Radio "Hams" Have Proud Traditions And Not A Little Glory

Chronicle (Levin), 18 June 1949, Page 4

Radio "Hams" Have Proud Traditions And Not A Little Glory

The apprehension of a youth operating an imlieensed radio transmitter at Paraparaumu has directed the attehtion of the public in an unwelcome mapner to the existence of a , group of New Zealand citizens, nearly 2000 stro.ng, licensed ' after passing the requisite examination,. to operate amateur radio transmitters. The youth was .not in fact a licensed , amateur, nor had he any connection with them, but was what is known among the Amateur fraternity a*s a "pirate." . Amateurs are commonly known as 'Hams," a term which the passage of many years has endowed with numerous proud traditions and not a little glory.

Amateur radio is as old as the art itself. Marconi liked to identif y hmtself with the amateurs. Amateur 'transmitting probab y first became popular early in the present century in the U.S.A., where- there were about 4000 by 1917, though Dr. Jack, of Otago University, and Mr. J. Strachan, of Rangiora, were among the conCemporary pioneers in N.Z. At that time the Amateur was eonfined to wave lengths below 200 metres,

such being commonly supposed to be useless for long distance communication,- which was carried on at that time on wave lengths as great as 2000 metres. So amateur transmitters, rather of necessity, pioneered what we now call "short- waves." "Long distance" records increased from a few hundred miles to unheard-of, distances of over 1000. Finallv, in a concerted effort among British, French and American Amateurs to bridge the Atlantic, the wave length of 110 metres, considered by the engineering world to be absolutely woi'thless, made trans-Atlantic communication possible, with the smafi power afiowed to Amateurs, in November, 1923. Battle For Wavelengths. The exodus to really "short" waves began. Forty metres allowed trans-Pacific communication, then 20 metres opened up reliab'e daylight communication over similar distances. The commercia1 interests followed where the Amateur pioneered, and soon a struggle for wave lengths, began betyreen commercial telegraph and press circuits, short wave broadcasting, Amateu*"" ship, aeroplane and armed forces interests. The Amateurs were well organised, in the International Amateur Radio Union, to which the N.Z. Association of Radio Transmitters is affiliated, and have managed to retain relatively narrow hands on approx.imately 80, 40, .20 and 10 metres, with additiohal assignments in the very short wave and ultra-short wave regions. Amateurs are not only responsible for pianeering the short waves, but also for a very large proportion of'"mbdern techniques, apparatus for transmitting and receiving signals, beam aerials, television, radar and so on. Amateurs To The Rescue. Orie of the main claims of the Amateurs to- the privilege of experimentlng with radio transmission is the very large and creditable part they diave played in national emergencies all over the world. These are frequent in a territory the size of the North American Continent, tornadoes and blizzards being not infrequent, and the Texas City disaster of last year is still fresh in many minds. In New Zealand, an Amateur, Mr. G. E. Tyler, ZL2GE, handled a large proportion of message traffic to and from the strieken area after the Napier earthquake in 1931. In April, 1933, four trampers were lost in the Tararua Ranges for 15 days. Amateurs p]ayed a conspicuous and useful part in the widespread search which was carried on throughout that peripd. A portable transmitting set was car-

ried in to the- Te Matawai Hut, the search base on the westerh side of the ranges, with Mr. Trevor Gabriel, ZL2GL, of Palmerston North, as operator. He was able to maintain continual contact with two Amateurs in Levin, Messrs E. Humphrey, now ZL3KB, and S. G. Taylor, now ZL2GK, advising the movements of searchers and the food requirements of the numerous parties.

Last year amateurs played a large part in handling cbmmunications after the aif disaster on Mt. Ruapehu, and during the floods at Gisborne and Balclutha. All these services are given using the Amateur's own highly developed, complical'ed and often expensive apparatus, at his own expense, and without hope or any expectation of material reward. A ' word needs to te said about broadcast interference. Anno.ying noises in home broadcast receivers are'seldom, if ever, due to amateur transmitters. Morse signals usual'y emanate from one of the high powered post and teegraph, naval or air force transmitters. When Amateurs a.re responsible for interference it is usually in the form cf clear, understandable, voice signals, and the Amateur ca-n be easily iden'tified. If he is informed that he is causing interference, he will always take prompt steps to eliminate it. Usually the receiver is at fault, being cheaply made or poorly adjusted internally, but the Ama'leur has the expert knowledge to correct such faults, and is willing and anxious to do so. In this sense? the name "Amateur" - is misleading— he_ is often an expert. Most radio inspectors, including the chief radio inspector, Mr. R. Coakley, ZL2RC, are active Amateurs. Active Local Branch. In Levin there is a keen and active branch of the N.Z. Association of Radio Transmitters, the president being Mr. R. Woodfield, ZL2VN, and the secretary Mr. G. Reakes, ZL2GN. Incorporated in the branch is a section of the Radio Emergency Corps, equipped with portable transmitting and receiving gear, and ready at any moment of emergency to provide reliabe communications to and from any spot, no matter how inaccessible, and to co-operate in any way possible with police, tramping club, army, airways organisations, or any other authority. To conclude, the youth interfering at Paraparaumu with air services was not a licensed Amateur, never has been, and it is unlikely he ever will be. The Amateurs are a law-abiding section of the community, jealous of their traditions and reputation, and ready and willing at all times to serve the community. The Natiopal Conference of N.Z.A.R.T. in Wellington on June 4 expressed in no uncertain terms their disgust at the operations of the Paraparaumu "pirate," and their wiliingness and anxiety tohelp in any way possible to apprehend him. He was finally caught due largely to the efforts of Mr. J. Gasson, ZL2IN.