Radio society meets in Moses Lake

Dedicated to furthering technology

MOSES LAKE - Technology is constantly changing, but no matter how many different methods of communication exist, there are always groups dedicated to ham radios.

One of these groups is the Pacific Northwest VHF Society, which is holding its annual conference in Moses Lake. The group formed about eight years ago and has approximately 400 members, mostly in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

VHF, or "very high frequency" radio activity involves transmission on frequencies once thought to be useless in radio.

Scott Honaker, society president, said amateur radio users send signals on the frequencies to communicate across long distances. Honaker said enthusiasts attempt to relay signals off the moon or off the trails left by meteors.

"When a meteor enters the earth's atmosphere, it burns up and it generally leaves a trail of ionized metal and gas behind it and that trail is actually reflective to radio signals at very high frequency," he said.

It doesn't last very long, but members are able to bounce signals of the trail, he said, adding there's an element of chance involved in order to send a signal at the moment a trail is present. The ideal time, he said, is when a meteor shower is predicted.

Honaker said the activity appeals to people with an interest in science.

"It's something that everyone can participate in. You don't have to be a Ph.D. physicist to participate," he said.

Honaker said much of the purpose of the organization and the work the members do is to learn more about signals, the atmosphere and how communication technology can be developed further. He said much of the activity is experimental, but that's how the learning occurs and is where much of the fun comes from.

"Ham radio has a long tradition of experimentation and is kind of responsible for a lot of the kind of radio technologies that we use today, cellphone technologies and things like that. A lot of those technologies grew out of innovations from the ham radio world," he said.

He said a lot of the technology they're using now is the same as in Bluetooth headsets.

He sees potential for the next area in communication technology, especially in the subject of sporadic e. The atmosphere consists of layers, each assigned a letter and sporadic e refers to the "e" layer. The process involves a mode of propagation, or distribution of a signal using ionized clouds in the ionosphere.

There's a lot of work to find what causes the clouds, Honaker said. Groups try to provide empirical data as to when they appear and how large and strong they are.

Signals are also bounced off aurora, and radio operators use the process of tropospheric ducting, involving how air masses affect signal travel, Honaker said.

"I find a lot of people that like ham radio are also sailors. It's just using the wind, harnessing the wind to push your boat along. It's kind of the same idea, using some of the natural earth phenomena to make your signal go further," he said.

The group met in Moses Lake over the weekend for its annual conference.

For more information visit The Pacific Northwest VHF Society's Web site at www.pnvhfs.org.