[Scan-DC] Living the ham life: Local radio operators offer 'safety net' in a digital world

[Alan Henney]

North Port Sun (Florida)

March 29, 2019 Friday

Living the ham life: Local radio operators offer 'safety net' in a digital
world

BYLINE: Daniel Sutphin

SECTION: NEWS

LENGTH: 1422 words

Even as a kid, Glenn Tuttle knew he was a radio man.

"I was always interested in law enforcement. I used to listen to the local
police department (radio scanner)," Tuttle said. "I think that was the
beginning of my love affair with radios."

Tuttle, 68, is now a retired FBI agent living in Punta Gorda Isles, and
amateur radio is much more than just a hobby for him and other broadcasters
like him who make up the ham community in Southwest Florida.

There are three amateur radio clubs in Charlotte County: the Peace River
Radio Association, the Englewood Amateur Radio Society and the Charlotte
Amateur Radio Club.

"This is the only hobby you can (pick up) when you're 8 years old and do it
until your 98 … or older," said Ronnie Farley, call sign KG4QIV and
president of PRRA.

There are over 30 amateur radio clubs in Southwest Florida and surrounding
areas with almost 800 registered hams in the Federal Communications
Commission database for Charlotte County, not including seasonal residents.

Hams are licensed and monitored by the FCC.

There are different classes of licenses for ham operators ranging from
basic to expert. More advanced licenses allow for additional operating
privileges such as more frequency bands and power. Each license requires a
written exam dealing with electronics, operating standards and federal
regulations.

"When Charlotte County activates the Emergency Operations Center for a
hurricane, amateur radio operators are called upon to man radios that
connect our operations center with shelters, hospitals, and other EOCs,"
said Gerard Mallet, the county's emergency management director.

While the county uses many forms of communications — landline, cell,
satellite phones and government radio systems — Mallet said amateur radio
can fill the gap if those fail.

Ham is a safety net of communications"(Ham radio) is often our safety net
of communications when all other services fail due to weather or other
disasters," Tuttle said, who operates under the call name KPK.

Amateur radio, or ham radio, operators use a radio frequency spectrum for
the non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation,
self-training, private recreation, radio-sport, contesting and emergency
communication.

"If communications were to shut down for any reason such as during a
hurricane, then high frequency or other radio services would be what people
relied on to communicate with the police, the fire department, the Red
Cross, FEMA, etc.," Tuttle said. "I'm involved with a total different area
— the marine safety angle and also the Department of Homeland Security
SHARES program."

The SHAred RESources (SHARES) HF Radio program provides an additional way
for users with a national security or emergency preparedness mission to
communicate when landline and cellular communications are unavailable.
Tuttle also represents the Seven Seas Cruising Association, which is "the
largest and oldest association" of full-time sailors in the United States.

With his tower, Tuttle can operate on maritime high-frequency radio bands.
These allow him to keep in touch with boats and ships around the world,
especially in the Caribbean.

"We're like a radio lighthouse," Tuttle said. "Every day I speak to boats
all throughout the Caribbean to take reports of security incidents and to
keep the yachts apprised in the areas where trouble has been. The SSCA is
in a partnership with the Caribbean Safety and Security Net, who monitors
the safety and security of yachts in the Caribbean."

Glenn and his wife Eddie, 69, who is also a retired FBI agent, broadcast at
the same time every morning on the same frequency and said he has had
extensive media coverage regarding his broadcasts. They operate through a
68-foot antenna.

Ham in case of emergency"Let's say another Hurricane Charley comes in, then
the amateur radio operators here can provide communications outside of the
disaster area," said Tom Chance, 59, who is working with the Charlotte
County Emergency Operations Center and other local amateur radio operators
in the area to develop a program for emergency response.

Chance started working with amateur radio when he was 12. His call sign is
K9XV.

"Counties want to be sure amateur operators are trained and can protect us.
As time has moved on since 9-11, the training requirements have become more
rigorous."

Some of that training involves working with FEMA and how they with the
county operate during emergency situations.

"The other program is called CERT and that is how you handle a disaster
situation," Chance said. "The more trained and more integrated within the
emergency system you are, the better. Part of this is also security where
they want people trained and certified as opposed to some radio amateur
coming off the street."

A lifetime hobbyDave Boland, 80, lives in Burnt Store Isles and broadcasts
as W9NWY. He also broadcasts as AFA4ZT as part of the U.S. Air Force
Military Auxiliary Radio System program.

"I got my original ham license (KN0HZD) in April 1961 in Kirkwood, MO, when
I was a freshman in college," Boland said. "Originally, (as MARS operators)
we were involved more in health and welfare type messages, as well as
assisting in disaster communications. Now, MARS is involved assisting Home
Land Security and assisting DOD as requested."

MARS is a U.S. Department of Defense program established to support
military communications. It is managed and operated by the U.S. Army and
the Air Force.

Boland has been licensed with the MARS program since 1965. He conducts
daily "on-air training nets" twice a day. All traffic messages passed over
the airways are encrypted so they can't be read by the general public.

To become a MARS member, you must first be a licensed amateur radio
operator who has a radio that allows them to operate on specific
frequencies. The applicant also needs to be able to operate on digital
modes.

Boland's antenna is 50 feet tall. Under the U.S. Air Force MARS Region 4,
Boland broadcasts in Alabama, Florida, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands,
Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North and South Carolinas and Tennessee.

Ham can lead to lasting friendshipsGary Skillicorn, 72, of Punta Gorda
Isles, got the radio itch when he was 14.

"I had a friend whose father was a ham. Especially before the days of
Internet and cell phones, to communicate around the world via radio was a
marvelous experience. To learn (Morse) code and the necessary theory to get
a license was a significant accomplishment."

Skillicorn broadcasts several times a week through a 32-foot vertical pole
attached to his dock with a wire between two palm trees.

"Although (it's a) modest setup, connecting with other hams around the
world is common place on voice and Morse code," Skillicorn said. "In the
earlier days, my claim to fame was to connect my radio gear to the
telephone system to allow U.S. Navy sailors talk with their family while at
sea for months at a time."

That's called a "Phone Patch," according to Skillicorn.

"Satellites now provide that service," Skillicorn said.

As a hobby, operators often have conversations with other hams at a local
level and places around the world as radio conditions allow.

"This might be a simple greeting or lengthy conversations over technical or
any subject. It's a form of international goodwill and can lead to lasting
friendships," Skillicorn said. "These 'conversations' might also be
accomplished with Morse code or through a radio-to-computer interface."

A special kind of clubJoining clubs like PRRA helps hams continue their
education on amateur radio, according to Farley.

"Continuing education is of prime importance and networking is also
important for us," Farley said. "The club forms a resource pool from which
to draw upon during emergencies or to meet community needs.

"The clubs allow us to learn how to work together and bring equipment from
various sources (mainly our homes and private gear), assemble the equipment
and get it to work together as a (large) functioning unit. The people also
get to practice working as a team and test the endurance of both themselves
and the equipment."

Farley said most emergency deployments, such as during hurricanes, will
last several days to weeks. Operators must be mobile to cover the needs as
they would change in an evolving emergency.

"Maybe your command center gets flooded and you need to pick up and move to
another location," Farley said. "I feel that the clubs provide the glue
that pulls together the amateur community and allows resources to be
directed as needed."