February 16, 2005

Hams have historically been tinkers. We have developed many of the
communication technologies seen in use today.
While many think of amateur radio as a hobby that involves people who tinker
with tubes, oscillator coils and transformers; I am left wondering what will
happen in the next 40 - 50 years for Amateur Radio.

Will it be "radio" as we know it today or will we evolve into a new
communications evolution?

So what may be in the future for ham radio?

For example, will tomorrow's hams communicate long distances by bouncing
modulated light waves from the sun using large dish reflectors into the deep
fringes of space?

Will we find a way to learn to harness the light and gigawatt power of the
sun to achieve this powerful communication network in the future if it
should even exist?

Perhaps we may use a form of earth vibration modulation technology using
Mother Nature as a new communication medium.

Or, we might find a way to communicate using atoms as the vehicle for
communications in the future.

Will we be able to use atoms to send signals by compressing packets somehow
into these atoms and then sending them over long distances along a narrow
beam of light?

Who knows?

As we evolve into the future of Amateur Radio what do you think we will
invent? Will the ARRL have new interplanetary DX entities? How do you
envision the typical Radio Amateur in 2050?

73
Charles -- KC8VWM

http://www.eham.net/articles/10250