About Hamsexy

Hamsexy started in April 2004 by us (Seth N3JFW and Bryan VE3HBD), after some threads and discussions on the Batlabs Batboards convinced us to launch a site based on the ‘other’ side of Ham Radio.

Hamsexy quickly became popular among hams and non-hams alike as an alternative to the stuffy, cliquish and snobbish ham radios websites that existed at the time (and still do to this day). Ham radio, for years, has had a certain stigma – slowly transforming from a respected and cutting edge hobby into what it is today. The stereotype of hams generally being social misfits, overweight, unwashed and arrogantly protective of the 30-year old status quo of the hobby is, for the most part, true. What Hamsexy aims to do is to poke fun at our hobby. Hamsexy is a site by hams, for hams. Not everyone shares in our sense of humour – and that’s perfectly fine. We aren’t out to make friends.. Hell, we aren’t out to do anything. We’re just a bunch of guys making a website that a few people find funny.

Hamsexy has it’s share of fans and detractors. Some of our critics have shown their displeasure with is in interesting ways. Some write letters, others get a little more.. well..exotic (we’ve even gotten a few death threats..!)

Hamsexy always has been and always will be an ad-free site. We don’t even solicit donations. Despite what the management of QRZ might think, we are not a commercial enterprise, and we don’t get a single penny from this site.

How did the name “Hamsexy” come about? It first appeared in a photoshop done by one of the site’s founder’s, which was posted on a thread on the Batlabs Batboards:

After some urging the hamsexy.com name was registered by Seth N3JFW, with server space donated by a friend of his. The site sat dormant for a few weeks, as neither of us really knew what to do with it. We posted a few funny photos on it, including several semi-nude asian girls proclaiming their ignorance as to what Ham Radio was. Finally, on May 1st 2004, Hamsexy.com was officially launched as a weblog of sorts, relying on a close cadre of handpicked submitters to offer news, views and opinoins on ham radio. Unfortunatley, due to some sloppy webwork on behalf of the webmaster (Bryan VE3HBD), the very first page was lost. It was a shame, as it contained a very well written piece on a Star Trek-themed Ham Radio club.

In June 2004 the HAMSEXY FORUMS launched, a phpBB-based message forum for the readers of Hamsexy to congregate, hang out and talk. The message board is run by Seth N3JFW and his gang of moderators, and covers many ham radio and non-ham radio topics.

The site went through various cosmetic changes, until the sloppy web design was done away with in favour of a CSS-based Content Management System in March 2005.

Hamsexy’s relationship with other ham radio sites have been varied. Some have embraced our humour, and others have reviled it. One of our biggest detractors is QRZ.COM, who for various reasons have sought to eliminate all mention of Hamsexy from it’s message forums. They have even banned members from their forums and prevented them form editing their callbook profiles due to their association with Hamsexy (Our webmaster VE3HBD is a victim of that). because of this, Hamsexy has been unjustly protrayed as an “Anti-QRZ” site, much like W6DEK’s famous http://www.fuckqrz/com ….. we are not an anti-QRZ site, we are merely a site that QRZ has deemed unworthy. QRZ is well on it’s own path of self destruction, and we certainly aren’t the genesis of it. We love poking fun at QRZ, but we aren’t consumed by it.

Hamsexy’s appeal seems to have gone far past Ham Radio. We have a HUGE following in the brotherhood of Public Safety workers. Many police officers, firefighters and Emergency Medical workers are fans of the siet, and let us know. A large part of the “hamsexy” universe is made up of ‘whackers’, hams and non-hams alike who live in this fantasy world where they are police officers. They fill this need by joining groups like ARES and REACT, and end up generally making pests out of themselves. This is NOT the case 100% of the time, as there are ARES and REACT groups that do work closely with their local emergency forces and serve their communities well and Hamsexy acknowledges that. But in any case, we are grateful for all the support we get from those who serve their communities, and we support our nations Police, Fire and EMS workers 100%.

Thanks to everyone who have visited us, and have made the term “Hamsexy” part of our hobby’s lexicon. We rely 100% on our fans (and our enemies too) to make hamsexy what it is today. Thanks!!