Don't know what an amateur radio operator is? You can go to Hello Radio (select "hello-radio.org") to find out. You can also watch a short video (70MB in size - a broadband connection is recommended) about ham radio, narrated by none other than Walter Cronkite, who is a licensed amateur radio operator and holds the callsign KB2GSD.

I am an amateur (ham) radio operator. I hold my General-class license here in the US. My callsign is KD5COL. It runs in my family-my wife, mother, stepfather, father, uncle, aunt and cousin are all ham radio operators also. I was brought up around it and since I have always had an interest in radio, electronics and computers, it was natural for me to get my own license. Right now, because of several factors, I am not very active in ham radio although I still enjoy learning about all of the different aspects ham radio can cover as well as extending my skills through experiementing.

There's many aspects in ham radio I enjoy. Here's a short list of some of them:

• Chasing DX: I like to talk to people from all over the world and ham radio enables me to do it for free. You can meet people from all walks of life. Depending on atmospheric conditions, I can talk to people from the other side of the Earth from me.


• Ragchewing: This means sitting for hours, talking with friends and family about anything and everything. I'm particulary suited to this activity m'self. I enjoy keeping up with friends from all over the world this way.


• Emergency service: We hams tend to be very useful in disaster situations, such as the aftermath of natural disasters or man-made disasters (like the bombing of the World Trade Center towers in New York City). Because the nature of ham radio, we can get through when nothing else will work. This is one aspect that is something I especially enjoy doing as there is always the opportunity for public service with ham radio.