Hamming it up

St. Vital

Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/06/2023 (1053 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ham radio operators and enthusiasts are about to have a field day.

On Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25, the Winnipeg Amateur Radio Club (WARC) and the Winnipeg Seniors Amateur Radio Club (WSC) will host a free community open house, also known as a field day, in and around the WSC facilities, which is located on the top floor of the old firehall at 598 St. Mary’s Rd.

“We want people to come and see what we do,” Geoffrey Bawden, vice-president of the WSC and a board member of WARC, explained. “We want to promote ham radio as an activity.”

Over the course of the weekend, radio operators will run their equipment off generators, to simulate an emergency situation where the power may be unreliable. Members of the public can learn the basics of ham radio, while members of the clubs connect will test their skills and try to connect with other ham radio operators across North America.

“We’d like to have as many people come as possible, and we will try to get you on the air,” Bawden said. “It’s not complicated, it’s just ‘I’m here, are you there?’ It’s a good way of just starting out in the radio world.”

Both clubs meet regularly throughout the year, and each boast memberships of about 125, according to Bawden. Along with an excuse to socialize with like-minded hams and share tips and tricks of the trade, the clubs also offer training and certification opportunities.

“It’s a general interest club, so anybody can join,” Bawden, whose callsign is VE4AE, said. “The idea is to encourage and provide technical and personal support for people who want to be hams. We currently have a basic certification class running with 12 or 13 members. That is a very important contribution. We have a backlog. As soon as you run the course, we have interest in running another. There’s very much a demand.”

The WSC clubhouse also boasts a wealth of equipment, including a high frequency rig, a digital rig, an intranet set up, a satellite ground station, and more.

“We have workshop events where we make antenna through the Elmer program,” Bawden said. “Last Sunday, we assembled a radio-telescope, a bit of a work in progress, as we have yet to install the proper software. The universe is full of hydrogen, and you can map it, using an amateur radio telescope.”

Bawden, a past-president of the national organizing body Radio Amateurs of Canada, got interested in ham radio in 2004. After seeing the impact ham radio operators had in the emergency efforts in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he became passionate about the hobby.

“Ham radio has an emergency services component,” he said, noting the clubhouse on St. Mary’s is the only such brick-and-mortar ham radio club between Toronto and Edmonton and provides a vital communication link between the east and west coasts. “But that’s just a small example of what a casual ham radio operator can do.“

The amateur radio field day starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 24 and runs to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 25 at 598 St. Mary’s Rd.