Now You Know!: Santa's a Ham!

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Published on Thursday, 17 December 2009 02:03

Written by Loyd C. Headrick

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NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 21, 2001--Several hams with young children report their kids have enjoyed the thrill of their lives talking with Santa via ham radio. The W6S "Santa's Workshop" special event operation by ARRL member Mickey Hicks, WO6T, in Bakersfield, California, now is in its 30th year of helping to make the season special for youngsters.

"Hats off to WO6T!" enthused Peter Schipelliti, W1DAD, of Atkinson, New Hampshire, who says he bumped into the W6S Santa's Workshop station while he was tuning around on 20 meters the evening of December 19. He awoke daughter, Geena--at age 6 already a seasoned Kid's Day veteran--so she could talk to Santa.

"She had a great time, especially when Santa recited our address and said that he would be coming next week," Schipelliti said. "Santa reinforced some basic values and reminded her that she should share her toys and continue to be good."

Hicks, 71, says he started his Santa's Workshop effort as a one-night effort, but he soon realized he needed to expand it. The annual W6S special event now runs for 10 days each Christmas season and occupies 7 to 10 hours of his day, including preparing.

"It's not scripted," he said. "I ad lib all the time." He said he spreads his effort out among several bands too--and notes that 17 meters has been great this year. Hicks estimates that he speaks with 400 to 500 youngsters each holiday season, and sometimes they include children of the youngsters he'd met years earlier.

The W6S "Santa's Workshop" Web cam. That's a straight key partially obscured at Santa's left--Hick's is a big believer in the value of Morse code.

During his QSO with W1DAD, Santa mentioned his Web cam site. "It was great," Schipelliti said. "We saw Santa from the back and a whole bunch of equipment and computers." Hicks said the Web cam is a new twist the past couple of years that has proven to be a big hit with the kids.

Schipelliti said he and Geena heard Santa talking with some other children too. "He started out by asking them their name and age. Then, he would ask them one thing they were looking forward to," he said. One very shy four-year-old girl didn't want to talk. "Her dad was basically speaking for her, and Santa was very gentle," Schipelliti said. "At the end he used his charm to at least get her to say goodbye. Once he broke the ice with her, he mentioned the reindeer one by one and she repeated each name, one by one, back and forth, with more excitement each time."

The W6S "Santa's Workshop" QSL.

Schipelliti said that when his almost-five-year-old son Luciano found out that his sister got to talk with Santa, he wanted to know if Santa would be on the air again. "He made me promise to wake him up so he could speak with Santa Claus on the radio," Schipelliti said.

A ham for 41 years and a long-time Amateur Radio instructor, Hicks says his Santa's Workshop has been a great ham radio recruiting tool. One of his most memorable experiences was when a young girl he'd once spoken with on the air as Santa came by with her ham ticket in hand to thank him in person for getting her interested. "I had tears in my eyes, of course," he said.

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