Ham Radio

chambersburg@herald-mail.com Hunched over in a small tent with earphones on and a microphone in hand, Chris Shelton was trying to reach anyone he could Sunday with a 50-watt, six-meter, short-wave radio set. "Unfortunately, it's not really great for long-distance communications," said Shelton, a Missouri school teacher. "We've only gotten nine contacts on this particular station. " Those contacts, however, included stations in Canada, Florida, Texas and his home state of Missouri.

photo: RICHARD T. MEAGHER / staff photographer enlarge Ham radio goes high-tech FORT LOUDON, Pa. -- "Are you decent?" Carl Morris of Chambersburg asked Joe Lockbaum. "I'm not shaved," Lockbaum replied. Even though the Mercersburg man was 10 miles away, his face was on a TV monitor sitting on a card table inside an army surplus tent. Lockbaum, president of the Valley Amateur Television Society, was transmitting from his pickup truck to show how club members can communicate.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- While ham radio enthusiasts admit it is challenging trying to attract new people, they say it shouldn't be. "Whenever there is a disaster, it is always the ham radio operators who come in to provide communication when all else fails," said Alan Raskind, a member of the Opequon Radio Society. Raskind and several other members of the local American Radio Relay League group set up Saturday at Martinsburg Mall to pique the curiosity of passers-by among the young and not so young.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- They say the average ham radio operator is a 59-year-old man. A quick inventory of the Cumberland Valley Amateur Radio Club and that assessment appears spot on. But look again. In the corner, with their feet barely reaching the floor, are two young girls who recently have defied the stereotype by becoming two of the youngest licensed "hams" in the state of Pennsylvania. On international air space, they are KB3SSN and KB3SSM. In person, they are 7-year-old Veronica Latham and 8-year-old Victoria Latham of Shippensburg, Pa. The girls officially have been on the air for a few weeks, but their parents, both licensed operators, have made radio a part of the girls' lives since birth.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - While ham radio enthusiasts admit it is challenging trying to attract new members, they say it shouldn't be. "Whenever there is a disaster, it is always the ham radio operators who come in to provide communication when all else fails," said Alan Raskind, a member of the Opequon Radio Society. Raskind and several other members of the local American Radio Relay League group set up Saturday at Martinsburg Mall to pique the curiosity of passers-by among the young and not so young.

Saturday, Nov. 14 HAM radio class MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Opequon Radio Society will hold an introductory HAM radio course for beginners and anyone intersted in HAM radio. Topics include HAM radio technology, using electronics, equipment selection, radio gagetry, operating HAM radio, obtaining your license and call sign, finding other HAMs. 8:30 to 10 a.m. Saturdays beginning Nov. 14. Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus. Free. To register, call 304-876-9330 or e-mail kb8yjv@earthlink.

marlob@herald-mail.com Ron Parise is an astronaut with two space shuttle trips to his credit. But he is especially proud to be a "ham" in space. Parise spent time Sunday with members of the Antietam Radio Association, not only to help them celebrate their 50 years as amateur radio operators, or hams, but to share his experiences as a colleague who got to extend his hobby into space. Ham radio operators use two-way radio stations to communicate with each other over radio waves that span the earth - and now beyond.

Ham radio operators can know each other for decades without meeting. Page Pyne, who helped organize Saturday's amateur radio convention in Hagerstown, said he first met Bob Josuweit of Philadelphia at a convention in 1976. It was hard to forget the circumstances. The American Legion was holding a convention at the same Philadelphia hotel. A form of pneumonia spread, killing 34 people among the 221 who contracted it, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' Web site.

charlestown@herald-mail.com BUNKER HILL, W.Va. - For 24 hours Saturday and Sunday, the world was at the doorstep of a group of local amateur radio operators. Setting up shop in a remote field overlooking the Shenandoah Valley near Bunker Hill, the ham radio operators were able to talk to people in places as far away as England, Germany and Hawaii. The conversations took place during the annual Field Day event, when ham radio operators throughout the Western Hemisphere try to make as many radio contacts with each other as possible.

Joseph Carl Thornwall, 86, passed away May 14, 2012, in Boonsboro, Md., at Fahrney-Keedy Home & Village after a short illness. Mr. Thornwall was born Feb. 1, 1926, in Topeka, Kan., son of Joseph W. Thornwall and Katie Eva (Lesser) Thornwall. He grew up in Topeka and graduated from Seaman High School in 1944. Joseph joined the Navy two weeks before his 18th birthday on Jan. 25, 1944. He went through basic training and radio school at Farragut Naval Training station in Idaho and became a first-class radioman.

