Cover Story
Hams Over IP Premium
Putting more control in the hands of amateur radio operators.
By WH6AV — Gescio “Jesse” Alpuro
Amateur radio has always been about more than making contacts. It is about experimentation, learning, building, sharing knowledge and creating communications systems that bring people together.
That philosophy is at the heart of Hams Over IP, and it is why we are introducing Hams Over IP Premium — a self-service communications platform designed for licensed amateur radio operators.
Self-signup built for licensed operators
The Premium signup workflow is designed to validate amateur-radio licensing information and streamline provisioning whenever verification succeeds. Applications that cannot be automatically verified can be routed for administrative review. The objective is faster access without giving up the integrity expected of an amateur-radio network.
Up to three personal extensions
Premium users can create and manage up to three personal extensions. That gives an operator room for a shack phone, softphone, mobile device, remote location or another compatible SIP endpoint without having to request every routine change from an administrator.
Build RF links and IAX2 trunks
Premium also brings RF-Link creation and IAX2 trunk creation into the self-service portal. For operators experimenting with Asterisk, gateways, repeaters, simplex nodes, remote stations or club systems, these resources provide practical building blocks for connecting RF and IP communications.
Support without losing the conversation
A built-in ticketing system gives technical requests a dedicated, trackable home. Community platforms remain ideal for discussion, but a support issue that needs follow-through should not disappear into a busy chat channel.
Ready to explore Premium?Use the Hams Over IP Premium portal to sign up and begin managing your communications resources.
Visit Hams Over IP Premium →
Hams Over IP Premium is not simply another phone service. It is another place for amateur operators to experiment.
Network Update
Around the Hams Over IP Network
Services and resources connecting amateur-radio operators across Hams Over IP.
By Hams Over IP Editorial
Hams Over IP continues to expand the tools available to amateur-radio operators who want to experiment with voice, RF and IP communications. This inaugural issue highlights three services that are now central to that experience.
Premium Self-ServiceLicensed operators can manage extensions, RF-Link resources, IAX2 trunks and support requests from one portal.Explore Premium →
Live PhonebookThe Hams Over IP phonebook provides a central place to discover operators and network resources across the service.
Integrated SupportPremium’s built-in ticketing system gives account and technical requests a dedicated, trackable home.Support / Helpdesk →
Future Network Update sections will focus on meaningful service changes, new capabilities, maintenance information, technical projects and contributions from operators using Hams Over IP around the world.
Our editorial standard: advertising will be labeled, affiliate relationships will be disclosed, and paid placement will never purchase a favorable technical opinion.
Technical Corner
What Is an IAX2 Trunk — and Why Would a Ham Use One?
A practical introduction to system-to-system connectivity for the amateur-radio experimenter.
By Hams Over IP Editorial
IAX2 is the Inter-Asterisk eXchange protocol commonly used to connect Asterisk systems. For an amateur operator, an IAX2 trunk can provide a straightforward way to interconnect a personal PBX, gateway or other compatible system with a larger communications network.
Why it is useful in the shack
A trunk is different from simply registering another telephone. Think of it as a connection between systems. That makes it useful when you want your own PBX or gateway to route calls toward Hams Over IP while retaining local control over extensions and dialplan behavior.
Where Premium fits
Hams Over IP Premium allows eligible users to create their IAX2 trunk resource through the portal. That removes a routine administrative step while leaving the interesting part — designing and testing your own system — in the operator's hands.
In future Technical Corner articles we will go deeper into Asterisk configuration, dial strings, RF gateway integration, troubleshooting and security practices.
Gear Desk
On Our Radar
Selected equipment and sellers worth watching — with editorial and commercial relationships kept clearly separate.
By Hams Over IP Editorial
Gear Desk highlights equipment and sellers that may be useful to amateur-radio operators. Issue No. 1 begins with several current areas of interest. These are editorial mentions, not paid endorsements, and Hams Over IP is not representing the sellers below as sponsors.
Radioddity GD-88 DMR
A dual-band analog/DMR handheld currently listed by Radioddity with GPS/APRS and cross-band features. Feature-rich handhelds like this are a natural fit for future practical reviews.
View at Radioddity →Xiegu G90 HF SDR
A compact HF SDR transceiver with an internal automatic antenna tuner. Portable and compact HF equipment will be part of future field-operations and station-building coverage.
View current listing →More Sellers Coming
Gear Desk will deliberately cover multiple amateur-radio dealers rather than become a catalog for a single retailer. Commercial relationships will always be identified when applicable.
Explore Buy Two Way Radios →
Gear Desk disclosure: These are ordinary editorial links in the inaugural issue. If Hams Over IP later receives compensation or commission from a link, that relationship will be disclosed beside the relevant content.
Sustaining the Network
Reliable Infrastructure Has Real Costs
Transparency rather than pressure is how we intend to talk about the resources behind Hams Over IP.
By Hams Over IP Editorial
Help Keep the Network Running
Hams Over IP is developed and maintained largely through volunteer effort. The infrastructure behind it — servers, datacenter resources, networking, storage, backups, domains, monitoring and security — carries real operating expenses.
Those who choose to support Hams Over IP help offset those expenses and allow us to continue maintaining and developing services for the amateur-radio community. Participation matters too: use the network, experiment, help another operator, report problems and share what you learn.
Support Hams Over IP
As the newsletter grows, clearly identified advertising and affiliate revenue may also help offset operating costs. Readers should always be able to tell where editorial coverage ends and commercial placement begins.
Next Issue
Coming Next Week
More practical amateur-radio and IP communications coverage is already on the editorial calendar.
By Hams Over IP Editorial
For Issue No. 2, we are planning another practical feature from the Hams Over IP ecosystem, a fresh Technical Corner, new network notes, three community questions and an expanded Gear Desk.
Have a technical question, station project, RF-Link story or topic you would like to see covered? Send it through the Hams Over IP community or Support/Helpdesk.
