(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

VIENNA — Members and friends of the Parkersburg Amateur Radio Klub will observe the centennial of the International Amateur Radio Union with “Ham Radio Open House” on Friday, April 18, at the Grand Central Mall, from 11a.m. until 5 p.m.

The event is open to the public.

“Ham radio operators worldwide will take to the airwaves to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day on Good Friday at the mall,” said Ron Kuhn, NQ0D, a member of P.A.R.K. “The Klub will be using the latest technology in ham radio, a software defined radio, that will be remotely controlled from the mall to my home in Fleming, Ohio.”

The radio signals will be transmitted to other club stations and ham operators from a system of wire antennas located in Fleming, Kuhn said.

The International Amateur Radio Union was formed by amateur radio enthusiasts from 25 countries in Paris, France, in 1925. Today the IARU has grown to 160 member-societies in three regions around the globe. The IARU, along with the International Telecommunications Union and the American Radio Relay League represent the Amateur Services for 3 million amateur radio operators and are responsible for protecting and developing parts of the radio spectrum used by hams.

The popularity of ham radio has recently experienced a bump in the number of new licenses being issued, organizers said.

“We (the Klub) are situated in IARU region-two, which includes the Americas,” said Jerry Wharton, KA8NJW, a P.A.R.K. vice president, and is the Klub’s historian and public relations contact. “Region-one is made up of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Northern Asia. The third region is comprised of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Island nations and most of Asia.”

The Klub will attempt to contact as many stations in the three regions as possible during the open house as well as other clubs and individuals in the USA, Wharton said.

The P.A.R.K. shares a vision of involving students at Parkersburg South High School and the STEM method of teaching and learning. STEM (which stands for Science Technology Engineering Math) classes and courses of study fit together nicely with what opportunities amateur radio provides for young people, organizers said.

The Klub joined the science department at PSHS, NASA, and The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSci) to research and understand what happens to the Earth’s ionosphere during a solar eclipse. A long-term goal of the school and the Klub is to establish a ham radio station inside the school and offer classes to interested students on how to obtain a ham radio license.

“When the most recent total solar eclipse occurred, it was visible for most of the Ohio Valley, the school and the Klub cooperated and set up radio stations on the front campus of South and recorded the effects of the eclipse on radio signals,” said Larry Dale, KF8NW, the P.A.R.K. president. “The results were recorded and forwarded to NASA and HamSci for further study.

“It was the success of that experiment that made a perfect segue into World Amateur Radio Day.”

Those who visit the exhibit will see demonstrations of various new modes of communicating, portable antenna systems as well as antique ham radio gear which will be on display. A radio telegraphy exhibit will allow attendees to hear and send the International Morse Code.