What is the Amateur Radio Club?

The purpose Ankeny’s Amateur Radio Club is the promotion of interest in Amateur Radio communication and experimentation through education in the field of wireless electronic communication. Amateur radio operators use computers, hand-held radios, and even Morse code to communicate with each other. Amateur radio operators, sometimes called “hams,” are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and have permission to transmit on specific radio frequencies based on the level of their FCC license. A primary goal of the club is to help students earn their license! Hams talk with other amateur radio operators across town, across the state, across the country, and even around the world. Some hams like to use space satellites to re-transmit their signals; many have even contacted astronauts on the International Space Station.

Most hams build at least some of their own radio equipment. Ankeny’s Amateur Radio Club built the antenna mounted on top of the roof at Centennial High School (CHS); we’ve used this antenna to talk with other hams as far away as Hawaii!

The Ankeny Amateur Radio Club consists of students, staff, and community members who want to learn more about wireless communication. Members may use club equipment located at CHS as long as a staff member is present. Our amateur radio station is equipped to transmit and receive from 3.4 MHz to 30 MHz with voice, Morse code, and a computer interface for other digital signals. Our FCC call sign is AC0HS and the faculty sponsor is Mike Miller (AC0BD).

The club focuses on two main activities during the school year: the fall and spring School Club Roundup (SCR). The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors the SCR. School clubs from across the country compete against one another to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible. In addition to the SCR, students are encouraged to experiment with different radio communication modes- Morse code, digital computer signals, voice, and others. Future activities include a high altitude balloon launch in which we’ll launch a balloon with a payload (GPS, radio transceiver, temperature sensor) to over 80,000 feet and recover it!

Please contact the faculty sponsor Mike Miller at michael.miller@ankenyschools.org for more information about the club and meeting times.