#Kilo-0716: Parks on the Air brings ham radio hobbyists, history and middle school students together at Chickamauga battlefield

Matt Holleman serves as an activator at Chickamauga (Picket photos)

The voices of Jody Carter’s students travel hundreds of thousands of miles each year from their amateur radio club in northwest Georgia.

Those in the Rambler Radio Club (W4LMS) at at LaFayette Middle School learn about other parts of the world – by communicating with one person at a time.

“We discuss weather, geography and significant sites around them,” according to the computer science teacher.

The students recently went extremely local by calling fellow ham radio operators at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, about a dozen miles away.

They spoke with members of Parks on the Air (POTA), a network of ham radio enthusiasts who travel to federal and state parks and talk away. The international hobby group was formed in early 2017.

I met a few of the POTA people in late September during the federal park’s walks and tours related to the 160^th anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga, a significant Confederate victory.

The licensed radio operators were at a picnic and gathering area, away from monuments that dot the battlefield.

“This is hallowed ground,” said Allen Padgett, 73, of LaFayette. “We try to maintain the decorum there, and respect the special nature of the place.”

For Padgett and millions of others, ham radio offers a chance to chat with people in far corners of the world.

“We like to talk and have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It is practice for us when everything else goes down the toilet,” he said, referring to the ability of ham radio folks to keep up with emergencies and stay connected during disasters.

While any topic may come up, being at a park provides the opportunity to talk about nature or the historic importance of the site. “We have talked to people who had folks who fought or died in the battle,” said Padgett. “Those will almost make you tear up.”

On the day I was at Chickamauga, Padgett and his comrades were dealing with the sun, which was disturbing their radio signals. But they had a few dozen conversations, including with four of Carter’s students.

They wanted to know what was special about that day, Padgett recalled. “Cannons roared, rifles fired and people died,” he recalled relating to the dozens of students listening in.

Padgett (at right with antenna at Chickamauga) and Carter are members of the Tri-States Amateur Radio Club.

Carter, who sponsors the school radio club, has made several contacts with POTA, including at Chickamauga.

“The group that I chose for this contact were all 8th-grade students studying Georgia history this year, and the fact that the activation was taking place in one of the Civil War's most significant battle sites and that the site was less than 15 miles away from our school, I knew we didn't want to miss out on this opportunity,” Carter told the Picket in an email.

The educator said another group of students attended a reenactment near the battlefield the following weekend.

“I hope that they see a glimpse into our nation's past and realize the importance of remembering what those before us hoped to preserve," said Carter.

How to speak ham radio

I confess to knowing little about ham radio, its history and those who do it. Padgett gave me a bit of a primer on how it works with the nonprofit POTA.

I also listened to a couple YouTube videos which said the hobby is a fun way for participants to get  “out of the shack” and into the field to communicate. All it takes is a radio, antenna, battery and a laptop – for as little as $600 and a license with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), if you are a U.S. citizen. POTA also has a code of conduct.

So-called “activators” set up and go the group’s website to indicate they are on the air. “Hunters” around the world will then lock into the frequency from their homes or vehicles. Messages between the parties bounce off the ionosphere. (Click here to see current POTA active spots). Most participants are hunters.

The hobby awards points, gold stars and online certificates. While they have no financial value, the recognitions are a reward of sorts for taking part in activities.

“You are never in too much a hurry to not talk,” said Padgett, who was among the activators that afternoon at Chickamauga.

(Click photo at left to see typical radio bands.)

Ham radio operators have their own language, and I asked Padgett to provide a hypothetical conversation he might have had that day.

Here’s what he provided:

I would pick a frequency and say:

KN4FKS CQ Parks On The Air, CQ Parks On The Air, Kilo November Four Foxtrot Kilo Sierra, listening.

If no answer after listening for 15-20 seconds, repeat.

Say W5ABC calls simply by saying his call sign. I respond:

W5ABC, I have you 5-9 (that means strong signal and very readable) in NW Georgia at Park # Kilo-0716, Chickamauga National Battlefield.

He responds: I have you 5-9 in Kansas, thanks for the activation. (At this point, he might ask about my equipment, ask about the park or ask about the weather here. He usually judges this by how busy I am as HAMS usually listen a bit before they call)

I reply: 73 (which means best regards), KN4FKS QRZ (which means who's next?) if no one answers, then I repeat first sentence CQ. (CQ means is if you hear me give me a call)

When we activate from that picnic area we will often tell our callers from Ohio the artillery that was at our exact location on the first day of the battle was from Ohio. If from Indiana, we explain the infantry was from Indiana.

Teacher says ham radio is what the world needs now

Ham radio enthusiasts tend to be male and most are middle-aged or older.

Padgett says for an older hobbyist, sometimes “his contact with the outside world is his home health nurse and his radio.”

Carter, the school radio club sponsor, says getting students interested early pays dividends. Students have traveled beyond our world – through a 2012 conversation with the crew of the International Space Station – during the club’s 17 years.

Pupils discuss the basics of radio theory, antennas, signal propagation, the relationship between frequency and wavelength and other technical topics related to the hobby. 

“More than anything else, our students appreciate that with amateur radio, they are treated like people, not like a little kid -- they are respected for their pursuits,” Carter wrote.

“Considering the breakdown in communication that we are seeing between large groups of us nationally and globally, it is my hope that we teach the next generation the importance of making connections with people who we think are not like us, one person at a time.  Really, we are much more alike than we are different. 

“I want my students to learn how to think for themselves and to articulate those ideas effectively. And I believe that for my students, amateur radio can play a key role in teaching that life skill.  

“We desperately need it.”

Activators keep logs (left) of calls and upload the data (Picket photo)