Hello Blobby
I am not sure if i can hold your interest..... but I became a radio ham 32 years ago.
My call sign G8vln is absolutely nothing to do with SETI . That is a program that searches the Milky Way for Radio signals that ET
might be using. My call sign is one of thousands of Radio Amateurs around the world who are able to use all the Radio Frequencys
Plus some special frequencys reserved for Radio Hams across the world.
No we are NOT allowed to listen to Embassy radio traffic, Even though some Embassys do use Amateur Radio frequencys.
Since we use specialized Radio RX equipment, we might come across such signals accidentaly, but we do not log their frequency, we forget about such accidents.
Whats in it for me?
Well its an interesting Hobby, which is not as strong as it was many years ago, due to the intro of many people using computers and now have no time to spare for Radio Hamming (as you call it)
Amateur radio (ham radio) is a hobby in which amateurs communicate with each other and
are legally allowed to experiment with radio transmissions and recieving.
This ability to experiment with radio is the important distinction between amateur radio and other ways in which the public are allowed to use radio.... such as Citizens' Band, Family Radio Service or Business Radio.
Because radio amateurs are allowed to experiment with radio, they are required to pass tests or examinations to prove a level of technical competence before being granted a license. For other types of radio....no tests are required, but experimentation is not permitted and users may only use approved types of equipment with limited power and simple antennas.
Because Radio Amateurs in different countrys around the world are allowed to experiment, using different types of transmissions (Tx), all those countries have set aside, and reserved special Frequency Bands (by International Treaty)
for the purpose of self training, and operations within those bands, for Radio Amateurs to use. They are normally bands that the casual listener cannot hear, since no normal radios are manufactured to be able to pick up some of the specialised Amateur Frequencys.
(I am thinking of the many foreign Satellites, of all types, in use by World Powers. They can all be 'picked up', or listened to at various times of the day......although they might transmit their info, such as pictures or other data, back to Earth in code.)
The layman should remember that ANY TYPE of radio signal passed thru the air....cannot be kept a secret!
No matter what super high frequency agile coded data is used, commpressed or stretched in time! It CAN be heard, copied, and decoded at leisure....this is because the Radio Frequency Spectrum is limited.
The Israelis found this out many war years ago...which is why today, they relay satellite data to their front line Field Commanders, by laying a telephone cable, when their last vehicle rolls in. If high security is required, they do not use the airwaves.
You can transmit so high in the Radio Frequency scale that you enter the realm of Radar, UV, and Light....... But even here, there are many Radio Amateurs, who are all legally allowed to build, experiment, and transmit, using these super frequencys. (I think they provide a pool of skilled operators for use in times of War or National emergency?)
Of course Radio amateurs are also permitted to build and modify the equipment and antennas that they use on the air. For many, that is their main interest, they have been responsible for designing almost invisible Aerials used for transmitting.....and even a new kind of very small but efficient 'Fractal aerial' that can be printed and hidden within a book page.
Remember you are not allowed to do any of the above until you pass the proper Amateur Radio License (Morse Code is NOT a requirment today, at least not in the UK)
An important distinction between amateur radio and business radio is that radio amateurs are not allowed to use amateur radio for communications of a commercial nature. So you could not use amateur radio to pass messages related to a business activity even if everyone involved had passed the tests and obtained amateur radio licenses. That may sound harsh, and it did surprised me when I read those rules.
In short this means that Amateurs can only communicate to other Amateurs ...... but this does not detract from the high interest because you can find yourself talking to Professors, Doctors, Dentists and many other new people of a strange and dubious nature,from other countries. Never knowing quite who you will talk to, due to the vagaries of radio propagation - that is part of what makes ham radio, interesting.
Radio amateurs are allowed to connect a computer to the radio and use digital modes, which allow text-based chat and even the exchange of still and video pictures using radio. The challenge of doing this using radio is seeing how far you can get around the world, makes this more interesting than doing the same thing using the internet. (Which of course IS monitored, by keeping Emails for 3 months by law these days).
Other radio amateurs get a lot of enjoyment from building radios and trying them out on the air.
A low power morse code transmitter is one of the simplest electronic circuits you can make and it is an enormous thrill to use such a simple transmitter to make a contact with someone hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Nor are you limited to audio direct speech..... some like to push the boundaries of communication by bouncing their radio
transmissions off meteor trails or even the Moon. Others make contacts using satellites that have been built by radio amateurs and sent into orbit especially for ham radio use. A few using their own designed antennas.....record the data comming from foriegn satellites.
There are thousands of Radio Amateurs that are registered world wide that operate in from every country in the world.
You can buy a CDRom Callsign Data Base from the RSGB, or the American QRZ Callsign Data base which lists over 1 million world wide call signs on a CD.
Blobby...you did mention my call sign that I put at the end of my SAGG replies.....in fact you do NOT have to be a Radio Ham to access SETI.
SETI is a program that listens to one small area within the Milky Way.......and attempts to tease out a weak Radio signal from the natural radio noise of the Universe. It may well be a long shot but if an ET civilization is using radio to communicate to itself...nothing yet has been detected. That does not mean to say that an intelligent signal won't be detected. Our detectors are getting better every few years, and the Arecibo telescope which stores the radio/noise signals from space, is going to be replaced by the
Allen Telescope Array, thats of hundreds of intercontinental scopes that make up one super scope, 10,000 times more sensitive than Arecibo.
A little more about SETI
One program is called 'Seti@Home'.........Anybody can join in, all you need is computer, to which you need to download the Maths program called BOINC. Its an amazing program which is now used by hundreds of thousands of Computers all over the world.
You decide what subject you are interested in and BOINC will point you on your way. Just download the URL below
http://boinc.berkeley.edu/Then choose one or more projects that interest you........Your computer will start working as soon as you stop using it for say 2 minutes...or you can leave your 'puter on for 24 hrs per day? Hehe
Big Companys and Universitys do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMV-r--xl2chttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aIJV5aQR68There is another project getting off the ground looking for ET
That does not use Radio signals...It uses light beams, even Laser beams, the final setup is supposedly going to be so sensitive it will be able to detect if ET switches on or off a building apartment set of lights, in outer space!!!!!
Oh well here's wishing everyone a wonderful New Year break
(once we pass December the 21st that is)
Blobby you have re-kindled my interest in SETI, I will probably update my SAGG signature within six weeks.
