[Waverley ARS] FROM THE CENTRAL WESTERN DAILY ORANGE

[Bob]

 What's the frequency Peter, Robert
> BY ERIN SOMERVILLE
> 8/09/2009 8:14:00 AM
> ROBERT Alford and Peter Carter share a passion for modern radio 
> technology,
> which enabled them to communicate with people around the globe long before
> the social phenomenon of cyber chat rooms.
> The pair have just been made life members of the Orange and District 
> Amateur
> Radio Club.
>
> "Putting it bluntly it was an intrigue in experimentation," Mr Alford 
> said,
> who has been a member of the club since its first meeting in 1960.
>
> "We were doing things that others weren't."
>
> The two-way amateurs' equipment is as extensive as that used in the 
> military
> and operates on frequencies ranging from AM to television and microwaves.
> They even have the ability to send signals into space.
>
> A strong supporter of the club since moving from Sydney a few decades ago,
> Mr Carter says one of the highlights is being able to talk to people from
> any country in the world. He can recall interesting conversations he has 
> had
> with global citizens over the years, including one with an amateur radio
> enthusiast in Yakutsk, Siberia who he believes was being heavily
> censored.The conversation was eventually shut down.
>
> "That was an example of the bad old days in Russia when it used to be the
> USSR," Mr Carter said.
>
> Over the years amateur radio users have been on the forefront of 
> technology,
> often playing an instrumental role in providing radio assistance for
> emergency situations.
>
> "I had a friend who provided the only communication in and out of Darwin 
> for
> 36 hours straight when Cyclone Tracey hit in 1974," Mr Carter said.
>
> Amateur radio users also provided an important role during the recent
> Victorian bushfires.
>
> "Amateurs supplied supplementary communication to councils in the area, 
> for
> the Red Cross and other support agencies," Mr Alford said.
>
> "They also helped with the last Canobolas bushfires."
>
> While amateur radio is quite free of restrictions, Mr Alford says politics
> and religion are regarded as off-limits, as the discussions can often 
> become
> quite heated.
>
> "Amateurs have a creed of respecting each other's individuality and aim to
> communicate on a friendship level," he said.
>
> However, while communicating with everyday citizens from around the world
> via radio was cutting edge technology in the past, the internet has now 
> made
> that experience far less exclusive.
>
> "We don't have a lot of young people now because now they can sit at home
> and do things we couldn't do years ago," Mr Alford said.
>
> The Orange Amateur Radio Club meets on the first Friday of every month at
> 7.30pm at the RAAF building in Warrendine Street. Everyone is welcome to
> attend.
>
>
>
>
>
> .
>
>
>