Hams play vital role in nation’s communications

Winnipeg seniors scan the airwaves

His real name is Ed Henderson, but when he’s on the radio he’s known as Ed VE4YU.

Henderson, 70, a resident of the Maples, has been a ham operator since 1948 when he heard two men talking “pretty much about nothing” on his shortwave radio in his home in Kirkland Lake, Ont.

“One of those fellows became my mentor and I learned morse code and got my licence (Radio Amateur) in 1954,” he said.

Henderson is a member of the Winnipeg Senior Citizens Radio Club, which was founded in 1982 by Gil Frederick and Albert Anderson, two retired veteran amateur radio operators.

The ham radio operators serve as a backup for many organizations should traditional means of communication break down.

They have an agreement with the Red Cross to provide 24-hour communications assistance anywhere in the world should there be a disaster or emergency.

The club is licensed to monitor the Canadian Armed Forces Affiliate Radio System to provide telephone patch service for overseas units and military ships to connect soldiers with their families in the Winnipeg area or to aid the military in times of civil or military emergencies.

They also supply communications for the Bike Marathon and the Manitoba Marathon.

“They are vitally important to us,” said Shirley Lumb, executive director of the Manitoba Marathon.

The ham radio operators provide information about where the runners are and if/where there are any emergencies that need attention.

Henderson was a computer engineer for most of his life, maintaining large mainframe computers and was involved in installing avionics on the doomed Avro Aero fighters in the late ’50s.

All ham operators use their first names along will a call sign instead of their last names. That simplifies radio communications.

“It’s a lot easier that way, then there’s no confusion if it’s an m or an n. Sometimes the signals are hard to hear and go in and out,” he said.

Their second-floor office in the old St.Vital fire hall has turned into a sort of radio museum, with many rooms displaying tubes, tuners and transmitters from as early as the 1920s and donated to the club over the years.

There are three radio rooms, one for satellite communications, one for traditional UHF/VHF/HF connections and one for digital communications.

With all the technological advances since the beginning of radio there are still some purists out there, says member Alan Thoren from East Kildonan.

“That’s one of the great things about this hobby, it’s so diverse. You can go back to Marconi’s day and work with morse code and talk to people around the world, or embrace the technology of the digital world,” he said.

The club’s ability to provide assistance to relief organizations is a main aspect of the work it does.

“We have our own equipment so we’re mobile and can communicate worldwide pretty much. If the infrastructure is out, we can still provide communications for these organizations,” Frederick, a Westwood resident said.

During the 1997 flood, the club became the headquarters for the province’s Emergency Measures Organization and its members played a crucial role in providing communications from the field to the main office.

They have also supplied communication services to other regions of the world.

During Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, the club relayed reports around the island and helped co-ordinate relief supplies that were being shipped from England.

“That was something,” said Frederick.

The club celebrated its 25th anniversary July 25 and was praised by Coun. Gord Steeves who attended the celebration.

“These guys are accessible any time you need them. A very specific and common interest has brought them together and I understand passion and these guys have it,” he said.