Cell phone use has become ubiquitous in our society. But what happens when you try to use your cell phone in an area where there is a ham radio operator?
Can the two technologies interfere with each other?
Ham radio enthusiasts often claim that ham radios don’t interfere with cell phones, but is that really the case? While ham radios and cell phones operate on different frequencies, there is still potential for interference.
What is ham radio?
Ham radio, or amateur radio, uses a variety of signals to communicate with other amateur operators around the world.
This requires a licence to operate and follow certain rules of operation.
Most modern cell phones use microwaves to transmit voice information between cell towers and your phone.
The frequencies used for cell phones are far higher than the normal frequencies used by ham operators which makes the prospect of interference between the two to be unlikely.
Ham radios can interfere with some broadcast technologies, though.
If a television or FM station is located nearby to an operating ham station, it’s possible that the TV or FM broadcast will experience some interference due to the ham station.
While ham radios can interfere with broadcast technologies, they are not the only devices that can cause such interference.
Any broadcast device could potentially interfere with another nearby broadcast device.
Can ham radio interfere with cell phones?
To answer this question, we need to know whether cell phone signals operate at or near HF frequencies and whether nearby ham operators transmit on those frequencies or not.
While ham radios do operate at HF frequencies, cell phones normally operate near UHF and VHF frequencies.
Ham radio signals generally will not interfere with cell phone transmissions, especially if the cell phone is being used several miles away from the nearest ham radio station.
Can ham radio interfere with broadcast technologies?
As stated above, if a nearby ham station operates on frequencies that are close to frequencies used by TV or FM stations, then interference may occur.
This is especially true if the ham operator is transmitting in SSB mode which allows for more power to be transmitted over a smaller frequency band.
There is always a possibility that a powerful ham radio station, that is poorly maintained, could interfere with a nearby mobile phone although this is very unlikely due to the differences in frequencies used.
Final Words
While ham radios use a variety of frequencies, cell phones operate on much higher frequencies than most ham radio operators.
This means that there is minimal interference possible between the two technologies.
While it’s possible for ham operators to interfere with broadcast devices such as TVs or FM stations, most modern broadcast technologies are not susceptible to this type of interference.
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