Amateur Radio Wiki - User contributions [en]

What is Amateur Radio?

2014-08-20T07:54:56Z

Pc1mh: /* How do ratio operators communicate? */

Related wiki pages: [[Education]], [[User Groups]], [[Ham Radio for Kids]], [[How to learn ham radio?]]

Note: Parts of this page have been copied from Wikipedia and modified to suit this wiki.

==Introduction==

''Main article: [[Ham Radio. What is it and why do they do it?]]''

Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is both a hobby and a service in which participants, called "hams," use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with other radio amateurs for public service, recreation and self-training.

Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. An estimated six million people throughout the world are regularly involved with amateur radio.

The term "amateur" is not a reflection on the skills of the participants, which are often quite advanced, reaching far in the fields of physics, [[Electronic Theory|electronics and circuit design]] and engineering; rather, "amateur" indicates that amateur communications are not allowed to be made for commercial or money-making purposes. [[Ham]], on the other hand, is another question, see [[Why call it ham radio?]]

== How do radio operators communicate? ==

''Main article: [[Propagation]]''

Communication is possible with other stations operated on all continents. Operators can also use [[relays]], on the ground or in [[Satellites|space]] (operators can talk with the [[ISS|space station]]!) or use [[Sky waves]] and lower frequencies (paradoxically called High Frequency, [[HF]] instead of [[VHF]] or [[UHF]]) to bounce around the earth and communicate across oceans and continents. They will also listen to various [[beacons]]. All this is using different radio [[apparatus]] including [[antennas]] and [[transceivers]] but also [[software]] and computers.

=== Modes of operation ===

''Main article: [[Modes]]''

Amateur Radio operators use various [[Modes |modes]] of transmission to communicate either locally or across the world or even space.

'''Voice transmissions''' are most common, with some, such as frequency modulation ([[FM]]) offering high quality audio, and others, such as single sideband ([[SSB]]) offering more reliable communications when signals are marginal and bandwidth is restricted, at the sacrifice of audio quality.

'''Carrier wave''' ([[CW]] AKA [[morse code]]) dates from the earliest days of radio. It used to be a requirement in order to have access to lower frequencies ([[HF]]) or even to get a license to operate at all, in some locations. While this is no longer the case since 2003, [[Morse code]] is still very popular with [[QRP]] operators.

'''Digital modes''', made possible with the use of personal computers. This group includes:
* radioteletype ([[RTTY]])
* [[packet radio]], which has employed protocols such as TCP/IP since the 1970s.
* [[PSK31]] allow real-time, low-power communications on the shortwave bands.
* [[Echolink]] using Voice over IP technology.
* [[IRLP]] has allowed the linking of repeaters to provide greater coverage area.
* [[FSK441]] using software such as [[WSJT]], are used for weak signal modes including meteor scatter and moonbounce communications.
* Fast scan amateur television ([[ATV]])
* Slow scan television ([[SSTV]])

=== Bands of operation ===

''Main article: [[Bands]] and [[Wikipedia:Amateur radio frequency allocations]]''

Amateur radio has been allocated specific [[Wikipedia:Radio frequency|radio frequencies]] in the spectrum for its own use. The above modes can therefore be used on many different frequencies. There are conventions within the ham community regarding which frequencies are appropriate for what. This is called the [[band plan]]. It varies according to regions, but there's an international convention that most countries respect. The reason behind those conventions is that certain ranges of frequency (also called [[bands]]) have certain properties that make it more suitable for certain communications. For example, the 20m band (~14Mhz) is good for worldwide communication, day and night, while 70cm (~440Mhz) is good to communicate in line of sight or with satellites, as it doesn't bounce of the [[ionosphere]].

==[[Callsign Databases |Callsigns]]==

A callsign is a unique identifier, issued by the amateur's national government. The operator uses the callsign to identify himself/herself during radio transmissions.

Callsign structure as prescribed by the ITU, consists of three parts which break down as follows, using the callsign ZS1NAT as an example:

ZS – Shows the country from which the callsign originates and may also indicate the license class. (This callsign is licensed in South Africa, and is CEPT Class 1).
1 – Gives the subdivision of the country or territory indicated in the first part (this one refers to the Western Cape).
NAT – The final part is specific to the holder of the license, identifying that person specifically.

Not all countries follow ITU recommendations for callsign structure.

