Summer 2001
Volume 108 - No. 2
Summer 2001
Volume 108 - No. 2
BLE Focus
Radio Men: Amateur radio keeps these retired BLE members busy
Seated: Brother Alfred Keber. Standing, from left: Paul Champagne, Bert Andrews and Joe Konkin, members of the Winnipeg Seniors Radio Club.
If there is a natural disaster or a big man-made event around Manitoba, there is a good chance that BLE members might be helping with the communications systems.
Four retired BLE members are members of the Winnipeg Seniors Radio Club. The members, Alfred Keber, Paul Champagne, Bert Andrews and Joe Konkin, have all served or are now serving on the Radio Club's Board of Directors.
The Winnipeg Seniors Radio Club Inc. has 184 members and was founded on June 9, 1983. The club's headquarters is on the second floor of an old fire hall. The club is equipped to operate all amateur radio frequencies and features equipment for packet radio, as well as satellite tracking, communications and internet access.
When occasion arises, the Club provides communications assistance to disaster areas worldwide and for events such as the Manitoba Marathon, Girl Guides, Cubs and Scouts on the air, and telephone patches for families of Canadian Armed Forces on overseas assignments.
These four BLE members were a major communications component during flooding in Manitoba in 1997. They kept in touch with flooded communities that had no other means of communication.
The Club holds numerous social activities including an annual picnic, Christmas party and monthly breakfasts. The Club also features instruction in computer operation and training courses, including Morse code, towards qualification in amateur radio licensing with Industry Canada.
"We all became radio operators after we retired, for a hobby, and have been participating in community events and disasters," said Keber. "Amateur radio has given us the opportunity to converse with people all over the world."
Brothers Champagne, Andrews and Konkin are all members of Division 583 (Winnipeg) and Brother Keber is a member of Division 76 (Winnipeg).
Brother Konkin, who joined the BLE in 1967, was introduced to amateur radio while walking in one of the local malls, apparently "he was tripped and dragged over" by Bros. Champagne and Andrews who where demonstrating amateur radio for the Winnipeg Senior Citizens Radio Club. Konkin, a former CN Western Region General Chairman who also worked for Via Rail, retired in 1990.
Andrews, who retired from CN in 1993, said his uncle was an amateur radio operator. He had taken electronics in school and knew one of the members from the club. Andrews joined the BLE in 1972.
Paul Champagne started out on general radio (C.B.) and was told by a friend how to get involved in amateur radio. Paul's father-in-law was into the discovery and experimenting of A.M. radio. Champagne joined the BLE in 1967 and retired from CN in 1992.
Brother Keber retired from the CPR in 1989. Keber, who joined the BLE in 1977, was introduced to amateur radio by his brother-in-law, who was an amateur radio operator with the Seniors Radio Club at that time.
These members enjoy working with amateur radio, and find it very rewarding.
© 2001 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers