TopBand: Origin of Ham

[Alastair Beaton]

Hi folks,

Thanks to all who replied to my mail asking for the origin of the 
term "Slim". The replies I received are included in a separate mail.

John N7WB asked about the origin of "Ham". Here is the text of an 
article I wrote for the Oct '97 issue of my local club magazine 
giving information culled from the contesting.com reflectors:
---------------
There have been many explanations for the origins of the term "ham".
We know for certain it originated in the United States (many British
`amateurs' still regard ham as somewhat derogatory) before WW1. The
two most plausible and verifiable stories can, in fact, be traced to
the same year. In the early days of radio before the Great War, there
was no formal licensing or bandplans. Amateurs and commercial stations
operated wherever they liked, transmitters were wideband and receivers
had little selectivity. QRM was already a problem.  In 1911, various
commercial interests brought legislation before the US Congress to
regulate wireless and ban amateur radio. Ranged against them, the many
small clubs formed by amateur experimenters to exchange information
and share the heavy costs of building equipment. The most active
station on the East Coast at that time was the Harvard club, which
used the callsign `HAM'. To complicate matters, the `HAM' call didn't
actually stand for `Harvard AMateur', but for the initials of the
club's three founders! One of its leading lights prepared an extensive
thesis on the pending legislation that was submitted to the
Congressional committee. He also testified before the committee about
the HAM station and about how, if the wireless regulation bill were
passed, the restrictions would shut the station down. The HAM club
also prevailed upon its local congressman to represent its position,
which he did, at great length and eloquence, on the floor of the
House. His representation of the greedy commercial companies ganging
up on "the little HAM station" received considerable nationwide
coverage in the press for several months. Amateur radio was not
banned, and was formalised and protected in the 1912 Communications
Act. For public and press alike, the HAM station became synonymous
with amateur radio experimenters and the name passed into popular
parlance.  At the same time, however, as the Harvard HAM club was
hitting the headlines, a best-selling magazine called Home Amateur
Mechanic or HAM for short, featured regular extensive features on
radio assembly and was responsible for introducing many Americans to
the wonders of radio communication. There were HAM designs and HAM
kits and many hobbyists described themselves as HAM enthusiasts. So
which of these two is the real origin of the term ham? It seems both
have a genuine claim but, as with all great legends, we'll never
really know. 

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