[InHam] Fw: [ARLI] Orlando Sentinel: Ham Radio, A Fading Hobby... Until Emergencies Hit

Thu Feb 18 22:06:33 EST 2010

Long live Amateur Radio!!!!

73/75 de ka9jwx, Paul Lewis Webster

SKCC #5322

John 3:16

Proud member of the;

ARRL

NRA

Handihams

LiveFreeUSA

60 Plus (even tho I am younger then 60)

Long:-87.334L (-87*20'3"W)

Lat:41.4967N (41*29'48"N)

EN61HL

Merrillville, Indiana, 46410-3503, USA 

;-)

--- On Thu, 2/18/10, Paul <pgray12 at cfl.rr.com> wrote:

From: Paul <pgray12 at cfl.rr.com>
Subject: [ARLI] Orlando Sentinel: Ham Radio, A Fading Hobby... Until Emergencies Hit
To: "Amateur Radio Legal Issues Forum" <arli at yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010, 11:44 AM

orlandosentinel.com/news/weather/os-amateur-radio-20100203,0,3256144.story
OrlandoSentinel.com
Ham radio: A fading hobby ... until emergencies hit
Anika Myers Palm
Orlando Sentinel
10:43 PM EST, February 3, 2010

At the National Weather Service, meteorologists are surrounded by some of the 
most up-to-date technology, which they use to track weather systems and 
dangerous storms.

But when the computers go down, forecasters may have to 
depend on hundreds of Central Florida hobbyists who use a method widely 
perceived to be decidedly less technologically advanced: amateur 
radio.

"Each individual county has one or more individual ham groups that 
can provide backup communications ," 
said Scott Spratt, warning-coordination meteorologist at the National Weather 
Service in Melbourne. "We have about 20 groups we interact 
with."

Amateur, or ham, radio is a method of using wireless-radio 
communications devices to talk with other radio operators using frequencies set 
aside by the Federal Communications Commission.

The technology became 
popular in the early part of the past century as radio technology was 
developing. As early as 1914, hams were communicating nationwide, according to 
the American Radio Relay League, a national ham-radio group. Hams are required 
to take tests and are licensed by the FCC.

In the Orlando area, hundreds 
of hobbyists speak to other hams near and far for fun, while others, such as 
law-enforcement and emergency-services personnel, use the technology as part of 
their jobs . 
About 17 groups of ham-radio enthusiasts are in the region, including chapters 
in The Villages and Daytona Beach.

Contrary to popular belief, they're 
not socially awkward shut-ins without access to cell phones 
and more current technology. Hams are police officers, engineers, city 
officials, teachers and even young students who just enjoy radio.

They're 
also able to help during natural disasters in other parts of the 
world.

In the wake of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, hams 
in Florida, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and other 
nearby locations rallied to listen for emergency communications from the 
devastated island nation.

A group of hams coordinated the collection and 
transport of supplies for a school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, entirely by amateur 
radio on Jan. 30, according to Dan Fisher of the Platinum Coast Amateur Radio 
Society.

Hams also gather each year at an event called Hamcation. 
Self-billed as the premier amateur-radio event in the Southeast, it comes to the 
Central Florida Fairgrounds for three days beginning Feb. 12.

The 
equipment doesn't take up much room, and the hobby can be relatively 
inexpensive.

A beginning ham can buy all the necessary equipment — 
including a power source and receiver-transmitter — for about $150, said Jim 
Stout, a salesman at Amateur Electronic Supply in Orlando, which sells ham-radio 
equipment.

But some hams estimate they have spent thousands of dollars on 
equipment through the years — especially because many are longtime 
hobbyists.

"A lot of old-timers tended to get involved when they were 
youngsters," Fisher said.

Many took high-school classes that required 
them to learn about ham radio, while others learned about it in extracurricular 
groups.

Also, some veterans brought the practice — and Morse code, which 
no longer is required for ham radio — home with them after returning from the 
Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II.

Enthusiasts say that the 
fun of the hobby is in reaching out to people all over the world and talking 
with them, using technology that some liken to an oral Internet chat. During the 
day, users can speak with people within the United States. At night, their reach 
is virtually unlimited. Users in Central Florida routinely talk with people on 
other continents and beyond.

"We've talked to ships at sea; we've talked 
to pilots flying across the U.S.," Fisher said.

Even astronauts, all of 
whom are required to learn ham radio, get involved.

"When those guys are 
in space and have the time and get bored to tears, they get on the frequency and 
start chatting to us down here," said Stephanie Phillips, a ham in 
Titusville.

Astronauts on the International Space Station even speak with 
ham-radio groups in schools in a bid to increase interest in science and 
math.

Despite the excitement of speaking to people in faraway places, 
attracting new hams isn't easy. People who don't know about ham radio often 
think it's old-fashioned technology and don't see much use for it.

"We 
wish we could encourage more people to get involved," said Gil Chapin of the 
Orange County Communications Auxiliary, a volunteer group that assists county 
agencies with communications during disasters. "We're always looking for new 
recruits, and it's not your grandfather's amateur radio 
anymore."

Although the death of ham radio has been forecast many times, 
Chapin thinks the advent of the cell phone — which allows people to speak across 
long distances at low cost — has done more to tamp down enthusiasm about ham 
radio than anything else.

But during a natural disaster, cell phones and 
other communications may not work when ham radio still will. Witness the 
aftermath of the Haitian earthquake.

That's why hams think their hobby 
will never die.

A ham-radio operator was responsible for restoring 
communications between a National Weather Service in Louisiana and the National 
Hurricane Center in Miami during Hurricane Katrina.

Hams also have helped 
ships stranded at sea, and traditionally head for Red Cross shelters during 
hurricanes to serve as backup communicators in case other methods 
fail.

"If a hurricane came and caused significant damage and toppled our 
antennas and towers, we have a simple wire antenna we have available," said 
Spratt of the National Weather Service. "We'll string that wire antenna up 
between the two tallest points we can find and operate the radio, and we would 
have ham-radio communication."

Hams also can send information to 
meteorologists and emergency responders to let them know about conditions on the 
ground and at shelters during dangerous weather.

For the past 11 years, 
the National Weather Service has acknowledged its ham operators with Skywarn 
Recognition Day. Skywarn is a program involving nearly 300,000 volunteers with 
communications devices such as ham radios that serve as severe-weather spotters 
and can send information back to weather-service offices.

They're 
especially useful to the local weather-service office during hurricane season, 
Spratt said, but even though hurricane season is over, the service still sees 
some use for hams before the next season begins in June.

"Based on what 
we're expecting for the El Nino tornado season," Spratt said, "we can't 
emphasize enough how important backup communication is in times of 
disaster."

Anika Myers Palm can be reached at 407-420-5022 or apalm at orlandosentinel.com

HAM-SPEAK

Here 
are some terms you might hear used on amateur radio:

Alligator: A 
transmitter that can send farther than it can receive.

Candy 
store: A store that sells ham-radio equipment.

Elmer: An 
experienced ham who lends his or her help to newbies.

Ragchewing: 
Talking on the air.

Splatter: Interference from nearby 
frequencies.

Ticket: Amateur-radio license.

Twisted 
pair: Telephone.

Wilco: Will comply.

YL: Young 
lady, generally used to refer to any female ham.

SOURCE: Sentinel 
research
Copyright © 2010, Orlando Sentinel

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