My interest in radio started with the acquisition of a
radio receiver type R1155,
the communication receiver used in RAF heavy bombers
(Lancasters and Sunderlands) in WW2. In 1947 you could
buy these for a song - well, not exactly a song, but at a
price just about affordable by a teenager. My R1155 was
eventually joined by a mint-condition T1154, the matching
transmitter, which I didn't dare to run for fear of
G.P.O. detection vans cruising the streets looking for
illegal radio sources. Besides, I didn't have a hefty
enough power supply to run the transmitter. The R1155
receiver was a different matter though and I spent many
many hours listening on the short waves.I did my two
years' National Service in the RN as a coder and for a
lot of that time lived 1/2 of my life ('watch and watch')
in the communication shack with the radio telegraphers
(the 'sparkers') whose abilities at reading high-speed
morse code amazed me and still do.
I had to wait until retirement to get an amateur radio
license from the (then) Dept. of Communications. Many
thanks here to the late Jerry Wells who, with the OVMRC (Ottawa Valley
Mobile Radio Club) gave me that opportunity.
| There's something in Amateur
Radio for just about everyone. The minimum
requirement is that you shall be familiar with
the intra- and inter-national regulations
requiring avoidance of radio interference toward
other services and of the means used to avoid
such interference, together with knowledge of
certain safety precautions. This is for the least
comprehensive type of radio transmitting license.
For more advanced licensing, there are other
requirements of a more technical nature. None of
these requirements is particularly demanding and
most amateur radio clubs tend to organize courses
covering these matters. Some amateurs use their
license privileges to chat with other local
amateurs; others try to contact them at much
greater distances, often globally; some enjoy
building and experimenting, often with novel
equipment and ideas; still others act in a
service capacity during emergencies and to assist
other organizations in need of communication
facilities
- Locally, in the Ottawa area, OVMRC
and the OARC
(Ottawa Amateur Radio Club) run training
courses annually. The Canadian national
organization is RAC (Radio
Amateurs of Canada) which is the body
responsible for presenting radio
amateurs' points of view toward the
Federal Government (through the Dept. of
Transport). The United States has its ARRL
(American Radio Relay League) and most
countries have their own such national
bodies; RSGB
(Radio Society of Great Britain) for
example.
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