Ham radio: A hobby or community service or both?

By Karla Pomeroy

BASIN – When all other communication is down or unavailable, ham radio operators, also known as amateur radio operators, can provide emergency communication. However, the emergency assistance is not the main reason many operators get involved. For Basin’s Jerry Pyle, it’s been nearly a lifelong passion.

He said he doesn’t remember his exact age, but as a young boy between ages 8-10, his father took him to visit his great uncle, a ham radio operator. His great aunt and uncle lived in a trailer and Pyle recalls, “when one entered the door, off to the right was a very large object … seems like it was from ceiling to floor … with knobs and dials. I got a demonstration and I got the bug.

“I told my father ‘one of these days I am going to have me one of those ham radios!’ And one of those days turned into his first receiver, a Hallicrafters SX 110. Today he has eight receivers, including one each for his and his wife’s vehicles and their camping trailer. His 40-foot transmitting antenna looms large on…

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