Amateur radio operators, or “Hams,” use radios to communicate with other users – whether they’re around the corner or around the globe.
Aside from casual communication, operators often assist motorists in distress and pass messages from friends and relatives to people who are in a weather-related emergency such as a hurricane.
When astronauts, cosmonauts and mission specialists from many nations fly on the international space station, they have amateur, or ham, radio as a constant companion.
Since its first flight in 1983, ham radio has flown on more than two-dozen space shuttle missions. Dozens of astronauts have used the Space Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, or SAREX, to talk to thousands of kids in school and to their families on Earth while they were in orbit. They have pioneered space radio experimentation, including television and text messaging as well as voice communication. The Russians have had a similar program for the cosmonauts aboard the Russian Space Station Mir. When U.S. astronauts were aboard Mir in preparation for the long duration missions of the international space station, they used amateur radio for communication, including emergency messaging while Mir was in distress. Listen here for a brief contact with the ISS.
CNIB Amateur Radio Program
Established in 1967, CNIB’s Amateur Radio Program has grown to include nearly 500 members across Canada, from teens to professionals, parents and retirees.
The Amateur Radio program provides:
- assistance in obtaining equipment
- helps to train new operators
- helps prepare operators to pass the required Radio License exams
There are no age or citizenship restrictions to becoming a ham radio operator.
For more information please contact:
Mr. Randy Nelson
Manager, CNIB Amateur Radio Program
1929 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, ON M4G 3E8
416-486-2500 ext. 7438
amateurradio@cnib.ca