W5YD, 汤头条鈥檚 Amateur Radio Club, celebrates more than 100 years on the air
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ore than 100 years ago, Mississippi State鈥檚 Amateur Radio Club, W5YD, became a federally licensed organization. Today, one of the university鈥檚 oldest continuously active clubs is inspiring聽the next generation of amateur radio enthusiasts with a passion for service.
Since the club鈥檚 founding in 1920 as Experimental Amateur Radio State 5YD, its members鈥攁ll volunteers鈥攈ave represented Mississippi State on the amateur radio bands, promoting goodwill and faith between nations and supporting local, state and national authorities during times of emergency.
Colby A. Stevens, the club鈥檚 vice president and a native of Issaquena County, said W5YD鈥檚 amateur radio operators undergo extensive testing to become licensed through the Federal Communications Commission. Stevens said the group currently has 30 members, with a core group of six or seven who are actively involved in club meetings and station operations.
In addition to Stevens, the club鈥檚 current executive board includes President Logan Betts of Brunswick, Georgia, graduate student pursuing both master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering; and Secretary Patrick H. Younes of Brownsboro, Alabama, junior electrical engineering major.
Members represent a variety of academic majors, from wildlife and history to meteorology and engineering, and Stevens said the club is looking to expand on that diversity.
鈥淥ne of the main purposes of amateur radio is to help in times of need, and our amateur radio community is a nice group of people willing to help others,鈥 the sophomore electrical engineering major said. 鈥淲e want to get more people involved in W5YD because that means more help around the station and more input about the things we鈥檙e doing.鈥
As part of Amateur Radio Week, W5YD is co-hosting a Field Day event with the Lowndes County Amateur Radio Club of Columbus, and the MFJ Amateur Radio Club and the Magnolia Amateur Radio Club, both of Starkville. The free, public event will take place from 1 p.m. CT Saturday [June 26] to 4 p.m. CT Sunday [June 27] at Community Counseling Services鈥 administrative office in West Point on the former Mary Holmes College campus.
Stevens said the annual event, hosted nationally by the , serves as an informal contest for amateur radio operators in the U.S. and Canada to contact as many other stations as possible. The event鈥檚 purpose is to simulate or practice an 鈥渁ll-hands-on-deck鈥 situation that would occur if a large national emergency were to disrupt commercial communication methods. Stevens said a 9 a.m. testing session will be offered Saturday for those who would like to take the licensing exams required to become licensed amateurs. A 鈥淕et on the Air鈥 station, or GOTA, also will be set up to give people who are not licensed a chance to try out amateur radio.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about Field Day because this is the first time in almost 10 years that W5YD has hosted this event,鈥 Stevens said. 鈥淲e encourage people to come talk with us and learn about what we do. When I found out we had an amateur radio club on campus, I went to the first meeting and fell in love from there. Amateur radio is a very interesting hobby, and we would love to introduce new people to it.鈥
For more information on 汤头条鈥檚 Amateur Radio Club, visit and follow on . Stevens also can be reached at cas1322@msstate.edu.
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .