Intern Builds Amateur Radio Station

WALLOPS ISLAND -- Chris Billie, an engineering intern at Surface Combat Systems Center, Wallops Island, and a second year engineering student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has completed a project to design and install a military recreation amateur radio station at the command's Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center.

The hands-on project allowed Billie to learn about multiple phases of the system engineering process, resulting in an operational high frequency/very high frequency amateur radio station.

As one of only 45 licensed military recreation stations, it will provide amateur radio recreational opportunities to amateur operators who are active duty, retired, reserve military personnel and their dependents, government service and contractor personnel at SCSC; enable Workforce Development Center students to conduct experiments and receive training in radio communications; and provide backup radio communications capability to the command during emergencies."Building an amateur radio station enabled Chris Billie to have a hands-on experience with systems engineering. His low-cost solution to engineering a platform to stimulate science, math, technology and engineering areas is now realized as future students can now pursue a Federal Communications Comm-ission Amateur Radio license. The FCC license exam covers basic regulations, operating practices and electronics theory, with a focus on VHF and UHF applications and allows the licensee to operate FM voice, digital packet (computers), television and single-sideband voice," said SCSC commanding officer, Cmdr. John Keegan.

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For All Interested "Ham Radio" Operators..........

The Eastern Shore "Radio Hams" will join in National "Field-Day" Exercises on June 26 and 27 to practice and demonstrate emergency communication skills.

"Hams" from Accomack and Northampton Counties will join with thousands of Amateur Radio operators to showoff their emergency capabilities this weekend. Over the past year, the news has been full of reports of ham radio operators providing critical communications during unexpected emergencies in towns across American including the California wildfires, winter storms, tornadoes and other events worldwide. During Hurricane Katrina, Amateur Radio, often referred to as "Ham Radio", was often the only way people could communicate, and hundreds of volunteer "hams" traveled south to save lives and property. When trouble is brewing, Amateur Radios people are often the first to provide rescuers with critical information and communications.

On the weekend of June 26-27, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with ham radio operators and see for themselves what the Amateur Radio service is about. Showing the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and even historical Morse code, hams from across the USA will be holding public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities. This annual event, called "Field Day," is sponsored by the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and backyards around the country. Their slogan "When All Else Fails, Ham Radio Works" is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, internet or any other infrastructure that can be comprised in a crisis. More than 35,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year's event.

The Eastern Shore Amateur Radio Club (ESARC) will host the Eastern Shore activities, at the Farmer's Market pavilion in Parksley for the 24 hour period beginning at 2:00 PM on Saturday June 26. The ESARC, in cooperation with other country agencies, rehearses throughout the year to prepare for whatever emergencies might arise, needing communications support. To learn more about Amateur Radio, even how to get your own FCC radio license, visit the Field Day activities in Parksley, and/or go to www.emergency-radio.org.

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