Amateur Radio Station WM4B

Greetings!

Welcome to the web site of Amateur Radio Station WM4B.

If you're not an amateur radio operator (aka: Ham), you might not have any idea what the hobby is all about. Or perhaps you have a friend or relative who is a radio amateur and you just don't understand what the the attraction is.

The fact of the matter is, amateur radio has changed remarkably in the past decade or so. Computers have led to a 'digital revolution' within the hobby, both in terms of the modes we operate and the way we interact with our equipment.

Ham radio is both a hobby and a service in which participants use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service, recreation, and self-training.

Hams enjoy personal - and often worldwide - wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. An estimated three million people throughout the world are regularly involved with amateur radio.

The term "amateur" reflects the principle that amateur radio and its skilled operators are committed to helping communities without financial compensation, whereas commercial radio operates for profit. Many ham operators are involved professionally in the field of electronics, with a large number of those individuals owing their career choice to a humble beginning as a radio amateur.

I have recently developed an interest in WSPR and QRSS, both of which are extremely useful propagation indicators. Both modes utilize very low power levels, with a QRSS world record of 1 uW over a distance of 1164 miles - an amazing 1.164 BILLION miles per watt!

My WSPR station consists of a QRP-Labs QCX transceiver. I operate at a transmitter power not exceeding 0.5 watts into an attic dipole. My spots clearly illustrate the potential for world-wide communications at low power levels and can be seen by entering my callsign HERE.

If you want more information about becoming an amateur radio operator, check out the American Radio Relay League website.

73,
Mike
WM4B

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