Talking on ham radio bands.

 Talking on ham radio bands.

Many of us remember the very first time we had to press the PTT button and speak into the mic. For some, it was second nature but for many it took a little bit of will power as many are mic shy. If you have been able to take the bold step of talking over the radio, Congratulations! For the rest, be patient. Getting to be a good radio speaker , as with speaking in public takes time.

In Ham Radio we have a tradition called the QSO party. IT is when at certain festive occasions like New Year's Day, many hams congregate at one freequency and do a meet and greet.

Come to think of it every QSO (radio converstion) you have is a QSO party because aside from you and the station you are taking to, many others are listening in the background, just like if you were having a converstion in a real party.

IF you limit yourself to rubber stamp QSOs (which follows a script), there will be no problem in getting a lot of QSOs. But things will be slightly different when you stray away from the script. You will be your own censor, just like live television. You have milliseconds before whatever appears in your head should be said over the air or just kept to yourself. As in public speaking we do not want our audience to be uncomfortable with what we say. There are certain topics that are taboo in amateur radio conversations and these include any talk on sex, politics and religion for example. Practice talking to a nearby station while always thinking that at least ten people are listening in. Doing this well requires practice and listening time - Istening to how veteran amateur radio operators speak in a respectful, and never arrogant manner which makes you want to listen more.

Remember technically the amaterur radio bands are a shared resouirce, you are not paying a premium for a private channel (like a telephone line) and this makes ham radio very different.

It may take some time but you will one day be able to appreciate as well as contribute to the wit and humor of ham radio conversation, as if it were second nature.