Ham Radio and the movies

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The radio amateur band is full of movies, well perhaps they are live transmissions of the radio operators. Slow Scan TV, High definition pictures, all can me picked up on the radio amateur frequencies. I have a class A radio licence, and have transmitted live video of myself all over the world, do you think this makes me a movie star now ' Perhaps not ... - - - ...

The radio ham has been portrayed in many movies, who can remember the Tony Hancock's 1960 BBC TV episode "The Radio Ham", in which he plays an incompetent ham radio operator. This has remained popular in the U.K. and has played a small part in keeping the memory of ham radio's heyday alive.

There have been many Hollywood movies which have also used Amateur Radio as a convenient and often fanciful part of their plot, not to mention the important part radio operators have played during conflicts.

Some movies featuring Ham Radio

Contact (1997) starring Jodie Foster playing Dr. Eleanor Ann Arroway, has the heroine learning to listen to radio frequency transmissions as a child, and later participating in SETI.
Frequency (2000) starring Jim Caviezel playing 'John Sullivan', and Dennis Quaid playing 'Frank Sullivan', has the fanciful plot of a father ('Frank') and son ('John') using Amateur Radio to communicate after the father has died.
Phenomenon (1996) starring John Travolta playing 'George Malley', has the hero's friend relaxing from his concerns by talking to friends on his radio.
Star Wars (1977) during the battle of the death star, the pilots communicate with each other over the radio using what sounds like Single Sideband (SSB), which is used in the Amateur HF band.
The Sweet Hereafter (1997) starring Ian Holm playing 'Mitchel Stephens', features a scene where a man is sitting at a table, holding a pair of communication headphones up to one ear. On the wall is a plastic QSL card holder full of cards. ( QLS cards are used to confirm a contact)
Men of Boys Town (1941), is the sequel of Boys Town (1938), starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. In this movie Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney) has frequent conversations with his friend Pee Wee (Bobs Watson) over the amateur radio waves.
If All the Guys in the World (original title "Si tous les gars du monde..." (1957), is a French film largely devoted to the Art of Amateur Radio.
Bob's Christmas Movie, Bob the Builder and his brother Tom use ham radio to communicate. Bob has an antenna on the side of his yard's office.