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Hamming it up: Local radio club going strong http://www.gvnews.com/lifestyle/hamming-it-up-local-radio-club-going- strong/article_441be298-202c-11e1-9861-0019bb2963f4.html KITTY BOTTEMILLER | GREEN VALLEY NEWS Ham radio photo Tom Lang and Gene Schouweiler, Green Valley Amateur Radio Club members, outside the Sheriff´s Auxiliary Volunteers Building, with antenna for the club´s radio station inside. SAV has allowed the club to operate their station from their building for several years. Posted: Tuesday, December 6, 2011 9:56 am Hamming it up: Local radio club going strong By Kitty Bottemiller www.gvnews.com Green Valley News & Sun and The Sahuarita Sun | 0 comments When all else fails, there's ham. That's ham radio, not the food. However local radio buffs readily admit their affinity for eating, and they ham it up plenty about food and gathering at picnics, potlucks and the like, and talking radio. Chuckles filled the barroom at Coach's one recent morning as members of the Green Valley Amateur Radio Club gathered informally on a Friday. "We like coffee and donuts, too," said "regular" Ron Phillips. The group is among Arizona's largest clubs, with 150-some registered members, and celebrated its 30th year in June. GVARC started with just five licensed guys and an obsession in common, and has grown to its current status, sharing a wealth of knowledge, equipment and experience along the way. They welcome newcomers, help train others, get them licensed, and host gatherings where they exchange experience and information, and memorialize deceased members, called silent keys. Air-wave avocation Members are mostly hobbyists who love conversing with others near and far, or simply tinkering around with electronic equipment in their home shop. The licensed ham operators among the bunch are part of on-air chat groups called "nets," more intensive rag-chew sessions, competing to see how far and fast they can broadcast their five-digit call signs, and/or bouncing radio waves off the moon, atmospheric conditions allowing. Member Wes Minear sets aside time every Sunday to contact his grown son in Menard, Ill. "Free long distance," he said. Amateur ham operators use various communication modes on a designated radio frequency spectrum allocated by international telecommunications authorities for private, recreational message exchange, wireless experimentation and emergency communication. This can include voice, text, image and data. With Morse code, they can "talk" with amateurs of other languages. No one really knows how the ham title stuck. One popular theory is that if a guy had a good fist for operating a transmitter, which required considerable dexterity, he was considered "ham-handed." Fun may drive them, but some are far from breezing away their golden years chit-chatting over food. Good deeds via radio During the Joplin, Mo., tornado last May, a ham operator from Colorado united family members in separate shelters. Another linked the owner of an injured pet with a veterinarian late one stormy night near Denver. When all else fails, there's ham. Through club activities and training sessions, scout jamborees and transmission demos at public events, GVARC promotes and advances amateur radio, skills which can be vital when public emergency communications systems are tied up with official business or lose power. While Green Valley hasn't had any recent catastrophes, members can cite numerous times ham operators have linked folks via battery-powered shortwave bands. After last May's devastating tornado in Joplin, ham operators were among more than 100,000 volunteers helping in the aftermath and were recently honored in a massive card-signing appreciation event. GV Club's radio acquaintances also helped after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the Mexico City earthquake in 1985. One GV member recalled a local operator helping a paraglider not long ago. The man had crashed in the Santa Ritas and was rescued after broadcasting a distress call via radio. And during last year's White Elephant Parade, club members attending the event signaled paramedics to help a man in the crowd suffering a heart attack. After a micro-burst that knocked down power poles along Pima Mine Road this summer, club members stood ready to help if needed. Aging operators Ham radio is widely practiced but operators are a graying population, locals concede. Many current enthusiasts gained their skills in World War II, and the average age today is 60, Schouweiler said. Amateur radio dates to the late 1800s, although the ham radio of today developed after 1900 following the commercialization of radio and related equipment by Guglielmo Marconi. Getting ham-licensed is still an accomplishment, but not as rigorous as in times past. For years, Morse proficiency was required. The Federal Communications Commission phased it out for all license classes in 2007, however, operators are still tested on electronics concepts and applicable regulations. There are three licensing levels, technician (entry), general, and extra, each with more privileges, bands, modes and frequencies attached. Jane Lang joined the Green Valley club after the code requirement was dropped and got her license, with help from husband Dale, a ham veteran, and others. "With no electronics background, the tests were a challenge, but I passed," she said. "This keeps you active and thinking. It's work, but fun." Now president of the local club, she spends several hours a week in a morning "oatmeal net" that began as practice for female operators but now involves as many men, and a weeknight "ice cream net." Attracting youthful crowd In recent years, the local club has boasted members as senior as 100 and as young as 6. Those years have seen big changes in amateur TV, satellite and digital modes and computer-assisted communication, drawing younger users to the airwaves. Heath kits are back in vogue, albeit modernized versions, and pocket-size transmitters are the rage. Lloyd Miller, a GV Club member for 15 years, is encouraged by his work at Continental School, where he supervises three extracurricular classes in radio, robotics and remote- control airplanes. Students can register as young as fifth grade, and this year, about a third of the fifth-graders are involved, and as many girls as boys - more than usual, noted science teacher Ken Kratzer. Several were attracted because their parents work or have interests in related fields. Others can't resist Miller's recruiting sessions outlining class projects, which can include assembling circuit boards, flashlights, an AM/FM radio, radio-controlled car or digital alarm clock, all from kits provided by their club. "It sounded fun, more than soccer and piano," said student Siena Ciruli. Students pay $10 a year to take part, although their materials and activities are largely funded by school tax credits donated by community members. GVARC provides textbooks. Miller said the GVARC gains a few young recruits every year, and he's seen several radio students go on to major in science. After a year in the after-school club, they'll have the fundamentals to jump a car battery, and perhaps the beginnings of a career, or at least a hobby, possibly in ham, Miller said.Standard rig : ICOM R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser Please read and distribute this 15 year research article http://tinyurl.com/5vzg7e Please read my article on SINPO at http://tinyurl.com/yt7qjd ________________________ http://zlgr.multiply.com (radio monitoring site plus audio clips ) MAIN SITE http://www.delicious.com/gr_greek1/@zach (all mypages !!) ........ Zacharias Liangas , Thessaloniki Greece greekdx @ otenet dot gr --- Pesawat penerima: ICOM R75 , Lowe HF150 , Degen 1102,1103,108, Tecsun PL200/550, Chibo c300/c979, Yupi 7000 Antenna: 16m hor, 2x16 m V invert, 1m australian loop ---[Start Commercial]--------------------- Order your WRTH 2011: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/redirect2.php?id=wrth2011 ---[End Commercial]----------------------- ________________________________________ Hard-Core-DX mailing list Hard-Core-DX@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx http://www.hard-core-dx.com/ _______________________________________________ THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FREE. It may be copied, distributed and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License published by Michael Stutz at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/dsl.html
