Thursday, May 27, 2004 11:01 AM CDT
Ham radio operators use fun hobby to help in times of need
By JOYCE ZSCHAU
The ability to speak with people locally and across the world makes amateur radio a fun hobby, but it can also play a very critical role in emergency situations.
More than 600,000 amateur radio operators, called "hams," are licensed by the U.S. government.
With licensing comes more privileges, such as communicating using voice, computers and Morse code. Hams can talk with others around the world using repeaters and satellites to bounce their signals.
Besides the privileges, however, there are also responsibilities, including rules for the operation of an amateur radio station.
Hams can establish and maintain communications where other traditional methods fail, and therefore, they are called on to assist local authorities during disasters and to help in search and rescue situations.
Tom Gover, an amateur radio operator from Mattoon, used this skill in his work with the American Red Cross in 1993, when the Mississippi overflowed its banks.
Conventional communication methods had been cut off because of the flooding, so Gover helped deliver food to shelters in Alton and Grafton and used his hand-held radio to maintain communication between a Grafton school used as a shelter and a headquarters.
The Amateur Radio Emergency Service, which any licensed amateur radio operator may join, offers communication service during disasters.
On April 7, ARES worked with Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center and other area hospitals in a drill to set up emergency communications between those hospitals to be used if all other communications were to fail or get overloaded.
As many as 80 amateur radio operators from different communities were involved, using about $85,000 worth of radio equipment, passing information from hospital to hospital, Gover said.
The first-time drill gave participants a chance to prepare for disasters that may occur.
Such a situation occurred in Decatur last year, when someone burying a deer in their backyard cut the phone lines down to Sullivan, as well as cell phone communications.
Ham radio operators were able to help Decatur hospitals talk with families in rural areas about medical problems.
While these services are fun, they're also a lot of work, Gover said.
Many ARES members also work with the Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, where they can combine ham radio with storm watching, relaying information about dangerous storms in our area.
Some hams serve as "weather eyes," putting them on the front line of storms, sometimes allowing them to see things radar can't or to confirm what radar has seen and communicate this information to the proper people.
The danger became very apparent one day, Gover said, when some tornadoes were reported north of Mattoon and the radio traffic was calling in that a tornado had just passed behind their vehicle in the dark.
ARES's work goes back several years. According to the group, in 1913, a severe windstorm knocked down power and telegraph lines in the Midwest, which brought about a blackout that lasted a few weeks.
In those days, amateur operators used batteries to power their equipment, so amateur stations handled routine and emergency traffic until power and normal communications were restored in what was the first documented case of emergency communications by amateurs in the United States.
We were the first country to use radio amateurs as a backup means of communications to serve the nation in case of disasters such as hurricanes, severe weather, tornadoes or other emergency situations.
During World War II, the United States had more than 60,000 licensed amateur radio operators, many of whom were able to use their skills as either civilian or military communications instructors, as well as in other similar capacities.
Veterans may be familiar with the Military Affiliate Radio System. MARS is an organization of Federal Communications Commission-licensed amateur radio operators who work with military stations for the furthering of professional communications and electronics.
While many view MARS as a telegram service for military personnel over in Germany, MARS uses these "MARS grams" primarily for practice to refine their skills as radio operators and of course to keep military members' families in contact with them. These skills play a critical role in homeland security, emergency communications support and community service.
The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service is another public service provided by a volunteer communications group within government agencies in times of extraordinary need.
During periods of RACES activation, certified unpaid personnel are called upon to perform many tasks for the government agencies they serve.
Besides disasters, hams assist with community events such as parades, walks, runs, bike-a-thons and Special Olympics.
Joyce Zschau is a free-lance writer from Mattoon.
It's a small world for ham radio operators
Tom Gover first became interested in radios about 50 years ago, starting with CB radios in the 1960s and then moving to shortwave. He even built some radios himself.
Gover said that he liked the idea of being able to talk with people all over the world or just next door.
His interest in amateur radio began in 1993, and he took the series of exams to qualify for the extra classification. At that time, he was also required to send and receive Morse code at a rate of 20 words per minute.
Gover is able to talk with all types of people, with all types of life experiences. Sometimes, he said, when traveling from city to city, he may be the only person in the car, but he's not alone.
With the different frequencies on the radio, he can always find someone to talk with, which shortens the trip.
One of the new technologies in communications is called echolink, in which people can get on a computer and hook up with a ham radio repeater somewhere else in the world.
Gover remembers one night when a friend in London, England, was talking through his computer to the ham radio repeater in Lovington, which Gover was able to pick up in his car. For more than an hour, they talked about their countries. It made the world seem much smaller, he said.
Another ham radio operator, the Rev. Del Nack of St. John's Lutheran Church in Mattoon, has been interested in ham radio since 1956, but didn't get involved until 1982.
He enjoys "rag chewing" locally (chatting, in ham slang). He doesn't have time to "rag chew" at a "ham shack" at home, so he uses the time he has traveling in his work to talk with other hams.
He emphasized that it's not just the conversation that is intriguing. Just as interesting are the many new interesting aspects in ham radio that continuously come up, including Global Positioning Satellite, which can be utilized for searchers involving law enforcement.
Nack also found another practical use for the device. A fellow pastor flies radio-controlled planes, and one time the plane took off and didn't come back. Weeks later, a farmer found it in his field with a mouse nest in it. Now he inserts a small microphone in the plane and can track it with a scanner if it gets off its normal flight path.
Occasionally, local ham operators will go "fox hunting" (hunting for hidden transmitters).
One person tries to hide from other hams who are using their skill and knowledge of radios to locate that person's transmitter. Several times an hour, the "fox" will transmit a brief signal, and the hunters try to locate his signal. This gives them a chance to increase their skills while experimenting with different antennas and computer programs.
Some of the most well-known hams include former Sen. Barry Goldwater, King Hussein and Queen Noor of Jordan, Marlon Brando, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and Donny Osmond.
Ham-astronauts who take radios with them on the International Space Station can call to school classes on earth telling them about the experiments they are conducting and answering questions.
-- Joyce Zschau
Want to get started?
An Elmer -- amateur radio lingo for a mentor -- can help get others into the hobby and also help the new ham purchase radio equipment or supply him with basic equipment.
Needed equipment can be purchased and set up for $50 or less. It's the upgrading that can turn expensive.
One way of purchasing equipment is to attend hamfests, where new and old hams can find out about the latest technology and meet other hams at the same time.
There are also many radio clubs around the country. The local radio club is the Moultrie Amateur Radio Klub, which is located south of Sullivan and has members in Decatur, Lovington, Shelbyville, Mattoon and Charleston.
For more information about the club and amateur radio in general, contact Robert Olson, president, at 345-9562.
Hams can also continue their education by taking all three courses of the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course, which teaches emergency procedures and how to work for and with other agencies. It also explains the Incident Command System, which is used in emergencies.
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