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Ham engineers ready to rumble in crisis readiness competition

Written by Johnathan Silver, The Shorthorn staff

Tuesday, 23 June 2009 05:01 PM

When & Where

American Radio Relay League Field Day

What: National amateur radio competition
When: Friday, set up begins after 1 p.m.
Saturday, operations begin after 1 p.m.
Where: 105 Nedderman Hall

Source: www.arrl.org and College of Engineering public relations

Thousands of amateur radio operators will display their emergency relief skills by building portable radio stations throughout the country Saturday and Sunday during the national American Radio Relay League Field Day exercise.

College of Engineering faculty and staff will be one of more than 35,000 groups to see who can build a portable station and operate it within time constraints. Amateur radio, known as ham radio, is a service that allows operators to communicate with other amateurs for public service and recreation.

The goal is to see who reacts best in the event of a natural disaster. Two operators will make calls to other stations and log information. The group that calls the most stations in 24 hours wins.

Organizers plan on using the competition to gain student involvement and create an A.R.R.L. UTA chapter.

“What makes engineering interesting is immediately getting involved in it,” said Steve Gibbs, ham radio operator and electrical engineering senior lecturer. “Ham radio is a good way for students to get involved in technology very quickly.”

Competitors are expected to build a portable station in 24 hours starting at 1 p.m. Friday, and operate it for 24 hours starting at 1 p.m. Saturday. UTA’s ham operators plan to build it in four.

Ham operators will place their transmitters on the roof of Nedderman Hall and run wires down to Room 105.

“It’s supposed to be over 100 degrees Friday,” said Dave Davis, ham radio operator and College of Engineering distance education director. “We want to get done as fast as possible.”

Ham radio has advantages over other wireless communication devices. Internet and cell phone connections can fail under severe weather, whereas ham radio’s portable stations run on generators and aren’t impacted by natural disasters, Davis said.

Hundreds of people went missing during Hurricane Ike. One of ham radio’s main duties is to provide communication between the displaced and those who are looking for them.

“When Hurricane Ike came on the coast, those infrastructures went down,” Davis said. “For a couple of days after the hurricane, information was coming out of ham radio who set up areas in some of the worst hit places.”

Anyone is allowed to help operate in the station under the supervision of a ham member, Davis said.

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 10:28 AM )

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