What is Amateur, Ham Radio? For Some like IK5YZZ, YB0AR and NX8T it is Live Streaming with Jim W6LG

[@TheKomunyaka]

I love that feeling of freedom that the radio gives me. Seems like you get the whole word on the tips of your fingers

[@eddiehatherall2154]

Having suffered with two cancers over the last three years and still using a nasal gastric tube Ham radio as really kept me sane building numerous projects and reconfiguring my shack twice GW6BXU

[@Ferret488]

HAM: Happy Active Meticulous. Science and Electronics kept me active and away from others when I was a kid. I was a loner, and that has been fine by me. Jim: stay as healthy as you can. 73 W6BDD.

[@PaulN2MCC]

Hi Jim, hope you are doing better. Thank you for all you do for the hobby. For me, amateur radio is many things, I love repairing and restoring equipment, particularly tube amps, experimenting with simple wire antennas, etc. But another thing I really love is the ability to speak to people in different parts of the world, and learn about their culture, their lives, and how they live. It's an opportunity to open your horizons and become more knowledgeable about the world we live in. If you really want to understand about life in other places, there's no better way than to actually converse with people who live there, with genuine curiosity and an open mind. 73 and wishing you well.

[@codywrites]

Good to see you, Jim! You and your family remain in my prayers.

[@hamradiowithkevin]

Vert good to see you Jim, thank you for continuing to educate and inspire the rest of us to do more to help others.

[@jimf4492]

Hi Jim, nice to see you! I've found It's tough to explain Ham Radio. Most people have either never heard about it, or think I'm talking about CB radio. I'm also asked "why?", since they can call anyone, anywhere using their cell 'phone. I usually tell them that I like to build things, and I then use that equipment to meet new people all over the world. Sometimes that prompts more questions. Since I'm a technical person, building equipment and having it actually work on the air is important to me - and I'm always learning something new. I always want to find an interesting conversation that is more than a basic signal report. However, when a DX station that actually wants to chat answers my CQ, that is what keeps me coming back! Finding out that people everywhere are very similar is something that more people should experience first-hand, rather than through media or other experts. I think direct communication with folks around the world is a very important thing. 73, Jim KO5V

[@doughutchison6382]

Jim, it was a pleasure to meet you on 20 meters this afternoon (July 16, 2024) . I’m Doug, K5DEH. The band was all over the place and we had to cut our visit short due to poor propagation. I’m a relatively new ham just getting into the hobby in 2019. I finally achieved passing the Extra Class exam a few months ago. I enjoy talking to ham operators from across the country and around the world. I’ve made a few friends and it’s a great way to keep learning new things. As a retired law enforcement officers with 39 years of experience, I enjoy meeting people on the airwaves and talking on the radio because I want to and not because I have to like I did for all those decades of police work. It’s great to see you doing well and may God bless you. Take care!

[@yamakawa511]

I had this very conversation with a work colleague yesterday. Some of the things I enjoy include the technology, learning new things, DX contacts especially ones on low power or with simple antennas, futzing with antennas, talking to strangers and friends from all over, meeting with my friends at the radio club, contests, listening to short wave broadcasts. Good luck with the treatment. Y

[@raymondmartin6737]

Yes, many people never heard of amateur radio or do you still do it. I am 80 and licensed since 1962, which was my first Field Day. This years Field Day, with our club, W2NYW in suburban NY, we were Class 2A, and a 6 Meter station on FT8, I was on 40 and 20, with 239 QSO's altogether, which was 30% of our club's total, which made me pretty happy to have helped the club. 73 de Ray W2CH NH and NY. 😊

[@bdinnocenzo]

God bless you Jim! I hope you keep up the good fight. For me it was all about keeping me active and engaged with technology and people in my retirement! 73.

[@George_S.G]

Good to see you Jim, love all your videos but the most importan thing is i learn so much from your channel , we need more people like you brother 73 from KC1SXC.

[@ChipEckardt]

Constantly learning and experimenting.

