Does amateur radio still exist?
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, has been around for over 100 years. It started as a way for ordinary people to experiment with Morse code communication, but it quickly became wireless voice communication. With modern technologies such as cell phones and the Internet, wireless communication seems unnecessary. But if you ask Delaware’s roughly 2,000 Federal Communications Commission-licensed amateur radio operators, they’ll tell you it’s more than just a hobby. For many people, it is part of everyday life.
October was a particularly busy month for local amateur radio operators. A group of hams from the Nanticoke Amateur Radio Club set up equipment Oct. 7 in Redden State Forest, just south of Georgetown. The purpose of this event was to give operators experience in setting up a completely off-grid operational field station. They spent several hours at Park on the Air with other hams, many of whom live in various parks and public lands around the world.
Approximately 300 feet away from the POTA group was an automated radio tracking antenna used to monitor migratory birds. The research tracker uses a designated frequency range on the radio spectrum and is free of interference from amateur radio operations. Forest officials say the research program has numerous migratory bird tracking antennas, but the Redden Forest site is the only one in Delaware.
The Sussex County Emergency Operations Center held 9-1-1 Awareness Day on Oct. 12, an annual exhibition to educate the community about emergency services. Visitors, including many children, were given a tour of the emergency facilities and spent time at outdoor exhibits, including various fire, ambulance, forestry and safety demonstrations and the county’s mobile command unit. The MCU is a mobile 911 facility that can be deployed on standby to provide emergency communications to and from large public gatherings and disaster scenes. The Sussex Auxiliary Communications Group regularly supports mobile facilities and was on hand at the event. At local fireworks, parades, and public events such as his MCU’s recent Apple Scrapple Festival in Bridgeville, AuxComm operators use handheld radios to roam the event and provide assistance when needed. provides a means to immediately alert emergency personnel.
During the Apple Scrapple Festival on October 14, 20 amateur radio AuxComm operators from Kent and Sussex counties, under the direction of the EOC, assisted visitors and provided information to the MCU. Hams can give directions, contact her MCU about separated family members, and call for help to those in need of medical assistance.
Licensed operators from Kent and Sussex counties conducted their annual mock emergency test over the weekend of October 21st. No advance information is provided regarding this activity, as emergencies often occur at the most inopportune times. Many carriers have go-kits that allow them to travel with their own wireless equipment and supplies when and where they are needed.
In addition to Morse code and voice communications, new digital modes and techniques are being developed for modern amateur radio. Ham operators can now send text messages, emails, weather forecasts, and location information using only radio waves without the use of the Internet. These technologies allow amateur radio to be used during natural disasters and other emergency situations where more widely used communication methods are unavailable. The nature of amateur radio stations allows them to be installed anywhere, requires no utility power, is relatively inexpensive, and if one station fails, the rest of the system continues uninterrupted. So the answer is: Yes, amateur radio still exists.
Anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio can visit sussexradio.com or email sussexamateurradio@gmail.com.