Icelandic radio amateurs mark 80 years with open house

Icelandic radio amateurs will celebrate the association’s 80th anniversary with an open house on Saturday, mbl.is reports. The event will be held at the association’s premises in Skeljanes in Skerjafjörður, a building recognisable by the many antennas on its roof.

The celebration will include refreshments, speeches and a small ceremony commemorating the association’s origins. The association was founded on August 14, 1946, shortly after the Second World War, when communications technology was still new and not widely accessible.

Andrés Þórarinsson, the association’s deputy chairman, said it currently has between 30 and 50 members, which he described as a good size for an organisation of this kind.

Sunspots affect radio communications

Morse code was the main tool used by radio amateurs in the early years. Its advantage is that it requires little power to transmit signals over long distances when the frequency, time of day, season and level of solar activity are favourable.

Andrés said sunspots follow an approximately 11 year cycle. At the peak, around 100 spots can be visible on the surface of the sun, while none may be visible during the intervening minimum. The spots affect the strength of the atmospheric reflection layers, which are located about 100 kilometres above Iceland and the rest of the world.

These conditions affect radio communications and frequencies. Less power is needed when sunspot activity is at its peak.

Contact with satellites and the Moon

Many radio amateurs enjoy communicating through satellites, including satellites passing overhead and those positioned above the equator. More experienced operators can also communicate with people elsewhere in the world using reflections from the Moon.

Andrés said rescue teams depend heavily on communications. They generally use frequencies that connect vehicles directly through short antennas attached to the vehicles.

Some radio amateurs attach antenna masts to their cars. One such mast, shown in a photograph, is about 10 metres high. The radio car on Kerlingarskarðsvegur took part in a spring competition organised by the Icelandic Radio Amateurs, challenging participants to use as many frequencies, locations and distances as possible. Distances of 100 to 200 kilometres were often involved.

Andrés said radio amateurs can establish contact over considerable distances. He can speak to another amateur in Varmárhlíð while in Bláfjöll, and it is also possible to communicate with people abroad on very low frequencies.

The Icelandic Radio Amateurs plan to hold a course for beginners this autumn. Further information is available at ira.is. The anniversary coffee event will take place from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday.