Your Electronic Connection for Home Audio
Detailed reviews on TVs, home audio, radios and car electronics

Featured Articles
MP3s Modern Technology

Home Audio
    Amplifiers
    Cassette Decks
    CD Players & Recorders
    Crossovers
    Digital Music Players/Servers
    Equalizers
    Karaoke
    MiniDisc Players
    Processors
    Radios
    Receivers
    Shelf, Compact Systems
    Speakers & Subwoofers
    Tuners, AM/FM
    Turntables
    Turntable Parts & Accessories
    Other Home Audio

Radios
    2-Way Radios, Walkie Talkies
    CB Radio
    Ham Radio
    Marine Radio
    Scanners
    Shortwave Radio
    Other
    Commercial Radio
    Parts & Repair

Televisions
    Flat-Panel
    Portable
    Rear Projection
    Standard CRT

Car Electronics
    12-Volt Portable Appliances
    Radar & Laser Detectors
    Signal Processors
    Wholesale Car Audio
    Other

DVD Players & Recorders
    DVD Players & Recorders
    VCRs
    Home Theater Projectors
    Home Theater Systems
    TiVo, Digital Video Recorders
    Laserdisc Players
    Other

Gadgets & Other Electronics
    Air Purifiers
    Breathalyzers
    Calculators
    Digital Clocks & Clock Radios
    Dictionaries & Translators
    eBooks
    Flashlight Key Chains
    Fresnel Lenses
    Home Automation
    Laser Pointers
    Metal Detectors
    Polygraphs
    RF Locators
    Therapeutic Devices
    Timers
    Surveillance
    Voltage Converters
    Weather Devices
    Other Gadgets
    Digital Scales
    Video Glasses
    Voice Changers
    Voice Recorders, Dictaphones

GPS Devices
    GPS Systems
    Software & Maps
    Tracking Devices
    Accessories
    Other

MP3, Portable Audio
    Boomboxes
    Cassette Players
    CD Players
    MiniDisc Players
    DVD Players
    Radios
    Speakers
    Accessories
    Other

MP3 Accessories
    AV Cables
    Armbands
    Bluetooth Adapters
    Car Audio Cables
    Car Chargers
    Car Kits
    Cases
    Cassette Adapters
    Docks, Cradles
    FM Transmitters
    Headphones, Earbuds
    Remotes
    MP3 Batteries
    Screen Protectors
    Skins
    Socks
    Speakers
    USB Cables
    Voice Recorders
    Wall Chargers
    Parts & Repair
    Accessory Bundles
    Other MP3 Accessories

Satellite Radio
    Complete Systems
    Receivers Only
    Accessories
    Other

Telephones & Pagers
    Telephone Answering Machines
    Caller ID Boxes
    Calling Cards
    Corded Phones
    Cordless Phones
    Telephone Headsets
    Pagers
    Phone Jacks
    Other

Vintage Electronics
    8-Track Players
    Amplifiers, Tube Amps
    Books, Manuals, Magazines
    Capacitors
    Cassette Decks
    Drivers & Horns
    Preamplifiers, Tube Preamps
    Radios
    Receivers
    Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorders
    Speakers
    Telephones
    Televisions
    Transformers
    Tubes
    Tuners, Tube Tuners
    Turntables
    Other Vintage Electronics
    Blank Media

Radios

Ham Radio

Ham Radio Article

More about "ham radios" read on below

Ham is an informal term for an amateur radio operator, and, by extension, "ham radio" refers to amateur radio in general. This use of the word first appeared in the United States during the opening decade of the twentieth century - for example, Robert A. Morton in "Wireless Interference", from the April, 1909 Electrician and Mechanic, reported overhearing an amateur radio transmission which included the comment: "Say, do you know the fellow who is putting up a new station out your way? I think he is a ham." However, the term did not gain widespread usage in the United States until around 1920, after which it slowly spread to other English-speaking countries.

One reason for the slow adoption was related to the word's origin, as one of many insults employed by landline telegraph operators at the time, for it originally meant a "poor operator".("Ham" was also already in more general use as a slang word meaning "incompetent", most commonly in the phrase "ham actor".) Early radio (initially known as wireless telegraphy) included many former wire telegraph operators, and within the new service "ham" was employed as a pejorative term by professional radiotelegraph operators to suggest that amateur enthusiasts were unskilled - in "Floods and Wireless" by Hanby Carver, from the August, 1915 Technical World Magazine, the author noted "Then someone thought of the 'hams'. This is the name that the commercial wireless service has given to amateur operators..." A letter from a Western Union Telegraph Company employee, printed in the December, 1919 edition of the amateur radio publication QST, showed familiarity with the word's negative connotations, expressing concern that "Many unknowing land wire telegraphers, hearing the word 'amateur' applied to men connected with wireless, regard him as a 'ham' or 'lid'". However, during this period many other amateurs were in the process of proudly adopting "ham" as a description of their hobby, embracing the word that was originally an insult, similar to the way Yankee Doodle evolved. (See, for example, Thomas F. Hunter's exuberant "I am the wandering Ham" from the January, 1920 QST).