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Amateur radio operator

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(Redirected from Radio amateurs) Operator of radio waves

NASA astronaut Col. Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC, Expedition 24 flight engineer, operates the NA1SS ham radio station in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station. Equipment is a Kenwood TM-D700E transceiver.

An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio license by a governmental regulatory authority after passing an examination on applicable regulations, electronics, radio theory, and radio operation. As a component of their license, amateur radio operators are assigned a call sign that they use to identify themselves during communication. About three million amateur radio operators are currently active worldwide.

Amateur radio operators are also known as radio amateurs or hams. The term "ham" as a nickname for amateur radio operators originated in a pejorative usage (like "ham actor") by operators in commercial and professional radio communities, and dates to wired telegraphy. The word was subsequently adopted by amateur radio operators.

Demographics

Country Number of amateur
radio operators 		% population Year of
Report 		Source
 United States 748,519 0.223 2024
 Japan 381,899 0.304 2021
 Thailand 101,763 0.147 2018
 China 240,000 0.017 2024
 Germany 63,070 0.073 2019
 Canada 70,198 0.187 2018
 Spain 58,700 0.127 1999
 United Kingdom 75,660 0.114 2018
 South Korea 42,632 0.082 2012
 Russia 38,000 0.026 1993
 Brazil 32,053 0.016 1997
 Turkey 32,000 0.037 2023
 Italy 30,000 0.049 1993
 Indonesia 27,815 0.011 1997
 France 13,500 0.019 2022
 Ukraine 17,265 0.037 2000
 Argentina 16,889 0.042 1999
 Poland 15,805 0.041 2024
 Australia 15,448 0.060 2023
 India 15,679 0.001 2000
 Sweden 12,790 0.113 2023
 Netherlands 12,582 0.07 2018
 Malaysia 11,273 0.03 2023
 Denmark 9,079 0.152 2022
 Slovenia 6,500 0.317 2000
 Austria 6,930 0.077 2022
 New Zealand 6,000 0.12 1994
 South Africa 6,000 0.012 1994
 Norway 6,818 0.125 2022
 Czech Republic 5,332 0.05 2023
 Portugal 5,116 0.051 2023
 Finland 5,000 0.090 2016
 Serbia 3,962 0.056 2020
 Romania 3,527 0.018 2017
 Hungary 3,234 0.033 2023
 Ireland 1,945 0.039 2020
 Slovakia 1,745 0.032 2023
 Estonia 700 0.052 2020

Few governments maintain detailed demographic statistics of their amateur radio operator populations, aside from recording the total number of licensed operators. The majority of amateur radio operators worldwide reside in the United States, Japan, and the nations of East Asia, North America, and Europe. The top five countries by percentage of the population are Slovenia, Japan, the United States, Canada, and Denmark. Only the governments of Yemen and North Korea currently prohibit their citizens from becoming amateur radio operators. In some countries, acquiring an amateur radio license is difficult because of the bureaucratic processes or fees that place access to a license out of reach for most citizens. Most nations permit foreign nationals to earn an amateur radio license, but very few amateur radio operators are licensed in multiple countries.

Gender

In the vast majority of countries, the population of amateur radio operators is predominantly male. In China, 12% of amateur radio operators are women, while approximately 15% of amateur radio operators in the United States are women. The Young Ladies Radio League is an international organization of female amateur radio operators.

A male amateur radio operator can be referred to as an OM, an abbreviation used in Morse code telegraphy for "old man", regardless of the operator's age. A single female amateur radio operator can be referred to as a YL, from the abbreviation used for "young lady", regardless of the operator's age. A licensed married female is sometimes referred to as an XYL. The term "XYL" also often means the wife of a licensed amateur oprator, whether or not she is herself licensed.

Age

Most countries do not have a minimum age requirement in order to earn an amateur radio license and become an amateur radio operator. Although the number of amateur radio operators in many countries increases from year to year, the average age of amateur radio operators is relatively high. In some countries, the average age is 68 years old.

The unfavourable age distribution has led to a slow decrease in amateur operator numbers in most industrialised countries due to attrition, but in countries which do not apply yearly licence fees, the effects are not immediately noticed. It has been estimated from German statistics, which are considered the most reliable, that the net decrease currently is in the order of 1 to 1.5% per year. The average age of most amateur radio operators is approaching 70 in most European countries.

