
Early
in 1909, some confusion resulted between signals from Amateur wireless
HYALMU and a Mexican ship named HYALMO, so they decided to use only the
first letter of each name and the call became HAM.
In
early pioneer unregulated days of radio, Amateur operators picked their
own frequency and call letters.
Then,
as now, some Amateurs had better signals than some commercial stations.
The
resulting interference finally came to the attention of congressional
committees in Washington and they gave much time to proposed legislation
designed to critically limitAmateur activity.
In
1911, Albert Hyman chose the controversial Wireless Regulation Bill as
the topic for his thesis at Harvard. His instructor insisted that a copy
be sent to Senator David I. Walsh,a member of one of the committees hearing
the bill. The Senator was so impressed, he sent for Hyman to appear before
the committee. He was put on the stand and described how the little Amateur
station was built. He almost cried when he told the crowded committee
room that if the bill went through, they would have to close up the station
because they could not afford the license fees and all the other requirements
that were set up in the bill.
The
debate started and the little station HAM bacame a symbol of all the little
Amateur stations in the country crying out to be saved from menace and
greed of the big commercial stations who did not want them around. Finally,
the bill got to the floor of Congress and every speaker talked about the
poor little station "HAM".
That's
how it all started. You will find the whole story in the Congressional
Record.
Nationwide
publicity associated station HAM with Amateurs. From that day to this,
and probablyto the end of time, in radio, and Amateur Radio Operator is
a HAM !
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