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Ham operators provide communication

Ham operators provide communication
Ham radio operator Dwight Compton, who lives near Floresville, utilizes some of the ham radio equipment aboard his Dodge pickup truck.
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Wilson County News
March 26, 2008
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To some, the image of a ham radio might conjure up the image of a portable stereo shaped like a piggy bank.

Others might think of a large, two-way radio used to make contact with people in far-off places. While this definition more suits a ham radio, the device and the people who use it have become increasingly diverse in modern times.

According to Bob Rodriguez, president of the Alamo Area Radio Organization (AARO), ham radio operators come from all walks of life -- including famous people like entertainer Arthur Godfrey, broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite, and King Abdullah of Jordan.

Rodriguez, 64, is a retired radio and TV station worker who has been a ham radio operator since he was 14. He currently operates frequency K5AUW.

“I grew up in radio,” Rodriguez said. “My mom was a business manager at a radio station. I grew up in the studio downtown [San Antonio] and I would watch the technicians work on the equipment.”

Ham is the name given to any licensed, amateur radio operator who has taken the necessary courses to become certified in the operation of that equipment. According to the American Relay Radio League, no one is quite sure of the origin of this moniker, but the first amateur radio operator was Gugliemo Marconi, who established a wireless telegraph company in England and transmitted the first trans-Atlantic Morse code message in 1901.

Since then, ham radio has come under regulation by the Federal Communications Commission. Today, ham radio licenses range from novice to expert. But unlike the early days, they no longer require knowledge of Morse code.

Dwight Compton, a ham operator living near Floresville, often connects his radio to a laptop computer and utilizes a program to convert his keystrokes into Morse code.

Compton, 67, is a retired computer programmer who operates frequency N5TCS. His interest in ham radio began when his daughter was 9 years old.

“I wanted her to become interested in science because I believe in training both sides of the brain,” Compton said. “We both got our licenses at least 15 years ago.”

Compton’s interest in amateur radio has continued to flourish, and like Rodriguez, he stands ready to use his radio to assist various local agencies (upon their request) in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.

“If the phone lines are knocked out, they would ask ham people for help,” Compton said.

Ham radio is truly portable and easy to set up, Compton said. Aside from the actual radio, all that is needed is an antenna and a power source such as a battery or generator. Once assembled, a ham radio operator can use his or her equipment to communicate with people anywhere in the world, because unlike other forms of radio, the signals have no boundaries.

“You talk on one frequency to a repeater and it transmits another signal, kind of like having a 200-foot antenna on your car,” said ham radio operator E.W. Forbess, who lives outside Stockdale.

Rodriguez’s ham radio was his only line of communication in the aftermath of a flood that hit South Texas in 1998. Telephone lines were down and even cellular telephones would not function, he said.

“When all else fails, there’s ham radio,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not dependent upon any form of physical infrastructure. It doesn’t need electricity, satellites, or telephone.”

During hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005, ham radio operators were again called into service to assist with rescue and recovery efforts. Because most hospitals maintain ham radio systems, operators were able to assist rescue workers with finding area hospitals where victims could obtain treatment.

“They used ham radio to coordinate which ambulance went to which hospital and how many patients, so the people there could have a heads up,” Forbess said.

Ham operators also volunteer to assist during large events, such as the upcoming NBA Final Four in San Antonio or the Valero MS 150 Bike to the Beach Tour. Compton, who has assisted with the bike tour in years past, said last year “Twenty-five people with vans who were ham radio operators picked up people. If they were badly hurt, we could call EMS. If something went wrong, we could call the police.”

The operators also assisted with securing food, water and restroom facilities for the riders, Compton said.

For more information about ham radio, or to find out about obtaining an amateur radio license, visit the Alamo Area Radio Organization’s Web site at http://aa5ro.org or the San Antonio Area Hams Web site at http://sanantoniohams.org.

wgibbs@wcn-online.com
 


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