unusedusername
Observer
Etymology: It is "ham" or "Ham" but never "HAM", although CB is correct...
Hello folks,
I've noticed the common usage of a strange capitalization of "ham" when referring to the amateur radio service. This is pedantic, but someone once said that the start of true wisdom is calling things by their right name.
The term "ham" came about in around 1909 when one commercial radio telegraph operator pejoratively called members of the amateur service "ham handed", implying that their morse code wasn't very good and their stations were putting out harmful interference.
At the time, calling someone a "ham" is about the same as calling someone a "pig" today. It implied messiness and rudeness. Instead of being offended, the amateur service members decided to take up the name and started describing themselves as "hams".
Effectively, "ham radio" means "pig radio". Putting it in all caps makes as much sense as saying "PIG RADIO" or "ANTENNA".
The confusion comes about because other then "ham" radio, some of the other radio services used by the public are acronyms. These other services are correctly written in all caps.
CB radio is "citizens band radio"
FRS is "family radio service"
GMRS is "general mobile radio service"
MURS is "multi-use radio service"
Ham radio is "pig radio"
You never see it written as "BUSINESS band radio" or "RACING radio". Please save the pixels and keep your caps lock off when discussing amateur radio.
Sources:
http://earlyradiohistory.us/1909ama.htm
http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-history
http://earlyradiohistory.us/1902slng.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_ham_radio
Hello folks,
I've noticed the common usage of a strange capitalization of "ham" when referring to the amateur radio service. This is pedantic, but someone once said that the start of true wisdom is calling things by their right name.
The term "ham" came about in around 1909 when one commercial radio telegraph operator pejoratively called members of the amateur service "ham handed", implying that their morse code wasn't very good and their stations were putting out harmful interference.
At the time, calling someone a "ham" is about the same as calling someone a "pig" today. It implied messiness and rudeness. Instead of being offended, the amateur service members decided to take up the name and started describing themselves as "hams".
Effectively, "ham radio" means "pig radio". Putting it in all caps makes as much sense as saying "PIG RADIO" or "ANTENNA".
The confusion comes about because other then "ham" radio, some of the other radio services used by the public are acronyms. These other services are correctly written in all caps.
CB radio is "citizens band radio"
FRS is "family radio service"
GMRS is "general mobile radio service"
MURS is "multi-use radio service"
Ham radio is "pig radio"
You never see it written as "BUSINESS band radio" or "RACING radio". Please save the pixels and keep your caps lock off when discussing amateur radio.
Sources:
http://earlyradiohistory.us/1909ama.htm
http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-history
http://earlyradiohistory.us/1902slng.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_ham_radio
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