On Air: More than 100 Years of W3VC

Since 1914, Carnegie Tech Radio Club has been a place for amateur radio enthusiasts, known as “hams,” to tinker with electronics, build fellowship, learn more about their hobby and communicate across the globe (and even in outer space). The club is the third-oldest student organization on the Pittsburgh campus.

Known by its current call sign, W3VC, the Carnegie Tech Radio Club has been a longstanding part of Buggy at Spring Carnival, assisting with course safety by relaying information about the course during practice rolls and on race days. The club also provides visual and digital live weather information and hosts monthly licensing test sessions for students and community members who want to obtain or upgrade licenses.

A similar club for hams, Wireless Innovators Club, was formed on the West Coast at CMU Silicon Valley in 2013.

Ham radio operators have had impact extending far beyond the field. Alex Hills, a distinguished service professor in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy, has said that what he learned as a ham radio operator led him to conceive and create CMU's Wireless Andrew network, the first Wi-Fi network anywhere.