Bet this kid goes far
Posted on 07/06/2008 9:19:40 AM PDT by mylife
Posted on Sun, Jun. 01, 2008 A boy's passport to the world
Six-year-old Cameron Hasson's world just got a little larger.
The amateur radio license he recently earned puts him in touch with folks from all over.
He's a bona fide “ham” – probably the youngest in North Carolina and maybe the U.S., according to his instructor, Joe Hullender with the Gastonia Area Amateur Radio Club.
All that talk going on out in radio land – endless conversations about the weather and gas prices and whatever – Cameron takes it all in.
The world has opened up. He feels more connected. And he also feels closer to his parents: Eric, a computer consultant, and Beverly, a physical therapist at Gaston Memorial Hospital. Studying in the same class, they all earned their amateur radio licenses together.
Ham radio, like fishing, is something I've always admired, but never had much luck with.
Eric Hasson, 46, got the radio bug as a kid in St. Louis. It came from his dad, Jack, who was into citizens band radio during the CB craze of the 1970s – the “Smokey and the Bandit” days.
Eric decided to study for his ham license, but the FCC's requirement of testing for proficiency in Morse code was a brick wall for him.
His interest in electronics and computers grew as visions of being an amateur radio operator faded.
Until the brick wall collapsed. In late 2006, the FCC did away with the Morse code requirement and Hasson started thinking about ham radio again.
The idea kicked around in his mind for a while. Then, in March, he enrolled in a six-week class sponsored by the Gastonia Area Amateur Radio Club. On the first day, Hasson asked Hullender if a 6-year-old could learn the material. The answer was yes. Hasson asked Cameron if he'd like to try for a license. Cameron was game.
Two-way radio had already captured his imagination. He had a CB, a General Mobile Service and Dick Tracy-style Family Radio Service, complete with a Tracy wrist radio.
These radio services, which didn't require a license, gave his son a little more freedom, Eric Hasson said. His parents could check on him when he was out of sight and feel a greater sense of security.
When her husband and son signed up for the class, Beverly Hasson decided she'd join them.
The radio class was held at the Gaston County Police Community Room. Ages ranged from 6 to 76.
The final exam had 35 multiple choice questions; to pass, you had to get 26 right.
Cameron wanted a technician class license – the beginner's level. Hullender remembers his youngest student as “kind of quiet and serious.”
A kid, maybe, but one who was really into the subject.
Every night at home, Cameron was tutored by his dad. They did research together on the computer. They waded through technical material.
“It was hard,” Cameron recalled.
Test day rolled around. Eric Hasson wasn't sure his son would pass.
But he did.
Cameron wants to go up another notch and get a general radio license. He's a smart kid and will probably make it. But even if he doesn't, he's learned about focus and hard work and family togetherness. At 6, he's way ahead of the game.
Bet this kid goes far
/johnny
Now he can listen to a bunch of grumpy old men arguing about the need for learning code.
Couldn't he just surf the 'net?
ML/NJ
73 and Good DXing, kid!
Who has the SWL/Ham/Dx ping list now? I didnt log it
Way to go Cameron, hope to work you down the log,best 73s- n2dcp.
It just aint the same and radio is safer
Way to go Cameron, hope to work you down the log,best 73s- n2dcp.
If I have to explain the difference you wouldnt understand.
I picked this broadcast up last night on WBCQ.
Soldiers in Iraq making contact on 14070 khz 31 meter PSK You can hear it here in segment five
When I was a kid, my shortwave radio was my companion, my window on the world. How many hours I spent, and the thrill of getting that big “catch”, that elusive station. I waited anxiously for the next “Popular Electronics” with the latest shortwave listings. Good times.
L0L! Last night I heard an ol geezer talking about how when he wipes out water skiing he looses his dentures....sooo... he drilled holes in the back of the plates and tied fishin line around his neck....
L0L
/johnny
I think there is some of that in all of us.
It was prolly peanut butter toast and coffee ;)
> Now, if we could just get some sunspot activity to open up 6meter dx <
That would indeed be nice! But in case you haven’t been on the “magic band” lately, please be aware that the last few weeks have produced a lot of Es openings — including a few from eastern North America to western Europe. So it ain’t all bad!
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