COLUMN: Carillon Flashback May 4, 1951: ‘Hams’ ply interesting hobby

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/02/2024 (483 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Amateur radio operators enjoy a highly fascinating hobby that puts them in touch with other “hams” all over the world.

George Goossen, an 18-year-old “ham”, has built a radio set that is powerful enough to bring him into contact with other amateur radio operators from remote, far flung corners of the earth. He has contacts in Argentina, Cuba and Australia. And, of course, there’s radio Moscow, but without freelance operators, that he can listen to.

George’s interest in radio began when two brothers-in-law started tinkering with sets. He soon became an avid fan and in a short time was practising code with Dave Toews of Lowe Farm and Bill Hiebert in Lethbridge. To obtain a permit to operate, it is necessary to be able to transmit 15 words per minute in code, George explained.

Today, nothing much goes on in the Goossen family that the children don’t know about the same evening.

George’s set cost him about $250 so far; and the next step is to increase power output in order to transmit signals farther. At present, George says can pick up many more stations than he can talk to.

To demonstrate how the set operates, George picked up John Gingler of Erickson, Manitoba, and the Carillon News reporter had the pleasure of finding out all about Erickson and Mr Gingler, and saw first-hand how the “ham” bug bites you directly when you’re on the air yourself.

George is the only operator in town, but Pete Guenther in East Steinbach is another ham radio operator in the immediate vicinity.

While there are plenty of different suggestions as to how the term “ham radio” was first coined, Goossen certainly would not fall into the category that described the early amateur radio operators as “ham-fisted”.

Early radio was initially known as wireless telegraphy and included many former wire telegraph operators. Within the new service “ham” was used by professional radiotelegraph operators to suggest amateur enthusiasts were unskilled.

Goossen and other amateur “HAM” radio operators would probably prefer the name to be an acronym for Home Amateur Mechanics, a very popular magazine that covered early radio extensively, or perhaps HAM could refer to radio pioneers Heinrich Herz, Edwin Armstrong and Guglielmo Marconi.

Whatever you want to call them, this ever increasing number of amateur radio operators are enjoying their hobby and are sharing instant communication with people all over the world.

– with files from Eugene Derksen