Rocky J. Squirrel Presents
GEMS+H:
The Stories That Bind Us
Ham Radio
A Journey That Began in Brazil
During my college years, I had the opportunity to participate in a mission trip to Brazil. While preparing for the trip, I worked with a missionary who was also a ham radio operator.
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He lived in a remote town with only one local telephone operator. When I called to finalize our plans, I spoke with the town's operator, who had to locate the missionary and relay the message. Because she spoke limited English, she eventually had to find him so that he could call me back. The cost of international telephone calls was also prohibitive.
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That experience gave me my first real glimpse of what amateur radio could do.
Staying Connected Across the Airwaves
While I was in Brazil, ham radio became our way of staying connected with home.
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Rather than relying on expensive telephone calls to communicate with my parents, the missionary would connect with a special ham radio net that linked people around the world with the United States. The net allowed him to coordinate with another ham radio operator in the United States to establish a connection.
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Once they agreed on a frequency, the U.S. operator would contact a telephone operator, who could then place the call to my parents. In this way, ham radio provided a bridge between the remote community where I was staying and my family back home.
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It was an extraordinary experience.
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Thousands of miles away from home, amateur radio allowed us to bridge the distance and stay connected when conventional communication was difficult and expensive.
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For me, ham radio wasn't just about technology. It was about people using technology to connect people.
A College Club & A Missed Opportunity
When I returned to college, the timing couldn't have been better. A college ham radio club was being established, and I eagerly joined.
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At the time, passing a Morse Code examination was required for an amateur radio license. I worked at learning Morse Code, but translating the dots and dashes into letters and words proved to be a significant challenge for me.
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Although I wasn't able to obtain my license at the time, my interest in amateur radio never completely disappeared.
Years later, I was thrilled to discover that the Morse Code requirement had been removed from the licensing examination. That opened the door for me to return to an interest that had started years earlier.
Becoming a Ham Radio Operator
With the licensing requirements changed, I was finally able to study for and obtain my amateur radio license.
For me, earning that license represented more than simply passing an examination. It was the completion of something I had first attempted years earlier as a college student.
The technology had changed, the licensing requirements had changed, and I had changed—but the fascination with communicating across distance remained.
Ham Radio Today
Today, my ability to participate in amateur radio has been somewhat limited by the restrictions of living in an HOA community.
That hasn't diminished my interest in the hobby, however. I'm continuing to explore ways to participate, learn, and connect with other amateur radio operators.
One particularly exciting opportunity has come through another part of my life: Freemasonry.
Masons on the Air
I've recently discovered a group of Masons who participate in an annual amateur radio competition known as Masons on the Air, held each September.
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The event brings together two interests that have become important parts of my life—amateur radio and Freemasonry.
I'm excited about the possibility of arranging for my lodge to host one of the event sites in the future.
For me, opportunities like this demonstrate exactly what makes ham radio so fascinating: it's not simply about the equipment or the technology. It's about the people, the connections, and the communities that form around the airwaves.
Connecting People Across the Airwaves
My journey with ham radio has taken me from a remote community in Brazil, to a college radio club, to earning my own license—and now to exploring the connections between amateur radio and Freemasonry.
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The technology may have changed dramatically since my first experience with ham radio, but the fundamental idea hasn't:
People using technology to reach across distance and connect with one another.
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