A Century Later, Ham Radio Is Still Abuzz With Activity
Has your mind ever gone blank when someone stuck a microphone in your face? This year is the 100th anniversary of such fright.
"How do you know that?" you may ask.
It began with Canadian Reginald Fessenden, who couldn't understand why wires were needed to transmit sound over a telephone, spent years working on wireless voice communication. And in 1906, Fessenden had everything in order, so he planned a surprise broadcast on Christmas Eve.
The first radio program opened with Handel's Largo played on an Edison wax-cylinder phonograph. Fessenden followed by playing O Holy Night on a violin.
Then, when it was time for Mrs. Fessenden to have her turn - reading a Bible verse - nothing happened. No sound. The woman was speechless.
A century later, there's plenty of sound. Microphones for wireless amateur radio buzz with communications, and wireless radio technology blends with contemporary advances such as satellites and e-mail. The Internet site www.winlink.org provides complete e-mail service, and several satellites enable hams in the middle of a jungle or an ocean to broadcast their positions.
"The history and tradition are what attracted me," said Kevin Phillips (call signal KE5C QJ) , president of the Bryan Amateur Radio Club.
One tradition is collecting QSL cards - the letters are shorthand for "Did you confirm receipt of my transmission?" or "I confirm receipt of your transmission." Amateur radio operators (hams) trade QSL cards to document communications. Some hams send personalized cards printed with various designs and their photo.
Phillips' collection includes cards from hams in England, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Slovak Republic and on the Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor.
A major reason amateur radio has not been buried by other communication technologies is the enjoyment of talking to other hams not only around the world but over it. Hams can even converse with astronauts on the International Space Station.
Famous people known to hang around the amateur radio band are New York Gov. George Pataki, former 'N Sync singer Lance Bass, country singer Patty Loveless, record-setting pilot Dick Rutan and CBS news legend Walter Cronkite. All are licensed amateur radio operators. So were the late Marlon Brando and guitarist Chet Atkins.
And there's no shortage of people to talk to.
According to Phillips, Brazos County has more than 350 hams while Texas has nearly 43,000 (second to California). The United States has 675,000, and the international total exceeds 2.5 mill