In recent and welcome news, RNZ (Radio New Zealand) shortwave radio broadcasts have resumed from the hours of 5am to 9am ( NZ time) to the Pacific region. A service that ceased back in 2016.
As a result of this decision, listeners in the remote areas of the Pacific will now have 24-hour access to these broadcasts instead of it turning off early in the morning every day.
We have previously reported just how important these broadcasts are for many remote communities who regularly endure unexpected weather patterns and can lose contact with the mainland and emergency services. Emergencies don’t stop between the hours of 5am and 9am, therefore access to emergency broadcasts shouldn’t either.
We applaud the decision by the NZ Government to contribute extra funding for shortwave services. We hope the Australian Government is taking notes!
One of the most widely listened to broadcasts is the RNZ Pacific’s flagship daily current affairs programme Pacific Waves which is also broadcast by the BBC Pacific Service.
So, what will be broadcast ? At various times RNZ will run 3 different frequencies, at 5am NZT tune in on 7425 kilohertz, at 6am NZT listen on 9700 kilohertz, and at 8am NZT change the dial to 11725 kilohertz
This information and image is courtesy of the RNZ website.
For the full schedule of shortwave frequencies check out the RNZ Pacific website.
As we continue on from our letter to Dad, the next point our author makes is that “radio answers our desire to travel” It in fact safely satisfies the desire to explore, learn about new places and speak with new people, but this time from the comfort of your own home, and watchful eyes of parents!
“Amateur radio furnishes a safe outlet for this desire; flinging messages across thousands of miles of spaces, chatting with fellow amateurs in the far corners of the earth, sending the spoken word into faraway homes, exploring the mysteries of the ultra-short waves, all of these things spell thrilling adventure to the youth of today. Why that is the factor that makes the hobby so fascinating to the boys from seven to seventy. They are given a chance to do things which they never did before; they are permitted to talk to people whom they will never see. Amateur radio has given them a key to a “magic world” of modern science, and they revel in their esoteric delights.”
Further stating that it will give him his desire to work and earn money and stay focused on broadening his world while not leaving home.
His next point is that Amateur Radio is an Urge to Greater Scholastic Endeavours.
This is in response to the fathers concerns that this hobby is a distraction from his school and study. Our author explains that radio is actually a science that requires a high level of mathematics that goes beyond simple multiplication and subtraction.
“Jack will soon find himself up against formulae that will require a more than superficial acquaintance with the higher branches of mathematics. A knowledge of physics is nearly indispensable for the radio amateur. Light and sound are so closely related to electricity that a knowledge of the principles of all three should be in the mental quiver of the conscientious amateur. Chemistry, too, will prove to be a basic science for this new hobby. You have only to point out these facts to Jack and you will find him viewing these subjects with an entirely new interest. Encourage him to approach his hobby from a scientific angle. Make him desire to know the why as soon as he has learned the how. Let him learn the thrill of being able to forecast exactly how his apparatus will function even before he assembles the parts.”
Further to this point, the author emphasises that while the world is being opened up to young Jack through radio, he will in turn become more interested in news and events of the world, broadening his desire to learn and be more worldly. So in fact this hobby will not make him an introvert who shys away from study, chances are it will be the exact opposite.
The next point is quite amusing and titled No Danger of Son Becoming Radio “Nut”
This point is in response to Jack’s dad saying he wants Jack to stop this hobby before he becomes a “radio nut”
Our author starts by saying, I know what you mean, I have seen that individual, and I know what a bore he is. He then reassures him that based on his knowledge of the boy, the boy’s passion for outdoor sports, his talents in athletics, and the fact that Jack and his dad regularly go on fishing and hunting trips shows that the boy has a well balanced life and interests. In addition, the boy has a fantastic group of friends and an active social scene. He asks Jack’s dad, with all these extracurricular activities, do you fear Jack is unbalanced? If anything, simply because he is so active the hobby will be a good grounding factor. His opinion is that “the hobby will really balance up his life. At the present time, there is too strong an accent on the lazy, careless seeking entertainment. Nothing the boy does builds toward a definite achievement by which he can measure his progress. This new hobby will inject a note of serious study and painstaking construction into his present butterfly existence. His completed station will be something that he can show to his friends with that pleasant glow of pride which arises from a knowledge of work well done.”
Now there are only two points left that our ham operator wants to tell Jack’s dad.
This next one is a warning, that if you discourage the boy away from radio, you may be discouraging him away from science.
He titles it Dangers of Discouraging a Boy’s Scientific Interest
He warns that he himself would not like to be the person that is responsible for discouraging the boy away from science. He wonders, where might this interest take him in the world and mentions Edison’s interest in chemistry, Ford’s interest in machinery, and Marconi’s interest in radio,
which were all, at one time, hobbies.
“Perhaps this boyish liking for radio may be a signpost of the lad’s destiny. At least, it betokens a mental alertness, a healthy desire for knowledge on the part of Jack that I should welcome with the greatest happiness if I were his father. Give me a boy who asks questions, who experiments, and who takes a keen interest in his hobby. That boy has the foundation for a successful life. He is awake, and his brain “absorbs knowledge as a sponge does water”! I know some boys who go through life with a dull apathetic attitude that is entirely devoid of enthusiasm. Nothing stirs them; nothing arouses their interest. They have only scorn for others who become excited over a hobby. Would you prefer that Jack be one of those fellows ?”
