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Mikel Edwards initially became interested in amateur, or ham radio, more out of necessity than anything else.
Edwards owns an off-the-grid cabin that has no cellular service or electricity. But with ham radio, Edwards is able to communicate with fellow amateur radio operators.
Ham radio uses the radio frequency spectrum for the non-commercial exchange of messages, private recreation, and emergency communications.
“I can communicate 40, 50 miles from my cabin in the event there was a forest fire or some other kind of emergency,” Edwards said.
About two years ago, Edwards joined the Puget Sound Repeater Group, a nonprofit organization that maintains an amateur radio repeater system in the Seattle area.
The group has signal repeaters up and down Puget Sound. These repeaters pick up the amateur radio signals
and repeat or pass along the signal.
“You can communicate north of Marysville all the way south to Tacoma,” Edwards said.
The group, which marked its 50th year of operation this year, held a rain or shine event May 29 at Lighthouse Park. Members gathered to visit face-to-face for the first time in months.
Members also brought their radio equipment, antennas, and power supplies, so that they could host remote nets, which are similar to radio call-in shows. During a morning broadcast, Puget Sound Repeater Group Vice-President Jack Wolfe heard from people from all over the world.
“It’s just a way to stay in touch with everybody, test the equipment, and get out in the field,” he said.
Amateur radio isn’t limited by geography as ham radio operators also use the internet to check into remote nets.
“On these nets, we’ve had several people from Oregon that I’ve heard this morning, and as far away as Australia and Trinidad and Tobago,” Edwards said.
Wolfe also is interested in ham radio for emergency communication capabilities. At one time, the testing requirement for an amateur radio license included a morse code component, which was an impediment for Wolfe.
“I was terrible at morse code. The requirement was dropped and I thought, ‘Wait. I can get into it now,’” he said. “So I bought a radio and got really excited, and I haven’t looked back since.”
As part of his vice president duties, Wolf is the net manager, schedulding hosts for the call-in shows. He also hosts five programs during the week.
“We have 800-plus members in our group,” Wolfe said. “We’re one of the largest in the world.”
Worldwide, an estimated 3 million people are involved in amateur radio with about 700,000 in the United States, according to the American Legion Amateur Radio Club.
Edwards was surprised to find out that in addition to the technical expertise of members, there was a social aspect to the group he wasn’t expecting.
“I didn’t realize that there was this community of so many fun, interesting, and helpful people,” Edwards said. “I discovered all these new friends. It’s been a lot of fun.”
People have varied interests.
“Some people like to join competitions where they see how many people they can communicate with from around the world in a certain period of time,” Edwards said. “This is a social group, but in times of need, having the ham radio system really helps with emergencies,” Edwards said.
Natural disasters often knock out cell towers, resulting in major communication disruptions.
But amateur radio isn’t reliant on cell towers. Ham radio operators helped coordinate disaster relief during the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005. Amateur radio operators also helped with communication during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing when cellphone towers became overloaded.
In the event of a commercial power outage, the Puget Sound Repeater Group’s main repeater switches to battery operation, and the group urges members to limit their transmissions to priority communication. Antennas can be powered by battery packs.
“So if electricity went down or if there’s some emergency or whatever, the group will jump in and facilitate communications,” Edwards said.
The Federal Communications Commission regulates amateur radio, and ham radio operators have to pass tests. There are three levels – technician, general, and amateur extra. Each successive level gives the operator access to more frequencies and operating privileges.
It doesn’t take a lot of money to get started in amateur radio, with the cost of test study materials and the exam running about $50 and an inexpensive ham radio going for $50 or less.
Wolfe estimates he’s spent about $3,000.
“I have a lot of extra equipment for doing these remote events,” he said.
“You can buy a radio that could communicate with this net for even less than $30,” Edwards added. “I also have a friend who’s spent well over $7,000 for very sophisticated antennas and equipment so that he could communicate around the world. So there’s a wide range.”
For more information about the Puget Sound Repeater Group: https://web.psrg.org
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