Ham radio interest waning due to Internet growth, antenna restrictions
Aug. 26, 2006
By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon @ fredericknewspost . com
FREDERICK — Restrictions on antennas by homeowners associations and the growing popularity of the Internet have contributed to the decline of amateur radio licenses, said Eric Gammeter, president of Frederick Amateur Radio Club. Once amateur radio operators get their license, they have two main priorities. The first is assisting emergency responders with communication, especially in remote areas or when traditional communication systems fail. The other is community service, such as helping during races and hikes.
In April 2003, 687,860 amateur radio operators were licensed in the United States, the most ever, according to the Amateur Radio Education Web site. The number dropped to 657,335 in July, the lowest since 1997.
Mr. Gammeter said middle school students have traditionally been attracted to amateur radio because of the allure of communicating with people in distant places, including astronauts in space.
But things are changing.
Adolescents are increasingly drawn to the Internet, he said. To make matters worse, the few teenagers who express an interest in amateur radio find it difficult to persuade their parents to break homeowners association rules that prohibit antennas.
“The parents figure, they may as well get them a computer instead,” Mr. Gammeter said. “What parent wants to invite that kind of trouble into their home, or participate in some clandestine activity you have to hide from the neighbors?”
Amateur radio operators like Mr. Gammeter believe they can work with homeowners associations to come to a reasonable compromise.
“They don't want anything that looks ugly, nor do I as a resident,” he said. “But I need to have something that will allow me to communicate effectively during times of disaster.”
Jack Markey, director of Frederick County Office of Emergency Management, said the decline in the number of amateur radio operators could affect how emergency crews operate.
“It's a concern to many of our services, such as fire and rescue, because we rely on their skills,” he said. “Fortunately, we have a really vibrant core group of operators in Frederick County right now.”
Jeff Fishman is the head of the Riverwalk Park architectural committee for the Fredericktowne Village Homeowners Association. He's also an amateur radio operator and vice president of the Frederick Amateur Radio Club.
That puts him in a unique position to try to influence how other associations treat amateur radio operators.
“Right after 9/11, I tried to persuade the board that for the purposes of emergency preparedness, it's not a good idea to prohibit these antennas,” he said.
Since then, the association has agreed to a handful of amateur radio antennas.
The association's architectural review committee considers each member's application to ensure antennas do not lower property values or obstruct neighbors' views.
Mr. Fishman said many people don't know the true reason behind homeowners associations' ban on antennas.
“In the 1960s, builders got together with cable companies and worked out a deal where the companies would pre-wire communities if builders would prohibit antennas,” he said. “A ban on antennas may have made the community look better, but it also gave cable companies a monopoly on TV service.”
He said he didn't like seeing the ban in his community's rule book and wanted to change things by trying to accommodate people who participate in emergency services communication. This can be done with smaller or strategically placed antennas.
“To prohibit antennas as a blanket statement prevents us from doing that,” he said. “And to prohibit us from those communications is not in the best interest of the community at large.”