|
Why HAM Radio? by Rick Gardiner, VE1RGG
HAM radio operators are frequently asked, “Why can’t you just use a cell phone for communications?” and “What is the difference between HAM radio and CB?” The simple answer often used to get out of a detailed explanation is “It’s more fun using HAM radio!” The real reason has more to do with coverage and flexibility. The MS staff tried using CB radios and cell phones in the past but neither provided good coverage along the routes. HAM radio operators have a wide range of radio bands to choose from. Each radio band has its own type of characteristics such as line-of-site vs. long-range bounce (called skip). The band normally chosen for the MS Bike Tour is the 2-metre band that has line-of-site coverage typically from a few miles to 50 or 60 miles. CB has only one band that has good skip for a 1,000 miles but less line-of-site coverage. Cell phones are actually quite similar to the 2-metre HAM band (line-of-site) and share another common feature, they both use repeaters (or cell towers for cell phones). A repeater is a radio receiver and transmitter normally placed high on a hill so it can hear all the signals from nearby vehicles or hand-held radios and simultaneously rebroadcast those signals from the top of the hill. In that way each radio only has to “see” the top of the hill to hear the signal and does not have to “see” the other vehicles. If you are in a city or town or along a major highway cell phones will work fine. When you get into remote areas cell phones start loosing the necessary signals. HAM radios may be switched to direct radio-to-radio (simplex) mode but they have much better coverage when using a repeater. Routes chosen for the bike tour are typically in rural areas that are away from traffic. This conflicts which the sites chosen for cell phone towers. These sites are based on demand and usage (i.e. sales), which means they require heavy traffic and areas with many people. It is not economical to line rural routes with cell phone towers (or HAM radio repeaters). That brings us back to the flexibility of HAM radio, which was founded on flexibility and experimentation. The Bike Tour Planning Committee checks any planned route months in advance to ensure that the route is suitable and that there will be adequate places available for rest stops. At the same time radio operators are checking the cell phone and HAM radio repeater coverage for the route. Normally a route will require the use of 2 or 3 repeaters along the way. When the Musquodoboit route was chosen there was a substantial “hole” in the communications along the route. Almost two-thirds of the route did not have adequate coverage by cell phone or HAM radio repeater. A few HAM radio operators discussed the problem regarding poor communications in the required area. The possibility of using a portable repeater seemed like the only solution. We obtained topographical maps of the area and Bill Elliott, VE1MR (shown below) arranged to borrow a spare repeater. A repeater typically consists of a transceiver radio (computer-sized box), antenna and tower, power supply, commercial power or generator, power cables, antenna cables, and a variety of connectors. Bill started out early Saturday morning on the first day of the bike tour and loaded up his car with the repeater and related gear including a gas powered generator, gasoline and some food. He then drove to the selected roadside site on a a small hill just south of Chaswood. With some help from a fellow HAM operator, Bill set up all the necessary equipment. Bill had to stay at the top of the mountain site most of the day to attend to the repeater. At the end of the day he dismantled all the gear and headed for home only to return early Sunday morning to do it all over again. The repeated worked as planned providing communications for the bike tour along the much needed centre portion of the route. One advantage of HAM radio over cell phones is the ability to simultaneously broadcast a message to all stations at once. To get a message to twelve people by cell phone would require the sender to dial twelve phone numbers, one at a time, until each recipient gets the message. That can take a lot of time and should definitely not be done while driving. A radio operator can simply press the push-to-talk button to reach all twelve at once. This can easily be done while driving a vehicle as well. The emergency and other support vehicles used during the bike tour are typically equipped with a cell phone, a radio operator, and two HAM radios (one portable and one mobile). The end result is that messages get through very quickly which helps provide smooth communications and a very fast response time in an emergency. For the route used during 1999, the temporary use of a portable repeater saved the day for communications. Photos taken at the 1999 MS Bike Tour through the Musquodoboit Valley:
|
HAM radio operators have been providing communications for
the MS Bike Tour for a number of years. Their role is to ride in vehicles that
are providing first aid, bike maintenance, supplies, and various other
functions. The term “HAM Radio” is a term used to refer to Amateur Radio. We
are not sure where the term originated but it may have something to do with the
call signs of three people who were involved at the early pioneer stages of
amateur radio.
