Ham Radio
We're excited to do Ham Radio in Ham, so perhaps we'll be able to do some informational sessions and explore the possibility of licensing and sharing of ideas with the rest of the RML curiosity/innovation community.
Ham Radio AKA Amateur Radio is a hobbyist exploration of electronics, physics, communication, and the joy of sending and receiving messages out into the universe on your own. One note is that part of the hobby requires licensing from the government in order to transmit and restrictions apply (power, types of communication, frequencies, etc.)
An alternative to getting started in a traditional classroom setting would be to study the fundamentals of amateur radio online with Essex Ham and then taking the test with the assistance of a nearby club.
There's no RML ham radio group yet but there are other local traditional amateur radio clubs around. There might be a great opportunity to leverage existing expertise in the Richmond area by encouraging local amateur radio enthusiasts to get involved. Who's ready to reach out?
Nearby Ham / Ham Hackspace Clubs:
- Whitton Amateur Radio Group in Twickenham - The closest club to RML and possibly the best hope for an 'alliance' of sorts
- Wimbledon and District Amateur Radio Society - Seems closed to new members but perhaps could also help out.
- Radio Society of Harrow - Popular West London Club running nearby repeaters
- Sutton and Cheam Radio Society
- Surbiton Heritage Amateur Radio & Electronics Society (SHARES)
- London Hackspace Amateur Radio Group - The 'big daddy' hackerspace within the UK with an active online chat community
Official Info on Amateur Radio:
- OFCOM Amateur Radio Licensing Page
- Radio Society of Great Britain - Hobbyist member-driven group advancing the interests across the United Kingdom and beyond
Mega-Ham Project
Further ham suggestions welcome via RML Twitter Account
We're based in Ham and Richmond MakerLabs is a part of Ham United Group and have a special event proposal:
- Ham radio contacts made over HF, VHF and UHF (This does not stand for Ham Fillet, Valuable Ham Feeding, or Unlimited Ham Frenzy)
- while eating a Ham sandwich
- in a Hammock
- in the middle of Ham
- possibly quoting a line or two from Hamlet
- while wearing a West Ham football jersey