==Amateur radio on the big screen==

* Men of Boys Town (1941), starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney.

* If All the Guys in the World (original title "Si tous les gars du monde..." (1957). A French film largely devoted to Amateur Radio.

* Tony Hancock's 1960 BBC TV episode "The Radio Ham", in which he plays an incompetent ham radio operator.

* Star Wars (1977).

* The French Atlantic Affair (1979)

* Phenomenon (1996) starring John Travolta.

* Contact (1997) starring Jodie Foster.

* The Sweet Hereafter (1997) starring Ian Holm.

* Frequency (2000) starring Jim Caviezel and Dennis Quaid.

* Bob's White Christmas (2001) starring Bob the Builder and his brother Tom.

* Space Station (2001). An IMAX film

== See also ==

* [[History]]
* [[Codes and Alphabets]]
* [[Modes]]
* [[Bands]]
* [[Awards and Certificates]]
* [[Callsign Databases]]
* [[Education]]

{{operation}}

Band plan

2014-04-02T15:59:09Z

Pc1mh: /* Country Band Plans */

The radio frequency is traditionally separated in separate "slices" or "bands" of frequencies that have all their own use. By convention, certain bands are reserve to certain uses, most of the time because of the physical properties of the frequency or the environment.

This page aims to provide a quick overview of the broad properties of each band. The [[Wikipedia:Amateur_radio_frequency_allocations|Wikipedia article on bands]] has more extensive documentation about propagation characteristics.

== Radio Bands ==

Those are the bands of the radio spectrum relevant to amateur radio. Although ham radio operators have been very creative at exploring the full range of the radio spectrum, most operations hold in those areas.

* LF 30 - 300 kHz
* MF 300 kHz - 3 MHz
* [[HF]] 3 - 30 MHz (aka shortwave)
* [[VHF]] 30 - 300 MHz
* [[UHF]] 300 MHz - 3000 MHz (3 GHz)
* SHF 3,000 - 30,000 MHz (see also [[Microwave and other bands]])

== Band characteristics and usage ==

Each of those band have particular characteristics. Since the vast majority of operations (if we lump together the [[160m]] band within [[HF]]) happens within [[HF]], [[VHF]] and [[UHF]], we're going only to look at those here.

=== HF Bands ===

There are a number of amateur [[HF]] bands used worldwide, although the bands and frequencies legally available vary from country to country. HF is renowned for its capability of long range communication, because of the way [[sky waves]] [[Propagation|propagate]].

[[HF]] bands used today include:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Band (wavelength)
! Purpose
|-
| [[160 metres]]
| Night, [[DX]]
|-
| [[80 metres]]
| Night and local day
|-
| [[60 metres]]
| ?
|-
| [[40 metres]]
| Night and local day, [[DX]]
|-
| [[30 metres]]
| [[CW]] and [[Packet|digital]]
|-
| [[20 metres]]
| Most popular [[DX]], night and day
|-
| [[17 metres]]
| [[DX]], night and day
|-
| [[15 metres]]
| Daytime
|-
| [[12 metres]]
| Daytime
|-
| [[10 metres]]
| Daytime during [[Wikipedia:Solar maximum|solar maximum]]
|}

Note: although 160m is a Medium Frequency/MF band, it is often lumped in with the HF bands for simplicity.

=== VHF/UHF/Microwave Bands ===

Related wiki pages:

[[VHF]], [[UHF]], and [[Microwave and other bands|Microwave]] bands and frequencies available to amateurs vary more widely from country to country than HF bands do.

Amateur bands used today include:

* [[6 metres]]
* [[4 metres]]
* [[2 metres]]
* [[1.25 metres]]
* [[70 centimetres]]
* [[33 centimetres]]
* [[23 centimetres]]
* [[13 centimetres]]
* [[9 centimetres]]
* [[6 centimetres]]
* [[3 centimetres]]
* [[1.25 centimetres]]
* [[Bands above 24GHz]]

Most of those bands share similar propagation characteristic: we're usually talking about line of sight ([[ground wave]]) communication, although it is often taken up as a challenge for ham operators to go beyond those pesky restrictions with various techniques like [[Tropospheric ducting]], [[moon bounce]] and bouncing off [[meteor scatter]] and [[Aurora|aurora borealis]]. Certain frequencies (mostly [[70cm]] and [[2m]]) are often used to communicate with space [[satellites]].

