The letters MNOVFW might not mean anything to the average observer - but to a select group of local folk, they signify something quite vital.
Those letters are the call sign for the Mid-Ulster Amateur Radio Club (MUARC), which has just celebrated fifty years on air.
MNOVFW这几个字母在普通人眼里没有什么特别的意义，但对当地的一群民间团体组织成员来说，却是相当的重要。这几个字母是Mid-Ulster业余无线电爱好者俱乐部的呼号，这个俱乐部刚在空中庆祝了50岁的生日。
Members of the Mid-Ulster Anmateur radio Club who are celebrating 50 years in existence. Included from left are, Richard Ross, club secretary, Dave Parkinson, Davy Gregg, Keith Mitchell, Jimmy Lappin, Brian Burns and John Beattie. INPT12-213.
庆祝50周年俱乐部成员：从左到右依次是Richard Ross, club secretary, Dave Parkinson, Davy Gregg, Keith Mitchell, Jimmy Lappin, Brian Burns and John Beattie.
Based on the Mahon Road, Portadown, the Mid-Ulster Amateur Radio Club has grown significantly since it was founded in 1965 - now boasting fifty members. The club has been extremely busy over the past fifty years, too, covering everything from motor shows and marathons to Scouts and space travellers.
位于Portadown Mahon Road的 Mid-Ulster业余无线电俱乐部自1965年成立以来发展态势良好，现在已有50名成员。俱乐部在过去的五十年时间里非常的忙碌，他们参与的活动涵盖了从车展、马拉松赛事到童子军活动和太空旅行者活动。
“The Club was originally based in the town near Jervis Street,” explained David Gregg, assistant treasurer of the Mid-Ulster Amateur Radio Club.
“俱乐部最初位于镇杰维斯街附近,”Mid-Ulster业余无线电爱好者俱乐部财务助理大卫·格雷格说。
“About five or six years ago, though, we started to apply for funding for the Club. In the first year, we were very successful - with £4,500 granted to us. Then, the following year, we applied for a demonstration vehicle - and we got it!”
“五、六年前，我们开始为俱乐部申请资金资助。在第一年，我们很成功获得£4500英镑的赞助。随后的第二年，我们申请一辆电台通联展示车!”
This victory left the Club with one small obstacle to overcome: where to park their brand new vehicle.
带给这个俱乐部喜悦的同时也遇到了点小麻烦，他们找不到地方来停放这辆全新的电台通联展示车。
“We had nowhere to put the vehicle,” said David, “so I approached Turkington’s on the Mahon Road. I asked Trevor Turkington, “Could I borrow a wee patch of land?” And that ‘wee patch’ has grown. We now have the use of several portable cabins, which house our station and Club ‘shack’.”
David说“我们没有地方来放置这辆车，所以我到了Mahon Road的Trevor Turkington家里，问他是否能够借一片地来使用。后来我们就在这里发展起来了，我们现在有几个移动小屋，这些小房子就是我们电台站和俱乐部的“棚屋”。”
The Club’s expansion has made way for a host of possibilities - among them, the opportunity to train budding broadcasters to sit their Ofcom exams. Individuals can contact the Club if they are interested in completing the Ofcom-run examinations, after which they will have a licence and a unique callsign to identify them when they are transmitting:
俱乐部的扩大使得对外主办一些活动成为可能——其中就有训练新无线电爱好者的Ofcom考试。个人如果有兴趣参加Ofcom-run考试，可以联系俱乐部的人，之后他们会有执照并在通联时的独特的呼号:
“Ofcom give you a Foundation licence of 10 Watts - you can work the world on that - and then, at Intermediate level, you qualify for 50 Watts. A full licence gives you 400 Watts.”
“Ofcom提供给你10W的基础操作证书，你可以和全球通联，之后，如果到了中级，你可以有50W的发射功率，高级执照可以使用400W的功率进行发射。”
Over the years, the Club has welcomed an array of people on board and has recently seen a boom in interest from young people.“We introduced a youth section a couple of years ago,” explained David, “and have a number of young people choosing to use their experiences at the Amateur Radio Club as part of their Duke of Edinburgh programme.”
