Ham Radio IRL – An Open Letter to the “OTA” Chasers and Hunters

Dear [Fill-in-the-Blank]-On-The-Air Chasers and Hunters:

I want to let you know how much you mean to me, so I thought I would write you a letter. The world sure has gone to Hades in a handcart lately, huh? I’ve been told that almost everyone is hiding inside watching the modern variant of the television and scrolling endlessly through random notes typed onto small screens to fill up their time. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging, I do it too at times (look at me now!)

But, truth be told, I haven’t participated all that much in this new version of the world. I’m kinda still living in the old version of the world. It just seems that there are a lot less people around now to share it with. At least in real life. IRL as it were.

For the past year I have woken up, walked myself to work every day, and spent the weekends in the woods. Much like every other year of my life. In fact, perhaps even intensified by the era of COVID. You see, the woods are a visceral – not virtual – reality, and I seek that out. Nature is real; it has its own set of incontrovertible rules and truths. And it simply does not give a hoot about your opinions on, well, anything. I personally have never been one to confine myself very long inside walls. To include the ones constructed on computers.

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When I was younger, I used to go for walks in the woods really just for the sake of walking. Now, I like to set a goal to accomplish. And I like each and every outdoor experience to be a mission of one sort or another. I became a ham operator in early 2019 specifically to explore portable radio. And since getting my first rig, a Yaesu FT-891A (that I love dearly), well, let’s just say, adventure radio has been my thing.

And although the rest of the world may be locked away consuming the next social media hashtag, not you and I, my dear “OTA” hunter/chaser teammate, we are sharing one heck of an adventure together instead! I send out a tiny stream of radiofrequency waves from the middle of nowhere, and who knows how, you come and find me! It’s pure magic. So let me tell you what happened today…

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I brought a friend and our three dogs into the woods with me for a Parks-On-The-Air activation of Rutland State Park K-2457 (Rutland MA). She’d never been on the air before, really knew nothing about amateur radio. We met in an adequate trailhead parking lot and walked a mile or so on a slushy and icy rail trail. A small set of snowshoe tracks up a little hill caught our eye, and we followed them to its peak. The weather, being a mixture of rain, snow, and drizzle, necessitated a tarp, and we found a decent clearing to establish as a day campsite. You see, one of my outdoor missions is also to learn to effectively use a tarp as my primary shelter, and I now take one on every hike.

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The Radiowavz 20 meter end-fed half wave antenna was set up next, with the free end secured to a tree limb at an approximate height of 20 feet. Fifty feet of RG8X coaxial cable snaked back to the shelter. The Yaesu FT-891, LDG z100 Plus autotuner, and 15ah Bioenno lifepo battery completed the radio portion of the kit.

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Everything now set to go, the click of the power button jumped the transceiver to life. The indecipherable babble of a slightly off-frequency operator blast through the speaker. And simultaneously, my friend’s eyes sparked. We both knew that something cool was about to happen…

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And then it was your turn, my dear chaser/hunter teammate…Your turn to show up, to answer our call, to pull that bunny out of the top hat. For you and I have done this dance now dozens of times. We know the tune, can sing the words, and play the song. But my friend, well, she had never heard it before. She did not know we would be talking to Texas on a rather tiny strand of wire. To be honest, she did not believe you would actually be there at all. But I knew you would. Because in this world of uncertainty, of a humanity that has largely retreated to their safe virtual bubbles, your voice — just like the woods themselves– is a visceral reality. I knew you would be there for us IRL. And one after another your callsigns boomed through our radio. Just like that, you showed up, just like I knew you would. So today, you and I introduced yet another person to the uncannily special world of ham radio. And I just wanted to let you know how important that was to me. See you on the next radio adventure!

Yours Truly,

KM1NDY

(Note: I am not sponsored by anyone. I paid for all of my gear. I am just talking about what I own.)