[Scan-DC] Ham radio 'Alive, growing'

[Alan Henney]

Patriot News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

April 20, 2010 Tuesday 
FINAL EDITION

Ham radio 'Alive, growing' 

BYLINE: Of the Patriot-News T.W. BURGER

SECTION: LOCAL/STATE; Pg. A03

LENGTH: 723 words

In the age of e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and cell phones, ham radio may seem like a relic of the past, much like buggy whips and rotary phones.

While the ham radio isn't exactly the new iPad, it is gaining popularity.

There are just under 700,000 ham radio operators in the U.S., nearly double the number there were in 1978, according to the Federal Communications Commission. It's easier to gain a license, which fans say has spurred interest. The FCC recently dropped the longtime requirement for operators to learn Morse code. 

While many ham radio operators are retirees, there are younger enthusiasts. Mike Brulo, 15, has been a ham operator for two years.

Brulo said he grew up to the sound of a police scanner, and now he works with a group called Skywarn, a group of volunteer severe weather watchers across the country.

During February's blizzards, "we were relaying reports to the National Weather Service at State College," he said. "During summer, we do that for thunderstorms, too, like the recent severe storm watch."

"People think it's all about old people using huge radios," Brulo said. "The truth is, you can talk to people around the world with a hand-held radio, or link that radio to your computer and turn your radio into your own Internet."

Ham radios were credited with helping those in the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and some say that sparked a renewed interest.

Allen Pitts, a spokesman for the American Radio Relay League, said the biggest increase in licenses for amateur radio has taken place in the past six years.

Pitts said the biggest growth is coming from baby boomers and young adults.

"We're seeing a lot of young people, in their late teens and 20s, coming into the hobby, and they're bringing a lot of energy with them," he said. "Most of them are coming in because of their interest and involvement in emergency preparedness."

And then there are all those approaching retirement and seeking something useful and challenging to do.

"That's something to do without spending a fortune," Pitts said. "They get into it because it's really fun to do."

Last year, the FCC granted 30,000 new licenses, Pitts said.

"I remember a few years ago AOL put out a list of things that were going to be gone in the near future," Pitts said. "No. 17 on the list was amateur radio. And now here we are. Amateur radio is alive and growing, and AOL is fading away."

Mike McNutt, 35, is working on a degree in electrical engineering and works part time doing design work for an engineering firm. He said his interest in ham radio, which only goes back two years, put him on that career path.

"I was doing field work for the Dish Network," he said. "A couple of my customers had all the ham equipment. I'd go in their homes and they would show it off. They encouraged me. In a few months, I had my general license. I enjoy it, and I'm good at it. That interest got me to quit the field job and start working on my engineering degree."

McNutt has a couple of ideas why ham radio remains a draw to some.

"People are still interested in how things work, in making them work. I meet a lot of people in ham who are just interested in building things."

Ham radio connects strangers around the world, he said.

"You just key the mic and start broadcasting ... and pretty soon you're chit-chatting with a total stranger," McNutt said. "I meet all kinds of people all the time."

For some, it can be an inexpensive hobby, costing around $200 for equipment. But McNutt noted, some will spend several thousand dollars.

"It's more than just the old time stuff that you think back to the 1930s and people having these huge pieces of equipment," Sam Michaels, president of the South Mountain Radio Amateurs club in Carlisle. "The stuff is really small now, and easier to use."

Ham operators know that they can provide a real service, even save lives, Michaels said.

"When cell and Internet and land-line phones stop working you can be completely cut off," he said. "But turn on the ham radio and you can talk to people. I think interest in the hobby was helped by the role ham radio played in recent disasters, in (Hurricane) Katrina, all the big storms, ham radio operators put stuff together and make it work."

INFOBOX: LICENSED OPERATORS IN THE U.S.

2010: 688,666 1978: 347,326

Source: Federal Communications Commission and The Patriot-News archives