Amateur radio operators can talk around the world, help in crises.

By Eric Freeman efreeman@columbustelegram.comMonday, Dec 03, 2007 - 12:43:25 pm CST
COLUMBUS -- Randy Hiltner became a licensed ham radio operator in 1990. His interest in the hobby was cultivated while listening to the radio at his father’s side.

Hiltner is far from alone in his interest in amateur radio. The Pawnee Amateur Radio Club has been active in the Columbus area since 1970 with an average membership of about 15 through the years.

The club rents space on top of the courthouse for a VHF (very high frequency) repeater that amplifies the signals it receives and sends the transmissions back to hams and scanner listeners in the Columbus area. The frequency of the repeater is 146.640 MHz.

Read More