Friday, March 15, 2002
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Friday, March 15, 2002 |
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Youth registers a 10-4 on his Ham radio examination A Peachtree City youth recently became the youngest licensed Ham radio operator in the area, following in the footsteps of his parents who are both Ham operators. Jimmy Carter, 10, a fifth-grader at Oak Grove Elementary, admits that none of his fellow students even know what a Ham radio is. And Ham operators he has spoken with are all considerably older than he is. "They talk about things like MRIs and stuff like that," Carter said, noting that most of the discussion involves the use and maintenance of Ham radios. With the right equipment, Ham radio can help him communicate with others across the globe. Just the other night, Carter listened in on Ham radio transmissions from the space shuttle that was in orbit to repair a telescope satellite. To qualify for his FCC ham radio license, Carter studied for six months on the inner workings of Ham radios from fuses to capacitors, transistors and other staples of Ham radio terminology. He also had to know governmental rules and guidelines for radio operation. He passed the Ham radio exam last weekend. "You have to know a lot of stuff 'cause if you're out at sea and it's broken, you have to fix it," Carter said. Once Carter gets his permanent call sign from the FCC, he will use his handheld Ham radio to converse with others. In the meantime, he is content to just listen in. He also has plenty to keep him busy, including participation in a Boy Scout troop, camping, school work and playing trumpet in the school band.
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