SEND A RADIOGRAM – TODAY!
by Norman Murray, ©2016
(Nov. 17, 2016) — During the early years of the last century, the advent of radio technology spawned activity among amateur enthusiasts. The early applications of wireless communication provided contact with ships at sea long before their arrival in port. As the level of activity increased, applications of the new technology became the object of government regulation so that today we have a variety of services, including the Amateur Radio service, licensed through the Federal Communications Commission.
Collectively, amateur radio operators pursue various interests engaging in local contacts through hand-held radios, or in long-distance communication by signal propagation around the earth, by links through satellites, or by reflection off the Moon. Depending on their licensed privileges, they may choose from a variety of modalities (for example, Morse code, digital, and voice). They communicate casually as conditions permit or by prior arrangement on an organized local, regional or national basis. Operators may join organized services to provide backup communications in emergencies to public agencies and private entities.
Some choose to participate at regular times in what are known as traffic nets for the purpose of originating, forwarding, and receiving formal messages for delivery. Such messages are known as Radiograms and may be sent to anyone within the United States or within any country having a bi-lateral treaty with the United States permitting such activity. The service is available to the general public at no charge. Messages are handled at the individual operator’s discretion.
The operators handling a Radiogram pride themselves on rendering the message on delivery letter-for-letter the same as the original.
Anyone wishing to send such a message from a point of origin within the United States may engage the process by completing a Radiogram Request as follows:
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Send a Radiogram – Today! |
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Need to communicate but lack the necessary means? If so, compose your message below and, after searching on the Internet at www.arrl.org/advanced-call-sign-search with your ZIP code for an amateur “Ham” radio operator nearby, send your message through him/her. |
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Radiogram Request |
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| To: | Postal address: |
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| Telephone number: |
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| Message text of 25 words or less: |
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| From: |
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| Handling instructions: |
( ) Verify receipt; ( ) Get a return message |
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Give your request to an amateur radio operator, who will handle your message free of charge as a public service. Operators will relay your message by radio to an operator near the message’s destination, where your message can be delivered by making a local phone call, by postal mail, or in person. Rev 3 |
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Readers outside the U. S. A. wishing to find an amateur radio operator nearby may search the nearly ten-million records available at http://www.hamcall.net/search, where the wild-card search feature may prove key in locating the right operator.