Putting the AM back into 'ham'

Upon hearing the name, some might assume the K9IU Amateur Radio Club features the on-air broadcasting of rookie students pursuing a major in communications.\nHowever, nothing about this club involves your car stereo. In fact, K9IU is one of the oldest organizations on campus, predating the widespread practice of amateur broadcasting, and A.J. Ragusa, one of the club's directors, is a junior studying computer science and music performance -- not communications.\nA second, similar club, the Bloomington Amateur Radio Club, is not affiliated with the University, but it works closely with K9IU to serve the community by providing coverage of campus events and reports from the National Weather Service, police and other local authorities during emergency situations. \nRagusa explained that K9IU originated in 1921 when its founder, Professor R. Ramsey, performed the first public demonstration of radio in the physics department. In 1960, the station moved its headquarters to the Indiana Memorial Union. \nSince then, the club has found a home in Room 677 of the IMU, which members, also called "hams," affectionately refer to as "The Shack." Two years after the relocation, the station garnered the current call letters of K9IU, the most recent of a series of name changes.\nK9IU has about 30 members. Seven of them are students, and the rest are alumni and faculty possessed with the passion of building and operating radio equipment. \n"It's a hobby. There's nothing else you're going to do with it, really," said Ragusa of his membership, which involves one meeting each month. "You really just spend as much or as little time on it as you want," he added. \nRagusa seems to take the former approach, as he mentions using his radio equipment frequently from his dorm room to keep in touch with his friend and fellow club director, Mark Hermsdorfer, who lives across campus. \nIronically enough, his cell phone rests next to the radio, which he picks up to notify Mark that he is needed in "The Shack." \nMark Hermsdorfer is also a junior, and the two have been friends since joining the club their freshman year. As new members, they received their entry-level amateur radio licenses by taking a 35-question, multiple-choice exam. \n"You have to score a 26 or higher, but there's a practice test online," Hermsdorfer explained. \nThe tests are given at noon the first Saturday of every month at the First United Church on East Third Street and cost $12. Anyone who shares an interest in radio is encouraged to join and contact the station at k9iu@indiana.edu. \n"We'll take you to 'The Shack' just to see what it's like," he offered. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Caitlin Murray at ckmurray@indiana.edu.