多年来，俱乐部欢迎一批又一批的新人，最近年轻人对业余无线电兴趣激增，这是有目共睹的。“我们几年前引入了一个青年培养计划,”大卫说,”,有许多年轻人选择在业余无线电爱好者俱乐部的经验作为爱丁堡公爵项目的的一部分。”
The young people - MUARC Youth - have been making the most of their newly acquired skills, and recently occupied the ‘shack’ for a 10 hour take-over. Making hundreds of contacts across the airwaves, the take-over came just months after a successful adventure in the Welsh mountains by three of the young people. Three MUARC youth members jetted off for the Breacon Beacons last Summer, where they joined six other young people from across the UK to participate in an expedition organised by the Radio Society of Great Britain.
MUARC青年计划，年轻人已经能使用他们所学的大部分技能在电台“小屋”里通联10小时。几个月后，有三个年轻人成功的在威尔士山区通联到数以百计的联系人。去年夏天，这三个MUARC青年成员飞往布雷肯国家公园(Brecon Beacons National Park)，在那里他们和其他六个来自英国的年轻人共同参与英国广播协会组织的探险活动。
MUARC members are not unfamiliar with mountains, having worked with the Radio Amateurs’ Emergency Network (RAYNET) on numerous occasions to ensure mountain climbers are safe when conquering the Mournes.
MUARC成员不熟悉这些山，他们和业余无线电应急救援网络(RAYNET)合作在不同的场合保证登山者的安全。
“We cover people if they want security while they mountain walk,” shared David. “We have a special frequency on which we can communicate with St John’s ambulance and other emergency services.”
“当登山者需要救援时候，我们就和这些人保持联系，”David说，“我们有和St John’s紧急救援和其他救援服务的特别频率。”
Some members of the club have reached even higher heights than Donard - making contact with outer space:
一些俱乐部成员通联更高的高度，比如和外太空空间站通联。
“We can talk to the people on the International Space Station. The station orbits the earth every 93 minutes. We have a frequency that we’re allowed to speak to them on so, when they’re passing above the UK, they are able to tune into that frequency and can make contact with anyone they wish to!
我们可以和国际太空站的人对话，太空站每93分钟环绕地球轨道一周。我们有自己的频率可以和他们对话，当宇航员经过英国上空时候，他们就会使用这个频率和任何想和他们通联的人对话。
“A few years ago, an event was held in Castlewellan and one of our members travelled up, especially. When the moment came, he sent out a call to astronauts who were travelling above that spot and managed to make contact! They spoke for a few minutes before the astronaut continued on his orbit.”
”几年前，在Castlewellan发生了一件事，我们的一个成员在旅行途中，当空间站进过上空的那一刻，他发出信号呼叫宇航员并设法取得联系! 在宇航员继续在轨飞行前，他们和宇航员通联了几分钟。”
For all their achievements, members of the club are quick to thank one particular person for giving them room to grow: “It’s all down to Trevor Turkington - not all businesses would go out of their way like he has.”
对于所取得的成就，俱乐部的成员要感谢一个给他们带来成长空间的特殊人物，这些都归功于Trevor Turkington，不是所有的人做事都能向他那样义无反顾。
Although the Club has been on the go for fifty years, its members remain committed to its cause and its future:
尽管俱乐部已经走过了五十个年头，他们的成员依然致力于他们的初衷和未来：
“We have three original members who are still with us! And we’re always welcoming new folk onboard.”
“俱乐部还有三个成立之初时的会员，我们欢迎新会员的加入。”
For more information, visit www.muarc.com or find them on Facebook.
Read more: http://www./news/features/amateur-radio-club-is-still-making-waves-after-50-years-1-7303966#ixzz44olNndqG
英文来源：http://www.
