‘I hear you loud and clear, over’
Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bvwv/News/4809/
With changes in modern living, many 20 th-century hobbies are dying out, but don’t put ham radio on the death list.
Throughout the United States, the number of amateur radio operators — also known as hams — is growing, said Bob Femrite, president of the Bella Vista Repeater Group.
“ Once you try it, you’re hooked. ”
Apparently, the club members are also hooked on breakfast at Acropolis Restaurant, formerly R & J Coffee Shop. They’ve been meeting there since the early ’ 90 s, Femrite said.
Every Thursday, members meet at 7 a. m. at Acropolis to share stories about their adventures on the radio, get to know one another and help each other out.
Although they meet face-to-face once a week, most of their talking is done using handheld repeater radios, which have a range of about 10 miles. They call that “ chewing the rag, ” club member Louie Metz said.
Signals from a radio are picked up by an antenna on a tower, fed into a device called a repeater, then rebroadcast at higher power. That sends the signal much farther.
As members travel the United States, they can chat with other hams as long as they get the right frequency for that area. An advantage is that if they need directions, they can ask, said Vern Sidler, a member of the local club.
For any ham radio operator in the Bella Vista area, the repeater group also holds a net — a radio get-together — at 8 p. m. every Wednesday at frequency 147. 255 +.
Some members are planning to attend a ham radio gathering in Joplin, Mo., Aug. 24-25 so they can buy and sell radio equipment. Sometimes at the end of the weekend, vendors might even be willing to give away the equipment so they don’t have to haul it home, said Glenn Allen of the Bella Vista club.
When a member dies, the club always tries to sell the used equipment, Allen said, giving anyone interested in becoming an amateur radio operator an opportunity to buy equipment at a reduced price.
In addition to radios, antennas and other equipment, a ham radio operator needs a license from the Federal Communications Commission. All the club members agreed getting one is much easier because the FCC has reduced the requirements.
For the beginner’s license, or technician license, candidates have to pass a test about radio technology, but they no longer have to learn Morse code, Femrite said.
A way to learn about ham radio is to visit www. arrl. org, the Web site of the American Radio Relay League — a national organization supporting amateur radio, he added.
For more information about the Bella Vista Repeater Group, call Louie Metz at 855-9400 or Bob Femrite at 876-2785.