what does ham mean?

[b1kshad0w]

I was reading around and found this.
Why are amateur radio operators called hams?

Here’s what the Amateur Radio Relay League says about ham.
Ham: a poor operator, a plug.
That’s the definition of the word given in G. M. Dodge’s The Telegraph Instructor, even before radio. The definition has never changed. The first wireless operators were landline telegraphers who left their offices to go to sea or to man the coastal stations. They brought with them their language and much of the tradition of their old profession.
In those early days, spark was king and every station occupied the same wavelength. Government stations, ships, coastal stations and the increasingly numerous amateur operators competed for time and signal supremacy. Many of the amateur stations were very powerful. Two amateurs, working across town, could effectively jam the other operators in the area. When this happened, frustrated commercial operators would call the ship whose weaker signals had been blotted out by the amateurs and say “SORRY, THOSE #&$!@ HAMS ARE JAMMING YOU.”
Amateurs, possibly unfamiliar with the real meaning of the term, picked it up and applied it to themselves in true “Yankee Doodle” fashion and wore it with pride. As the years advanced, the original meaning completely disappeared.

Is this true?
http://www.landlinemag.com/Archive....ile.htm (http://www.landlinemag.com/Archives/2002/Mar2002/features/member_profile.htm)

[K9STH]

That story is as "plausible" as any of the other "stories" concerning the origin of the term. Another is that it is a "bastardized" English "Cockney" pronunciation of "amateur" which came out "ham-a-ture" and got shortened to "ham".

Actually, according to the book "200 Meters and Down" which was published by the ARRL in the mid-1930s and from other sources as well, a lot of the amateur stations during the early days of radio were actually better equipped and worked better than the commercial stations. Thus, there was quite a bit of problems cause by the envy from the commercial operators.

Like many other "tales", I doubt that the "real" story will ever be known!

Glen, K9STH

[K1ZC]

Lets see, I know several explanations:

1. Ham fisted operator (i.e. a poor operator).
2. The cockney accent.
3. A popular magazine of the time, Home Amateur Mechanic, had instructions on building radios.
4. Named after three friends at Harvard with initials H, A, and M that had a station called HAM.

Hard to say if #1 or #3 are true. Apparently, the term ham was in use several years before amateur radio became popular in England so #2 is a stretch. One researcher checked the records at Harvard for the three mythical students and could find no record of three student with the relevant names at the time claimed so #4 is probably an "urban legend".

Pick your favorite explanation. I suspect nobody will ever know for sure.

[WB2WIK]

One operator to another:

"That guy doesn't know beans about operating."

Second operator:

"Or ham, either, for that matter."

First: "Oh, okay, let's call these guys hams, as in ham and beans."

We could have been called "franks" instead....

WB2WIK/6

[K6UEY]

I like the explaination that they were poor operators and caused jamming and interference to others.This would explain the large numbers of jammers today. They are true Hams in the spirit of things,they were just born at the wrong time period.
#73, # ORV

[K9STH]

If you read about the history of amateur radio (the "early" days, before World War I), you find that most amateurs were using far less power than the commercial stations, but had developed much more selective receivers, etc., than the vast majority of commercial operations. Therefore, the amateurs could operate much closer in frequency (closer is a relative term!) to the commercial stations without suffering any interference from them while the commercial stations, because of their "inferior" receivers, could not operate any where as near in frequency to the lower powered amateur stations. This, coupled with a "snobbish" attitude from the commercial operators towards the amateur operators (being a commercial operator was, "obviously", a MUCH higher status than being a lowly amateur), led to all sorts of problems.

There were a few amateur stations running "high" power, and, as is always the case, there were a very few amateur operators who had no regard for anyone else. But, as is true today, they represented a very small percentage of the total number of operators (even today there is only a very small percentage of amateurs who delibertly cause problems, but, even one is too many!).

Another story about the origin of "ham" meaning amateur comes from the theater where a new actor, or an unpaid actor (usually a new actor) was called a "ham". Sometimes these persons were, in fact, "bad actors" (in the sense that their performance was bad). However, the term "ham" became synonomous with new or unpaid actors no matter what the capabilities of the actor were. I have not heard this term applied to actresses (maybe chivalry prohibited a woman from being called a "ham"), but it may have been applied to women as well as men. It is from this theater reference that the term "ham it up", meaning to exaggerate, over act, etc., comes from.

Anyway, the chances are that the term, no matter just what its origin, was not a compliment when first used. However, we citizens of the United States of America seem to have a rather "warped" sense of humor (at least compared to the rest of the world - possibly Australia excepted - they are "mutts" with a warped sense of humor like most of us!), and, when confronted with a lemon, make lemonade! We can "turn around" things that would be devastating to many from other countries and make the situation work to our benefit!

Glen, K9STH

[NN6EE]

WIK/6,

As per your explanation for HAM, all that I can think of to say to you is "AH GEEEZZZZZZ!!!" # http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif #es 3s OB!!!

JIM/nn6ee

http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif The rather tasty aft quarter of a pig. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

73 de Craig..........KCØGOA http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[k3sam]

My elmer back in the early 70's (he was in his early 60's back then, SK now) always told me that ham stood for "Helping All Mankind". #

I do not remember his call, however he use to operate spark gap as a youngster. #Many hams in the Westmoreland Co., Pa. area will remember Jimmy Sell from Derry, Pa. as he received and transmitted OVER 100wpm verified (120wpm as timed by the club back then). #He also built his own transmitter and receiver (no transceivers back when he was a pup), and put up his own antennas. #He was an extra class. #Did I mention that he was blind ? #Great man and is still remembered. #73, Sam - K3SAM