|
John Sweeney, N6ANQ
Geri Sweeney, N4GHI
 Amateur
radio is alive and well in Cuba. Cuban amateurs are proud of their
hobby and their accomplishments and report that Amateur Radio in
Cuba is growing in quantity and quality.
The Cuban emphasis on education has resulted in a strong capability
base; Cubans can do most things, and do them well. They build and
fix things themselves. From the standpoint of Amateur Radio, our
QCWA members would feel at home. The Cubans build and maintain most
of their own equipment. Their ARES-type nets are of tactical and
strategic importance to the whole of Cuba; a fact overwhelmingly
demonstrated during Cuba’s last hurricane, when some 450 radio
amateurs responded to the call of duty and provide the nation with
vitally needed communications.
One of our geographically closest neighbors, Cuba remains an enigma:
while Communism is in full retreat having proved itself intractable
in almost every other country (excluding China), it continues to
function in Cuba. Officially we shun Cuba, yet President Carter
recently visited with a statesman’s welcome. Immediately prior,
a large group of American businessmen, with a handful of Congressmen,
visited to discuss post-normalization relations. While Mr. Castro’s
Cuba has many problems, it boasts a ten-fold reduction in infant
mortality and a near 100 percent literacy rate. The literature on
Cuba provides almost as many views as reviewers. I was intrigued
by the apparent freedom of Cubans to communicate with the world
via Amateur Radio. I had worked many Cuban Hams myself. Yet no Cuban
station, to my knowledge, has been a part of the International Traffic
and Assistant Net (The ARRL ARES-type net that provides coverage
of the Americas). We have a Third Party Traffic Agreement with Cuba,
but it is not used. We have no reciprocal licensing agreement. I
wanted to learn more about a specific slice of Cuba — Amateur
Radio. World Radio provided us a commission to author an article
on Amateur Radio in Cuba. To gain first-hand knowledge, we visited
Cuba via sailboat with Ham equipment aboard that would allow us
to work all traditional HF and VHF bands.
Two Cuban amateurs, Arnie Coro, CO2KK and Oscar Morales Jr., CO2OJ,
were of particular help in setting up our visit. Arnie is a broadcaster
and professor at the University of Havana while Oscar works at the
Cuban Customs Agency.
Our first letdown was to discover that we would not be able to
get permission to operate in Cuba, so that rather than participating,
we could only listen (until we were outside of Cuban waters, then
we could talk to any Cuban amateur). We did visit with many Cuban
amateurs, we visited their homes, we attended a club meeting and
visited a club station. The Hams we met were very friendly and informative.
Our discussions demonstrated an enormous amount of common interest
and perspective. Cubans operate all modes from Moon bounce to rag
chewing; from PACTOR III to CW. When Hurricane Michelle tore through
Cuba in November of 2001 with winds of 140 mph, telephone communication
across the central part of Cuba was virtually non-existent. A major
portion of the emergency communication, and the post hurricane clean-up
coordination was carried out through Amateur Radio utilizing both
HF nets and mountaintop repeaters. Francisco "Panchito"
Rodriguez Lorenzo, CO6RL, a blind amateur, is the coordinator of
the National Traffic Nets HF net (on 7110 kHz, at local noon) that
helps about every possible need, including locating hard-to-find
medicines, learning about relatives in hospitals etc.
 Demonstrating
the old saw “Where you stand depends on where you sit”,
we did have a few perceptional differences. We championed use of
the third party agreement between the U.S. and Cuba as a communication
channel between families split between the U.S. and Cuba (forbidden
by the Cuban government); they viewed the restriction as necessary
to limit propaganda dissemination. They complained of U.S. inaction
in stopping deliberate jamming of their ARES nets, a problem that
happens on a very frequent basis from stations located in South
Florida. We were surprised to find that one of the Cuban amateurs,
interested in sailing, would not be allowed to even sail just off-shore
with us. Still, surrounded by Cuban amateurs at the club meeting,
we found the same full-spectrum, uninhibited exchange of views that
exemplifies almost every Ham group in which I’ve participated.
Cuba has a population of about 11 million with nearly 4,000 Hams.
The road to becoming a Ham in Cuba is tough (perhaps, again like
the good old days in the U.S.). One is tested on the ability to
send as well as to receive Morse code. The tests require answers;
not multiple choice. For the 3rd Class license, after passing the
code (5 wpm) and written test, the applicant must demonstrate that
he can tune a radio. Only then does he receive a construction permit
to build a radio. On completion and inspection of the radio, the
applicant receives his 3rd class license; with a CL prefix. An amateur
must operate under a 3rd class license for a year before she or
he is eligible to upgrade. Upgrading requires another test and an
increased level of CW (10 wpm) competence. The 2nd class operator
receives a CM prefix. The highest-level license (1st Class) requires
a 15 wpm code test and another written exam on rules and theory.
The 1st Class license is identified with a CO prefix.
Beginners generally build one of two radios; the vacuum tube Islander
or the solid state Jaguey. The Islander is a DSB/CW Cuban design
using a very clever low parts count circuit and a direct conversion
receiver. The Jaguey, named for the Jaguey Grande Radio Club in
Matanzas province, is a generic design, with a DC receiver, DSB
and CW, using solid-state components. Many of its ideas are from
Wes Hayward's W7ZOI's Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur.
The lack of mechanical filters or quartz crystals to homebrew SSB
filters made Cuban designers CO5GV, CO2JA and CO2KK choose a DSB
and CW rig. Fitted with good quality capacitors for the VFO, it
works quite well from a 12-volt car battery in hurricane emergencies.
Due to the difficulty in obtaining parts, many amateurs operate
at club stations. We visited the station of the Federacion de Radioaficiaonados
de Cuba, the Cuban equivalent of our ARRL. It was well equipped
with HF and VHF operating in CW, voice, and digital modes. Our host
for this visit was Club President, Ing. Pedro Rodriguez Perez, CO2RP.
We were honored to visit the home of Arnie Coro, CO2KK, in the
Nuevo Vedado district of Havana. Arnie, a broadcaster and professor
at the University of Havana specializing in mass communications,
has long played a key role in generating enthusiasm for Amateur
Radio in Cuba and abroad with his Dxers Unlimited program, that
is on the air twice weekly over Radio Havana Cuba. His description
of the development and present state of the hobby and insights provided
much of the base for this article.
We found our trip to Cuba to be particularly interesting. When
one meets another face-to-face, it is next to impossible not to
develop a rapport, and to appreciate that for all their differences,
people worldwide are not only pretty much the same, but also quite
nice.
|