== Actual allocations ==

What those band allocation mean in term of frequencies that the ham operators are allowed to work with varies according from region to region. This is regulated by the [[ITU]], or more precisely the [[IARU]], which manages regulations for each of the 3 [[ITU]] regions. Countries then make up their own local allocation in accordance (generally) with the region they are in.

=== Regional Band Plans ===

Within three regions around the world, different "plans" are agreed upon by Amateur Radio Operators to divide up the authorized band into sections. Each section is targeted to a specific operating [[Modes|mode]] (e.g., [[Modes#Single-Sideband_Modulation (SSB)|SSB]], [[Modes#Frequency_Modulation (FM)|FM]], Digital, etc). The [[ITU]] separated the world in 3 separate regions:

* '''[http://www.iaru-r1.org/Spectrumbp.htm Region 1]''' encompasses Africa, the Mediterranean, Europe, and Asiatic Russia
* '''[http://www.iaru-r2.org/band-plan/ Region 2]''' encompasses North America, South America, and Greenland
* '''[http://www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/ Region 3]''' encompasses India, Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Pacific nations.

See also the [http://www.iaru.org/ IARU website] for details of those allocations.

=== Country Band Plans ===

Each country has its own conventions that are an application of the general band plans.

* The [http://www.wia.org.au/members/bandplans/about/ Australian band plan] (.pdf) from the [http://www.wia.org.au/ Wireless Institute of Australia]
* The [http://www.rac.ca/en/rac/services/bandplans/ Canadian band plan] (.html) from [[RAC|Radio Amateurs Canada]]
* The [http://www.pi4fld.nl/bandplan/bandplan.htm Dutch band plan] (.html) from VRZA
* The [http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/repeaters/ New Zealand Band Plan] can be found at [http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/ NZART]
* The [http://www.rsgb.org/spectrumforum/bandplans/ United Kingdom band plan] (.pdf and .html) from the [[RSGB|Radio Society of Great Britain]]
* The [[United States Band Plan]]

== See also ==

* [[Records - Distance]]
* [[Emergency Frequencies]]
* [[Propagation]]
* [[Antennas]]
* [[Electromagnetic Waves]]

== External links ==

* [[Wikipedia:Amateur_radio_frequency_allocations]]
* [[Wikipedia:Radio_spectrum]]
* [[Wikipedia:Waveguide]]
* [http://www.arrl.org/band-plan-1 ARRL band plan] - includes diagrams and listings
* [http://www.n4wis.org/downloads/hfband.pdf USA band plan] - one band per page, notable frequencies, with space for notes (PDF)
* [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Frequency_Allocations_Chart_2003_-_The_Radio_Spectrum.svg US Frequency Allocation Chart] - good chart of all radio allocations (mediawiki, PDF, SVG, PNG)
* [http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ic1.nsf/eng/03784.html Canadian chart of radio allocations] (PDF)
* [http://www.unihedron.com/projects/spectrum/ Electromagnetic Radiation Spectrum Poster] - very complete (PDF, PNG, mail order)
* [http://www.eham.net/newham/bands Amateur radio bands] at eham.net - good simple overview for new hams

{{bands}}

Band plan

2014-04-02T15:58:09Z

Pc1mh: /* Country Band Plans */

The radio frequency is traditionally separated in separate "slices" or "bands" of frequencies that have all their own use. By convention, certain bands are reserve to certain uses, most of the time because of the physical properties of the frequency or the environment.

This page aims to provide a quick overview of the broad properties of each band. The [[Wikipedia:Amateur_radio_frequency_allocations|Wikipedia article on bands]] has more extensive documentation about propagation characteristics.

== Radio Bands ==

Those are the bands of the radio spectrum relevant to amateur radio. Although ham radio operators have been very creative at exploring the full range of the radio spectrum, most operations hold in those areas.

* LF 30 - 300 kHz
* MF 300 kHz - 3 MHz
* [[HF]] 3 - 30 MHz (aka shortwave)
* [[VHF]] 30 - 300 MHz
* [[UHF]] 300 MHz - 3000 MHz (3 GHz)
* SHF 3,000 - 30,000 MHz (see also [[Microwave and other bands]])

== Band characteristics and usage ==

Each of those band have particular characteristics. Since the vast majority of operations (if we lump together the [[160m]] band within [[HF]]) happens within [[HF]], [[VHF]] and [[UHF]], we're going only to look at those here.

=== HF Bands ===

There are a number of amateur [[HF]] bands used worldwide, although the bands and frequencies legally available vary from country to country. HF is renowned for its capability of long range communication, because of the way [[sky waves]] [[Propagation|propagate]].

[[HF]] bands used today include:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Band (wavelength)
! Purpose
|-
| [[160 metres]]
| Night, [[DX]]
|-
| [[80 metres]]
| Night and local day
|-
| [[60 metres]]
| ?
|-
| [[40 metres]]
| Night and local day, [[DX]]
|-
| [[30 metres]]
| [[CW]] and [[Packet|digital]]
|-
| [[20 metres]]
| Most popular [[DX]], night and day
|-
| [[17 metres]]
| [[DX]], night and day
|-
| [[15 metres]]
| Daytime
|-
| [[12 metres]]
| Daytime
|-
| [[10 metres]]
| Daytime during [[Wikipedia:Solar maximum|solar maximum]]
|}

Note: although 160m is a Medium Frequency/MF band, it is often lumped in with the HF bands for simplicity.

=== VHF/UHF/Microwave Bands ===

Related wiki pages:

[[VHF]], [[UHF]], and [[Microwave and other bands|Microwave]] bands and frequencies available to amateurs vary more widely from country to country than HF bands do.

Amateur bands used today include:

* [[6 metres]]
* [[4 metres]]
* [[2 metres]]
* [[1.25 metres]]
* [[70 centimetres]]
* [[33 centimetres]]
* [[23 centimetres]]
* [[13 centimetres]]
* [[9 centimetres]]
* [[6 centimetres]]
* [[3 centimetres]]
* [[1.25 centimetres]]
* [[Bands above 24GHz]]

Most of those bands share similar propagation characteristic: we're usually talking about line of sight ([[ground wave]]) communication, although it is often taken up as a challenge for ham operators to go beyond those pesky restrictions with various techniques like [[Tropospheric ducting]], [[moon bounce]] and bouncing off [[meteor scatter]] and [[Aurora|aurora borealis]]. Certain frequencies (mostly [[70cm]] and [[2m]]) are often used to communicate with space [[satellites]].

== Actual allocations ==

What those band allocation mean in term of frequencies that the ham operators are allowed to work with varies according from region to region. This is regulated by the [[ITU]], or more precisely the [[IARU]], which manages regulations for each of the 3 [[ITU]] regions. Countries then make up their own local allocation in accordance (generally) with the region they are in.

=== Regional Band Plans ===

Within three regions around the world, different "plans" are agreed upon by Amateur Radio Operators to divide up the authorized band into sections. Each section is targeted to a specific operating [[Modes|mode]] (e.g., [[Modes#Single-Sideband_Modulation (SSB)|SSB]], [[Modes#Frequency_Modulation (FM)|FM]], Digital, etc). The [[ITU]] separated the world in 3 separate regions:

* '''[http://www.iaru-r1.org/Spectrumbp.htm Region 1]''' encompasses Africa, the Mediterranean, Europe, and Asiatic Russia
* '''[http://www.iaru-r2.org/band-plan/ Region 2]''' encompasses North America, South America, and Greenland
* '''[http://www.jarl.or.jp/iaru-r3/ Region 3]''' encompasses India, Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Pacific nations.

See also the [http://www.iaru.org/ IARU website] for details of those allocations.

=== Country Band Plans ===

Each country has its own conventions that are an application of the general band plans.

* The [http://www.wia.org.au/members/bandplans/about/ Australian band plan] (.pdf) from the [http://www.wia.org.au/ Wireless Institute of Australia]
* The [http://www.rac.ca/en/rac/services/bandplans/ Canadian band plan] (.html) from [[RAC|Radio Amateurs Canada]]
* The [http://www.pi4fld.nl/bandplan/bandplan.htm/ Dutch band plan] (.html) from VRZA
* The [http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/repeaters/ New Zealand Band Plan] can be found at [http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/ NZART]
* The [http://www.rsgb.org/spectrumforum/bandplans/ United Kingdom band plan] (.pdf and .html) from the [[RSGB|Radio Society of Great Britain]]
* The [[United States Band Plan]]

