The following article appeared in today's Hartford Courant. It's a nice piece, if (as we should) you set aside the unfortunate substitution of Hiram Walker for Hiram Maxim. Dave K1ZZ -------------------- Preserving Ham Radio History -------------------- By KORKY VANN Special To The Courant August 10, 2004 In this age of cellphones, the Internet and wi-fi connections, it's easy to forget the technology that provided much of the basis for our plugged-in lifestyles, but archivists, working in a dusty attic in Newington, are determined not to let that happen. The project is taking place at the headquarters of the American Relay Radio League, the 90-year-old national association for amateur - or non-commercial - radio enthusiasts. The organization predates the FCC, which licenses amateur radio operators, by 20 years, and ARRL's attic is filled with artifacts from the early days of "ham" radio, as it is better known, says Tom Frenaye, chairman of the organization's Historical Committee, which oversees the archive project. "Over the past 90 years, ARRL has collected a lot of valuable, and in some cases irreplaceable, historic paper archives and artifacts," says Frenaye, a retired insurance analyst who got his first amateur radio license at age 13. "The collection had been stored haphazardly in a space with no climate control and had never been catalogued. We decided it was time to look in the attic and get things properly organized and stored before we lost them." What Frenaye and volunteer archivists Perry Williams and Charles Griffen found when they began the project was close to 5,000 artifacts, including early vacuum tubes, prototypes of transmitters and receivers and dozens of file cabinets filled with photographs, articles, catalogs and early radio logs. Some of the items are newer acquisitions, but much of the material is original to the early days of radio and the association's existence. "Hartford was an important area in the advent of early amateur radio," says Frenaye. "ARRL was found by Hiram Percy Walker, a Hartford engineer, inventor of the Maxim gun silencer and an early amateur radio pioneer." According to Frenaye, the archive project is more than a walk down memory lane. Currently, the archives are available to scholars and researchers. Eventually, the group hopes to create a museum to display the collection and highlight the stories of the early days of radio, amateur radio operators and ARRL. "Our purpose is to promote technology," says Frenaye. "We can learn a lot from the past." Besides its historical relevance, the hobby also has important applications for the present and future, says Jennifer Hagy, ARRL's media relations manager. "People who think amateur radio has gone the way of the horse and buggy are mistaken," says Hagy. "New technology such as the Internet hasn't dampened enthusiasm or need for the hobby." After the 9/11 terrorist attack, for example, much of Lower Manhattan lost electrical power and cellphone signals. Amateur radios were the only means of communication, and ham operators assisted the Red Cross and other disaster workers in coordinating rescue efforts. "Things have changed since the advent of computers, but the more we depend on the newer communication technology, the harder it is when it breaks down," says Frenaye. "Amateur radio is often the primary method of communications in the first 24 to 36 hours following an emergency." There are about 675,000 ham radio operators in the U.S. (8,000 in Connecticut) and more than 2.5 million around the world. ARRL has more than 150,000 members. Some operators enjoy communicating with radio enthusiasts around the world, says Hagy, while others are motivated by the opportunity to provide a public service during emergencies. The hobby has particular appeal to older individuals, many of whom began their hobby with homemade single-tube transmitters and receivers. Close to 60 percent of all ham operators are 55 or older - a third are older than 65. "Ham radio is a great leveler in terms of class and age," says Frenaye. "One ham talking to another really doesn't relate to how old someone might be." As the early pioneers in the hobby age, though, ARRL's archive project becomes even more important. "It's important to save the history," says Frenaye. "Amateur radio is a link to the beginnings of modern communications technology.' Copyright 2004, Hartford Courant -------------------- Visit www.ctnow.com for Connecticut news updates, sports stories, entertainment listings and classifieds.