Why Amateur Radio Operators known as HAM

Why Amateur Radio Operators known as HAM

Have you ever wondered why radio amateurs are called "HAMS"? Well, it goes like this: The word "HAM" as applied to 1908 was the station CALL of the first amateur wireless station operated by some amateurs of the Harvard Radio Club. They were ALBERT S. HYMAN, BOB ALMY and POOGIE MURRAY. At first they called their station "HYMAN-ALMY-MURRAY". Tapping out such a long name in code soon became tiresome and called for a revision. They changed it to "HY-AL-MY", using the first two letters of each of their names. Early in 1901 some confusion resulted between signal from amateur wireless station "HY-ALMU" and a Mexican ship named "HYALMO". They then decided to use only the first letter of each name and the station CALL became "HAM". In the early pioneer days of unregulated radio amateur operators picked their own frequency and call letters. Then as now, some amateurs had better signals as commercial stations. The resulting interference came to the attention of congressional committees in Washington and Congress gave much time to proposed legislation designed to critically limit amateur radio activity. In 1911, ALBERT HYMAN chose the controversial WIRELESS REGULATION BILL as the topic for the Thesis at Harvard. His instructor insisted that a copy be sent to Senator DAVID L. WALSH, a member of one of the committees hearing the Bill. The Senator was so impressed with the Thesis that he asked HYMAN to appear before the committee. ALBERT HYMAN took the stand and described how the little station was built and almost cried when he told the crowded committee room that if the BILL went through they would have to close down the station because they could not afford the license fee and all the other requirements which the BILL imposed on amateur stations. Congressional debate began on the WIRELESS REGULATION BILL and little station "HAM" became the symbol for all the little amateur stations in the country crying to be saved from the menace and greed of the big commercial stations who didn't want them around. The BILL finally got to the floor of Congress and every speaker talked about the "....poor little station HAM." That's how it all started. You can find the whole story in the Congressional Record. Nation-wide publicity associated station "HAM" with amateur radio operators. From that day to this, and probably until the end of time in radio; and amateur is a "HAM."A HAM needs to be Considerate, Loyal, Friendly, Balanced and Patriotic. Because Radio signals do not know territorial boundaries; Every HAM has a unique opportunity and scope to enhance international goodwill. Although the main purpose of Amateur Radio is research and recreation, it is called the "Amateur Radio Service" because it also has a serious representation. The Government introduced this "Service" to fill up the need for a pool of experts who could provide backup emergency communication service. Additionally, the Government acknowledged the ability of Amateur Radio operators to advance communication and technical skills, and to enhance international goodwill. This philosophy has paid off. Countless lives have been saved where skilled hobbyists acted as emergency communicators to render aid, whether it is during or following a hurricane, tornado, ice storm, earthquake or some other disasters. Proper identification and recognition of operating capabilities and technical proficiency of amateur radio operators have been required in Bangladesh since 1991.Each Amateur Radio Station has its own unique Callsign (Name) Allocated by the authorities. The unique Callsign allows you to identify the Person (Station), for example the callsign of Late Prime Minister of India Mr. Rajib Gandhi is 'VU2RG' where "VU" stands for India, "2" Stands for Grade I and "RG" for Rajib Gandhi. The callsign is Universal Identifier and is Unique.
Hams have their own lingo, like a male ham is known as OM (Old Man), and a female ham is known as YL (Young Lady) married ladies are known as XYL (Ex-YL), children's of the hams are known as Harmonics.