| Ham radio fan, 11, making Hamvention debut (Apr 10) |
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The views from the Mitchell home on Sulphur Mountain are incredible, even on a hazy day, with a vista that extends out to the Channel Islands, down to the Simi Valley/Moorpark area and on up to Santa Barbara.
While anyone would appreciate the beauty, for a ham radio operator such vistas are even more exciting, because with even the most basic antenna Randall Mitchell, 11, can talk to almost all of Ventura County, with just the lowest-level radio license. Randy, as he likes to be called, is a recent convert to the world of ham radio operators, having earned his license in August. Now he has been asked to speak at the annual Hamvention, scheduled May 14-16 in Dayton, Ohio. He will speak about Youth Net, a weekly radio broadcast he has started for young amateur radio operators. He is one of six young people invited to speak at the national convention. Carole Perry, a retired New York City school teacher who has been moderating the youth forum at the Hamvention for the past 22 years, said every year she tries to gather young people to drum up enthusiasm for the hobby among other youths. “Each one of them has a different background, such as in emergency service, like Randy, or weather reporting, or helping local police, they all look at different aspects,” Perry said. “We’re interested in seeing more youth involved with amateur radio.” Randy said he started the youth group so people 18 and younger could have a venue to speak to each other in relative safety. Because amateur radio requires each user be identifiable by his or her call letter, and as Randy pointed out, you can tell by most voices whether you are speaking to an adult or a young person, it’s safer than an online chat room. “In chat rooms there are no monitors. On the radio, you have to use a call sign, which can be looked up if there are any problems,” said Randy’s father, Doug Mitchell. Randy is home-schooled, although he takes some classes at Ventura College alongside sister Jacqueline, 18. He was introduced to the world of amateur radio by family friend John Cuthbert, who is a member of the Ventura County Auxiliary Communications Service and Amateur Radio Emergency Service. “We talked with people from all over the world,” Randy said, adding that he had never been on the radio before, but once he started talking to people from all over the country, he was hooked. The mission of ACE/ARES isn’t just about chatting and socializing. The radio operators are often the only people with a communications network that can be deployed during times of disasters when most cell towers, phones and other communication services would be disrupted. In Ojai, members perform weekly radio checks to make sure the system is in tiptop working order at the Ojai Police station, where they have a dedicated room with their equipment. Randy held his first Youth Net, which will be primarily a social network for young people 18 and under to talk with each other, at the police station recently because he wanted to launch his venture under the guidance of experienced radio operators Cuthbert and ACES/ARES president Wayne Francis. While the evening session started off slow, eventually Randy was able to speak to five young people “We even ‘rag chewed’ (a term for chatting via radio) until 8 p.m. when I had to close the net. Some of the topics we discussed were Boy Scouts, schools, hobbies, churches, and everyone’s interest in ham radio,” Randy said a few days later via e-mail. Patti and Doug Mitchell, a pilot for American Airlines, decided to moved to Ojai from Chicago in 1999 and build a home on the acreage that Patti fell in love with at first sight. Randy keeps busy with the family’s menagerie of animals, which includes at least four dogs, a number of rescued cats, horses and chickens. “I have piano classes and college classes, and there are the cats and the dogs, and we do lots of camping with friends. So I’m not lonely,” he said. But establishing the Youth Net, which he will run from his home, will allow him to turn his relative isolation into a boon. Randy said he hopes Youth Net will get young radio enthusiasts chatting with each other on Thursday nights. But his net also serves the serious purpose of helping during an emergency. Every member of the group would also be expected to transmit vital information, should the need ever arise. Randy said his ultimate goal is to launch amateur radio clubs in all Ventura County schools, which could be used for education and in case of emergency. “If schools get locked down, there’s no contact with the outside. We want to have youths in the school who can contact police and people on the outside if they need to,” he said. |
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