Some national radio societies have responded to the aging ham population by developing programs specifically to encourage youth participation in amateur radio, such as the American Radio Relay League's Amateur Radio Education and Technology Program. The World Wide Young Contesters organization promotes youth involvement, particularly among Europeans, in competitive radio contesting. A strong tie also exists between the amateur radio community and the Scouting movement to introduce radio technology to youth. WOSM's annual Jamboree On The Air is Scouting's largest activity, with a half million Scouts and Guides speaking with each other using amateur radio each October.

US amateurs by state

State Total % Rank Club
AA 4 0.00 59 0
AE 157 0.02 56 0
AK 3847 0.46 45 80
AL 13228 1.59 22 244
AP 144 0.02 57 1
AR 8914 1.07 31 129
AS 25 0.00 58 3
AZ 22166 2.78 12 249
CA 115787 13.93 1 1528
CO 20369 2.45 16 222
CT 8178 0.98 32 188
DC 587 0.07 52 54
DE 1930 0.23 50 38
FL 46856 5.64 3 610
GA 20650 2.48 14 390
GU 334 0.04 54 13
HI 4386 0.53 43 117
IA 6993 0.84 35 119
ID 10404 1.25 28 85
IL 21467 2.58 13 367
IN 16798 2.02 18 303
KS 7953 0.96 33 143
KY 10376 1.25 29 147
LA 6823 0.82 37 166
MA 14641 1.76 21 272
MD 12139 1.46 25 184
ME 4980 0.60 41 81
MI 22834 2.75 9 375
MN 12520 1.51 23 185
MO 16699 2.01 19 262
MP 353 0.04 53 18
MS 5849 0.70 39 131
MT 4450 0.54 42 63
NC 23549 2.83 8 337
ND 1729 0.21 51 53
NE 4083 0.49 44 81
NH 6035 0.73 38 112
NJ 14834 1.78 20 295
NM 7237 0.87 34 131
NV 8918 1.07 30 112
NY 29588 3.56 6 531
OH 30148 3.63 5 511
OK 10701 1.29 27 152
OR 22242 2.68 10 354
PA 26132 3.14 7 437
PR 5117 0.62 40 108
RI 2143 0.26 48 71
SC 10844 1.30 26 147
SD 2122 0.26 49 33
TN 20416 2.46 15 261
TX 58415 7.03 2 737
UT 19513 2.35 17 116
VA 22217 2.67 11 298
VI 298 0.04 55 27
VT 2307 0.28 46 59
WA 37494 4.51 4 515
WI 12178 1.47 24 215
WV 6854 0.82 36 78
WY 2281 0.27 47 37

NOTE:
AA..US Armed Forces Americas
AE..US Armed Forces Africa/Canada/Europe/Middle East
AP..US Armed Forces Pacific
AS..American Samoa
GU..Guam
MP..Mariana Islands
PR..Puerto Rico
VI..US Virgin Islands

Canadian amateurs by province

Province Total Rank
AB 7700 4
NL 1473 10
ON 23270 1
YT 214 12
BC 18827 3
NS 2647 5
PE 311 11
ZZ 1774 7
MB 2161 6
NT 95 13
QC 19039 2
NB 1688 8
NU 28 14
SK 1624 9

NOTE:
ZZ..Canadian amateurs outside of Canada

Silent Key

When referring to a person, the phrase Silent Key, and its abbreviation SK, is a euphemism for an amateur radio operator who is deceased. The procedural signal "SK" (or "VA") has historically been used in Morse code as the last signal sent from a station before ending operation, usually just before shutting off the transmitter. Since this was the last signal received by other operators, the code was adopted to refer to any amateur radio operator who is deceased, regardless of whether they were known to have used telegraphy in their communications.

Gallery

  • An operator working HF An operator working HF
  • An operator working HF An operator working HF
  • Amateur Radio station equipped for reception of VLF signals. Amateur Radio station equipped for reception of VLF signals.
  • Amateur radio students Amateur radio students

Notable amateur radio operators

This article's list of people may not follow Misplaced Pages's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are members of this list, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (October 2021)

References

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  33. ^ Amateurs by State generates a SSL_ERROR_UNSUPPORTED_VERSION error message
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