Earth calling: WC Ham radio links up with space station

By Andy Hallman — Daily Freeman-Journal Staff Writer

Webster City Police Chief Mike McConnell has done something few people can lay claim to: talking to a person on the International Space Station (ISS). McConnell accomplished the feat in October when he made radio contact with space tourist Richard Garriott while he was aboard the ISS.

McConnell was interested in contacting Garriott because both he and Garriott operate amateur radios (also known as "ham radios").

"Within the ham radio community it was big news that ham radio operator Richard Garriott was up on the international space station and we were aware that one of his main goals was to make as many contacts with other ham radio operators as possible," noted McConnell.

Garriott, son of retired Astronaut Owen Garriott, is not an astronaut himself but was allowed to board the ISS after paying $30 million.

McConnell said that his conversation with Garriott was very brief, and for good reason.

"One of the issues with these satellites is that you'll generally have about a 10 to 14 minute window to be able to talk to people on earth. And so if you have that time for the whole U.S. you want to have short conversations. As soon as I made contact with him and we exchanged our call signs, then I basically said my pleasantries and then he's able to move to the next person and the next person, because you don't want one person monopolizing the time," explained McConnell.

Remarking on his enthusiasm for amateur radio, McConnell stated that he has been interested in the field for a long time.

"I've always been interested in electronics for as long as I can remember. A person showed me a ham radio when I was about 15 and it kind of stuck with me. And then when I turned 18 or 19 I decided I wanted to get my license. When I took my test you had to know Morse code, so I learned Morse code and got the highest level of licenses available. Currently, I hold an amateur radio license and a general radio-telephone license. That allows me to do broadcast radio, which I have done in the past," said McConnell.

McConnell mentioned that, since his youth, he has had to update his repertoire of radio equipment to stay on the cutting edge of advancements in the radio field. But those updates come with a price tag.

"Nothing in my shop is more than 10 years old. In terms of the cost of the equipment, I suppose when you add it together, plus the antennas, you're probably looking at $8,000 tp $10,000. Most everything I have here is pretty much the latest technology," said McConnell.

McConnell added that amateur radio, apart from being a nice hobby, has useful applications in the real world.

"One of the main uses of ham radios is that they relay emergency communications. For instance, in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina they had ham radio nets set up so they could back up the government. They relied on ham radios to go places and get messages through," noted McConnell.

"I remember when Katrina was happening; I was able to listen to radio traffic that was going on down there, listening to their weather reports and damage reports. A lot of the first damage reports coming out of there were from ham radio operators or other emergency systems. I don't know if the cell phones were working but they quite likely weren't," he said.

McConnell concluded by saying that he is an active member of the Hamilton County Amateur Radio Club.

"The Hamilton County Club participates in weekly drills, and we've got a couple FM repeaters in town we can talk on. There are ham operators throughout the county, but not quite as many as there used to be," lamented McConnell.

Contact Andy Hallman at reporter@freemanjournal.net