Florida Air Show Gives
Ham Radio
Some On-the-Air Exposure
The Everglades
Amateur Radio Club (W4SVI) put ham radio in the spotlight during the 2018
Wings
Over Homestead Air and Space Show, held in Homestead, Florida, November
2 - 4.
"We were given space on the tarmac in the STEM
section which was intended [to get] kids interested in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics," said Robert Cruz, KE4MCL. "We were allowed
to bring two of our field station vehicles right up to the tent and set up
their free-standing masts."
The club fielded operating positions on
HF through UHF, slow-scan TV, and satellites for special event station W4H.
"All three stations were active during the event. Since we set up early on
Friday, we operated fully off solar power that day as the onsite generator
was not to be fired up until the weekend," Cruz explained. He said arriving
on Friday offered an additional benefit. "The setup crew got to see most
of the air show, plus some cool behind the scenes stuff, minus about 100,000
people," he quipped.
"Since this was a military
airshow, I brought along a Collins R-388 and a BC-348 just for show and tell,"
Cruz recounted. "We had a few veterans come around and talk to us about how
they used to operate one of these while [in the service]."
Cruz said a highlight of the weekend was a contact by Steve Taylor,
W1HQL, with a crew member of the International Space Station. "The ISS had a
scheduled school contact, and once they got out of range of the school, Steve
called on a whim and the ISS responded for a quick QSO," Cruz said.
He said the club, which is headquartered in Homestead, tried
something a little different at this year's air show. "Traditionally,
Amateur Radio displays are filled with call signs and terminology that the
general public doesn't understand," he said. "To a non-ham, a call sign looks
like a license plate number, for example. We created a new banner targeted at
those interested in preparedness and made sure it had plain English and
not 'hamspeak' on it."
The club also created a half-page
handout with the club's information and meeting time on it for visitors to
take home instead of relying on having to look things up online. "We shall
see if the new banner and handouts paid off at the next club meeting," Cruz
said.

At the W4H special event during the Wings over Homestead Air and Space
Show, Robert Cruz, KE4MCL (center), looks on as Steve Taylor, W1HQL (left),
aims a satellite antenna and John Kolasinski, KK4QKL (right), makes a contact.
[Photo courtesy of the Everglades Amateur Radio Club].
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