== See also ==

* [[Records - Distance]]
* [[Emergency Frequencies]]
* [[Propagation]]
* [[Antennas]]
* [[Electromagnetic Waves]]

== External links ==

* [[Wikipedia:Amateur_radio_frequency_allocations]]
* [[Wikipedia:Radio_spectrum]]
* [[Wikipedia:Waveguide]]
* [http://www.arrl.org/band-plan-1 ARRL band plan] - includes diagrams and listings
* [http://www.n4wis.org/downloads/hfband.pdf USA band plan] - one band per page, notable frequencies, with space for notes (PDF)
* [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Frequency_Allocations_Chart_2003_-_The_Radio_Spectrum.svg US Frequency Allocation Chart] - good chart of all radio allocations (mediawiki, PDF, SVG, PNG)
* [http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ic1.nsf/eng/03784.html Canadian chart of radio allocations] (PDF)
* [http://www.unihedron.com/projects/spectrum/ Electromagnetic Radiation Spectrum Poster] - very complete (PDF, PNG, mail order)
* [http://www.eham.net/newham/bands Amateur radio bands] at eham.net - good simple overview for new hams

{{bands}}

Associations

2014-04-02T15:33:58Z

Pc1mh: /* National Associations */

Related wiki pages [[Callsign Databases]]. [[Clubs]], [[Journals and Magazines]], [[Websites]]

== International Associations ==

* [http://www.iaru.org/ IARU] '''The International Amateur Radio Union''' is the public voice of amateur radio internationally. Their charter includes developing amateur radio worldwide and speaking on behalf of all amateurs in matters of regulation, spectrum allocation and spectrum usage. It was created in 1925.

* [http://www.itu.int/net/home/index.aspx ITU] ''' The International Telecommunication Union'''. created in 1865 to standardise and regulate international radio communications. More information [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Telecommunication_Union here]

* [http://life.itu.ch/radioclub/index.html IARC] '''International Amateur Radio Club'''

* [http://webplaza.pt.lu/~firac/ IARRA] '''International Association of Railway Radio Amateurs'''

* [http://fists.org FISTS] '''International Morse Preservation Society''' is dedicated to a love of Morse code and a concern for its perpetuation

* [http://www.satern.org/ Salvation Army] [[SATERN]] - '''Salvation Army Emergency Response Team'''

* [http://www.spar-hams.org Society for Preservation of Amateur Radio] offers a few awards, including a [[rag chewers club]] for direct contact between two radio amateur stations for an uninterrupted half-hour or more and a winter [[field day]].

* [http://www.ylrl.org YLRL] '''Young Ladies' Radio League''' is a worldwide association of female [[women in amateur radio|ham operators]] of all ages. The group offers a monthly newsletter, scholarships to women in selected fields, and contests.

== National Associations ==

* [http://www.lu4aa.org/ Argentina] - '''Radio Club Argentino'''

* [http://www.wia.org.au/ Australia] - The '''[[Wireless Institute of Australia]]''' (WIA) is the oldest amateur radio association in the world, and publishes a monthly magazine ''[[Amateur Radio (magazine)|Amateur Radio]].

* [http://www.qsl.net/a92c/index.html Bahrain] - ''' Amateur Radio Association of Bahrain'''

* [http://www.uba.be/ Belgium] - '''Union Royale Belge des Amateurs-emetteurs'''

* [http://www.rac.ca/ Canada, eh?] - '''Radio Amateurs of Canada'''

* [http://www.cyhams.org/ Cyprus] - '''Cyprus Amateur Radio Society'''

* [http://www.edr.dk/ Denmark] - '''Experimenterende Danske Radioamatører'''

* [http://www.j7hams.com/emergency.htm Dominica] - '''The Dominica Amateur Radio Club'''

* [http://www.sral.fi/ Finland] - '''Finnish Amateur radio League'''

* [http://www.ref-union.org/ France] - '''UNION FRANÇAISE DES RADIOAMATEURS'''

* [http://www.darc.de/ Germany] - '''Deutscher Amateur-Radio Club e.V.'''

