Former MSHP trooper turns to consuming hobby after injury

Holly Beard‘s eyes light up and her voice fills with zeal as she talks about amateur, or ham, radio.

The Poplar Bluffian always knew she wanted a career in community service, which lead her into law enforcement, first working for a municipal police department in a Chicago, Illinois, suburb before being hired by the Missouri State Highway Patrol as a trooper. A work-related injury eventually ended her 12-year career, which left a void in her life.

When she spotted a 1930s era shortwave Zenith radio at a flea market, it “really piqued my curiosity,” Beard said. The radio promised communication with Germany, Italy and ships at sea, which she thought was “so cool.”

Holly Beard is prepared for an emergency with easy to transport radio equipment.DAR/Paul Davis

“Restoring the radio and making it work again would give me a project,” she thought.

At the time, she didn’t realize it would expand her world and offer her an opportunity to serve the community if a disaster wipes out communication systems.

Having worked in law enforcement, Beard understands how important communication is in an emergency.

She learned doing her research, amateur radio provides a larger portion of radio bands than CB channels “so you can get out to Germany or even to North Korea where it is not really legal,” she said. “I have never talked to anyone in North Korea.”

A portable solar panel is included in the equipment Holly Beard uses in her vehicle or at a site to power her equipment.DAR/Paul Davis

While Beard thinks talking to people in different countries is interesting, she added “most of her contacts are in the United States and Canada,” as well as Mexico, Brazil, Bonaire, Italy, France, Moldova and an island I had never heard of.”

She’s not been in contact with Great Britain since they have a different set of antennas, she said.

As her interest grew, Beard became involved with the SEMO Amateur Radio Association and took a class to prepare for the entry level technician’s license.

The class was one night a week for a few weeks and she learned enough to pass the first test.

“I wanted to learn more,” she said.

Holly Beard displays a ham radio portable microphone and compact speaker.DAR/Paul Davis

Today, she has the highest level of licenses. FCC takes a few weeks to send the license, she said.

As her knowledge and skill levels improved, she upgraded her equipment. She mentions the benefits and drawbacks of both analog and digital equipment.

Beard prefers her “radio from the 70s if I can find parts. I like older radios I can fix.”

She talked about the vintage Heathkit equipment from the 60s and 70s. The kits were shipped in boxes containing parts with directions so people could put them together and they worked. “I wish they still worked the way it did so people would understand their equipment,” she said.

Workers prepare to erect a radio tower at Holly Beard’s home. Photo provided

Beard envisions a dad ordering the kit and he and his child building the radio together.

She likes the older equipment because she is able to “make adjustments and fiddle around” with it.

Her personal toolkit is designed to take along on outings and comes complete with most anything she might need, including a soldering iron, which is not as useful with a digital radio.

Beard also owns a portable solar panel she may use in her vehicle or at a site to power equipment.

Someone with a budding interest in amateur radio might want to start with a portable handheld “ham” radio, which begins at about $20.

Beard and her fellow ham buddies have two field days a year to prepare in case “we have a major disaster and we can help.”

After the Joplin tornado, ham radio operators coordinated rescue operations, she explained. The national radio club sent 50 amateur or ham radio operators to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017. While public electrical, land-line and cellular communication systems showed few signs of life, radio networks used routinely by police officers, power company workers and other first responders were down. A key mode of communication, the “ham” radio, still worked. They built radio stations and towers.

Beard and others consider themselves “service volunteers, people interested in helping provide for the community.”

She has her “go box, solar charger and other equipment ready. If family doesn’t need me, I’ll go help.”

The club would like to “get involved in other aspects of providing services for the community. We could set up at races, parades and events like the Iron Horse Festival,” she said.

The events would “allow us to provide a service, give exposure for ham radio and keep our skills fine tuned,” she said. “If some emergency does happen, I’d really like to see us get involved in that.”

Beard said the club members are willing to do programs for and work with Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts or any groups.”

Winter Field Day will be Jan. 25-26. The group participated in the national field day in June.

The club has a Facebook group, SEMO Amateur Radio Association, and web site SEMOHAMS.net.