RIT Amateur Radio Club QSL cards

An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals, on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States and the International Telecommunication Union worldwide.

Amateur radio operators build and operate several types of amateur radio stations, including fixed ground stations, mobile stations, space stations and temporary field stations. A slang term often used for an amateur station's location is the "shack," named after the small enclosures added to the upper works of naval ships to hold early radio equipment and batteries.

Amateur radio operators are also known as radio amateurs or hams. The term "ham" as a pejorative nickname for amateur radio operators was first heard in 1909 by operators in commercial and professional radio communities. The word was subsequently embraced by the operators, and stuck. A QSL card is a written confirmation of either a two-way radiocommunication between two amateur radio stations or a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio, FM radio, television or shortwave broadcasting station. It can also confirm the reception of a two-way radiocommunication by a third party listener.

Today, radio amateurs are exploring voice and data communications in ever higher frequencies allocated for experimentation and exploration – extending all the way to 275 gigahertz (GHz) and even beyond, nearly to the spectrum of light. Amateur radio operators volunteer countless hours of community service in providing emergency communications during natural and man-made disasters, as well as public service communications in support of special events such as marathons, bike races, and public events. Many are trained as severe weather spotters by the National Weather Service (NWS) and provide "ground truth," by mobile radio, to forecasters and emergency management agencies in support of public safety.