Marple Newtown Amateur Radio Club: Connecting People Over the Airwaves

Our Community Feature by Liz Burnett

World Amateur Radio Day is April 18, so this month, we’re celebrating the purpose and activities of the Marple Newtown Amateur Radio Club (MNARC). Their Field Day event at Drexel Park Lodge (June 27 & 28) is an annual emergency preparedness exercise for U.S. and Canadian Amateur Radio enthusiasts whose goal during the event is to improve on how quickly they can set up a reliable radio station in improvised conditions, without electricity or buildings, so they’re ready to serve in an emergency.

Since 1888, when German physicist Heinrich Hertz proved that invisible electromagnetic and radio waves do indeed exist, wireless communication has come a long way, to the point that such devices now fit in the palm of your hand! Marconi’s 1896 invention of a radio to communicate wirelessly over radio waves was followed by an explosion of wireless equipment designs and airwaves used by military and government agencies, scientists, businesses and ham radio operators.

In the United States, the FCC allocates and monitors use of all radio airwaves. Since 1940, the FCC has considered Amateur Radio (also known as ham radio) a valuable noncommercial volunteer emergency communications service and public resource. Ham radio station operators may use the FCC-approved Amateur Radio frequencies for personal education, enjoyment and satisfaction, emergency preparedness drills, and to improve electronics and communication techniques.

In the early ’90s, a group of local ham radio hobbyists formed MNARC. The club has 80 members, and the club’s ham radio station call letters are K3MN. Meetings are open to the public, and are held at 7pm on the first Thursday of each month (except July and August) at the Newtown Township Library on Bishop Hollow Rd. MNARC connects people of all ages who are interested in staying current regarding what’s new in the science and art of Amateur Radio. Use of the Amateur Radio airwaves requires a license granted by the FCC, and the club’s classes help folks learn what they need to know to earn an entry-level license or a more privileged advanced-level license.

At MNARC meetings, hobbyists or industry professionals give presentations on topics such as electronic tinkering, equipment designs to improve transmitters and receivers, and how to troubleshoot and resolve radio signal interference problems. Some meetings offer experiential presentations by members who share what they did and learned when they took their radio equipment to a remote location. Between meetings, optional time-limited contests and personal achievement awards are offered, such as connecting with a certain number of ham radio stations in 1 state, all 50 U.S. states or in 100 or more countries globally. Some members focus on educating youth or the local community about ham radio as a hobby.

MNARC (www.MNARC.org) is affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) , the national association for Amateur Radio in the U.S. Founded in 1914, its original purpose was to link ham radio station operators who could transmit Morse code messages between stations that were too far apart to directly connect with each other. The ARRL has 160,000+ members, and its mission is to support the awareness and growth of Amateur Radio in the U.S. and worldwide. The ARRL also advocates for meaningful ongoing access to government resources and Amateur Radio spectrum airwaves.

While some ham radio enthusiasts continue to keep the Morse code tradition alive, today’s hams are more likely to use digital signal processing (DSP) and hybrid technologies to transmit voice and data messages digitally over the airwaves and also over land networks such as the Internet.

April 18 is annual World Amateur Radio Day to commemorate when the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was founded in 1925. Each century and decade has its visionaries and inventors. Serving the community while also mastering this fascinating technology is a uniquely valuable combination. Perhaps the Marple Newtown Amateur Radio Club is incubating the scientists and engineers who will make the next great leaps in communications, radio-controlled vehicles or interstellar exploration!