Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
ham radio
Steven Westbrook with some of his favorite radios housed at the Alabama Historical Radio Society in downtown Birmingham. Westbrook is a Homewood resident and a ham radio operator.
As a child, Steven Westbrook never believed his grandfather’s stories. It seemed like a myth that a blind man living in Birmingham would listen to radio broadcasts from Nazi Germany and Japan, waiting to hear news of any local soldiers that he could report to their families.
When he grew up, Westbrook happened to find his grandfather’s name on the roster of a WWII-era Shortwave Amateur Monitors club. His grandfather’s stories were true, and they were Westbrook’s first introduction to the world of amateur radio.
Amateur radio operators, often called hams, are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast over radio airwaves under individual call signs. Hams can use their radio equipment to talk to other operators around the world or provide emergency communications when traditional communication methods fail. Westbrook, now a Homewood resident, has been a ham for about five years, but his involvement in the world of radio started much earlier.
“I grew up around it,” he said.
Westbrook’s father worked for AT&T in the 1970s and later owned his own electronics company. Westbrook recalls helping to install language learning software and equipment in several high schools, including Homewood High. This led to an interest in taking apart and rebuilding radios, especially older ones.
“When you get into it, you can understand it and work on it,” Westbrook said. “It’s something you can get your hands around.”
He has been a member of the Alabama Historical Radio Society since the early 1990s. Walking around the society’s downtown museum, Westbrook will say he’s far from the most knowledgeable person in the society, but it’s hard to believe after he rattles off facts about every radio he passes.
Once he retired, Westbrook finally took up the ham side of his radio hobby, joining a few hundred hams in Jefferson County. Westbrook said the experimentation, creativity and friendliness of his fellow operators drew him to add his own voice to the airwaves.
“You’ll find a lot of passion in radio … as a communication medium and as a source of friendship and camaraderie,” Westbrook said. “You’ll find friends you didn’t know you had.”
Through the radio, Westbrook has talked to fellow hams around the U.S. and in South America. He’s also met Birmingham operators who have talked to hams in every country in the world, or who began as operators in WWII or recall answering panicked phone calls to their stations the night of the “War of the Worlds” broadcast in 1938.
Though most operators steer clear of touchy subjects like religion and politics, Westbrook said he enjoys the conversations he’s had with perfect strangers that he’ll never meet in person.
“It’s just me and the guy I’m talking to … No ones and zeros,” Westbrook said. “It’s just a voice, you don’t have anything to judge them on.”
This year, Westbrook is also the chairman of the Birmingham Hamfest, an annual convention for amateur radio enthusiasts to meet, buy equipment and spare parts and swap information on their shared hobby. The Hamfest is at Zamora Shrine Temple on March 4-5, and this year’s special topic is emergency communications.
Events like the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado highlight the continuing need for amateur radio even as it gets “outdated” by newer technology. When phone lines and other communication systems failed in the immediate tornado aftermath, Westbrook said hams were able to pick up their radio equipment, powered by battery or generator, and get to work. They could report conditions on the scene and provide a communication network for emergency personnel.
Many local hams participate in an annual “field day” to test their response to a simulated disaster, so they can be prepared should a flood, tornado or other event knock out communication in Birmingham.
“Ham radio still has its place,” Westbrook said. “It’s just phenomenal what you can do.”
Birmingham Amateur Radio Club Hamfest
- WHERE: Zamora Shrine Temple, 3521 Ratliff Road
- WHEN: March 4 from 4-7 p.m.; March 5 from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
- COST: Tickets are $8
- CALL: 305-0679
- WEB: w4cue.com
