This edition of “Amateur radio in the news” features profiles of hams just doing their thing. I like this. I think that news stories about amateur radio focus too much on emergency communications, which as we all know, is only a part of amateur radio……Dan
Paul Brandt: The POTA guy
STEUBENVILLE, OH — “What are you doing?” is a question Paul Brandt has gotten used to being asked ever since he’s been “a POTA guy” going to parks.
An acronym for Parks on the Air, POTA is a nonprofit organization founded in 2010 that supports the use of amateur radio operators being in state and national parks and communicating with other operators, wherever they may be.
It’s something the local resident got interested in as recently as last summer — an effort that involves going to a park, getting set up and hoping to make at least 10 contacts with other operators for POTA credit.
Telling Alaska’s Story: John Bury talks about 67 years as a ham radio operator
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – If one drives by John Bury’s house in West Anchorage, they can’t help but notice the huge antennas that seem to reach to the sky. Bury’s “antenna farm,” as he calls it, is his link to communicating with people from all over the world.
Bury has been a ham radio operator for 67 of his 80 years. Originally from Wisconsin, Bury was introduced to ham radio as a young teen by his father. In 1966, Bury, his wife Susan and their young daughter headed north to accept a job teaching in rural Alaska. They brought their ham radio equipment with them and, over the next 10 years in the bush, were glad they did.
Freeport ham radio operator gets thrill from being part of airwaves
FREEPORT, IL — On any given day, John Mitchell sits in front of his amateur ham radio set up in his home, stares up at a video screen showing all the places where he could have a conversation with someone and wonders what the world has in store for him.
Mitchell is a ham radio operator who loves sharing his love for radio, something he learned as a teen after he grew out of walkie-talkies.
He used a ham radio for the first time when he was 14 and has been fascinated ever since with the technology that dates back more than 100 years.
Leave a Reply