• Printer friendly
• E-mail to a friend
• 3 comment(s)
• Recommend

  ( 0 )

• 

Vice President of Education and Training for the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club Bob Pizzi talks about upcoming classes on ham radio operation for the community. Photo by Victor Maccharoli.

Cube Ad

Amateur radioers keep lines of communication open

By ERIC LINDBERG — March 4, 2010

Before Facebook, Twitter and text messaging, there was radio.

And when a major disaster knocks out the power, cuts off access to the Internet and scrambles cell signals, radio is once again king.

Using battery-operated transmitters and a generator-powered station, a local crew of ham radio aficionados keep the lines of communication open when no other options are available.

“We are the last stand of communication worldwide,” said Mike Wapner, a director and member of the Santa Barbara Amateur Radio Club (SBARC).

A group of local radio operators manned roadblocks during the Zaca fire several years ago and helped pass along messages between fire officials in rugged backcountry areas with no cell service.

They also participate in emergency preparedness drills and practice setting up radio communications between different local agencies.

Beyond emergency response, the club also provides communications during local events such as marathons, bike races and Fiesta parades, and its members meet up on specific frequencies to chat on topics ranging from aviation and maritime activities to shopping and nature.

“It’s a hobby, it’s a way to get to know the community, it’s a way to give back,” said Bob Pizzi, the club’s vice president of education and training.

Despite the rise of social networking technology, the club has seen a resurgence of interest in recent years and is holding an upcoming series of training courses in amateur radio operation skills.

The introductory class runs for a week and trains participants in the basics of owning and operating an amateur radio station, culminating with a technician class licensing test. Those who successfully complete the course are able to communicate with other ham radio operators in the region.

A more advanced class is also offered that allows participants to gain the skills necessary to interact with other amateur radio operators around the world, in addition to passing the general class licensing test.

Pizzi, known to other radio operators by his identifier AC6PZ, said more people are getting involved in ham radio, particularly those who became upset with the flow of emergency information during the recent wildfires in Santa Barbara.

His crew of trainers, known as the HAMigos, only covers the basics during the introductory course, and technophobes should not shy away.

“Setting the time on your VCR is more difficult than using this thing,” Pizzi said, holding up his handheld transmitter, a gadget slightly larger than the standard cell phone.

And unlike in many other countries, where knowledge of Morse code is still a requirement to getting an amateur radio license, local residents can ignore the dots and dashes.

Wapner, known on the airwaves as K6QD, prefers using the code and said he can communicate much faster than anyone using text messages.

He should be pretty polished by now — he’s had an interest in amateur radio since 1956, when he was 12 years old. Wapner recalled taking the bus from North Hollywood to take licensing classes at the Federal Communications Commission offices in downtown Los Angeles.

As a teenager, he handled thousands of phone patches for soldiers calling from Vietnam to family and friends in the United States.

When he sailed to the South Pacific a few years ago, Wapner stayed in touch with his wife by running a similar phone patch through another local amateur radio operator. He also chats frequently with people around the world, such as a dentist in Japan.

“I talk with him at least once a week,” he said.

Pizzi, on the other hand, has several buddies on a net — jargon for a group of operators who meet up on a specific frequency at scheduled times to chat — that centers on Australia, New Zealand and Africa.

And the club recently went beyond intercontinental communication by hooking up a group of local Boy Scouts with a direct connection to the International Space Station for a brief chat with astronauts.

“There are so many facets to this gem, there’s something for everyone,” Pizzi said.

The local amateur radio club traces its history back to 1919, when an Air Service radio officer named J.C. Lewis came to Santa Barbara and formed a club with a few local ham operators. By 1924, the club had more than 200 members.

Pizzi said the current club roster includes about 100 members, and he is hopeful the upcoming training sessions will get more community members involved in the pursuit.

The technician level classes run from March 8 to 12 at the Montecito Fire Protection District, 595 San Ysidro Rd., from 7 to 9 p.m. General level classes take place on six consecutive Saturdays beginning on March 27 at the American Red Cross, 2707 State St.

More information is available at www.sbarc.org, by sending an email to rpizzi@physics.ucsb.edu, or by calling 893-2553.

Comment on this article

Subject:

Body:

Poster:

Enter text seen above:

Amateur radioers keep lines of communication open : 3/4/2010

This was a wonderful article. I have known about the hams in our community for a long time but this was the first that I can remember reading about them and all the wonderful things they do for the community (and for themselves as a hobby). I would like to hear more about what these folks do in their hobby. I have an idea that they have not told us the whole story in this article!

Avrom Schwartz

---

keep lines of communication open : 3/5/2010

When it comes to our property, what do we expect in case of loss (hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, fire, etc.)? The disaster itself is news. What happens after the dust settles is the story: the aftermath shock. With a little curiosity that shock can be mitigated.
Here's something disaster workers, authorities and the public should know. Insurance policyholders, and more importantly disaster survivors, need to be informed of access to equality--basic rights and information. The internet reaches far more people than anyone would have ever imagined, though difficult to gather those willing to pause, to inspect, to further...to think on their own. And yet, much is available gratis! It just takes looking: www.disasterprepared.net/info.html

Antone P. Braga

---

just the article ! ! : 3/8/2010

Great writeup !!We don't get any public exposure for all the event and emergency situations we support and partisipate in. ...

B Wilson

---