Sonoma County ham radio hobbyists coming in loud and clear

Twenty minutes were left on the clock. Bob Hickman and a handful of teammates sat on the edge of theirs seats, fixed on the radio dial and paddle as they tried to make contact with a few more ham radio operators from around the U.S. and Canada before the Amateur Radio Field Day competition ended.

The contest brings hams together each June to see who can communicate with the most people in a 24-hour period, as well as share their love for the hobby and demonstrate their radios’ emergency management abilities.

They compete against thousands of other teams in the U.S. and Canada. Results won’t be known for several weeks.

The Sonoma County Radio Amateurs club hosted the event at Santa Rosa’s Youth Community Park. It kicked off at 11 a.m. on Saturday and ended 24 hours later.

Hickman said his team worked in shifts of three to four people. He lost count of how operators they contacted over the weekend using the paddle to tap out Morse code. But there were many.

“We got Vermont, and on the other end we got Hawaii,” said Hickman, whose team also made contact with someone in South Florida, Québec and British Columbia.

He picked up the hobby from his father, who served as a radioman in the Navy. Hickman got his ham radio operator license at 10. Now 53 and a family physician at Kaiser Permanente, he passed on the love for the hobby to his wife and two kids. Connecting with people around the world is part of the draw, he said.

“It’s fascinating. That stayed with me all these years,” Hickman said.

Hickman’s team, one of three local teams competing, was able to make at least 160 contacts since Saturday, said Darryl Paule, activities coordinator for Sonoma County Radio Amateurs.

He said there are three clubs in the county, boasting 155 members. Paule estimates there are 350 to 400 amateur radio enthusiasts in Sonoma County.

Interest continues to grow, he said, drawing people of all ages. When he joined in 2007, the club had 80 members, said Paule, who visits local schools, teen centers and museums to teach kids about amateur radio.

The club was able to recruit a handful of new members at Field Day, he said, and some will take a licensing prep class in November, where Paule is one of the instructors.

A person must receive a license from the Federal Communications Commission to operate an amateur station. Call signs are given so operators can identify themselves over the radio. Paule has memorized the call signs for most of the club members, who use various modes to communicate including digital, internet and satellite. He’s known as K16MSP.

While Paule believes “the biggest part of ham radio (is to) have fun,” it’s also crucial in natural disasters and other emergencies.

Steve Bouchard, who joined the club last year, was a police officer in Healdsburg when the ?1989 Loma Prieta earthquake knocked out all the communication towers. “Everything shut down. Our dispatch couldn’t contact us in the car,” he recalled.

Ham radios can operate without phone and power lines, Paule said. That’s what makes them invaluable to communicate needs during emergencies, such as the Valley Fire.

They also can save lives. He said a bicyclist was seriously injured at a riding event along the Sonoma Coast a few years ago, but fire personnel couldn’t get through to their dispatchers to call for medical help.

“We could,” Paule said. “Ham radio got the job done.”