Ham radio still going strong

Ham radio still going strong -- and still useful -- in the age of the smartphone

A radio crackles.

“Victor echo three, radio charlie.”

Crackle, buzz.

“Victor echo, three, radio charlie. This is Victor echo three, radio charlie.”

More crackle, more buzz. Then, is that the faintest sound of a man’s voice?

“One bravo Illinois, is that a QSL?”

Crackle, buzz.

And then that voice again, this time clearer.

“One bravo Illinois, over.”

Greg Danylchenko smiles, pleased by this connection with another amateur radio enthusiast.

“Good luck to you,” he tells the disembodied voice of Illinois.

Crackle, buzz.

Scenes like this played out all weekend long as radio amateurs — or hams, as they are often known — participated in the annual Field Day activities, which saw them use off-the-grid power sources to communicate for 24 hours with other stations across North America in a simulation of what radio amateurs might do in the event of an emergency when normal lines of communication are either knocked out or overloaded.

The Ottawa Amateur Radio Club, one of several such groups in the area that participated in the event, set up behind the Oblate Fathers Les Deschâtelets building on Main Street, near the lush banks of the Rideau River.

It was a curious site, with a mishmash of tents and pop-up shelters, half a dozen homemade antennas and the constant hum of a generator, which powered all of the radio equipment and computers during the day (they used car batteries overnight so as not to keep the neighbours up).

From here, the goal was simple — reach as many stations and operators as possible. And so it was the Ottawa hams reached other hams in Puerto Rico, California, Arizona and Nevada, as well as closer to home in Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and northern New York state.

The group made about 950 contacts last year and hoped to do the same this time around.

Although this is a hobby for most, radio amateurs can play an important role during times of crisis.

In 1998, when the ice storm paralysed much of the city — and its ability to communicate — they provided an important link between individuals and took some of the strain off the official communications channels. A ham would contact a ham in another part of the city, pass on a message and that ham would deliver it in person to the recipient.

The same would likely happen again if there were an earthquake, tornado or some other situation that struck down communications systems.

“Towers and power all blow down, but we’ve got our antennas and generators and we can often have them up following a disaster in a couple of hours,” Danylchenko said.

But in the age of Twitter — when a person in Ottawa can get instant updates from Tahrir Square or the soccer pitch in Ukraine — are hams still relevant?

Danylchenko and Glenn MacDonell, the club’s president, smile wanly. It’s a question they’ve heard before.

Smartphones, social media websites and the like all depend on infrastructure most people take for granted, Danylchenko said. “If they’re overloaded or have been destroyed, you don’t have any of that stuff.”

McDowell mentions a recent incident in the Belleville area to underscore the point. Telephone service in parts of Hastings County was disrupted after a fibre optic cable was cut, so the emergency planning co-ordinator called up some hams to drive to several communities that were cut off and establish radio contact, so there would be coverage in case of an emergency.

Radio amateurs must pass an Industry Canada test to be licensed and obtain a unique call sign. There are more than 70,000 active licences in Canada.

Operators also provide communications assistance at a range of events, including the CN Cycle for CHEO and the Canadian Ski Marathon, much of which occurs in places where cellphone coverage is spotty.

Danylchenko and MacDonell acquired their enthusiasm for ham radio honestly. Both had shortwave radios when they were young and could tune in to stations and public broadcasters from around the world.

“From there, you want to get on the other end of the microphone,” said Danylchenko, known on-air as VE3YTZ.

Article posted from http://www.ottawacitizen.com