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Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-06-27, Page 11• , Sit40804,EXPP$ITOR,'JLINE 27, 1990 FROM THIS HUMBLE TRAILER, the South Huron Radio club put Chiselhurst on the map by contacting operators across the bontinent. The antenna Is in the foreground. e "VE3 LITTLE RED DOG", crackles Robert Noakes of Seaforth over the mike as the South Huron Amateur Radio Club takes part in the annual 24-hour ham radio relay contest. Designed to spark awareness of the capability of ham radio, the contest attracts • hundreds of thousands of participants from across North America, most of them hobbyists, who try to make as many contacts as possible over the two-day contest. Story, photos by Paula Elliott HAMS broadcast live from Chiselhurst "Good morning! It's a beautiful the table, frantieany writing,pmme group, but who tinker away at it on the shuttle came down at Edwards Wedheaday here in downtown call letters of 'etc i, 1.. 0Wit,....Beild0A Win a ansdnuat_Ayn,re coming to you and Robert were making cont46t, live here at C.H.A.M., and up next with on their designated band. The we'll have the complete local object of the 24-hour contest - entertainment guide for your which ran this weekend from 1 p.m. weekend. But first, the news." Saturday until 1 p.m. on Sunday - Well, not quite. was for each operator or club to But don't kid yourself. make contact with as many fellow Chiselhurst may not exactly be a amateurs as possible in North thriving metropolis with their own America, and to promote awareness a.m. radio station, but a few of the range and capability of devoted amateur radio operators amateur radio. By 3 o'clock on were reaching far down into the Saturday, Ed and Robert had States and across Canada this reached over 50 contacts, and were weekend, broadcasting from anticipating a busy night. Last year, Chiselhurst, hi the annual American the South Huron club collected over Radio Relay League Field Day. 400 sets of call letters, Robert Noakes of Seaforth, one of 'Ham' radio, a slang term for ten members of the South Huron 'amateur', is essentially a hobby for Amateur Radio club, was camped the members of the club. Robert out in a trailer at Ed. Roberts' Noakes adds that there are a Chiselhurst farm, with all of his number of other ham radio radio equipment spread out on the operators in the area who aren't table in front off him. Ed sat across affiliated with the South Huron GETTING THE LETTERS STRAIGHT, Ed Roberts of Chiselhurst marks down the call letters of the ham Operators that the club contacts during the relay. Last year, the club contacted 400 other Operators across North America. , fr 0 , Force. Base. relatively inetbensive hobby - ttle':!!In their never-ending quest to totalradit1 patIolge tanWloiedellniiike- contact with more fellow together from used equipment for hams in far -away places, operators about $500, but replacement value will often go out on what are for new components can run to over known as "D.Xpeditions". In radio $3,000 - it's a simple, way to travel lingo, D.X. means long distance, the world without leaving your and D.Xpeditioners will undertake hometown, or even your armchair. treks to remote stations to set up "For $25 worth of equipment, you their call letters. For instance, a could get two or three watts," adds ham might take off to Sable Island Robert Noakes. "That can get you for a week, set up his'station' as • far away as California, on a there, and get on the air. good day." Keen hams, known in the California is small potatoes for business as paper -chasers, will then avid operators, who boast contacts literally lose their minds trying to from around the world. Robert make contact with these remote recalls reaching a ham operator in temporary stations. The various Japan while talking on his amateur radio leagues award 'repeater' in his car in downtown operators with certificates of Stratford. Leonard Noakes of achievement for reaching 100, 200, Hensall, Robert's father and an 300 or more contacts (the most is amateur radio enthusiast in his own right, has talked to ham buffs in 360, to date) and for driven paper chasers, it becomes a quest. Russia and South America. English and Spanish, he explains, are the There are a fe countries, Leonard Noakes ewxplains, that two main languages of amatuer operators are not allowed communication for ham operators. to come in contact with. Not "There's lot of hams in South affiliated with the I.A.R.U. America," he says. "They just go (International Amateur Radio down to the corner store, grab a Union), these countries - generally radio and start talking. 'Ole, Ole, Eastern Bloc - are forbidden by law Ole, Alll0000, Alll0000...'. Goes on to make ham contact with Canada. for hours." "They don't want their amateurs us..and talking 10 that's a political And on the practical side, it cuts ta thing," he points out. down on your phone bills. "My son got a license in But with several million licensed Manitoba, so I got a license so I operators on the airwaves, there are could talk to him without long still plenty of fellow enthusiasts for distance charges," laughs Ed Leonard, Robert, Ed and their Roberts, a ham operator since 1979. friends to chat with. Working eight Retired, Ed finds plenty of time to hour shifts over the course of the delve into his hobby and estimates weekend relay contest, the club was that he spends about 20 hours a hoping to make at least as many week on the air. He generally tunes contacts in their band as they did in between 7 and 8:30 in the last year, and repeat their 1989 morning, and chats to 10 or 20 third place standing for one -receiver people over the air. One of his classification in Ontario. greatest coups was making contact "Before we're done, we'll contact with a space shuttle radio unit a most of the states in the U.S.A." number of years ago, shortly after 1.6 ' 1;4 .;,1' • ' 404:AR7 0:" 1 X 4 r 4 Sief— FOUR HORSEPOWERS WORTH OF POWER will get you halfway around the woad. This little engine powered the South Huron Radio Club's transmission on Saturday and Sunday, proving that -biggest isn't always beat. lrfit) 44' 7 frt ; 6,1 • 4 4 THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE - Robert Noakes' amateur radio equipment includes a transceiver, speaker, microphone and a morse code transmitter (front), most of the equipment used and reworked. Replacement value for new equipment would be about six times what he paid for it. Wed., June 27 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. — Senior Shuffleboard at the Arena 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. — Skateboarding at the Arena 7:00 p.m. — St. Cotumban Mosquito Soccer vs. Bryanston at St. Columban 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. — Fitness Is Fun at Arena Thurs., June 28 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. — Fitness Is Fun at SDCC 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. — Men's Ball Hockey at SDCC 8:00 p.m. — BollersmIth 9:00 p.m. — Topnotch vs. Hogs Beachwood vs. Sat., June 30 2:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. — Agricultural Society's Tractor Elimination Draw - Dance and B.B.O. at SDCC Sun., July 1 CANADA DAY 7:00 e.m. - 11:00 a.m. — Firemen Pan- cake Breakfast at the Fireball 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. — Leisure Walk Poker Rally et Victoria Park 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. — Concert In Victoria Park with Seaforlh-Dashwood Com- munity Band Dusk — Fireworks Display at the Highschool Mon., July 2 9:00 a.m. — Snoopyschool-playschool- Playground Begins at the Public School 12:10 - 12:60 p.m. — Aqua Fit at Lions Pool Tues., July 3 0:30 - 9:30 a.m. — Fitness is Fun at SDCC 7:00 p.m. — Soccer - St. Columban Pee Wee 2 vs. St. Columban 1 at St. Columban Wed., July 4 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. — Aqua Fit at Lions Pool 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. — Shuffleboard at SDCC 3:30 - 4:00 p.m. — Skateboarding at the Arena 7:00 p.m. — St. Columban Atom 1 Soc- cer va. Grand Bend 2 at St. Columban 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. — Fitness N Fun at Arena