Relative Hams

Carrollton family shares passion for amateur radio

By LYNDA STRINGER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

There's usually a ham in every family. But the Johnson family has three. Ham radio operators, that is.

What's most impressive, though, is one of them is 10 years old.

Rachel Johnson, a fifth-grader at Rosemeade Elementary in Carrollton, is the youngest member of the Metrocrest Amateur Radio Society where the other "hams" – her many adopted uncles – call her Lovely Texas Blonde or Little Teddy Bear after her call sign, KE5LTB.

"I think it's really fun. I get to play around with the gear and get to hang out with other ham operators," Rachel said.

Her dad, Randy Johnson, says he's responsible for her interest. Mom agrees.

"Her daddy wanted her to do it, and ever since it has been a father-daughter thing," said Melanie Johnson, who got her own license for sentimental reasons. Her parents were both licensed amateur radio operators in the 1950s.

"I just wanted my mother's call letters," Mrs. Johnson said.

Now she and her husband have the call signs her parents used, W5WZY and W5WZZ.

"It helps us look back at the past and carry that on, and it gives us something we can all share," she said.

Most of the time, the three communicate with portable radio equipment, but they also use Rachel