What is qrz.com ?
Commonly just referred to as QRZ, this is the directory of amateur radio operators around the world. If you hear a callsign and want to know more about that operator, qrz.com is the website to visit. Not all callsigns are registered with an individual person – some are special events callsigns associated with a particular event, an incident in history, or an amateur radio club.
Should I register on qrz.com ?
Of course, there is no easier way to find out more about other amateur radio stations and for others to find out about you and your interests than to look each other up on the directory.
This means that irrespective of whether you are a recently licensed amateur radio operator or more established in the hobby, you should get your callsign on qrz.com
You can find out more on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QRZ.com
Registering on qrz.com
There is some good support on the internet to help you get established on qrz.com
The Essex Ham website https://www.essexham.co.uk/qrz-basics provides a step by step guide to setting up your entry.
There are all sorts of unexpected benefits from being on the directory – I recently joined some amateur radio groups on the forum website groups.io where the moderators confirm that you are a ham operator on qrz.com
So there you have it – get on https://www.qrz.com now!
What is amateur radio?
Amateur radio is a popular technical hobby and volunteer public service. As a licensed amateur radio operator, you are permitted to transmit and receive radio signals on frequency bands allocated for use by amateur radio amateurs. Amateur radio operators use these designated bands of radio frequencies for non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communications. A 1910 announcement by the then HM Postmaster General licensed “experimental wireless”, which still uniquely gives radio amateurs the ability to innovate without commercial or statutory controls even in the closely regulated environment of the 21st century. Amateur radio is the only hobby governed by international treaty.
Amateur radio operators use amateur radio bands for a variety of purposes:
- Contacting people all over the world by radio often leads to developing international friendships,
- Competing in international competitions to test the effectiveness of their equipment and their skill as radio operators,
- Technical experimentation — many of the leaps forward in radio technology have been initiated by radio amateurs,
- Communication through amateur space satellites or with the International Space Station (which carries an amateur radio station),
- Providing communications at times of emergencies and undertaking exercises to maintain that capability.
There is no better way to explore the fascinating world of radio communications than by becoming a radio amateur.
You can also find out more through the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) https://rsgb.org/
