Denny Barfuss wants to convince others of fun and benefit of ham radio

Naperville resident Denny Barfuss was on his way to Wisconsin with his family to go camping when he got stuck in traffic on the interstate.

Barfuss got on his two-way radio to find someone who could help him out. He was guided around the traffic by a person who turned out to be the local assistant fire chief.

Getting out of traffic jams is only one advantage of being a ham radio operator, said Barfuss, an enthusiastic member of the Fox River Radio League.

"Ham radio is a great hobby," he said. "You get to talk to people all over the world. If you're a tech guy, you get to try all kinds of new technology."

Barfuss is definitely a tech guy and chairman of the league's Technical Committee. Formerly employed with Lucent Technologies (now Alcatel-Lucent), he's taught electronics, drafting and computer-assisted design at Oswego High School for seven years.

When he started at the school, his vision was to have a radio station. The station is now there, and Barfuss uses it in the classes he teaches and the Tech Club he leads.

"I've had a number of students get their (ham radio) licenses," he said.

Tech Club member Nick Pisha, a junior, said he hasn't gotten his license yet, but he's working on it. Since his introduction to ham radio in the club, he's used a repeater connected with the Internet to talk with people in London and Australia.

"It's a fun way to communicate," he said. "It (radio) can teach you many different things."

Introducing other people, especially young people, to ham radio is one of Barfuss' passions and he is passionate man, said Greg Braun of Geneva, a fellow member and immediate past president of the Fox River Radio League. Barfuss has brought some of his students to the club's annual field day, Braun said.

"Denny is probably one of the most dedicated hams I've ever met," he said. "Denny's enthusiasm and electronics knowledge is very valuable, especially to our new hams."

Barfuss worries that young people steeped in the Internet, computer games and text messaging are less interested in ham radio than his own generation. But a demonstration done on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" showed that ham radio actually is a faster way to communicate than text messaging, he said.

Ham radio wedded to computers and digital technology allows the ability to transmit pictures, produce amateur television and communicate over long distances.

"A lot of guys talk to satellites," Barfuss said.

Barfuss himself corresponds with a man living on a fjord in Norway who sent him pictures of a garage he was building. Most ham operators speak English so language is not a barrier, he said.

"It's a fantastic exchange, learning about people around the world. What you learn are people are the same, all have the same needs and wants," he said.

Beyond having fun, ham radio operators can play an important role in emergencies, Barfuss said. Some club members work with the emergency services in DuPage, Kane and Kendall counties, and others serve as storm spotters with the National Weather Service. Club members also provide communication support to charity events, such as the walk for multiple sclerosis.

"Ham radio is always going to play a role in emergency communication," Barfuss said. "When all else fails, Morse Code still works."

Morse Code no longer is a requirement to earn a ham radio license, but it was when Barfuss got two licenses while he was a teenager growing up in Rolling Meadows. Barfuss said his mother suggested he visit a neighbor, a shut-in who was a ham radio operator. The neighbor had friends who introduced Barfuss to a radio club that met at Barrington High School, and an electronics teacher also encouraged his students to get involved with radio.

Barfuss recalled staying up half the night talking with friends on ham radio. After college and starting a family, he got away from the hobby. He returned after downsizing at Lucent led him to find a new career and the Fox River Radio League.

The 85-year-old league, one of several radio clubs in the Western suburbs, has about 160 members in the Fox Valley area and beyond. Members meet the second Tuesday of the month at Rasmussen College in Aurora.

"There's a social aspect to the club. Before a meeting, sometimes we get together and have dinner," Barfuss said. "There are so many different kinds of people. You learn so much and it became really exciting to be with these folks."

Members are referred to by their call signs; Barfuss is Denny W9HI. Of the three classes of radio licenses - technician, general and extra - he holds an extra, the highest. But newcomers to ham radio should not be intimidated about joining the group, he said.

"You don't have to be a ham to come," he said.

The league sponsors training classes for new hams and license examination sessions.

An anticipated annual event is the league's field day that will be on June 27 and 28 at Johnson's Mound, a Kane County Forest Preserve. Members set up their equipment and make as many contacts as they can within a 24-hour period. Nonmembers are welcome to come out.

"It's really preparation for a large-scale emergency," Barfuss said.

The league also has an annual hamfest, which this year starts at 8 a.m. July 12 at Aurora Central Catholic High School. The event is a swap meet for ham radio operators, Barfuss said.

Barfuss keeps a radio in his car and has several at home. VHF or UHF radio is used to communicate with people locally and high frequency is used for longer distances. An operator can reach a broader area by using a repeater to send radio waves on one frequency and simultaneously transmit them on another.

The Federal Communications Commission assigns radio operators frequencies, which causes Barfuss to worry that if not enough hams are using the frequencies, the FCC will sell them. As an evangelist for ham radio, he is not shy about encouraging others to stake their claims to the air waves.

"One of the things I want to do is show people how much fun it is, hoping to have them make a personal decision," he said.

• Do you know someone with an unusual job or hobby? Let us know at sdibble@dailyherald.com, (630) 955-3532 or 4300 Commerce Court, Lisle, 60532.

<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p> <p class="News"><b>What:</b> Next meeting of the Fox River Radio League, which meets the second Tuesday of the month</p> <p class="News"><b>When:</b> 7:30 p.m. May 12</p> <p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Rasmussen College, 2363 Sequoia Drive, Aurora</p> <p class="News"><b>Info:</b> <a href="http://www.FRRL.org" target="new">FRRL.org</a></p>