Over and Out?

Thought for the day: Over means I'm done talking and now it's your turn to transmit. Out means I'm finished with this conversation and am outta here. So when someone in a movie says ... "Over and out" ... it essentially means, go ahead and talk, but I'm not gonna be listening.

[THEME: Amateur radio}

The not-so-secret word for today is BROADCAST. 

People have long enjoyed listening to the radio.

When you turn on your car radio, there's no telling what you might hear. Could be your favorite song, and you might sing along. Or maybe it'll be a talk show host, in which case, you might be inclined to argue (i.e. scream)  an opposing point of view. One thing those seemingly different scenarios have in common is this: both are one-way transmissions. No matter how delightfully you harmonize, or how brilliant your rebuttal for the blowhard, the voices coming out of that radio can't hear you.

That is broadcast radio.

One thing amateur radio operators do NOT do is broadcast.

With amateur radio, I can certainly listen passively to other operators, but for me, the real joy lies in active participation. When a properly licensed amateur radio operator hears a voice or Morse code signal coming out of his speaker, he can 

Reach for a microphone ...

Or key ...

and respond.  He can make a quick in-and-out contact to exchange basic information, or he can hang around for a while and enjoy a friendly chit-chat. The chit-chat is commonly called a rag chew, and can be rather lengthy. My specialty. (Go figure.)

So, there ya have it. Commercial radio stations broadcast. But we hams ...  we communicate.