Amateur’s use Morse Code, Most people don’t understand Morse
While true that a lot of amateurs can and do use Morse code, not all can or do. Morse is just one of many different ways that amateurs use radio. As well as Morse, there is Voice communication using AM, FM, SSB, digital, there is slow scan video which is used to transmit pictures, there is also amateur television, the transmission of live video using analogue and digital modes. Digital data can also be transmitted to experiment with. Amateurs also experiment with seeing how far they can transmit using very low power. There are also some satellites in orbit that amateurs can use to contact others for experimentation, and some can also bounce signals off the moon to make contact with people on the other side of the Earth.
Amateur radio is just CB isn’t it?
No. CB users are only allowed to use type-approved equipment, including the aerials. They are not allowed to build their own or modify existing equipment. CB is allowed on just one frequency band (27MHz), and only allowed to transmit at relatively low power levels. No license is required to use CB.
Amateurs are licensed for the purpose of self education and experimentation with radio, including transmitter designs, which means that amateurs are allowed to design and build their own transmitters, and experiment with aerials and so on. Amateur radio has many frequency bands that are allocated for use, from very low frequency, through high frequency, and VHF, UHF, and even have allocations in the microwave bands. On many of these bands high power levels are allowed.
To use amateur radio, one must pass an examination. There are three levels: Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced. The Foundation level is fairly easy to pass and requires mostly common sense. This allows you to use most of the amateur bands at a low power level. Advanced level requires a lot of technical knowledge, and allows use of all of the amateur bands and the higher power levels. Intermediate is somewhere in between. This means that you need more technical ability to use amateur radio than you need to use CB.
More to follow…