* [http://www.harts-web.org/Joomla_1_0_7/ Hong Kong] - '''Hong Kong Amateur Radio Transmitting Society (HARTS)'''

* [http://www.ira.is/ Iceland] - '''Íslenskir radíóamatörar / Icelandic Radio Amateurs (IRA)'''

* [http://www.irts.ie/cgi/index.cgi Ireland] - '''The Irish Radio Transmitters Society'''

* [http://www.jarl.or.jp/ Japan] - '''Japan Anateur Radio League (JARL)'''

* [http://www.lral.lv/ Latvia] - '''LATVIAN AMATEUR RADIO LEAGUE (LRAL)'''

* [http://www.hamradio.lv/ Latvia] - '''Ham Radio Latvia''' Not an official site but has good information

* [http://www.ral.org.lb/ Lebanon] - '''Radio Amateurs of Lebanon (RAL)'''

* [http://www.arrm.pt/ Madeira] - '''Associação de Radioamadores da Região da Madeira''' The national association for the Islands of Madeira

* [http://9h1mrl.org Malta ] '''Maltese Amateur Radio League (MARL)'''

* [http://www.fmre.org.mx/ Mexico] - '''Federacion Mexicana De Radio Experimentadores, A.C. '''

* [http://www.veron.nl/ Netherlands] - '''Vereniging voor Experimenteel Radio Onderzoek Nederland (VERON)'''

* [http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/ New Zealand] - '''New Zealand Association od Radio Transmitters (NZART) '''

* [http://www.qsl.net/pngars/ Papua New Guinea] - '''Papua New Guinea Amateur Radio Society (PNGARS)'''

* [http://www.para.org.ph/main.htm/ Philippines] - '''Philippine Amateur Radio Association''' is the national Amateur radio society for The Philippines

* [http://www.sarts.org.sg/ Singapore] - '''Singapore Amateur Radio Transmitting Society (SARTS) '''

* [http://www.sarl.org.za/ South Africa] - ''' South Africal Radio League (SARL)'''

* [http://www.ure.es Spain] - '''Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles'''. Spanish Amateur Radio Association.

* [http://www.uska.ch/typo/ Switzerland] - '''Union Schweizer Kurzwellen Amateure (USKA)'''

* [http://www.rsgb.org/ United Kingdom] - '''Radio Society of Great Britain''' is national Amateur radio society for United Kingdom

* [http://www.arrl.org// USA] - '''American Radio Relay League''' is the national membership association for Amateur Radio operators in the United States of America.

* [http://www.radioclubvenezolano.org/ Venezuela] - '''Radio Club Venezolano'''

==Armed Forces Associations==

* [http://www.k4nar.org/ Navy Amateur Radio Club K4NAR] For past and present member of the navies of USA and Canada.

* [http://www.rnars.org.uk/ Royal Naval Amateur Radio Society] Based in the UK, but has global membership to any past and present members of the Royal Navy.

* [http://www.rsars.org.uk/ Royal Signals Amateur Radio Society] Based in the UK, but has global membership to any past and present members of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom.

{{organisations}}

Associations

2014-04-02T15:31:59Z

Pc1mh: /* National Associations */

Related wiki pages [[Callsign Databases]]. [[Clubs]], [[Journals and Magazines]], [[Websites]]

== International Associations ==

* [http://www.iaru.org/ IARU] '''The International Amateur Radio Union''' is the public voice of amateur radio internationally. Their charter includes developing amateur radio worldwide and speaking on behalf of all amateurs in matters of regulation, spectrum allocation and spectrum usage. It was created in 1925.

* [http://www.itu.int/net/home/index.aspx ITU] ''' The International Telecommunication Union'''. created in 1865 to standardise and regulate international radio communications. More information [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Telecommunication_Union here]

* [http://life.itu.ch/radioclub/index.html IARC] '''International Amateur Radio Club'''

* [http://webplaza.pt.lu/~firac/ IARRA] '''International Association of Railway Radio Amateurs'''

* [http://fists.org FISTS] '''International Morse Preservation Society''' is dedicated to a love of Morse code and a concern for its perpetuation

* [http://www.satern.org/ Salvation Army] [[SATERN]] - '''Salvation Army Emergency Response Team'''

* [http://www.spar-hams.org Society for Preservation of Amateur Radio] offers a few awards, including a [[rag chewers club]] for direct contact between two radio amateur stations for an uninterrupted half-hour or more and a winter [[field day]].

* [http://www.ylrl.org YLRL] '''Young Ladies' Radio League''' is a worldwide association of female [[women in amateur radio|ham operators]] of all ages. The group offers a monthly newsletter, scholarships to women in selected fields, and contests.

== National Associations ==

* [http://www.lu4aa.org/ Argentina] - '''Radio Club Argentino'''

* [http://www.wia.org.au/ Australia] - The '''[[Wireless Institute of Australia]]''' (WIA) is the oldest amateur radio association in the world, and publishes a monthly magazine ''[[Amateur Radio (magazine)|Amateur Radio]].

* [http://www.qsl.net/a92c/index.html Bahrain] - ''' Amateur Radio Association of Bahrain'''

* [http://www.uba.be/ Belgium] - '''Union Royale Belge des Amateurs-emetteurs'''

* [http://www.rac.ca/ Canada, eh?] - '''Radio Amateurs of Canada'''

* [http://www.cyhams.org/ Cyprus] - '''Cyprus Amateur Radio Society'''

* [http://www.edr.dk/ Denmark] - '''Experimenterende Danske Radioamatører'''

* [http://www.j7hams.com/emergency.htm Dominica] - '''The Dominica Amateur Radio Club'''

* [http://www.sral.fi/ Finland] - '''Finnish Amateur radio League'''

* [http://www.ref-union.org/ France] - '''UNION FRANÇAISE DES RADIOAMATEURS'''

* [http://www.darc.de/ Germany] - '''Deutscher Amateur-Radio Club e.V.'''

* [http://www.veron.nl/ The Netherlands] - '''Vereniging voor Experimenteel Radio Onderzoek Nederland (VERON)'''

* [http://www.harts-web.org/Joomla_1_0_7/ Hong Kong] - '''Hong Kong Amateur Radio Transmitting Society (HARTS)'''

* [http://www.ira.is/ Iceland] - '''Íslenskir radíóamatörar / Icelandic Radio Amateurs (IRA)'''

* [http://www.irts.ie/cgi/index.cgi Ireland] - '''The Irish Radio Transmitters Society'''

* [http://www.jarl.or.jp/ Japan] - '''Japan Anateur Radio League (JARL)'''

* [http://www.lral.lv/ Latvia] - '''LATVIAN AMATEUR RADIO LEAGUE (LRAL)'''

* [http://www.hamradio.lv/ Latvia] - '''Ham Radio Latvia''' Not an official site but has good information

* [http://www.ral.org.lb/ Lebanon] - '''Radio Amateurs of Lebanon (RAL)'''

* [http://www.arrm.pt/ Madeira] - '''Associação de Radioamadores da Região da Madeira''' The national association for the Islands of Madeira

* [http://9h1mrl.org Malta ] '''Maltese Amateur Radio League (MARL)'''

* [http://www.fmre.org.mx/ Mexico] - '''Federacion Mexicana De Radio Experimentadores, A.C. '''

* [http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/ New Zealand] - '''New Zealand Association od Radio Transmitters (NZART) '''

* [http://www.qsl.net/pngars/ Papua New Guinea] - '''Papua New Guinea Amateur Radio Society (PNGARS)'''

* [http://www.para.org.ph/main.htm/ Philippines] - '''Philippine Amateur Radio Association''' is the national Amateur radio society for The Philippines

* [http://www.sarts.org.sg/ Singapore] - '''Singapore Amateur Radio Transmitting Society (SARTS) '''

* [http://www.sarl.org.za/ South Africa] - ''' South Africal Radio League (SARL)'''

* [http://www.ure.es Spain] - '''Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles'''. Spanish Amateur Radio Association.

* [http://www.uska.ch/typo/ Switzerland] - '''Union Schweizer Kurzwellen Amateure (USKA)'''

* [http://www.rsgb.org/ United Kingdom] - '''Radio Society of Great Britain''' is national Amateur radio society for United Kingdom

* [http://www.arrl.org// USA] - '''American Radio Relay League''' is the national membership association for Amateur Radio operators in the United States of America.

* [http://www.radioclubvenezolano.org/ Venezuela] - '''Radio Club Venezolano'''

==Armed Forces Associations==

* [http://www.k4nar.org/ Navy Amateur Radio Club K4NAR] For past and present member of the navies of USA and Canada.

* [http://www.rnars.org.uk/ Royal Naval Amateur Radio Society] Based in the UK, but has global membership to any past and present members of the Royal Navy.

* [http://www.rsars.org.uk/ Royal Signals Amateur Radio Society] Based in the UK, but has global membership to any past and present members of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom.

{{organisations}}