ARRLWeb: Contact! - December 2007

I never met a good idea I didn’t want to steal, and here’s an interesting public relations strategy:

The idea: Advocate learning and understanding the world and things around you, not just being a consumer.

With larger percentages of the US population approaching retirement and looking at activities to keep them mentally alert and active, this is a fertile area for Amateur Radio.

“Every seven seconds, a baby-boomer turns 50. This population will grow 25% in the next decade while other segments remain flat.” – Matt Thornhill of The Boomer Project.

Bloggers!

Everyone has an opinion and lately it seems everyone can voice that opinion in an editorial piece on some Internet blog. The problem is that when anyone can post, anyone can get it wrong. Often the opinions expressed can be terribly wrong, harmful and hurtful. But the Internet format makes true experts, truth, falsehood and idiots all look equally valid.

The PR reality is that no one can control bloggers. Best estimates are that there are more than 100 million blogs already and thousands added daily. Rarely are “facts” checked with the actual people involved and, even if corrected, bloggers often delight in creating and continuing arguments to increase their subscriber base rather than admit the truth.

So what is a PIO to do when you happen on a posting that is simply not true? Stay on message! Do not become embroiled in circular arguments, paranoias and suppositions. If possible, use direct quotes from the people actually involved in the topic at hand, never base your “facts” on the commentaries and assumptions of others.

For example, “This ham radio antenna zoning change is nothing more than a back door way for the cell companies to put up more ugly towers.” Now we know that’s not true, but you are not going to win the author over. The writer obviously has not even spoken with the hams involved about it. Your message: “Ham radio is a federally licensed service that provides life saving emergency communications to many local agencies in disasters. Mr. Umptydump of the EOC says, ‘xxxxxxxx.’ But to do this we need to have antennas.” Stay on message, then move on. (Notice, nothing was said about cell phones.)

Why should someone be a ham?

For any enterprise to grow, it must show a return on investment. – So why should someone be a ham?

There have been many articles in the media recently about the serices that Amateur Radio provides for the community. In general, these have been excellent and there’s nothing wrong with them. But we are noting fewer articles which have the “WHY” people become a ham included in them.

Service is good, but service without joy is masochism. Irrespective of your interest, be it ARES, Dx, Foxhunts, or any of the other sides to Amateur Radio, you must be enjoying it or why do it?

Please keep in mind the need to get in a line or two about the enjoyment you get out of being a ham as you craft your media pieces.

Your FIRST question

Writing a press release or story? What is your FIRST question Normally we cover the W’s – who, what, when, where, why. Maybe we’ve been wrong. Consider adding an H – How will this information affect my readers? If it means little or nothing to them, then re-write the story!

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2008 Calendar

The Last Word

Normally I try to put in a little personal piece in “The Last Word” to conclude CONTACT! on a human note. This season I will defer to a wonderful Christmas Season story that was sent to me by Suzanne Mackin. I will let her tell it in her own words…

The man about whom the story is about is Philip Velders, Sr. His amateur radio call sign is W4AIG. Phil has been involved with amateur radio all of his life as his father was. Phil is also a Navy veteran and is a Volunteer at Bay Pines Veteran's Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL where he is well liked and well known. He still resides at his home in Holiday, FL. HAM Don is KG4COQ. We can be found on QRZ.com if you look up our call signs.

A HAM FOR CHRISTMAS

The week of Christmas 2003 I had the bright idea to ask my husband, Dick, if he would buy me a radio scanner so I could listen for traffic and weather news on it, especially during our hurricane season. I had not seen a scanner before Dick gave me mine and didn't know what they were all about until I read the instruction booklet that came with it. I soon realized that I was embarking on learning a new type of language and skill to use it. After trying to figure it out for a few days, by Christmas day I finally understood how to PAUSE a frequency from continual scanning.

Of the different BANDS the scanner has, I had the HAM radio BAND on when I turned the scanner on Christmas morning. I heard some amateur radio operators (HAMs) talking and immediately pushed the PAUSE button on. I listened. The conversation over the airwaves became interesting and was festive for the holiday. A HAM named Phil identified himself as W4AIG over his radio. He was acknowledged by fellow HAMs talking in the group. From their ensuing conversation with Phil, I was to learn that if at all possible, HAMs help out other HAMs in need.

"Uncle Phil", as they referred to him, was indeed a HAM in need. He stated that he had been waiting nearly two hours for a transfer bus to take him home. He was in Tarpon Springs, Florida, in Pinellas County and his home was in the bordering Pasco County.

Someone asked why he was there? Uncle Phil explained he just got out of the hospital after having back surgery and his son was supposed to pick him up and take him home. He said "My son didn't show up so I decided to take the bus home."

I turned the volume up on my scanner so Dick could also hear this conversation. The other HAMs perked up their ears hearing this information. Their comments and questions to come were serious and yet humorous. To me, the conversation progressed to down right wacky.

