Are you interested in Amateur radio?  Have you been thinking of enjoying this great hobby?  If so, read below.
 
"Welcome to the World of Ham Radio.  You've heard of it.  You probably know that Amateur Radio Operators are also called Hams.  (Nobody knows quite why!*)  But who are these people and what do they do?"
 
"Every minute of every hour of every day, 365 days a year, Radio Amateurs all over the world communicate with each other.  It's a way of discovering new friends while experimenting with different and exciting new ways to advance the art of their hobby."
 
"Ham Radio is a global fraternity of people with common and yet widely varying interests, able to exchange ideas and learn more about each other with every on-the-air contact.  Because of this, Amateur Radio has the ability to enhance international relations as does no other hobby."
 
[ This introduction to Ham Radio is from the 1985 ARRL Handbook. ]

  Anyone who has an interest in electronics, radio theory, communications, and serving the public will enjoy this hobby.  Let Amateur Radio open up an whole new world to you.  Explore many operating modes including voice, television, several computer generated digital modes, and yes, even Morse code.  Communicate around the corner or around the world!
 
Amateur Radio is a licensed radio service.  To earn a license requires passing examinations regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, and the Hiawatha Amateur Radio Association of Marquette County can guide you through the learning process.  The members and officers of the HARA are interested in sharing our enjoyable and interesting hobby with anyone who is curious about Amateur Radio and communications.  Click on the Hiawatha Amateur Radio Association banner below to visit their web page.

  (TEST FEATURE)  Listen to Marquette's Ham Radio Repeater System online with through Broadcastify...  ( Click Here! )  Note:  The system is not always in use by radio ops in the area, so the system may have long periods of inactivity.

  Need more information about Amateur Radio?  Click on these links.
 
    1)  ARRL (American Radio Relay League) - What is Ham Radio
    2)  ARRL - Licensing-Education-Training
    3)  ARRL Exam Review for Ham Radio (TM) - TEST EXAMS
    4)  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - Amateur Radio Service

  *A magazine called Home Amateur Mechanic in the early 1900's featured many simple radio sets a person could build, and it's likely that when asked what kind of radio the operator was using, he may have simply replied...HAM.  HAM, of course, meant that the radio was built from a circuit shown in Home Amateur Mechanic magazine.  ~  Joe, AJ8MH
 
In the very early days of radio you didn't need a license, so radio hobbyists just built transmitters and started broadcasting.  Listeners that had built receivers started using the phrase: "Those guys are just hamming it up."  About 1923, the government saw need for an authority to regulate stations and formed the FCC.  Since the hobbyist needed a place to transmit, the ham bands were allocated.  The term "ham" stuck.
 
I think the term "ham" was coined back in Vaudeville days.  It meant "clowning around."  People would say, "He is a big ham or joker."  If you think about it, Vaudeville was at its peak in the pre-license days of radio.  ~  Tom, W0TO