Where The Term HAM Radio Came From

The Owatonna Steele County Amateur Radio Club or OSCAR will be among the many taking part in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise. The local group will once again set up at the McKinley School on 22nd Street NE in Owatonna.

The antennas and radios will be set up Saturday, June 23 from 8-1PM. Then it'll be a continuous broadcast from 1PM Saturday till 1PM on Sunday. An estimated 35,000 amateur radio operators are expected to take part in the exercises.

The public is invited to stop by anytime this weekend and have a chat and learn more about the role amateur radio operators play in the community. Ham Radio field day exercises can be traced by to 1933 and play roles in emergencies such as weather situations and such.

You can learn more on the OSCAR web page. You may also call (507)-451-2228.

Where did the term HAM come from? In 1908 the Harvard Radio Club was home to the first wireless amateur radio transmitters. They were operated by young men with the last names of Hyman, Almy and Murray. H.A.M. There is also a belief that a very early radio operator in Minneapolis used the name HAM. So there's at least two theories.

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