Ham radio operators salute wireless inventor Marconi

The ham radio operators who brought their equipment to a downtown Babylon village parking lot on Saturday were there in part to do what they often do from home: communicate with fellow amateur-radio enthusiasts across the nation and globe.

But they were also there to pay homage to Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian inventor whose research helped lead to what we now call “radio” and, ultimately, to cellphones and other wireless technology. Saturday was International Marconi Day, when ham radio operators worldwide honor Marconi, who did some of his early work 120 years ago in Babylon.

“This keeps his memory alive,” said Jim Mezey, 77, of Carle Place, the New York City and Long Island section manager for Connecticut-based ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio. “He means a lot to this hobby. He means a lot for the world. He’s one of the pioneers.”

The Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club sponsored Saturday’s event.

Amid the antennas and tables with radio equipment in the parking lot was a re-creation of the small building — the original is now in Rocky Point — from where, starting in 1902, Marconi sent wireless signals from a few blocks away to ships traveling to and from New York City.

The year before, Marconi became the first person to transmit wireless signals across the Atlantic.

International Marconi Day is celebrated every year on the Saturday closest to Marconi’s April 25 birthday. Marconi shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1909 with German inventor Karl Ferdinand Braun for their work in developing wireless technology.

In the era of cellphones, ham radio may seem like a vestige of the past.

But in disasters from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico to 9/11 to Superstorm Sandy, ham radio was a critically important communication link when cellphones and landlines weren’t working, said John Melfi, 56, of Babylon, president of the Great South Bay club.

During Superstorm Sandy, ham radio volunteers drove through devastated South Shore streets to find out what residents needed and then relayed messages to other volunteers to bring pumps to remove water from flooded homes, or drinking water to people who had none, or to report downed electrical lines, Melfi said.

More than 600,000 amateur radio users live in the United States, according to ARRL.

Operators like John Smale who know International Morse Code can communicate with people throughout the world without language barriers.

“It’s like speaking another language,” said Smale, 74, of Copiague, who was sending out messages Saturday from inside the re-created Marconi building.

The code sounds are clear when voice communication can be disrupted by static and other problems, he said.

Club vice president Mike Sartoretti, 53, of Babylon, says one of many reasons he enjoys amateur radio is that he can randomly talk with people from different states and countries, sometimes 20 people at a time, who share the same ham radio interest.

“You can’t just pick up your cellphone and randomly call anyone,” he said. “Most likely they’ll hang up and tell you never to call that number again.”

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.