Burg goes on air

By Liz Barry

Published: June 25, 2008

Were you one of those kids who spent countless hours relaying secret messages on the walkie-talkie? Do you fancy beaming messages around the world with old-time radio devices?

Here’s your chance.

The Lynchburg Amateur Radio Club (LARC) is hosting “Get on the Air” in Riverside Park from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, part of a worldwide event when amateur radio operators will connect.

Several types of radios will be set up — voice, Morse code, satellite and modern digital mode — and the public will be able to beam messages to radio operators across the country and world.

Amateur radio, commonly known as “ham radio,” dates back to the 1920s, a time when telephones were not widely used and telegrams were expensive. These days amateur radio is a hobby, but still has practical functions.

Amateur radio operators, licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, often provide volunteer assistance with emergency communications during natural disasters and events when our everyday technology infrastructure breaks down, such as during Hurricane Katrina or the California wild fires, says LARC member Bevin Alexander.“Ham radio guys are almost always part of the volunteer response,” Alexander says. “In places like Hurricane Katrina where the infrastructure got drowned, ham radios were operating off of generators or batteries. . . . It beats smoke signals.”

For more information, visit http://www.n4kss.net/~k4cq.