Our letter finishes with a single worded heading that says Resume.
He tells the dad that from his observations of Jack that this hobby will only have a positive influence on his life and skills. He mentions that this letter comes from a place of compassion and honesty. That his son has picked up a hobby that will grow with him from a young man to an old man, forever learning, experimenting and feeling that sense of achievement and connection.
In his opinion, you couldn’t ask for a better hobby to have throughout life.
“From a simple knowledge of fundamental principles, the amateur can climb upward until he has mastered the intricacies of technical theory. From there, he can set forth, intrepidly into the unexplored reaches of its various fields. Radio is new enough that it holds forth unparalleled opportunities for the radio experimenter.
Ultra-short waves, television, power transmission, and pathological application are but a few of the many fields that beckon the experimenter”
The letter ends with…… There you are! My argument is complete! The decision is now in your hands. Will you permit that boy of yours to go ahead with his hobby?
This article does not mention what happens next. We will undertake some research to see if there is a follow up article, but truthfully… How could a dad say no to these arguments?
In the spirit of upcoming Fathers Day we would like to share some excerpts from an
article published in the April 1935 edition of Popular Electronics magazine entitled,
“Why Your Son Should Learn Radio”.
The author John T. Frye (W9EGV) explains how this skill and the use of critical thinking and hand-eye coordination will help keep a young person occupied and off the streets and indeed out of pool halls!
Interestingly, the article is written by a ham operator, who has been mentoring Jack, a schoolboy. The young boy’s father does not understand this sudden indoor isolated hobby and indeed has an aversion to the activity, but the author explains just how useful it is for the boy to be engaged in amateur radio..
His first point centered around the fact that it is not too costly. Back then in 1935 the author says “In the first place, let us take the matter of cost. You say that it will cost too much. Do you know that my first radio station, including both transmitter and receiver, was built for less than five dollars? Yet, with that little station, I consistently talked with other amateurs a thousand miles away! Surely, you do not consider five dollars an exorbitant price to pay for a year’s entertainment and instruction.”
He mentions seeing two boys walk into the drugstore, one picks up a shortwave ham mag and flick through it whilst the other looks around carefully and then stuffs a less savoury magazine up his shirt.
He ads “ If amateur radio can give Jack something to keep his mind occupied, it will do him a service of incalculable value.”
His next point with bolded letters is “Ham Radio Keeps a boy at home”
He starts by reminding the intended reader (Jacks dad) that when your boy is home he is under your influence and watchful eye. Whereas you dont know what might influence Jack without supervision. In his words: “There are too many boys who regard the family home as merely a sort of refuelling and rest station!. Where kids come home to eat, have a rest and go out again. Instead such a hobby will keep your son home.
The fact that evenings are the best times for radio operations is most advantageous that your boy is at home with this hobby most evenings, rather than out after dark frequenting pool halls and hanging around on the streets!
His next bold heading is Teaches Responsibility.
“Amateur radio is a good teacher” The amateur must be licensed by the Federal Government, and therefore needs to observe and abide by rules laid out by these regulators of radio.
In addition “traffic handling” is a great lesson in itself, as it requires the radio amateur to keep schedules and pass messages requiring punctuality, precision and accuracy.
He follows by saying: ‘One of the first things that Jack will learn is that he must use his head and his hands if he is going to do anything in the amateur radio game. Of the fifty thousand amateurs in the United States, no two of them are confronted with exactly the same problems. Radio, (as does any modern science), demands the ability to reason clearly and logically. The building of a receiver, the ironing out of the “bugs” in a transmitter, and the erection of a good antenna are literally “hotbeds” of problems in radio theory. These problems must be met and conquered by a combination of theoretical knowledge and clean, sharp reasoning!
Once the problems of theory are solved, the amateur is confronted by new problems of actual construction. He knows that his station will have to undergo the most exacting scrutiny at the hands of fellow amateurs, and he wishes to make it as neat, as convenient, and as efficient as it lies in his power to make it. In other words, his skill as a workman is “challenged”, and I could take you on a tour of amateur stations that would convince you how marvelously some amateurs meet this challenge!”
There are several more points in this article, the next is the boldly headlined Short-Wave Radio Creates “Objective!”
Amateur Radio provides a challenge, a concrete objective to work towards. There is nothing more beneficial than working towards and achieving a goal. He followed this by explaining: “it teaches him to expend the fruits of his labours wisely and carefully. I know a particular case of a boy who refused to work at any of the tasks that are usually conditional to supplying a boy with “pocket money.” Distributing newspapers, running errands, selling magazines, and all other suggestions left him unenthusiastic.
Then he became interested in “radio”! At once, his character underwent a marvelous change. He threw off his lethargy and became one of the most “industrious” boys in the town.”
So indeed a keen interest and a goal will keep a child’s brain focussed and active!
The article continues with several more points we will reveal in Part 2 next week of our Fathers Day articles, one of our favourite lines from next week is “no danger of your son becoming a radio nut”! This point talks about radio nuts and how this boy in question “Jack” need not worry about becoming a nut.
Tune in to our blog next week for the follow up to this article. In the meantime, can you think of a person who could benefit from learning the art of amateur radio? It could be a family member young or old or perhaps one of the kids in your area.
Kids these days have a lot on their plate and more than ever face distractions from video games and social media. Radio could in fact be the perfect solution!