[@kc8wvg]

Greetings Jim, I, too, have found myself explaining what is meant by being a Ham Radio operator. I mentioned that I was an Amateur Radio operator, and the person thought I was doing a podcast😅. She did say that I had a good voice for being on the air😊. I enjoy working DX with my 100w and a few different antennas. Also, I like to collect Special Event certificates and QSO cards. Activating Pota has been fun the last couple of years. Thanks for a great video showcasing who we are in Ham Radio. Take care. You and your family remain in my prayers. KC8WVG 73

[@stevegriffin9552]

What amateur radio is for me is the friendship that you can make even if you’re talking to a DX we all have a common interest. I enjoy working parks on the air, special event stations, satellite. And also shortwave listening. it keeps my mind very active. Thanks for doing the video Jim. WD5ENH Steve

[@tedbohlman2953]

Learning new info

[@rickbattle5706]

My interests/activities = ARES (living in south Florida on the Atlantic coast hurricanes are a stark reality from June to October). I mix ARPS/Winlink/AREDN technologies to serve the county/hospitals during activations. Add in the South Florida ARES net on 3940 Khz daily a lot of time is spent planning, educating, and expanding areas where Amateur Radio fills the voids that local gov radio services can't. Digital modes FT8, HF antenna building, and DX. Glad to see you back making videos. A73, and all the best Rick, KB3NG

[@c.a.r.s.carsandrelevantspecs]

I love this video! Thanks so much for sharing. DX communications, the electromagnetic spectrum, simple antennas, and classic technology are some of my favorite things about Amateur Radio. 73 ~ AC7WH

[@Fishhunter78]

My favorite thing is the science behind radio. I enjoy building the antennas and seeing the science work.

[@r0addoctor]

Hi, Jim! Love your videos and enjoy the content. For some context, I'm around your age and I'm just getting back into the hobby. Actually, I got back into it in 2019 but have been busy with other projects and have not really practiced the hobby very much. I just this past April had a 30' tower put in behind my house but I still have to populate it with the antennas I bought. I was a novice back in 1980 albeit briefly and enjoyed using code, so I want to get back into that. I have been building my shack in the basement and it's pretty much done, electrical which I did, cabinets and countertops which I built, and basically what's left is hooking up everything including antennas, and grounding. I'll have the Zero Five 10-80 meter vertical that goes up on a separate mast, DX Engineerings Hex Beam, and the ARRL's EFHW for HF and a UHF/VHF beam that I plan on mounting below the hex beam, so I guess you could include building as another thing that I like. Anyhow, I'm long winded here so I'll leave it at these are some of the things I like to do. Videos such as yours inspire us to want to discover more of what we're capable of doing but just don't know it yet. 73's Jim!

[@franciscolopez3229]

Nice to see you sir. I've learned a lot from your videos. And that is one thing I like about HAM aside from doing dx of course. Ham is a continous process, you learn a lot of new things technically from other HAMs and you apply them. Some works, some don't. Then you get to share it with someone else who are to the hobby. Being a HAM is all about sharing, making new friends and like having new sibblings as a family. All the best to you sir and to your family. 73, DW1QEW.

[@robertmeyer4744]

Very good JIM ! Love the contacts ! I love your contact with DX commander Callum. He has that on his channel. You came threw great ! What I love with Radio is Building stuff and getting it on the air. Some things work well, some not. The real fun and learning is when it does not work or work well and finding out why and trying again and have success ! Also making DX contacts and friends all over the world ! And doing this with a antenna or amp I made is great ! 73

[@sincerelyyours7538]

Hey, Jim, good to hear from you. I've been in that chemo chair so I know how you're feeling and wish you the best with it! My interest in ham radio is partly historic, partly a cure for isolation but mostly a challenge to get on the air in a foreign land with only myself for a guide. My great-grandfather was an avid ham way back before 1910 and I am trying to follow in his footsteps. My isolation is due to having spent most of my life in Japan and, though I love it, I miss having conversations with people in my native language. The challenge comes from setting up a station in a neighborhood that is low on space and high on QRM which makes DXing to other Pacific countries difficult. Progress is slow but I'm getting there. 73 JS2OLO

[@Slade677]

Glad to see you with a new video. I'm a MARS operator and that's what I enjoy the most. I'm fascinated by the fact that I can launch radio waves 70 miles into the sky and have them bounce into someone else's radio thousands of miles away, instantaneously. And with MARS, I feel like my fascination is at least being used to accomplish something worthwhile.

[@robincross4625]

Amateur [Ham] radio influenced most of my life. I knew from age 12 that I wanted to work at a commercial broadcast radio station. After high school I went to college and got an Associate Degree in Electronics. It is hard to count how many broadcast stations I have worked at. I didn't get my Novice License until I was a Chief Broadcast Engineer at the first station I worked for. I got my Extra license about the time the VE system started. I have been a VE for about 40 years. Currently I am the Contact VE with W5YI for the local Club in Raytown, MO which is a suburb of Kansas City. I have done many of the facets of Amateur Radio. I have been an Amateur for over 45 years. I am retired from two Universities. Both have FM radio stations affiliated with them. I must cut this short or I will be writing a book. 73 w0fen

[@johnhelt5475]

This is so refreshing! Praying for you and your health with your upcoming transfusion. For me, amateur radio has always been about tinkering and building. I remember assembling Heathkit radios and devices with my father when I was very young. Sadly, I think I let the building part interfere with my actual operations. Example, I have held an extra class license since 2017, but I have never even attempted an HF contact. I have the radios, and keep contemplating and building different antenna options, but have never tried any of them out. I have just stuck to 2m and sometimes 6m FM local nets.

[@bduff5004]

Finding a new contact has an interesting QRZ page. Great conversations with people all over about where they live, how they live and what they do. Always fun

[@kumasu]

Jim, I'm a ham in part because of you. I streamed your many how-to videos in order to learn the ins and outs of the hobby. You are very good at what you do. EDIT: My interest in radio is POTA. It's great!

[@TallyTechandTroubleshooting]

Fantastic seeing this, Jim! Ham radio is soo much to put into words. I guess 1. To help others in need (EmComm) and 2. To meet a plehora of wonderful people from around the world that share such a fantastic love and your enthusiasm/strength in this realm is a big part of that, my friend! VERY grateful that you posted this and prayers for you AND your wife!! -73 KQ4KIO

[@DavidHall-o5g]

I love good old fashioned transceiver to transceiver DX: just me, a wire, and the ionosphere, hearing my call sign repeated back to me in a foreign accent. And when I travel I appreciate having a handheld and to be on local FM, fusion, and Allstar to be able to meet people locally and globally wherever I am.

[@joelaut12]

Hi Jim, good to see you again. I like DXing, community support for special events, building antennas!

[@stevehall6539]

First off good luck tomorrow my friend , you got this buddy , I have the same problem explaining amateur radio to people. I tell them it’s a hobby/service with a multitude of hobby’s within it . There is something for everyone in amateur radio . Like you I’m a dx”er , and I also try explaining the feeling of calling Cq while having a gentleman or lady in Japan or Europe come back to me . The hardest thing to explain I find is the antenna systems (especially to my wife HiHi) . My wife jokes around with family and friends when they ask about the antennas , she tells them we have our own radio station . That is another great aspect of amateur radio is building antennas , but it all comes down to building a relationship with friends all over the world through a common interest no matter what religion or personal beliefs. We all have a mutual respect for each other. I would also like to thank you Jim . You are the reason I’m in the position I am in with amateur radio. It was one of your first videos that got me along with my dad into amateur radio . We both look up to you as a friend and teacher. I recently passed my extra , and it’s a whole new world with more bandwidth. Thanks again Jim for everything , sorry about babbling on , but that needed to be said . 73’ from New Jersey , N2JDX

[@basshorseman998]

That's easy ...Talking to you Jim...Callum, Paul a rare few others...makes me wanna run into the office and turn the switch on God richly Bless you Jimmy, your one of a kind

[@rickgilbrt]

Why amateur radio? EmComm for CERT got me in 10 yrs ago, but the learning, building stuff, and making - or just trying to make - contacts are a lot of the fun. And I like teaching what I've learned, so I help present our license class to new folks in our area. Work and other obligations limited my HF time on the air, which has mostly been at 10w on wire antennas. Two HF contacts stand out for me: 1) my first - random wire dangled out my 2nd floor window in westen WA. Contacted the Indy 500 special event station using 10w (with the benefit of their big antenna pointed my way) 2) setting up a home-built 20m inverted vee on an Oregon beach after dusk at SeaPac and using 10w SSB for a QSO to Lithuania. I'm now retired and setting up my ham shack and ham workbench. No HOA, but my 6000 sf in-town lot isn't going to support a tower, so lots more wire antennas and temporary setups (POTA?) in my future. Looking forward to more HF time and adding RTTY and PSK modes, in addition to continuing EmComm prep with SARECC, my local club.

