Amateur radio club celebrates past, future
71-year-old organization looks to gain membership as interest grows

By Kristin Rasmussen

In 1930, SMU wasn't even as old as most of its students, but that year marked the birth of SMU's amateur radio station, W5YF. In 2001, amateur radio enthusiasts can still find a haven at SMU in the amateur radio club.

As one of the oldest clubs on campus, the amateur radio club has lasted through seven decades of campus history. The club was prohibited during the years of World War II but has been fully operative since then. Now, still in existence and gaining popularity, the club is looking to make a few changes to expand its interaction with SMU students.

"We're looking for a student president and student officers," said club president Anthony Klinkert.

The club's goal may be attainable since the number of students interested in the club is increasing. Klinkert said the e-mail list may near 100 people this year.

Amateur radio is the hobby of constructing radios and using radios to talk in the city or around the world.

"It's beneficial for students who want to learn electronic, technical and communication skills," club treasurer Bob Monohan said.

But while the hobby may sound complicated and usually interests people in the science and technology fields, Klinkert said everyone can enjoy it on some level.

"All kinds of people are in the club and we're all learning," he said. "We like to mentor newcomers to the hobby. We have about 50 alumni and members of the community to support the club."

Klinkert provided an example to show that the technical aspects of the club aren't complicated.

"Young children 4 to 10 years old have passed the simplest, technician class amateur radio test," he said.

The club is looking forward to promoting amateur radio by working with other parts of the university. The members hope to make professional videos and books about the hobby more available and accessible to students wanting to learn about it.

"The videos show how not to make a fool of yourself and why amateur radio is fun," Monohan said. "And with videos, you can come in anytime you want to learn more about it."

They have also expressed interest in looking at the more exotic specialties of the hobby. These include moon bounce, bouncing signals off the moon to communicate with other people, meteor scatter, bouncing signals off ionized particles trailing off meteors and troposcatter, bouncing signals off turbulence in the troposphere.

Another addition the club would like to acquire is a radio that can communicate with satellites from other parts of the world.

"The hobby has grown so big that we [amateur radio operators] have our own satellites in space," Klinkert said.

The station already owns a high-power transmitter receiver, like the one featured in the 2000 movie Frequency, that allows students to listen to broadcast radio from around the world.

Club meetings feature various guest speakers, including a NASA astronaut speaking on radio in space in November. One of last year's feature speakers, Al Moller of the National Weather Service, gave members of the club information on tornadoes. Moller's work was depicted in the movie "Twister."

The hobby of amateur radio is popular among some well-known people. Television news anchor Walter Cronkite, comedian Garry Shandling and actors Marlon Brando and Andy Griffith are among famous amateur radio operators, or "hams" as they are commonly known.

Many presidents, kings, queens and princes are also familiar with the hobby.

Starting Thursday, the amateur radio club will hold meetings at 6:30 p.m. on the last Thursday of every month in room 228 of Caruth Hall. For more information or to join the club, e-mail Anthony Klinkert at join@klinkert.net.