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

Ham radio field day turns into real life training

The Mississippi Coast Amateur Radio Association scheduled a field day for this weekend in Gulfport.  And the Jackson County Amateur Radio association had its exercise in Gautier.  The idea was for ham radio operators to set up radio stations in unusual locations, and make contact with others to practice their emergency communication capabilities.

During the middle of the training, the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for the coastal waters of Mississippi, and for large chunk of Louisiana.  Suddenly, the ham radio field day has a lot more significance.

"The hams provide emergency communications for many government and civic organizations in disasters," public information officer Harry Samuelson said.  Just in the last few months, ham radio operators have played critical roles reaching out to people trapped by wildfires, floods, storms, tornados and other crises. 

Both amateur radio associations will wrap up their field day training exercises Sunday morning.

Article posted from www.WLOX.com

Field Day 2012 - Utah Amateur Radio Club

Field Day 2012 with UARC

June 21 - June 24

Mount Nebo Scenic Loop, Payson

A major event for the Utah Amateur Radio Club, and for Amateur Radio in general, is the annual Field Day contest, held each year on the fourth full weekend in June. This nationwide event is amateur radio's biggest operating event. It has been running since the 1930s. The object is for amateurs to see how many stations they can work in a 24-hour period from portable or mobile stations. It serves as good practice in some of the same kinds of efforts that are common in emergency situations.

When:      There will be activity on the site from at least Thursday, June 21, through Sunday, June 24. Equipment setup begins at noon on Friday the 22nd. Actual operation starts at noon on Saturday, the 23rd, and runs through noon on Sunday, the 24th. Tear-down takes another 2-3 hours after that.

Where:     The Field Day site is on the Mount Nebo Scenic Loop, which starts in Payson.

For more information, visit the Utah Amateur Radio Club website at:   http://user.xmission.com/~uarc/

Salt Lake County ARES® Volunteers

Message from Salt Lake County ARES®
Link to the website:  http://www.slcoares.net/

Country Fest Parade - The City of South Jordan

At our in-person meeting it was announced that South Jordan City needs some operators as indicated below. I have done this event in the past and they have bee easy to work with not to mention it was a lot of fun! Pat

The City of South Jordan is requesting 4 Amateur Radio operators on June 16 from approximately 0830 to 1100 hrs.

They would be providing communications for the Country Fest parade like the OLRC has done in years past.

Please let me know as soon as you can if ARES can help support this event.

Brett Neilson (KC7IIB)
801-414-9734 C
brett@brettneilson.com

Salt Lake County ARES® D-RATS Training

Message from Salt Lake County ARES®
Link to the website:  http://www.slcoares.net/




D-RATS Training

When:         Sat Jun 2 8:30am – 11am Mountain Time
Where:       10001 Hook Dr, South Jordan, UT 84095 (map) 

Bring your laptop and we will connect to the Ratflector that is now set up for SLCoARES at the UofU. Our focus for this next year will be digital communications. This will enable us to better serve our served agencies. That is the direction disaster communications is going due to its efficiency and less susceptibility to human error. So come and join the fun!

Operating on a Vacation

On the Foothill Net, a question came up about operating your station while on vacation - specifically a cruse.

Below is a link to a posting from Wikipedia that seemed to cover it.  Footnotes of references from the ARRL are contained in the posting.

Check it out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_international_operation#International_Waters.2C_Airspace_and_Extraterrestrial_Operation

BSA to Offer Morse Code Interpreter Strip

For many years, Boy Scouts and Scouters have been able to earn an interpreter strip to wear on their uniforms. This strip -- worn on the uniform above the right pocket -- denotes proficiency in a foreign language or sign language. Each language has its own strip (with the name of the language embroidered in that language), and some Scouts and Scouters wear more than one strip. Now those hams involved with the Boy Scouts can show their proficiency in Morse code with a Morse code interpreter strip (with M-O-R-S-E spelled out in Morse code).

 

According to BSA Director of Communication Services Jim Wilson, K5ND, the idea for a Morse code interpreter strip came about during meetings preparing for the 2012 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA). “One of the ideas presented was a variation on an interpreter strip for Morse code,” Wilson told the ARRL. “We played around with it a bit and then approached the BSA Awards Committee with the idea. They liked it, so we decided to explore the idea a bit more. We looked at the existing requirements for interpreter strips to see how they could be adapted for code. The BSA approved the strip in April, but we decided to wait until the strips were available before we announced it.” Wilson also serves as the BSA’s National JOTA Organizer and is President and Trustee of K2BSA, the BSA Headquarters Amateur Radio station in Texas.

The requirements to earn the Morse code interpreter strip are in line with the requirements of interpreter strips for other languages:

• Carry on a five-minute conversation in Morse code at a speed of at least five words per minute, and
• Copy correctly a two-minute message sent in Morse code at a minimum of five words per minute. Copying means writing the message down as it is received, and
• Send a 25 word written document in Morse code at a minimum of five words per minute.

“Together, Amateur Radio and Boy Scouting is a wonderful thing,” Wilson told the ARRL. “The new Morse code interpreter strip is a nice recognition of the special skill of Morse code and its use in emergency communications. From my perspective, the strip gives us more buzz on things happening in Amateur Radio. In the past couple of decades, we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of Radio merit badges that have been awarded. In 1991-2000, we awarded 20,000 Radio merit badges. But in 2001-2010, we awarded 54,000! The interest in this badge has grown by leaps and bounds, indicating not only a keen interest in the art and science of radio, but in technology, too.”

Beginning with the 2013 National Jamboree, Wilson said that they will be teaching the Radio merit badge in four hours: “We will be teaching the badge every hour, on the hour. Scouts will spend 90 minutes in a classroom environment, 30 minutes on the air and then back to the classroom for another 90 minutes. In four hours, they will have their badge.” K2BSA has operated at every National Jamboree since 1977 and will be at the 2013 National Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.

“The sole purpose of any interpreter strip is to serve as an immediate, visual cue to others that the wearer is able to perform as an interpreter when needed, not to award the ability to converse in another language,” Wilson explained. “This is also why it is placed on the uniform is near the nameplate. When you wear the strip, whether it say Español, Français, Italiano, Signing or Morse, a Scout or Scouter is showing to the world that he or she has that proficiency to be tapped as an interpreter when needed.”

Article from ARRL.org