This is being written for those who are not hams or know very little about amateur (or ham) radio. This is in response to a number of people who learned about our radio expedition (called a DXpedition in ham radio-ese) and asked:  “Why?” “What will you do there?”.

So, here is an explanation to give you an idea of our effort in the form of FAQs. We’ll also provide some links for those who want to learn more about our hobby.

FAQ: What is Ham Radio?

Ham or amateur radio is a hobby for over three million people worldwide. Ham radio operators are licensed by their government (the Federal Communications Commission in the case of the USA). A test of radio theory and radio operating practices is necessary to become a ham. No test using Morse code is required in the USA (although it was until recently). Hams usually set up their stations in their homes or in their cars. In essence, they are private radio stations.

FAQ: So What Do Hams Do?

Many things such as:

• Make Contacts with each other (throughout the world). This is called “rag chewing”. Many hams develop friendships throughout the world. A contact is called a QSO.
• Design, build and experiment with radio equipment, electronic devices and antennas.
• Provide emergency service in times of disasters, providing a corps of trained radio operators
• Seek awards for working all states, all countries, all counties and so forth. To earn an award, hams must have written proof (called a QSL card – like a post card) of a contact (a QSO). This is similar to coin or stamp collecting – the QSL cards are individualistic and colorful and provide fond memories of QSOs.
• DXing (contacting stations in foreign countries). Some hams enjoy speaking with hams from other cultures.  It’s a way to practice a foreign language.  DX stands for distance and therefore usually means a foreign-based ham radio station.
• Contesting as a competitive activity.Contests usually take place over a weekend for 24, 30 or 48 straight hours. The object seems simple: contact as many other fellow participants in as many different places (called multipliers) to see who is the “king of the hill”. The upper tier of contesters (a minority) have the best of equipment, computer software (to log QSOs as well as help control the operation of the various radios) and large arrays of antennas. The “big guns” frequently achieve rates of 150+ contacts per hour.

There are another group participants (the majority) that casually operate to contact new countries, states or counties. In total, thousands of hams participate in a given contest. Logs of contacts are electronically sent to an official sponsoring organization for validation and scoring (deducting for entry errors). Prizes are mainly in the form of bragging rights and certificates and plaques.

FAQ: I Don’t Get It. Why is Your Group Going to San Andres Island?

• The weekend after Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl of international radio contests.  It’s called the CQWW CW contest (CQ is the name of the magazine sponsoring the contest, WW stands for worldwide and CW means that the contest takes place entirely in Morse Code(CW). Note: There is another “half” of the CQ WW that is held during the last weekend of October. It’s just for phone (voice – no CW).
• San Andres Island is one of over 300 governmental entities recognized as a country by the ham radio community. It is also a country that has no resident hams and is therefore considered a “rare” country which hams throughout the world would like to contact.
• So the four of us are combining a passion of DXing and contesting to go on a DXpedition. Instead of hunting other rare countries from our home stations, we’ll be the “hunted” on a tropical isle. It’s similar to to salmon fishing when the salmon are running or going on a safari or mountain climbing – it’s prime DXing/Contesting time.

FAQ. If There Are No Hams There, How Will You Operate?

We’re taking everything we need with us. Hundreds of pounds of radio gear, wire, aluminium tubing, coaxial cable, tools, computers, head phones and Morse code keys. Everything we need will be taken there as luggage. Imagine clearing customs with four nerdy guys loaded to the gunnels with that array of “stuff”. It should be interesting.

So that’s an overview of why we’re going there.

More Info on Ham Radio

If you’re interested in ham radio, contact one of us and we’ll help you learn more about this wide-ranging hobby of ours. 

Here are some websites you may find interesting.

Click on this website which will give you a brief understanding of ham radio. It’s a quick read. Check it out.  http://www.hello-radio.org/whatis.html#seven

The ARRL is the largest organization of ham radio operators in the USA.  They have much information about our hobby.  http://www.arrl.org Click on the “Learn About Amateur Radio” link.

Ham Radio For Dummies is one of the series of books for “Dummies”.  This will give you another perspective of ham radio http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesTitle/productCd-0764559877.html

If you want a light-hearted chuckle about ham radio, look at this link of a Dilbert cartoon: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2021369175979347037&q=ham+radio&hl=en

Finally, Jay Leno had a speed copying contest between two hams sending CW versus two cell phone text messengers.  View it to see what happened.  It’s quite humorous.   Here are two links. Use the one that works best for you.   http://www.kkn.net/~n6tv/Text_vs_Morse_Leno_2005_05_13.wmv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhsSgcsTMd4