POLAR BEARS CAN SWIM 200 KILOMETERS, SO CAN RADIO WAVES
Amateur radio has always been part of the telecommunication landscape. Here in the Far North, inherent in telecommunication is the mystique of people using radio waves to reach out to fellow human beings around the globe with Morse, voice or data, with their innumerable variations. A two-way wireless contact is always a big thrill – a positive radio experience – that has historically driven the amateur fraternity to striking innovations. The amateur radio fraternity was the first global community in its own time.
Telecommunication is still one of the most exciting sciences that has changed our lives more dramatically than any other human endeavor in recent history. More exciting elements are yet to come, and here Radio Arcala has decided to keep its finger on the pulse, to plot a course for further progress.
While telecommunication is one of the main drivers in transforming societies from traditional livelihoods toward modern times, in Finland it resonates particularly well with the people of this country. With society’s focus on advanced science and high educational standards, the telecommunication niche has pushed Finland and Finns to heights never seen before. In a way, telecommunication fits in well with an efficient lifestyle, this country’s deep seasonality and its vast land mass plus the long distances of the North.
Through amateur radio, Finns have done their fair share both on their lab benches and on the bands. Following the evolution of the Finnish wireless industry, an amateur radio operator can be credited with playing a role at every pioneering stage in the history of the industry. Gladly, the Arcala team is still listening to those stalwarts, whether just relishing their stories or taking practical advice.
It is not by pure accident that the first 2M moonbounce contacts across the Atlantic (OH1NL) and the first mammoth antennas (OH8OS) were conceived of, built and used in the Far North of Finland. There is no other country with a population of 5 million and 200+ rotating towers dotting its land area, with operating achievements to match.
It is this tradition, this history that inspires Radio Arcala not only to study, explore and utilize all the elements of the modern telecommunication science but also to participate in projects that further attract today’s youth to contribute to the success story of the North.
Radio Arcala is cooperating with the University of Oulu and its Center for Wireless Communications (CWC) and is partnering with the RealXtend Platform Development Forum as the first radio station established in a 3D Virtual World.