Richard George McGowan Sr., 90, of Fahrney Keedy Home and Village and formerly of Smithsburg, Md., passed away Wednesday, April 4, 2012, at Fahrney Keedy Home. Born Feb. 21, 1922, in Waukegan, Ill., he was the son of the late Robert Melvin and Rose Bell (Avery) McGowan. He served in the U.S. Merchant Marine from March 1944 to April 1947. It was while he was in the Merchant Marine that he contracted polio. After several years in the Marine Hospital in Baltimore, Md., and with physical and occupational therapy, he was discharged and able to return to work - first as an aircraft mechanic at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., and then as an electronic technician at NASA Goodard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. He retired from NASA in 1979 and moved to Smithsburg.

"We have a saying," Bob Long said. "When all else fails — amateur radio. " Disaster can silence communication in an instant, but just a little box, hooked to an antenna drawing a few watts of power, and a ham — as amateur radio operators often are called — can send messages across the globe, said Long of Mount Aetna. "A small antenna pulling enough power for a nightlight and I can talk to Russia," he said. Long and about 30 other amateur radio operators from the Antietam Radio Association gathered Saturday at Leitersburg Ruritan Community Park to compete in a nationwide event known as Field Day. To the untrained eye, the set up at the hilltop park might not look like much.

MAUGANSVILLE-- By day, Ronald Meihls is operations and maintenance supervisor for the City of Hagerstown's Water and Sewer Department. By night, he is a federally licensed amateur radio operator known as KB3MBS, whose skills helped in relief efforts when he traveled to Haiti about five weeks after the Jan. 12 earthquake. Meihls provided backup communications for the Medishare Field Hospital at the airport in Port-au-Prince. "This was a critical lifeline, because all communication was down but the radios," Meihls said.

Saturday, Nov. 14 HAM radio class MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Opequon Radio Society will hold an introductory HAM radio course for beginners and anyone intersted in HAM radio. Topics include HAM radio technology, using electronics, equipment selection, radio gagetry, operating HAM radio, obtaining your license and call sign, finding other HAMs. 8:30 to 10 a.m. Saturdays beginning Nov. 14. Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus. Free. To register, call 304-876-9330 or e-mail kb8yjv@earthlink.

Sign up with ham radio To the editor: I hope everyone enjoyed the recent article about the two young girls who recently obtained their ham, or amateur radio license. Amateur radio is one of the most inclusive hobbies for people of all ages and abilities. Other than the ability to read and study for the 35-question exam, you need no physical skill, specialized aptitude or knowledge to pass the test. Amateur radio is also a worldwide activity, studded not only with people who might be your neighbor, but royalty as well.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- They say the average ham radio operator is a 59-year-old man. A quick inventory of the Cumberland Valley Amateur Radio Club and that assessment appears spot on. But look again. In the corner, with their feet barely reaching the floor, are two young girls who recently have defied the stereotype by becoming two of the youngest licensed "hams" in the state of Pennsylvania. On international air space, they are KB3SSN and KB3SSM. In person, they are 7-year-old Veronica Latham and 8-year-old Victoria Latham of Shippensburg, Pa. The girls officially have been on the air for a few weeks, but their parents, both licensed operators, have made radio a part of the girls' lives since birth.

SHARPSBURG -- Four years ago, Dave Beaver of Sharpsburg began dabbling in amateur radio based on his interest in electronics and communicating with other people. Now, Beaver says he's able to speak with people via amateur radio -- also known as ham radio -- as close as his own town or as far away as Europe. Beaver was one of the anticipated 300 amateur radio enthusiasts to attend Sunday's fundraiser for the Antietam Radio Association at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center.

Needle darning book mark For ages 6 and older. Taught by Sally Poole. An activity related to the exhibit Threads That Bind: Unraveling the Meaning of Embroidery. 1 to 2:30 p.m. today. Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, City Park, Hagerstown. Ham radio and Morse code Tim Keener, ham radio operator, will present a program. 2 p.m. today. Discovery Station, 101 W. Washington St., Hagerstown. Free with paid museum admission. Call 301-790-0076 for information.