A webpage dedicated to my former hobby
Welcome to my website on hamradio. This site has been visited in the past by visitors from over 100 countries. Most popular on my site has always been the information on packet radio, APRS, WACARS, AIRNAV,... using an ordinary soundcard and an old PC running Windows 98 (SE), but you will find also a lot of information on other modes.
A few years ago, I decided to quit this hobby for various reasons (click here if you want to know more). So this site will not be updated in the near future, but, nevertheless, by browsing this website you will get an idea what radio amateurism (often referred to as 'ham radio') is about, together with lots of practical info.
Amateur radio (or 'hamradio') is a world-wide spread hobby and service in which licensed amateur radio operators (often called 'hams') make use of different forms of communications equipment.
Although amateur radio operators get involved for many reasons, they all have in common a knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and have to pass examinations for the license to operate on radio frequencies known as 'Amateur Bands'. These bands are radio frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by ham radio operators. Roughly 6 percent of the entire radio spectrum has been assigned to amateur radio, from Long Wave (LW) 135,7 kHz to Extreme High Frequency (EHF) 250 GHz.
However, not all hams are allowed on all amateur bands, there are restrictions in maximum power and operation mode, depending on the obtained 'degree' in qualification. The most restricting degree in Belgium is an ON3-call-sign, the highest is an ON4-callsign. For the latter, the operator has to pass the HARC (Harmonized Amateur Radio Examination Certificate ) examination, which allows him to use all of the frequencies available for radio amateurism, with a maximum output of 1500W (average) depending on the band used.