Field Day held for radio operators

WINCHESTER CENTER — In the communication age, when novelty, speed and convenience are the driving themes, and a smart-phone app that requires more than two swipes to fill someone else’s screen with emojis is considered painstakingly slow, you might think amateur radio enthusiasts tinkering with 15-foot-high antennae and repeating call signs into wired microphones are vestiges of a bygone era.

But how would you like to listen in on the transmissions of the International Space Station, or use the moon as a signal relay?

The members of the Winsted and Torrington CQ Radio Clubs met at the Winchester Center Fire Department on Saturday, June 25, demonstrating their equipment and methods while sharing a passion that is as complex as it is relevant.

“It’s actually a service, as defined by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC),” said Dana Borgman, president of the Winsted side of the two clubs. “So it’s not just a hobby. We do have a bit of a social responsibility in times of need to provide communications, to transfer messages. This is something we’ve been doing for close to a hundred years now.”

Amateur radio operators and clubs work somewhat under the oversight of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), which, in collaboration with the FCC, issues licenses that allow individuals to communicate on certain frequencies, using a variety of equipment that can range from a simple box in the living room to arrays of antennas that span hundreds of feet. Apart from owning a radio and license, though, there are no stipulations or requirements. You just need enthusiasm for the medium.

The social aspect, Borgman said, is an appeal for a lot of people. Based on call signs, operators can tell what country or state another person is in, based on a detailed grid. Tinkering with their equipment in order to reach out to unknown members of a vast, worldwide community is maybe the most thrilling activity for an amateur radio operator.

But it is the service role that Borgman and many others keep in mind, more important than the joy of a hobby. Saturday’s meeting was part of a nationwide amateur radio event called “Field Day,” where clubs are challenged to practice for emergency situations.

“The idea is to actually take your equipment, and go into a place with no communication infrastructure, no power, and establish communications from that,” said Borgman. 

In non-emergency situations, amateur radio operators are often called on to assist the National Weather Service in identifying or confirming reports of weather events in particular areas through a program called SKYWARN. Amateur radio operators, Borgman said, serve an essential role in tracking storms and keeping communication services up when in-place infrastructure is damaged.

“The town of Winchester is one of our served agencies,” said Borgman, “If we need to provide communications in the event of an emergency, the town could turn to us.”

A dramatic and heroic example of service came during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, the American Red Cross called in hundreds of amateur radio operators from across the country to set up makeshift communications in Louisiana and Mississippi. One of those operators was David Wilcox.

“We went down and supported the Red Cross,” said Wilcox. “In their shelters, and in their distribution areas, and anybody else who needed it, including firehouses. Anybody who needed some help, we went and supplied communications.”

Wilcox volunteered through a subgroup of the ARRL called ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, whose members receive additional training to prepare operators for extraordinary emergency situations.

“But nothing prepares you for what that mess was,” said Wilcox.

On the lighter side, the Winsted and Torrington operators were also able to set up a satellite antenna and track the ISS, which, according to Albert Petrunti, another club member, is not all the difficult.

“There’s a lot of satellites that allow us as radio operators, to talk through that and reach somebody far away, in another state, with very simple frequencies,” said Petrunti. 

The “moon-bounce” was another example given of how operators can communicate large distances. Bouncing radio waves off the moon, Borgman said, was a feat easily within reach of a relatively casual radio operator.

For more information on the amateur radio, licensing and history, go to www.arrl.org, or reach Dana Borgman by phone at 860-379-3219.