Ham Radio

By Samantha Miller (’15), speaking at our annual Open House

I am speaking here on behalf of the ham radio club at Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Ham radio, for those of you who don’t know, is a radio communications hobby. You can talk to people around the world on special radio bands that are unlike the kinds used by truck drivers and police officers because these are reserved only for those carrying a license with their very own amateur radio call sign.

I now have the opportunity to talk to a lot of interesting people, including (if I’m lucky) astronauts on the space station who spend time on their radios, and I can help out, via the radio, in the event of an emergency if cell towers go down. Although it did take a couple years for me to prepare for this license, Mr. Newman, who is a licensed ham himself, was more than happy to explain everything to me and administer the test. I am appreciative that Ida Crown encourages  students to pursue unique extracurricular activities like this one, and I think everyone should take advantage of this opportunity to learn all about this fascinating hobby.