Ham radio operators of the world face off in Westborough

The Boston Globe
By Emily Sweeney | GLOBE STAFF

HINGHAM — “Kilo, one, oscar!”

Katsuhiro “Don” Kondou, a 47-year-old IT specialist from Japan, barked his team’s call sign, K1O, into the microphone on his headset, trying to reach someone far, far away.

“Kilo, one, Oscar!”

“Kilo, one, Oscar!”

Sitting beside him was Hajime Hazuki, a 29-year-old mechanical designer from Tokyo. Together, they sat in a hot tent at Wompatuck State Park Saturday morning, with headphones on and their eyes glued to monitors, trying urgently to contact other amateur radio operators from all over the world as quickly as possible.

They were among the many two-person teams to compete in the World Radiosport Team Championship. It is held every four years, and participants take it very seriously.

The most recent championship took place last weekend at more than a dozen locations in Eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The object of the contest was simple: Contact as many other ham radio operators (aka hams) as possible over a period of 24 hours.

Full story, photos: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/south/2014/07/16/the-olympics-ham-radio/qFhpmZvTkGAPIUdu56o3IP/story.html