How is amateur Ham radio a hobby?

As a former ham, I can tell you that it was a bit like having pen pals and for its time it was pretty high tech.

Hams were always trying to boost their signals with power, antenna configuration or placement. There were all kinds of gadgets and innovations. - a lot of knowledge and creativity.

There was this sort of cooperative competitiveness. " Joe bounced a signal and "talked" (novices used morse code; techs and masters were allowed to use voice) using a new blah blah blah that he read about/ rigged up......" so then everyone would talk to Joe who would be the guru on that until everyone caught on. Then there would be the race for the next thing.

I got into ham as a THING.

A local group CQd (transmitted) to friends of mine that the transmitting person was a gal!!!!!

women in ham were rare because you needed good knowledge of physics, morse code and the code sending and receiving speed minimums, plus the interest in the radios themselves- most shacks (what hams called their radio rooms even if it was a table in the corner of the dining room) were hand built by the hams themselves- hams are geeks and otherwise equipment could run a lot of money.

Anyway, I got asked to send some code back to prove my friends were as good as that group. I was hooked. All that electronic equipment was fascinating. I went home, taught myself code that weekend, started my novice studies Monday after school and took my novice license at the end of the month. The guys in my novice study group were still learning code, so you can understand that I did not get asked out a lot by showing them up by getting my license before they did. Sending out a signal and not knowing who was going to reply or from where was fun.

Now, if all of that sounds strange, just look what you and I and a few million other people are doing right now- The difference is that we are using computers, smartphones, ... that we bought already built. and that we do not need to pass a test to be permitted to use them. Imagine if you had to understand the physics of a microchip before you were allowed to send an email! Or if you had to have a certain reading speed or typing speed to email?

Hope I gave you a glimpse of the fun of ham. There are sill ham radios, but with all of the other technology, it would be like pulling a cart with your own strength rather than just getting into a car and driving off.

I agree, how is it not a hobby? there are so many aspects of ham radio it's not even funny. You can build most everything you need , especially antennas and you may spend all day messing with something until you get it just right. I guess it takes a special breed to do it, but if you're a chronic tinkerer you'll love it! You can talk all over the world and make many very good friends all over without ever meeting face to face. It's also a great "networking tool" as hams come from all walks of life and professions/trades. usually if you need some info on anything from plumbing to computers you can find it in the form of a ham. And best of all in my opinion, when all the cell towers are loaded down and phone lines are out during an emergency, your radio will always work as long as you can put power to it and your antenna is still up.

How is it *not* a hobby?

A hobby is something you do for fun. People learn how to operate ham radios for fun.

hob·by1    

[hob-ee] Show IPA

–noun, plural -bies.

1.

an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation:

I build radios and antennas and use them to talk to people all over the world. It is not my main occupation and I do it for fun. I find this relaxing and pleasurable. Hobby