Radio enthusiasts reach out

CLOVIS - To an outsider just pulling into an empty grocery store parking lot on a clear Tuesday night, the gaggle of trucks and low light suggested something nefarious was happening in north Clovis.

The real answer is a lot less scandalous, and a lot more interesting and/or complicated. A sizable portion of the Eastern New Mexico Amateur Radio Club had gathered informally to communicate with other radio enthusiasts across the country - with a little help from above.

Members of the club invited The News to the gathering, scheduled to coincide with a passing of the International Space Station, which has for decades included an onboard amateur radio.

The ISS, as members dubbed it, was the featured guest at the Tuesday night gathering at the former Raintree Thriftway parking lot. The location was ideal for many reasons, starting with its close proximity to many club members' houses. It was also good for reception, without many buildings or trees to compete with. The lot also provided plenty of space for members to set up equipment that was admittedly, or maybe intentionally, rudimentary.

Marty Tressell, who operated one of two radios primarily used that night, used a folding camping table to set up his grounding station approximately 15 feet from the back of his truck, where the rest of his equipment was set up. Charles Roller of Clovis got a signal by aiming his tape measure antenna that was charming in its simplicity - an antenna built entirely of PVC pipe, mailing tape and six yellow tape measure strips.

"That's what amateur radio started out with," Roller said, "people just making their own radios."

The space station flies above Clovis about four times every 30 days. Glen Hawthorne said the ISS does a sort of "spider web" series of orbits around the earth.

By the time 30 days pass by, the station makes so many different orbits it flies over pretty much every point in the world. Members track local arrivals through various smartphone and tablet apps.

The Tuesday night visit, around 8:20 p.m., was perfect for a group meeting because nobody had work or errands and the night sky provided the opportunity to see what they're trying to communicate with. At 250 miles above the parking lot while it flies by at 17,500 miles an hour, the ISS to the untrained eye looks like a weak light from a passing aircraft.

Once that faded light became visible, the members sprung into action as ISS was a connecting point for other radio users.

"Kilo Zero Bravo Bravo Kilo," Tressell said into his microphone, "DM84, Clovis, New Mexico, speaking live on ISS."

The first segment referenced Tressell's radio call sign of K0BBK. The 0 refers to Colorado, where Tressell lived when he was issued the sign. Most local users have a 5 in that slot corresponding to Texas and New Mexico. Hawthorne's Arizona past is referenced in his KK7LA call sign. The DM84 refers to a map grid that contains Clovis and is roughly split in half by the Texas-New Mexico border. New Mexico includes some or all of 22 different grid sections.

Within a few seconds, Tressell was answered by a radio user in Orange County, California, followed by cheers from the group.

And after a few more minutes of conversation, that was it. An optimal ISS flyover nets radio enthusiasts around eight minutes of reliable signal, but most flyovers usually provide about two or three minutes of good use. The members said their farewells, and it became a grocery trip after all - one of the members brought produce from his garden and implored everyone to take some because he had plenty back home.

The club, which has been in Clovis since the 1950s, dips its toes into all types of radio activities, including storm chasing, and meets on the third Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Disabled American Veterans Hall on Fourth Street.