Amateur Radio in the Geography Class

Amateur Radio in
the Geography Class
DONALD E. PUGH
Calling CQ CQ CQ. This is GWS...
Standing by? Amidst the crackle of
static, this familiar call is known to
amateur radio operators the world over
as the standard general call. After turn
ing a confusing array of knobs, a local
amateur flicks the transmit switch and
speaks softly into the microphone.
this is VK6
in Perth,
‘GW5
Western Australia. How do you copy,
old man?’
A somewhat garbled voice replies
and the amateur sensitively adjusts the
fine tuning. Suddenly, a crisp British
voice comes booming through the
speaker. ‘VK6.. this is GW5... Fine
signal here, old man, really armchair
copy all the way and no problems.
Your readibility and strength is 5 and
9. [This is five out of a total of five for
perfectly readable, and nine out of a
maximum of nine for a very strong
signal]. I’m located in Wales. and the
handle is Jim’. Another contact has
been established and these amateurs
may ramble on happily as long as signal
strengths hold.
Most geography teachers, unfor
tunately, know very little about the
ways and motives behind the operation
of the amateur radio service, and the
stimulus that this means of communi
cation may offer a geography class.
Amateur radio operators are a friendly,
enthusiastic and sociable breed, always
ready to contribute to education. Their
object is to radiate the best possible
signal, without interfering with other
radio services, in order to share infor
mation with their fellow amateurs
around the world, either by phone or
in morse code. Conversations range
from radio theory, to travel, and des
criptions of the home area.
Today’s amateurs are located virtual
ly in every country. Their international
and most widely used language on the
air is English. It is really amazing to
hear how well most amateurs do
speak English, although foreign accents
are noticeable and interesting too.
When conditions are good it is not
difficult to have contacts with amateurs
in every continent. More difficult con
tacts include specific smaller coun
tries, or locations where there are few
amateurs.
Amateur radio is a fascinating hobby
and possesses good potential for
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178
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arousing student interest in geography
as immediate and functional to their
lives. In a recent contact with Alfonse,
9M6YB, in the state of Sabah, East
Malaysia, the QSO or contact followed
a typical pattern. First, the distant
operator’s excellent English was a
reminder of an Australian education.
For a geographer, it was exciting and
informative to hear of the difficulties
and expense of travelling from Sabah
to Singapore. The operator, located on
a plantation close to Kota Kinabalu,
the chief port, reported that Kinabalu,
the 4101 metre mountain and highest
in East Malaysia, is now popular for
tourist trekking. Conversation included
a description of local roads, transpor
tation, the crops grown on Alfonse’s
plantation, the weather, and Alfonse’s
preference for a ‘place where things
are quiet, not too busy, and one has
time to relax and enjoy life’.
By the end of the forty minute con
tact, in a friendly, relaxed manner, we
had completed what was, in fact, a
comprehensive and in-depth study of
a region. The information was inter
esting, first-hand, up to date, and made
the area seem real and near. As a bonus,
there was, of course, the usual ‘eyeball’
suggestion, or an invitation to visit, if
passing through, which one amateur
frequently offers another.
It is in such conversations that the
realism and immediacy of amateur
radio can contribute life to geography.
The difficulty is, however, in ways that
the radio equipment may be made
accessible to a school class. Its ex
pense, combined with the necessity
for a tower, rotator and large antenna,
makes the equipment prohibitively
costly for most schools. On the other
hand, there are lots of ‘hams’ scattered
around, and all licenced amateurs have
Short ton air’ interview
Hello, my name is Don. I spell Don, D. 0. N. Don. I am attending
High School and would like to ask you some questions for my Geography
class.
.
I have some questions about your location.
What large city are you near? I am near
.
What is the weather like today? Our weather is
What is your time, there. Our time is
.
.
Please tell me some information about your city.
I would like to know about its size, the main means of travel, and the types
of houses people live in. Our city is located
near etc.
Please tell me about your countryside? What is the land like around your
city? What type of farming is carried on and what are the main crops
produced? What is the main kind of vegetation in your area? Our country
Our farming is
Machinery that is used here includes
is
Our
most common vegetation
. .
. .
. .
.
.
.
. .
.
.
.
I am very interested in hearing about your major industries. What are the.
major products produced in your city? Why are these products produced?
What are some of the exports from your area? Our major industries are
.
I am also interested in hearing about sports activities in your area. Our major
sports activities are.
..
Thank you very much for all the very interesting information. I have enjoyed
talking to you. I send my very best wishes to you and your family in
City, and hope you have a very good day. Goodbye.
.
..
Teaching Geography
Pupils in the amateur radio room: Which continent will come in next?
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Two examples of station call cards sent out by radio amateurs.
April 1978
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their names and addresses in the inter
national callbook, which covers the
world. Most amateurs hold ‘skeds’ or
regular contacts with other amateurs
around the world. It may be possible
to visit an amateur with a group of
students during a regular sked. Un
fortunately, radio communications de
pend very much on the sun’s activities
and skeds are therefore unreliable.
Amateurs cannot guarantee their con
tacts for the teacher and the visit can
be in vain. It is perhaps more useful to
have amateurs tape-record useful con
versations, so that the entire class may
share in an interesting QSO or contact,
from a collection that the teacher
develops over the years.
The best solution is to arrange for
small groups of students to visit a
nearby ham in their own time. There
is a good probability that a general CQ,
will turn up a thrilling DX or long dis
tance contact with another amateur on
another continent. Students may have
the opportunity, themselves, to talk
over the air in order to ask questions
and elicit further information. Students
can ask any questions concerning geo
graphy, and need only avoid the three
amateur taboo subjects, religion, poli
tics, and sex, which are never dis
cussed over the air. Prior to the visit, it
is recommended that the students pre
pare a list of geographically oriented,
general questions, which they could
ask any foreign operator over the air.
These questions might include, for
example, information about the climate,
terrain, time of day, modes of transport,
and the industrial and agricultural
goods produced in the region.
Students may jot down their answers
during the conversation and conse
quently gain skills in interviewing,
eliciting specific information, and
transcribing. They will also gain inci
dental insights into the characteristic
accents of various countries, and may
soon pick out New Zealanders, Aust
ralians, Canadians and residents of the
Southern United States.
Following the visit, interest stimu
lated by the experience may be
channelled in a variety of directions.
Students may undertake mapping ex
ercises, locating the longitude, latitude,
distance away of the contact, and the
time zones involved. Other alleys of
approach are climatic graphs, or econo
mic case-studies of the region.
Amateur radio demonstrates the use
fulness of geographical knowledge and
skills in everyday living and in pursuit
of a hobby. By stimulating interest, the
teacher can lay the basis for indepen
dent, self-motivated learning, based
on curiosity and the students’ innate
and natural desire to know. Knowledge
that is concrete, close and real in the
students’ lives is valuable knowledge
and will be eagerly sought. For some,
amateur radio may be that key which
unlocks and opens the student’s
curiosity, both in radio and its con
tingent discipline, geography.
179