June 28, 1999

Ham radio operators get the signal, loud and clear

By NANCY OLESIN
NEWS CORRESPONDENT

Photo caption: Leo Laskin, left, and Kristi Lees talk on their ham radio on Saturday during Amateur Radio Field Day at Girard Turkey Farms in Framingham.

Photo credit: BILL THOMPSON

FRAMINGHAM -- In a sweltering tent pitched in the middle of a dry, parched field, Dennis Egan of Wayland clicks his fingers quickly against a small metal instrument, tapping out in Morse code:

"This is Edward David Baker One Baker. CQ Field Day...CQ Field Day... Seek You Field Day."

The radio transmitted the fast, tiny clicks, urgent-sounding but undecipherable to the untrained ear. The invisible signal traveled through the air, bouncing off electrically charged particles high up in the earth's atmosphere and returned to planet surface.

Then Egan received a return message: the beeps came first from Illinois, then South Carolina, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee and other faraway places.

Within 15 minutes, Egan received responses from 10 different remote locations. All from people he has never met.

Though reminiscent of a military operation in a foreign land, Egan's complex set-up with its powerful radio, headphones and laptop computer, was in fact located in a local field behind the Gerard Turkey Farm on Water Street.

It's all a part of the local amateur "ham" radio scene -- where operators have been talking to virtual strangers years before anyone thought of Internet "chat rooms."

Egan, a member of the Framingham Amateur Radio Association, participated Saturday with about 50 other members in the club's annual Amateur Radio Field Day, the nation's most popular ham radio competition.

Although the messages sent Saturday were for fun and personal challenge, the activity also helps prepare operators like Egan to help during emergencies, when telephones and other communications systems may be cut off.

Saturday's event was designed to improve radio skills and teach hams how to operate under less-than-optimum site conditions.

"It's a contest. The goal is to contact as many people as you can," said Peter Simpson, president of the club. "But in a bigger sense, it is preparing us for disaster."

Twenty-four hours before the event's start at 2 p.m. Saturday, the club set up four 30- and 40-foot portable radio towers and transmitting stations. The towers are stored the rest of the year in the basement of the Danforth Museum, Simpson said.

At precisely 2 p.m. Saturday, members manned the four stations and quickly began putting out calls similar to Egan's. Laptop computers help track the calls and responses and will later help with the tally.

The club earns points for the number of responses they receive and can earn bonus points for using emergency generators, natural power sources, satellites. Extra points can also be earned for holding the event in a public place and for organizing public relations for the event.

Members planned to rotate shifts throughout the day and night, until 2 p.m. Sunday when the contest ends.

Some members sent their signals in code, while others, such as novice members like 13-year-old Liz Simpson of Hopkinton and 15-year-old Leo Laskin of Framingham, used a microphone to send their voices across the airwaves.

"I like talking with people," Simpson said of her interest in ham radio. "It's a lot of fun."

The event will help Simpson and others move up on the licensing ladder of ham radio.

"This is Whiskey One Florida Yankee calling CQ Field Day," Steve Rosenthal of Natick called out. Rosenthal, an advanced radio operator, raced to receive as many responses as he could during his shift.

Rosenthal said club members also participate in community service events both near and far. Earlier this year, he joined two other club members on a trip to Grenada to donate rebuilt computers to a school for the deaf.

Next month, Rosenthal others will head out on a sailboat for George's Island in Boston Harbor where they will participate in another event dubbed " IOTA" or "Islands On the Air." Operators based off-shore will try to contact other island-based radio operators during a two-day period.

Lee and Sharon Gartenberg of Framingham met several families from Sarajevo over the airwaves. The Gartenbergs later sponsored the families when they fled during the Bosnian War.

While many may believe ham operators are "just a bunch of middle-aged geeks," said Simpson, the Framingham club has about 30 to 50 women members and lot of kids.

Beverley Lees of Framingham, her husband and two children all participate in one way or another.

"I really like operating the radio," Lees said. "It's a challenge to see how many contacts I can make."

"A ham radio license is a ticket to the playground," Simpson said. "Some like to build their own radios, others like to enter contests. Some people take their radios on vacation. A lot of ham radio is the challenge."

Francis Belliveau of Milford said communicating with others around the globe can be exciting. "I like being able to find a friend no matter what the time of day or night."

Retired engineer George Foster of Hopkinton earned his license just a few years ago. He said he enjoys helping prepare to help rescue workers during a disaster, such as an earthquake.