AARC completed the donation of 17 MURS (Multi-Use Radio Service) radios to replace the failing radios used by the Charlottesville Racing Club Junior Mountain Bike Team on October 29, 2024.
Any given mountain bike practice typically includes about 80 kids and 25 adults spread throughout six or seven riding groups. Practices run from 6PM to 7:30PM for both the fall and spring seasons and often end in the dark. Reliable real-time communications are extremely important for logistics and safety during practice, but the rugged conditions and large number of riding groups makes including ham operators difficult or impossible. However, MURS radios can be used by non-ham volunteers. Donating non-amateur radios to an organization that has no direct connections to Ham Radio was an unusual thing for the Albemarle Amateur Radio Club to consider, but AARC frequently provides radio support for public service events, such as the “Ride to Defeat ALS Blue Ridge”. In addition, one of the club members pointed out that the club’s articles of incorporation call for it to “pursue … other related educational and charitable purposes”. With those things in mind, the members approved a resolution to provide the new radios and accessories to the mountain bike team.
Bicycle Team head coach Reed Muehlman (left) accepts the radio gear from Benjamin Kidd, KG4EIF (right), in a custom charging, storage and transport case. (photo John Porter)
Amateur Radio operators celebrated the event by setting up their radio equipment to give riders and their parents a chance to “get on the air”. Participants talked with local “hams” over VHF, and using HF (high-frequency) radio, spoke to stations as far away as Italy. Patrick Morrisay (KO4VLM) setup and ran the VHF station and Bob Romanko (AK4BR) operated the HF station. Other participating hams on site were Ken Walker (KO4OM), Larry Broach (KQ4QKG) and John Porter (KK4JP), and local hams Dave Damon (K4DND), Bill Pond (KB1LL), Warren Yursik (KN4LYF) and Dayton Haugh (AA4DH) chatted with young bicycle team members over the radio. Some bike team members also tried their hand at radio “fox hunting” where directional antennas were used to locate a radio transmitter hidden nearby.
“Devo” (Beginner) riders look on as Bob Romanko (AK4BR) demonstrates use of the radio microphone before they give it a try. (photo Ben Kidd)