The History of the Disciples Amateur Radio Fellowship / United Church Amateur Network

“Serving God Through Amateur Radio”

A History of the Disciples Amateur Radio Fellowship

“Can Amateur Radio be used to provide communications between our overseas missionaries and the United States?” was the question that gave rise to the Disciples Amateur Radio Fellowship in the 1950’s. Some missionaries arranged to be licensed in the countries where they served and equipment was sent for them. Allin Sharp serving in Paraguay was among the first to be licensed.

The first organizational meeting, convened by Jim Sugioka, was held in 1958 at the International Convention in St. Louis. The group elected the first officers: President, Ed Mace W5EH; Vice-president, Cliff Prichard W0NYT; Secretary, Ken Wales Smith W6NMJ; and International Representative, Hugh McCully VE3AYR.

At the 1959 International Convention of Christian Churches, more than twenty hams met for breakfast and heard a report from Dr Robert G. Nelson that the United Christian Missionary Society (UCMS) had received permission from the government of the Belgian Congo to operate stations for “fast radio communications” to save lives and provide an “efficient means of contact in areas where normal mail takes several weeks for delivery.” DARF operated a Ham station from the Convention Center at Denver that year.

The first sets, sent out in the late 50s, operated only on 110 volt AC current, provided mainly in remote areas by generators used at mission posts. They were Globe Scout transmitters and Hallicrafters S-40 receivers. These sets helped in the successful evacuation of missionary personnel and families during the 1960 – 1964 period of time.

WA9VJY at Missions Building, Indianapolis.

In this Photo, Bill Luethe, a DARF volunteer, is at the controls of WA9VJY at Missions Building. Later,the DARF Club Call, W9WE would later be used at missions Building

In order to provide reliable HF communications overseas, Ham Networks were established in the US. By having more than one US station on the air, it was more likely that at least one propagation path would be open for the stations abroad to communicate. For international communications the Amateur 15 and 20 meter bands were used. Under the leadership of Jim Sugioka, these nets became opportunities for friendships between hams in the US and overseas personnel.

At the same time, networks in the Midwest and Northwest portions of the United States provided for the building of personal friendships which helped provide a larger pool of stations for the DX (distance) communications abroad. Annual “Round-ups” were typical gathering for both networks, where friendships and face to face gatherings added to the camaraderie. The Midwest Roundups were known for group singing led by Ted Yearsley, who directed the Westinghouse Men's Chorus. Often the group attended Sunday morning worship at a local Disciples congregation. In good ham tradition a "talk-in" stations were regular features the Roundups, to make sure folks got to the church campground or conference center.

Also in the 70's and 80's, a group started in New Zealand and Australia. Some of the US west coast stations kept regular weekly schedules with two or three of the "down under" group on mostly 20 meters. Frequently, one or two from the New Zealand group to stay up late and meet with the Saturday morning 20 meter USA net.

In 1970 and 1971, ten transceivers were sent to various overseas personnel in Zaire, (formerly the Belgian Congo.) These could operate either from ac current sources or from batteries. They were purchased jointly by DARF and UCMS.

In the early 1960’s, when Bill Reid went to Congo as pilot, DARF sent out a Viking Valiant II transmitter with single sideband (SSB) adaptor and a Hammerlund HQ-180 receiver. Bill got his Congo ham license and used that set primarily for contacts with DARF members in the U.S., including Jim Sugioka at a station set up in Missions Building in Indianapolis. The set was used until it was replaced with a transceiver that was used in the Disciples church headquarters in Mbandaka until 1985 when the 18 sets were installed.

The sets sent out in 1970-71 were of two makes: some were Missavias – purchased from Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF). When MAF stopped using them and switched to Stoners, a few Stoners were also sent out.

In addition, from the 1950s through the early 1970s, Disciples missionaries (i.e., Clarence Williams, John Ross, Gene Johnson, Dan Owen) also had Congolese/Zairian ham licenses and used their own personal gear for regular contacts back to the States.

In the 1985, a network of 17 Solar powered HF stations were installed in Zaire for point to point communications between outposts. These stations replaced the older, and by then unusable Globe/Hallicrafters amplitude- modulated sets. Using the government-assigned frequency of 6.997 MHz, these stations provided invaluable communications for the Disciples Community in the Equateur Province. They were compatible with similar stations operated by other church related organizations elsewhere in Zaire.

In the late 1980’s, DARF provided a Yaesu FT-101tranceiver for use in Swaziland by Bill and Linda Weeks Watson. They were living in an isolated community, Lavumisa. This was often their only means of accessible communication with Indianapolis, after Bill got his ham license in Swaziland.