Nomadic Amateur Radio Operator
A Nomadic Amateur Radio Operator, or Radio Nomad is not a club or
formal qualification. There is no test to take, dues to pay or
pecking order to participate in. It's more like a state of mind that
you can share with your peers in amateur radio. It's a kind of
independence from the large shared technical and social
infrastructures that make up our worlds communications and media. In
general it's about being self sufficient and having choices. A
specific way to do this in Amateur radio is to make more use of
simplex and other forms of peer to peer radio communications.
It's not to say that a Radio Nomad should shun the use of phones, the
Internet, repeaters or joining clubs. That would be a pretty lonely
way to go. It is more that they should be able to keep communicating
in the absense of these shared resources, or simply when they choose
to. Being a Radio Nomad may be physical or mental depending on how
you operate. You may use portable equipment and take your radio with
you. You may also operate from a fixed location and roam the bands.
The point is not to wander aimlessly, but to explore and push the
limits of radio.
Here are some characteristics that will help you be more nomadic:
- Know your radios and antennas
- Explore and find the limits of propogation for the bands that you operate on
- Know and use the calling frequencies and simplex frequencies for those bands
- Get licensed for, and operate on new bands
- Be handy with shifting frequencies and changing other necessary settings like CTCSS tones and offsets
- Practice simplex procedures such as relaying
- Encourage your friends to operate simplex with you
If you commonly rely on repeaters, phones or the Internet to maintain
contact with your friends and associates on Amateur Radio, I challenge
you to think differently. Be more nomadic, even if it's only once in
a while. It is a fun way to become a better radio operator.