Copy that: Using ham radios to traverse the world

Whether it be a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, a global superpower or a country with only a few thousand inhabitants, Russellville resident Christopher Arthur has traversed the globe – in a manner of speaking.

An amateur radio operator, Arthur spends most of his free time perusing radio waves in order to make contact with others, either from the comforts of his own home or by loading up his equipment in his car and making a trip to a higher altitude in order to get a better signal.

When it comes to the hobby of amateur radio, most people tend to think of typical FM/AM radios or CB radios used by truck drivers.

However, while ham radios are similar in the sense they are also personal, two-way radios, their operators are required by the Federal Communications Commission to obtain a license to use the technology.

Why? Because ham operators use different types of wavelengths ranging from shortwave to microwave – some of which are shared with the United States military.

Arthur said he first learned about amateur radio when he was in the third grade, and a classmate’s father presented a program on the subject. However, it wouldn’t be until the summer prior to his eighth-grade year he began to seriously pursue the hobby.

He received his first amateur radio from a family friend and began reading books on the subject and learning how he could go about getting his amateur radio license.

Shortly thereafter, Arthur took and passed a written test to receive his first license, and the rest is history.

To this day, Arthur said he continues to be surprised by just how limitless the hobby is.

“The idea of taking all of this electronic and radio theory and putting it into practice, getting licensed, building a station and putting it on the air just to find yourself one day talking to a guy in Madrid, Spain, is fascinating,” Arthur said.

While he uses amateur radio for a myriad of reasons, Arthur particularly enjoys something known among operators as “DXing,” which stands for distance and involves receiving and identifying radio signals from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Arthur said among those who participate in DXing, the goal is for an individual to make contact with every “country” on Earth. In amateur radio terms, however, a “country” doesn’t hold to the typical geopolitical definition.

While there are 195 countries in the world, for amateur radio operators, that number jumps to 340.

While the 195 countries are included on the amateur radio list, so are distinct, geographic entities such as remote islands or less-populated areas.

For instance, operators count the continental United States as one country on their list, but places like Hawaii and Puerto Rico also count as individual countries.

Arthur has made significant progress on meeting his DXing goal, having contacted 315 “countries” to date.

One of the more memorable countries he has crossed off his list is Heard Island, located in the southern Indian Ocean.

Factoring in a plethora of factors including weather and equipment, Arthur was able to make contact with another operator on the island via Morse code.

“There’s typically only activity from there (Heard Island) every 20 years or so,” Arthur said. “So, if it’s on the air and you miss it, you may have to wait another 20 years before you get them again.

“The thrill in that was just the plan and execution. I knew it was going to be difficult, and I planned ahead for what I thought would be my best chance. I built an antenna specifically for this and made contact. It ranks up there for one of the top contacts I’ve ever made.”

As younger generations turn more toward social media and other outlets for entertainment, amateur radio might seem like an outdated hobby.

However, Arthur said based on his observations at amateur radio conventions and competitions – in which he has won multiple national titles in various categories – he has noticed a slight uptick in the number of young people getting into the hobby.

It’s a trend he associates closely with the push for a higher focus on STEM education across the country.

“We do see a good number of young people get interested in this because of STEM education,” Arthur said. “There has been a steady trickle of younger people coming into the hobby that I’ve noticed over the past several years.”

In June, Arthur will celebrate his third decade as a licensed amateur radio operator.

Over the years, he has seen fellow operators come and go. But what keeps him returning year after year comes down to the feeling he gets when he fires up his system to make a long, difficult contact.

“There is an element of magic in radio,” Arthur said. “This idea I can have a transmitter, receiver and antennas and I can generate a signal on the electromagnetic system and have it spread hundreds or thousands of miles, it’s just magical in a sense.”