Ham Radio Data Center

Students in the Amateur Radio Club at SJSU are communicating with people all over the world and beyond with various types of wireless communication equipment. The club, which started in 1929, uses high frequency transceivers connected to large antennas on the Engineering building. Club president Eric Stackpole, a senior mechanical engineering major, said the equipment works by reflecting radio signals off of the Earth's ionosphere, the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, which enables long range communication. During a meeting on Monday, the club spoke with operators, or hams, as far away as Hawaii. The club has also communicated with astronauts in space. Stackpole said a few summers ago the club collaborated with other ham organizations and NASA to set up a satellite tracking system which allowed elementary school children to talk to astronauts on the International Space Station. Stackpole emphasized that this type of radio is not broadcast, but rather long-range point-to-point communication between operators. "It's just like the walkie-talkies we played with when we were kids, but a lot more powerful," he said. "In fact, you need an FCC license in order to operate."

Read more: eHam.net News

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