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Radioamateurs

 From  your  bedroom  through  the  moon  talking  to  someone  from  Brazil  impossible?  Not  for  a  radio  amateur.  Amateur  radio,  also known as hams,  are  engaged  in  sending  messages  from  around  the  world  and  received.  In  the  Netherlands  there  are  about  12,000 people  who have  this  hobby,  where  experimenting  with  transmitters,  receivers  and  radio  signals  centered,  practice.  Radio  signals are  electromagnetic waves  that  are  affected  by  solar  activity  and  weather.  Surveys  and  experiments  on  the  propagation  of  radio waves  through  the  air  under various  conditions  are  an  important  part  of  amateurism.  Every  radio  amateur  has  its  own  specific focus.  Some  wishes  to  make connections  over  increasing  distances  one  and  another  want  to  build  transmittors.  The  Netherlands has  two  major  national  associations active,  the  Veron  and  VRZA  (Association  of  Radio  Amateur).  These  associations  are  trying  to protect and defend the interests of radio amateurs. The associations are also responsible for organizing courses and exams.

No pirates

A  pirate  radio  station  is  often  mistakenly  called  ham.  Pirates  are,  unlike  amateur  radio,  legally  irrelevant  proficient  in  the  use of transmitting  equipment,  do  not  have  the  necessary  legal  knowledge  and  are  not  registered.  Pirates  are  mainly  concerned  with the provision  of  radio  programs  and  broadcasting  music,  not  experiments.  Because  pirates  are  not  authorized  to  use  the  frequency space, these broadcasts are illegal.

Exams

Before  anyone  can  be  a  radio  amateur  he  must  do  exam.  The  operator  so  lets  see  he  mastered  the  basics  of  the  amateurism  and can  operate  responsible  equipment.  

This  will  prevent  disruptions  caused  by  transmitting.  Disruptions  are  not  only  tricky,  but  can also  cause  unsafe  situations,  for  example  in  air traffic.  There  are  two  types  of  exams:  full  and  novice.  Someone  who  passes  the  full exam  has  all  rights  for  radio  amateurs.  Someone  who  is  a novice,  has  a  limited  jurisdiction  and  should  use  only  a  limited  number  of frequencies with a maximum transmission power of 25 watts. Of all available frequencies is about 6% reserved for radio amateurs.If  someone  passes  the  exam,  he  can  register  itself  as  ham  radio  at  Agentschap  Telecom,  the supervisor  of  the  use  of  frequencies. When  registering  he  will  receive  also  a  name.  This  is  called  a  "identification"  or  "callsign".  These  calls  are internationally  established. Each  callsign  is  unique  and  makes  sure  that  every  hamradio  recognizable.  A  callsign  consists  of  two  parts:  a  prefix, which  indicates the  country  where  the  amateur  lives  and  a  suffix,  which  identifies  the  amateur  station.  The  prefix  is  usually  a  combination  of letters and  numbers.  Dutch  prefix  is  indicated  by  the  letter  P  followed  by  the  letter  A  to  I  and  a  number.    An  example  of  a  Dutch  callsign is PI4ASN.

 

Connections

There  are  many  different  ways  in  which  connections  are  established.  One  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  ways  is  morse  code.  This technique  is  especially  suitable  for  making  connections  in  difficult  conditions.  Other  types  of  signals  that  are  sent  are  FM,  AM  and TV.  Because  radio  signals  are  good  to  reflect,  even  the  Moon  and  meteorites  can  be  used  as  mirror  to  bounce  signals  to  make  connection.