In emergencies, amateur radio more than hobby

A few nights ago, George Scott was in his bathroom getting ready for bed when he felt one of the earthquakes that shook Yuma recently. He quickly got on his ham radio and found that three of his fellow operators were already on the frequency talking about it.

"That immediacy can be important sometimes," said Scott, a Yuma resident who became interested in amateur radio - often times called Ham radio - while in the Army stationed in Greece. He was there in the 1960s and during a period of political instability in the country, when English-language newspapers, magazines and television were shut down.

He and others at the base in Athens would listen to the BBC and the Voice of America on the radio to get their news. While in Vietnam, he did a lot of short-wave listening that included "tactical stuff." Later he took a civil defense class for licensing in amateur radio.

"I'm what they call a DXer, where I basically sit down and try to make contact with different countries trying to get my country count up to the point of saying I've contacted all of them. I'm about two-thirds of the way there," Scott said.

He also has been involved with emergency communications in Hawaii and Yuma on and off through the years. "I started off as a short-wave listener. That's the way a lot of Hams get started. A lot of them are also CBers and they move up to amateur radio."

He's involved in the 4th annual Hamfest and Electronics Expo that started Friday at the Yuma County Fairgrounds. The event continues today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a barbecue dinner tonight from 6 to 8. The event is open to the public.

There is "on average about one Hamfest in the state of Arizona a month" with the main one being in Williams in July, says Scott. "It's kind of a state convention."

Hamfests include tailgating, when people bring their old equipment and sell it from the back of their vehicles. There are also seminars offered on topics of interest, such as new technologies.

For the first time at Yuma's event, there will be activities for the wives of the "Hammy" husbands, although Scott said there are some "lady Hams."

Scott noted the changes in the trend of new amateurs getting on board. "For years, we've been losing the number of amateurs in our hobby. But within the last year or year and a half, that trend has started up, and one of the ways we're assisting with that is by having amateur radio license testing at the Hamfest. People can come in and take the test to get the initial technician license or progress to a higher level."

Another reason for the boost is the recent omission of the Morse code requirement for the license, according to Scott.

Besides the recreational aspect of Ham radio operating, the most important part of the hobby is the enormous amount of public service and volunteering that they do, he said.

The Ameritime Net tracks those who are out at sea, and their direct contact with the police department through their Net station can be crucial if something happens.

Locally, Scott said, "We pride ourselves on what we can do." They support police during events by barricading, traffic control and in one case, reuniting lost children with their parents.

Scott said, "About two years ago, a member of the Bush administration staff said that amateur radio operators were the first of the first responders. That's quite an endorsement."