FMCA members share their common interest with friends near and far.
What’s more fun than motorhoming? Ask the members of FMCA’s Amateur Radio chapter, and they’ll tell you it’s motorhoming with a worldwide communication device on board.
The radio is a portal into a world of people who share similar interests. It lets amateurs exchange info, make new friends, and keep in touch with old friends.
The radio also puts you in the driver’s seat when emergency communications are needed following a natural disaster. The amateur radio community is prepared to move in and provide essential communications so that local government, police, and EMT workers can help the public.
In short, RVing and amateur radio is a “match made in heaven,” said Amateur Radio chapter president Rick Hamilton, whose call sign is WB5VQW.
This International Area chapter has been around since 1981 and is made up of 100 or so FMCA families from throughout North America. Because their homes are so spread out, Rick said that local, smaller gatherings of members are encouraged. The chapter holds two official rallies each year, in the spring and fall, each in a different location than the last, to help accommodate members everywhere.
These hams, as amateur radio operators call themselves, do not spend all of their rally time talking shop. Depending on what the rally hosts plan, they may prepare several group meals; go out to eat; and visit places of interest. At a rally in Bowling Green, Kentucky, they toured the National Corvette Museum and the GM Corvette Assembly Plant.
However, sometimes while the men are tackling technical topics, Rick said, the ladies hold their own luncheon. Which is not to say that women aren’t involved. Chapter membership chairperson Karla Dayhuff said a third to a half of ladies in the chapter have ham radio licenses, too. “It’s not just for the guys,” she noted.
Part of the fun of belonging to the chapter is using the radio to stay in touch with other members. Three times a week, the chapter holds scheduled “nets” —talk sessions — on the radio, and once a week they have a less formal Echolink (VOIP) net.
To join the chapter, you must be an FMCA member and hold a valid amateur radio license. To learn more about becoming a ham, Rick suggests visiting the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) website, www.arrl.org, and searching the Web for an amateur radio club in your area. You’re also welcome to contact friendly chapter folk. “We will do whatever is necessary to help out,” Rick said.
The chapter publishes a website, www.fmcaarc.com, and a quarterly newsletter, “The Transmitter.” Dues are $15.
For general information about FMCA chapters, contact the Chapter Services Department at (513) 474-3622 or (800) 543-3622; chapters@fmca.com.
If you would like your chapter to be featured in Chapter Spotlight, contact FMC associate editor Peggy Jordan, (800) 543-3622, ext. 212; pjordan@fmca.com.