Radio
Clubs
Ah
radio clubs, ain't they wonderful? I've been a members of a few in my ham
life and have been intrigued by them all.
Clubs,
as we know them today, often maintain a radio repeater system(s) on VHF
or UHF frequencies. Repeaters allow easy radio communications over
a geographic area and as a general rule will determine the area the club
represents. Many clubs can coexist in the same area. There can be
many repeaters covering the same area, on different frequencies. The frequencies
that the clubs use for the repeaters are coordinated by regional organizations,
who in turn are coordinated by a national organization (ARRL). These frequencies
are kept by the clubs for years. For some of the more popular radio bands
there are no more new frequencies, so they actually have a lot of value
to the clubs.
Another
aspect of the repeaters systems is their licensing by the Federal Communications
Commission. The repeaters must have a license to be legal and licenses
are only given to people, not clubs. Someone has to use their call sign
for the repeater and generally this call cannot be changed. The reason
it can't be changed is the scarcity of frequencies. It makes for
some interesting internal politics in the clubs and some handle it better
than others.
I am curious
as to how many radio clubs there are in this country. In a casual way I
will try to find this info. These clubs are a great resource and maybe
the primary resource to ham radio and the nation.
Back
Home