By Gunnar Wagner
Ham radio may be considered a sort of relic of the past by some, but to others it is seen as an important part of the community because it serves a purpose: When most forms of digital communication go down because of an emergency, ham radio is a reliable form of communication. This is exemplified through the Brandon Amateur Radio Society (BARS).
BARS is a club that is affiliated the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), which, according to its website, is “a noncommercial organization of radio amateurs.” Specifically, BARS is a part of ARRL’s West Central Florida section. BARS is also affiliated with the Florida Gulf Coast Radio Council (FGCRC) and the Hillsborough County Amateur Radio Emergency Services/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (ARES/RACES), a field emergency organization of ARRL.
The club was established in 1969 and has made significant contributions to the community ever since. One of these contributions is an annual field day, “which is a community event in which everyone can participate,” said Karissa Hendershot, treasurer of BARS.
During the field day, BARS has an experience called Get on the Air, in which beginners can actually talk to people on the air all over the world (fun fact: one of the operators was able to communicate with someone all the way in Antarctica). Before participants begin the experience, they are given a rundown of what the equipment and frequencies are and which ones they will be using. They are told what they can and cannot say on the air (i.e., they can talk to people around the world, but they cannot use obscenities, offensive language, etc.), something Hendershot called basically “polite conversations.”
Throughout field day, BARS also has different stations that people can visit and get to know the operators there. One station is called the carrier wave (CW) station. The CW station, also known as the morse code station, is run by Bill Mendoza.
BARS offers testing services as well for those who are really fascinated by radio. There are three different levels of testing. The first one is called ‘Technician,’ which is an entry-level test. The next is called ‘General,’ which is an intermediate-level test. The last one is called ‘Extra,’ which is an advanced-level test wherein operators can have access to all frequencies and equipment, in addition to having access to morse code.
For more information about BARS, visit https://brandonhamradio.org/index.html. For testing info, visit https://brandonhamradio.org/testing-info.html.
