Ham Radio Information
“Ham” is another word for “Amateur Radio Operator”
Hams use short wave radios to communicate to each other and provide public assistance when there are emergencies. They keep these skills up by providing communications for various events that need their help, such as races, bike events, and the Pony Express Re-Ride. They are also depended upon in emergencies such as natural disasters providing communications when electrical power is no longer operating,
Pony Express and Ham Radio Operators
During the annual Pony Express Re-Ride, hams provide support to the NPEA in several states along the trail. Generally, the ham is to report the position of the pony to the net control & ride captain. In an emergency where medical assistance is needed human or equine, they are there to make that need known.
They make known the present position of the Pony to others that are waiting for the Pony if another ham is in that same area.
Here is a summary from the September, 2025, NPEA National Convention by Keith Gordon:
HAM Radio Presentation – Keith Gordon
In California, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, and in part of Colorado, communications are so spotty that HAM radios are the most reliable most of the time. This will focus on Nevada as that is where he is from and where he serves as the HAM operator.
He was able to use the airport in Austin as the base. At the Austin base, there are 4 to 6 radio operators. They spend 6 days
there and they set up days before the rider leaves Old Sacramento or if coming from the west, when they reach the middle of
Utah. They operate 24/7 while the Pony is in Nevada. There is a total of 8 amateur type radios also in operation. They are
lucky enough to have a Verizon cell tower on a mountain ridge that they can see, so they have really robust cellular telephone
communication, and they have a Verizon hotspot for data stream, and now they have added Starlink.
Two days prior to the Pony getting into Nevada, they send a summit team up with a trailer to the ridge line. This ridge line
looks down to the airport and you can see 100 miles east and west. The day they set up was a really nice day as normally
they are trudging through snow, or at least mud. They also have to worry about thunderstorms and wind. They also set up GADZOOKS at 8,800-foot elevation, which is a mobile antennae array. It connects the Austin base to the antenna array with downlink radios. They have antennas that are receiving signals from mountain top repeaters to the east and to the west and from the mobile operators as well. They have a camera up by the equipment so they can see if any animals are interested in it and if they have to scare them off, they have a bull horn or they can shout at them to scare them off. This is all in place so they can communicate with the HAMS who follow the Pony. There are some places where you just cannot follow the Pony. In those places, you have to have a vehicle that can handle the terrain, powerful amateur radios installed that can reach 80 miles, and a HAM operator who is willing to go in that type of terrain that the Pony goes into. They follow the Pony to help with communications but mostly for the safety of the rider and the horse. They follow at a respective distance behind when out in the country. If the Pony is on the highway, they may pull up onto your flank to prevent motorist who are intent on passing from pulling in to close. They can also help with pulling vehicles out, route assistance if they know the area well enough, helping you get back on your horse or providing a first aid kit if you need one. They also carry extra fuel and water.
The reports from the vehicles beam up to GADZOOKS. From GADZOOKS those radio signals are relayed back down to the Austin base where there are several radios and computers. They are also watching the SPOT tracker and Pony Express email. If they lose internet, they can email via radio which is not fast but it does works. Radio reports from the HAMS, who have APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) in their trucks, can help track where the Pony is. The APRS intervals the GPS coordinates of the broadcast of the HAM, so if they can track down where the HAM is, they will know where the Pony is.
The SPOT tracker is fantastic. If the horse and rider get separated, the horse and mochila can be located with the SPOT tracker, but you won’t always know where the rider is. So, another important reason to have HAMS follow the rider is
that they are always maintaining visual contact with the rider. If a rider is not showing up or is off trail, they can radio
in to Austin and ask where the SPOT was last and they can give them the GPS coordinates and then they can figure out
where they are in relevance of the horse and rider and talk over whether the rider is just behind, was lost but is now back on
route, or does the rider maybe need help. Another form of technology they are starting to use is called Cal Topo. It is a
mapping program that works on a mobile phone or a tablet. Those who are logged into the same account can see each other’s
locations.
Robert Nelson is the HAM that brought him into the Pony Express. Robert used to do this by himself up on the Austin ridge.
He soon realized he needed help, so he asked Keith and 8 others from Las Vegas to help him. The Cold Springs exchange
to the Schellbourne exchange is where the Austin base mainly focuses on. They are starting to catalog and map out their routes. This is helping them to clearly mark where the route is and where they need to be. They add in gate locations so they can open and close them for the riders. They mark where the exchanges are to take place, and they mark the parts of the trail where vehicles cannot follow the Pony. They are collecting these notes so current operators and future operators in Nevada will know where to be. They have 40 to 50 people in Nevada with 110 total for the whole route. All the information they obtain at the Austin base can be shared with Carson City. You could call Austin base and they can help keep the 800 number updated. There are still areas where there is no radio service. They are attempting to put amateur radio repeater stations on
every major mountain peak along Hwy 50 mainly for the Pony Express. The amateur radio clubs in Reno and Carson City and
other places realize that the Pony Express is a big deal and radio communication is a big deal. They learn something every ride and they have to do better every year. They meet after the reride every year to go over what worked or didn’t work or what they should do different. They are not decision makers but they are communicators who are there to support us and aid the ride captains. They realize that changes on the go are unavoidable, but they do ask that the ride captains please let the HAMS know right away if they are not needed due to a change in the route. The HAMS come from all over and they go to great personal expense and effort to do this and when they are told they are not needed at the last minute it is pretty disheartening. Also keep in mind that the follower might be brand new and they may not be able to help with the route as well as someone who has been following for a few years now.
Keith said that they are using billions of dollars’ worth of automotives, satellites, and communications technology to do
what a 14 year old did by themselves 165 years ago. The fact that we are keeping this alive is absolutely phenomenal so
please keep it up.
Ham Radio and the Pony Express — by Cynthia Furse, Fellow, IEEE, Charles Killian (WB6YOK), Member, IEEE, Gerald Hasty (AD7QF), Bob Nelson (WA3PAD)
Coverage along the Pony Express Trail:
National HAM Coordinator: Ron Norton KJ6XI: svensk41@yahoo.com
| State | Contact/Website | Hams wishing to help contact: |
| Missouri | None | |
| Kansas | None | |
| Nebraska | None | |
| Colorado | None | |
| Wyoming |
Casper Amateur Radio Dwight Parrill (AE7YA):
Sweetwater Amateur Radio Club (Atlantic City > Fort Bridger) Greg Bushman (N7BSH): gregpbushman@gmail.com |
|
| Utah |
Rulon Swensen, swensenru@me.com
and
Gerald Hasty <xp@sumofiber.net>
|
|
| Nevada |
None |
|
| California | Dennis Klaman: dennis.klaman@gmail.com |
|
” Any ham radio operator that would like to help with communications please contact Ron Norton, KJ6XI or any of those listed in the state where they have an interest.”