Amateur Radio: Category Proposals

[+silverquill]

Category with sub-categories Proposal

 

Under

 

Places/Entertainment

 

Amateur Radio

Comment: As a group, amateur (ham) radio operators are technologically inclined and I suspect a good percentage own GPS units and may already be inclined toward geocaching and Waymarking. In fact, there is a separate forum for ham radio and geocaching! Many ham radio activities lend themselves well to Waymarking, and there is already one category related to that. It would make sense to group them under one heading. Here is a proposal for several new sub-categories with some explanation

 

-- Amateur Radio Repeaters

This is an existing category currently placed under Things/Machines.

These are remotely located radio transmitters that receive a signal from a radio and rebroadcasts it to a larger area. They are usually located in high places on buildings in urban environments or on hills and mountains in the country-side.

 

-- Field Day Sites

Every year hams head to unusual locations for Field Day. Many stations are set up to run on auxiliary power of some type. For a day, hams operate from remote locations and contact as many other hams as possible. This is often a group activity. Basic info for Waymarking would include call signs of participants, photo of Field Day Station, and standard FD information and description.

 

-- DXPeditions

Hams love to make contact with other radio operators in remote corners of the globe. Since many areas have few or no ham radio operators, expeditions are organized to visit this places, set up temporary radio stations for making world-wide contact running into the tens of thousands. These DXPeditions are usually undertaken by teams of hams who travel to unusual locations such as remote islands, and other exotic areas. These would be fascinating waymarks identified by members of the DXPedition team, sponsors, and basic station and operating specifications along with appropriate photos.

 

-- Special Event Stations

Hams often set up stations to commemorate special events such as centennial celebrations, scouting events, facility dedications, charity events, civic activities, etc. These would be interesting waymarks with info about the station, the special event and location.

 

-- County Lines

There is a dedicated group of hams who attempt to make contact with another station in each of the 3,076 counties in the United States. Often these are mobile stations who travel from county to county to offer these contacts. Frequently they will stop on a county line, thereby providing contact for two counties in one radio exchange. The waymark would be for a county line, showing county line signs for both counties and pertinent description such as the name of the road/highway, whether it is "wet," (consisting of a river or other body of water), and other notes. This sub-category could be cross listed with the Things/Signs category.

 

-- Club Stations

Many local, regional, and special interest ham radio clubs maintain a club station, or have a particular station designated as a club station. Waymarking info should include particulars about the club, and both exterior photos of the station location, and the equipment, antennas, etc.

 

I'm sure there are some other possible sub-categories possible under Amateur Radio, but these would be a good start, and I'd love to see them included. I think they would generate a lot of interest!

 

Larry Wilson, KE1HZ

silverquill