Amateur radio recruits youths

SCHENECTADY — Dylan Jacobson, 7, of Clifton Park, spoke with someone from Pittsburgh, Pa., over the radio Sunday afternoon from the basement of the Schenectady Museum and Suits-Bueche Planetarium.

“Hello my name is Dylan. I’m 7 years old and I can’t decide my favorite color between blue and yellow,” he said into the microphone.

Jim from Pittsburgh responded and Dylan learned about Jim’s radio equipment and the weather in Pennsylvania. And he was reminded to be nice to his mother.

“It was cool,” Jacobson said after the experience.

Schenectady Museum Amateur Radio Association, a club of mostly middle-aged men, opened their doors to children Sunday afternoon for National Amateur Radio Kids Day.

The Boring Amateur Radio Association from Oregon has been putting on the event for over a dozen years in an effort to attract more children to amateur radio.

Most amateur radio fanatics are older. The men involved with Schenectady Museum’s Amateur Radio station range in age from mid 30s to 60.

“All of us are older … We want to fix that,” Dan Miller of Glenville said.

The children were able to chat with other children from all over the country. However, not many children took advantage of the opportunity this year. In years past, club member Gerald Murray said, the basement room was packed with families. This year only a handful of children visited.

Murray said it’s interesting to see how the children react to being on the radio.

“Some are shy, but others find a whole new personality,” he said.

Jonathan Johnson, 4, of Schenectady, told Dave from University City, Mo., his age and his favorite color, but didn’t want to say much else.

On the other end the radio operator told Johnson that it was cold in the Midwest, but probably not as cold as it was here and they were expecting snow later in the week.

While little tidbits and mostly mundane details were exchanged over the airways during Kids Day, amateur radio operators, often called “hams,” still play a useful role in communications and often are essential during an emergency.

Most of the men involved with the radio club are also involved with some sort of emergency management organization, including the Red Cross of Northeastern New York and the Urban Search and Rescue Team.

Tony Pazzola, 60, of Loudonville, operated one of the only amateur radios from the rubble of the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 attacks. The event demolished police and fire radio signals, and amateur radio was the main source of communication between emergency responders.

Murray operated an amateur radio from Canajoharie High School to provide communication with emergency responders during the flooding that devastated the western Mohawk Valley in the spring of 2006.

Miller, a member of the Cost Guard Auxiliary who served in the Navy, said he continues to participate in amateur radio clubs because of the public service it provides.

The radio club members also broadcast news about local events such as parades and sporting events like the Freihofer’s Run and the Empire State Games.

The Schenectady Museum Amateur Radio Association is organizing a kids’ club, which will teach children more about amateur radio. An information session is scheduled for noon on Jan. 24 at the museum.

Source Schenectady Gazette