Schofield club excels in international radio outreach

Feb. 20—Austin Heape, Ta'Mahje Ervin, Carleigh Johnson and several other local students have had their hands full at Schofield Middle School during the past few days, taking part in a competition run by American Radio Relay League.

Activities were after school each day, Monday through Thursday, and the idea was to "work" (make certified contact with) radio operators in as many countries as possible.

The Schofield Amateur Radio and Technology Club, founded by Kent Hufford and Mike Newland, has a reputation of being among the top such clubs in the country, by way of its success in reaching around the world via the airwaves. The competition is open to students from elementary school through college.

"Four different years, the school has placed first nationwide of all the clubs, and some other years, they've won for the middle-school category," said volunteer Jim Matson (call sign KN4OQD), whose background includes having had two kids as club members: Annie, 18, a senior at Aiken High; and Winston, 14, a ninth grader at Aiken High. They are now "student mentors," helping their younger peers learn the ways of microphones and radio waves.

The past week's connections were to more than a dozen countries, including South Africa, France, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Wales, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Costa Rica and Switzerland. Teams also get credit for reaching other states, and the final contact count was above 550.

Hufford (call sign KQ4KK) and Newland (NC8N) had plenty in common before they pooled their resources to establish the Schofield group. Both Army veterans flew helicopters in Vietnam — Army Signal Corps aviators. Another volunteer, David Kjellquist (WB5NHL), is also a vet with a Signal Corps background, Hufford noted.

Competitions are traditionally (under non-pandemic circumstances) held in the third full-school week of October and the second full-school week of February. Radio league guidelines require that a station operate no more than six hours in a 24-hour period and for a maximum of 24 hours during the course of the 107-hour event.

"It's everywhere," in Matson's words. "The goal is to work as many people as you can during the week ... so here they're typically working like from 3 in the afternoon to 6:30," he said. "The kids sign up and they're working, as different teams, on it typically about a half hour."

The Schofield club meets once a week and focuses on a variety of topics.

"They learn about the electronic components, but then they also work on communication and the history of communication. They've been doing it here for nine years now," Matson said.

"They learn something about technology, and it expands their horizons," Hufford added. "Every year, the students pick up knowledge about the ionosphere and satellites and electronics and soldering and communication. They figure out what's inside a cell phone, so instead of just playing with a cell phone, they get an understanding of ... what's inside of it, how it works and why it works."

Annie Matson uses her radio background as an intern with Aiken County's emergency management division, she noted. She described her experiences in an essay for college admission.

"I have been able to use my communications skills from ham radio to coordinate first responders during severe weather, assist with free checkups for low-income communities and lead several community safety workshops. My work in ham radio fueled an interest in public service and leadership and guided my career goals toward helping people. The relationships and skills I've formed through radio and the ham community have changed my life's direction," she wrote.

The radio league, as described on its website, "numbers within its ranks the vast majority of active radio amateurs in the nation and has a proud history of achievement as the standard-bearer in amateur affairs."

The organization's potential benefits for young members include scholarship support in assistance of "active, FCC-licensed amateur radio operators." Dozens of scholarships are offered around the country.