Amateur radio has been around for a long time. The Radio Club of America, founded in 1909, was noteworthy for its early experiments with wireless technology. Since that time, amateur radio operators have served to “get the word out” from the scene of emergencies around the world. Sometimes amateur radio, also called ham radio, was the only link to the outside world for hours or even days after a disaster.

Many APCO members are ham radio operators. In order to provide an opportunity for over-the-air networking, members from the California Public-Safety Radio Association (CPRA) and the Northern California chapter of APCO (NAPCO) established a “special event” ham station from the Marriott hotel during APCO’s 79th Annual Conference & Expo in Anaheim, Calif.

The call sign was K4AI which is the club station call sign for the APCO International Amateur Radio Club. The station operated on frequency bands of 2 meters (146.940), 20 meters (14 MHz) and 40 meters (7 MHz).

CPRA hams erect an antenna on the roof of Anaheim Marriott during APCO 2013. From left to right: chapter frequency adviser Gary Gray, chapter treasurer Joe Parrino, chapter board member Ken Mann and CPRA president Tim Trager.

During the show, members of CPRA and NAPCO, along with other visiting hams, were able to make contact with some 40 amateur operators around the country. The most distant contacts were from Ohio, Texas and Washington. A local 2-meter repeater atop the Anaheim Convention Center was available to APCO attendees for local use during the conference.

A special certificate is being prepared to commemorate the event and will be mailed out to the various “contacts” made during the conference.

Charles Taylor has been an APCO member for more than 50 years. He is a past president and senior member of CPRA and, a life member of APCO and a member of Public Safety Communications‘ Editorial Advisory Committee.