Boston, MA. Amateur radio is the original social network, according to Doug Grant, call sign K1DG. Speaking yesterday at EDI CON, he referenced the famous Peter Steiner cartoon in The New Yorker captioned “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” Grant’s version is, “On 15 meters, nobody knows you’re a Doug.”
Grant described ham radio as a hobby with many facets—including experimentation, awards programs, and international social interaction. It also a source of skilled technical personnel for the public and private sectors.
Perhaps most important, it serves as an effective communications service when all else fails. Grant noted that FEMA administrator Craig Fugate became concerned that emergency communications channels were overly dependent on the PSTN. Consequently, FEMA and the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) in 2014 announced a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to enhance cooperation between the League and FEMA in the area of disaster communication.
At the time, Fugate said, “Radio is one of the most resilient communications technologies we have. When the power is out and telecommunications are down, the amateur radio community can serve as a vital resource in support of emergency responders and survivors during a disaster. This MOA will strengthen FEMA’s partnership with ARRL and build upon our work to expand emergency communications capabilities and the use of amateur radio in emergency management.”
Grant noted that in the early 20th century amateurs were banished to the useless wavelengths of 200 m and down. Experimentation proved that short waves were not so bad after all—they could carry messages across the ocean in daylight hours. Ham operators, he said, made the impossible work.
Many famous names grace the list of ham radio operators, he said, including Wozniak Packard, and Rohde. He emphasized that amateur radio remains relevant in the 21st century, with the number of licenses in the U.S. at over 700,000 growing. Ham radio has not been taken over by the Internet.
It’s easy to get started, he noted. You can build a radio from scratch from parts scavenged from an old TV set. And there are enough components in a compact fluorescent light bulb to build a transmitter. There are plenty of opportunities to experiment with hardware.
There is also opportunity to experiment with software, using, for example, the FlexRadio SDR technology, leveraging DSP. If you need a transmitter, you can write one.
In addition, he said, VHF and UHF moon-bounce communications is accessible with a small investment. You can obtain open-source software to help recover weak digitally modulated signals (round trip path loss is on the order of 240 dB). And if the moon is too far for you, you might take advantage of more than 100 satellites, such as OSCAR, that amateurs have built—often on shoestring budgets. If ham operators were a country, Grant said, they would represent the world’s fifth largest space program. And amateurs aboard the ISS have conducted live communications with schools worldwide.
ARRL celebrated its centennial 2014, and its second century will be very different, Grant said, with more focus on digital communications and microwaves. Nevertheless, HF and VHF will still have a role to play—getting signals past trees and buildings, for example.
“You can play a role,” Grant said. If you are hiring engineers, you could consider screening prospects on the basis of whether they have ham licenses—that might be more significant than GPA. Are you supporting universities? Does your alma mater have a ham radio club?
He cited relevant work being done by students establishing a ground station at Virginia Tech. Also playing a role are collaborative nonprofits such as TAPR, AMSAT, and OpenHPSDR (with the PennyLane transmitter).
To get a license, you no longer need to learn Morse code, Grant said, although CW is fun. You do need to take written exams on theory and regulation. The theory should be easy for anyone attending EDI CON, he said, so all you need to do is memorize the regulations. The place to get started, he concluded, is ARRL.org.
