By Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Staff Writer
Ontario, Calif. — Julie Fernandez’s family is full of hams – amateur radio operators that is.

Following the footsteps of her parents, Jack and Shirley Pattison, Fernandez and her sister Sharon Fradella have earned their ham radio licenses last May.

The feat enabled the Chino Hills sisters to join the Chino Hills Auxiliary Radio Team, which provides emergency communications for the city.

Julie took her father’s call sign “W6POP” while Sharon took on her mom’s “K6DPX.”

If a disaster strikes, Fernandez and her fellow ham radio operators are trained to provide minor communication assistance to emergency crews, such as letting them know how their neighborhood is doing.

“During a fire, electricity is the first to go out, cell phone towers can also go down,” Fernandez said. “But we don’t have to worry about that, we can talk to each other (with radios). It’s great because we can give back.”

Ham radio operators must be licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.

Licensing is comprised of three levels – technician class, which grants ham radio privileges to transmit on channels in any of 17 frequency bands above 50 MHz with up to 1,500 watts of power; general class operator license which authorizes privileges in all 27 amateur service bands; as well as amateur extra class which include additional spectrum in the high-frequency bands.

Both sister were recognized by the City Council as Chino Hills’ volunteers for November, for helping out in numerous city events as well as with installation of a high-frequency antenna on the CHART van.

Fernandez still remembers going on “transmitter hunts” with her family. They would all pile up in a car and spend weekends searching for a hidden radio transmitter broadcasting a signal in remote locations near her hometown of Temple City.

“It was great for us,” she said. “My dad and his ham radio buddies would get together every week. Ham radio was their Internet. I wish we paid more attention when we were little.”

About the Author
Contact Mediha Fejzagic DiMartino at [email protected] and 909/483-9329.

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