Donald F. Burns, 86, operates his ham radio in Ogdensburg. The city’s amateur radio club is looking for younger members. Larry Robinson/Johnson Newspapers
Welcome to the website for the Ogdensburg Amateur Radio Club out of Ogdensburg, NY.
For more information, please click on our links above.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, Jan 21at 7PM to be held at the
Dobisky Visitors' Center, 100 Riverside Ave., Ogdensburg, NY.
All interested are asked to attend!
Recent article on the Ogdensburg Amateur Radio Club
in the
Watertown Daily Times.
First published on March 17, 2015.
Ogdensburg’s aging amateur radio club hoping for youth to fill its ranks
by Larry Robinson through Johnson Newspapers
OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg Amateur Radio Club is hoping to breathe new life into it’s aging membership.
Started in 1959, the club’s numbers have both dwindled and aged over the years, with only 10 active members left in the group, according to club President Martin J. Dempsey. He said the ham radio club is composed exclusively of amateur shortwave radio enthusiasts from Ogdensburg and the surrounding area.
Mr. Dempsey, who is 58, is the youngest member of the club. He said the remaining members range from their 60s to late 80s.
The organization will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Dobisky Visitors Center in Ogdensburg, where Mr. Dempsey said he hopes to reach out to new, and younger community members who are interested in learning about what is involved in becoming a ham radio operator in the county.
“We are trying to get some young blood involved in our group, for obvious reasons,” Mr. Dempsey said.
Mr. Dempsey said his group has tried in the past to bolster its ranks, but has found it a hard sell in today’s era of Facebook, texting and Twitter accounts. Though he understands that smartphones have become the communication device of the day, he views amateur radio operators as the early pioneers of social media.
“There’s still a little magic in it to me,” Mr. Dempsey said. “It’s more than just using a microphone to talk to people over a great distance.”
As analog as ham radio still might be, Mr. Dempsey said it is a proven technology that stands ready to help the region, state and country in the event of an emergency when mainstream communications are lost or impaired. He said nearly all amateur radio operators have a backup generator nearby, making the networks literal lifesavers during natural disasters and other catastrophes.
“When the standard emergency services like 911 are down, we can still send data to the public for them,” Mr. Dempsey said. “We can broadcast live from any scene. The Internet shouldn’t be cutting us out of the scene. We were the original Internet, if you want to think of it that way.”
Started in 1959, the club’s numbers have both dwindled and aged over the years, with only 10 active members left in the group, according to club President Martin J. Dempsey. He said the ham radio club is composed exclusively of amateur shortwave radio enthusiasts from Ogdensburg and the surrounding area.
Mr. Dempsey, who is 58, is the youngest member of the club. He said the remaining members range from their 60s to late 80s.
The organization will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Dobisky Visitors Center in Ogdensburg, where Mr. Dempsey said he hopes to reach out to new, and younger community members who are interested in learning about what is involved in becoming a ham radio operator in the county.
“We are trying to get some young blood involved in our group, for obvious reasons,” Mr. Dempsey said.
Mr. Dempsey said his group has tried in the past to bolster its ranks, but has found it a hard sell in today’s era of Facebook, texting and Twitter accounts. Though he understands that smartphones have become the communication device of the day, he views amateur radio operators as the early pioneers of social media.
“There’s still a little magic in it to me,” Mr. Dempsey said. “It’s more than just using a microphone to talk to people over a great distance.”
As analog as ham radio still might be, Mr. Dempsey said it is a proven technology that stands ready to help the region, state and country in the event of an emergency when mainstream communications are lost or impaired. He said nearly all amateur radio operators have a backup generator nearby, making the networks literal lifesavers during natural disasters and other catastrophes.
“When the standard emergency services like 911 are down, we can still send data to the public for them,” Mr. Dempsey said. “We can broadcast live from any scene. The Internet shouldn’t be cutting us out of the scene. We were the original Internet, if you want to think of it that way.”
Donald F. Burns, 86, operates his ham radio in Ogdensburg. Mr. Burns said he believes it is his civic duty to serve as an amateur radio operator, his hobby since 1959.
Larry Robinson/Johnson Newspapers
Donald F. Burns, 86, another member of the Ogdensburg Amateur Radio Club, said he was one of the organization’s original members when the group first formed roughly 66 years ago. While he said he still enjoys the pleasure of talking to people via radio in other parts of the world, he said he has stayed involved over the years primarily because he feels it’s his civic duty to be prepared to help others.
“I want to see more young people involved because they want to go into public service,” Mr. Burns said. “It’s fun, but people should get involved because of the preparedness.”
Both men said that although the Ogdensburg radio club may be struggling, they don’t see the nation’s amateur radio network dying anytime soon.
“I think it will stick around just for the emergency services point of view,” Mr. Burns said. “I don’t ever see it dying.”
For more information about the Ogdensburg Amateur Radio Club, e-mail Mr. Dempsey at seamandempsey@gmail.com or call 315-323-4949.
“I want to see more young people involved because they want to go into public service,” Mr. Burns said. “It’s fun, but people should get involved because of the preparedness.”
Both men said that although the Ogdensburg radio club may be struggling, they don’t see the nation’s amateur radio network dying anytime soon.
“I think it will stick around just for the emergency services point of view,” Mr. Burns said. “I don’t ever see it dying.”
For more information about the Ogdensburg Amateur Radio Club, e-mail Mr. Dempsey at seamandempsey@gmail.com or call 315-323-4949.