Many believe that ham radio is dying with all of the modern communications technology. Not so. There are still three million hams around the world, a quarter in America.

When I was a kid living near Grantsville, West Virginia, some of my neighbors were into amateur ham radio. I found their analog electronics and antennas and their mastery of Morse code fascinating.

Typically, amateur radio operators use the minimum power needed to accomplish a contact. That’s just part of being a good spectrum citizen, and well-earned bragging rights go to those who make ...