HAM Richard quickly looked up the Pasco bus schedule on his computer then came back over his radio to inform Phil that the buses in Pasco county were not running on this Christmas day because of the holiday. Phil responded laughing that he wondered why a couple of buses had passed him by. The question now was how was he going to get home?

Phil stated that he was in a wheel chair and that he would just ride on the Pinellas Trail and go on up U.S. HWY 19 (an unlimited open access highway) to his house. "It's only about three miles away" he said. The talking HAMs thought this was preposterous. Listening, so did Dick and I.

Feeling confident and having his hand-held radio with him, Uncle Phil set out on his journey despite the protests to stay put until the HAMs might be able to find someone to pick him up. Talking along the way over his radio, Phil tried to assure the HAMs about his whereabouts and welfare. We followed the conversation and knew his location as Phil rolled himself in his wheel chair along his way.

Phil departed from the bus stop at the corner of U.S. HWY 19 and Tarpon Avenue and crossed HWY 19 eastward on the Pinellas Trail. "Now I'm going up a small hill so I'll be off of the radio for a little while", he informed.

HAM chatter...
Some long minutes later we heard "Okay, I made it up the hill" he said, puffing. "I'm going to take a short rest here because it looks like I'm about to go down a hill next." HAM Richard jokingly asked Uncle Phil if there were any brakes on that wheel chair of his? Phil replied with a laugh "No". A frenzy of HAM chatter...

HAM Don began to plead "If anyone out there hearing this conversation and is located nearby Uncle Phil's location, would they please, please pick up Uncle Phil and give him a ride home", adding, "He's a good friend of mine and I want him to be safe!" The talking HAMs one by one all stated they lived too far away from where Phil was in order to be able to get to him in time, considering if he was still moving along alright. "Okay, I'm starting down the hill now" Phil announced. More frenzied HAM chatter...

Dick and I looked at each other with concern. Dick said to me "I know exactly where he is and I'm going to go get him and take him home". With that said, he left.

From what we were aware of from the conversation, we lived nearest to Phil's location than the talking HAMs, about fifteen minutes away. Leaving the radio scanner with me at home, I listened closely to make sure Dick found Phil. It seemed like a very long, exaggerated wait for me as I watched the clock. I began to wonder how does a person without a radio get in touch with an amateur radio operator to let them know help is on the way? "I'm at the bottom of the hill now and am going to take another rest. I'm okay" Phil said, panting. Concerned, anxious HAM chatter...

After his rest Phil turned his wheel chair around and began pushing himself backward with his feet because his arms were tiring. He was moving slowly now. Dick drove past Phil, not seeing him at first. He went up to the county line a short distance away from Phil's location. While there, he noticed that Phil was going to run out of sidewalk at the line and would then actually be riding on HWY 19, a dangerous trek but especially in a wheel chair. After turning the car around, on his way Dick spotted a man in a wheel chair still on the sidewalk and traveling backward slowly. That has to be Phil, he thought. He found a spot to quickly park the car then started walking toward Phil calling out his name.

Phil, watching this stranger purposefully coming toward him, began to push himself faster with his feet away from Dick. While doing so, he announced over his radio to his fellow HAMs that there was a man coming toward him and didn't understand why the man seemed to be calling to him. HAM Don suggested that maybe someone heard about his situation and was coming to help. I knew they were talking about Dick. I was smiling. Then I began laughing. I imagined Uncle Phil's reaction to Dick. It's Christmas day, he's in a vulnerable situation and a complete stranger is walking toward him who knows his name.

As Dick got closer to Phil, he called out to him saying "Phil, I'm here to help you", explaining "my wife just got a radio scanner for Christmas and heard you needed a ride home." "I'm alright," Phil asserted, "I don't have that much further to go." Dick patiently explained to him that he was about to run out of sidewalk at the county line shortly and how perilous it would become for him in the wheel chair. Phil argued back that he could just walk and push the wheel chair. Dick was not about to allow him to do such a thing. With more patience, Dick finally convinced Phil to let him take him home. Besides, Phil was feeling a little worn out now so he relented and accepted the ride.

In the car, Phil came over the radio informing the HAMs that he had a ride home. He said "It's being given to me because the nice man's wife just got a scanner for Christmas and heard I needed help." HAM chatter of relief... "Merry Christmas!" they said.

As a footnote, Phil's son was at the hospital to pick him up. It was a matter of miscommunication that they missed one another.

A few months later during the course of this emerging friendship between Uncle Phil and us, we discovered in one of our conversations that Uncle Phil and Dick were acquainted with each other in the early 1960's while they both lived and worked in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Currently, we have a strongly bonded friendship together.

Dick and I met some of the amateur radio operators involved in this conversation and other HAMs through Phil soon after this event happened. They all encouraged me to study and get my Technician's license. I passed the test and on March 16, 2006 I was issued a Technician license by the FCC. My call sign is KI4OEB and I am truly enjoying the amateur radio hobby. In case of disaster and if all other forms of communication are down, I am prepared because I am a

HAM.