PUSH-TO-TALK MAKES CONTACTS - AND FRIENDS
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Young hams in South Africa are making friends with young
American hams living in Michigan. It's all because of ham radio, as we
hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
JIM MEACHEN: You're never too young to form a long-distance friendship,
but while children before the era of the internet did that by becoming
penpals, some youngsters of the current digital age are going - not
online - but on the air. Kids in the South African Radio League's Hammies
Amateur Radio Club, ZS6ZU, have been building bonds with their counteparts
in the U.S. for almost two years through a net organized by Ed Engelman,
KG8CE, of the Young Amateur Communications Ham Team, in Menominee,
Michigan. Hammies organizer Noel Hammond, ZR6DX, said it's fun - and it's
working.
NOEL: The aim and whole idea of the net and the group, is to get the kids
to discuss, to talk about themselves, learning different cultures, and
what it is like here in Africa, what it is like in the States, and
hopefully, getting to learn each other's cultures. Kids have been very
good ambassadors from both sides.
JIM: Even with their days being many hours apart, Noel said the kids still
find a way to bridge that huge time zone between them.
NOEL: We have had some great conversations with the kids. The kids have
had great conversations with each other. They ask about South Africa, of course,
and there are a lot of questions about the States, what they do,
and what they like about ham radio. The fantastic thing here is that the
common denominator is ham radio.
JIM: In South Africa, those twelve weeks of Saturday morning Hammies
classes have taught the kids enough technical stuff to become confident
operators, but it's the on-air get-togethers with the other children that
provides unity. Maybe one day Noel, says, the radio can unite them in
other ways.
NOEL: I am hoping over a period of time, we can take it to the next level,
and maybe we can get an eyeball QSO. That would absolutely be a dream, be
a dream come true. Maybe take some kids there, or some kids come across
here, and do some of those things, and get to know each other that way.
JIM: That's ham radio building friendships, one child at a time. For
Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.
**
YL DXER IS DAYTON DINNER'S HEADLINER
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Ruth Willet, KM4LAO, isn't just an active YL and a DXer,
she's the keynoter at an upcoming dinner at Dayton Hamvention. Let
Newsline's Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, introduce her:
NEIL'S REPORT: The SouthWest Ohio DX Association has announced that Ruth Willet,
KM4LAO, will keynote its 32nd annual DX Dinner(R), held in
conjunction with the 2017 Dayton Hamvention(R). Her topic will be
"Experiencing the Hobby of a Lifetime." So, let's meet Ruth. She will
tell you a little bit about herself.
RUTH: I'm a freshman at Kettering University in Michigan, where I am
majoring in mechanical engineering, and engineering physics. So, although
I live in Georgia, I chose to go to Kettering in Michigan, because of the
small size, and another big attraction to the school was the co-op
program. So, basically the entire schedule is set up around co-ops. It's
basically a quarter schedule, so you're in school for a quarter, about 11 weeks,
an entire semester, and then you go and work for a company in an engineering
field related to your major. So, I'm working right now for
Textron Specialized Vehicles in Augusta, Georgia. I've been there since
the beginning of January. I'll be there until the end of March, which is
about 11 weeks, and then I'll be heading back to school.
NEIL: Ruth is still basking in the thrill of last year's enviable ham
radio DX adventure.
RUTH: I was a member of the 2016 Dave Kalter Memorial Youth DX adventure.
We traveled to the island of Saba last August. There were nine of us. We
lived on the island for about a week. It was a lot of fun, getting the
experience of traveling there, and operating from the island. We operated
on satellites, as well as HF. So, satellites were pretty neat, since most
of us hadn't experienced satellite operations before. Getting to put Saba
on the air, was quite the adventure.
NEIL: Ruth looks forward to sharing her adventures with everyone at the
DX dinner.
RUTH: I'm looking forward to basically sharing some of the stories of what
I've been able to do in this hobby, thanks to the great people I've been
able to interact with, and learn from. Building on that, share my ideas
that I've learned from the different experiences I've been able to have
regarding how we can promote this personal hobby, and attract people who
will get licensed and stay interested in this hobby, and interested in
amateur radio to keep it moving forward into the future.
NEIL: You can hear Ruth's talk at the DX dinner on Friday, May 19, at the
Dayton Marriott, 1414 S. Patterson Boulevard, starting with a social hour
at 5:30 PM. For more information, and to order tickets, visit
swodxaevents.org. Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp,
WB9VPG.
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