THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 24, 1997 TAG: 9701220136
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: P2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BARBARA J. WOERNER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 82 lines
Every Friday afternoon, eight fourth-graders at White Oaks Elementary School stay 45 minutes after the final bell to pass ``secret'' coded messages to each other. Their new language has dots and dashes instead of words.
They are members of Spike's Radio Club, and they're learning Morse code and metrics and are reviewing technical information that will be on the test they must pass to obtain their novice class amateur radio operator licenses.
``Our purpose in this is to introduce our students to amateur or ham radio and train them to become licensed amateur radio operators,'' said Edward Gibbs, principal and a ham radio operator himself. ``We are also teaching them basic skills that could launch a career for them in the future.''
The club is a unique beginning of a joint effort between ham enthusiasts, 4-H and technical and career education. Participation is voluntary. The students meet after school every Friday and during the last 10 minutes of their daily lunch break.
At a recent gathering, John McLaughlin, who is a licensed ham radio operator, the 1990 Virginia Beach Teacher of the Year and social studies, history and geography teacher at the Career Development Center, sat at a small table tapping out the Morse code on a small apparatus known as a keyer or code key.
``You're almost ready for the secret message,'' he told the students.
To the untrained ear, the sounds are unintelligible bleeps that bring to mind a World War II movie. As fast as a letter of the alphabet was keyed by McLaughlin, the students would yell it out. They will have to decipher five words a minute to obtain their novice licenses.
The International Morse code, originally developed by Samuel Morse, is made up of sounds of long and short duration. The long sounds known as ``dahs,'' are three times as long as short sounds called ``dits.''
``I like hearing my name in Morse code,'' said Janus Wiggins, one of the members of the club. ``I really like talking on the radio.''
Although students are not yet licensed, they are considered third-party operators and can use a ham radio as long as they are under the direction of a licensed amateur radio operator. These future ham radio operators have not communicated any farther than the borders of Virginia Beach, but their expectations of communicating out of state and eventually out of the country keep them excited.
``When we get our radio license, we can talk to other people and we can help people that are in trouble during hurricanes,'' said Joseph Cochran, another member. ``I really want to be a volunteer for stuff like that in my community.''
Michelle Morinia agreed. ``When we get our licenses, we'll always be able to communicate if a bad storm hits us,'' she said.
Citizens are eligible to be licensed at any age as long as they pass the test. According to Gibbs, the youngest ham operator documented was 5 years old.
The students quickly solved the two secret messages coded on paper in the dots and dashes of the International Morse code.
The codes that day were ``school is neat'' and ``itch the ants,'' said McLaughlin with a laugh. ``Hey, I had to come up with the letters that they knew.''
Charles ``Butch'' Burke, another ham radio enthusiast and retired Navy man, was there that day to give a session on metrics.
Spike's Radio Club recently became licensed by the FCC and the new club call sign is KF4OGB. It has gotten support from Virginia Beach Amateur Radio Emergency Service, the Virginia Beach Public School Technical and Career Education Office and Kenwood Service Centers East.
The club is also a 4-H pilot project. The youth group has traditionally been agricultural. ``Now we're looking to involve a nontraditional audience in 4-H,'' said Joe Hoffenberger, an extension agent. ``We are an established organization and radio club members will be able to participate in a variety of 4-H activities.''
Hoffenberger was instrumental in writing a proposal that recently netted $1,511 in grant money from the E.C. Wareheim Foundation.
According to Gibbs, the goal is to get the students licensed by May. When they return in September as fifth-graders, they'll be operating ham radios on their own and mentoring the new fourth-grade members of Spike's Radio Club.
``They connect with what they've learned and it's something the other kids aren't doing,'' Gibbs said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by BARBARA WOERNER
John McLaughlin, left, taps out a ``secret'' Morse code message for
Joseph Cochran, Ceroma Love, standing, and Rosemary Correa, right.
The White Oaks Elementary students are members of Spike's Radio
Club.