12/16/2022

On Thursday, November 24, 2022, Thanksgiving evening, MontanaPBS aired a documentary about amateur radio that was appropriately titled, HAM. The 25-minute program was produced by students, in cooperation with the Greater Montana Foundation, as well as the School of Journalism and the School of Visual & Media Arts at the University of Montana (UM) in Missoula. Several local amateur radio operators were featured in the program, including Lance Collister, W7GJ; Dennis Lane, KR7Q; Mike Leary, K7MSO, and Keith Graves, NE7R. Together, they talked about how amateur radio has evolved and their experiences as active hams.

The program is available to watch on the MontanaPBS website, at www.montanapbs.org/programs/ham[1].

ARRL member Lance Collister, W7GJ, of Frenchtown, Montana, was among the hams featured in the student-produced documentary.

"I was happy to agree to the interview," said ARRL member Dennis Lane, KR7Q, who was among a handful of hams featured in the video, such as Lane and his wife, Debi; Lance Collister, W7GJ; Karen Orzech; Mike Leary, K7MSO; Keith Graves, NE7R, and Lois Graves, W7LAG. "The students visited my home and ham shack in early March of 2022. They seemed to be interested in the human-interest aspect of ham radio," Lane continued. "I tried to emphasize the relationships and lifelong friendships that I have enjoyed over my 45 years in the hobby."

Lane also shared, "When I told the students about Parks on the Air¨, they asked if they could come with me on my next POTA activation. I was happy to have them join me at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge in Stevensville." During the activation, Lane made radio contacts on both VHF and shortwave, using an end-fed half-wave antenna. "One of the first contacts I made was in Alaska. They seemed very excited about that."

The UM student film crew included Grace Wolcott, Kal Bailey, Jared Benge, Karter Bernhardt, Julien Dousset, Maiya Fleck, Marcia Heydt, Natalie Verploegen, and Ryan Weibush. Lane published these personal videos from the filming:

https://www.montanaartqwerks.com/My-Ham-Radio-Page-de-KR7Q/Mpbs/i-wqc9jJz/A[2]

https://youtu.be/S_UBc-b-Nek[3] (YouTube)


[1] https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/ham
[2] https://www.montanaartqwerks.com/My-Ham-Radio-Page-de-KR7Q/Mpbs/i-wqc9jJz/A [3] https://youtu.be/S_UBc-b-Nek

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