HAMMING IT UP: AMMATEUR RADIO CLUB PLANS FIELD DAY SATURDAY

When hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, or other natural or man-made disasters occur or threaten, some of the first to respond are amateur radio operators.

"Ham" radio operators, as they have been called since the invention of radio around the turn of the century, can communicate with another "ham" in the same town, or halfway across the world.

Although it is primarily a hobby, most amateur radio operators are trained and prepared to serve in the public interest, and can mobilize before or after a disaster strikes to assist authorities with emergency communications.

To train and prepare for these emergencies, amateur radio operators throughout North America hold field-day exercises, during which they operate their equipment under simulated emergency conditions with portable antennas and emergency power generators.

The Southeast Missouri Amateur Radio Club will hold its annual field-day exercise Saturday and Sunday, at the North Cape Girardeau County Park on Highway 61.

Club spokesman Keith Berry said the 24-hour event will be held at the park shelter nearest the park maintenance building.

"We'll be operating non-stop for 24 hours, from 1 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday," Berry said. "During the exercise we will attempt to contact as many amateur radio operators on the North American continent as possible."

Berry said as a part of the exercise, ham radio operators will set up radio transmitting antennas under field conditions. "It will all be done under a non-standard situation," said Berry. "Most of our equipment will be operating with power from emergency generators. We will be using portable towers to mount our antennas."

Berry said the Cape Girardeau County Office of Emergency Preparedness will have its mobile communications command post van and emergency generator set up at the field-day site to provide additional facilities for the radio operators.

Although the traditional Morse code continues to play an important role in amateur radio communications, Berry said other state-of-the-art modes of communication are now used by more and more amateur radio operators.

"Besides Morse code, we'll be using voice communication and packet computer-operated communication," he said. "The latter uses a lap-top computer interfaced with an amateur radio transmitter and receiver."

While ham radio operators normally "chew the rag" with other "hams" throughout the world, Berry said it is when emergencies occur that amateur radio "shows its stuff."

For example, when Iben Browning's projection of a possible earthquake along the New Madrid Fault in early December 1990 drew near, the SEMO Amateur Radio Club, in cooperation with the Cape Girardeau County Office of Emergency Preparedness, drew up a comprehensive emergency communications contingency plan in the event of an earthquake strong enough to disrupt normal communications channels.

Fortunately, no quake occurred, but Berry noted the pre-established contingency plan is ready to be put into operation on a moment's notice in the event of a major earthquake, or some other serious disaster.

Local ham radio operators also serve as severe weather spotters.

When not practicing or preparing for emergencies, ham radio operators enjoy talking with other amateur radio enthusiasts. "Some of them like to communicate strictly by code, while others use voice or packet communications," Berry said.

He said other ham radio operators use radio-teletype, or slow-scan television to communicate.

"The nice thing about ham radio is that there is no age limit," said Berry. "It is open to boys and girls, men and women of all ages. There are kids as young as 6 or 7 who have earned their novice licenses, and there are life-long hams who hold advanced radio licenses."

"Ham radio is not CB radio," Berry said. "Amateur radio is organized and closely regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. In addition, we also police our own ranks through the American Radio Relay League and local ham radio clubs."

This year, for the first time in the history of amateur radio, the FCC has established a codeless-technician-class ham radio license.

Until now, most ham radio operators strongly opposed any waiver of the Morse code requirement. But Berry said opposition faded as ships at sea no longer used Morse code, instead relying on more reliable satellite-based emergency communications.

He said ham radio operators also became very concerned when the Federal Communications Commission transferred two amateur radio frequencies to the exclusive use of business, because the frequencies were underutilized by amateur radio operators.

In addition, Berry said those in ham radio saw their ranks declining as fewer new ham radio operators were licensed, mainly because of the difficulty or dislike of the Morse code requirement.

The new codeless technician license grants operating privileges on the higher bands above 30 megahertz (MHz.). But international regulations still require a successful code test for operation below 30 MHz. Berry explained that's because radio transmissions below 30 MHz can span the globe, while those above 30 MHz are limited to much shorter distances.

"We hope the new codeless technician license will encourage more people to get into amateur radio, and then upgrade to a code-class license," he said.

Berry said he would encourage anyone interested in ham radio, or becoming a ham radio operator to come out and observe this weekend's exercise.

"We'll try to answer any questions about the hobby," Berry said. "The club meets on the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Cape County Emergency Operations Center in Jackson. If you can't come to our field-day event," he added, "come to one of our meetings."