Click for homepage
Radio amateurs
Licenced amateur radio operators · HAMs - this page is a stub

An amateur radio operator, also known as radio amateur, ham or HAM, is a person who uses amateur radio equipment to communicate with other amateur operators, on radio frequencies (bands) assigned to the Amateur Radio Service. For the use of these frequencies, they have been granted a licence by their local governmental regulatory authority, after passing an examination on electronics, radio theory, radio operation and regulations. As part of their licence, amateur operators are assigned a call sign that they use to identify themselves during communication [1].

Most countries have one or more national radio societies of which amateur radio operators can become a member. The national organisations are commonly involved in liaison with the national regulatory body for telecommunications. At a global level, the national societies are united in the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) — the liaison between amateurs and the International Telecommunication Union ITU. The IARU is divided into the same three regions as the ITU:

IARU   International Amateur Radio Union
Established on 27 April 1925.
 IARU website
National organisations
Below is a non-exhaustive overview of amateur radio societies and related organisations.

Related subjects
Frequencies
Below is an overview of the frequency bands that have been allocated to the Amateur Radio Service. Licenced Amateur Radio Operators can use these bands for transmission, subject to international and national regulations. For each band, a detailed bandplan is applicable [5].

BandFrequencyWaveModulation
LF1.35.7 - 137.8 kHz2200 mCW
MF472 - 279 kHz635 mCW
 1.81 - 1.88 MHz 1160 mCW, Digi, voice
HF3.5 - 3.5 MHz80 mCW, RTTY, voice
 5.350 - 5.450 MHz 260 mCW, RTTY, voice
 7.0 - 7.2 MHz40 mCW, Digi, voice, beacons
 10.1 - 10.15 MHz30 mCW, Digi
 14.0 - 14.35 MHz20 mCW, Digi, voice, SSTV
 18.068 - 18.168 MHz17 mCW, Digi, voice, beacons
 21.0 - 21.45 MHz15 mCW, Digi, voice, beacons. SSTV
 24.89 - 24.99 MHz12 mCW, Digi, voice, beacons
 28.0 - 29.7 MHz10 mCW, Digi, voice, beacons, SSTV, Sat
VHF50 - 52 MHz6 mAll modes
 70.0 - 70.5 MHz4 m  
 144 - 146 MHz2 mAll modes
UHF430 - 440 MHz70 cmAll modes
 1240 - 1300 MHz23 cmAll modes
 2320 - 2450 MHz13 cmAll modes
SHF3400 - 3475 MHz9 cmAll modes
 5650 - 5850 MHz6 cmAll modes
 10 - 10.5 GHz3 cmAll modes
 24 - 24.25 GHz12 mmAll modes
EHF47.0 - 47.2 GHz6 mmAll modes
 76.0 - 84.5 GHz4 mmAll modes
 122.25 - 123.00 GHz3 mmAll modes
 134 - 141 GHz2 mmAll modes
 241 - 250 GHz1 mmAll modes
  1. In Belgium the upper limit is 2 MHz.
  2. Secondary usage.
National organisations
Germany
DARC   Deutsche Amateur-Radio-Club
National amateur radio society of Germany.
 DARC website
AATiS   Arbeitskreis Amateurfunk und Telekommunikation in der Schule
Working Group for Amateur Radio and Telecommunications in Schools.
 AATiS website
Netherlands
Amateur organisations
VERON   Vereniging voor Experimenteel Radio Onderzoek in Nederland
Established in October 1945 by merging the pre-war NVVR, NVIR and VUKA.
 VERON website
VRZA   Vereniging voor Radio Zend Amateurs
Established in 1951 by a number of disaffected VERON members.
 VRZA website
QRP   Benelux QRP Club
Organisation for the promotion of low-power (QRP) radio amateurism in Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxemburg (Benelux).
 Website Benelux QRP Club
Former organisations
NVVR   Nederlandse Vereniging voor Radiotelegrafie
Established in 1916. In 1945 dissolved into the VERON.
NVIR   Nederlandse Vereniging voor Internationaal Radio-amateurisme
Established in 1929. In 1945 dissolved into the VERON.
VUKA   Vereniging voor Ultra Korte Golf Amateurs
Established in 1934. In 1945 dissolved into the VERON.
WWII
At the beginning of WWII, the Netherlands had approx. 400 licenced radio amateurs. Together with the naval marconists, they belonged to the small group of people that were capable of giving and taking 1 messages in morse code. Because of the cameraderie and close friendships between the HAMs throughout the country, many of them were recruted by one of the secret underground movements. During the war, there were three important clandestine resistance organisations:

Each of these organisations had its own clandestine radio service, 2 although the first two, OD and RVV, probably had the largest ones, with direct links to the Dutch Government in exile in London. The clandestine radio services were largely populated by HAMs, many of which lost their lives after being caught. According to the VERON — the main Dutch amateur radio association — about 60 licenced amateur radio operators (15%) were active in resistance organisations, 21 of which lost their lives as a result of it, which is 5% of the total number of amateurs in the country.

 Dutch WWII resistance organisations

  1. In telegraphist speak, the word 'giving' is commonly used for 'transmitting' or 'sending' messages in morse code, whilst 'taking' is used for 'receiving' or 'reading' messages in morse code.
  2. There were overlaps. Some operators worked for more than one organisation.
United Kingdom   UK
RSGB   Radio Service of Great Britain
National amateur radio organisation of the United Kingdom (UK)
 RSGB website
United States   USA
ARRL   American Radio Relay League
National association for Amateur Radio in the United States of America (USA).
 ARRL website
References
  1. Wikipedia, Amateur radio operator
    Retrieved January 2021.

  2. sTEN, Canon van de Telecommunicatie
    Retrieved January 2021.

  3. Wikipedia, International Telecommunication Union
    Visited February 2023.

  4. Wikipedia, ITU Region
    Visited February 2023.

  5. Theo Vermeulen, Amateur Bandplan (Dutch)
    17 July 2016.
Further information
Any links shown in red are currently unavailable. If you like the information on this website, why not make a donation?
© Crypto Museum. Last changed: Wednesday, 21 May 2025 - 07:32 CET.
Click for homepage