Building The Net

Amateur Radio Station at SCaLE (So Cal Linux Expo)

Several Amateur Radio Operators setup and operated an HF station at the Pasadena Convention Center for a 3 day stretch at the premier Open Source Software event in the US. The event included a booth on the expo floor demonstrating Mesh Networking, as well as a VE testing session for new and upgrading operators. This was the second year that SCaLE invited this group of Amateur Radio Operators to show the latest (and not so latest) technologies used to communicate with other Amateur Operators around the world. I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in the HF station this year by Vern (W6NCT) as an operator and also to man the information table next to the station.

Who Comes To An Open Source Conference?

That’s a great question! If you think it’s a bunch of programmers that spend all their waking hours locked away in dark rooms, typing endlessly on keyboards, eating junk food and downing highly caffeinated beverages, you would only be partially right. The far greater majority of attendees are programmers, engineers and technologists that make their living using or creating open source software. There are also many computer hobbyists and even some younger folks that have a love of technology. In other words, A PERFECT AUDIENCE TO INTRODUCE TO AMATEUR RADIO!

Are you all doing Ham Radio?

Boy did I hear that question a lot! It seems that all of our signage said ‘Amateur Radio’ but many of the folks only knew it as ‘Ham Radio’. Some of the younger folks had never even heard of ‘Ham Radio’ let alone by it’s official name. However, once we started talking to folks, they quickly got the grasp of what we were all about. And, since these were highly technical people we were talking to, they quickly grasped the concepts of the hobby.

It was fun to talk to people that you could ratchet the science pieces up a bit for. And to my surprise, many of the people that I talked to were interested in how they could take the test and get their license. All and all it really seemed like the outreach we were doing was working!

Some surprising findings…

One of the more striking things that we discovered was that about half the people we were talking to at the information table were licensed Amateurs themselves. This was very heartening until we realized that about 3 out of 4 were totally inactive. This number seemed kinda high to me. Especially when it was the younger of the licensees that were inactive. The more I talked to these folks, the more I realized that they never really got started in the hobby in the first place. They got their Technician license and never lit a carrier… I was a bit struck… Why would you go to all the trouble to get your license and never pursue using it?

Some said that they couldn’t figure out what radio to buy and they didn’t know of any groups or clubs in their area. Others were unsure what they wanted to do in the hobby and after trying to understand some of the different things available on their own, they gave up. Others said they couldn’t connect to anyone with their HT that they bought so they gave up… Others couldn’t program their radio and could not find help locally. All of these excuses seem to point to one thing… They didn’t have an Elmer, and they didn’t know how to find one.

What good is recruiting new Amateur Operators if we aren’t supporting them?

OK, OK… I know that Operators go inactive for all sorts of reasons. I also know that many clubs have outreach programs that reach out to new Operators. But new Operators need one-on-one attention in those first few months. They need to have a person they can ask questions of and not be scared that they will be thought a fool for it. They need an Elmer in the true sense of the name.

I was lucky. When I got my license I had friends that were licensed, and I knew I didn’t have to prove I was intelligent to them. My first QSO was on an HT with N7WLC, the same guy that helped me understand the basics of antennas. My second was with N6ZE, a guy that I used to drink coffee with at a little coffee shop near my office. He would bring up stories of how he used to bring a pair of rabbit ears with him when he was working (retired pilot) and use them in the hotel to work 2 and 6 meters. He taught me that a lousy antenna is better then no antenna at all, and to get a piece of wire in the air and call CQ! He also introduced me to some really helpful and intelligent people who I am proud to have learned from. And yes, I’m in a few clubs, but my questions get answered by my circle of Elmers… I know all my stupid questions are safe with them. Yes… I was one of the lucky ones.

A Call To Action…

I know that here in my little corner of the playground, we all stick together and help each other out. As Amateur Operators, we all need to take the Elmer roll. If you are talking to someone that is having trouble understanding a concept that you have down, help them understand it as well. If someone asked you a question and you don’t know the answer, introduce them to someone who does. Assure them that no question is stupid, and that we’ve all been there. Let them know that you sincerely want to help them, and that most other Amateurs and clubs also want them to succeed in their new hobby.

Remember, an Elmer is someone that knows a little more about something then the person they are helping. Share your knowledge and change the world!

— Stu