Chasing the Signal

My elementary school had a radio club. It had an invitation-only membership. When I was asked to join in Grade 4, I was ecstatic. I was ready to be a special agent using high-tech equipment to find the bad guy.

In reality, the main club activity was using a handheld radio receiver to find radio beacons hidden in various locations. The receiver had a bipolar antenna. This means that the signal strength is at the peak when I point the antenna directly towards the beacon or away from the beacon. I had to walk in one direction and then check whether the strength increased or decreased.

In addition, the signal strength is affected by many factors. Any trees, walls, or hills between the radio beacon and the receiver could greatly reduce the radio strength. There were usually multiple beacons broadcasting at the same time. I had to tune into different frequencies, decipher the Morse code, and make sure that I am following the right signal.

It wasn’t easy at all for the 10-year-old me. I trained with the club every Wednesday after school. Sometimes, I found a beacon behind a bush, but it turned out to be the wrong on the wrong frequency. There were days that I could not find any beacons in time. I didn’t think I would ever get better at this, but I kept on looking for the signal.

After a few months of training, our club went to a competition. We had to find as many assigned beacons as quickly as possible. It was a very interesting experience where a few hundred elementary school students were running around a large park, holding a receiver bigger than their hands, and frantically searching for radio beacons.

There were many moments where I saw other students running in all different directions and I was lost. Sometimes, I thought I was heading in the right direction, but I couldn’t see anyone else running next to me anymore.

In some ways, that is the way of life. As it becomes ever more uncertain, I sometimes cannot be sure if I am heading in the right direction. I think I have to be the 10-year-old again. I need to have a little bit more faith in myself and my skills. I must keep on searching for the signal and chasing after it.