[@mewrongwayKOCXF]

God love ya Jim, We DO!! 👍👍👍

[@jerryKB2GCG]

Good to see you again !

[@67rsls]

Great to see you on KZbin Jim, hope to actually make a contact with you sometime.. prayers buddy KB8NEV in Ohio

[@amateurshooter6054]

Thanks Jim

[@JonCherba]

Building antennas / electronics, helping the community & mentoring, learning / teaching.

[@scottkralph]

Good video Jim What I love about the hobby is the collaborative effort of joint discovery that happens when you try out new things and discuss with colleagues. There's so much to try in the hobby and so it's really constant discovery, made better with collaboration 73 Scott VA3EKR, KK7TMS

[@markruby2434]

Your clip on alliteration is spot on bingo. There are several on you tube that enable the sale of mass amounts of junk.

[@rickgilbrt]

73 to you, Jim. I'll be a regular blood donor for as long as I can. Next appt coming up in a week or so.

[@W7LDT]

Kit building and community service are my favorite things

[@hughpatterson1480]

I love to build antennas and see how far I can make contacts. I love to take things apart and make them better (if possible). I enjoy the people involved in amateur radio. I'm a builder so this is the perfect venue for me. Thank you for all your wonderful videos. I've learned so much from you and your videos...73...KN6KNB

[@ramonbennett8416]

Having a community, and veteran community. Electronics and radio

[@JayN4GO]

Definitely friendship! From a time where people take a picture of themselves and get to know each other , we still use our words, fist. Makes it more meaningful meeting in real life. It’s hard to sum it up to a stranger. Engineering hobby Radio sport Doomsday prepping Surely friendship and mentorship is nr 1. 73

[@problemwithauthority]

What do I like about amateur radio. Building antennas HF through 1.2 gHz. I like working DX, and like to think that my antenna made the difference. I like VHF and above contesting as a rover. I love tinkering and fixing my gear. And sometimes in the evening hours, I'll switch to AM broadcast bands, and try a little RX DX and see just how far away the stations are. The possibilities have not all been discovered yet.

[@dc5723]

I like fiddling and building antennas and communicating with hams around the world.

[@ptlscience380]

For me, HAM radio is primarily a way that I may serve - my community, via RACES; and my country, via MARS.

[@48661]

Antenna builds, mentoring people and mobile and portable ops.73

[@clarenceswope6706]

Emergency communication or how about the different runs or how about we can sit here in the US and talk to Australia or you name a country I think that is absolutely cool how far amateur radio has come in the last 30 years

[@clarenceswope6706]

N0SPW

[@brennank6bfl684]

Hey Jim! I hope you are doing well.

[@ka6psdrbeswick709]

Learning from others ( YOU ) , building is the big one, qrp or weak signal, qro to friends and family only. 😊

[@codywrites]

I love DX hunting! Nothing better than getting them into my logbook!

[@kevinW6AAE]

Dxing/Talking with operators (like W6LG) that are willing to share knowledge and experience/Contesting against myself, bettering last year’s score!

[@bobrunge7594]

All around electronics nerd. Has been my life since the USN in 1967.

[@g0fvt]

Hi Jim, it is definitely multi-faceted for me too, although designing and building projects has probably been the biggest draw.

[@machfive916]

73 from K2CDM - Mike

[@RadioMan666]

👍👍

[@stirlingpark6145]

A never ending permanent fascination. 73 Terry G0BIX

[@dans115]

Talking to people you would never have had the opportunity to make a connection with. The randomness of answering a CQ and not knowing what you get! Get well sir 73 K5STY

[@batfalcononyoutube]

Nice to hear from you Jim. Well Ham Radio is relative to ones desires and mood. Personaly I am not a too much talking guy, I have no friends from my country, generally I prefer DXing and SWLing. Do you believe it? I have more ham friends that I met on the air, living at the 4 corners of the World and none from Greece. I also like to do reception comparisons between several rigs, I own. Wishing you strength and may God be your helper. 73 de SV1SLB

[@giovannibaroniik5yzzteslac4]

jim bel video DE IK5YZZ

[@jerryKB2GCG]

.Community